Another month packed with releases, but only a few managed to stick out. Next month is looking like it will be the same, with the Deftones, My Chemical Romance, The Feelers and Brooke Fraser all hitting stores again. Stay tuned! But until then, soak in the latest issue of The Big 5!
Tag: review Page 3 of 7
Well, its time to kick off another new feature. Every month, I hear countless numbers of new albums. Some stick out for good reasons, some stick out for bad reasons, some just get totally ignored. Either way, it’s about time I started sharing the love.
The Big 5 is going to be a monthly column which will run on the last Friday of every month and dispense some of what I have been listening to in the last month. These albums could be new releases, they could be older releases I’ve just started getting into, or they could be CDs I’ve been addicted to for most of the year. Whatever the case, one thing is for sure: you can’t go wrong with them. On with the main event!
All things considered, X Men: The Last Stand, the third instalment of the massively successful X Men franchise, has probably been one of my most anticipated films of 2006, mostly because I had many questions to be answered after X Men 2: What happened to Jean Gray? Would Rogue and Iceman ever grow up? How would the Professor control his team now? How would Cyclops and Wolverine respond to the loss of Jean Gray? These questions (and many more) needed answers, and as far as I was concerned, the sooner the better.
From the moment Dan Brown, writer of The Da Vinci Code, announced that he had sold the film rights to his novel to producer Brian Grazer and eventual director Ron Howard, its fate was sealed. This would be the most talked about film of 2006, a controversial release which would divide the audience between those who accepted the film for what it was – a fictional movie, those who watched it and believed the ridiculous claims it was making (which is really the concern behind the protest of the Catholic church), and those who would be avoiding the film at all costs.
CORINNE BAILEY RAE
SELF-TITLED
2.5 out of 5 Stars
Investigate Magazine – May 2006
If the hype surrounding Corinne Bailey Rae is anything to go by then music promoters have been looking for someone to be titled “the next Billie Holliday” for a while and this gorgeous blues singer appears to be the perfect choice to hang it on. Of course, it’s a big expectation to live up to, so the question is whether the music justifies the comparison.
ARCTIC MONKEYS
WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM,THAT’S WHAT I’M NOT
4 out of 5 Stars
Investigate Magazine – April 2006
Enter the Arctic Monkeys, holder of the British record for fastest selling debut album of all time – no small feat for a band whose only real promotion came via internet downloads and word of mouth.
BETH ORTON
COMFORT OF STRANGERS
2.5 out of 5 Stars
Investigate Magazine – March 2006
My last run-in with Beth Orton came when I acquired her 1999 release Central Reservation, following a great performance at the 2000 Big Day Out. Unfortunately my interest waned fairly quickly, and while I enjoyed Comfort of Strangers, I think the same thing is going to happen again.
“Why do you dress in black? You look like you’re going to a funeral,” says a random record company executive. Cash stares straight back and says “well, maybe I am.”
After the showing of episode 1 of Lost series 2 last night, I thought it pertinent to say something, especially since I am the self-titled King of Lost. Okay, thats a little dramatic, but Lost was even more dramatic – a few things I noticed …
4 out of 5 stars
Okay, I’ll ask: is this the missing link between The Strokes’ first and second albums? The difference, musically speaking, between 2001’s Is This It? and 2003’s Room on Fire is huge, but First Impressions of Earth seems to fill the gap quite nicely, fitting in perfectly as a step from one to the other, despite following them both.