Artist: Elbow

Leaders of the Free World, Elbow's third album, sees the band try to beat down their major league contemporaries (Coldplay, Doves) with a more ambitious set of songs. In truth, they didn't need to try so hard; Elbow have arguably been making better and more interesting music than most of their mainstream compadres since they formed in 1990. That said, the results here are undoubtedly impressive and may form the band's best work yet. Beginning with the beautiful, slow-building "Station Approach", and ending with the short but touching "Puncture Repair", Leaders of the Free World takes in an a host of minor classics along the way. From the captivating strums of "Picky Bugger" and the sonorous chimes of "The Stop" to the massively captivating title track and the funereal waltz of "Great Expectations", the record's elliptical nature only adds to its enchanting qualities. If this doesn't confirm Elbow's status as superior musicians/arrangers and underline Guy Garvey's abilities as a master storyteller, nothing will. --Paul Sullivan
Top notch, 2008-08-02
What a great album! By far and away their best, before they succumbed to Coldplay-type anthems on Seldom Seen Kid. Every track a winner, but "Very best" is well titled. Enjoy! Anyone that can get Stockport Supporters Club into the lyrics of a ballad is alright by me!!

Rated: Exempt
Artist: Westlife

Great Entertainers !!, 2009-01-04
I look forward to each CD release, but even more to each DVD release to watch the Excellence of Westlife live.
These young men can really sing (live and studio) and frankly are unmatched in providing excellent entertainment in concert.
The Live from Croke Park dvd is the best yet and the others were all great.
A high energy beginning, my absolute favorite portion was The Easy Way. Excellent singing and dancing - the musical version makes you want to get up and dance along- the female dancers were all extreemely cute and dressed similar to westlife to add to the fun not take away from the boys. Special props to the dancer behind Kian- great intensity and having great fun.
An excellent DVD from beginning to end - acoustic set was also awesome!
I watch each DVD over and over again.

Artist: Tom Jones

Long qualified for a state pension and generally recognised as a national treasure, Tom Jones is in no need of an unnecessary makeover, which is probably why 24 Hours turns out to be such a relaxed collection. Relaxed is a relative term for the Welsh veteran--Jones still bellows like a man trying to make himself heard over a rowdy crowd. But the best moments on 24 Hours, such as a terrifyingly spirited take of "I'm Alive", originally performed by Tommy James and the Shondells, and first single "If He Should Ever Leave You", a rather knowing if undeniably catchy pastiche of the supper club soul that made his name, could only be the work of one man. The stark title track enters Nick Cave territory while "The Road", a heartfelt if somewhat overdue apology to Jones's loyally obscure wife Linda, will either repel or seduce. The louche "Sugar Daddy", penned by U2 no less, rather exalts Jones's reputation as an ageing lothario, even as he seems determined to shake it off. The odd clunker aside (notably the rather naff "In Style and Rhythm") 24 Hours, produced by Future Cut, a team of studio bods half his age, is an enjoyably effective collection, filling a previously ...
He's... good!, 2008-12-22
I've been a Tom Jones fan for many years, he's just cool. Great voice and appears to sing effortlessly. Now, I am NOT a fan of Strictly Come Dancing but I happened to be channel hopping when I found him singing on the BBC1 series ([]) and I just stopped.

Watch him sing. No effort at all. He just... sings. Amazing. I was captivated.

Finally got around to buying this album over the weekend and I sat down, earphones in, and listened to it from start to finish. It really is a great album. All the songs are good and in my opinion there isn't a duff one in there. There's a few in here which will make a 'best of' album in the future.

Watch Tom on Strictly Come Dancing (YouTube) and then buy the album here at Amazon. I went for the MP3 download. Today, I've listened to the album twice. :-)

Go Tom Go!

Artist: Status Quo

Not one for diehard fans, 2008-12-06
This album isn't aimed at or for Status Quo `diehard' fans, who know every track they've ever record; Nor the sort of person who wants to hear little known B sides, alternative versions of tracks and live performances.

This album is for the occasional fan, the sort of person who enjoys listening to The Quo's better known `commercial' hits.

Artist: Portishead

Portishead's Third has been a long time coming, the result of a lengthy creative topor following 1997's dark, distinctly underrated album Portishead. Importantly, though, they've shaken it. While the core trio of Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow, and Adrian Utley remains, this is quite a different band to Portishead's 90s incarnation: gone is the slo-mo turntable scratching and smoky jazz feel, replaced by heavy, brooding rhythms, vintage-sounding electronics, and spindly guitar. Still present, though, is that sense of emotional fracture and deep gloom. "Silence" opens with a dense drum loop which suddenly falls away to reveal Gibbons' voice, cold but magnificent: "Wounded and afraid, inside my head/Falling through changes". "Nylon Smile", meanwhile, is a fine example of Third's occasional folksy edge, an acoustic song reminiscent of Leonard Cohen that, around its midpoint, lifts off on a propulsive electronic rhythm, Gibbons holding one clear, hard note as synthesisers bubble beneath. At times, it's a harsh and foreboding listen: the electronic drums of "Machine Gun" might put off the listener hoping for smooth dinner party fare. But Third is a brave and forw...
Prog-dub Snapshots of the Apocalypse, 2008-12-30
A soundtrack to some post-apocalypic world movie.
This is a wonderful album - to sit back and listen to and also to dance round the campfire!
There's elements of prog-rock but tastefully done in the dub style.
One weird thing about the songs though is that they seem to be amateaurishly put togeather and end too soon, but this is one of the spells that the landscape creeated by this music invites.
Worth every penny!!!

Artist: Boyzone

Fantastic, 2008-12-31
Got this for Christams. They should never have went away. I love the new video with there partners, they have all got older as we all do.
A really nice CD and a great group that will get back on top of Westlife.

Artist: Coldplay

To say there has been a lot of anticipation for Coldplay's fourth album, Viva La Vida, is an understatement. Having enlisted legendary leftfield producer Brian Eno, borrowed their album title from a painting by renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and made tantalising remarks about sonic reinvention, the world has been curious (to say the least) to hear what the `new' Coldplay might sound like. Viva La Vida definitely makes some departures from the band's usual formula, which happens to be one of the most commercially successful rock-pop blueprints of recent years. The plangent chords, emotive melodies, stadium-rock rhythms and universal lyrical concerns remain, but Martin and co. have gone out on several limbs here, incorporating instrumental tracks ("Life In Technicolour"), using subtle North African and Latin elements ("Yes", "Strawberry Swing"), and overhauling previously strict verse-chorus-verse structures in favour of slightly more avant arrangements. The old Coldplay still shine through (see tracks like "Violet Hill" and the title song) but even their classic sound feels more muscular and confident. The band's new flourishes, cosmetic and self-conscious as they...
As good as ever!, 2009-01-03
Coldplay are one of the those rare bands who are capable of producing consistently good albums. This album is a fantasctic journey of catchy riffs and instrumentals coupled with the usual quality Coldplay lyrics & vocals. I have enjoyed all of Coldplay's albums and to date they have all offered something different with this album being no exception. I would highly recommend this album to all music lovers.

Artist: Same Difference

Pop Perfection!!, 2009-01-05
My wife brought this and at first i thought oh dear me what have we got here!
But now i cannot stop playing the album from start to finish! All the tracks are really catchy and will get stuck in your head i promise you that. The cover version of starshp's nothing gonna stop us now is true to the original and is just as good.
If you miss steps being around then this album is for you!

Artist: Glasvegas

Glasvegas are a four-piece from Glasgow - the latest band to be championed by industry mogul Alan McGee, the man that "discovered" Oasis. Despite the inevitable hyperbole that has followed McGee's proclamation of the band, Glasvegas more than deliver on their early promise with this eponymous debut album. The quartet already showcased their earthy wit and sonic ambitions on singles such as "Daddy's Gone," a heartfelt tale of soured father-son relations delivered in an uncompromising Glaswegian accent and set to a shimmering wall of rock & roll. Glasvegas continues in more or less the same vein. Singer James Allen reels off stories of everyday city life over euphonious, pop-edged soundtracks that blend 50s surf rock, layered, Phil Spector-esque production values and the occasional splash of 60s doo wop. Tracks like the arching "Flowers and Football Tops", the confessional "It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry" and the upbeat "Legs & Show" contrast with darker songs like "Stabbed" and "Go Square Go!". The band's down-to-earth worldview combined with their nostalgic sound and surging, sing-a-long choruses makes for a rich and enjoyable musical tapestry.
Top Scots Rock, 2008-12-12
For once you can believe the hype - the Glasvegas debut album is stunning. James Allan delivers his songs in a very Scottish voice indeed which will not be to everyone's taste but it lends real authenticity to his lyrics of contemporary Glasgow life: stabbings; absent fathers; social workers; paranoia and broken childhood dreams.

The music is guitar driven with strong percussion but it stands apart by way of its shimmering guitar backdrop, almost a `wall of sound' shining like a dirty jewel. The songs soar and are almost anthemic but are never dull due to the power and meaning behind the lyrics.

The singles `Geraldine', `Flowers & Football Tops' and the poignant `Daddy's Gone' are truly superb and rightly celebrated, but for me `It's My Own Cheating Heart..' is stunning with its pounding guitar line and lyrics delivered from the heart. `Glasvegas' shows amazing confidence for a debut album; `Stabbed' features a dreamlike lyric about imminent wounding spoken over Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. The band are also not afraid to sing a snatch of `You are my Sunshine' at the end of `Flowers & Football Tops'; both of these tricks work superbly. The final track, `Ice Cream Van' begins almost ethereally but gradually builds to a crescendo of guitar noise and is a fitting finale. Even the foul-mouthed singalong of 'Go Square Go' makes sense when you listen to the lyrics.

`Glasvegas' is a great record and shows how effective music can be when it is delivered with passion, meaning and authenticity.

Artist: Various Artists

Fits perfectly with the books..., 2009-01-04
I read all the books and so had to see the movie. The music was brilliant although didn;t figure where all the songs fitted in - so had to see the movie again (any excuse!!). Absolutely love this CD.