Musicophile.com All time great and new music

MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups is one of the biggest musical events in years, premiering on MTV with a show featuring the multi-platinum Linkin Park, the biggest contemporary rock band in the world, joining forces with the multi-platinum Jay-Z, one of the biggest stars in hip-hop. Mash-Ups brings together artists from different genres to seamlessly blend their songs, creating an exciting and unique musical experience. Offered in both CD-sized Digipak and Amaray package, it features a CD with versions of existing Linkin Park and Jay-Z tracks mixed together in the studio; and a DVD featuring two versions of them performing these Mash-Up tracks for MTV.

Smile is inarguably the most long-awaited album in modern pop history. It's been more than 37 years since the title first appeared on a label release schedule, intended as the January 1967 follow-up to the groundbreaking art-rock of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. But Smile never made its initial release date. Today, this album is not a mere reconstruction of past performances, but something entirely new, a serious summation of a project that has been gestating for nearly four decades.

Writer and director Zach Braff does a masterful job matching the charming, heartfelt tone of classic films like The Graduate and Rushmore in his motion picture debut, Garden State, so it only makes sense that the music he personally compiled for the soundtrack plays just as big a part here as it did in those films. Simon & Garfunkel's languorous "The Only Living Boy in New York" is an obvious thread, but aside from Nick Drake's "One of These Things First," Braff is able to carry the mood without getting tripped up in the past. Frou Frou's "Let Go" and Zero 7's "In the Waiting Line" supply soft techno touches, while Iron & Wine's "Such Great Heights" and former Men at Work singer Colin Hay's "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" offer understated angst. It's a pair of emotionally racked contributions from the Shins ("Caring is Creepy," "New Slang"), however, that really make this compilation a must-have. --Aidin Vaziri

Barenaked Ladies celebrate the holiday season with their ninth major release, Barenaked For The Holidays. This release features many holiday favorites, including "Do They Know It's Christ- mas"(written by Bob Geldof )and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," performed with Sarah McLachlan, and seven original tracks including BNL’s new holiday single "Elf ’s Lament," featuring Michael Bublé. Ed Robertson and Steven Page"s distinctive vocals give a fresh sound to traditional holiday classics. Barenaked For The Holidays is sure to be a holiday favorite that is fun,witty and dynamic.

In her own unique way, Gwen Stefani has managed to shift our culture since coming onto the scene as the lead singer of No Doubt. With years of defining style and 30 million in record sales under her belt, she will again turn heads with this debut record that is as fresh as it is retro and as progressive as it is feel-good familiar.

With this project, she has enlisted some of the biggest names in music (Dr. Dre, Eve, The Neptunes, Andre 3000, Nellee Hooper, Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Linda Perry and Tony Kanal) to create a genre bending masterpiece that is guaranteed to be one of the most talked about records of this year (2004) and beyond.

The box set spans Nirvana's entire career, from a recording of Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" at the band's first show in 1987 to solo acoustic performances from singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain in 1994. With The Lights Out features a 60-page color booklet with rare photos and liner notes by Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and writer Neil Strauss. The three CDs, arranged largely chronologically contains home and rehearsal demos, including for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (whose lyric "With the lights out" provides the set's title), "Rape Me," "Heart Shaped Box" and a trio penned by legendary bluesman Leadbelly. Heard in the 12 previously unreleased solo acoustic tracks are such gems as "All Apologies," "Lithium" and "Sliver." Six previously unreleased radio performances range from "Anorexorcist" in 1987 to "Dumb" in 1991 (two years before it was on 1993's In Utero). Along with the remaining debuts are a handful of earlier issued, though rare, b-sides and demos as well as the original Butch Vig mix of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Highlighted on the With The Lights Out DVD is a previously unreleased video of nine songs performed in 1988 at bassist Krist Novoselic's mother's house in Aberdeen, Washington; the rare "In Bloom" Sub Pop music video, and 10 never-before-seen live performances. Noteworthy among them are debut renditions of "Pennyroyal Tea", "Smells Like Teen Spirit" both from early 1991. Also premiering is an unlikely performance of Jacques Brel and Rod McKuen's "Seasons In The Sun" shot at a Rio de Janeiro studio.

The first original album since 2000 from modern rock superheroes Green Day, American Idiot is one of the most anticipated and controversial albums of the year. Scathing yet self-effacing as it tells the tale of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, American Idiot is the punk rock epic. "A bold, polished punk opera." (Entertainment Weekly) "They're the biggest, most successful, punk band the world has ever seen. What's more, Green Day's next album may well be their masterpiece." (Kerrang!)

The album that carries U2 into its 25th year--and likely the mixed blessings of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame--is one of its most frank and focused since the days of October and War. But its gestation was anything but simple, in part salvaged from '03 sessions the band deemed subpar. Enter Steve Lillywhite, the band's original producer and sometime collaborator in the decades since, who helped retool the track "Native Son" (originally an anti-gun screed) into the aggressive iPod anthem "Vertigo" and leaves his distinctive stamp on the muscular "All Because of You" and others. Perhaps weary of ceaseless, fashion-driven reinvention in the wake of monumental success, U2 seem only too happy here to re-embrace their original sonic trademarks in service of more daring, pop-melodic hooks than they've collected in one place in decades. The Eno/Lanois produced "Love and Peace or Else" may shimmer with the duo's electro-production conceits, but it's Edge's lugubrious, post-modern John Lee Hooker guitar swagger that drives it. Elsewhere, Bono's trademark dramaturgy is spotlighted on "City of Blinding Lights," the unabashed romance of "A Man and a Woman" and the confessional "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own." It may come wrapped in a conundrum--is it nostalgic retrenchment or sum of the band's endless musical catharsis?--but it's also the album where, Fly and MacPhisto be damned, U2 boldly claims its arena titan mantle with apologies to no one. --Jerry McCulley

Recommended U2 Discography

War	The Joshua Tree	Achtung Baby
All That You Can't Leave Behind	The Best of 1990-2000	The Best of 1980-1990

The entry into the sorority of motherhood is a profound experience. The life-altering passage is celebrated magnificently in this audio/visual collaboration between Céline Dion and Anne Geddes.

Céline Dion is a quintessential vocalist with countless recordings to her credit and is a newer mother with a willingness to share her passion for her son. There are several options for this treasure in a variety of price ranges so explore which one is better for you. This option is the cd version with a few smaller pictures by Geddes and no dvd. The cd/dvd box set includes insight a dvd into the project and a cd booklet-size of photographs. Anne Geddes has artistically interpreted the infatuating forms of infants in photography and the larger more costly coffee-table book version of "Miracle" contains by far the greater collection of enlarged photographs and the cd.

Céline Dion teamed up with David Foster and Humberto Gatica on the cd (an unbeatable combination of Grammy-Award-winning brilliance in sound) and a countless array of musicians to generate unfeigned loving tracks of joy.

Céline capitalizes on her experience with ballads but the softer more emotive tracks like "My Precious One" and "Baby Close Your Eyes" are my favorites with a gentle piano and orchestra that reminded me of the bonding of quiet midnight feedings. "Miracle," has lyrics that made me well-up; and her version of "Brahms Lullaby" is equally lovely in English and French. "What a Wonderful World" has long been a favorite song and this one is truly amazing sung with sincere passion. Art born of life's experiences are generally well loved; when it's this authentic one can swear on being able to "feel" the difference.

"Beautiful Boy" is more playful and uptempo but none of the tracks are jarring in volume or push the power Céline can draw from her tiny frame. We believe great care was taken to ensure the songs were all just as suitable for rocking-chair moments between a mother (or father) and a newborn or recalling moments of parenthood at any age. These are all sensitively pulled together to create a masterpiece theme of a gift for any mom or parent.

The fish that get away are always the ones that would have made the biggest, fattest trophies and, in the realm of rock history, there is no bigger fugitive fish than the Beach Boys' aborted masterpiece, "Smile."

The product of 85 epic recording sessions in 1966 and 1967, "Smile" was to have been producer/composer Brian Wilson's Earth-shaking, fire-starting follow-up to his exquisite concept album "Pet Sounds."

When he suddenly, mysteriously shelved the unfinished record (claiming it was cursed, calling it "inappropriate music") the album snowballed into greater allure: What could be more enticing, more loaded with potential genius, than beautiful music one isn't allowed to hear?

Versions of the "Smile" songs have long been available to the public. Many of them appeared on the album "Smiley Smile," which the group issued without Wilson's involvement; and on the Beach Boys' box-set "Good Vibrations" ; and on countless bootlegs. But those sounds were always tainted by the fact that they weren't really the way Wilson intended, they weren't mixed or sequenced properly, they didn't have the actual magic.

This past spring, 37 years after he initially scrapped it, Brian Wilson went back into the studio and re-recorded "Smile" from scratch. This, he says, is the music the way he always planned it to be.

Of course, it's safe to suspect that, back when he was a 25-year-old wunderkind, Wilson probably didn't envision a 61-year-old singing lead on the songs, as he does here.

That may sound ageist or overly cynical but, hey, even the surviving Beatles probably couldn't take another pass at "Sgt. Pepper" tomorrow and crank out a truly accurate recreation of the original.

In short, "Smile" 2004 doesn't fill the blank spaces created by all those empty record sleeves back in 1967. It's not exactly a rip-off, either, despite the potentially misleading hype. Wilson's voice understandably isn't what it was in his glory days but the album is still crammed with his trademark melodies, harmonies and sonic effects. He and his band, The Wondermints, roll out swirling, precision-tooled recreations of songs such as "Heroes and Villains," "Surf's Up" and "Our Prayer," a frosty, haunting a cappella sketch that, in just about any form, makes my ears tingle.

Basically, what this new "Smile" really is is an engaging-enough experiment that will probably delight serious Beach Boys fans (meaning anyone who both owns a copy of "Pet Sounds" and cringes at the sound of "Kokomo") and possibly pique the curiosity of less familiar listeners, at least for the next week or so.

But anyone who heads into this new "Smile" expecting to at last hear rock's most elusive masterpiece should lower their expectations. This isn't the "Smile" of legend. That old fish has been off swimming in deeper, darker waters for almost 40 years now and it still ain't taking the bait.

Renee Olstead could turn out to be the discovery of the decade. With a voice as nuanced, versatile and downright charming as they come she's about to set the musical world on fire with the release of her first major-label album.
The fact that Renee's still in high school (!) may give her extra credit, but she doesn't need it. This jazzy-bluesy torch singer can easily hold her own with the big gals like Norah Jones and Diana Krall while evoking the young Doris Day and even Roberta Flack.

"Renee Olstead" has several break-out tunes which stay in your head for hours, including her spellbinding and swirly "Summertime," her impeccably voiced "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby" and her deliriously beautiful remake of Maria Muldaur's signature song, "Midnight at the Oasis."

Unlike other famous musical wunderkinds whose precocity (and notoriety) is much more apparent than their artistry, Renee Olstead doesn't overachieve in the slightest. Rather, she is utterly convincing as an assured and adept stylist with an affinity for music given to few.

After hearing this extraordinary album we fully understand the raves it's been getting from professional critics as well as their collective disbelief that this is "just a kid" singing.

Musicophile gets into the mood of the month. We profile the best Romantic song collections in a series of articles.

Greatest Love Songs - Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra's is one of the most romantic voices for that most romantic occasion. While the album relies mainly on songs Sinatra recorded with Reprise in the 1960s, Warner was also able to pull several songs from the earlier days with Capitol. This collection includes a good share of hits, from "My Funny Valentine," "I've Got a Crush on You," and "Fly Me to the Moon" to "The Way You Look Tonight," "Night and Day," and his last #1 hit, "Strangers in the Night." Often tender, occasionally enthusiastic, these selections skirt the bombast and self-parody the Chairman sometimes fell into on his own label.

The songs are (almost) all superb. 'My Funny Valentine' is vocally challenging, but it sounds like it was written for Sinatra. The grand and slower 'Night and Day' is just as appealing, in a different way, as the hard swinging Capitol version from the celebrated 'A Swingin' Affair' album with Nelson Riddle. 'The Very Thought of You' is a wonderful choice, with lush orchestrations from the 'Songs from Great Britain' album that can be hard to find.' You and the Night and the Music' is a brassy Johnny Mandel-arranged swinger from 1961's 'Ring-a-Ding-Ding'.

This is surely a great one that fits the Valentine's mood just right.

Greatest Love Songs - Frank Sinatra

Hi Beatles Lovers,

We are extremely pleased to inform you that The Beatles are the Artists of the Month on Amazon!

What this means for you is that this is a time when you can get special savings on Beatles music. Right now you can avail upto 29% discounts on The Beatles music!
If you do not want to the lose such a great opportunity go by, visit this page and select any of the loads of Beatles music available.

What's in this DVD huh?
This is a Beatles DVD documentary by Albert and David Maysles on the The Beatles First visit to USA in February 1964.
DVD Release Date: February 3, 2004
The DVD features:

• Commentary by director Albert Maysles


• "The Beatles First USA Visit" - 81 minutes (black and white footage)


• "Making of Feature" - 51 minutes (color footage of Albert Maysles and b/w footage of outtakes from the original production.)

The Maysles brothers were given extraordinary access to the Beatles during their first trip to the U.S., in February 1964, for several concerts and their seminal first appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. The three Ed Sullivan appearances show a great cross section of their hits at the time, including "All My Loving," "I Saw Her Standing There," and a beautifully delivered "This Boy" by John Lennon plus much of the hotel/limousine/Peppermint Lounge footage. Also expect to see The Beatles goofing off on a commuter train, mod dancing in a nightclub, setting up their own equipment!
From the Back Cover
The Ed Sullivan Show (NYC #1)
1. All My Loving
2. Till There Was You
3. She Loves You
4. I Want To Hold Your Hand
The Washington Coliseum Concert
5. I Saw Her Standing There
6. I Wanna Be Your Man
7. She Loves You
The Ed Sullivan Show (Miami)
8. From Me To You
9. This Boy
10. All My Loving
The Ed Sullivan Show (NYC #2)
11. Twist And Shout
12. Please, Please Me
13. I Want To Hold Your Hand
Just to give a glimpse of the kind of fascinating moments captured here... John is visibly thrown by the "Sorry Girls, he's married." subtitle, and then acts out hilariously at a terrific concert in DC. George sits in a hotel room fingerpicking a terrific spontaneous imitation of Bob Dylan's Talkin' Blues, making you want to just shake him and tell him to go ahead and write his own. Ringo entertains the media non-stop with all kinds of physical comedy, while a strangely petulent Paul sourly comments that he doesn't "feel like being funny."

Shoppers Info: So you are interested in this DVD. Well it costs $24.98. Get it for $21.23 here. That's a 15% saving! We wholeheartedly recommend this DVD.

The Beatles - The First US Visit

Beyonce's Dangerouly in Love was 19th on Billboard Top 200 and the singles Crazy in Love and Baby Boy, were at positions 4 and 12 on Billboard Hot 100. No wonder considering that this is a great album also featuring a wide range of artists from rap star Jay Z to Reggae star Sean Paul, from hip hop star Missy Elliot to classic R&B stars. One of the album's highlights is the album's first track, "Crazy in Love"-a great, fun, catchy single with a great video which really starts to grow on you. "The Closer I Get to You" with Luther Vandross is a fantastic duet, but the highlight is easily the sexy, jazz influenced "Speechless". Other stand outs include Knowles attempt at neo-soul, "A Gift from Virgo", and the all to true "Yes".

Beyonce once said in an interview that she wanted to make the album seem timeless. Several of the tracks have a very 70's "Age of Aquarius" feel to them (Gift from Virgo), but she surely shows her range and talent throughout the album.

Dangerously in Love - Beyonce Knowles

R. Kelly sure had issues and those issuessure didn't kill him. Rather they seem to have made him stronger. This is unequivocally his best album since his self-titled album and to date. It should also be his most successful. Destined for radio joints include "Step In The Name Of Love (and the remix)", "Ignition Remix", "Snake" and "Who's That". "Step (Remix)" owns one of the catchiest hooks I have heard in years across any genre (Step, step side to side/Round and round, dip and bounce/Separate, bring it back/Now let me see you do the love slide). The self-proclaimed Pied Piper of R&B manages to satisfy the mainstream without compromising his need to explore all elements of Black music (R&B, reggae, hiphop, doo wop, black rock, gospel...) This is what separates him from a Joe, Avant or Maxwell. "Showdown" with Ronald Isley aka Mr. Biggs is strong conceptually, but the track is a little too lackluster for 2 R&B big dogs to fit on. "You Knock Me Out" is like nothing you will hear released in this era. "I'll Never Leave", "Forever", "Dream Girl" and "Forever More" are the bedroom material you expect from R. For those lucky enough to get a hold of the bonus "Loveland" disc, you know about the title track, which while it resembles "Step..." is an example of a Kelly sound that he could drop all day and never wear out.

Kelly pours out his heart and soul on Chocolate Factory and the great lyrics give ample support to make this R. Kelly's greatest album yet.

Chocolate Factory - R. Kelly

Between Ben Moody's wunderkind soundscapes and Amy Lee's gorgeous vocals, Evanescence deserves billing with more adult-oriented artists like Everything But The Girl, Garbage, U2, Sarah McLachlan, and Portishead. The album surely doesn't foreground Evanescence's incredible versatility, still their brilliance shines through.

That said, we can expect Fallen to be a monumentally popular album and one of the best of the year. Because the production on the album is so polished and precise and the songs so tightly arranged and preformed, it is unlikely to receive the critical respect it should get because-- and this is the ironic part-- Ben Moody is too good at what he does. He sounds too much like the kind of guy who can only play whatever type of music he happens to be playing, because he plays them all so well and with impressive craftsmanship.

This has not escaped Moody at all. He's as cunning as he is brilliant. Evanescence's 2002 Demo tapes, from which the bulk of Fallen's 11 tracks are culled, were made as bait for record labels. Wind-Up Records saw a star in the making and took the bait with gusto-- prominent placement on the Daredevil movie soundtrack, WWE pay-per-view events, TV commercials, music videos, and, ultimately, Fallen followed in relatively short order.

But if Ben Moody is the dark wizard of Evanescence, crafting intoxicating waves of beats and rhythms, hidden beneath guitars and stacks and switchboards, than Amy Lee is their herald. Lee's voice is the most striking thing about Evanescence and with good reason: it's absolutely beautiful and her control over it is impressively mature. As with the album's two piano ballads, "My Immortal" and "Hello", a heart- wrenching tale of retreating into one's own mind, Lee shows that she's quite capable of carrying entire songs by herself. Yet she's equally glorious complimenting Moody's driving soundscapes, particularly on "Imaginary", when she transitions seamlessly from singing to screaming while still maintaining control over the pitch and body of her voice. That said, Lee's vocal range and strength are impressive but not flawless; sometimes she can't quite get the notes for which she's striving, but this works to the bands credit: Listening to Fallen one gets the impression that at all times they are playing and singing at full force, pouring their hearts and souls selflessly into every lyric and every note.

Ultimately, listen to Fallen, particularly if you like bombastic, widescreen guitar rock, delicate ballads, or lush female vocals.

Fallen - Evanescence

This is Shania Twain's first album since 1997's "Come On Over." Since then, it has become the best-selling record by a female artist in any genre. "Up!" contains two discs -- a green one with the country versions of the songs that has banjos and fiddles on it and a red one with the uptempo pop songs with steal guitars and such.

There are many outstanding songs on here, like "It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing," "What A Way To Wanna Be!" [about people's obsession with beauty], "I'm Jealous," "Thank You Baby! (For Makin' Someday Come So Soon)," "I Ain't Goin' Down," "Forever and For Always" and a nice love song from Shania, "When You Kiss Me." There are also many fun, upbeat numbers such as "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!," "In My Car (I'll Be the Driver)," "Waiter! Bring Me Water," "Up!" and "I'm Not In the Mood (To Say No!)."

Shania Twain is a superstar with unlimited horizons and she has proved that once again on "Up!". Whether you prefer country or pop, she has made another amazing album for your listening pleasure.

Up! - Shania Twain

At first glance, this album seems incredibly inhuman with the gutbucket riffage and bizarre time signatures that Metallica hasn't shown us since back on the Justice album in 1988, the last time they weren't concerned with courting the mainstream. Another blast from the Justice past is some artwork by Pushead, plus extremely long and meandering tracks, none of which are less than five minutes long. The long length gives the tracks more power and the time to explore the depths of their sound, though some songs get rather repetitive, especially "Dirty Window" even though it has the album's swinginest riff. Meanwhile, "Shoot Me Again" and "Purify" are damaged by weak Load-like choruses, and Hetfield's lyrics are pretty predictable.

In an interesting development, it sounds like Metallica has been listening to a lot of the modern metal. Not copycat junk like Godsmack, but the seriously heavy death grooves of bands like System of a Down, Korn, or Sevendust. This gives the new Metallica a surprisingly current sound, and they have surely been influenced by the newer bands that were in turn influenced by them. This is evidenced by Lars Ulrich's shockingly angry drumming, with a feedback sound on the snare drum that sometimes overwhelms the guitars; while Kirk Hammett offers NO guitar solos (except possibly a semi-solo near the start of "Some Kind of Monster"), instead focusing on the satanic sludge and carnage of the rest of the band. No longer following trends, Metallica is back to the business of setting their own trends, and this album heralds a new age in Metallica's influential history.

Beware of other reviews praising the work of new bassist Robert Trujillo. He is listed here as a full member of the band, but he only joined a few months ago after this album was completed. Anyone can see in the liner notes that the producer Bob Rock played bass here. Trujillo has a great pedigree and should be able to make strong contributions to Metallica's sound. We should find out on the next new album, which is hopefully less than five years away.

On St. Anger, Metallica sums up almost everything that have been done in metal during the last decade. On the CD you hear Pantera and Rage Against the Machine a lot, but also some hints of Rammstein, Ministry, Limp Bizkit, and even a little touch of Red Hot Chili Peppers on the last track.

St.Anger - Metallica

Meteora, coming after multi-platinum, multi-Grammy winner, Hybrid Theory, surely had the world's ears. And it didn't disappoint.
The album is musically more advanced and distinguished than Linkin Park's past attempts. However, it is not as gripping, powerful, or focused as Hybrid Theory or even Reanimation. Though a number of songs seem attempt to duplicate past successes- "Don't Stay" and "Ones Step Closer", "Somewhere I Belong" and "In The End", "Lying From You" and "With You", "Easier to Run" and Crawling, Figure 9 and By Myself, Numb and "Pushing Me Away" - they seldom capture the elements that made Hybrid Theory such an outstanding album. Nowhere is there the frenetic razor beats of Papercut, the infamous "Shut up!"s of One Step Closer, or the emotional meltdown of A Place for My Head. Meteora excels in other ways, however. The tracks are more diverse, from the techno pop of Breaking the Habit to the ingenious hip hop of Nobody's Listening to the grinding elements of Hit the Floor, the songs on the album are on a whole more different from each other than they were on Hybrid Theory. Newcomers to LP won't be disappointed, but I think long time fans will find them selves yearning for the band's former punch. In fact, its probable that Meteora will not commercially match Hybrid Theory- though a lot of the tracks are soft and catchy, not as many just scream to be heard again.

It's a short cd with absolutely no filler and Numb, the best track, is the last one. The tracks are more diverse, from the techno pop of Breaking the Habit to the ingenious hip hop of Nobody's Listening to the grinding elements of Hit the Floor, the songs on the album are on a whole more different from each other than they were on Hybrid Theory. Overall, this album is musically more advanced and distinguished than Linkin Park's past attempts.

Meteora - Linkin Park

Natalie Maines, Martie Seidel and Emily Robison have taken the Texas-bred sound of a fiddle, banjo, dobro and crystal-clear vocal harmonies into a whole new territory. They are the rare act that comes along a few times in a generation that is destined to shake things up, rewrite the rules and become the new musical trendsetters. One rule that surely was rewritten was about country music and it's 30-plus audience, considering that more than 60% of the Dixie Chicks sales have been to consumers under the age of 25.

The Dixie Chicks' "Home" is a progression as seen in a mirror. Instead of becoming more and more pop-oriented and plasticized by the powers-that-be in modern country music, they have chosen to go their own way and dig down deep to their bluegrass roots. More power to them, when the result is something as rich and complex and satisfying as "Home."

Opening with the rollicking "Long Time Gone," the Chicks deftly combine the honeyed sassiness of Natalie Maine's voice with the rip-roaring instrumental talents of sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire. They segue into Stevie Nicks' 1970s hit "Landslide," a contemplative look at the merging of personal independence and the sharing inherent in love. Maines has learned to modulate the undeniable strength of her voice beautifully; on "Landslide," she sounds not only more mature but as though she's singing the song while looking into a mirror, trying to figure out who she is. The effect is astonishingly intimate.

The banjo that opens Patty Griffin's woman-standing-up-for-herself tune on "Truth No. 2" cracks the bluegrass feeling on the album wide open, and by the time they reach the chorus ("Sweep me way down south/Sing me something brave from your mouth"), you can't stop tapping your feet. "White Trash Wedding" is a hilarious tune penned by the Chicks themselves. The quiet hurt and regret in "A Home" is almost palpable, as Maines details the error of listening to others when you should be listening to your heart instead. "I Believe in Love" has the stark, sad purity of an old Dolly Parton composition, although it was written by Maguire, Maines, and Marty Stuart. Maguire, Maines, and Stuart also do themselves proud here with "Tortured, Tangled Hearts," a propulsive story of missed connections and wrong assumptions. The yee-haw urgency of the instrumental "L'il Jack Slade" is absolutely addictive--and what a treat for Nickel Creek fans that mandolin player Chris Thile is featured prominently here!

It's a delight to see these musicians grow and stretch their wings, instead of becoming more and more formed by the cubbyholes chosen by some anonymous marketing executive. The Dixie Chicks have poured themselves and their hearts into this album, and it shows--and what a benefit to their fans that "Home" is so clearly where the heart is.

Home - Dixie Chicks

Rolling Stones are the longest running act in the history of rock music, having remained wildly popular and highly productive over their 30-year career. They didn't miss out on 2003 either.
Fans have been crying out for a proper Stones retrospective for aeons and, finally, the price is right for the respective record companies and 'Forty Licks' is the result. A double set, with the 60s Decca/ABKCO material on one album (plus 1971's 'Wild Horses') and everything post-'71 on the other, although the tracks aren't sequenced chronologically. All told 40 songs from four decades, including four new tracks.

Any album that can boast 'Street Fighting Man', 'Gimme Shelter' and 'Satisfaction' as its opening three tracks is certainly a winner. Even though Mick Jagger's familiar pouting, snarling voice hurtles out from another place and another time, part of tracks that are now an integral part of our culture, it still sends shivers down the spine. Same goes for the opening chords, from 'Street Fighting Man's insistent, ringing acoustic opening to 'Gimme Shelter's menacing, serpent-like notes and, of course, the all-too familiar calling card of 'Satisfaction'.

The first album is as bulletproof a selection as you could want. From the breakneck cover of Buddy Holly's 'Not Fade Away', through the classic string of self-penned singles ('The Last Time', 'Satisfaction', 'Get Off Of My Cloud', '19th Nervous Breakdown', 'Paint It, Black') to the meltdown of 'Have You Seen Your Mother Baby?', this is the mid-60s documented in all its incense-scented, scandal-ridden, narcissistic glory.

That's the signal for the trip to get darker, though the provocative 'Let's Spend The Night Together' and the wistful beauty of 'Ruby Tuesday' proved that the band could still churn out incredible four-minute pop songs. Unsurprisingly, the nervous breakdown of a single that was 'We Love You', which documented their paranoid incarcerated summer of love, is omitted in favour of the light and airy 'She's A Rainbow'.

The second album also races out of the blocks, with the legendary riffs of 'Start Me Up' and 'Brown Sugar' followed by the disco shuffle of 'Miss You'. It's no secret what the Stones themselves consider their best albums of the later period, with 1978's 'Some Girls' getting three tracks, 1972's magnum opus 'Exile On Main Street' and 1994's semi-return to form 'Voodoo Lounge' two apiece.

Of the new tracks, 'Don't Stop' is a solid mid-paced rocker with a memorable chorus, the kind of single the Stones still seem able to churn out at will. But 'Keys To Your Love' and 'Stealing My Heart' are merely slight versions of what's gone before, the former with Jagger's falsetto vocal circa 1980-81 and the latter a countryfied ditty of the sort Sir Mick usually saves for his solo albums. Keith's 'Losing My Touch' is much better, though, the latest in a long line of slow-burning album closers he does so well.

As ever with compilations covering such a huge body of work, there are omissions - 'Little Red Rooster', 'Time Is On My Side', 'Rocks Off', 'All Down The Line' could have easily slotted in instead of the album tracks or a couple of the new ones. But to criticise a collection containing so many incredible songs would be churlish.

Forty Licks exists as ample evidence that, away from the drugs, the women, the media manipulation, the huge stages filling one end of stadiums the world over, the Stones have got where they are because they've made music that has been, and will continue to be listened to and revered by generation after generation.

Forty Licks

Imagine a compilation covering thirty two years of hits. Here's a man who has been producing hits after hits for so many decades. There are not many artists that have enjoyed as much success as or have lasted as long as Elton John has. While not perfect, this album, Greatest Hits 1970-2002, isn't far from it.

The thick booklet contains many pictures of the artist himself and a nice biography of Elton John's music career. Included in this biography are such things as what many of the songs mean and how he and his songwriter, Bernie Taupin, met and bonded through the years musically.

As good as the booklet is, it's not half as great as the music on the two discs in this collection. From the first song of disc one to the last song of disc two, the songs are all in chronological order, all the way from the beginning of the 70's to the ones from recent times. The first disc is as classic as classic can be. From the love songs such as "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", and "Candle In The Wind", to upbeat rockers like "Crocodile Rock" and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting", to just plain timeless hits with the likes of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Philadelphia Freedom", the first disc covers six years (1970-1976) of musical greatness.

The second disc may not be quite as strong, but it's almost as great and just as essential. In it you have more great songs from the late seventies ("Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (With Kiki Dee) and "Little Jeannie"), the eighties ("Sad Songs (Say So Much)", "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues", etc.), and more recent, more underrated pop hits such as "Blessed" and "This Train Don't Stop Here Anymore." Of course, everything in-between such as "The One", "Sacrifice", and the two major Lion King hits are also here to be heard at anytime you please.

With a two-disc compilation that includes not only the great hits that almost any classic rock and adult contemporary radio listener can still hear played these days, but also the more hard to find essentials ("Levon", "Island Girl", "Believe", etc.), this is a great collection to have considering that it barely costs more than a normal single-disc album. There's also an extra compact disc that has the songs, "Candle In The Wind (Live)", "Don't Let The Sun Go Down on Me" (With George Michael), "Live Like Horses" (With Luciano Pavarotti), and "Your Song" (With Alessandro Safina) to make it even more worthy.

Yeah, of course there are a few great songs that didn't find their way onto this compilation, such as "Blue Eyes", "Healing Hands", and more. One notable miss is "Club At The End of The Street".

Nonetheless, this is by far the best Elton John compilation that has ever been made so far. It's surprisingly comprehensive and it's cheap, making it a worthwhile CD to have. Get it now, while you can!

Elton John - Greatest Hits 1970-2002

Every Christina Aguilera record has become an event worth anticipating, if only for the reason that she's one of the few young women in the business at the moment who can actually sing. While 'Stripped' technically is her fifth album (counting her debut 'Christina Aguilera', 'My Kind of Christmas', 'Mi Reflejo', and the unauthorized 'Just be Free'), its clearly the most polished, most slick and decidedly the best solo female record since Madonna's 'Music' a few years ago. However, while that record was criticized for being too short, this one excels in that department. Clocking in at 80 minutes, 'Stripped' is one of the longest single-disc-CDs ever released, and makes its mark by giving us one quality track after another.

Christina has evolved into an artist of great talent with an astounding voice and writing ability (she cowrote most of the songs). Every track on "Stripped" is worth a listen and there are absolutely no fillers on this album.

Stripped Pt. 1 is a lovely introduction to a great album. Here, Christina warns us that this is the real her.
In Can't Hold Us Down (feat. Lil' Kim) about women's empowerment, Christina confronts the double-standards that women face today. A great message. Lil' Kim's rap in this upbeat track completes the song.
Walk Away has haunting music which meshes together with Christina's stunning voice beautifully to create a sad, and chilling song. You can definitely feel Christina's heartfelt pain in this song, which characterises the album.
Fighter, with Dave Navarro on guitar, Christina's brilliant lyrics and powerhouse voice, is a rocking tune with a powerful message: Be Strong.
Infatuation (interlude) is a nice 51-second interlude with Christina talking in spanish to an acoustic guitar melody.
This is followed Infatuation, which is a latin song that sounds a little bit like Christina's 1999 debut; only much, much better.
Loving Me For Me (interlude) is a prelude to track 8 and is beautifully done.
Loving Me For Me is a very slow-tempo song with calm, soothing vocals that sound almost virginal.
Impossible is a nice jazzy track with great lyrics and great music. You can't go wrong with Christina on the mic and Alicia Keys in the producer's chair.
Underappreciated is a flawless R&B song with a grooving bassline. Christina belts out nicely in this one.
Beautiful is the second single released from "Stripped". It is inspirational in so many ways, that it makes one feel great. Whenever you're feeling low, listen to this and within the 3 minutes 58 seconds of the song, you'll be smiling. The lyrics are meaningful and just down-right beautiful.
Make Over is not a song about giving makeovers. This is an English hard-rock sounding song with a lot of energy coming forth from it.
Cruz is a beautiful ballad about leaving everything behind and just driving down the highway toward a new life. Beautifully done.
Soar is another excellent inspirational song. The song's message is simple: Be Yourself.
Get Mine, Get Yours is a song about casual sex with a sensual lyrics and cool music.
Dirrty is the first single from "Stripped". The video was an instant hit on MTV. It peaked at No. 48 in the US. But it spent three weeks at No. 1 in the UK.
Stripped Pt. 2 is a continuation from the introduction (track 1).
A Voice Within is a song with a somewhat sad tone to it.
I'm OK is a scary, truthful, chilling song about Christina's abusive childhood. She confronts her father about his abusing her mother. You can hear Chrisitna cry in this song.
Singing My Song is a great way to close an astounding album. A great message to all of her fans that says: No matter what, I will "Keep on singing my song." Christina belts out a really long beautiful note in this one and her vocals are just amazing.

All in all, Christina Aguilera's "Stripped" is a superb album that shows the ups and downs of her life.

Stripped

Another hit of 2003 is 50 Cent's GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'. 50 Cent is the biggest buzz since Eminem (who just happens to be his label CEO), and Get Rich also features Dr. Dre on production, so it’s a can’t-miss record, right? Well, mostly. Get Rich is not filled with midtempo, radio-friendly numbers like "Wanksta," his thinly veiled Ja Rule dis first heard on the 8 Mile soundtrack. Instead, Cent brings the heat, not heater. He sheds his inner thug on "21 Questions," featuring G-funk crooner Nate Dogg showing some semblance of respect to the hotties, and then reverts right back to his thug persona on "In da Club," where he boasts "I’m into having sex, I ain’t into making love." There’s no "How to Rob, Pt. 2" here, although "Many Men" comes close, as he addresses some of the haters who may not fully get why he’s now rap’s big cheese. Surprisingly, the two Eminem-produced joints--"Patiently Waiting" (which thematically is very much like Em’s "Lose Yourself"), and "Don’t Push Me"--almost rival the beats supplied by Dre. Then again, it seems his most well-known cuts ("High All the Time" and "Wanksta," for example) are actually some of the weakest of the lot. Sure, Get Rich could never have lived up to the hype, it’s nowhere near Biggie's Ready to Die or Nas's Illmatic, but there's no fast-forward material here, a near miracle in these times.

Album Description
Australian pressing (identical to U.S.) of his smash hit 2003 album features three hidden bonus tracks, 'Wanksta' (from his currently unavailable album, 'No Mercy, No Fear'), 'U Not Like Me' (from his 'Guess Who's Back?' album) & 'Life's On The Line' (from his deleted EP, 'Power Of The Dollar').

"Many Men" is a song about life. 50 Cent isn't everybody's best friend, and he knows it. It's your basic "i'll get you before you get me" scenario. "In Da Club", although is played out, talks about...well...being in the club. Its a track of 50 Boasting of what he has, what he does, and what he can do. "If I Can't" is a track of "i could do it better than you can"...nothing new, although the beat is hot! "What Up Gangsta" is like a lil anthem, short but good. "Wanksta", one of 3 bonus tracks, is the famous (but not known throughly) as the Ja Rule Diss. Its catchy for sure, but doesn't show the full potential of 50 Cent. "21 Question" is probably one of the better & decent tracks...lyric-wise. Its a change from the "i'm better than you" persona since it talks about fame & love. "Blood Hound" has a nice flow, nice rhymes, nice beat, one of the better songs...

If your looking for some tracks laced with nice beats (thanks to dr. dre), this is the album for you. Has good rhymes, not great, but good enough to flow with the beats nicely. 50 Cent can come off arrogant at times...but thats just how he is. This album is definitely not bad, but we don't say it's a classic. 50 Cent has the production down, but he still needs to work on those rhymes, since his rhymes seem shallow & once again, arrogant-sounding. On "Patiently Waiting", he says quote "When I Die, They'll Read This And Say A Genius Wrote It"...highly doubtful. We admit 50 Cent does know how to make hits...but this makes him seem more like P. Diddy rather than Tupac, Biggie, Rakim, or Nas...

Overall beats and flow are the strong points of this album. If you don't want to miss out on a big hit of 2003 give it a try.

Get Rich Or Die Tryin

We have bid a farewell to the year 2003 and now its time at musicophile to look back upon 2003 and review the best music. This being a very subjective process please bear with us in case you differ. We value your opinion and please feel free to comment on musicophile. Here goes...

Norah Jones' "Come Away with me" is right up there as it was in 2002. This is a great achievement. Read more in our article titled Music Hits of 2002 - Come Away with me.
Two other albums which were big hits in 2002, did extremely well in 2003. Avril Lavigne's "Let Go" and Eminem's "The Eminem Show". For more on these please read our article titled Music Hits of 2002 - 5 others.
We will be featuring a series of articles titled Top Music of 2003 to include the rest of the 2003 hits.

The albums that are doing well at the time of writing are:
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
Sheryl has been in the industry for the last two decades and has won Grammys in 94, 96, 98, 99, 2000 and 2002. This says loads about her talent. We recommend this as one of the best CDs of Sheryl with almost all her big hits.
Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below - Outkast
In the sound-alike world of hip-hop, Andre 3000 and Big Boi dare to be different and present some psychedelic hip-hop funk with a touch of South.
The Diary of Alicia Keys - Alicia Keys
618,000 copies of the album were sold in the first week and this is Alicia's 2nd No. 1 Billboard 200 debut. The first week sales are more than double of her debut "Songs in a Minor" which won her 5 Grammys. This album tops Billboard 200 currently.

The Very Best of Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow

Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below Outkast

The Diary of Alicia Keys Alicia Keys

Afterglow Sarah Mclachlan

Fallen Evanescence

Closer Josh Groban

The Singles 1992-2003 No Doubt

The 5 others we chose to represent the Music Hits of 2002 are:
Let Go - Avril Lavigne
Another debut, Let Go is in many ways the opposite of Come Away with me. At your face and fast. The punk, rock and pop are sure to make you Let Go. A honest portrayal of raw teenage emotions, with not-so-great lyrics, the music however is out of the ordinary, with powerful vocals to back.

Britney - Britney Spears
It's her third album, and she seems to be attempting to grow out of her teen-image. The only song which declares this "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman", is the saving grace in this otherwise so-so album where most of the time the beats and background music drown Britney's moaning and singing. Yet "I'm A Slave 4 U", which is one of the better singles, reached No. 8 on Billboard and the album was one of the most popular in 2002. That's what Britney Spears is all about.

The Eminem Show - Eminem
Marshall Mathers or M&M aka Eminem lived a life muddied by trouble in personal relations, alcohol and drug abuse, attempted suicide and weapons and assaults charges. This didn't stop him (or maybe actually inspired him) to create some of the most original rap songs of the past so many years. After the successes like the triple-platinum "The Slim Shady LP" released in February 1999, "Marshall Mathers LP" (fastest selling hip-hop album of all time), 2 Grammys in 1999 and 3 in 2000, Eminem released "The Eminem Show". He's displayed here why he is considered one of the greatest rappers of all time. As mentioned on Amazon Eminem examines his life, loves, arrests, addictions, failures, and successes with surprising insight, making this a funk-drenched hip-hop confessional well worth the hype. Check out Hailie's Song, which, if you have a sensitive side to you, makes this album worth a hear. Coming from Eminem it is a pleasant surprise.
Eminem has again received the Grammy award for the Best Rap album for "The Eminem Show".

Hybrid Theory - Linkin Park
Just the fact that this topseller album of 2001 was one of the most popular in 2002 also and still continues to be within Amazon Top 300 is reason enough to give it a try. To top that, one of the best singles in it, "Crawling", got the Grammy for the Best Hard Rock performance. Linkin Park seems to be a metal band, which has moved metal away from the instruments towards exploring the energy and human emotions.

J to tha L-O! The Remixes
"I'm Real", "If You Had My Love" and "Feelin' So Good" are the highlights of this remix. Some of the singles seemed to be just perfect for a party.

Musicophile attempts to get a perspective on what was hot in 2002. The Billboard year-end chart and other ratings and sales indicated that the following albums were some of the hottest:

Come Away with Me Norah Jones

Let Go Avril Lavigne

Britney Britney Spears

The Eminem Show Eminem

Hybrid Theory Linkin Park

J to tha L-O! The Remixes Jennifer Lopez

Come Away with Me
We didn't find a better way to introduce it than how norahjones.com describes it: "Come Away With Me blends elements of jazz, soul, country, and folk-pop in a warm, unselfconscious amalgam, and erases musical boundaries in the process."
This story again has a Beatles connection as Norah is the daughter Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar who was a mentor to George Harrison of the Beatles. The album was released in February 2002 and was not an instant hit. Then in January 2003 she was nominated for 8 Grammys and it came as a surprise to many, when she swept the 45th annual Grammy awards, receiving, among others, the awards for Best New artist and Song of the Year. This shot her into popularity with the title hitting no. 1 slot in Billboard Top 200 and Amazon Top Sellers list.
Slow, crisp and different, Come Away with me is, considering everything, must buy music.
The songs in the CD are:
1. Don't Know Why Listen Listen
2. Seven Years Listen Listen
3. Cold Cold Heart Listen Listen
4. Feelin' The Same Way Listen Listen
5. Come Away With Me Listen Listen
6. Shoot The Moon
7. Turn Me On
8. Lonestar
9. I've Got To See You Again
10. Painter Song
11. One Flight Down
12. Nightingale
13. The Long Day Is Over
14. The Nearness Of You

So who's the number one? Well it's who are the number 1 rather? Who else but The Beatles. They have entranced a generation and still continue to do so. They have sold around 165 million units of music. Wow! that by far beats any other group by popularity. The Beatles currently occupy Amazon sales rank No. 1 spot through Let it be ... Naked.
Musicophile salutes the greatest artists of alltime.

John Lennon

Paul McCartney

George Harrison

Ringo Starr

The four young guys from Liverpool, England started around 1957 (Ringo was to join fulltime only later in 1962) and took the world by storm in a saga spanning upto early 1970s. During this period The Beatles released 22 singles in UK and 33 in US. They are the only only group in recording history to have twenty songs hit number one spot. Their first UK single was Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You and US single Please Please Me/Ask Me Why. Their first song to hit Billboard No. 1 was I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There.

Would you believe it, when the The Beatles made their first American debut in 1964 more than seventy million people were glued to the television. This was on the Ed Sullivan Show on CBS Television. Interestingly this great moment in music history can still be viewed here.
They recorded 200+ songs during their career and the lyrics was mostly written by Lennon and McCartney.

As was to be expected the Fab Four made there presence felt in all aspects of Western culture during the period. They acted in 5 movies like A Hard Day's Night and Help!. Many popular books were written about the Beatles, which can be found here.

The best of The Beatles have come out in Rubber Soul, Abbey Road, Here, There and Everywhere (a great love song), Hey Jude and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The Beatles group was legally dissolved in 1970 and each of The Beatles then pursued their individual careers. Then one day while returning home from a recording ssession, John was shot dead by a fan. A sad end to one of the greatest artists. Later the 3 Beatles reunited using John's recorded voice and even released some previously unreleased songs. This was a great success too as had almost everything they had ever touched...

Love, Love me do daa-daa-di-da

daa-daa-dada-dumdum-daa
daa-daa-dada-dumdum-daa
If there's anything that you want, If there's I can do, just call on me and I'll send it along, with love from me to you...

She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah....

I wanna hold your handddddd,
I wanna hold your hand..

can't buy me love, oh... can't buy me love...
...I don't care tooo much for money,
For money can't buy me love...

I ain't got nothing but love babe..
Eight days a week..

Here I stand head in hand,
Turn my face to the wall,
If she's gone I can't go on..

I once had a girl or should I say she once had me,
She showed me her room isn't it good
Norwegian wood?

We all live in a Yellow Submarine,
Yellow submarine,
Yellow submarine..

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away,
Now it looks as though they're here to stay,
Oh I believe in Yesterday, suddenly...

Long for yesterday? When the Beatles ruled, to whom Love was such an easy game to play? [Read More!]

We want to share with you on this site our enthusiasm for music. That's the purpose of this site. That one warm personal touch to writing on music on the whole of internet. A place where music lovers feel at home.

We were wondering where to start this story. And then it struck us. Why not start with alltime greatest artists? It's not alltime as in 100s of years but atleast as in the past so many decades.

From the next article onwards, interspersed with other articles, we will present to you the greatest artists of music history one by one in articles titled "Greatest musicians of all time". (We respect your opinion and understand that you may have different choices which we might miss to cover. Please feel free to comment.)
We give each artist space to live, grow and sing. After all don't they occupy space in our hearts...

Musicophile has finally arrived! It's the one site maintained by music enthusiasts around the world where you can expect reviews, articles and discussions on the world of music. We will be bringing you the latest news and information on artists, groups, latest music CDs and DVDs. Keep visiting to check which are hottest selling albums and who are the kings and the queens of Western music.

Though our focus is on Western music, we are open to news, views and reviews on any form of music.

Looking forward to having you as a regular visitor. Let's take a ride..