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Love Tattoo

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: Imelda May

October 20, 2008
Recently went to the NEC (awful venue) to see Joe Bonamassa (recommended). Imelda was the support and she was absolutley brilliant -what a superb voice. I wasn't into her style of rockabilly/skiffle/blues at all, but her voice made the long wait for JB totally tolerable.

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Christmas Duets: Limited Edition Digi Pack

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: Elvis Presley

November 03, 2008
Yep! this release was always going to stir up the old argument about tampering with Elvis' music simply to try and score an immediate hit at the most appropriate time for buyers to part with their cash, I:E Christmas!

Well having been a lifelong Elvis fan, I suppose I would swing to the "purist" side of the debate, arguing that Elvis' music needs no crutch to appeal to anyone, it simply does or doesn't, depending on whether you like it or not, that said I can also understand the need to keep any artist in the public eye and if this is deemed the way to do that then it's the choice of the record company to release it and for the public to vote with their money(or not), so on that, my review,

What we have here is obviously ... Read More:

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Abbey Road

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: The Beatles

November 01, 1988
The Beatles. A band that are so familiar to everyone in the western world that it's easily possible to live 25-30 years without hearing one of their albums from start to finish. You just hear it everywhere. But that's just the thing; you always hear the same songs - essentially, the ones from the Red and Blue albums.

I remember being captivated at a very young age by the otherworldly songs on the Blue Album - Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds probably contributed to my later interest in psychedelic substances - and I began to appreciate the quality of songwriting on the Red Album, rather than the actual songs themselves when I started learning to play guitar at 16. And while I would readily admit that some of the Beatles' songs were truly ... Read More:

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Rodrigo Y Gabriela [CD + DVD]

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: Rodrigo Y Gabriela

November 26, 2007
I can't remember how I first heard of this, but I am so glad I did because the music they play just blows you away. It's uncategorisable. it's new. It's energetic use of the guitar as the percussion for their tracks is so unknown to most modern listeners, but so good to listen to. I never knew acoustic guitar could be so compelling! If you like any kind of guitar music, you must buy this. And something from Seasick Steve. Something fresh at last.

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Time the Conqueror

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: Jackson Browne

September 22, 2008
I've been listening to Jackson Browne since the sixties (yes, I'm really old), and first encountered him with blonde chanteuse Nico. Since then, I've seen him in concert many times, and enjoyed his music constantly, so you could say I'm an admirer. I still like to think I have critical faculties, and I was a bit concerned when I read early reviews of this album. However, now having bought it and played it a few times, I needn't have worried. No-one can capture the mood of a time like Jackson Browne. He has a conscience, a soaring voice, and even with sparse arrangements, a rare power in his song writing. I hope we don't have to wait another six years for his next studio album. This is just great.

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Use Your Illusion I

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: Guns N' Roses

December 23, 2002
... and thus, inseperable.

I have a hell of a history with these Use Your Illusion albums, indeed with Guns N' Roses in general. "Appetite for Destruction" was the first `metal' album I ever heard, and it changed my life immediately. I actually first heard it while on stage in a school play. It's a strange story, and probably more interesting if I leave it at that. I actually heard it at a time when I didn't think there was any music I liked. As soon as I heard it, I knew that it was what I had been looking for.

Moving onto the Use Your Illusion albums, well I don't think there is any record I have heard more times than these. I've owned them on vinyl, tape and CD. There was one two week holiday when I went to Scotland with my parents, and ... Read More:

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Hand Built By Robots

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: Newton Faulkner

July 30, 2007
I bought this album on the strength of Dream Catch Me, something I don't usually do without hearing more, but a decision I certainly don't regret in this case.

Vocally, he has hints of Jack Johnson and Adam Levine, and delivers each song with soul, energy and enthusiasm. There are no bad, weak or filler tracks on this album, which sounds polished but still raw.

Despite the similarities I mentioned earlier, Faulkner still sounds totally unique and has a lot of talent. I enjoy this album, which manages to relax me when I need relaxation, as well as stimulate me when I need an energy boost.

One of the best debut albums in recent years.

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Minutes To Midnight

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: Linkin Park

May 14, 2007
If you are a massive fan of their old sound, of the Nu metal, then you should definitely avoid this album. If you are a music fan with an open mind then you should definitely purchase this. The sound that they have created is incredibly different. I really don't know why they changed that much. Once I like a band's sound I really don't like it when they try and reinvent themselves to change that, and that's exactly what Linkin Park have done here. I bought Meteora as my first Linkin Park album back in 2003 and I instantly loved it. The sound of the music was so unique, and to a 13 year old, pretty surprising as well. Meteora was the band's pinnacle and it is such a fantastic album. Then, after a couple of years of no activity from the band, I was highly anticipating a ... Read More:

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Revolver

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: The Beatles

November 01, 1998
Nowadays critical consensus often ranks this as The Beatles' best album, and indeed one of the best albums ever made. While it's only my second favourite by them personally (The White Album being first), this is still one of the greatest albums I own.

Revolver is the point where The Beatles ceased to be a pop group and became something else entirely. Shortly after its release they gave up touring, having tired of performing to screaming fans when they'd much rather be holed away in a recording studio making new music. This also allowed them to be more experimental, recording sounds that could never have been recreated in stadiums and arenas at the time. Importantly they had all begun to experiment with drugs as well, witnessed by some of the songs here: She Said She Said ... Read More:

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Complete Clapton

Childrens Toy Shop > Music > Rock
by: Eric Clapton

October 08, 2007
As I've posted some complaints on Amazon about incompleteness of compilations (missing an artist's best-known track, apparently just to hack people off), I'd like to go the other way on this one.

Obviously this compilation is not "complete". That would require not two CDs but, er, an awful lot of CDs. It is a very fair cross-section of Mr C's career from Cream onwards, charting his emergence as a solo artist, the relative blandness of the early 80s, and his return to form from the late 80s onwards.

To be more comprehensive, it should include the early era as well, i.e. Yardbirds and Mayall. This doesn't bother me, but the blues fans might object. The Cream tracks are a mite superfluous; if you want Cream material, you probably want at least a whole compilation album, ... Read More: