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New Releases of the Week: 9/22/09: Pearl Jam, David Gray & More
A ton of stuff in stores today. Let’s check out some of the highlights.
Pearl Jam “Backspacer”: The most successful rock band of the Nineties haven’t lost a step since their heyday. Their self-titled last album (which was the first PJ album I’d actually listened to in half a decade) was pretty damn good. The band still plays with a sense of purpose after all these years. “Backspacer” is their first album since they’ve gone independent […]
CD Review: Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3”
Jay-Z’s been in a weird place these last few years, career-wise. After “un-retiring” in 2006, the rapper seemed to struggle to find his way. That year’s “Kingdom Come” was a credible attempt to make a “grown folks” hip-hop album, but it didn’t appeal to Jay’s younger contingent of fans and underperformed commercially. The following year’s “American Gangster” found Jay revisiting the hustling themes of his older albums and restored his position critically, although I personally […]
First Listen: Mariah Carey’s “I Want to Know What Love Is”
So, Mariah Carey’s no stranger to covers, right? She’s shown a special interest in soft rock ballads. After all, she covered Nilsson’s “Without You”. Then there was her remake of Journey’s “Open Arms”. Oh! She also covered Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)”. Even though I certainly don’t mind Mariah’s music, none of these songs held a candle to the originals, with “Without You” being particularly wretched.
As the second single […]