Album Reviews - Muzikal Mafia

Muzikal Mafia

follow this blog

8 followers

277 daily readers

rank of 863

E-mail Subscription

Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:

Sites We Love

The Boombox Theory

Muzikal Mafia

Promote Your Page Too

Album Reviews - Muzikal Mafia

Adam Green - Minor Love Album Review

July 6th 2010 16:37

Release date: January 11, 2010 (UK) / February 16, 2010 (US)

Genre: Indie rock, lo-fi

Label: Rough Trade Records

Number of tracks: 14

Sounds like: The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Ryan Adams

Released at the beginning of the year, Adam Green's Minor Love is a little gem that slipped under the radar in both Europe and America. Green's sixth solo release, Minor Love is a smooth record, predominantly acoustic guitar-driven, that could easily have been released in the 60's or 70's save for a couple of tracks. Those more “modern” songs don't really fit in with the rest of the album due to their cheap, low-quality sound - “Oh Shucks” in particular sounds like it was recorded in a bedroom with cheap amateur material. Green's voice is simply exquisite through the majority of the tracks and with fourteen songs listed, you would think that it's quite a lot of music but the tracks are relatively short, clocking in at around three minutes or less.

Breaking Locks Music Video

Musically, there's an apparent Beatles influence on a couple of tracks - “Bathing Birds” and “You Blacken My Stay” are the two most Beatles-esque songs especially on the transitions between verse, chorus and bridge and the guitar choice. “Boss Inside” sounds quite similar to alt-country singer Ryan Adams' work but older generations might sense a Bob Dylan/Johnny Cash/Leonard Cohen influence.

Boss Inside Music Video

All in all, Minor Love is an excellent album, perfect for all ages. Both indie rock and classic rock fans will surely appreciate it and if I had a “can't-miss” album list for the year, Minor Love would be close to the top. I give it 4.5/5.

Give Them A Token Music Video

Tracklist:

1. Breaking Locks
2. Give Them A Token
3. Buddy Bradley
4. Goblin
5. Bathing Birds
6. What Makes Him Act So Bad
7. Stadium Soul
8. Cigarette Burns Forever
9. Boss Inside
10. Castles And Tassles
11. Oh Shucks
12. Don't Call Me Uncle
13. Lockout
14. You Blacken My Stay

Buddy Bradley Music Video

Definitely download: “Bathing Birds,” “Boss Inside,” “Don't Call Me Uncle,” “You Blacken My Stay”

Cigarette Burns Forever Music Video

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Ann 2 - Category: Album Reviews, Rock

Email this Post to a Friend

Ludacris - Battle Of The Sexes Review

March 29th 2010 00:34

Release date: March 9, 2010

Genre: Hip Hop

Length: 61:52

Label: Disturbing tha Peace, Island Def Jam

Ludacris is an underrated artist both in the South and in the world. He's been dropping music since 2000 and we can still remember his first single, “What's Your Fantasy.” He has brought unforgettable tracks like “Rollout (My Business),” “Move Bitch,” “Saturday (Ooooh Ooooh !),” “Act A Fool,” “Stand Up,” “Get Back” and much more, growing lyrically and musically on every album. His previous album, Theater of the Mind, had some dope songs but also some disappointing tracks. This year, Luda came back with a new concept: Guys vs. Girls, naming his album Battle Of The Sexes. But does the concept work or flop? Let's find out.

The album starts with a one minute and a half Intro. We just hear Luda spitting, getting us prepared for this album, starting with a hella fast flow with the non-stop hi-hat in the back. Big 808's.The beat is pretty basic/South-style but Luda's flow killed it.

The first single, How Low follows. The beat starts with a really high-pitched voice saying "How low can you go?" then the verse comes in. It's the usual South-style beat with Luda spitting his usual dope bars, but this time it's all about the ladies and their body.

How Low Music Video

The second single, My Chick Bad features Nicki Minaj. The bass on this song is off the hook. The chorus is a big Southern voice saying “My chick bad, blablabla.” The beat is dope but it gets boring and Luda's rimes are very basic, just saying what his chick has or does better then other chicks. If you know Nicki Minaj, you already know how she spits. I think she sounds like she's mad against someone. I don't see why people like her music. Eve would murder her.

My Chick Bad Music Video

Everybody Drunk (featuring Lil Scrappy) is your typical Southern gangster beat with the big bassy voice on the chorus saying basic lines. The beat is very average. I wanted to skip the track even before Luda started to spit. When compared to the two previous tracks, Ludacris seems to slow down his flow.

I Do It All Night is not a good track. It's very basic.

Sex Room (featuring Trey Songz) is the slow, smooth track. The sort of track you make your girl listen to to calm her down. This is like "Pimping all over the world" but even smoother. Trey Songz is on the chorus of course. This is just so slow. It should've been an R&B song for a R&B artist.

I Know You Got A Man features Flo Rida. This song started well until a voice came on. I don't know who it was but the Auto-Tune doesn't work for this song. Luda comes well on this beat. It fits him well but I still wouldn't put it on my MP3 player.

Hey Hoe features Lil' Kim & Lil Fate. This sounds like a mad gangster beat but the track is a.... I don't know... pimp song with a chorus like “hey hoe, they be saying hey hoe.” The song is good but not good enough for the MP3 player. It feels like a one-hit wonder song.

Party No Mo features Gucci Mane. The beat is just a bass with a high-pitched synth. I was disappointed in Ludacris.

B.O.T.S. Radio (featuring I-20) has a is mad dope beat. This is the real gangster shit that Luda knows, where he shows his meanest face with the angy voice. The song lifted my spirits up for the album.

Can't Live With You features Monica and is a song for the ladies. The beat is very basic for all and Luda spits with no crazy flow nor words.

Feelin' So Sexy.sucks. It doesn't even sound like a real track that can be on an album

Tell Me A Secret features Ne-Yo and is another song for the ladies, but Can't Live Without You was better. The beat for this one wasn't really good, with snare and claps hitting everywhere. It sounded like it was disorganized.

My Chick Bad (Remix) follows... It features Diamond, Trina and Eve.It's the same thing as My Chick Bad original

Sexting has the sexy dance, fast beat; but apart from that, there is nothing special on this song. Pretty baby-ish.

So Ludacris really disappointed me on this one, but with a name like this you can't really make a full album on “girls vs guys.” It gets boring. The beats are very low and basic, FL studio production stuff. I give this album a 6.5/10. It didn't really impress me. I always say to people that Ludacris is underrated but this album didn't really back me up. But Ludaverse is coming out next year - with a title like that, I guess it will be more serious. On this one, Luda just needed to relax and joke a little bit. I wouldn't recommend to buy the album.There are 3 good songs max on this record.

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Alain - Category: Album Reviews, Rap / Hip Hop

Email this Post to a Friend

Lil Wayne - The Rebirth Album Review

March 7th 2010 03:26

Release date: February 2, 2010

Genre: Rap rock, pop rock, electro-hop

Length: 46:43

Label: Cash Money, Young Money

Hello all, today I'll be reviewing Lil Wayne's latest album The Rebirth. Better late then never, right? Lil Wayne's previous record Tha Carter III was one of the most successful selling album in a long time but it wasn't musically great. Now that Lil Wayne is trying something new (rock), does it fit him better than rap or not - let's find out!

The album starts with American Star featuring Shanell and produced by DJ Nasty & LVM – a producing duo who made lots of tracks for rappers from the south. The song starts with a heavy guitar riff then it slows down when Lil Wayne comes in. It sounds like he is high. This is a slow song to smoke weed to; nothing too crazy, just a guitar behind a voice full of autotune.

Prom Queen featuring Shanell is the first single. It sounds like a song that should've been made by the pop-punk group Fall Out Boy; I bet it would've sounded way better had FOB sung it. The track sounds ordinary until we get to the first chorus. Then, it gets boring. The flow is so slow it's like he's telling a story and there's no feeling to the voice - it's just flat! The chorus is bad. Without Lil Wayne's voice, Prom Queen could be a good punk song. This is a low single.
Prom Queen Music Video

Ground Zero starts off like an old rock song from the 80's and stays like this. This is just... I think Lil Wayne was inspired by M.O.P's “Ground Zero” but he doesn't even reach their toes with a ladder. Go Listen to M.O.P's “Ground Zero” - that's music plus there's no autotune! There's also a feeling to their voice that makes it raw. I could bang M.O.P's song all day but Lil Wayne... pfff... At least, he raps a little faster in this song. Okay, he does something with the track but everybody can do something with a beat. We're not searching for “something,” we're looking for INCREDIBLE SONGS!

Da Da Da is next and was produced by Cool N Dre. OMFG WHAT THE F*** IS THIS S***!! IT SOUNDS LIKE BRITNEY SPEARS!!! NO SERIOUSLY, BRITNEY SPEARS!!!! This is not rock or hip hop, it's R&B... This is sad for Cool & Dre. Unless they had sold it to Britney Spears, making a beat like this for a rapper is going LOWWWW!!!

Paradice sounds a little bit like Guns 'n' Roses' “Paradise City” at the start until you hear “Mulla Baby.” Lil Wayne starts rapping again like there was a hairball in his mouth, then the drums comes in. OMG, I don't know if it's because of Kevin Rudolf (producer) or because of Cool & Dre (Co-Producer), but the drums on this track totally don't fit. The producers go real crazy on the chorus, trying to make a chorus that can give you hope, you know those kind of songs that lift your spirit up. That's what they tried to do, but failed...

Next is Get A Lifeege. WTF, I'm not even gonna comment. This song sounds like Britney Spears...when she was a VIRGIN!!!! How old should you be to write a chorus like this:

"I say f*** you (f*** you)
Get a life (get a life)
Man I got too much shit on my head to have to deal with all of you"
I'd say one day and a half... This is Hannah Montana Black Guy version!

I really like the sample at the start of On Fire. So much so that I left the On Fire YouTube page to go listen to the real sample.That is what I call music!You're going to find classics like that only on Grand Theft Auto ! Damn everything was better before "smh". Back to On Fire, the song gets mixed because Cool & Dre cut the sample. Their beat is not bad though. The kick and snare are well done. This is a hip hop beat, they just added guitar to make it pass for rock... Now... uh... yeah... Lil Wayne... yeah... uh... no comment.
On Fire Music Video

Drop The World features Eminem - the collaboration we've all been waiting for right? So the beat starts with Lil Wayne spitting his natural stuff. The snare in the beat is mad crazy, I got to find it to use it for my beats. Now, the chorus... sucks, yeah, it's so boring to listen to but it stays in your head even if you don't want to. My friend told me Eminem killed this track. Well, yeah he did come dope on this one but I don't think this is his kind of beat; but he still came hard.
Drop The World Music Video

Runnin features Shanell again. The beat has the kind of slow guitar that could be used by Lifehouse or a similar soft rock band. The drum is good except one tom that just doesn't fit. Lil Wayne raps very slowly on this one as he tries to keep it calm but the chorus comes hard with Shanell singing her lungs out. She sings well but I can't understand what she's saying. On verse 2, she runs the show better than Lil Wayne but the rapper is not bad on this one. I actually can feel it because he didn't use the autotune on this one. It sounds more serious and professional.

One Way Trip (featuring Kevin Rudolf) starts hard with some crazy dark guitar and crazy bass. M.O.P would murder this beat but it gets f*** up for the verse. The beat goes way down and calm; as a matter of fact, you can only hear the drum with one guitar note. The chorus hurt my hear due to the singer' high-pitched voice.

Knockout (featuring Nikkie Minaj) really sounds like Fall Out Boy's punk, using the same type of drum. This is just simple punk music. If you want punk music, go buy an album made by a punk band, don't waste your money on this. Nikkie Minaj sings like a kid by the way.

The Price Is Wrong is the kind of song you can find in Tony Hawk games. The guitar is cool and all for an ambiance song, not to listen while focusing on the music. I don't know if it's because I don't care or because it really is like that. I don't understand 80% of what Lil Wayne is saying but this song could be good for a rocker with a big screaming voice...

I don't know if I should judge this album as a rap record or a rock one. If it's considered a rock album, well take Lil Wayne's voice out of it and you get instrumentals that could reach a 8.5/10. But if this is considered a rap album, well, let me see... 5 3 = 8, divided by 2, minus 1 0.5... uh yeah, 1.5/10. I'm not joking but this album is a f***ing joke. Everyone, don't waste money for this shit. Go buy classics by AC/DC, Guns 'N' Roses or better; want to listen to a rap/rock album? Get Linkin Park's first and second albums, and M.O.P's album Mash Out Posse. That's the stuff you want to hear, not this candy pop rock and roll for girls who are still trying to understand why 2 apples 2 apples = 4 apples.

Peace, Love, Skeet

Vote

Add Comments

[ Link ]

Posted By: Alain - Category: Album Reviews, Rap / Hip Hop

Email this Post to a Friend