rubber soul

I'm actually going through some Robyn Hitchcock in my top-twenty five project (I've actually have made it to 1990; thirty years ahead of what I've posted so far). It turns out I like him a bit better than I originally though. I can see where he could be getting stale though. As for Davies, the Kinks kind of lost me somewhere in the seventies and were just plain sporadic in the eighties. Davies, to me, musically speaking, is just a shell of what he once was. It's always a bit sad to see- kind of like seeing what's left of the Who at the Super Bowl a few years back.

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Trollheart

Well I never particularly liked The Kinks, so I was starting from a kind of a negative position anyway, but my god it was boring. At least there were a few half-decent songs on the Hitchcock album. Not a good day so far, to be sure.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

I've heard the Soft Boys. They're decent but I like Hitchcock's work with the Egyptians better.

My favorite album from him though is a solo effort; I Often Dream of Trains. It's basically an acoustic album, and you can hear just how melodic Hitchcock is when the music is stripped down.

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Trollheart

Album title: Be Myself
Artist: Sheryl Crow
Genre: Rock
Nationality: American
Release date: April 21
Position in Discography: Tenth
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? Just the few singles
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Yeah
Average RYM Score: 2.85
Never been a fan of Sheryl, but I've always tended to lump her in with Shania (may be someone's fantasy, I don't know) in terms of both being a little similar in how they approach their music, but I could be well off here. Add in Melissa Etheridge too, while you're at it. “Long Way Back” is a decent song but I'm hardly being blown away here at the moment. Another standout is “Love Will Save the Day” and there's a nice bouncy country tinge to “Rest of Me” and great power and passion in “Heartbeat Away”. Kind of getting better as it nears the end. Yeah I guess it's not as bad as I had thought. What a ringing endorsement, eh?

Check out more from this artist? Dunno
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yeah

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: Tears on the Dancefloor
Artist: Steps
Genre: Pop
Nationality: English
Release date: April 21
Position in Discography: Fifth
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? I have heard and hate them
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 2.98
Jesus Christ! It's like listening to ABBA, but without the talent. Tears on the review page, more like! How can a band like Steps only have five albums in a career spanning twenty years? Oh yeah: cos they're ****. Mystery solved. Man this is low grade pop of the worst calibre. Oh right: “Story of a Heart” is an ABBA song. Yeah but they sing it just like the Swedish supergroup only not anywhere as well. Seems like they only have one drum pattern, and they use it on just about every song. Is it odd that there are only ten tracks on this (ten too many) and four are cover versions? Do I even care ? Do you? Does anyone give a curse about this band other than that Rachel Stevens is in it? What? She's not in Steps? That's S Club 7? Well, shut my mouth! Even less reason to listen to it, then.

Okay, I'll admit “Firefly” is what I suppose you young'uns call “a banger”? Something that bangs? Back in my day, that meant an old beatup car or a sausage. I guess it's not the worst album in the world – I've heard a lot of worse K-pop – but it's not about to make me a fan or anything.

Check out more from this artist? No
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: Jump on Board
Artist: Texas
Genre: Indie Pop/Alt-Rock/Pop Rock
Nationality: Scottish
Release date: April 21
Position in Discography: Seventh
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? I've heard two albums
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Not as such
Average RYM Score: 3.22
Well, the last Texas album I heard was 1999's Hush and honestly, I feel like I've just picked up where I stopped. They've had four more albums since then, not including this, and they may as well never have been away. Right from the off that sultry, seductive voice is back in control, and it's just great song after great song. Hard to pick out a standout as they're all really really good so far. Maybe “Can't Control”, but it's a hard call. Actually “Tell That Girl” (chosen as a single, and with good reason) is a contender too, then the smoky blues of “Sending a Message” might just about floor you, steam rising from the microphone.

And the quality just keeps strong with “Great Romances”, followed by “Won't Let You Down”, and then “Midnight” and ... hell, total excellence right up to the last beat. Not a bad thing to say about this album. Can't recommend it highly enough, which of course means you'll all ignore it. But that's your loss.

Check out more from this artist? Oh yes
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2: Awesome Mix Vol 2
Artist: Various
Genre: Rock
Nationality: Various
Release date: April 21
Position in Discography: n/a
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? n/a
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? Yes
Average RYM Score: N/A
Hell, I don't even have to listen to this to know how good it's going to be! ELO, Fleetwood Mac, Sweet, George Harrison, Cheap Trick, Cat Stevens ... if you wanted a snapshot of some of the best music of the seventies, you could do a whole lot worse. In terms of well-known songs this has to be one of the best stacked soundtracks I've ever seen. I heard reports that the movie wasn't so great (haven't seen it, big surprise) but the soundtrack deserves, though I hate the word, the epithet it has here: awesome.

Check out more from this artist? n/a
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? n/a

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart

Album title: You Are We
Artist: While She Sleeps
Genre: Metalcore
Nationality: English
Release date: April 21
Position in Discography: Third
Estimated Rating:

Familiar with this artist? No
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.25
I don't know: the more metalcore I hear the less I seem to like it. This one kicks off decently enough, and it's interesting that it's an English band; don't think I've experienced a metalcore band from good old Blighty yet. I can kind of hear progressive metal touches here, especially in the opener (which is also the title track) and is that a children's choir in “Steal the Sun”? I think it is. This isn't bad stuff. “Hurricane” in particular impresses me, and Bring Me The Horizon's Oliver Sykes does a good job on “Silence Speaks”. Not bad, to be fair: not bad at all.

Check out more from this artist? I just might
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Haven't quite given up on it yet

Actual Rating:

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

rubber soul

Wow, Marvel must have paid out a big penny to be able to use these songs. I'm pretty sure George Harrison didn't come cheap (for those curious, he was able to buy back the rights to My Sweet Lord).

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Trollheart

At this point, Marvel probably has more money than God anyway.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018