Lennie Gallant - Breakwater album review
Lennie
Gallant - Breakwater was a folk album that was released in 1988 from
Prince Edward Island, Canada. Breakwater remains one of Canada’s most
overlooked folk music albums. Many fans of folk music slept on this
album when it was released. Lennie Gallant writes songs that make you
feel like you lived those moments with him.
Raise the
Dead of Wintertime was written by Allan Rankin and performed by Lennie
Gallant. The Reconcilliation Two-Step is a two-step dance song performed
in a folk rhythm. Back to Rustico explores the feelings a for home that
a person feels when times are hard.
Wintertime is a
touching song that is an original by Lennie Gallant. The song that makes
you feel like you lived those moments with him. That is how the song
retains its originality with such an original feeling.
Destination (Train Song) was recorded live in 1991. It is a live song that serves as a bonus track for this album.
5/5*****!!
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Susan Aglukark - Blood Red Earth album review
Coming
straight from Nunavat, Canada comes a folk pop album called Blood Red
Earth written and composed by Susan Aglukark. Blood Red Earth is a down
to earth folk album of which fans of folk music will appreciate. This
Susan Aglukark album has a more folk rock sound to it than the
traditional folk music sound you are used to hearing from her.
Blood
Red Earth is a tight, down to earth folk rock song with a funky boogie
woogie sound. Both the bass and guitars have the boogie woogie sound
displayed in the background. Susan Aglukark sings in an angelic voice
when performing this song. The instrumentation and vocals are perfectly
balanced and in sync with each other.
Ilannit
(Sometimes) is a funky acoustic folk song with a boogie woogie sound.
Ilannit is a word from the Inuit language which means sometimes. However
this song is performed in the English language. The song itself is very
passionate and gets intimate.
Maggie is a smooth folk
song that is accompanied by a smooth rhythmic organ in the background.
The song Maggie clams down the mood for the whole album away from the
folk rock sound. Susan Aglukark sings in an angelic voice when
performing this song.
The song All Alone is very a
passionate and intimate folk song that is very calming. The percussion
section helps give off the song a very soothing subtle vibe.
5/5*****!!
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Jazmine Sullivan - Reality Show album review
The Reality Show album was released in 2015 by RCA/Sony after Jazmine Sullivan had taken a hiatus for 3 years after the Love Me Back album was released. Jazmine Sullivan decided to strike back in the music industry with a follow-up album to Love Me Back. (The average span between albums these days is 3 years. Do we really call it a hiatus?)
Reality Show is just as diverse as her debut album as the sound and production stuck well into its R&B roots. Reailty Show is an appropriate album for today’s musical climate since life today is filled with so much drama. Jazmine Sullivan never fails to amaze her audiences with her songwriting skills of hers. She stays up to date by singing about new topics and with a fresh production sound. Reality Show is a diverse album that stuck well into its R&B roots.
Brand New starts off with a smooth piano jazz sound that is next accompanied by beats from the modern trap music sound. Piano jazz meets trap music and drill beats on the song Brand New. Her storytelling skills use vivid imagery on this song of hers.
RCA/Sony dropped the ball on this song by not promoting it as a single. The song itself had potential to become a single due to its modern sound. The wonderful part about the song Brand New is that the sound and production stuck well into its R&B roots.
It is proven that love don’t last forever on the song Forever Don't Last. The song Forever Don't Last showcases Jazmine Sullivan reflecting on her emotions on the demise of her relationship. However most of this song showcases the demise of her relationship and is also showcases Jazmine Sullivan reflecting on her emotions.
Chuck Harmony produced this song and was responsible for the arrangements. Chuck Harmony had done a wonderful job on the musical arrangements for the song Forever Don't Last. This one of her best songs for this album.
Mascara is a satirical song about the gold digger lifestyle. Jazmine takes jabs and pokes fun at people who are gold diggers and leeches who mooch off other people at their own expense. Gold diggers are people who mooch off other people at their expense with nothing in return. Mascara is a perfect song that fits this album appropriately.
At first Jazmine Jazmine takes jabs and pokes fun at people who are gold diggers. At the end, she laughs about the whole thing while at the same time she shows her natural self. This is the turning point of the song and moment where she takes it all off.
What’s so funny and ironic is that people don't understand she is being satirical. She's not promoting the gold digger lifestyle as many of you people out there think she is. That is where many of her fans are mislead. IF fans paid attention closely to the lyrics, then they would understand the humor and concept of this song written by her. Some people are hating on the subject matter as she spoke about materialism with class and style.
Dumb was the lead single that featured Meek Mill. Dumb isn’t exactly one of her best songs nor is it one of her worst songs. The song is average at best.
Silver Lining is a song Jazmine Sullivan had written and produced herself. The song is an original organic R&B song. Silver Lining is a song that should have been another single used to promote the Reality Show album.
4/5****!
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Reese & Bigalow - R&B: Playa Music album review
Reese & Bigalow are known for writing just soulful music from the depth of the Mississippi region. Doing good music that hits of your soul and you feel it. This album entails a lot of great qualities such as talent, drive, determination, and focus. This is one of Reese & Bigalow’s more musical albums from the previous 2 albums they’ve released.
The album title simply explains for itself. R&B music stands for rhythm and blues, but in this case R&B stands for Reese & Bigalow. The album was clearly inspired by the sound of R&B music stemming from rhythm and blues. This is a good laid back album from 2002. This album won the duo all kinds of critical acclaim among fans around the Mississippi region. Notable guest appearances feature Killer Mike, PSK-13, Craig Love, Billy Cook, and David Banner.
Cat Like Eyes is an upbeat R&B song written by Reese & Bigalow. The song itself is too upbeat to be considered as an R&B slow jam. Cat Like Eyes is partially similar to Soak N' Wet (X-Rated) in terms of sound and music.
Soulful H-Town singer Billy Cook makes a guest appearance on Cat Like Eyes. Billy Cook helps give the song that H-Town sound from Houston, Texas. Billy Cook helps give the song that H-Town bounce to the sound as well. It’s a bit of Southern soul.
Neva Scared is the original version of Neva Scared by Bonecrusher which he would later redo by rerecording it for his 2003 album. Reese & Bigalow recorded a song called “Neva Scared” that featured Bone Crusher and Killer Mike, who also appeared on Bonecrusher’s 2003 album. The Reese & Bigalow verses were removed and replaced by T.I. when being released commercially on Bonecrusher’s 2003 album under So So Def in 2003.
Bonecrusher stole the song by rerecording it for his 2003 album and not giving the duo proper credit. Bone Crusher got sued by Reese & Bigalow in 2003 and lost a lot of money in the copyright infringement lawsuit. That is why the limelight for Bonecrusher was cut short. Bone Crusher may have stolen this song, but it didn't launch his career into greater heights of stardom status. At the end of the day his stealing didn't get him anywhere except being just another 1 hit wonder. Some fans think this version of Neva Scared is a tasteless rip-off. However that is not the case.
Da Set Up represents everything Reese & Bigalow went through on the last album Pure Uncut Fire in 2000. The song Da Set Up is about how the whole criminal justice system in Mississippi is crooked. Reese & Bigalow had been set up by police and the DEA in the past. They discuss how fucked up the police are in Mississippi.
Da Set Up is a blend of R&B and rap music. They were on the vibe of the last album when recording Da Set Up. It’s clear the music got into them. The mood for this song itself is very bitter. Reese & Bigalow were in a bitter mood when recording this song.
Soak N' Wet (X-Rated) is a freaky deeky sex song hence the title. The song itself is an R&B slow jam appropriate for this album. This version of Soak N' Wet is a more explicit X-Rated version of the song than the original version of the song.
Soak N' Wet is a freaky deeky sex song hence the title. The song itself is an R&B slow jam appropriate for this album. Soak N' Wet is Mississippi R&B at its best.
The song Fresh has that screwed and chopped sound you would expect to be hearing from H-Town. Fresh features rap verses from PSK-13. PSK-13 had lent a hand in helping produce this song for Reese & Bigalow. Screwed and chopped meets R&B.
5/5*****!
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Buttabean - Psycho Therapy album review
Buttabean’s Psycho Therapy album is a much more dark grimey album than all of his other albums. He showcases his dark persona image on Psycho Therapy. His lyrics are dark and have a cold chilling effect. The album has themes you would see in a horror film. That alone gives this album of his a cold chilling effect. In fact, songs such as Game Still Cold, Situations, Choices, and I Can’t Understand all help give this album a cold chilling effect, mood, and vibe. A theme of death can be heard on songs such as Somebody’s Gonna Die, Tonight, and Situations. Buttabean’s Psycho Therapy album is Waco rap at its finest.
Psycho Therapy is a dark album that delves into real life thoughts of what’s inside the mind of a psycho. The beats are hard. The mood is both dark and cold. Dark can describe the mood and theme for Psycho Therapy. The whole album is cold itself in a way.
I Can’t Understand samples Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata by using and sampling its triplets from the musical notes. Yes the Classical period piano sonata. The sound has been sustained electronically by using a modern electronic piano instead of a forte piano. Damper pedal was used at the opening, but changing the pedal as the harmony changes. No half pedaling was used.
Heavy use of fortissimo was performed in sonata form of A-B-A vamp form. The keys A-B-A were used and performed in vamp form. This version of Beethoven’s piano sonata was performed in C# minor. Most of this Beethoven sample uses the triplets in C# minor key and D{b} major key.
The first movement performed in C# minor is written in A-B-A form using an octave which is both quiet and loud at the same time. The second movement was written in D{b} major key.
Triplets served as a prelude to the lyrics by using basic tempomar keys. Now triplets are a standard in music composition. Triplets are divided into 3 musical notes instead of the standard 2 notes or 4 notes. The triplets challenge the rhythm and counts we are used to as triplets are complex. Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata is the most famous music composition that uses triplets. Triplets from musical notes are what make this song memorable and stand out.
Psycho Therapy is a dark song that delves into real life thoughts of what’s inside the mind of a psycho. The beats are hard. The song is more dark than cold in terms of mood. Dark can describe the mood and theme for Psycho Therapy. The whole track is cold itself in a way. Psycho Therapy is a dark suspenseful track filled with drama.
I Did It By Myself represents the self-sufficiency and motivational drive of Buttabean. Buttabean has motivation in both his rap and his own life. He has been self-sufficient a large portion of his life. He strays away from the haters on this track.
Situations is a dark suspenseful track filled with drama. In both retrospect and comparison, the song Situations is similar to Choices. The mood is dark and grim. Label mate B-Mack is featured on this track.
Choices is a song about making choices in life. The song itself also reflects on the choices Buttabean has made in life. The mood for Choices is dark and grim. In both retrospect and comparison, the song Choices is similar to Situations.
Shatterday is a rap-rock crossover song that features Waco rapper Flipsyde. The song is fierce lyrical rap son with a live gritty rock sound to it, Think of the sound as gritty country rock.
Bet A Grip is a smooth but gritty rap song which is a Buttabean solo. Buttabean himself strives to flourish and shine on this solo song of his.
5/5*****!!
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Big Samad Sefiane - Pop Dat Hood album review
Pop Dat Hood was released on Amazon.com as a download only album in 2007. He experiments with the dirty southern rap sound on this album more-so than his previous efforts. His music is a mixture of white boy rap and comedy. These are catchy tune with entertaining lyrics. His raps have a comedic sound with an upbeat rhythm to it. However this album has more repetitive lyrics than all of his other albums from the previous years undoubtedly.
If you are looking for longevity and a full album, then you will be solely disappointed because there are only 7 tracks on this album. The lyrics are too repetitive. The production is top notch! Heavy bass compensates for the lackluster lyrics. He needs to work on his final master remixes and change the beats a little more. His raps don’t always match up with the beats or fit in correctly. If you enjoy the production side of things, then you will enjoy this album. ⅓rd of the album is instrumental music. The album is very rushed as there are not many songs that would make this album a full album.
Big Samad Sefiane experiments with the sound of dirty southern rap specifically on the track Pop Dat Hood. Big Samad Sefiane seemed to have been influenced by the explosion of Houston rap of the 2000s which launched its music scene onto a national catalyst. It’s lyrics are repetitive while the production is picture perfect.
The lyrics, language, rhymes, word schemes, and rhetorical schemes are simple. The lyrics, rhymes, and words are quite similar to the level of elementary school English. Let alone middle school English. Big Samad Sefiane has done a better job of rapping than this in his previous singles and albums.
Take a look at how repetitive the lyrics are.:
North side, south side
west side, east side
Pop dat hood
pop dat hood
pop dat hood
What you ridin in?
What you ridin in?
Never Dance Again is an original emotional dance song written by Big Samad Sefiane himself. Time and energy was put into the track Never Dance Again. It has a classic pop soul sound which is what is different about this track. He gets in touch with his emotions. Raw emotions are visible in the lyrics.
However the song Never Dance Again samples George Michael - Careless Whisper. The song relies heavily on the George Michael - Careless Whisper sample. Never Dance Again is the most downloaded song from the Pop Dat Hood album.
His raw emotions show in the lyrics. For example:
Verse 3
Have you ever felt pain
when you lost love?
Did you ever take a moment
to look up at the sky?
Did you ever take the time
to listen to the rain?
Do you cherish every moment
that passes by without me?
Can you feel what I feel my love?
CHORUS
Never Dance Again
Never Dance Again
Verse 4
Have you ever stood in front
of a waterfall
and stared at
your grief and pain
slide down the rocks?
Have you ever stared
at the bright stars
to ease your pain?
Have you ever forgiven
my broken heart?
Have you ever thought what
it's like to be without me?
Can you feel what I feel my love?
Last Verse:
Can you feel how much I miss you?
Sweet Cheeks experiments with the sounds of screw music and dirty south rap. More so the “chopped and screwed” sound than anything else besides dirty south rap. Samad still manages to keep a clean rap despite the track title. A G-Funk sine can be heard throughout the song. Various vocal samples are used.
Smokin Bass is heavy bass ridden track that is an instrumental. Drum King is an upbeat dance track with large selection of percussion.
3/5***
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