Sarah Brightman - The Songs that Got Away is an album of cast recordings written by other songwriters, producers, and directors. The album includes show tunes, cast recordings, and musical theater works by Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Andrew Lloyd Webber among others. Quite similar to cabaret and musical hall. Sarah Brightman brings out the best in adult contemporary with her singing. The Songs that Got Away is one of the many overlooked stage & screen albums of the soundtrack genre.
Two words best used to describe Meadowlark are delicate and angelic because of her harmonic vocals and style of singing. She made a good decision on using this song as the opener for this album.
Mr. Monotony is a smooth jazz number backed by a horns selection. She laces the song with such grace and prowess in her vocals. The sounds very much similar to an early jazz song from the 1940s. Smooth and graceful like a ballet. Ironically enough Mr. Monotony has a monotonous vibe and tone. Notice the tone in the upright bass and trombone. Sarah Brightman covers Judy Garland - Mr. Monotony.
Mister Monotony plays his slide trombone in a certain monotone. Notice the tone in the trombone as he is playing. Any pleasant interlude what would mean a change of mood didn't go with Mister Monotony Sometimes he would change the key but the song would still have same the dull melody.
The only person who would enjoy his music was a lady named Missus Monotony. She would come around and say, "Have you got any monotony today?" Both of them soon realized they were the perfect match for each other. They were the perfect pair. There was never a dull moment when they were together.
They got married and raised a family. They had six or seven children. Or in this case six or seven little monotonies. They were happy as can be. She was known as Missus Monotony around the neighborhood.
One day she heard a snappy clarineter from another village play music. She heard him play and she liked him better than Mister Monotony. This was the end of their relationship. She interloped and got married to the snappy clarineter from another village.
Silent Heart is one of the more intimate songs that has an orchestral sound mixed with opera singing. Sarah sings the high notes beautifully with such grace and anointment on this classical crossover. Silent Heart was not written by Irving Berlin as people would have you believe. The song Silent Heart was written by Vivian Ellis.
Three-Cornered Tune is one of the more theatrical songs that has live Broadway appeal and is another classical crossover. Her singing is on point as always. The song is something you would expect to hear at an opera.
The first part of the song describe the exact sound and style for the premise. The sounds from Broadway can be tender and tuneful at times. Tuneful is one word to describe everything within this song. Study these lyrics underneath to get an understanding.
It has a tender sound
This little tune I found
I don't know why
It's following me around
I heard it all begin
Above a Broadway din
And it was so appealing
I joined right in
I heard it
And now I walk along
Among the Broadway throng
Inviting everybody
To sing my song
The horns selection and woodwind selection on Away From You is just simply beautiful. The melody of the woodwind selection follows the classical orchestra sound. Her singing is amazing and breathtaking as always.
Lud’s Wedding is a beautiful love song about how a man loves his wife. The song has an upbeat chipper mood and is backed by an opera chorus. Pardon me if I catch my breath.
Lud loves his wife very much. He loves her more than he used to love her before. When he knew his wife was the wife for him, they went out by the willow tree. He begged and pleaded her to marry him. And that is exactly what she did. She loves her husband. She loves him more than the way she used to love him before.
5/5*****!!
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Twice The Power - Now or Never album review
Now or Never is the brand new spankin’ album from legendary San Antonio rap group Twice The Power from 2019. Latin rap meets freestyle rap on this album with a mix of party music and salsa. The album has that doodooism and heavy bass. The album includes hits like Haterville, Get Down, 9 Kegs, Get Down, and Step If U Wanna Step.
Most of these tracks were recorded in 2001 although a few tracks were recored in 2000 and sometime earlier. These tracks were recorded at Wicked Bass Studios in San Antonio, Texas. DJ Devastator did the mixing as always. Kid Ray had more of a presence on this album because one of the members was serving time in jail. Kid Ray had more time on the mic than he did on their 2001 album or their 1995 album.
Step If U Wanna Step was recorded in 2001 by DJ Devastator. Members Mr. IROK, Wicked G, Kid Ray, and DJ Devastator are included on the track. This track has a crunk sound mixed with heavy bass over usage of funky keyboard synths. Mr. IROK and Kid Ray take charge for most this track.
Twice The Power warns those to step up to them if they want to go into a lyrical battle. Twice The Power claims to be OGs in San Antonio rap. They are the few of the original pioneers of San Antonio rap left in the game. Don’t mess with the loco vatos.
People have been saying Twice The Power quit just because they have been out of the scene for a while. They never quit. They were in the studio putting down tracks. Twice The Power spreads the words of fire. They push tracks like a straight hustle from the streets.
9 Kegs is a perfect song to get drunk and wasted to. Mr. IROK, Kid Ray, and Wicked G perform. DJ Devastator is on the turntables. The song was a hit on radio stations in San Antonio thus gaining much airplay. This track was recorded, arranged, and mixed by DJ Devastator song with Mr. IROK in 2001. The track is an original recording.
The track takes place at a house party at 10 PM on a Friday night. There are 9 kegs of beer. Ladies are everywhere showing their booties with g-strings on. It’s easy to lose control at a house party. There’s no party like a SA-Town party!
If U Only Knew was recorded by DJ Devastator and Mr. IROK in 2000. What is different about this track the absence of heavy bass.
The rhymes Twice The Power kicks are major since the days of Sky pagers. (Who remembers those?) They let us know who was putting records on music store shelves in San Antonio. It’s clear the group wants to be remembered throughout history. Twice The Power’s in the house to shake shit up. Twice The Power is on the rise and can’t be faded. At least in the underground.
Damage is driven by heavy electronic bass, thick beats, and is backed an electronic soundscape. These were doing damage on the mic with the song Damage. One thing is for sure is that these boys were making noise.
Superfriends is the posse cut of the album where all 3 members rap their own verse. Latin rap meets freestyle rap on Superfriends. This is one of the songs the trio recorded in 2019.
Get Down has a futuristic sound due to its electronic soundscape used and electronic tech keyboard synths used. Southern rap meets Latin rap with an electronic touch. Its percussion is distorted and crunchy sounding very similar to an 8 bit video game.
5/5*****!
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Russian Robot - No Difference album review
Russian Robot - No Difference is an energetic hard rock album with a flair of pop music inside. The album brings a breath of freshness which is what music has been really missing for a long time. No autotune or trap. Just straight hard rock backed by a single electric guitar by one person. Brett McQuiggan of Federal Bison plays guitar by himself on the Russian Robot album. Russian Robot - No Difference was released on YouTube in July 3, 2020 and is now available to stream.
Sometimes we need somebody to show us what we are missing in life and to show us how we can get there. Sometimes there is no difference. We just have to wait to see what tomorrow brings. We are all waiting for a change to strive for something better. That is what the song No Difference is about. No Difference starts off with Brett playing a single acoustic guitar but quickly turns into hard rock just after one minute.
The Corner Of My Eye deals with the pain of being left behind along with leaving everything behind. Those thoughts are shadows of the corner of your eye. Time flies into saturation fast and quickly. Oh how time flies. Drinking wine to pass the time is fine. Not to mention classy.
Everything Will Be Alright (Wash Your Hands) is the COVID-19 awareness filled song telling us to wash our hands to prevent spreading germs. The song raises awareness and gives instructions of how to handle the deadly COVID-19 virus that is currently a global pandemic. The song gives us a sense of security that everything will be alright if we just listen to scientists and doctors. Everything will be alright if we wash our hands.
Tear In is a hard rock powered song driven with a hard edge. The grittiness of hard rock is what makes this song enjoyable to listen to.
Queen is a powerful hard rock driven instrumental backed by a single electric guitar and a drum kit. The song was beautiful. However only downside to this instrumental is the shortness in duration. Brett plays guitar and drums by himself on Queen.
Blue Stone is a hard rock driven song with a mellow vibe.
4/5****!
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Madd Tribe - Madd Tribe single review
Madd Tribe - Madd Tribe was a demo that never got off the ground and was never completed. The demo single had a mixture of laid back smooth funk and jovial raps with songs such as the smooth and soulful rap song Soulful Ride and hard yet fierce Kiss It or Diss It. Funk and soul meet rap music on this demo single.
Madd Tribe was trio which was a group of childhood friends who were Air Force dependents from San Antonio, Texas that were big into hip hop and rap. They got together to create some magic on a 3 song self-titled demo in 1992. Production work for this demo lasted from 1992 to 1995. The three song demo was produced by the talented Kelvin Moore (D-Mo) in 1995 for his On Time Productions label and was supposed to be released in 1996. However a full album was never recorded or completed because Kelvin Moore got married and had retired from the music business before they ever got that far.
Madd Tribe should gone further than a demo. I could have seen them going to sign to a record label such as Youngsta Records, Big Ballin’, Rawkus or Motown. They certainly had the talent and that's for sure.
Soulful Ride is smooth and soulful rap song where the trio takes you on a soulful ride with their rap lyrics.
The song laced with smooth bass and soft processed beats. Soul meets funk, reggae, and rap on Soulful Ride. Now the smooth bass and soft processed beats are what stand out about this song from Madd Tribe.
Now the song Soulful Ride was recorded in 1992 as that is when pre-production for the song began. Soulful Ride was completed in 1995.
Madd Tribe is coming around the mountain with their ol’ Susanna. Their flows have more flavor than that Tropicana drink. They are body slamming fools. Despite not Madd Tribe being gang-affiliated, they are still getting sweated by one time (police). That’s an everyday thing they constantly face. Racial profiling and misconceptions by police are an everyday battle for the trio.
Madd Tribe is terrific and is bigger than a tower. I thought you knew. You best act as if you know or if you knew. This San Antonio rap song has more groove than Llano. (Llano is a reference to Llano, Texas.) Nothing is comparable to Madd Tribe. Don’t come too close as you’ll be stepping into danger. They are going to be constantly changing styles. Their style is smooth and laid back of course.
Despite being a smooth laid back soulful rap song, there are some hostile gangsta rap lyrics filled with violence. Below is an example of such lyrics. Lyrics such as these for example are an example of gangsta rap.
Getting sweated by one time, the fools with a gun and a badge
It’s like an everyday thing
That’s why I pack my .9 daily
I ain’t going out like Rodney King
Too much guts too much glory
I’m going out blazing like a Vietnam wolf story
Ain’t nobody leaving
Just bodies being hauled off from my sawed off
Trying to take your head off because I’m just too rough and tough
Kiss It or Diss It was a diss song aimed at weak emcees and rappers in the San Antonio area. Madd Tribe even dissed a few radio stations such as 98.5 FM and 98.6 FM for example. Madd Tribe snapped on those radio stations despite having this song played and aired.
The song got constant play on the San Antonio radio station KSYM back in 1995. Madd Tribe still holds the record for the longest reign on KSYM with their song “Kiss It or Diss It”.
5/5*****!!
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Mr. Joshay - Playas Life album was an album filled with songs from the vault that have never been heard before which Mr. Joshay recorded from 1996 to 2007. Ricé put the album together with the very first songs that Mr. Joshay ever recorded. He was the one responsible for getting his album released.
Not many people know this but this album was Ricé’s project and not Mr. Joshay’s. Mr. Joshay did not care too much if his second album was released or not. He says these songs were just songs from the vault. He is glad that the album was released anyway. Mr. Joshay was still developing his sound. Nino helped produce and rapped in a couple of the songs.
The album was produced at Ricé’s Music Box Studios when it was located in his trailer at Westhill Mobile Home & RV Park on Pinn Road in Southwest San Antonio. Ricé’s production style is double bass and double guitars on top of high quality sound. Ricé is known for his smooth production. That is what you can hear all over this album.
The album was released on CD in 2006 on Commerce Street Records and re-released in 2016 on the Japan-based label II TIGHT LLC. That label was responsible for releasing Mr. Joshay’s albums. Mr. Joshay represented Commerce Street to the fullest back the 90s and 00s. He was their up and coming artist of the century for that time.
Not too many people know this but Commerce St. Records was located inside of the old Windsor Park Mall in San Antonio, Texas. The address for Commerce St. Records was 7900 North IH-35, Suite L-5, San Antonio, TX 78218.
Funk meets rap on the funky rap song Diggy Down. Ricé and Mr. Joshay make it funky with the sound that is provided. Diggy Down is a song about his neighborhood.
Mr. Joshay is from this hood which people call Diggy Down. Mr. Joshay was coming up funky from the start. He came up funky from the start as his neighborhood was funky. Now he’s got the fever for the flava. His rhymes are deep like a creek. Nothing can save ya.
Mr. Joshay is staying down but keeping his composure. Mr. Joshay is staying down for his neighborhood. He gets around from the underground. He’s got the juice if you’re thirsty.
Inside Looking Out takes us through the viewpoints and perspectives of an inmate in jail. The song features Nino of PKO. Sometimes you don’t know what to do when you’re on the inside looking out especially when you’re in jail or prison. That is when things are hard. There’s no more caddy or freedom when you’re in jail or prison.
Wicked Crazy World represents the wickedness and craziness that goes on in this world. The theme is almost similar to the song Gang Story. Lyrics to the song represent the insanity of life on the streets. It’s enough to make you lose your mind and worry.
Throw Dem Thangz is a song about his Cadillac. Mr. Joshay is burning rubber on his loced out Cadillac. That is his gangsta ride. Laying low like a mack. He has the sunroof down so the air blows. He also has the window on the driver side down. Riding off into the sunset is what he does best Mr. Joshay is in his Cadillac.
5/5*****!!
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