1. The double disc soundtrack to Biohazard: The Darkside Chronicles: This is an amazing soundtrack, which is a distinct improvement over the Umbrella Chronicles. The tracks go from operatic to eerie lullabies in no time flat. Some of the tracks are performed by an orchestra, still rare for video game soundtracks. Also, there's plenty of themes from previous games, now fleshed out with greater sound quality. With over 2 hours of music, there's a lot to listen to with this release. B+
2. Kylie: Live in New York. This online exclusive is a two hour recording of Kylie's recent concert in New York. A nice mix of old and new songs, it's a great treat for Kylie fans, especially the ones in the States. (Especially the price considering the amount of music involved.) It even comes with a booklet PDF for those of us who remember when things were printed on paper. B+
3. The reissue to John Williams's score to The Accidental Tourist. On the back end of his "Blockbuster Years," Williams took time to write music for this intimate film. His score revolves around two main themes that get a lot of use in the soundtrack. Unfortunately, the album is just a direct rerelease of the original album, with no added tracks. Though, there are linear notes on the score that are very informative. B-
In recent news, John Williams's "Black Sunday" score is finally being released. Given a chance, I'd like to listen to it.
Also, a limited edition soundtrack to TV's The Flash will be up for preorder next week. I will be first in line for that.
Showing posts with label Kylie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kylie. Show all posts
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2004
And Now Something Completely Different
Here's a bit of silliness that I found while surfing around:
There's an animated UK movie coming out in February called the Magic Roundabout, where an assortment of different characters team up to save the world from this guy with a spring for legs who wants to turn the world into an eternal winterland. (I believe this is a movie version of a British kid's show. Anyone care to elaborate?)
Why am I impressed? Let's check out the cast, shall we: Jim Broadbent, Joanna Lumley, Sir Ian McKellan, Doctor Who himself Tom Baker, with singers Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue. (Americans, I'll explain who they are later. Rest of the world, you guys already know who they are.)
There's a trailer you can already see on the official web site. I wonder if they'll be any kind of US release of the movie?
Probably not.
There's an animated UK movie coming out in February called the Magic Roundabout, where an assortment of different characters team up to save the world from this guy with a spring for legs who wants to turn the world into an eternal winterland. (I believe this is a movie version of a British kid's show. Anyone care to elaborate?)
Why am I impressed? Let's check out the cast, shall we: Jim Broadbent, Joanna Lumley, Sir Ian McKellan, Doctor Who himself Tom Baker, with singers Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue. (Americans, I'll explain who they are later. Rest of the world, you guys already know who they are.)
There's a trailer you can already see on the official web site. I wonder if they'll be any kind of US release of the movie?
Probably not.
Sunday, November 21, 2004
DVD Review: Body Language Live
Where there's an album, there's a DVD...
Presentation: B The disc is in a normal DVD case with a booklet with black and white photos from the concert and some credits. My only real beef with this is that they could have written a little backstory on this concert. I believe this concert is the "Money Can't Buy" concert performed on November 15, 2003, two days before the album was released in the UK.
Audio & Video: B+ With 5.1 Dolby Surround, Stereo, and 5.1 DTS, you can bet that Kylie's voice never sounded better. The concert is presented in widescreen. The picture's pretty clean and sharp, slightly better than the "Live in Sydney" DVD.
Content: B Since this concert is to celebrate the album launch of Body Language at the London Apollo, it shouldn't surprise you that seven of the thirteen songs are from Body Language. Most of the other songs are from the albums, Light Years and Fever.
The concert’s split into four different sections (and different outfits) and the concert’s only about an hour long. It has Kylie singing in front of a large screen with some dancers who I tend to ignore. It’s rather modest compared to some of her other concerts, I’m sure, but I prefer my concerts without a whole lot of bells and whistles.
Extras: A Let’s see, there’s a seventeen minute “documentary,” that talks about the new album, filming the “Slow” music video, and the preparation of the concert. There’s multi-angles of two of the songs, which shows you the images on the large screen.
There’s also the three music videos from Body Language as well as a photo gallery and DVD ROM material that includes: four wallpapers, screensavers, and a weblink.
Overall: A This is my favorite “live” Kylie DVD. But part of that is because I really like Body Language. Other Kylie fans may want to purchase one of the other DVDs for a more diverse listing of songs. Another reason was because I got my copy under 15 dollars, well worth the price.
Presentation: B The disc is in a normal DVD case with a booklet with black and white photos from the concert and some credits. My only real beef with this is that they could have written a little backstory on this concert. I believe this concert is the "Money Can't Buy" concert performed on November 15, 2003, two days before the album was released in the UK.
Audio & Video: B+ With 5.1 Dolby Surround, Stereo, and 5.1 DTS, you can bet that Kylie's voice never sounded better. The concert is presented in widescreen. The picture's pretty clean and sharp, slightly better than the "Live in Sydney" DVD.
Content: B Since this concert is to celebrate the album launch of Body Language at the London Apollo, it shouldn't surprise you that seven of the thirteen songs are from Body Language. Most of the other songs are from the albums, Light Years and Fever.
The concert’s split into four different sections (and different outfits) and the concert’s only about an hour long. It has Kylie singing in front of a large screen with some dancers who I tend to ignore. It’s rather modest compared to some of her other concerts, I’m sure, but I prefer my concerts without a whole lot of bells and whistles.
Extras: A Let’s see, there’s a seventeen minute “documentary,” that talks about the new album, filming the “Slow” music video, and the preparation of the concert. There’s multi-angles of two of the songs, which shows you the images on the large screen.
There’s also the three music videos from Body Language as well as a photo gallery and DVD ROM material that includes: four wallpapers, screensavers, and a weblink.
Overall: A This is my favorite “live” Kylie DVD. But part of that is because I really like Body Language. Other Kylie fans may want to purchase one of the other DVDs for a more diverse listing of songs. Another reason was because I got my copy under 15 dollars, well worth the price.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
CD Review: Body Language
With the international explosion that was Fever, a lesser artist would try and replicate its success, but no one ever said that Australian singer Kylie Minogue was your average performer...
In fact for her newest album, Kylie dived deeper into the realm of techno, with more complex sounds compared to Fever's simplistic synth work. But it's Kylie who's the real treat. Her voice is smooth, sweet, and playful. In other words, she's in top form.
The album starts with the single, "Slow," a dance-inducing song that compliments Kylie's alluring voice. It's very radio-friendly, though I've yet to hear it on U.S. radio stations. It then goes through some fun songs exhibiting Kylie's versatility, like "Still Standing" and "Promises." "Secret (Take You Home)" slowly won me over despite the pseudo-rapping.
The next single from the album is "Red Blooded Woman." This is a hit-or-miss song, from what I've read. People either like or hate this song. I personally like it, but I can see how the "la la la" in the middle and the repetiton of the refrain may annoy people.
But the real highlight of this album is "Chocolate," one of the best songs Kylie's ever done. Its smooth rhythm and Kylie's sly voice melt together creating something sweet for your ears. (Sorry about that. Couldn't resist.) You'll want to keep coming back to this jem.
Unfortunately, after "Chocolate," I felt there were some of the weaker songs. I'm not saying that they aren't good. They just don't have the same repeat value as the earlier ones. Marooned near the end of the album is "Loving Days," a song that grew to be one of my favorite songs. While its composition is more straightfoward than the three singles, I could see this one have a home on the radio, but it seems destined to be ignored.
For U.S. listeners, we get two bonus tracks: "Cruise Control" and "You Make Me Feel." "Cruise Control" is a fun song that I enjoy listening to, but it doesn't break any new ground that "Secret" didn't already cover. (Hence it being a B-Side.) There's also a better version of the song on the "Red Blooded Woman" single. "You Make Me Feel" is about the only song that I tend to skip over. It just doesn't click with me.
There's also some enhanced CD material, with the music video for "Slow" and the live performace of "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" from Kylie's "Money Can't Buy" concert. (Now out on DVD.)
This is easily Kylie's best album since Light Years, my second favorite album. Not that there's anything wrong with Fever. I was surprised to find out that singer Emiliana Torrini helped write two songs. I had only recently heard of Torrini, thanks to the LOTR: Two Towers soundtrack. Anyway, if you consider yourself a Kylie fan, then you should already own this. B+
In fact for her newest album, Kylie dived deeper into the realm of techno, with more complex sounds compared to Fever's simplistic synth work. But it's Kylie who's the real treat. Her voice is smooth, sweet, and playful. In other words, she's in top form.
The album starts with the single, "Slow," a dance-inducing song that compliments Kylie's alluring voice. It's very radio-friendly, though I've yet to hear it on U.S. radio stations. It then goes through some fun songs exhibiting Kylie's versatility, like "Still Standing" and "Promises." "Secret (Take You Home)" slowly won me over despite the pseudo-rapping.
The next single from the album is "Red Blooded Woman." This is a hit-or-miss song, from what I've read. People either like or hate this song. I personally like it, but I can see how the "la la la" in the middle and the repetiton of the refrain may annoy people.
But the real highlight of this album is "Chocolate," one of the best songs Kylie's ever done. Its smooth rhythm and Kylie's sly voice melt together creating something sweet for your ears. (Sorry about that. Couldn't resist.) You'll want to keep coming back to this jem.
Unfortunately, after "Chocolate," I felt there were some of the weaker songs. I'm not saying that they aren't good. They just don't have the same repeat value as the earlier ones. Marooned near the end of the album is "Loving Days," a song that grew to be one of my favorite songs. While its composition is more straightfoward than the three singles, I could see this one have a home on the radio, but it seems destined to be ignored.
For U.S. listeners, we get two bonus tracks: "Cruise Control" and "You Make Me Feel." "Cruise Control" is a fun song that I enjoy listening to, but it doesn't break any new ground that "Secret" didn't already cover. (Hence it being a B-Side.) There's also a better version of the song on the "Red Blooded Woman" single. "You Make Me Feel" is about the only song that I tend to skip over. It just doesn't click with me.
There's also some enhanced CD material, with the music video for "Slow" and the live performace of "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" from Kylie's "Money Can't Buy" concert. (Now out on DVD.)
This is easily Kylie's best album since Light Years, my second favorite album. Not that there's anything wrong with Fever. I was surprised to find out that singer Emiliana Torrini helped write two songs. I had only recently heard of Torrini, thanks to the LOTR: Two Towers soundtrack. Anyway, if you consider yourself a Kylie fan, then you should already own this. B+
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Ultimate Kylie
Kylie Minogue is going through the inbetween-albums blues. So to cheer herself up, she's releasing a two-disc "best of..." including two brand new songs. It's called "Ultimate Kylie."
There's also supposed to be a "Ultimate Kylie" DVD coming put with all of her music videos on it. Reading about it on a fan site, I found two things about it I didn't like:
1. The release date for it in the UK, Australia, Canada, heck everywhere except the U.S. is the end of November, while it'll be released here sometime in February 2005.
2. It's technically not a complete set of her music videos. If the listing on the fan site is correct, the DVD will not have the music videos for "Where is that Feeling?," "Some kind of Bliss," and "Cowboy Style." All cool songs from my favorite era of Kylie.
It's true that I got this from a fan site, so I shouldn't just readily believe it, but it seems typical that when making room on the DVD, they'd start cutting off the bits I'd like.
There's also supposed to be a "Ultimate Kylie" DVD coming put with all of her music videos on it. Reading about it on a fan site, I found two things about it I didn't like:
1. The release date for it in the UK, Australia, Canada, heck everywhere except the U.S. is the end of November, while it'll be released here sometime in February 2005.
2. It's technically not a complete set of her music videos. If the listing on the fan site is correct, the DVD will not have the music videos for "Where is that Feeling?," "Some kind of Bliss," and "Cowboy Style." All cool songs from my favorite era of Kylie.
It's true that I got this from a fan site, so I shouldn't just readily believe it, but it seems typical that when making room on the DVD, they'd start cutting off the bits I'd like.
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