All reviews - Movies (46) - TV Shows (14) - DVDs (11) - Books (21) - Music (32) - Games (17)

Sarah McLachlan's High Point

Posted : 1 month ago on 23 July 2008 03:43 (A review of Mirrorball: The Complete Concert (2 CD's))

This concert captures Sarah McLachlan at her best, after the massive success of 'Surfacing'. She was at a commercial high point though creatively she might have arguably passed her peak. The material is almost exclusively from her three best albums, the aforementioned 'Surfacing' along with 'Solace' and 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy'. The sheer number of songs ensures that almost all her best songs find a place here. The only obvious exclusion is 'Drawn to the Rhythm' from 'Solace', which is one of my favourite Sarah McLachlan songs.

Sarah is always a great live performer, based on the handful of live recordings I have heard (I wish she would tour again, I'm dying to see her live). She sounds great here and is well backed by an excellent band. Some of the songs really shine in a full band setting. One that comes to mind is 'I Will Not Forget You' from 'Solace'. It has a sparse arrangement on the album and the full band arrangement really brings out a new dimension to the song.

This really is the full concert and contains all the banter in-between the songs. Sarah has a understated but charming personality, much like the character of her music. I enjoyed listening to the whole concert, the songs and everything between the songs too. Any fan of Sarah's would definitely enjoy it too.

This album (not the single CD release) should be in the library of every Sarah McLachlan fan. It showcases Sarah in the best light and her fans will enjoy it without hesitation.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Solace review

Posted : 1 month ago on 22 July 2008 11:06 (A review of Solace)

This album is the first in a trilogy of great albums Sarah McLachlan's produced in 90s. It starts with a 1-2-3-4 knockout combo with 'Drawn to the Rhythm', 'Into the Fire', 'The Path of Thorns (Terms)' and 'I Will Not Forget You'. The rest isn't so bad either.

Sarah McLachlan's second album has both her beautiful voice and versatile songwriting on display. To back it up, the music is fresh and varied. From the folk influenced opening track to the beautifully constructed ballad 'I Will Not Forget You', the album is full of great arrangements. All of these elements would be on full display in her next album ('Fumbling Towards Ecstasy') as well. That may be her best album so far, but this album is very close. The only thing that is falls behind on is consistency as it has one or two weak moments.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Surfacing review

Posted : 1 month ago on 22 July 2008 11:18 (A review of Surfacing)

'Angel' was the first song I heard by Sarah McLachlan. It wasn't even from a CD of this album, but from the soundtrack for 'City of Angels' and that song will always have a special place among all her songs for me. Sarah McLachlan was reaching the heights of her popularity with the release of this album. At just ten tracks long, it's a short album compared to her earlier releases and not nearly as consistent an album as 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy'. It does contain some of her best songs to date.

The highlight, both lyrically and musically, is the opening song, 'Building a Mystery'. Brilliant lyrics and alt rock inspired music that complements her voice make this a winner. She follows it up with 'I Love You', a lovely slow ballad with an atmospheric musical arrangement. The album has several more good songs, including the aforementioned 'Angel' almost at the very end.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Not her best album, but pretty good.

Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 21 July 2008 01:07 (A review of Afterglow)

Sarah McLachlan's best work came in the mid 90s with 'Fumbling Towards Ecstasy' and 'Surfacing'. She wrote great songs and she still does. There are some excellent songs on this album, most notably 'Fallen', 'Train Wreck' and 'World on Fire'. Her angst is still intact and her vocals are beautiful and emotional.

Her music, however, seems to have slipped into a comfortable rut in this album. There's very little (or absolutely nothing) of the folk rock influences or atmospheric arrangements of her earlier work. She had started down this path in 'Surfacing', but that album had enough highlights to balance. I read somewhere that she composed all the songs on a piano for the first time, instead of her guitar. Maybe she should go back to the guitar and regain some her rock groove rather than slide further into this comfortable rut, which will eventually lead to a completely boring album.



0 comments, Reply to this entry

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy review

Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 19 July 2008 11:30 (A review of Fumbling Towards Ecstasy)

Sarah McLachlan produced her finest, most consistent album very early on in her career. She has a well developed sound that allows her lovely vocals to shine on every sound. She has rarely deviated from this formula in the rest of her career, only added some studio magic to the mix.

The songs on this album are gems, starting with the instantly attention grabbing 'Possession'. The album keeps sailing along on good songs, right to the very end. 'Fear', the second to last track in the original US release, is one of the best songs on the album. Such consistency, with both more up-tempo songs as well as her sparse ballads, was not to be found in any subsequent album she produced.

No review is complete without a glowing tribute to her beautiful voice, delicate and expressive as it is. She's not prone to diva-esque flourishes but rather imbues each song with the perfect range of emotion it needs.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

The Dark Knight review

Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 18 July 2008 11:40 (A review of The Dark Knight)

Any words I try to put down will sound banal. Just a few thoughts then:

1) Set up for a third movie.
2) My favourite Star Wars movie is Empire.
3) Heath Ledger, I mourn you today. You were one awesome f**king actor.
4) How did the studio let this movie get made?

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles review

Posted : 1 month, 1 week ago on 16 July 2008 02:28 (A review of Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles)

It's amazing how an artist can sound so much better live than he does in the studio. I've heard two studio albums by John Mayer, the first being pretty mediocre pop and the second being pretty good pop, occasionally blues inspired. However, it is his two live albums that I think are really outstanding, this one and 2005's 'Try' with what he calls 'The John Mayer Trio'.

John Mayer is a very good songwriter but his albums frequently lose their way in some mediocre music. Somehow, that flaw is vastly mitigated in his live performances. In this concert, he plays three distinct sets - an acoustic set, an electric blues set with the rest of the 'Trio' and a third and final set with the band.

The first set is amazing, it's direct and uncluttered and he sounds good, really good. The second set is amazing as well and he demonstrates what a skillful blues guitarist he is. He is good enough to be invited to Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar festival. The songs are mostly from 'Try' which isn't a bad thing at all.

The third set sees him returning to a more conventional setting, with a band, and playing his more popular songs. He sounds much better than he does on his albums. There is a slight raw edge to his music, naturally imparted by playing live. The overly processed feel of his albums is gone and this allows his songwriting to shine. As I said before, he writes good stuff, and now it has an excellent setting too.

The DVD is a better buy than the CD if you have a 5.1 sound system and it's nice to see how diverse the three sets really are visually as well as musically.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Almost perfect

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 14 July 2008 06:16 (A review of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock)

I haven't played any guitar hero game before this one and I went in expecting a lot. I wasn't disappointed by the game - to a point. The gameplay is easy to pick up and it is consistently fun. Ultimately, the game lives and dies by the music selection. For me, at least, this is where it falls short of perfection. I like most of the songs available but not all of them. Obviously, your mileage may vary. Despite that, it is lots of fun to play and unique in my game collection (till I grab Rock Band).

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Taking a leaf out of the Matrix playbook

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 13 July 2008 04:16 (A review of Batman - Gotham Knight (Single-Disc Edition))

The Wachowski Brothers pioneered the idea of having animated shorts by multiple directors/studios set in the same universe as their movies. The Animatrix was the product of that effort and what an effort it was. It explored the deeper recesses of the Matrix universe - things that didn't find their way into any of the movies, even as side plots.

Gotham Knight attempts to do the same with the current Batman movie universe started by 'Batman Begins' and continuing later this year with 'The Dark Knight'. It doesn't reach the same heights as The Animatrix when it comes to exploring previously unexplored parts of the universe (primarily because there isn't that much to explore), but it's a very good collection of stories nevertheless.

The DVD consists of six twelve minute animated shorts exploring some familiar characters (the Italian mafia, the Scarecrow, Killer Croc) and some not so familiar ones. Most of them are a centered around action but each of them has a distinct and interesting plot. The six stories are varied as well, which keeps the experience interesting. My favourite is 'Working through pain' which explores Bruce Wayne's attempts to control physical pain.

If you're a Batman fan and are eagerly looking forward to 'The Dark Knight', you'll do well to check this DVD out. Everyone else can probably skip this.

0 comments, Reply to this entry

Viva Algeria review

Posted : 1 month, 2 weeks ago on 11 July 2008 01:04 (A review of Viva Algeria)

Set in Algiers, this thriller revolves around three women - a young woman who is the mistress of a rich doctor, a prostitute and a retired cabaret singer - who live in the same apartment complex. It puts a very different face on the country from what I expected. The music throughout the movie is also excellent.

0 comments, Reply to this entry