Tagged: Reviews RSS

  • Levee 8:18 pm on October 24, 2006 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags: Beyonce-Knowles, Destinys-Child, Hip-Hop, , R&B, Reviews   

    Beyonce Knowles – Irreplaceable 

    IrreplaceableI’m not afraid to admit that I was an early fan of Destiny’s Child. There was always something aluring about their ‘independent woman’ attitude, infectious tunes and skimpy clothes. Beyonce could kick my ass to the curb any day of the week…

    That all changed when Beyonce seemed to become a parody of her sexy self and turned into a loathsome clothes horse as displayed on the pages of Heat magazine every week. Then came the gangsta’s moll phase, when she hooked up with Jay-Z. The girlie Beyonce was replaced by a horrible soft porn version. Not nice.

    With the release of Irreplacable, Beyonce seems to have gone back to her roots. And a welcome return it is.

    The instrumentation is stripped right back: basically just guitar and a simple drumbeat carrying the tune. A very simple verse/chorus arrangement is enhanced by Beyonce’s most honest vocal performance in recent memory. Beautiful melody in the verses and a chorus so catchy it’ll take a lobotomy to stop you singing it.

    Subject matter is a return to Independent Women and Bills, Bills, Bills territory – very much woman on top type of thing.

    The video for Irreplaceable carries on the ’stripped down’ theme – Beyonce looking her most natural in ages. The storyline reminds me slightly of the Emotion single Destiny’s Child release a couple of years ago. There’s a little bit of posturing by Ms Knowles, enough to keep the lads happy without being as OTT as her other recent singles.

    You mus’ not know ’bout a-me, you mus’ not know ’bout a-me….

     

    • Dockwats 3:06 am on October 28, 2006 Permalink

      Definitely agreed. Nice review.

    • mr fixit 11:40 am on November 6, 2006 Permalink

      The chorus melody Irreplaceable is so strong, and so vastly outshines the poor songwriting of previous StarGate attempts, it’s hard to believe it was even written by the same people.

    • Shazzer 10:33 pm on November 7, 2006 Permalink

      Great review…SUPER song. It’s just now starting to get some regular airplay in Sweden and I like more everytime I hear it. Don’t know anything about Beyonce’s politics but “Irreplaceable” could easily be an anthem for voters in the midterm election going on in the U.S. today. “To the left, to the left, everything you own in the box to the left…” PERFECT.

    • Anita 11:38 am on November 8, 2006 Permalink

      Absolutely agree with the review. Great observations of her style progression or lack thereof. Completely hooked on the song. It’s like nothing I’ve heard from her recently.. am in a constant state of “huh??” with the slew of “banshee” videos she’s recently put out. What are those!

      Writing from Singapore where Irreplacable’s getting lots of MTV and some radio play. And plenty of play on my iBook.

    • Mr. Levee 8:02 pm on November 8, 2006 Permalink

      Thanks for the comments guys, especially the astute note on “the left”!

    • Dajanae 6:31 pm on November 16, 2006 Permalink

      well alli have to say is i love the song

    • beano 5:25 pm on November 27, 2006 Permalink

      Never liked the woman. As for the songwriting – rhyming “in a minute” with… “in a minute”.. genius. I’m not even getting started on the “Independent Women” nonsense.

    • Kama 4:45 am on November 28, 2006 Permalink

      OH MY GOD THIS IS MY FAVIORITE SONG EVER COULD USE PLEASE SEND THIS SONG TO ME IN MESSAGES ON HOTMAIL SO I CAN LISTEN TO THIS SONG OVER AND OVER AGAIN THANK YOU KAMA DIS IS DA BEST SONG EVER MAN.

    • sofski 4:15 pm on December 21, 2006 Permalink

      i realli realli fink dis song is sorted its proper sound n ive neva realli listened to beyonce be 4 but this song is gr8 xx!!!!!!!

    • Frode 10:36 pm on December 23, 2006 Permalink

      Irreplaceable is produced by Stargate. Just have to say Im really proud to be a Norwegian now :-) . A really beautifull song, written and produced by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Henrik Hermansen, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund and Ne-Yo. Also an outstanding performance by Beyoncé Knowles! 5 out of 5 stars from me :-)

    • Treasure 12:03 am on December 30, 2006 Permalink

      i love this song ^^ i is lovely but i don’t like the video it’s to……..hmm…….plain…or vain?i don’t even know wat meaning of vain i want…not sure if it even came out right…wel i will stop talkin now

    • Brian 9:45 pm on January 13, 2007 Permalink

      A very very good song with some goods words. One of my best songs from her. I have met her at 3 clubs in London – very down to earth.

    • emma 12:30 pm on January 18, 2007 Permalink

      ((*luvre dis song :D :D:D:D*))

    • victoria 6:26 pm on January 24, 2007 Permalink

      I love you,You are my idol and I’m gonna see you,You are the best

      the song irreplaceable is the best:D

    • brianna 10:53 pm on March 8, 2007 Permalink

      kjpojnlkminb hk mh h rh krjhg hp tojhm, hy tpiyh gyojr

  • Levee 7:55 am on January 11, 2006 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags: Emily-Smith, folk, , Reviews, Scotland   

    Review: Emily Smith – A Different Life 

    A Different LifeA couple of months ago, I was sitting in the car listening to an Ulster Scots radio show. Among the highlights was an interview with a Scottish singer/songwriter, Emily Smith.

    Throughout the interview, they played some excerpts from Emily?s album and I was instantly captivated by her singing. A few weeks later, I managed to get my hands on a copy of Emily?s latest album, A Different Life.

    Now, regular readers know that I?m more likely to be rocking out to late 80?s hair metal than Scottish traditional tunes, but I?m actually pretty diverse in my musical tastes!

    A Different Life is filled with beautifully crafted stories, the playing is straightforward and the acoustic guitars and violins sound rich and earthy. And above it all, Emily?s clear, sing-song voice narrates tales of love and loss and simple rustic life and life in bygone days.

    A Different Life: Favourite Moments

    My favourite track on the album is Edward Of Morton, a song about a young servant who refuses to get involved with the lady of the house he works for. She tells her husband that Edward was making advances toward her and he is cast in a dungeon and eventually tortured to death by her husband. Morbid stuff, but compelling. Oh, and Emily tells it better than I did, so you’d be better listening to her version of events!

    Always A Smile is also worthy of note. It’s a charming story of a young farm girl who leaves home facing a life of adversity, and who eventually overcomes her tribulations to raise a family in Scotland. It always makes me think about my grandmother, late in life surrounded by sons, daughters and grandchildren and that nostalgia looking back over her life. A simple and lovely song.

    Strong Winds For Autumn – I’ll admit I couldn’t quite follow the lyrics of this one, but the music is fantastic. The acoustic guitar is deep and rich and Emily’s voice is clear and sorrowful.

    The remainder of the tracks are excellent. Like I say, Scottish folk isn’t usually my forte, but I have been listening to this album solid since about October. I put it on with the intention of reviewing it quickly, but it has grown on my to the point where I actually had to remind myself to take it out of the car!

    Final Thoughts

    A Different Life is lacking one thing in my opinion ? a good live track. Emily tours the world with her band and has entertained many people along the way. It?d be nice to hear one of the songs in a live setting just to get a feel for the atmosphere.

    Go to Emily’s website for more information, and to listen to a few sample tracks. Many thanks to Jamie for hooking me up with a copy of the album! If Emily’s playing Northern Ireland anytime soon, I’ll let you know.

     

c
compose new post
j
next post/next comment
k
previous post/previous comment
r
reply
e
edit
o
show/hide comments
t
go to top
l
go to login
h
show/hide help
esc
cancel