Eminem - No Love ft. Lil Wayne (Recovery)

Album Review: Eminem - Recovery

This is the album that Relapse should have been. Eminem returns just over a year after his previous output with Recovery, arguably his best album since The Eminem Show. Recovery is Eminem’s 7th studio album, and takes a bold step away from his previous work, perhaps to show his growing maturity.

Relapse was not a bad album, yet it failed to deliver anything to match Marshall’s previous back catalogue, other than a handful of highlights.

It is possibly for this very reason that Eminem scrapped Relapse 2, and replaced it with Recovery, as the man himself stated: ‘the idea of a sequel to Relapse started to make less and less sense to me, and I wanted to make a completely new album’.

Paul McCartney Hey Jude Isle of Wight 2010

Isle Of Wight Festival 2010 - 11th-13th June

What a way to kick off the festival season. Isle of Wight may not have the reputation to match Glastonbury or Reading/Leeds, but this year it will be difficult for either festival to match the three brilliant headliners of Jay-Z, The Strokes, and Sir Paul McCartney. Granted, Glastonbury has had both Jay-Z and McCartney in recent years; however, to get both to appear in the same year, and add the seminal New Yorker’s is an achievement which should help increase the reputation of the festival.

The atmosphere was buzzing as expectant campers arrived for a weekend of fantastic music and by the time 4pm hit on Friday everyone was desperate for the music to begin.

The Maccabees - LEGO

NME Tour 2010 @ Bristol 02 Academy

The 2010 NME Tour provided one of my musical highlights of 2010 with an extremely strong line-up. Having already seen The Maccabees twice, this gig was more about the new acts breaking through in 2009/10 and Bombay Bicycle Club, The Big Pink and The Drums are possibly some of the best new bands to surface recently. The bands which have opened previous NME tours have often gone on to big things, some of the previous openers have been: Florence and The Machine, The Ting Tings, Kaiser Chiefs, and Coldplay.

The Drums took the opening slot for 2010 because of the hype (mostly from NME themselves) that surrounds their Beach Boys/Cure sound, and the hype is perfectly just if this performance was anything to go by. With songs such as ‘Let’s Go Surfing’, ‘I Felt So Stupid’ and the brilliant ‘Best Friend’ the four boys from New York are certain to take 2010 by storm with their energetic live performances. Frontman Jonathan Pierce appears so comfortable and confident on stage with some quirky dancing to accompany his Robert Smith-esque vocals.

Album Review: The Dead Weather - Sea Of Cowards

Can Jack White do no wrong? Whilst many of us dream of setting up one decent band, White is making more awesome music in yet another completely different creation. The Dead Weather is White’s third side project, alongside the brilliant The White Stripes, and excellent, The Raconteurs. The Nashville foursome joined forces last year after an impromptu jam at one of White’s studios, and very quickly released the impressive debut album Horehound.

Now, less than a year after the first album was released, comes The Dead Weather’s second album, Sea of Cowards. The title alone sets the tone for the rest of the album, it is gritty, disturbing and raw. The mayhem begins with the snarling ‘Blue Blood Blues’, with Jack taking lead vocals. It is a strong opening song which is reminiscent of ‘I Cut Like a Buffalo’ from Horehound. ‘Hustle and Cuss’ continues in a similar vein, with a very simple, but repetitive guitar simmering over White’s drumming.

F.E.A.R. (IAN BROWN)

Ian Brown – My Way

My Way is the sixth studio offering from the ex-Stone Roses front man Ian Brown. Whilst the trend for reforming bands has been prominent recently, it shows the strength of Brown’s solo career that there has yet to be any serious mention of The Stone Roses coming back.

‘Stellify’, the lead single, kicks off proceedings here. Deriving from Latin and translating as ‘to change or be changed into a star’, it’s an immediate, concise example of latter day Ian Brown. It’s ever building, pounding keyboard stabs - which you can not help but tap along to - make it the ideal opener, setting the tone for the rest of the album.

The dramatic clanging bells of ‘Crowning of the Poor’ are more reminiscent of previous Brown albums, yet it is further evidence of the catchy beats that make this album so good. ‘In the Year 2525’ is another highlight from the album, and interestingly, a cover of the 1969 hit by Zager and Evans.

My Weekly Music Blog!!

Hellllooooooo,

I'm Andy Baber and I am a big music fan......very big music fan, infact. So, I thought I would start up a regular music blog detailing any music that i'm enjoying, whether it be albums, bands, a gig or a particular festival. Hopefully a few people might enjoy it and pick up some new music by following my blog, whilst I get to write about something I love!! Please leave comments if you are particularly interested in any point i've made, whether it be good or bad. If anybody dislikes a band or song i've written on, then by all means say so; however, do try and be constructive (unless you are talking about Scouting For Girls, because let's face it....they are SHIT!!). I'm going to start by posting some reviews I did for The Edge (the student entertainment magazine at my Uni). Some of these are fairly old but I thought they would be good to get things started!!

Hope you enjoy my thoughts on music, and please don't hesitate to comment, especially if you find a new band that you like and reckon more people should hear..... new music, whether it be good or bad, is ALWAYS important!!!