4 Quick-ish CD Reviews; That's Right, I Bought CDs...

I'm not doing an Under The Radar post today or tomorrow, because a) I'm holding till I can get in touch with another artist for my next one, and b) I just think it's time to mix it up a bit this week. So here's something new.

It's a safe bet that any time I go home, I'm going to come back to school with some new music. This time is no different. Over the last week I bought 4 CDs, 1 digital album, and played through some stuff that hasn't been spun in awhile. Since I haven't listened to the digital album yet (it's NIN's Ghosts I-IV, and I haven't had 2.5 hours to burn on listening to it yet) and I'm gonna save the older stuff for another entry, a look at the CDs I bought, in the order I bought them:

Sixx:A.M. - The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack
I've been trying to find myself a copy of this one since my first hearing (and unexpected enjoyment) of "Life is Beautiful". The concept behind the album is really cool; a soundtrack for a book. For the most part the music is pretty good, in spite of being a bit lacking in originality. A run of the mill nu-metal band could probably write and record this album and it would come out serviceable, but something about Nikki Sixx's connection to the material and lead singer Jason Michaels delivery, along with some ridiculous guitar work from DJ Ashba puts it a cut above the rest of the pack these days. Not that hard given what the pack looks like these days (Puddle of Mudd and Seether are both atop the Rock charts right now). Reports suggest that a second album from Sixx:A.M. are unlikely and this was just a one-shot, but it doesn't cheapen the good effort from the band. Probably not a classic for the ages, but worth some iPod space.
Ruling on the Field: 7.5/10
Highlight Reel: Life Is Beautiful [iTunes]
(sorry, haven't uploaded this album yet)

Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
The last album I needed to have the full Radiohead discography, I found this at a used CD shop for 5 bucks. I'm going to do a full review of Radiohead's stuff next week, but this album was more of a mixed bag for me than any of their other stuff. On one hand, when Radiohead does something truly ear-catching, as they do on songs like "There There" and "We Suck Young Blood", the result is bloody brilliant. The problem is moments like these tend to be few and far between, and you have to listen really hard to find why people like Radiohead so much. Hail to the Thief certainly isn't a bad album, it just takes work to listen to, and I'm not always up for trying that hard to enjoy music.
Ruling on the Field: 5.5/10
Highlight Reel: There There [AmazonMP3]

Counting Crows - August and Everything After
I already had most of this album thanks to Mike Newsham, but I felt as though it was one of those ones that I needed to own, simply because it showed off the era of music so well. The debut album from Counting Crows came out the same year as Nirvana's final studio LP In Utero, and ends up being a great set to tie the angsty, heavy sounds of the grunge era and the hooky, upbeat stylings of post-grunge (see also: The Goo Goo Dolls and Collective Soul). There's rarely a bad moment on this album (except maybe the dredgy "Raining in Baltimore"), and when it's good, it's among the best in the genre, and quite frankly, Counting Crows have been for most of their career. As debut albums go, August and Everything After is one for the books.
Ruling on the Field: 9.5/10
Highlight Reel: Mr. Jones [iTunes]
(so hard to pick just one, so I went with the best-known)

Jay-Z - American Gangster
Been meaning to give this a listen since it found its way onto many (including my own) Best of '07 lists, and it helped that I saw the movie from which the album drew its inspiration. As a general rule I steer clear of rap albums, since they too often end up being the same old garbage, but Jay-Z has become one of few exceptions to that rule (his protege Kanye West is one of the others). American Gangster is a bit of an enigma as rap albums go. For starters it's a concept album, an idea usually reserved for rock music. It also simultaneously glorifies and warns against the "gangster life" that is so often the focus of rap music. Since Jay-Z seems to envision himself as a bit of a modern day Frank Lucas (minus the drug trafficking), he understands the allure of that life, but also finds it important to tell listeners that he rose above it and found success anyway. The music itself is across the board better than any rap I usually hear on the radio. "Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)..." deserved all the praise it got, and "Hello Brooklyn 2.0" is an example of Hova's ability to craft a track. Even the collaborations on the album match his skill. The album didn't sell me enough to become a fan of rap, but I certainly didn't feel bad shelling out 12 bucks for it.
Ruling on the Field: 8/10
Highlight Reel: Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)... [Amazon MP3]

And that pretty much does it for me. Back tomorrow with a Weekend WTF, and then next week it's back to business as usual.

==TJ==

Current Music: Finger Eleven - Paralyzer [iTunes]