Reviewing The Black Keys 2010 Top Ten breakthrough album Brothers, Rolling Stone called the duo a two-man combo with a big-band mind. That description seems downright prophetic now. With the hard-rocking El Camino, The Black Keys fourth Nonesuch disc, guitarist-singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney conjure up an exhilarating, stadium-sized sound in collaboration with producer and friend Danger Mouse. El Camino boasts a no-nonsense brilliance: The pace is fast, the mood is upbeat, the choruses unfailingly addictive made for shouting along, preferably in a large, sweaty crowd.
A band already at the top of its game has gotten even better. And The Black Keys have done pretty damn well so far this year, with three 2011 Grammy awards for Brothers under their belt, an MTV Video Music Award for Tighten Up, more than 850,000 copies of Brothers sold in the U.S., and upwards of a million units worldwide, plus innumerable licensing placements in film, TV, and commercials. El Camino features one stand-out track after another, such as first single Lonely Boy, Gold on the Ceiling, and the surprising, acoustic-guitar-driven, tempo-shifting Little Black Submarines. .

This record is more straight ahead rock and roll raw, driving, and back to basics, says Auerbach. As Carney has put it, The Black Keys respect the past while being in the present, and that formula has made them sound like nothing less than the future of rock and roll. While the largely self-produced Brothers, recorded at the famed Muscle Shoals Studio in Alabama, had a more soul and blues-oriented sound, El Camino often recalls the blitzkrieg-paced British-style rock of the 1960s and 70s, post-Beatles and pre-punk: artists like T-Rex, The Sweet, and Gary Glitter, along with the heavier swing of such bands as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
The references are there, but the sound is very much contemporary and utterly their own, equally informed by The Black Keys passion for hip hop and R&B and bolstered by the atmospheric production approach of Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton), who was behind the boards for 2008 s Attack & Release and collaborated with them on the funky Tighten Up for Brothers. As Auerbach notes, “Brian understands all the different kinds of music we’re into. He’s got really great ideas about melody and song structure. For him it’s all about the song.” Also rejoining them is consistently innovative mixing engineer Tchad Blake, who Auerbach calls a genius with audio, a complete wizard.
El Camino arrives just in time to serve as the ideal holiday gift for The Black Keys rapidly growing fan base. It came together quickly in an unfettered burst of creativity by the hard-charging pair. They recorded these 11 tracks between tour dates for Brothers at Auerbach s new Easy Eye Studio in Nashville, where he and Carney have now relocated after years of working in their native Akron, Ohio. The duo plans to embark on a six week European Tour at the start of the New Year, with U.S. dates to follow shortly thereafter including several arenas.
In a time of global austerity, The Black Keys work simply and efficiently, with a minimum of tools and a wealth of ideas, to produce the richest, fattest, coolest music around. Upon the release of Brothers last year, Britain s Uncut magazine called them one of the best rock n roll bands on the planet, and El Camino, confirms that.

a
 
You’re a BLACK KEY If You Don’t Buy This Album!!!!,
By M. C. Tolen “MC Tolen”

This album ROCKS(period)!! That said, while “Brothers” was a bit overstuffed with slow-burning soul songs, this “El Camino” is a fuel injected, revved up, pedal-to-the-metal, tire squeeling lean and mean rock feast! In fact, I think this album is best to listen to while driving because you will find it impossible to avoid slapping your thumbs to the drums on your steering wheel, kick drumming your feet and pounding your console! Now THAT is the sign of a great rock album! Sure it may take 2-3 listens to break it in like a new pair of skinny jeans, but ignore all that hipster holier-than-thou sellout crap, kick back and just enjoy the ride. This album is their quick victory lap for making it on their own terms after years of hard work and great songs. I fell in love with Rubber Factory and the earlier stuff too, but personally I think this album is more true to their earlier spirit than the last couple of albums. Because what always struck me about those early albums was how they managed to play the same hard blues based songs one after another and I wouldn’t get tired of it…ballad’s?? Who needs ‘em?! Acoustic guitar/bass?? Why bother?! Over the course of those albums they flat-out perfected that sound, and you can’t build on perfection. Thus we got the experimentation of Attack & Release and Brothers. I immediately LOVED about half of Brothers (the rockin’ half) and the other half I grew to enjoy over time. Regardless, I still best like my Black Keys playing full on rock all the way through. And that’s what you get with El Camino.

The first five songs are nearly flawless with the highlight being “Little Black Submarines” which ironically starts out acoustic before erupting into a total guitar drum meltdown that should make Jimmy Page piss his pants. I think it’s easily their best song since the Rubber Factory days and should forever be a highlight of their live show. The last half of the album took a little extra listening before I truly loved it, but it didn’t take long. Again, like many of you, I love that purist early sound too and can’t help but to furrow my brow a little when I hear a bass guitar or organ part. However, these songs are so tight and infectious that you’ll get over that pretty quick. Just lean back and let Dan and Pat do the driving and you’ll have a blast listening to this album. Finally, I seriously can’t believe some people don’t get the El Camino title with a minivan on the cover!! First of all, it’s really more a subjective reference to their early days on “the road” in a van. Secondly, it’s classic Black Keys humor! I couldn’t help but laugh when I first saw the cover!

If you enjoyed this album, check out Let It Snow

Lioness: Hidden Treasures (International Version) [Explicit] by Amy Winehouse

Gone, but not forgotten
By C. P. Bell “media enthusiast”

I was afraid this posthumous addition to Amy Winehouse’s catalogue, much like Michael Jackson’s latest ‘effort’ “Michael”, was going to be a shameless cash grab orchestrated by her label, Island Records. “Lioness” appears to be an honest homage via heartfelt compilation that, unfortunately, never saw the light of day…until now.

“Lioness” mostly consists of covers of tried and true classics (“The Girl From Ipanema”, “Will You Still Love Me Tommorow”, “Our Day Will Come” etc) and a few rerecorded tracks (“Wake Up Alone”, “Tears Dry” etc) with a few official unreleased tracks thrown in for good measure (“Halftime”, “Between The Cheats”, “Like Smoke”). If you frequent YouTube, there’s a chance you have already heard many of these unreleased outtakes and if you haven’t then you are in for a treat. Excluded from the album are about a dozen tracks Winehouse supposedly did not want released. I fear, however, that this might be a hollow promise from Island Records to bait us into buying yet another posthumous compilation in the future; here’s hoping I’m wrong.

On a lighter note, however, Amy Winehouse’s vocals sound great and her duet with Tony Bennett, “Body And Soul”, smolders. “Wake Up Alone” is another gratifying track featuring a stripped down performance from the band complimenting Amy’s smoky voice which sounds just as good as I remember. “Between The Cheats” is another fantastic original retro-pop song and one of my favorite cuts from the album. “Like Smoke” is the only weak track due to it’s attempted merging of two completely unlike genres. Listen and listen good, Island Records: rap and soul don’t mix. I like them separate and I don’t know about you, but Nas and Amy Winehouse makes for a nonsensical, unpleasant collaboration. That said, it’s also painfully obvious that his verses were recorded and added after she died just to haphazardly tack this track onto the album at the last minute. Thankfully, the rest of the album is saved by competent compositions featuring jazzy syncopated rhythms and harmonized male background vocals reminiscent of 1960′s Motown.

Overall, “Lioness” is a fine addition to Winehouse’s already breathtaking retro-soul repertoire. I’m not ashamed to admit I actually shed a few tears while listening to it for the second or third time when it finally hit me…she’s really gone. Despite her struggle with drugs and alcohol, which eventually claimed Winehouse’s life at the tender age of 27, she provided the public with some quality music which is more than I can say for many of her contemporaries. Reportedly, Winehouse had plans to release a jazz album featuring Salaam Remi and the Roots’ drummer Questlove…ah, what could have been. Amy, we miss you.

A passionate, soulful affair.,
By giucaz (London)
“Lioness” consists of 12 previously unreleased archive recordings and alternate takes, compiled by long-time friends and producers including Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson, in the wake of her death this July, aged just 27.
In the wrong hands, this might have been a slapdash collection, but “Lioness” is presented with genuine tenderness and it never paints Winehouse as a tragic diva stereotype.
The focus, quite rightly, is her vocal talent – not just its soulful power but also its stylistic range. And while there’s an obvious melancholy in hearing Winehouse’s tones again, there’s also dreamy warmth, demonstrated by the opening reggae version of “Our Day Will Come” (originally by 1960s group Ruby & The Romantics Our Day Will Come: Very Best of). Some of these tracks predate Winehouse’s 2003 debut album, “Frank”: there’s her jazzy teenage take on “The Girl From Ipanema” and the arguable stand-out, elegant original soul melody “Halftime” (dating back to 2002).
Her casual charm and command elevates the familiar covers, whether it’s The Shirelles’ “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” or another reworking of The Zutons’ “Valerie”.
There are also curious collaborations: Like “Smoke” is infused with Nas’s rap homage to his Camden ‘homie’, while Winehouse’s final studio recording is “Body & Soul”, a vintage jazz cut with 85 year old crooner Tony Bennett.

Essentially, the material on “Lioness” should have been a foundation, not a memorial, but it feels like a passionate affair.

The end notes are sweet, full of unmistakeable personality and resonance. A Haider

If you enjoyed this album, check out Let It Snow

Excellent Collection of Nostalgic Classics!
By Lee the reader
I love to collect Christmas music. If you’ve heard it twenty years ago on the radio, I’ve probably got it. I mean hundreds of hours of Christmas music clogging up my computer, but heck, what are hard drives for? So I’m well used to being bamboozled by inadequate music. Oh, I’ve usually heard and know the track, but very often the quality, once I’ve bought the actual album, just isn’t quite what I’d like. Also, for every good track there are usually two or three tracks that are a waste. And sometimes they are some strange edition that wasn’t what I thought they were.

Well, this is mostly “cherce”, as Spencer Tracy would say! So many excellent songs here – not only the classic Perry Como, Gene Autry, Elvis Presley stuff, but Sinatra, Ray Conniff; all the old names, plus some great vintage surprises from folks like the McGuire Sisters and Peggy Lee. Reminds me very much of the classic Time-Life Collection that was so good, along with some less heard (at least today) standards. Perhaps it’s a little heavy on Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole, if such a thing is possible.

The quality seems quite good, also. I played some of the tracks next to some of my better recordings and I was happy with it. By the way, the Bing Crosby “White Christmas” isn’t the traditional one you usually hear. I’m pretty sure it is the version from the movie “White Christmas”.

Now if you are the kind of listener that is unhappy with music that wasn’t recorded in the past forty years, this isn’t your collection. But if the great old vocalists make you sigh and say, “Now that’s Music!”, or if you never get tired of the Christmas music that you heard when you were younger, this probably will float your boat, especially for the price. And Merry Christmas!
Many wonderful tracks at a price the Grinch would approve of
By hey_steve
The first thing that struck me when I saw this album recommended for me was that it was going to be another of the classical music series that Amazon offers. Imagine my surprise when I saw the track listing when I came to the product page. If you like Christmas music with a more traditional sound, you should like this collection.

Sure there are many songs that you probably have in your collection already. Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”. Gene Autry’s “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer”. Nat King Coles “The Christmas Song”. But this collection contains many tracks that you may not have like “Jingle Bells” by the legend Les Paul or Ella Fitzgerald singing “Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney”. There are even some songs that I am totally unfamiliar with like “Come Home For Christmas” by The Platters or Kay Starr singing “The Man With The Bag”.

The next thing I was curious about when I went through the song list was that some of the artists names or songs were misspelled. When I see that I also think that the quality of the recordings may also be sub-par. But the ones I have listened to so far seem to be the original recordings with very good sound quality. The one exception which seems to come from a radio show is “Look Out The Window” by the Mellomen.

While some of the songs are duplicated titles, the number of choices on this mp3 download make this point almost moot. If you are having a gathering this Christmas season or for fine background Christmas music, this is an unbeatable deal especially at the price I paid on 11/21/11 of $5.99.

Here’s hoping that this label Music Products will also release some other albums in the future. The classical music series of many tracks are fine, but there are many other genres that could use this treatment.

If you enjoyed this album, check out Let It Snow

This new collection of songs showcases the growth of this incredible artist, who at the very young age of twenty two, exhibits the poise of a seasoned veteran. Adele’s music takes some new direction while staying true to her signature style. “I discovered lots of artists I’d never heard of, particularly Wanda Jackson, Allison Krauss, Yvonne Fair, Andrew Bird, Neko Case, Lady Antebellum and Steel Drivers who I fell in love with. Then I delved in to more from artists I’ve loved forever – Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Elbow, Mos Def, Alanis Morissette, Tom Waits and Sinead O’Connor. There’s something in every single one of these artists that have really really inspired 21.

Beautiful
By Madeline
In the past two years, Adele has refined and reinvented her unique sound that always puts her aching yet powerful vocals and lyrics at the forefront. These are songs that could have been released in the 60s as easily as 30 years from now. Adele has injected her trademark piano ballads with the best from several different musical genres including Americana roots and country, r&b, blues and gospel. The music is exciting and simply is. It lives, breathes.

There are a few tracks towards the middle that are remarkable only because Adele sings them– and while they aren’t quite filler, they aren’t as memorable as standout tracks like “Rolling in the Deep,” “Set Fire to the Rain,” “Someone Like You,” and “Turning Tables.” Adele set the bar so high with these songs that anything else short of magic, is sort of a letdown. However, as a whole–this album so involves you that you can feel these stories as your own.

I played a couple songs for my mom, who at forty years older than I, generally criticizes my music taste, and the first thing she said was “Wow, this girl really knows how to write a story–those songs are beautiful.”

21 is haunting, pulsing, soaring and very intimate. It’s music that will be remembered.

If you enjoyed this album, check out Let It Snow

2011 holiday release from the Grammy-winning vocalist. Christmas, produced by David Foster, Bob Rock and Humberto Gatica, was recorded primarily at Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood and The Warehouse Studios in Vancouver. The album includes guest performances by Shania Twain on “White Christmas” and The Puppini Sisters on “Jingle Bells.” Bubl‚ also put his unique take on such classics as “Silent Night,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” In addition, a Bubl‚ original “Cold December Night” is included on Christmas.

 Buble’s Christmas masterpiece for the holidays
By Robert S. Harmon

 Christmas is an absolutely beautifully recorded and sung album by the velvety rat pack voice of Michael Buble. The arrangements are stellar featuring big band and full orchestra backings by some of the best musicians in the business with a great deal of input from Michael himself and genius producer David Foster. Additional production by Bob Rock gives an especially rewarding re-work of Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You. Michael slows the tempo way down and turns Mariah’s festive version into a very romantic and longing song of desire and passion. What a great version of one of the best Christmas songs written in the last 20 years!

Also quite amazing is Michael’s version of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). Here he wisely sticks to Darlene Love’s original arrangement though the brass and drums are recorded so well and sound so bright it might almost make you forget her original version which is also fantastic. Buble modestly said that he might not have her pipes but he sure made up for it with his own punch and swagger. Another classic is given the Buble treatment and the listener cannot help but get drawn into the singers desire to get his baby home as soon as possible.

There are an amazing 15 songs on this version which includes all traditional songs except for one original written by Michael and his piano player Alan Chang, Cold December Night, another romantic and well sung ballad that would go quite well with an eggnog sitting by the fireplace. There are spicy versions of Holly Jolly Christmas and Jingle Bells as well as an awesome duet with Shania Twain on White Christmas that borrows a great deal from the Drifters version featured in the Home Alone movie.

Michael sings a hauntingly beautiful version of Ave Maria where he really shows the richness and clarity of his amazingly beautiful diction and singing technique. Remember this is a guy who closes out many of his concerts by putting the microphone down on the stage and singing the last song without amplification. Silent Night features a tender brass arrangement at the beginning that segues into a beautiful children’s choir that sings along with Michael.

Michael Buble’s Christmas ranks right up there with the greatest holiday records of all time by Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole and Johnny Mathis. This album is immaculately sung and well produced and is a timeless masterpiece for the ages.

Read more in Amazon’s Michael Bublé Store