Music Monday: Mary J. Blige #TheLondonSessions #O2O

Track Listing
1. Therapy
2. Doubt
3. Not Loving You
4. When You’re Gone
5. Right Now
6. My Loving
7.Long Hard Look
8. Whole Damn Year
9 .Nobody But You
10. Pick Me Up
11. Follow
12. Worth My Time

Mary J. Blige has had quite a career so far -8 multi-platinum albums, 9 Grammys (and thats from THIRTY ONE nominations!), a Golden Globe nom, and 4 AMAs! She has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide – and I had never listened to one of her albums in its entirety until I listened to The London Sessions.  And all I have to say for myself is – Why did I wait so long? She is phenomenal!  Mary J. Blige crossed the Atlantic to collaborate with some wonderful UK talents on this album – Disclosure, Eg White, Emile Sande, Jimmy Napes, Naught Boy, SAM ROMANS and Sam Smith.

The London Sessions will be released by Capitol Records on December 2nd – and I urge you to buy it (Here are some handy links to buy it on iTunes or Amazon!)  My favorite tracks on the album are Therapy and Right Now, but they are all really great songs and I am sure that if you like Mary J. Blige even a tiny bit – or if you’ve never even heard any of her stuff – you will enjoy this album.  It is definitely worth checking out!

According to Capitol Music Group Chairman Steve Barnett, “Mary J. Blige created a one-of-a-kind blend of hip-hop and soul that has excited fans for more than 20 years, making her one of the most successful and acclaimed artists in any genre of music. The London Sessions is a fantastic album; another step forward for this great and enduring artist, and I am thrilled that she is now an important member of our Capitol Records family.”   “It’s all about the London Music scene and I’m so excited to have been part of it, to record my album,” says Blige. “The songs are fun, therapeutic and soulful. This is a beautiful change for me and I’m proud of what we have done here.”

I participated in the Mary J Blige The London Sessions album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided a free album to review but all opinions are my own.

Music Monday: Idina Menzel #HolidayWishes #O2O

Track Listing
Do You Hear What I Hear
The Christmas Song
Baby It’s Cold Outside (w/ Michael Buble)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
All I Want For Christmas
What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
December Prayer
When You Wish Upon a Star
Silent Night
River
Holly Jolly Christmas
White Christmas

Target Exclusive Bonus Tracks
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Mother’s Spiritual

You may know Idina Menzel as a Broadway great, or you may know her as the voice of Elsa from Frozen. Either way – there is no denying that she is a fantastic singer.  Holiday Wishes is a Christmas album recorded by the Tony Award winner and is now out on Warner Brothers.  (Check it out on iTunes and Amazon) The album has a bunch of classics on it – as well as Joni Mitchell’s Christmas-themed song “River”, which is one of Idina’s favorites.  The highlight of the album though, has to be the Baby It’s Cold Outisde duet with none other than Canadian crooner Michael Buble.

I am of the belief that one can never have too many Christmas albums – and this one is a great addition to my collection. (One of these days I’ll see just how many hours of Christmas music I have, but today is not that day.)  I simply love Idina’s voice (I saw her in Wicked 10 years ago!) and this is a great collection of tracks.

I participated in the Idina Menzel Holiday Wishes album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided an album to review but all opinions are my own.

Music Monday: Tori Amos Unrepentant Geraldines

 

Tori

America
Troubles Lament
Wild Way
Wedding Day
Weatherman
16 Shades of Blue
Maids of Ellen-Mere
Promise
Giants Rolling Pin
Selkie
Unrepentant Geraldines
Oyesters
Rose Dover
Invisible Boy

After participating in a social media campaign promoting Tori Amos’s new release, Unrepentatn Geraldines, I received a free copy of the album.  So I figured I might as well review it for Music Monday!  This is Tori’s 8th release to debut in the top 200 and was released in the US on May 13.  I really wasn’t all that familiar with Tori before listening to this album, but I did enjoy it.  I liked how there is a lot of negative things sung on a more happy sing song way – such as “i hate you” and other things. I don’t know why I get a kick out of that.  I guess because if you’re not really paying attention to what the lyrics are you’ll miss that it is negative.  I think my favorite songs on the album are Wild Way and Giants Rolling Pin, which is about the NSA scandals.  Although I did enjoy the whole album and didn’t want to skip any songs.

 

 

Music Monday: U2 Songs of Innocence

U2_Songs_of_Innocence_cover

The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
Every Breaking Wave
California (There Is No End To Love)
Song for Someone
Iris (Hold Me Close)
Volcano
Raised by Wolves
Cedarwood Road
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight
This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now
The Troubles

U2’s latest release, Songs of Innocence, was released by U2 and was available for free from September 9th to October 13 in the iTunes store.  If you have an iPhone or perhaps a more up-to-date iPod than I do, you may have found the album already downloaded to your devices.  I found that many were annoyed by this, some even went so far as to think their accounts were hacked when they saw the album appear.  I, on the other hand, wanted the album and couldn’t figure out how to get it since I am an Android user and my iTunes and iPod are ancient (and I like it that way, because right now ALL my music fits on my iPod and if I upgrade, it won’t!)

This is the 13th album from the band and the album was announced the same day that it was released! (October 13th it will have an actual physical CD release.)  U2 has not released a CD since 2009 and that makes this the biggest gap between albums ever in U2’s album.

I really like this album and it pretty much everything that I would expect and want a U2 album to be. Now if only I can figure out how to get the last song to download… ah, technology!

 

 

Music Monday: Nick and Knight

Nick_&_Knight

One More Time
Nobody Better
Switch
Drive My Car
Take Me Home
Deja Vu
If You Want It
Paper
Just The Two of Us
Halfway There

Nick and Knight is the combined effort from Backstreet Boys Nick Carter and New Kids on the Block’s Jordan Knight.  I was pretty excited for this album initially, but after listening to it pretty much non stop for a couple days, I can take it or leave it.  The songs aren’t anything spectacular, but they don’t suck either.  They are just kind of there.  I don’t find any of them stuck in my head for hours after stopping the CD – which is actually a very weird thing because almost always whatever I am listening to in the car is stuck in my head after I turn the car off, but that is not the case at all with this CD.  I can’t even say it’s a case of me not liking it because I’ve only listened to it once, because at this point I have probably listened to it 5-6 times.   I have to say that Switch is probably the closest to being stuck in my head of all the songs on the album.  I really do wish I loved this album more.

Music Monday: O-Town Lines and Circles

otown

Chasin’ After You
Skydive
Rewind
Playing with Fire
I Won’t Lose
Right Kind of Wrong
Buried Alive
Got to Go
Sometimes Love Ain’t Enough
Lines & Circles

The first time I went to review this album, a couple of the songs weren’t working through iTunes properly so I didn’t bother posting anything until I could listen to the album as a whole.  I wasn’t sure what to think about this album based on the iTunes previews, but I’ve found that the more that I listen the more that I am liking it.  A couple of the songs seem a bit too much like trying to make the O-Town of 00 happen again (let’s get as many women’s names in a song as we can and make liquid dreams 2.0!) but others seem to better represent the sound of the music industry now.

I’m not sure what my favorite song off the album is, but I can say this – after all these years Dan still has one of the greatest voices out there!

I am looking forward to seeing the guys live again next month! I’ll let you know how the new songs sound live!

CD Review: Neil Diamond Melody Road

Melody Road
First Time
Seongha and Jimmy
Something Blue
Nothing But a Heartache
In Better Days
Ooo Do I Wanna Be Yours
Alone at the Ball
Sunny Disposition
Marry Me Now
The Art of Love
Melody Road (Reprise)

Order the album at:

Melody Road is Neil Diamond’s first studio release in 6 years and his first release since he has signed with Capitol Records. Throughout his career he has had 37 Top 40 singles and 16 Top 10 albums in the U.S. 2008’s release Home Before Dark debuted at #1 in the U.S and in the UK on the Billboard Top Albums chart.  The album is to be released on October 21st and was co-produced by Don Was and Jacknife Lee.

The album kicks off with the title track – Melody Road.  I wasn’t sure I would like this CD, but I have to say that this song has such great music that it completely captured my attention and drew me in.  First Time reminds me of the Sesame Street theme song. I’m not really sure why.  The music, I guess!  The whole CD is pretty catchy and I caught myself humming quite a few of the songs to myself after listening.

I have to say that I think that my favorite songs are Nothing But a Heartache and Alone At The Ball.

CD Review: Mary Lambert Heart On My Sleeve

Secrets
So Far Away
Rib Cage
Dear One
When You Sleep
Chasing the Moon
Jessie’s Girl
Monochromatic
Heart on My Sleeve
Wounded Animal
Sum Of Our Parts

Heart On My Sleeve is the full-length debut album from Mary Lambert.  You may know her from Macklemore’s “Same Love” or maybe you’ve heard her single “Secrets” on the radio lately. (I know I have, and I love it!)  After Mary found that she had a platform with her success from working with Macklemore, getting nominated for 2 Grammys and releasing an EP – she created a set of goals for herself for the full-length album.  They were: 1. Have Fun. 2. Create something catchy.  3. Create something that positively impacts the world (how great is this?) 4. Stay true to yourself 5. Make Money.

The album starts off with the super catchy tune “Secrets” which I often end up with stuck in my head when I hear it on the radio.  The rest of the album is a bit slower and not quite as catchy, but still a great listen.  I love a lot of these songs, as many of them I can relate to – not thinking that you fit in, etc.  And Mary has a beautiful voice.  Oh, and if you were wondering, yes Jessie’s Girl IS the cover that you are thinking of!

 

You can buy the album on the following sites:

 iTunes 
Amazon

Find out more about Mary at her official site: www.marylambertsings.com

I participated in the Mary Lambert Heart On My Sleeve album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided a free album to review but all opinions are my own.

Music Monday: Ariana Grande My Everything

ariana

Problem
One Last Time
Why Try
Break Free
Best Mistake
Be My Baby
Break Your Heart Right Back
Love Me Harder
Just a Little Bit of Your Heard
Hands on Me
My Everything

My Everything is the 2nd album from Ariana Grande who apparently is the artist that no one knows according to every Big Brother blog I read. (Friends and I have come to the conclusion that everyone knows her song if they hear it – they just don’t realize that it is her.  And if you can’t recognize the song? I hate to say it … but you’re old.)

I don’t know if I’ve listened to Ariana’s first album in its entirety or not, but this one is a bit different than what I was expecting from her considering what I had heard her perform when I saw her live in 2011. (Yeah, I’ve known about her for a while, but I can’t take the credit. We only went because Action Item was opening.)  I do enjoy this album but it’s not quite my style, I guess you could say.  It seems to lean a bit more towards hip hop (I guess?) than I do.

My only complaint with Ariana is that I can never understand what she is singing! Enunciate, girl!  Although I did read an article about Break Free having a couple of lines that were grammatically incorrect. (“Now that I’ve become who I really are”) Ariana fought the song writer on it and LOST.  Is it really that big of a deal to sing AM instead of ARE? It’s not like the syllables are different! Although it WAS written by Max Martin who has a freaking ton of hit singles that he’s written out there, so I guess he knows what he is doing, but is it really too much to ask to try a little bit harder to be grammatically correct?  (ps since I’ve been debating a 6 degrees of Hanson on my CD reviews – Ariana can be linked to Hanson through Max Martin who co wrote Last Friday Night for Katy Perry – Hanson was in the video and he also wrote for Marion Raven – Zac’s ex-girlfriend.)

Music Monday: Jammy Jams – Pop Goes Lullaby

jammyjamsJammy Jams is back with Pop Goes Lullaby 3!

Track listing:
1. Dark Horse (Lullaby Rendition of Katy Perry)
2. Stay With Me (Lullaby Rendition of Sam Smith)
3. Fancy (Lullaby Rendition of Iggy Azalea)
4. Maps (Lullaby Rendition of Maroon 5)
5. Ain’t it Fun (Lullaby Rendition of Paramore)
6. Summer (Lullaby Rendition of Calvin Harris)
7. Problem (Lullaby Rendition of Ariana Grande)
8. Am I Wrong (Lullaby Rendition of Nico & Vinz)
9. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Lullaby Rendition of Fall Out Boy)
10. Chandelier (Lullaby Rendition of Sia)

 

Another great release from Jammy Jams! I never realized how perfect Dark Horse was for a lullaby!  If you listen to Top 40 as much as I do, you will have no problem recognizing the songs included on this CD.  If you have a child who likes to listen to lullabys before bed and you are looking for something that Mom and Dad can enjoy as well, I definitely can’t recommend Jammy Jams enough. I don’t even have a child and I love listening to these lullaby’s myself! They are soothing renditions of songs that I am already familiar with.

Check out this release and many, many others at http://jammyjams.bandcamp.com/

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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