DG's Album Reviews

DG's MUSICAL PREFERENCES: I'm an eclectic, so every type of music is reviewed here, except country and oldies (the only two musical types I do not like). The sources are pretty simple: they're albums I've purchased with my own money (not yet the big-time guy that gets them for free) and, to get reviewed here, they have to be relatively new. Most of the albums I do acquire are relatively new ones (e.g. still spawning singles), so most of my collection will be reviewed. I will, however, make references to albums of previous years that I've collected but, since I only started my World Issues Page in February, are not reviewed. I've been listening to music intentively for about five years now, and, having heard millions of songs over the years, I think I have a pretty good handle on what is good and what is not.

WHAT DG LOOKS FOR: First and foremost, the tracks have to be a pretty good listen. There's nothing worse than listening to an album that lulls you to sleep. Second, I look for creativity and originality, something to set the work apart from others in its class, and also to see if the artist, within the album itself, can also be creative and original. Third, it has to work. A discombobulated album won't score a lot of points with me, as it almost proves the artist didn't try too hard or "tried too hard". Fourth, I look for artistic merit- one should never forget that artists, in the end, create "art", so artists that can succeed in creating deep, sensual and overall stunning music get rewarded here. No "cookie-cutters" allowed.

Anyway, here are the reviews.

This Edition:
Michelle Branch- The Spirit Room
Eminem- The Eminem Show
1 Giant Leap- (Self-Titled)
My Picks

Michelle Branch- The Spirit Room

Category: Pop-Rock

Rating: WWWWW

Song of the Album: "All You Wanted"

My Alternate Title: "The Amazing Art-Pop Combination"

There's usually a conundrum that surrounds popular music artists when they create their records, and is a challenge that holds many back. "How do we create both a sonically great, artistic album that can sell?" Maybe they haven't asked themselves that question, but, undeniably it dogs them at one point or another. Then there's Michelle Branch, the 18-year-old Sedona, Arizona native armed with her trusty guitar and sensational writing skills to simply blow the competition away.

So what basically is "The Spirit Room", Branch's debut album, you ask? Well, it is everything a pop album could be: a sonically great and artistic album that can sell. It's not an easy task, but Branch, who wrote all of the songs, has not only done the job, but has done it admirably. Every track is written to perfection, written with an artistic flair rarely ever seen in pop musicians these days yet is still able to make the songs work for today's mainstream market. For example, "All You Wanted", my pick for the "Song of the Album", is one of the most beautifully crafted songs I've ever heard, but, at the same time, is still laced with the right "poppy" beats to keep the song a pop song that arguably ranks among the best. Other tracks have varying degrees of "artsiness" and "poppiness", but, no matter what, each one still comes out as both an artsy song and a poppy song. Conveiniently, the first track "Everywhere" is the most "poppy" and the last one, "Drop in the Ocean", is the most artsy, but, as I said earlier, both still have elements of the other side to keep Branch's style fluid and intact.

As for the actual sound, I have a problem figuring out who it connects to- not because there isn't a niche for it, but because the work is so much better than her fellow artisans that it is difficult to adequately place within a "pack". Officially, she belongs with artists like Jewel and Avril Lavigne, but, like I said, she differentiates herself so much from that pack mainly because the work is many leaps and bounds ahead of her group that she almost puts herself in a league by herself. What's the problem with the other artists you ask? Well, for starters, Jewel's a bit dry and Lavigne is a little childish, but then again it's probably expected from the teenaged Lavigne (mind you, Branch is a teenager herself and is much smarter). Vanessa Carlton? Too simple. Alicia Keys? Too sappy. Sheryl Crow? Her songs have that potential but for some reason she never really gets there. Now, I don't want to take anything away from the above artists- they're all great artists, and, since Carlton, Keys and Lavigne are new at this, they still have room to develop. However, Branch has set a pretty high standard and, at just 18, also has room to develop and that should be good news for music listeners everywhere and bad news for the competition.

If there is any problem with the album, it is the fact that it is this good. Not to say bad albums are good- they never are- but when hearing something this great, you only have to ask, does the artist have what it takes to top it? Branch has set a pretty high bar that is very hard to get over and will need another monster effort to reach. However, Branch has shown great poise and confidence in this work that I'm sure that she can easily do it again. Like the All-Music Guide said about her, "she definitely has a great future ahead of her" and, after listening to "The Spirit Room", there's no denying that she definitely does.

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Eminem- The Eminem Show

Category: Rap

Rating: WWW

Song of the Album: "Sing for the Moment", featuring Joe Perry and Steve Tyler of Aerosmith

My Alternate Title: "The Best Second Half Album Ever"

(Parental Advisory: Explicit Content)

"Guess who's back/Shady's back/Tell a friend/Guess who's back/Guess who's back/Guess who's back (fades)"

Well, if you haven't guessed, Shady- or "Slim Shady", A.K.A. Eminem A.K.A. Marshall Mathers- is back and ready to go. Those opening lines are for his first single, "Without Me" that is simply obliterating the charts, meant to ring in the world's most ardent debators (and debates), and, love him or hate him, Mathers always leaves a mark, especially with his third offering "The Eminem Show".

I've long held that Eminem, whenever he raps or speaks his mind, hits the nail on the head every single time. For example, in "White America", the album's second track, Mathers blares "Look at my sales/Lets do the math, If I was Black I would've sold half, I ain't got to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that". Now, that obviously is a disturbing statement to hear, but, unfortunately, it's true. To use Canada's MuchMusic Countdown (probably Canada's best chart to judge national popularity) as an example, no American Black rap artist has hit No. 1 since Dr. Dre did- with Mathers' help- in 2000 with "Forgot About Dre". To add to that, the only other Black rappers to hit No. 1 in the last five years were Puff Daddy (now P. Diddy), Choclair, the Rascalz (twice) and Prevail as a Swollen Member. Other than Puffy, all of those artists are Canadian. To put that in perspective, Mathers has hit No. 1 four times in that same time period, and twice held for a week. That is a total of six weeks on top (based on Much's formula, that is a good thing). Conversely, since Puffy was the only one have a song hold at No. 1 ("I'll Be Missing You", 1997), the Black artists only have a total of seven weeks on top. Now, maybe Mathers is simply better than the other artists- Black or not- and I'm starting to have my doubts as to whether I can truly trust the MuchMusic Countdown, but, all told, Mathers still has his point and states it beautifully. Speaking of Dre, he gets the award for the best line in the entire album, biting back at Jermaine Dupri saying (in "Say What You Say") "eighty million records sold and I ain't have to do it with ten or eleven year-olds."

Okay: enough with the debate. You're probably wondering why I give "the Eminem Show" three W's as opposed to five, since, after all, Mathers has managed to strike a cord yet again. It's because that, despite having great material on the album, the album is really slow to start up. The first nine tracks are not overtly exhilarating and, while it features some great moments- like "White America" and "Soldier"- as a whole, it starts flat. Then "Without Me" comes on and everything changes. Mathers suddenly sounds inspired, and executive producer Dr. Dre starts belting out sensational sounding tracks to complement Mathers' biting lyrics. The result is a sonically great second half, really closing "the Show" with an effective bang while not losing any of Mathers' pomp. To me, if the album was the last eleven tracks as opposed to the whole thing, "the Eminem Show" would have easily scored a five. Mathers again proves that he's among the best in the rap business- if not the best- with this work, but the slow start hinders what should have been a great work.

Now, don't get me wrong: plenty of the material is dark and controversial in nature. The second-last track, for example, "My Dad's Gone Crazy" (featuring Mathers' daughter Hailie Jade) where Mathers, in the song, seems to literally go crazy and starts implicating everyone and everything he is angry at in a very dark, biting, curseful and on-going rage. Sonically, though, the album's second half is still strong and lifts the album as a whole to "enjoyability" status. Lyrically in parts it is questionable but I'm not going to debate that here- right now, all I want to focus on is the material. Overall, it is a good album that should catch on, but the slow start tarnishes the work.

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1 Giant Leap- "1 Giant Leap"

Category: Electronic/World

Rating: WWWWW

Song of the Album: Braided Hair featuring Speech, Ulali & Neneh Cherry

My Alternate Title: "The World Unites"

Ambitious would probably best describe the project of Duncan Bridgeman and Jamie Catto, the producer duo who are 1 Giant Leap, as they set out to bring in as many artists from all corners of the world to unite and record songs for them. For the most part, the duo did manage to bring in artists from various sections of the globe, but for whatever reason, they couldn't manage to land a single Latin American/Native American act for the album. I won't let that take away from a beautiful album, as 1GL beautifully combined the sounds of the world into one rhythmic and artistic beat.

Overall, 1GL offers the listener a variety of different tones and musical levels throughout the album, ranging from soft and soothing like "Ta Moko" (featuring New Zealand's Whiri Mako Black) to peaceful and melodic like "My Culture" (featuring Britain's Robbie Williams, the ex-Take That member, and Maxi Jazz of Faithless fame) to driving and invigorating like "Braided Hair" (featuring the U.S.' Speech and Ulali as well as Britain's Neneh Cherry). It is carefully woven into one musical blend, almost seamless, calming and relaxing the soul as it moves along.

If there is one complaint about the album it is that the songs are a bit too long. Many songs take two or three minutes to get started, and the beats can last a few minutes more. The longest is "The Way You Dream" with REM's Michael Stipe and Asha Bhose of India, stretching a good eight minutes long, and "All Alone" featuring South Africa's The Mahotella Queens also stretches almost eight minutes. However, I believe that a good song masks its length, and, on this account 1GL succeeds masterfully. Though the starts are long, you don't even realize it since 1GL does a great job of wrapping up the listener into the song. One must also remember that this is a true art album, and, being in the electronic field, songs tend to be long anyway to get the maximum effect. It is up to 1GL, then, to figure out how to make sure no one notices the length, which they do masterfully. Another problem, though, is the market: this is great music, yes, but one almost has to ask themselves "can this work in the mainstream?" Yes and no. Art songs tend not to do very well mainstream, not because mainstreamers have a poor taste in music (they don't) but because the public tends to reject things that are too "different" like 1GL. Mind you, Moby, an artist almost exactly like 1GL, did manage to sell millions of albums, so the problem may just lie in the distribution. When it is all said and done, 1GL has made one of the year's best albums, reaching a sonic level very few artists ever reach.

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My Picks

It is a very close race considering the artists mentioned here. Both Michelle Branch and 1 Giant Leap have rendered some of the best album work in years, and Eminem A.K.A. Marshall Mathers, is always a contender because of his controversial style. However, for this one I'll pick Branch as the overall winner, but only slightly beating out 1GL, which is just as artistically strong. This is because Branch's music can both be considered art and pop at the same time, able to be accepted mainstream without problems and yet still retain the artsy element Branch works to perfection. 1GL is definitely art, but, to me anyway, it sounds too different to be accepted mainstream, a pity considering the excellence of the work. As for Mathers: his work starts off too slowly, but, once Mathers does get warmed up halfway through the album, the result is a wonderful (but dark) joy ride. Still, it is Branch, with the versatility rarely ever seen in pop artists, taking the checkered flag in this one.

-DG

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