Positive Reviews

Hi guys! Usually when I do a research for my blog I decide to rely on blind luck. This time with some help of a friend from work I turned to Japan to discover some jazz music. Then album Morning Island by Sadao Watanabe emerged. After quick check on the Internet I realised that I’m about to hear a legendary musician that was playing on saxophone before even my parents were born! So I quickly dived into this album and learnt that there is a lot of beautiful music ahead of me. Sadao Watanbe is a Japanese multi instrumentalist who divided his time between his homeland and USA (he was a student in Boston Barkley's collage). Morning Island is a 42th (!) release by this great musician (he has more than 70 compilations and albums done!). So at the start I had a title song. And it couldn't be more beautiful! Sound is soothing, mellow with a flute that provides a lovely melody, if you are not in the mood after you woke up, try this song! I bet it will ease your nerves and help y...

Hello guys! Is there any nostalgic feeling in you that wants you to turn on the old song from your childhood? Some similar tunes to get the same vibe? When I found Freebee and their self-titled album it took me back to the times when euro pop ruled. Freebe was a band from Sweden and that is pretty enigmatic in the Internet (barely any info I can find about them). So without too much background I listened their album. What strikes me hard at the start that their sound is pure 90s. There was a need for this kind of music and their feel that gap. And Sweden had a long lasting success with releasing bands that conquered Europe with their music, just to mentioned Army of Lovers or Ace of Base. And especially similarity to that second band you can find on most of the tracks on Freebe . I’m assuming i t’ s because they had the same production group (but can’t find a solid info abut it so don’t take my word for granted!). But apart from that, Freebee group add ed some more authenticity ...

Hello beautiful creatures! Another Sunday and another meeting with positive reviews! Today I‘m going to talk about a band which was one of the first bands signed by legendary label Megaforce Records. I will not lie to you: metal music is close to my heart but when I was doing my research I couldn’t recall anything from this band. Their career maybe wasn’t long and extremely successful but nonetheless, they left us a couple of good tracks on their most popular album Metal of Honor . Band started their journey in 1979 and a couple of years later they signed a mayor label contract. The alum I will be reviewing today was their second, after T.T. Quick EP from two years before. At the start we get a great and powerful title song. Their powerful guitars, strong mix and charismatic vocal from Mark Tornillo (who currently sings in metal band Accept). At the start my first thought about Mark singing, led me to legendary AC/DC’s vocalist Brian Johnson. If someone loves this unique vocal fro...

Hello readers! Today I will guide you through a genre I knew almost nothing about but with Last Fair Deal I could discover a new promise land of music. Rory Block is a well respected guitarist who started her career in early 60's as a 15 year old teenage girl. Next 20 years she was trying to land a success and finally, after signing with a professional record label in 1981, she made her mark. She was always inspired by classical blues guitarists and Mississippi Delta blues style (another thing I had no clue that exists!). Her record from 2003 was 24th(sic!) album, first with independent label Telarc. So with no further ado, let me share with you my experience. The album, from the start to the end, is a magical duo: Rory’s vocal and her guitar. It starts with “Gone Again”, where her extremely high guitar technique caught my attention. What is cool, it’s not polished like a billion-sales records but instead it has a soul, something that is very high regarded in my eyes. Livel...

Good evening folks! After choosing “Hydrology” as my another album for Positive Reviews, I wasn't aware how much I still don’t know about the artist I like to listening. Recoil is a project which started with Alan Wilder demo. After I heard his name I was like: isn't it that guy from Depeche Mode? I dived quickly to Wikipedia to find out more about it and I was right! This name rang a bell just quite right but I was in shock. How could I pass on his work until this point? After getting myself back to normal I started to explore his album. And what did I discover? A lot of unexpecting moments that stayed deep into my head. But to not get ahead of myself let me take you slowly but firmly through these 3 songs that filled for more than 37 minutes (yep, This is not a joke). “Grain” is the first song and also the shortest one (barely 7 minutes and 44 seconds;) on this album. It starts with a grand piano sound that plays a perfect loop for some first couple of minutes, then other...

Band with that unique name appeared on my research for a new post. How could I pass the opportunity to check what kind of music is hiding beneath this name. To my suspire I spent next 35 minutes in a very positive and groovy mood. Their debut album starts with an unorthodox “DDD-BMT”. Short but great song for an intro but with so surprising lyrics, that you can’t be sure if these five British guys take it seriously. Next songs take us in a roller-coaster of happy upbeat songs and romantic ballads. As it was a golden era for bands like the Beatles you can hear harmonised vocal that closely reminds of that Liverpool’s band. Getting further in the album, we can hear “All I Want to Do” is a very catchy song which has a great vibe. Tambourine, simple guitar and easy to remember lyrics make this song one of my favourite. “Frustration” brings a bit different style, that could be associated with other great British band, Rolling Stones. Especially the way the vocalist is singing, he...

Hello folks! With today’s review I will take you and myself to a land of beautiful classic guitar. We move to 1994 when a fantastic multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Badi Assad showed her unique style. She came from a musical family , where father and brothers also indulge themselves in a world of music. Solo is a sophomore album, after her debut  Danca do Tons . It starts with surprising silence but soon we can taste tat almost an hour of music will be magical. Her playing technique, original way to lay classical guitar, gives a lot of emotions that strike through album. “Num Pagode Em Planaltina” is filled with small details that will keep you interested. Pristine recording (don’t forget that in th e se times there was no software like a DAW that could help with recording and mixing, old school a l l the way!) sounds just beautiful. Every stroke, every tap, every mute is full of life. With good quality speakers you c ould feel like she was sitting next to you. In “A Bel...

Hi guys! With another Wednesday comes another Positive Review! This time I found a band that is rooted deeply in funk and acid jazz. Shame on me as they’re a bit older than me and I’ve never heard of them (this is why I have the blog, to educated myself and share my experience with you). They released 10 albums and bunch of other stuff (for more info, check their Wikipedia page). Two masterminds, Simon Bartholomew and Andrew Levy, since the start keep the right course for the band. “Get Used to it” is their 7 th album. It’s a fantastic mix of funk, jazz, bit of a samba rhythm and a lot of dancing and swinging song, which you can easily mix in your playlist when you will be organising some house party! Titled song is one of my favourites. Suggestive melody done by brilliantly played bass guitar, voice of N’Dea Davenport creates very smooth and almost erotic feel. It’s one of the most sensual songs on whole album. Love to come back to it. In “We Won’t Stop” vocal brings R’n’B charac...

When by a blind luck I picked band Ball & Chain I didn’t know what to expect. I couldn’t find to much information about them. No Wikipedia page (at least I couldn't find one), barely any info on other sites. This made me a bit nervous. How could I provide some more depth to this review? But fortunately “Appalachian Hammer” has some much juice and I don’t need any support to present you these fine 40 minutes of music. Ball & Chain plays southern rock/metal music. If you’re familiar with this genre, you don’t need to much introduction. But if this American style is less known let me give you some info: grove heavy guitars, a punchy bass, dynamic drums and a manly voice with lyrics about life, history and pride of American people from smaller cities/town/villages. Also regional instruments, like banjo (this can be more associated with country music), have their voices here. “Redneck Metalhead” takes you slowly into this unique style and after tittle words, fun begins. Not ...