Sunday, October 08, 2006

Number 780 - Faith No More



Number 780

Faith No More

"Epic"

(1989)
.
Genre:Nu Rock
With their fusion of heavy metal, funk, hip-hop, and progressive rock, Faith No More has earned a substantial cult following. By the time they recorded their first album in 1985, the band had already had a string of lead vocalists, including Courtney Love; their debut, We Care a Lot, featured Chuck Mosley's abrasive vocals but was driven by Jim Martin's metallic guitar. Faith No More's next album, 1987's Introduce Yourself, was a more cohesive and impressive effort; for the first time, the rap and metal elements didn't sound like they were fighting each other.[Source:ArtistDirect]

I must admit when i first heard Faith No More their style of music really didn't appeal to me.Now looking back, Faith No More were really the forerunners of fusion music for the likes of Linkin Park, Gorrilaz, Limp Bizkit and Blindspott (now there's a group which hasn't been heard by many and that is a shame) which were all to follow Faith.
Faith No More's song "Easy" the Lionel Richie cover is a classic which would have been in "The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time" but "Epic was far more more important in context of this list.
For Linken Park visit @ MM Vol 1 Number 056
For Gorillaz visit @ MM Vol 1 Number 068
For Lionel Richie see Number 982
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Epic? So what if it is groundbreaking, our magazine covers are "groundbreaking" too!) and the Album ranked at Number (Bleh)
This song has a crowbarred rating of 65 out of 108

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posted by crowbarred at 6:24 pm 0 comments

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Number 779 - Keith Urban




Number 779

Keith Urban

"Tonight I Wanna Cry"

(2004)
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Genre:Country
Born in New Zealand, Keith Urban learned to play guitar as a six-year-old in Australia, after a young woman asked to place an ad in his dad's shop window offering guitar lessons. His parents made a deal with her that they would advertise in return for lessons for their young son. The boy had natural ability. By the time he was eight, Urban was winning talent shows. He also was involved in a youth acting company which required him to sing, dance, and memorize lines, all of which led to the ease on-stage, which would serve him well in his music career.
With his father deeply interested in American culture and country music, it was also natural that Urban would gravitate toward country music early on, when he was influenced by the singing of Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton, and Don Williams, and the songwriting of Jimmy Webb ("Galveston"). Urban added his own dimension to those influences when he discovered Dire Straits, and became interested in the guitar playing of Mark Knopfler and Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham, embarking on in-depth study and endless practice of their techniques.
At the start of the '90s, Australian country music was primed for a revolution. Keith Urban -- young, brash, blonde, rock-ish -- was part of that revolution. His first album saw him win several major awards. Throughout his rise Urban always had his eye on Nashville in the U.S.A. That's where the music in his heart was born and still lived. Almost from the beginning he made periodical pilgrimages to Nashville, forging valuable career bridges. In 1997 Urban decided to base himself in Nashville. With his Australian bandmate, drummer Peter Clarke, he formed the three-piece band the Ranch. Their original bass player soon returned to Australia, but West Virginian Jerry Flowers quickly fit in.
Their live shows, featuring Urban's standout lead guitar playing, led to a record deal with Capitol Nashville and a management contract with I.R.S. Records founder/Police manager Miles Copeland. The group's debut album, The Ranch, was released to critical acclaim in 1997. Critics raved about the album's unique take on country music and Urban's guitar playing. Other artists also took notice, and when the Ranch disbanded, other artists called on Urban to add some of his fleet-fingered magic to their records. Garth Brooks asked Urban to play on Double Live. The Dixie Chicks invited him to play on their second album. Matt Rollings, one of Nashville's top musicians, hired Urban as a session player on an album he was producing and the two immediately clicked.
Impressed by Rollings' knowledge of Nashville's session players, Urban asked him to produce his next record, another solo album. His tour in support of that album included opening for such major acts as Dwight Yoakam, Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw, as well as headlining his own shows. Ten years on he was doing to Nashville what he'd done to Tamworth, Australia's country music capital, with a string of successful records that included Golden Road, In the Ranch, and Be Here. The result was American country hits for "It's a Love Thing" and "Your Everything" and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Instrumental Performance for "Rollercoaster." In 2005, he released an anthology (Days Go By) as well as a live DVD (Livin' Right Now). The next year, Urban continued to attract media attention with his highly-publicized engagement and marriage to fellow Australian Nicole Kidman. ~ Ed Nimmervoll
Hmmm a Kiwi marrying an Australian, is that allowed?
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (What is the problem with you Kiwi's?) and the Album ranked at Number (Sod off)
This song has a crowbarred rating of 65 out of 108
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posted by crowbarred at 9:37 pm 0 comments

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Number 781 - Santana


Number 781

Santana

"Smooth"

(1999)
.
Genre:Latin Rock
" Santana is the primary exponent of Latin-tinged rock, particularly due to its combination of Latin percussion (congas, timbales, etc.) with bandleader Carlos Santana's distinctive, high-pitched lead guitar playing. The group was the last major act to emerge from the psychedelic San Francisco music scene of the 1960s and it enjoyed massive success at the end of the decade and into the early '70s. The musical direction then changed to a more contemplative and jazzy style as the band's early personnel gradually departed, leaving the name in the hands of Carlos Santana, who guided the group to consistent commercial success over the next quarter-century. By the mid-'90s, Santana seemed spent as a commercial force on records, though the group continued to attract audiences for its concerts worldwide. But the band made a surprising and monumental comeback in 1999 with Supernatural, an album featuring many guest stars that became Santana's best-selling release and won a raft of Grammy Awards. "
sing it sonny
"Carlos and Davis put together Supernatural, which was stuffed with appearances by high-profile guest stars including Eagle-Eye Cherry, Wyclef Jean, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Rob Thomas of matchbox 20, Everlast, and Dave Matthews. Arista released the album in June 1999, followed by the single "Smooth" featuring Rob Thomas. Album and single hit number one and in 2000, a second single, "Maria Maria," also topped the charts. Supernatural's sales exploded, taking it past ten million copies and the album garnered 11 Grammy nominations. Santana won eight Grammys, for Record of the Year ("Smooth"), Album of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("Maria Maria"), Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals ("Smooth"), Best Pop Instrumental Performance ("El Farol"), Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal ("Put Your Lights On"), Best Rock Instrumental Performance ("The Calling"), and Best Rock Album, and "Smooth" won the Grammy for Song of the Year for authors Rob Thomas and Itaal Shur. The follow-up, Shaman, appeared in 2002. Three years later All That I Am arrived with Steven Tyler, Michelle Branch, Big Boi, Joss Stone, Bo Bice, and many more making guest appearances. ~ William Ruhlmann
For Eric Clapton see Number 537
For Eagle Eye Cherry see Number 787
For Dave Matthews visit Mellow Mix Volume 1 #066
What does RS think of Santana?
Through a long, erratic career laden with personnel changes, the group Santana has maintained popularity and critical respect with what was in the beginning an innovative fusion of rock, fiery Afro-Latin polyrhythms, and contrasting cool, low-key vocals. In time, group leader/guitarist Carlos Santana was drawn to jazz-rock fusion and worked outside the band with John McLaughlin, Stanley Clarke, and others. Though the mid-'70s saw Santana becoming involved in spiritual mysticism (he affixed "Devadip" before his name), by the decade's end the band was back in hard-driving rhythmic form and chalked up several hit dance singles. The group continued to perform off and on into the '90s; in 1994 Santana appeared at Woodstock '94, one of three acts who had previously performed at the original '69 festival that were asked to return to the 25th anniversary concert. Five years later, Clive Davis signed the band to Arista Records and, by teaming Santana with a varied host of current hitmakers (including Wyclef Jean and Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty), orchestrated one of the most phenomenal comeback success stories in rock & roll history. ~ [Source: Rolling Stone]
Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Would you believe no Santana songs at all?) and the Album ranked at Number (Tough Biccies)
This song has a total rating of 64.9 out of 108
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posted by crowbarred at 12:33 pm 2 comments