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murlough23
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« on: January 17, 2006, 12:35:44 AM » |
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An unofficial theme began to emerge for some of our picks in this round... it kind of amused me. Keep in mind that this is the final round of SGTC Mach II. All guesses should be in by midnight on Monday, January 23. At that point (or whenever I get a free moment after that), I'll tally up the scores and declare a winner. The albums being reviewed in this round: bdg: The W's, Fourth from the Last (Clips)bloop: Deerhoof, The Runners Four (Clips)Brenden: Sufjan Stevens, Enjoy Your Rabbit (Clips)Danny: Linford Detwiler, Grey Ghost Stories (Clips)Josh: Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor (Clips)murlough: Blues Traveler, Four (Clips)NinjaRob: John Reuben, Professional Rapper (Clips)plvarona: Jeni Varnadeau, No Hesitation (Clips)Wildcat: Bill Withers, Greatest Hits (Clips)worldofcm: 4Him, The Message (Clips) |
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bdg13disciple
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« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2006, 01:35:49 PM » |
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ha, there's four of us that picked within the theme of "four"
peace... love... bdg...
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Brenden
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« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2006, 07:26:43 PM » |
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Wow, nobody has even voted yet. I'll do mine almost at random, since I'm not gonna get to the top score anyway.
bdg: 3 stars
bloop: 4 stars
Danny: 4 stars
Josh: 3 stars
murlough: 4 stars
NinjaRob: 3 stars
plvarona: 4 stars
Wildcat: 3 stars
worldofcm: 4 stars
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Wildcatblue7
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« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2006, 07:44:01 PM » |
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because a snowball has a better chance in hell than I do here . . .
Four for all. I didn't even look at the selections. haha.
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worldofcm
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« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2006, 11:01:12 PM » |
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I'm going to be a bit daring and go for 3 for all...
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Chris~~
worldofcm.com
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bdg13disciple
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« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2006, 08:28:35 PM » |
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bloop: Deerhoof, The Runners Four (4)
Brenden: Sufjan Stevens, Enjoy Your Rabbit (4)
Danny: Linford Detwiler, Grey Ghost Stories (3)
Josh: Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor (4)
murlough: Blues Traveler, Four (3)
NinjaRob: John Reuben, Professional Rapper (3)
plvarona: Jeni Varnadeau, No Hesitation (3)
Wildcat: Bill Withers, Greatest Hits (3)
worldofcm: 4Him, The Message (3)
peace... love... bdg...
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plvarona
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« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2006, 01:10:34 PM » |
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bdg: 3 stars
bloop: 4 stars
Brenden: 4 stars
Danny: 3 stars
Josh: 3 stars
murlough: 4 stars
NinjaRob: 4 stars
Wildcat: 3 stars
worldofcm: 3 stars
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- Phil V.  My current pub songs: Andrew Peterson: "The Reckoning (How Long)" (from Counting Stars) Jars of Clay: "Out of My Hands" (from an upcoming release) The Mynabirds: "Numbers Don't Lie" (from What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood) |
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NinjaRob17
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« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2006, 06:31:52 PM » |
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bdg: The W's, Fourth from the Last - 4 stars
bloop: Deerhoof, The Runners Four - 3 stars
Brenden: Sufjan Stevens, Enjoy Your Rabbit - 4 stars
Danny: Linford Detwiler, Grey Ghost Stories - 4 stars
Josh: Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor - 3 stars
murlough: Blues Traveler, Four - 4 stars
plvarona: Jeni Varnadeau, No Hesitation - 4 stars
Wildcat: Bill Withers, Greatest Hits - 3 stars
worldofcm: 4Him, The Message - 2 stars
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bloop
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« Reply #8 on: January 23, 2006, 04:55:15 AM » |
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bdg: 4
Brenden: 4
Danny: 3
Josh: 3
Murlough: 4
plvarona: 4
Wildcat: 3
WorldofCM: 3
NinjaRob: 4
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Enjoy our pub. user/pw: thephorum Follow me on Grooveshark or Spotify. username: iceybloop |
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murlough23
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« Reply #9 on: January 23, 2006, 12:49:39 PM » |
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bdg: 3 stars
bloop: 4 stars
Brenden: 3 stars
Danny: 4 stars
Josh: 3 stars
NinjaRob: 4 stars
plvarona: 3 stars
Wildcat: 4 stars (interesting that I've heard no less than 3 of these songs covered by CCM acts)
worldofcm: 4 stars (The Message remains my favorite 4Him album, for what it's worth.)
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« Last Edit: January 23, 2006, 04:15:49 PM by murlough23 »
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Josh
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« Reply #10 on: January 23, 2006, 07:17:54 PM » |
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bdg: 4
bloop: 4
Brenden: 3
Danny: 4
murlough: 4
NinjaRob: 4
plvarona: 3
Wildcat: 4
worldofcm: 4
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danny316
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« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2006, 01:48:11 AM » |
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bdg: The W's, Fourth from the Last 4 stars
bloop: Deerhoof, The Runners Four 4 stars
Brenden: Sufjan Stevens, Enjoy Your Rabbit 4 stars
Josh: Alicia Keys, Songs in A Minor 3 stars
murlough: Blues Traveler, Four 4 stars
NinjaRob: John Reuben, Professional Rapper 4 stars
plvarona: Jeni Varnadeau, No Hesitation 3 stars
Wildcat: Bill Withers, Greatest Hits 4 stars
worldofcm: 4Him, The Message 3 stars
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Someday, Dan will make a site with nothing but pictures of amusing stolen avatars.
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murlough23
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« Reply #12 on: January 24, 2006, 02:21:59 AM » |
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Alright, so the deadline has passed.
Rather predictably, I'm going to give 4 stars to Four. There's some good playing on this record... much more to it than just the fun radio singles "Run Around" and "Hook" (though I still enjoy those too). BT's formula is simple, but effective on both their rockers and their ballads. The only problem is that the rock-boogie-with-harmonica-solo formula starts to wear thin near the end, and John Popper's voice can grate on my nerves after a while. But "Fallible", "The Mountains Win Again", and "Price to Pay" are all great songs that I'm just now discovering for the first time, and of course there's "Just Wait", a pivotal song that helped me through troubled times in my collge days. All in all, enjoyable stuff from a band that I might have to look into a little more one of these days.
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danny316
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« Reply #13 on: January 24, 2006, 02:32:54 AM » |
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I'm going to be honest - I think the album I picked may be a bit of grower. Listen after listen, I like the occasional repeating melody, or the sheer talent present on the recording, but I get lost by the short length of the songs (and album overall) and by the way the songs blend together. Right now most of the songs still sound more-or-less the same. The album seems to end before it really gets going. It's nice to hear more of Linford's piano work, but it's mostly background music to me right now.
So, I may regret this later, but I'm giving this two stars. It's played well, but the melodies just aren't exciting. I have a feeling that this one will grow on me in the time to come, but for now, just two.
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Someday, Dan will make a site with nothing but pictures of amusing stolen avatars.
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Brenden
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« Reply #14 on: January 24, 2006, 06:26:10 AM » |
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Enjoy Your Rabbit is different. There are times when the tracks are excellent and evoke images that can go along with the animals, like Year of The Dragon evokes flying. Sometimes the tracks go on a little long or just aren't terribly interesting.
I'll go with 3 stars for this one. There are too many moments where I just lose interest as opposed to enjoying the song.
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Wildcatblue7
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« Reply #15 on: January 24, 2006, 11:18:47 AM » |
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plvarona
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« Reply #16 on: January 24, 2006, 02:11:49 PM » |
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Well, this week I did an album from an artist whom I saw live six years ago and kind-of liked, but didn't get a chance to check out any of her CDs until recently. We'll see how the CD holds up now.
Album Reviewed: No Hesitation - Jeni Varnadeau
Pros: There are a few solid pop-rock songs here, most notably "There You Go" and the radio single "Mercy." A few interesting chords make "Shadow" stand out a little bit. "If I Believed" works reasonably well for a ballad, and "Free to Be Free" is a likeable pop song as long as you can live with the way outdated production.
Cons: There are some very cheesy songs on this CD, with the worst offender being "Shaken", a song that tried to work in the story of the Three Little Pigs but in the end just sounded very awkward. Another major clunker is "Come With Me", which sounds half country and half pop and doesn't work on either count. Lyrics are average at best. Even at its strong points, the music doesn't really stand out. The production is quite dated, as this album, which was recorded in 1998, sounds like it was recorded in 1988.
The Bottom Line: There are a few bright spots in this album, just as long as you don't think too much about it. However, there are also too many flaws for me to recommend this one seriously. I'd say there are about as many positives as there are negatives here.
Rating: "C", which is a solid 3 stars.
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- Phil V. My current pub songs: Andrew Peterson: "The Reckoning (How Long)" (from Counting Stars) Jars of Clay: "Out of My Hands" (from an upcoming release) The Mynabirds: "Numbers Don't Lie" (from What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood) |
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worldofcm
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« Reply #17 on: January 24, 2006, 05:28:03 PM » |
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I love me some of The Message. Solid hooks, great melodies, excellent production work, and stellar performances. However, it is what it is. It's been-there-done-that AC. 3 1/2 stars - but I'm rounding down just for the heck of it.
3 stars.
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Chris~~
worldofcm.com
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murlough23
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« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2006, 05:37:17 PM » |
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I love me some of The Message. Solid hooks, great melodies, excellent production work, and stellar performances. However, it is what it is. It's been-there-done-that AC. 3 1/2 stars - but I'm rounding down just for the heck of it.
3 stars. That's surprising coming from you, but maybe I'm thinking from the perspective of someone who heard it way back in 1996 when it was released. By 4Him standards, and by 1996 CCM standards, I think it tries a lot of different things. Particularly "Land of Mercy" and "Sacred Hideaway"... those are probably two of the more daring songs in the 4Him canon, and for that reason, they remain among my favorites. NP: "More Love to Thee", Fernando Ortega |
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NinjaRob17
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« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2006, 07:03:32 PM » |
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Solid album from John Reuben. It might change over time, but for now it's my favorite John Reuben album. Fun, upbeat songs and darker songs abound as usual, and Adrienne Liesching (sp?) provides guest vocals on a couple tracks, and her voice is always a welcome addition to a song. John's lyrics are for the most part at their finest, and it's an overall fun album to listen to. There's some mediocre moments of course, and some sound effects and back beats are kind of annoying, but it's a good album nonetheless.
4 Stars
Next week I'll do....oh wait, never mind.
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worldofcm
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« Reply #20 on: January 24, 2006, 11:17:56 PM » |
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I love me some of The Message. Solid hooks, great melodies, excellent production work, and stellar performances. However, it is what it is. It's been-there-done-that AC. 3 1/2 stars - but I'm rounding down just for the heck of it.
3 stars. That's surprising coming from you, but maybe I'm thinking from the perspective of someone who heard it way back in 1996 when it was released. By 4Him standards, and by 1996 CCM standards, I think it tries a lot of different things. Particularly "Land of Mercy" and "Sacred Hideaway"... those are probably two of the more daring songs in the 4Him canon, and for that reason, they remain among my favorites. NP: "More Love to Thee", Fernando Ortega This is coming from someone who loved the album in 1996. As much as I love the album, I have to realistically sit back and think about how well it has stood the test of time. While it does an OK job of that with songs like "Land of Mercy" and "Sacred Hideway", tunes like "The Message" and "Center of the Mark" didn't quite hold up as well. |
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Chris~~
worldofcm.com
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murlough23
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« Reply #21 on: January 25, 2006, 12:53:43 AM » |
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This is coming from someone who loved the album in 1996. As much as I love the album, I have to realistically sit back and think about how well it has stood the test of time. While it does an OK job of that with songs like "Land of Mercy" and "Sacred Hideway", tunes like "The Message" and "Center of the Mark" didn't quite hold up as well. Fair enough. I'm just usually harder on straight-up pop or AC music than you are, and I'd still give that album a 4. That's why I was surprised. Not saying you're wrong or anything. |
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bloop
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« Reply #22 on: January 25, 2006, 03:21:16 PM » |
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Busy busy busy, but I'll go with 3 stars. You can beat me later when it has the chance to grow on me just because perhaps I'll be more attentive to all it has to offer.
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Enjoy our pub. user/pw: thephorum Follow me on Grooveshark or Spotify. username: iceybloop |
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murlough23
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« Reply #23 on: January 25, 2006, 03:25:11 PM » |
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OK, now we just need a rating from Josh and from bdg, and we're done!
NP: "His Grace Is Sufficient (live)", Jennifer Knapp
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Josh
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« Reply #24 on: January 25, 2006, 03:44:20 PM » |
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Woops-- sorry for the delay!
I'm going to give Alicia Keys 3 stars. The reviews I've read have all been raves, so it's possible that I just don't understand this genre enough to give it a fair shake. But there's nothing about the production, the arrangements, the performances, or the writing that stand out as distinctive or original, or even all that well done. She's got a good voice, and there are some production flourishes that stand out as very well done, but, overall, nothing here really grabs me.
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bdg13disciple
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« Reply #25 on: January 25, 2006, 08:16:20 PM » |
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geesh... guess i'm the last hold out...
i'm tempted to go with a 4 just to continue the theme, but i'm gonna go with a 3 simply because the album is dated, a bit simplistic for the genre (sounds very much like the lower escelon of the genre), and the lyrics are pretty much fluff. It is a fun album though
peace... love... bdg...
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murlough23
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« Reply #26 on: January 26, 2006, 01:42:55 PM » |
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GAME OVER. Check the scoreboard shortly for final results.
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