reviews_Layout 1 31/03/2011 14:30 Page 1

MUSIC

R E TUR N O F THE K IN G !
There is not many bigger musical events than the release of a new Michael Jackson album,
and his death in 2009 has only added to the anticipation of the release of ‘Michael’. But
does the album live up to the singers’ legendary status? Ben Archer reviews the record...
6.5
Michael Jackson: Michael ~ Epic Records ~ Release: December 2010
He may not have been with us for over a reoccurring theme found in Michael is that was even released. Jacksons’ more hardcore
year, but a new Michael Jackson has still of media intrusion and attention into his pri- fans are angry at publishers Sony for putting
caused mass debate and discussion. The King vate life. (I Can’t Make It) Another Day pos- the album yet, with many claiming some of
of Pop returns to the music scene with his sibly finds Jackson searching for salvation the vocals aren’t Jackson at all. Another ar-
first studio release since 2001’s Invincible. “At night, I pray before I sleep in hopes of gument is that while the vocals are indeed
Put together using old recordings left by finding you / I've opened up my heart I Jackson, the songs are not as he would have
Jackson, various artists and producers have want you to come through/ I close my eyes wanted. The artist was a notorious perfec-
contributed to an album consisting of 10 new I'm searching for your love.” tionist, wanting every single aspect of a track
songs, with mixed results. The albums lead single, produced and fea- released under his name to be up to the level
Let’s start with the high points of the album. turing Akon is the most accessible track on he defined as perfect.
It is certainly a better collection of songs the album, on listening it becomes obvious This is an idea which resounds heavily when
than the disappointing Invincible, holding at as to why it was selected for release. listening to Michael, is this release an accu-
least three or four very strong pop songs. Hold My Hand finds the vocals seemingly rate representation of the music that Jackson
The strongest being a stomping rock song. split between Jackson and Akon, and it ac- was planning on releasing? Or instead is it
With Lenny Kravitz on guitar, and Dave tually becomes hard to tell which bits are ac- just a collection of songs that Sony have put
Grohl on drums, (I Can’t Make It) Another tually Jackson singing, due to the heavy together using some left over Jackson vocals,
Day is the closest that Jackson has come to production. This is one of the main prob- in one last attempt to drain money from
a song in the same vein as previous efforts lems of Michael, and a discussion which has Jackson.
such as Dirty Diana and Give In To Me. A raged for many months before the album

20
reviews_Layout 1 31/03/2011 14:30 Page 2
8.5
Album: Flamingo
Artist: Brandon Flowers
Label: Island Records
Flamboyant, over the top and featuring
catchy hooks that echo his previous work,
Flamingo marks the solo debut of Killers
front man Brandon Flowers. Named after
the Las Vegas hotel, the album is a 53
minute ride through the highs and the lows
of Vegas, full of synthesisers, symbols and a
poker reference around every corner.
Is it all too much? No, not at all. Each song
contains at least two or three excellent vocal
or instrumental hooks that will keep you
coming back for more.
Lead single Crossfire opens with a riff that
will become instantly recognisable even after
the first listen, a song that is sure to get Flow-
ers’ solo career off to a flier.
The stand out track however is Jilted Lovers
and Broken Hearts, the closest that the artist
has come to replicating the song that started
it all, Mr. Brightside.
Lyrically, the song follows suit to the Hot
Fuss single, the two songs go hand in hand
together; “When I Saw You Dancing/ On
the Moon Now/ I Watched Him Spin You
Round and Round/ Why Did You Roll Your
Dice/ Show Your Cards/ Jilted Lovers and
Broken Hearts.” The song builds and builds
through the verses to a chorus that will see
many dance floors fill up over the next few
years.
The album also features a great duet, featur-
ing Jenny Lewis. Flowers’ vocals combine
perfectly with Lewis’ on Hard Enough. The
singer was an apt choice, hailing from the
city of Vegas itself.
If Flowers can carry on this kind of song
writing back over into his day job in The
Killers, then we have some very strong work
to look forward too over the coming years.
It is pretty hard to find any faults with this
opening solo effort, each of the 10 tracks
have something about them to make you
want to listen again, and surely any song that
does it, means it’s doing something right.
7.0
Album: Hurley
Artist: Weezer
Label: Epitaph Records
Weezer return with their eighth studio
album, named after the Lost character Hur-
ley, even actor Jorge Garcia adorns the
album artwork.
It has been only a short year since the band
released their last effort, Raditude, an album
that was slated by fans and critics alike.
Whether the quick release of more material
is an attempt from Cuomo to fix the mis-
takes, it is not known, but the album goes a
long way to banish the dark memories of
Weezer circa 2009.
Coumo did have help writing Hurley, nu-
merous songwriters contributed to the
album, many of the tracks have been co
written. Stand outs from the collaborations
Trainwrecks and Run Away. The first track
is co written by Desmond Child. Child has
previously worked with artists such as Bon
Jovi, Kiss and Katy Perry. The result is a gui-
tar heavy pop song, the type of which
Weezer have done so well for the majority
of their long career. The later is one of the
albums highlights, Adams song writing con-
nects perfectly with the Weezer style.
Unspoken, a soft acoustic track is the true
stand out track from the album. It evokes
memories of the bands earlier work, such as
Island in the Sun; “And if you take this away
from me/ I'll never forgive you, can't you
see?/ Our life will be broken/ Our hate will
be unspoken.”
Now to the negative aspects of the album.
Keeping in track with the last few Weezer
releases, there are a number of misses to ac-
company the hits. Where’s My Sex? sounds
like it was written by a 12 year old school-
boy. The lyrics are probably the poorest
Coumo has ever written; “Sex-making is a
family tradition/ Going back to the caveman
days/ They were walking around in a haze/
Until they figured it out/ And they said/
Gosh dang, this is great!” Erm, ok Rivers...
21
7.5
Album: Greatest Hits
Artist: Bon Jovi
Label: Island Records
It’s been 16 years since Bon Jovi released
Crossroad, a greatest hits compilation album,
in that time they have had numerous more
hits, therefore they have seen it as the right
time to release this latest compilation.
Released in two separate editions, the stan-
dard containing 16 songs, deluxe featuring
30, the main highlights found over the discs
are the four new songs written and recorded
for this Greatest Hits.
What Do You Got? No Apologies, The
More Things Change, This Is Love This Is
Life are the main songs up for review here,
as the rest of the album features songs we
have all known for a lifetime. What Do You
Got? is standard post 2000 Bon Jovi fare. A
radio friendly love song, it is an easy to listen
to song, that never really goes anywhere. It
won’t get anywhere high in the charts, but
will appeal to the casual fans more than that
die hard Jovi fans.
No Apologies, The More Things Change
and This Is Love This Is Life is where the real
interest lies. The three songs represent some
of best work released by Jovi in recent years,
certainly trumping efforts found on 2009 re-
lease The Circle. Although the songs do fea-
tures chorus’ all to reminiscent of It’s My
Life, they do it better than most.
As for the rest of the album, most of the
work has been previously released on the
Cross Road album, although the notable ad-
ditions include It’s My Life, Who Says You
Can’t Go Home and We Weren’t Born to
Follow. Songs such as Livin’ On a Prayer,
Wanted Dead or Alive and I’ll Be There For
You make up the rest if the tracks, and any
CD which includes songs like these will have
more positives than negatives.The album
represents a solid body of work from the
New Jersey band, and is a CD containing
enough hits with a sprinkle of new material
to keep both the casual and more hardcore
fans happy.