Reviews Written by ducdzui
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September 21, 2008
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September 17, 2008
The Late Babyface
Pros: Nice covers, Great sound
Cons: Some songs doesn't suit his voice well
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, now turning 50 years old, never seems to have grown old with his voice. This is a nice album with Babyface doing covers of many famous hits from James Taylor, Jim Croce, Dan Fogelberg, Dave Loggins, Bread and Bob Dylan. He also introduces his 2 new songs - "Not Going Nowhere" and "The Soldier Song".
Voice - solid greatness with beautiful simplicity and as usual, full of emotions. Sound - nice and relaxing acoustic feel throughout the album. The use of guitar and piano always gives us enough tranquility in mind to feel the music to the utmost.
Just sit back and listen to that "Fire And Rain", or "Shower The People", let your soul be soothed and soon you will learn some valuable life lessons of yourself too. Babyface does deliver ease to listeners' ears, with his own "The Soldier Song" and his cover of "Diary" - just slow and nice and romantic as a starlit flowing river. The only problem with the album is that Playlist - his Playlist - includes some songs that just don't fit well with his style and voice. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is an example; he makes it his own, but also makes it an unsuccessful experiment. His soft emotional voice and his ability to swiftly and beautifully shift from chest voice to falsetto should do best with "Wonderful Tonight" and "Time in a Bottle".
The album is simply a product of Babyface's internal passion for music; thus, it's worth being put tidily in your CD collection for all the talent he's devoted to this very art. Hope the young-at-heart Babyface will never stop creating, for he did create countless masterpieces. ... -
September 14, 2008
You Sing, You Dance, You Steal
Pros: Catchy Melodies, Unique Style, Colorful Lyrics
Cons: Not many meaningful songs, Forgettability
The name Jason Mraz actually didn't ring a bell to me at first, but I really took to his album like duck to water on the first listen. It is simply a compilation of greatness in melodies and sounds. There are both up-tempo naughty songs and charming slow ballads. The jazzy feel of the whole album is just inspiring and kind of additive. The melody changes colorfully in each song, making it enjoyable without any boredom. Also, the album ranges from telling-stories songs to naughty-time songs, from "Lucky" which is full of love and cuteness (featuring Colbie Cailat) to the hotie hot hyping-up "Butterfly". Soulful "Love for a child" or "A Beautiful Mess" are a little sparkling bonus, expressing his side of sensitivity, not merely a guy with a soft sexy voice or some manly cuteness that teenage girls all fall for. Vocally technically, he has good control over both parts of his voice: softness and power, enabling him to sing differently but efficiently each song. The only problem is that some songs might be a little bit forgettable, in the aspect of lyrics and even melody. Anyhow, no one and nothing can be perfect and this album is still a great piece of art in this imperfect world. Overall, with the simple and plain sound of this album, I'll give it 5 star for instant pleasure and relatively long-term enjoyability. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", I believe. Also I do believe that this guy, this album will receive the success he and it deserves. You do steal souls and ears, at least mine, Jason Mraz. ...
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Real Sunshine From Natasha
Pros: Fun and Catchy
Cons: Lack of songs of power
Owning a voice with power and distinctive timbre, Natasha Bedingfield easily steals the hearts of many listeners since the commercial song "Unwritten" to the most recent album "Pocketful of Sunshine". She may sound rough but that's a beautiful roughness, no ear irritation, no ugly voice breaks, just wonderful high note belts. The way she deals with the songs, both technically and emotionally, is absolutely new, fresh and brilliant. Warm low register, powerful high register, and reasonable falsetto use, so what more could hold this girl back? She's definitely having her success and recognition from the music world. Talented as she might be, the problem with blandness in songwriting could be a problem.
"Pocketful of sunshine" contains many hit-potential songs, though some still remain unsurprising. The catchy fun melody of "Put you arms around me" is a real sunshine from the album. The radio-friendly "Pocketful of sunshine" is doing great in the charts and stages. The newly released single "Angel" shows her great voice capability and pop style. "Love like this" with the touch of Sean Kingston has already received many nominations and awards. "Freckles" features her chord runs, which is pretty impressive. "Pirate Bones" and "Who Knows" and "Happy" and "Not Giving Up" sound strange and new, but don't make deep impression on me (however, the arrangements in "Pirate Bones" are worth a praise). "Not Givin' Up" is just ok, while "Backyard" is some kind of a failure to me.
Overall, N.B has claimed her position in the music industry within a short period of time, and under no shadows of his brother, Daniel Bedingfield. Anyhow, she should notice that her voice suits best with mid-tempo and some up-tempo songs which have swift voice changes. Low-tempos and super-up-tempos are boring with her voice. Maybe she wants to "pump it up"; the album contains so many up-tempos, making it somehow imperfect (with her voice).
Still, a nice album to listen to, go shopping and have your own copy of "Pocketful of Sunshine" :D ...