Editorial Product Review: :Excellent Condition :India Arie's Acoustic Soul is just as advertised: grooving soul music with an acoustic bent. Arie herself plays guitar, supplemented by strings (instead of synthesizers) and drums (instead of drum machines). The first single, 'Video,' is a calm, confident ode to self-love, comparing the dreadlocked, petite Arie to the average girl in a video. Arie is indeed anything but average: her debut marks the auspicious return of the black female singer-songwriter, in the vein of Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Tracy Chapman, and Dionne Farris. ...
Editorial Product Review: :The perfect timing of Beyonce Knowles’ career moves continues with the release of her debut solo album. Dangerously in Love’s best music is wildly up-to-date, craftily designed for both maximum street acceptance and positioning as some of the most cutting-edge stuff on current radio. The brash first single, 'Crazy in Love,' melds Jay-Z with an unstoppable Chi-Lites horn sample, shape-shifting into something brand new. Collaborations with Outkast’s Big Boi and Sean Paul also prick up the ears, while changes of pace like 'Be with You' ...
Editorial Product Review: :The third low-tech, high-impact recording from the Akron, Ohio, duo is once again a loud and lively confirmation that passion, not precision, is what the blues is all about. With Dan Auerbach's insistent, abrasive guitar tone and drummer Patrick Carney's violent percussion workouts, the Black Keys' sound thrashes about with industrial-strength garage-band energy, but it also connects directly to the core sensibilities of the original blues creators with its primal expressions of pain and pride. With Auerbach shouting out the vocals the duo rocks hard ...
Editorial Product Review: :In 1990, Texas bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan was just emerging from a long period in which drugs had taken their toll: the previous year's In Step album was the first he had made drug free, and the results were a marvel. But then, after sharing a stage with Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, and Eric Clapton, he boarded a helicopter to Chicago. It crashed, and the career of one of the great blues guitarists was ended. Rewind to 1983 and here is Stevie Ray at the ...
Editorial Product Review:Album Description:One of the most immediately recognizable voices in all of contemporary music, Michael McDonald's signature sound fuses rock, R&B, soul, and gospel. As he evolved onward from his formative days as a backup singer for Steely Dan, McDonald's artistry bridged the gap between jazzy blue-eyed soul and and chart-topping pop rock, earning him superstardom both as lead vocalist/keyboardist for the Doobie Brothers and as a solo artist. Spanning 1976 to the present, this hit-packed new compilation spotlights his inimitable baritone on 19 timeless songs ...
Editorial Product Review: :Voted by Guitar Player readers as 2007's Best Blues Guitarist, blues-rock guitar virtuoso, vocalist, and songwriter JOE BONAMASSA is set to release his seventh solo album, SLOE GIN, on August 21, 2007. Bonamassa's fourth release, the disc re-teams him with producer Kevin Shirley (Joe Satriani, Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Led Leppelin), who produced 2006's YOU & ME, which debuted at #1 on Billboard's Blues Chart in June of last year.SLOE GIN effortlessly ranges through heavy blues and acoustic numbers alike, a textured flow that Bonamassa ...
Editorial Product Review:Album Description:Japanese-only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) paper sleeve pressing. SHM-CDs can be played on any audio player and delivers unbelievably high-quality sound. You won't believe it's the same CD! Universal. 2008.
Editorial Product Review:Album Description:Joan Osbourne's recently recorded album pays homage to the great Soul and R&B songs of the late '60s and early '70s. The album features a unique combination of unforgettable interpretations of timeless R&B classics. Her first single to radio will be 'I've Got to Use My Imagination.' :On Breakfast in Bed, her first release on Time Life Records (yes, that Time Life) Joan Osborne tackles a crop of hand-picked soul and R&B favorites with equal parts sass and sensitivity. Long an underappreciated artist, Osborne ...
Editorial Product Review:Album Description:Joan Osbourne's recently recorded album pays homage to the great Soul and R&B songs of the late '60s and early '70s. The album features a unique combination of unforgettable interpretations of timeless R&B classics. Her first single to radio will be 'I've Got to Use My Imagination.' :On Breakfast in Bed, her first release on Time Life Records (yes, that Time Life) Joan Osborne tackles a crop of hand-picked soul and R&B favorites with equal parts sass and sensitivity. Long an underappreciated artist, Osborne ...
Editorial Product Review: :The U.K.’s Mick Hucknall, globally renowned as lead vocalist for Simply Red, brings his world-class, blue-eyed soul front and center for his highly anticipated solo debut album, Tribute To Bobby. The disc was recorded to salute one of Hucknall’s prime inspirations, legendary American blues vocalist Bobby 'Blue' Bland. Described as a 'master class in soul, blues and R&B,' it features Hucknall’s distinctive interpretations of twelve classic songs that were signature hits for Bland. At the same time that Hucknall honors the essence of the songs, ...
On paper, the Mio DigiWalker P550 looks to be an attractive gadget for the mobile professional, combining the capabilities of a PDA and GPS into one device. However, its poor battery life and subpar navigation skills tell a different story.
Though it won't appeal to the masses quite yet, the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is a nice, portable device for on-the-go Web browsing, and it has some worthy upgrades.
Though it's expensive, the Sony VAIO VGN-TX670P delivers a great combination of business and entertainment features, long battery life, and unparalleled connectivity in an incredibly ultraportable package.