First acquisitions of 2008

My first new purchases of 2008 are all from sorting through the CD clearances racks at the awesome Half Price Books. There are two locations in my hometown. The first is where I went on my last shopping trip of '07 (31 December, in fact.) The second is where I got this haul:

A*Teens: Pop 'Til You Drop (2002)
The A*Teens are one of the many guilty pleasures of my youth. While they certainly weren't a new generation's answer to growing up without ABBA, they made fun pop that I was always happy to consume; however, because of the time at which they were popular, I never really got around to buying their stuff, so this CD is their first entry into my collection. It's not consistent, but going in knowing about what to expect from this group, I wasn't disappointed. My favourite track of theirs, "Bouncing Off the Ceiling" aka "Upside Down," is not on this album, so don't be surprised if another of their titles appears at some point.

Standout track: "Floorfiller"

Various Artists: Heavy Nuggets: MOJO Presents 15 Lost British Hard Rock Gems 1968-1973 (2007)
The title says it all, really. If you're a fan of Rhino Records' Nuggets box set, or, an even closer match, Nuggets II, then you'd enjoy this CD too. It's got some fine examples of British garage rock, blues-rock, psych-pop, and the likes. A note on the back insert says "Given away free with MOJO December 2007. Not to be sold separately." I'm glad some subscriber chose to dump it off just the same.

Track listing: 1. Terry Reid: "Tinker Taylor" /2. The Pretty Things: "Old Man Going" / 3. The Open Mind: "Magic Potion" / 4. Mighty Baby: "Egyptian Tomb" / 5. Second Hand: "Rhubarb!" / 6. Leaf Hound: "Freelance Fiend" / 7. Atomic Rooster: "Night Living" / 8. The Move: "Don't Make My Baby Blue" / 9. Slade: "My Life Is Natural" / 10. Possessed: "Climb the Wooden Hills" / 11. Procol Harum: "Long Gone Geek" / 12. Blossom Toes: "Peace Loving Man" / 13. Luv Machine: "Witches Wand" / 14. Pete Brown & Piblokto!: "Aeroplane Head Woman" / 15. Warhorse: "Solitude"

Standout tracks: "Tinker Taylor," "Magic Potion," "Egyptian Tomb," "Freelance Fiend," "Don't Make My Baby Blue," "My Life Is Natural," "Climb the Wooden Hills," "Peace Loving Man" ... good sign for the album when there are that many, eh?


Simian Mobile Disco: "Hustler" promo CD (2007)
It contains three of the five mixes of "Hustler" featured on the U.S. single: the extended club mix, the Armand Van Helden remix, and the UK version. Awesome track. This was my introduction to Simian Mobile Disco, and if it's at all representative, then I won't be disappointed if I ever get their album. This is a solid dance track, and even better, it contains some nice quotable lines. If you haven't heard this song, check it out.

ATB: "Don't Stop" single (2000)
I'm only somewhat familiar with ATB's catalogue of work, and this song was not amongst the ones I knew. I'm glad it is now! Great trance track. Included mixes: airplay edit, X-Cabs radio edit, SQ-1 mix, C.L.U.B.B. mix, Sash! Remix, and Spacekid Contacts Woody Van Eyden remix.

Hear it here.

Jocelyn Enriquez: "When I Get Close to You" single (2000)
I didn't know this song before picking this single up, but I got it because I recognized Enriquez's name and because it comes with a nice number of mixes (eight), including some by Thunderpuss 2000. This is a nice dance tune. It's nothing wow, but Thunderpuss does solid work, and Cubanito's mixes are also good. It's worth a spin or two, anyway. Included mixes: Thunderpuss original radio edit, Cubanito's Breakbeat radio edit, Thunderpuss club remix, Lectroluv mix, Thunderpuss Tribe-a-Pella, Thunderpuss remix dub, Cubanito's Breakbeat remix, and Cubanito's Electro Mixshow edit.

Hear it here.

Lara Fabian: "I Will Love Again" single (2000)
Do you suppose the same person sold back all these dance maxis from 2000? Lucky for me, anyway, especially since they were $0.50 a piece. I vaguely remember this track from when it was popular, but I don't think I had feelings for it one way or the other at that time. I liked it pretty well when hearing it now, however. I wasn't so wowed that I plan on picking up more Lara Fabian products, but I'm glad I own this one. I read a piece that compared her voice here to Céline Dion's, and I would say that's an appropriate comparison. Included mixes: album version, David Morales club mix, Hex Hector main mix, Thunderpuss 2000 club mix. The Morales and Thunderpuss mixes were both quite good. The other two were not as exciting in my opinion, but neither were they bad.

Hear it here.

Martika: Martika (1988)
Martika's sophomore album, Martika's Kitchen, was already in my collection, and I found it enjoyable enough, so I decided to go ahead and pick this album up too. I think this gives me the basic Martika discography. Anyway, this album was pretty cool. While I'm not a big fan of the big hit, "Toy Soldiers," I thought some of the other tracks were solid dance-pop in the vein of Paula Abdul and others in that late 80s/early 90s group of folks. I was also pleasantly surprised by her hit version of Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move." King's version is of course the better of the two, but Martika did a respectable job with it.

Standout tracks: "Cross My Heart," "You Got Me Into This," "I Feel the Earth Move," "It's Not What You're Doing"

Donna Summer: Another Place and Time (1989)
I bought this because it had the name Donna Summer on it. I'm a big fan. Unfortunately, because so many others are, the market is flooded with many substandard products of hers, so it's hard to find desirable ones in stores. My first purchase of hers was the two-CD Gold set, which is about the best compilation you can hope to find of her music. It's not everything you'd want, but it's a good start. I mention that set because it contains three songs from this album: "I Don't Wanna Get Hurt," "This Time I Know It's for Real," and "Love's About to Change My Heart." I didn't know any of the seven other tracks here, but I love those three, so this was an easy purchase to make. The Stock-Aitken-Waterman production is great, as it usually is. The other single released, in addition to the three previously mentioned, was "When Love Takes Over You." Overall, this is a very satisfying album, and I'd recommend it.

Standout tracks: All ten tracks are high quality, in case you couldn't tell by my urge to link a bunch of titles.

Trick Pony: Trick Pony (2001)
A nice debut from this rockin' country group. I'm not sure why they didn't have more success. Perhaps they're a bit too country for most modern listeners? Still, they seem like they should have been mainstream enough to succeed. Anyway, my first exposure to them was through their version of "It's a Heartache" that got some airplay a few years back. That's not on this album, but I'm pleased with this purchase. In addition to their own material, there's also a pretty cool version of the Johnny Cash classic "Big River." The group also has a decent sense of humour that shines through.

Standout tracks: "Pour Me," "Big River," "More Like Me," "On a Night Like This," "Now Would Be the Time"

LFO: Life Is Good (2001)
Okay, I admit it. I have a soft spot for those late 1990s and early 2000s boy bands. The Lyte Funkie Ones may not have been doing anything innovative, for sure, but catchy tunes and clever-ish lyrics make this a decent enough representative of the boy band era, if that era produced music you enjoy. Plus, it contains the hit single "Every Other Time," of which I have fond memories from when it was a current.

Standout track: "Every Other Time"

Frente!: Shape (1996)
I've had Frente!'s breezy Marvin the Album in my collection for years, but I'd never really had the impulse to seek out this, the follow-up. It's not a bad album by any means, but if I had to choose just one to hear, Marvin would win. Nothing here compares to songs like "Accidentally Kelly Street," "Labour of Love," and their great remake of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle." Still, some of the tracks are good, so it's worth a listen if you can get it on clearance.

Standout tracks: "Horrible," "Harm," "What's Come Over Me"

Oleta Adams: Circle of One (1990)
I basically bought this because I remember her one big hit, "Get Here." The album was nice enough, with other tracks in that style showing up. Oleta Adams has a good voice, and while I wouldn't call the album outstanding, I wouldn't call it bad either.

Standout tracks: "Get Here," "I've Got a Right"

Duran Duran: Astronaut (2004)
I'm a big fan of Duran Duran, and the recent release of Red Carpet Massacre caused my listening of them to increase significantly again. While I had a few of their albums, I'd yet to acquire this one, despite loving "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise" and "What Happens Tomorrow" when they were currents. As I expected, the rest of the album was also strong. A friend of mine saw them on tour in support of this album and said they still put on an awesome show. I'm hoping they'll hit the road in support of RCM so I get a chance to see them soon too.

Standout tracks: "(Reach Up for The) Sunrise," "Want You More!," "What Happens Tomorrow," "Taste the Summer"

The Go-Go's: "The Whole World Lost Its Head" single (1994)
I like quite a few Go-Go's tracks, yet, for whatever reason, I'd not gotten around to buying anything of theirs until I saw this. I really do need to get the CD versions of their three 1980's albums. Anyway, this is a cool tune, and it's a shame that it never made it further than the Bubbling Under chart in the U.S. (For those of you who may not be chart freaks, Bubbling Under is the name given to the chart which tracks the songs not quite popular enough to have debuted yet on the actual hit chart, the Hot 100. All of these are determined by and published in Billboard magazine.) The Go-Go's were part of that Cali scene that combined new wave elements with pop music and sold it to the masses, and this song continues that trend. The B-sides: three live versions of songs from their previous albums ("Automatic," "Lust to Live," and "You Thought") and the single edit of "We Got the Beat."

Eve 6: It's All in Your Head (2003)
I had Eve 6's self-titled album (1998) and Horrorscope (2000), but I never got around to picking this one up despite greatly enjoying the alternative radio hit it spawned, "Think Twice." I'm glad I finally did, however, as it's another solid offering.

Standout tracks: "Without You Here," "Think Twice," "Good Lives," "Friend of Mine," "Girlfriend"

General Public: Rub It Better (1995)
"Here comes Mr. Wakeling to rub it better." Ah, ska-pop. So underrated, as are both Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger. I must admit, prior to this, I was only really familiar with General Public's 1984 hit "Tenderness," which I love. I do have a nice little collection of hits by The Beat, however, so I thought I'd take a chance on this album. The hit from it (well, minor hit) was "Rainy Days," and it's actually a good album.

Standout tracks: "Rainy Days," "Hold It Deep," "Big Bed," "Punk," "It's Weird," "Blowhard," "Warm Love," "Rub It Better"

Various Artists: Pretty Woman (soundtrack) (1990)
Not much to say here, really. Who doesn't love this film? (Okay, a lot of people don't, but I'm not one of them.) The soundtrack contains quite a few songs I previously knew and like, so I was more than happy to pick it up. I believe it's currently one of the only CDs one can easily find that contains Natalie Cole's "Wild Women Do," so that alone made it worthwhile. Also, "King of Wishful Thinking" is a song I absolutely love, so I was happy to get that one. Some of the tracks I hadn't previously known are also quite good, including former Go-Go Jane Wiedlin's "Tangled." For a woman who made such good solo material, her music is surprisingly hard to find on CD. Sad.

Standout tracks: "Wild Women Do" (Natalie Cole), "King of Wishful Thinking" (Go West), "Tangled" (Jane Wiedlin), "It Must Have Been Love" (Roxette), "Life in Detail" (Robert Palmer), "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" (Christopher Otcasek), "Show Me Your Soul" (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

The Cardigans: First Band on the Moon (1996)
My introduction to The Cardigans was, like many, the catchiest song ever written about unhealthily obsessive love: "Lovefool." However, I didn't really fall in love with the group until years later when I heard the amazing "For What It's Worth." Even then, I never got around the buying the albums, so I was happy to find this one. I can't say it was as great as I thought it would be, but it's pretty good. I think I need to listen to it more to really appreciate it.

Standout tracks: "Happy Meal," "Lovefool," "Iron Man," "Choke"

Manu Chao: Clandestino (1998)
An impressive disc from an impressive man. I was first turned onto Manu Chao my freshman year in college by one of my professors, who recommended him to me. The song he said I should hear was the title track. I checked it out and quite liked it, but never got around to investing in a CD. My next Chao exposure came through a remake of his songs "Bongo Bong" and "Je Ne T'aime Plus" by Robbie Williams on his Rudebox album. I thought the songs sounded quite good, but it wasn't until now that I actually picked up the album that contains all three. (Incidentally, I'm also familiar with "Rainin' in Paradize," the lead single from the recently released La radiolina, and it too is a strong track.) The tracks here are in various languages, including English, Spanish, and French, which are three of the many languages in which Chao is apparently fluent. The album is one of those in which the tracks segue cleanly into one another. Even if you can't understand all three of those languages (as I don't know but a few words of French), you can appreciate the music of what is undeniably a finely-crafted album of great songs.

Standout tracks: Hard to pick. Just get the album. And make sure you check out the linked video for "Bongo Bong" & "Je Ne T'aime Plus," because it's frickin' awesome.