Which new CD's are worth buying? FIND OUT! (Norah Jones, Kylie Minogue)

***I write for kiwibox.com and they dont always use my articles so just incase lol heres my public service review of two new cd's for you :) as a note this was written for the pop/dance section so no offense to the country lovers out there :)***

On February 10th two wildly popular artists will be releasing their sophomore US albums and expectations are high. Kylie Minogue and Norah Jones both have their hopes on another success but will their albums live up to it? Find out!

Artist: Kylie Minogue Album: Body language My rating (outta 5 stars): ***** I’m a Kylie nut I just got to admit it! This girl has been very lucky since catching her big break on an Australian soap opera and going on to record 9 very successful albums. Of course it wasn’t until 2001's ‘Fever’ (her 8th album) that she gained a following in the US. She caught our attention with hits like “Can’t get you outta my head”, “Love at first sight”, and “Come into my world”. So did Miss Minogue strike gold again with her latest offering? Despite some negative reviews of the albums first single “Slow” I say yes! This album may not be a duplicate of “Fever” but it is unique and experimental, something Kylie is known for. “Body language” kicks off with as mentioned the first single “Slow”. It’s catchy and almost impossible to describe. “Still standing”, “Secrets”, and “Sweet music” continue on with that style in a similar fashion yet uniquely each their own. “Promises” is one of the catchier tracks with a fast beat and a memorable chorus. “Red blooded woman” is slated to be the next single and rightfully so! It’s got a menacing dance/rnb beat that lets you feel the mood of the lyrics. “Chocolate” is in my opinion the best track on the whole album. It kicks off the slower dance beats that “Someday”, “Loving days” and “After dark”pattern after. “Obsession” is like a mix of “Promises” and “Slow” but again it’s own with very catchy melodies and lyrics. Now there was one downside to the album a.k.a. “I feel for you”. It started out promising enough but there’s a very annoying person screaming some unintelligible phrase randomly which makes it just impossible to enjoy the song at all! Maybe if it wasn’t mixed so awfully and that voice was removed it wouldn’t be such a blemish on Kylie’s otherwise perfect record. The last 3 tracks “Someday”, “Loving days” and “After dark” as said relate to “Chocolate” sound wise yet are much more sophisticated. Each masterpieces in their own right. For the US release there will be two added songs “Cruise control”, and “You make me feel”, but for this review I only have the British version of the CD so I can’t review them. Overall it’s a brilliant album with a brilliant new sound! I highly recommend it especially for people looking for something new and unique that’s very catchy.

Artist: Norah Jones Album: Feels like home My rating (out of 5 stars): ***

What a change going from Kylie Minogue to Norah Jones! Norah debuted to us last year with her amazing jazz debut “Come away with me”. With such singles as the title track and “Don’t Know why” she won us over. Can she do it again like Kylie? Norah definitely kicked up the country influence on this CD though subtle it’s still there. Sadly that little twang may see her downfall. I was a huge fan of the first CD, I’m also a Jazz nut so I didn’t set out to dislike it, however there were only a few bright spots. If you like a country/jazz hybrid then this CD is for you, but if you were more for something like her first CD then your out of luck. “Feels like home” kicks off with “Sunrise” which I think is just brilliantly beautiful! It’s got a perfect melody and a perfect sound just overall. That beauty is followed by “What am I to you?” a song that sounds like a country song from the musical “Grease”. Maybe with time I could like this song but its definitely not a good example of her music. Oddly enough the CD seems to go in a pattern like that, 1 good jazz song, then one country twinged jazz song. “Those sweet words” go back to the Jazz style and so does “Carnival town” but its way to reminiscent of her earlier song “Seven years”. “In the morning”, “Be here to love me”, and “Above ground” go back to the country/jazz mix but thankfully with not so much country influence. So their tolerable but I’d almost chock them up as fillers, nothing outstanding but nothing awful either. “Creepin” is the single most annoying song on this whole CD! It sounds like some backwoods old country and definitely the wrong kind of style for Norah. It seriously sounds like some bad karaoke off of “Hee Haw”. Thankfully Norah redeems herself with more jazzy (and much improved) songs like “Toes”, “Humble me”, “Above ground”, “The prettiest thing”, and “Don’t miss you at all” which has a beautiful piano backing. “The long way home” is the epitome of Norah’s ‘country/jazz’ sound. Despite that fact it’s actually one of the catchier tracks off the CD! Not as scary as “Creepin” or as great as “Sunrise” but definitely a beautiful song. Overall Norah seemed to try and experiment yet realized she needed to keep some of the basics. The country half of this CD (except for “The long way home”) just does not work for her at all, but thankfully there were some saving graces.

Show all stories by   Author:  15675 ( Click here )