Speak Now

Taylor Swift | Format: Audio CD


Deluxe two CD edition including eight bonus tracks. 2010 release, the third album from the Country/Pop superstar. Speak Now is the follow-up to her multi-million-selling 2008 album, Fearless. The 21-year-old singer/songwriter wrote the entire album on her own and co-produced with longtime collaborator Nathan Chapman, who worked with her on Fearless and her 2006 self-titled debut. Features the single 'Mine'.

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With "Speak Now" Taylor Swift ups the singer/songwriter aspect of her art and turns down the radio-ready emphasis a notch. It is a little less calculated and a little more comfortable than her last two, especially 2008's non-stop hit factory "Fearless."

It is also less focused and tight, but since this is Swift's debut effort without any co-writers, her melodies and lyrics composed independently, this was inevitable. The result is akin to comfort food - unpretentious, honest and warm. She has the natural talent and flair for catchy song craft to make a less precious recording - which "Speak Now" certainly is - work especially well.

Because Swift was clearly given more leeway to do as she pleases both her strengths and excesses are more prominently on display than previously. A few of her melodies sound simple and similar to one another, and she is often bursting with lyrics, with every other tune or so a bit overwritten. However, this is also one of the strengths of "Speak Now." It shows that Swift is the real deal - an artist from whom strong songs flow naturally.

Much has been made of the men whom Swift has written songs about, and that transparency shows her age, but "Speak Now" proves she does not need the controversy to validate the music. From the inventive, shrewd, near power-pop of "The Story of Us" and "Enchanted" to the elegant, apologetic "Back to December," these songs stand on their own.

Accents of country remain, but Swift is transitioning into pop/rock territory, and she cannot be blamed for it - at 20, she is, in spite of her major success, still finding her voice. "Mean" with its cheeky, smartly executed humor, is the only outright country tune.

"Someday I'll be living in a big old city and all you're ever gonna be is mean," she forecasts.

Her eye for detail and sense of levity are prominent. In the classy, tuneful title song she paints the picture of a wedding - which she hopes to put a stop to - in delightful detail:

"...and she is yelling at a bridesmaid somewhere back inside her room wearing a gown shaped like a pastry."

She also plays the role of big sister on "Innocent" and "Never Grow Up," affectionate odes to the importance of childhood. The latter especially demonstrates her depth as she sings of the importance of love, family and innocence.

"But don't make her drop you off around the block," she affectionately sings to her younger listeners about their mothers. "Remember that she's getting older too, and don't lose the way that you dance around in your PJs getting ready for school."

In an industry with plenty of flesh and flash and little substance, Taylor Swift remains refreshing and real, and "Speak Now" is just the right record for her to be releasing now - a collection of songs that proves the validity - and sincerity - of her still-burgeoning talent.

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The Gift

Susan Boyle | Format: Audio CD



She catapulted to international stardom overnight with 500 million YouTube hits, smashed music records around the world with her triumphant debut album and now Susan Boyle returns with her eagerly awaited second album, The Gift.

The Gift, sees Susan Boyle and world acclaimed producer Steve Mac reunited to present a breathtaking seasonal album. Featuring yule time favourites ‘The First Noel’ and ‘O Holy Night’, Susan also fearlessly takes on iconic pop songs including ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ and ‘Perfect Day’ giving them a new identity.

Also making her musical debut on The Gift is American medic and winner of the International Susan Search, Amber Stassi. Amber & Susan perform a stunning and inimitable rendition of ‘Do you Hear What I Hear’.

Now with a beautiful seasonal album she will, once again, defy critics and preconceptions.

Susan explained; "When making this album, I really wanted the songs to touch hearts. Music has always been a companion to me, particularly on special occasions. I wanted there to be a mix of songs that would flow with all our moods this holiday season. As much as the season is a time for reflection, it is also a time for fun and enjoyment with those closest to us."

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The Gift, Susan Boyle's sophomore album, presents the listener with another set of masterful performances by an artist who shows herself to be in complete command of her instrument. Every song is superbly crafted to showcase Boyle's satiny soprano to absolute perfection.

Once again, as with her blockbuster debut I Dreamed A Dream, a somewhat eclectic mix of songs has been assembled, offering Boyle the chance to transform unexpected selections with her unique interpretations. Each song is delivered with delicacy and emotion. Boyle always manages to find the emotional core of her material, whether it be a pop classic like Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah or an oft-recorded Christmas standard. She is a master at eliciting an emotional response from her listeners that mirrors the feelings she expresses in song. Steve Mac, who produced both albums, understands that her voice should be the focal point of every song, and as with her debut he gives her the ideal setting to showcase her skills. The result is an album replete with songs polished to gem-like perfection.

Boyle's version of Lou Reed's Perfect Day is another stunning reinterpretation along the lines of Wild Horses from her first album. Her sensitive and nuanced vocals elicit both the joy of remembered happiness and the melancholy longing for lost love. To the three pop songs offered - Perfect Day, Hallelujah and Don't Dream It's Over - she brings depth, subtle power and unexpected passion. The rich instrumental and choral accompaniment provide the base above which Boyle's sweet soprano soars. She builds to the climax of every song through intense yet controlled emotion. Boyle understands, as many do not, that the power of a performance can come as readily from a singer's expression of the complex emotions a song evokes as it can from the raw power of her voice.

Even on what must be the millionth cover of Cohen's Hallelujah, Boyle manages to bring a surprising freshness. It is another song of love and loss, and her vocals are suffused with a regret that is tinged with anger. The result is an achingly beautiful rendition, the equal of any who has gone before her. Don't Dream It's Over is a more hopeful song, delivered with sensitivity. It is worth remarking that at the end the line, "We know they won't win," is repeated several times, as if to emphasize the singer's own determination to triumph in spite of the bullies and the critics who at times have tormented her. Just as with her version of Madonna's You'll See, Don't Dream It's Over is an affirmation that she has proven her detractors wrong, but in place of the former's angry intensity there is quiet assurance.

The other songs in the collection are for the most part Christmas classics. All of them are sung with a lovely reverence. O Holy Night and Away In A Manger are a standouts. Boyle's crystalline voice soars to worshipful heights, sweet and pure without being cloying. A traditional Scottish version of Auld Lang Syne offers a beautiful new interpretation that reinvigorates the Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) standard. The album ends on a grace note with an utterly beautiful rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful. To sum up, in The Gift Susan Boyle offers us a captivating album that provides a feast for both the senses and the soul.

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MICHAEL - Michael Jackson | Format: Audio CD

Michael Jackson, one of the most widely beloved entertainers and profoundly influential artists of all-time, made an indelible imprint on popular music and culture.

Five of Jackson’s solo albums – “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous” and “HIStory,” all with Epic Records, a Sony Music label – are among the top-sellers of all time.

MICHAEL is the much anticipated album of newly completed recordings from Michael Jackson. The creative process never stopped for the King of Pop who was always planning for his next album; unbeknownst to many fans around the world Michael Jackson was writing and recording songs continuously everywhere from a friend’s home in New Jersey to studios in Las Vegas and Los Angeles with a small group of handpicked collaborators. Now, through the unique stories that will be told about the songs that comprise MICHAEL, fans will get mind-blowing insight into how this artist worked and a chance to hear the songs he most recently created along with tracks that Michael had a desire to bring to fruition.

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Track Listings
1. Hold My Hand (Duet with Akon)
2. Hollywood Tonight
3. Keep Your Head Up
4. (I Like) The Way You Love Me
5. Monster (Featuring 50 Cent)
6. Best Of Joy
7. Breaking News
8. (I Can t Make It) Another Day (Featuring Lenny Kravitz)
9. Behind The Mask
10. Much Too Soon

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Featuring Norah Jones

Besides selling 40 million albums and winning 9 Grammys in less than 10 years, over the years Norah Jones has collaborated with dozens and dozens of artists from across the spectrum of music. This album collects Norah's favorite collaborations from 2001-2010 into one amazing collection: legends like Ray Charles, Willie Nelson and Herbie Hancock, rock artists ranging from Foo Fighters to Ryan Adams to Belle and Sebastian, hip hop luminaries OutKast, Q-Tip and Talib Kweli. No matter the genre however, Norah's enchanting voice is the common denominator and while the partners are varied, she ends up owning every song and this album is a wonderful collection that holds together brilliantly. The album is a testament to Norah's status as one of the most in-demand and tasteful musical connectors in music.

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1. Love Me - The Little Willies
2. Virginia Moon - Foo Fighters featuring Norah Jones
3. Turn Them - Sean Bones featuring Norah Jones
4. Baby It's Cold Outside - Willie Nelson featuring Norah Jones
5. Bull Rider - Norah Jones and Sasha Dobson Listen
6. Ruler Of My Heart - Dirty Dozen Brass Band featuring Norah Jones
7. The Best Part - El Madmo Listen
8. Take Off Your Cool - Outkast featuring Norah Jones
9. Life Is Better - Q-Tip featuring Norah Jones
10. Soon The New Day - Talib Kweli featuring Norah Jones
11. Little Lou, Prophet Jack, Ugly John - Belle & Sebastian featuring Norah Jones Listen
12. Here We Go Again - Ray Charles featuring Norah Jones
13. Loretta - Norah Jones featuring Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
14. Dear John - Ryan Adams featuring Norah Jones
15. Creepin' In - Norah Jones featuring Dolly Parton
16. Court & Spark - Herbie Hancock featuring Norah Jones
17. More Than This - Charlie Hunter featuring Norah Jones
18. Blue Bayou - Norah Jones featuring M. War

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Celtic Thunder

Celtic Thunder : Celtic Thunder



Audio CD (March 18, 2008)
Original Release Date: March 18, 2008
Number of Discs: 1

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For Celtic Thunder, Sharon Browne has teamed up with Grammy-nominated Irish songwriting and composing veteran Phil Coulter to produce a show that includes an eclectic mix of songs ranging from the traditional "Mountains of Mourne" and "Come By the Hills" to international hits such as "Brothers in Arms" and "Desperado," as well as original compositions by Coulter, who has written hits for Elvis Presley ("My Boy") and the Bay City Rollers, and performed with Van Morrison, Tom Jones, and the Rolling Stones. The ensemble numbers in Celtic Thunder reflect the power of the vocalists, who range in age from 14 to 40, and feature songs that celebrate a common Celtic heritage.

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Emmylou Harris: All I Intended to Be

Emmylou Harris : All I Intended to Be



On her second Nonesuch disc, Emmylou Harris assembles an extraordinary cast of veteran musicians and fellow singers, all of them longtime friends, for a set that indeed showcases this Nashville icon, and 2008 CMA Hall of Fame inductee, as all she has intended to be - a singularly expressive vocalist, a brilliant interpreter of other people's songs, a graceful and confident songwriter. In particular, the album displays Harris's ability to bring new life to songs that may have been overlooked, forgotten or lost along the way. Some of the most affecting material here may be the least well-known - though not for long: John Wesley Routh's celtic/country "Shores Of White Sands" and trucker-poet Mark Germino's heartrending story-song, "Broken Man's Lament."

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Harris has chosen these songs with conceptual care. Like much of the gently uplifting All I Intended To Be, the stories may be bittersweet, the characters may be downtrodden, but somehow a sense of redemption always vanquishes regret. The shared history of all the artists involved deepens the feeling of hard-won wisdom that informs All I Intended To Be. Producer Brian Ahern was behind the boards for such early Harris classics as Elite Hotel, Pieces of the Sky and Blue Kentucky Girl. The players and guest stars are not only a veritable who's-who from the worlds of country, bluegrass and folk, but they have each intersected with Harris throughout her four-decade career as a recording artist. They include Dolly Parton, singers Pam Rose and Maryann Kennedy, dobro player (and longtime Seldom Scene member) Mike Auldredge, keyboardists Glenn D. Hardin (of Harris's Hot Band and Elvis Presley's legendary TCB combo) and Bill Payne (of Little Feat). Two songs - the June Carter tribute, "How She Could Sing The Wildwood Flower" and the breathtakingly beautiful "Sailing Round the Room" - were co-written by and performed with Kate and Anna McGarrigle. Singer-songwriter Karen Brooks, whose own eighties-era version of "Shores of White Sands" was the inspiration and thematic jumping-off point for this entire album, contributes backing vocals throughout; Randy Sharp, Brooks' singing partner, did the vocal arranging. (Harris won a 2005 Best Country Vocal Performance Grammy for her rendition of Sharp's "The Connection.") Harris's own songs, like the heartache ballad "Gold" and the elegiac "Not Enough," blend seamlessly with work by Patty Griffin ("Moon Song"), Merle Haggard ("Kern River") and Billy Joe Shaver ("Old Five and Dimers," from which the album title is taken). Harris revives what is arguably Tracy Chapman's most eloquent song, "Fast Car" notwithstanding - "All That You Have Is Your Soul," a cautionary tale with a simple but profound prayer of a chorus. Displaying the maturity, elegance and ease that distinguished All The Road Running, her best-selling 2006 collaboration with Mark Knopfler. Harris has created a riveting emotional and spiritual journey. All That I Intended To Be is everything a listener and fan could hope for.

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