Also in this blog: two albums you may have missed out on when they were released the first time.
The latest studio album from Tori Amos and the latest studio album from Natalie Merchant.
Love Never Felt So Good is a song performed by Michael Jackson, released posthumously on May 2nd 2014. Two reworked versions of the 1983 demo track originally composed by Jackson and Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka from the first single released from Jackson's second posthumous album, Xscape. The first version is a solo produced by American record producer John McClain and Dutch record producer Giorgio Tuinfort. The second version is a duet featuring American recording artist Justin Timberlake, produced by American record producers Timberland and Jerome 'J-Roc' Harmon. It is the second collaboration between Jackson and Anka to be released since Jackson's 2009 death (the first being This Is It).
First worked on as a demo, Jackson co-produced the song during a 1983 recording session with Anka. The original version only featured Jackson's vocals, handclaps and a piano played by Anka. In 1984, Anka send the song to Johnny Mathis, who recorded a new version of the song with revised lyrics by Anka and Kathleen Wakefield. Mathis' version made it on his 1984 album, A Special Part of Me. In 2006, Jackson's demo leaked online. During the 2013-2014 recording sessions for the Xscape album, the song was given a revision as a disco-sounding track. The first version, which only features Jackson, was produced by John McClain and Giorgio Tuinfort and was featured as the first track on the standard version of Xscape. The second version , featured as the last track on the deluxe version of the album, was co-produced by Timberland and Jerome 'J-Roc' Harmon and featured Timberlake in duet vocals with Jackson. While producing Timberlake's duet version, Timbaland sampled the percussion and breath from Jackson's 1979 song Workin' Day and Night.
On April 30th 2014, it was revealed that Love Never Felt So Good would be unveiled at the iHeart Radio Music Awards on May1st as the album's first single. During the show on May 1st 2014, the song premiered with a tribute by American R&B singer Usher. The digital download for the single became available on iTunes at 0:01 EDT on May 2nd 2014 for the album version and the duet version with Justin Timberlake.
Since its release Love Never Felt So Good has received positive reviews from critics. Surprised by the quality of the song, Aisha Harris from Slate writes that Timberlake's version 'sounds like an outtake from Off The Wall' and further commented: 'If producers are going to put out more MJ music, let's hope it continues to sound this good.' Carl Willott of Idolator offered a positive outlook on the duet version, 'where Timberlake and Jackson's voices make for an uncannily natural combination...the other great thing is that it's not trying to be an event, it's just a breezy dance floor strut that wouldn't feel out of place on Off the Wall or The 20/20 Experience.' Chris Richards of The Washington Post called the solo Jackson rendition 'terrific. It's airy, sweet, funky and pretty much impossible to dislike,' though he would go on to pan the Timberlake remix, which he commented 'surfaces all the grody feelings that came rushing in 2010 with Jackson's first posthumous album, Michael.' Gavin Edwards from Rolling Stone said, 'even if it isn't on a par with Jackson's best work, it sounded like it could have easily been the sixth single off Bad, which is more impressive than it sounds.' Stephanie Chase from Contactmusic said that 'It's not ground-breaking or an exceptional example of his artistry, but it gives a good indication that Xscape could serve as a fitting tribute to Jackson and his legacy. Jon O Brian from Yahoo! said: 'the classy disco-soul of this single could easily have been lifted from Off The Wall or Thriller.
The single debuted on the UK Single Chart at Number 27 issued on May 4th 2014 after just 24 hours on sale. In the US, the single sold more than 60,000 downloads from the debut date to May 4th 2014 and drawn 31 million all-format radio audience impressions since its first plays on Friday. With the Clear Channel's promotional synergy after the premiere of the song on the iheartRadio Music Awards, the song received hourly plays on May 2nd 2014 on the company's pop, adult and R&B/hip-hop stations, greatly contributing to its airplay, which made the song debut on the following Billboard radio charts: Adult R&B Songs (#19), Adult Contemporary (#23), R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (#28) and Adult Pop Songs (#40). The song made splashy debuts at No.20 on the Hot 100 and No.6 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs by 80,000 downloads sold, 34 million in audience from 358 radio stations, and 1.9 million U.S. streams, which made it, at the time, Jackson's highest-charting entry since the 2002 single Butterflies. its first full week on sale, the song reached to Number 6 of Billboard Digital Songs chart, with the sale of 101,000 copies, but the whole week radio audience impressions reduced by 36% to 22 million generates the song dropped to No.38 at Radio Songs and caused the song's Hot 100 position #22 for the second week. In its third week, the song rose to No 9, becoming Jackson's first top-ten hit since 2001's You Rock My World'. Jackson also became the first act in the Hot 100's history to score top ten hits in five different decades, as he has done for each decade from the 1970's to the 2010's. Counting Jackson's entire chart career in addition to his solo career, the 2010's is actually Jackson's sixth decade with a single charted (not peaking) in the Top 10, as the, The Jackson 5 single I Want You Back first reached the Top 10 the week of December 27 1969, on its way to a number one peak in late January 1970; however, Jackson was not credited on that single by full name. The song eventually reached #1 on the Billboard Top Adult R&B Songs Chart.
The music video for the duet debuted in the morning on May 14th 2014, which was regarded as 'a careful visual tribute of the late pop singer's lasting legacy on future generations.' The music video was directed by Rich Lee and Justin Timberlake. A crowd of young dancers and Justin Timberlake sang along and made some memorable moves from Michael Jackson's classic music videos and live shows. Clips from the following music videos appeared in the Love Never Felt So Good music video (in order of appearance)
The song was performed live at 2014 iHeart Radio Music Awards on May 1st 2014, with American R&B singer Usher dancing across the stage, moonwalking and even hopping on a table to spin during the play of this song. Other dancers dressed in Michael Jackson's style and performed his signature moves, capturing the late legend's energy in front of digital backdrops flashing graffiti and brick walls.
This single and music video is a fitting tribute to Michael Jackson's unique talent as an artist and to his unique legacy in popular music.
The producers (of both single versions) have not only captured Jackson at his best creatively, they have captured a moment in Jackson's music career, that we as listeners and fans of his music had not even heard from Michael, from the very last two studio albums he released in his own music career: History: Past, Present and Future (1995) and Invincible (2001). They have managed to capture Jackson in that Disco period of his Quincy Jones produced Off The Wall (1979) and the periods of The Jacksons Disco periods of Destiny (1978) and Triumph (1980) studio albums.
Quincy Jones may have been a very huge influence on Michael Jackson's Solo career, but the truth about what emerged after the Off The Wall album, is that market-forces of the music industry came into Michael Jackson's career, where he had to find his place in present-day R&B music, so elements of a lot of the disco that was heard on Off the Wall' album were abandoned for other release studio albums by Michael. We all now know there was a much bigger vision by Michael for the Thriller album, than what Off the Wall had, when that album eventually became the greatest selling album ever released. After the release of, Off the Wall album, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis , Babyface with Quincy Jones were a major part of the musical dimensions of where Michael Jackson would be creatively as an artist in the mid to late 1980s and 1990's.
The uniqueness of Love Never Felt So Good, is that it manages to sound like classic Soul/Funk while being current sounding at the same time.
Now, that is some mighty REAL RESPECT to Michael Jackson's music vision and his historic music legacy.
Xscape is the second posthumous album of previously unreleased tracks by Michael Jackson. It was released on May 13th 2014 by Epic Records and MJJ Music. It is the eleventh album released by Sony and Motown since Jackson's death in June 2009. L.A. Reid, chairman of Epic Records, curated and executively produced the album enlisting Timbaland to lead a team of record producers, including StarGate, Jerome 'J-Roc' Harmon, John McClain, and Rodney Jerkins, to retool and contemporize the eight selected tracks. Jerkins produced the title song and is the only original song producer to work on the final productions.
Love Never Felt So Good was announced as the official lead single to premiere on May 1st 2014. The deluxe edition of the album includes all of the songs in their original forms as well as one bonus track and two videos.
Officially announced on March 31st 2014, Xscape features 8 tracks. The title track Xscape was recorded in 2001 for Jackson's tenth studio album Invincible. American producer Timbaland and Epic Records chairman L.A.Reid executively produced the album , with addition production from Rodney Jerkins, StarGate and John McClain. Timbaland said that Reid had personally approached the producer at his home to discuss the new Jackson project. Jesse Johnson, former lead guitarist of the American band The Time revealed that he had worked on elements of one song that featured Mary J.Blige, Questlove and D'Angelo. However, the track failed to be included in the final track listing of the album. Reid said that they wanted to honour Jackson's legacy when naming the album. He said: 'the title of this album 'Xscape' honours Michael's album naming process. He always chose a song from the album to name his projects and, beginning with Thriller, used only one word titles, each with an edgy quality to them (Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, History and Invincible). This is true of the new project.'
The Recording History of Tracks on the Xscape Album.
Love Never Felt So Good was co-written by Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka and originally recorded in 1983 as a demo with Anka at the piano. The song was also recorded by American entertainer Johnny Mathis. A duet version of the song with Justin Timberlake was recorded and released as a single- the song featured percussion and breaths from Jackson's 1979 song Workin' Day and Night.
Chicago (originally called She Was Lovin' Me) was recorded in 1999 but failed to make the Invincible album.
Loving You was recorded in 1987 during the Bad sessions.
A Place With No Name was written and recorded in 1998. The track resembles A Horse with No Name, a hit song by American rock band America. A 24-second snippet was leaked online by TMZ in July 2009 and a full version was leaked in December 2013.
Slave To The Rhythm was recorded during the Dangerous sessions in 1991 and was completed in the same year. A Tricky Stewart remix version leaked on the internet in 2010, which was intended for the first posthumous album, Michael. Justin Bieber also recorded a 'duet version' featured with Jackson's vocals, which was leaked in August 2013. The Michael Jackson Estate afterwards stated that they had not authorized the release of this recording.
Do You Know Where Your Children Are was written and recorded during the Bad sessions and revisited during the Dangerous sessions, but failed to make either album.
Blue Gangsta was written and recorded in 1998 but failed to make the Invincible album. Rapper, Tempamental remixed the song without Jackson's permission and made it available on his Myspace web page in late 2006. The remix titled Gangsta (No Friend of Mine) featured Pras of the Fugees.
Xscape was written and recorded during his Invincible album recording sessions but failed to make the album. The song was completed in 2002 and leaked on the internet that same year. The tune has been given a modern spin by its original producer, Rodney Jerkins and features samples of You Rock My World, a song recorded in the same era as Xscape.
A Pepper's ghost illusion of Michael Jackson performed Slave to the Rhythm at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18th 2014. The performance was choreographed by the Talauega brothers and was directed by Jamie King. A day after the coverage, the live performance of Slave to the Rhythm was uploaded to Michael Jackson's VEVO YouTube Channel. Following the success of Love Never Felt So Good on the Billboard Hot 100, Jackson became the first solo artist to have a single reach the top 10 in five different decades. The success of Slave to the Rhythm, which debuted at number 45 on the Billboard Charts, lead Jackson to his 50th Hot 100 hit.
Xscape has a score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 22 critics, indicating generally favourable reviews. Prior to the album release, Xscape was played for critics at exclusive album listening parties in New York City. Bernadette McNulty from The Daily Telegraph praised the album as 'pristine', noting the ;front-and-centre presence of Jackson's voice in the mix'. Michael Craig from The Guardian said Xscape feels 'like an album created to showcase a handful of Jackson songs that on the whole deserve to be heard'. Richard Suchet from Sky News though the album 'sound more like modern-day remixes'. Nick Stevenson from Mixmag believed the album 'more like a collection of B-sides from 'Off the Wall' than a follow-up to Invincible'. Michael Arceneaux from Ebony said 'the upcoming project from the late singer sounds like a recipe for legacy tarnishing'. Elysa Gardner of USA Today said that the producers on the album 'ensure that Jackson's enduring strengths as a singer are represented, layering in modern electronic textures without overwhelming the distinctly slinky, shivery vocals or overall structure of the tunes.' Other critics suggested the product was just a way to promote Sony smartphones and had questions around the songwriting and production, or with the singing. Self-confessed Jackson fan Nekesa Mumbi Moody, writing for Yahoo said that much of the album had a dated feel, with 'A Place With No Name' having poor lyrics and sound. She concluded that 'putting out music that falls below Jackson's standard detracts from the carefully constructed catalogue he spent decades creating and protecting.'
Xscape became Jackson's tenth UK number-one album after it debuted atop the UK Albums Chart with 47,764 first week sales. The album also debuted at number one in Belgium, Denmark, France and Spain. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard chart with first-week sales of 157,000 copies in the United States. In its second of week of sales, the album sold 67,000 more copies. In its third week it sold 35,000 copies bringing its total sales to 259,000 copies. In its fourth week, it sold a little more than 25,000 copies, and the fifth week it sold a little less than 25,000 copies. The album has sold 339,000 copies after seven weeks of release in the US. In Canada, the album debuted at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 12,000 copies.
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Dar um Jeito (We Will Find a Way) is Brazil's Official 2014 Fifa World Cup's Anthem single. The Single features Carlos Santana featuring Wyclef Jean, Avicii and Alexandre Pires. The single is written and produced by Jordin Sparks, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez and Justin Timberlake.
A Fun and Vibrant Brazilian Football Anthem with some great use of Brazilian music expression.
Yeah! I do know that Germany beat Brazil recently by 7 Goals to 1, but we can still all savour this magnificent tune for the Brazilian team.
Below is the music video for Dar um Jeito (We Will Find a Way) Brazil's Official 2014 Fifa World Cup Anthem.
La Petite Mort is the latest studio album by British alternative rock band James. The new studio album was officially released on June 2nd 2014.
The album's title comes from its overall themes of death and release, having been written following the death of lead singer Tim Booth's mother in 2012 as well as the death of his best friend. It features ten tracks and is available on CD, vinyl and as an MP3 download.
All pre-orders of the album included a download of the track Frozen Britain as well as a copy of the album's first single, entitled Moving On, which was released on April 28th 2014 and accompanied by a stop-motion animated video from BAFTA-winning director Ainslie Henderson.
Reviews of the album have been generally good, mentioning that there were a few tracks that could already be considered as classic James, e.g. 'Moving On, 'Frozen Britain'. The Daily Express called the album: 'a beautiful set of moving and inspiring songs' and the reviewer goes as far as to affirm: 'It's one of my favourite albums of the year' and that 'This record could be described as life affirming or as a great comeback album but I am happy to see James out playing, recording and connecting with that ever faithful audience.' Renowned for Sound gave the album 3.5 out of 5 and summarised the album as follows: 'La Petite Mort is a solid effort from the band... For the most part, the writing is focused, the production is polished and Booth's vocals standout in a manner we are used to hearing. Sure there are a few misfires, but there's nothing wrong with experimenting your sound. However saying that, only James do James best and after all these years, that classic James sound is what we want to hear.' The review by Gigslutz says: 'The album itself has a very theatrical swing to it' and 'La Petite Mort' may mean 'The Little Death', but this record has all the markings of a rebirth, signalling a refreshed sound from Booth and co.' Virgin Media's review states: 'after nearly 30 years, the idiosyncratic, quixotic James are always worth preserving with', but only gives it 3 stars out of 5 as they do not particularly like the 2nd half of the album. MusicOMH give the album 3.5/5 stars and comes to the conclusion 'Bookended with two (almost)James classics, the album's probably better produced than expected' but thinks that 'too often, the production strips away the potential majesty'.
Tracklisting for La Petite Mort
- Walk Like You
- Curse Curse
- Moving On
- Gone Baby Gone
- Frozen Britain
- Interrogation
- Bitter Virtue
- All In My Mind
- Quicken the Dead
- All I'm Saying
- Whistleblowers (iTunes only bonus track)
Below you can see the music video for the 1st single released from this New Studio Album. The Single Moving On, which was officially released on April 28th 2014.
Mutineers is the tenth studio album by English singer-songwriter David Gray. The new studio album was officially released on June 17th 2014 on the independent music label Good Soldier Songs.
Mutineers has been produced by Andy Barlow.
Back in the World was the first song to be officially announced as the first lead-off single for the album.
April 1st 2014, the music video for the track Gulls was premiered on both the Myles O'Reilly website arbutusyarns.net (http://arbutusyarns.net) and David's official YouTube channel, of which Myles was the director. On April 10th 2014, Back in the World from the new album Mutineers was uploaded onto David's official YouTube channel. A day later, the track was played back by radio presenter Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2 for The Chris Evans Breakfast Show at exactly 7:45am.
Tracklisting for Mutineers
- Back In the World
- As the Crow Flies
- Mutineers
- Beautiful Agony
- Last Summer
- Snow in Vegas
- Cake and Eat It
- Birds of the High Arctic.
- The Incredible
- Girl Like You
- Gulls
Bonus Track Version
12. Nearly Midnight
Below you can see the music video for 1st official single from this New Studio Album by David Gray. The incredibly beautiful single and music video, Back In the World.
The Madden Brothers are an American rock band made up of brothers Joel Madden and Benji Madden, both of whom are also founding members of the rock band Good Charlotte. The project also features Good Charlotte drummers Dean Butterworth and lead guitarist Serge Dmitrijevic, both of whom will appear on their debut album.
Twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden formed The Madden Brothers officially in 2014 as a side project from Good Charlotte, but have origins dating back to 2011. While with Good Charlotte, Joel was mainly the lead vocalist with Benji being lead guitar and backup vocalist. They released a total of five studio albums, two live albums, two extended plays, twenty singles, seventeen music videos and three music DVD's. All of their studio albums received certification including The Young and the Hopeless which was certified 3x Platinum in the United States and reached #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart. During their time with Good Charlotte, the brothers saw the sale of over ten million albums worldwide.
Joel and Benji had been working on The Madden Brothers project since 2011 when they began working on different ways of music. They released a free mixtape a short time later in October 2011. Titled Before The Fame: The Madden Brothers, it included collaborations with artists such as Casey Veggies, Wiz Khalifa, Machine Gun Kelly, Rockie Flesh and The Cool Kids. The mixtape was said to be made simply for the fun of music.
The Madden Brothers began working with producer Pharrell Williams and planned to release an album in 2012. The plans fell through for the album release but both continued to work on the project. The Madden Brothers finally released their first single in June 2014. Titled We are Done, the song was placed in regular rotation in major markets and became a top 40 track on Billboard's Bubbling Under and Alternative Radio Charts. It is a song about standing up for yourself according to Benji, made to inspire people to speak up for themselves. The song is from the album Greetings From California, produced by Eric Valentine and Joe Chiccarelli and scheduled for release on September 16th 2014.
Band Members of The Madden Brothers
- Joel Madden Lead Vocals
- Benji Madden Guitar, Vocals
- Dean Butterworth Drums, Percussion
- Serge Dmitrijevic Lead Guitar
Greetings From California will be the first studio album by the Madden Brothers. The Debut Album has an official release date of September 12th 2014.
The album's first single We Are Done premiered on May 30th 2014, on 102.7 KISS FM. (US Radio Station). The music video for the single premiered on June 30th 2014. The album was made available for pre-ordering on the iTunes Store on July 4th 2014 with California Rain made available for immediate download.
The Madden Brothers official website states that Greeting From California will be split into two sides. The first filled with upbeat, sunny pop-rock produced by their long-time collaborator Eric Valentine, who also produced Good Charlotte's The Young and the Hopeless and 2004's The Chronicles of Life and Death. Side two is produced by Joe Chiccarelli, wherein the Maddens radiant sibling harmonies are again front and center on songs like California Rain and Brother, but the music is more earthy, with a warm blend of folk, southern rock and 70's era FM pop.' In a Facebook Q&A session, the brothers mentioned that Pharrell Williams co-wrote two songs on the album, and that Ryan Adams will be featured in another song.
Tracklisting for Greetings From California.
- Dear Jane (Intro)
- Dear Jane
- Brixton
- Out of My Mind
- We Are Done
- U R
- Jealousy
- Love Pretenders
- California Rain (Intro)
- California Rain
- Brother
- Bad
- Good Gracious Abbey
- Suddenly
- Empty Spirits
Below is the music video for the 1st Official single from this debut album. The track, We Are Done.
Unrepentant Geraldines is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter and pianist Tori Amos. The album is available on standard CD/digital download, a limited edition CD+DVD and a two disc vinyl LP.
The new studio album was released in Germany on May 9th 2014, UK May 12th, North America May 13th and Oceania on May 16th. For Germany and the UK the album is being released through Mercury Classics and for the US is being released through Mercury Classics/Universal.
While touring for her last mainstream release in 2009, Tori Amos felt as if she had hit a block in her creative ability and needed to find a new way to make music. This led to her pursuing projects outside the pop/rock genre, including classical music and The Light Princess, as well as orchestral re-recordings of songs from her catalogue. Feeling invigorated and with a fresh approach, Unrepentant Geraldines marks Amos' return to pop and alternative rock music. It is described as returning to 'her core identity as a creator of contemporary songs of exquisite beauty' with an album of 'inspiring and personal music' that 'once more zeroes in on writing of brightly melodic, deftly evocative chamber-pop.' According to Amos, the songs on the album were a long time in the making, exploring different styles and subject matter. Amos stated that she'd written the songs 'in secret', enjoying the freedom of not working in a large group of musicians. She described the album as different snapshots of her life and things she'd observed.
Unrepentant Geraldines is described as 'an appreciative portrayal of the singer's experiences with visual art'. Amos Stated:
'I've always been inspired by visual artists of all mediums because, as with music, art is not a job you can go to and leave from, but it is something that defines who and what you are ... Visual artists shake up our brains and force us to look at everything, from objects we don't normally think twice about to people we might not have cared about. In one image, they can remind us of nature's power to enchant, as well as humankind's fruitless attempt to overpower her or simply second-guess her. Through the visual artist's application of tone, shape, pattern and pigment, I not only begin to see, but I can honestly say I begin to hear.'
The album's title reflects the unapologetic women that won't be made to say sorry for their actions and beliefs. A wide range of topics are explored on the album, including the 'other' America, ageing in 16 Shades of Blue, the thrill of danger in Trouble's Lament, not letting go of childhood imagination in Rose Dover, the 2013 NSA surveillance scandals in Giant's Rolling Pin, and making peace with haunting memories and self doubt in Oysters. Amos' daughter appears as a duet partner on the track Promise, about mother and daughter being there for each other. Having a teenage girl's perspective to consult was reportedly a large influence on the record, exposing Amos to a different outlook than her own.
The album was recorded and mixed at Martian Engineering at Amos' home in Cornwall, with Amos and engineers husband Mark Hawley and Marcel van Limbeek 'working as a triangle'. Amos stated that she had needed to experiment and that the small team was liberating for this purpose. On the contents of the album, she said it was 'not going for shock, shock is easy', instead striving to create songs that 'resonate with the now.'
Tracklisting for Unrepentant Geraldines
- America
- Trouble's Lament
- Wild Way
- Wedding Day
- Weatherman
- 16 Shades of Blue
- Maids of Elfen-Mere
- Promise
- Giant's Rolling Pin
- Selkie
- Unrepentant Geraldines
Trouble's Lament is a song by American singer-songwriter Tori Amos from her 14th studio album, Unrepentant Geraldines. It was released as the album's lead promotional single on March 28th 2014 by Universal/Mercury Classics as a digital download only single.
Trouble's Lament was announced by Amos on March 27th to be the first song available from the album. Cover art was released on Amos' social media sites the same day, along with the album's complete track list.
Musically, the song is influenced by different musical styles, including Americana, folk music, Flamenco and pop music. Amos' piano playing is accompanied by acoustic guitar and sparse percussion. The instrumentation is similar to the music of Neko Case, Patty Griffin, Fleetwood Mac and Amos' own past production on the predominantly acoustic Scarlet's Walk (2002).
The song's lyrics finds Tori Amos stating that 'Trouble needs a home' after having left Satan behind, and sings about welcoming danger into her life.
Of the song's style and background, Amos (who is originally from North Carolina) stated that her Southern roots were influential: 'it's really in the blood. It's almost like you listen to the land speaking to you. And wherever I am I can hear the South calling me. I really like the idea that trouble was a young woman... I see her on my travels a lot and maybe I knew her many years ago when I was in my twenties.'
The accompanying music video was shot on location in London, featuring Amos in a diner in Islington with different people and driving around the city at night in a yellow car. The music video was released on May 28th 2014, via Amos Facebook fan page.
Reactions to the song were highly positive. The track was noted as being signature Amos, with most critics complimenting the song's Americana-influence, Amos' vocal performance, the dark lyrics and the rippling piano. Rolling Stone called the song 'haunting and eerie, with a showcase vocal range'. SPIN found it to be a 'perfect return' and an 'undeniably good look for Amos'. Consequence of Sound said it was 'a charming song with otherworldly harmonies'. Broadway World called the track 'an eerie Southern blues song,' noting that Amos voice is 'matchless.' Noisey likewise took pleasure in the Americana-influence and vocals. PinkIsTheNewBlog stated its love for the song's 'groovy, sinister arrangement' and 'honey-coated vocals.' Indie music site Death and Taxes likened the song to P J Harvey's work on Let England Shake, finding Amos' track to be more upbeat and accessible. Exclaim! called it a 'dust-kicking and spooky track with luscious vocals'. Stereogum stated that the song was 'exactly what we want from Tori.' Glide Magazine found Amos' vocals to be 'fresh, sultry and inviting, in top form and reminiscent of her work in the early 90's.' Flavourwire called the track a 'typically pretty Amos song', stating ' what's not to love?' . Under the Gun Review said the track 'is full of spice and any fan of Tori Amos will enjoy it.' Faster Louder included the song in their weekly should-hear music roundup, commenting that it was exactly what fans would enjoy. Mxdwn.com called it 'a soulful blues track, noting Amos' 'one-of-a-kind vocals and talent for thought -provoking lyrics.
What I love about this Tori Amos track and music video is that it is an instant return back to her pop roots, that is recognised by everyone who was aware of her music in the 1990's. This is a creative side of Tori Amos, the fans have been missing for many years. Not just the music though; her image in the music video is more accessible to the pop market.
She has had some incredible striking looks in the past few years, but they were generally looks that could have deterred Tori Amos' fans away of embracing her albums in a more accessible way than when she first arrived on the music scene in the early 1990's.
Welcome Back Tori Amos, to the Vanguard of Popular Music!
Natalie Merchant is the eponymous sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, released officially on May 6th 2014 by Nonsuch Records. It is her first studio album consisting of all new material in over twelve years, her last being Motherland in 2001.
Natalie Merchant has produced the album herself.
Tracklisting for Natalie Merchant.
- Ladybird
- Maggie Said
- Texas
- Go Down Moses
- Seven Deadly Sins
- Giving Up Everything
- Black Sheep
- It's-A-Coming
- Lulu (introduction)
- Lulu
- The End
Below is the music video for the first official single release from this new studio album by Natalie Merchant; the moving and hauntingly beautiful track, Giving Up Everything.
Happy Music Buying and Listening Folks!
Roger Howard 09/07/2014.
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