CD changers are becoming pass. Before they become obsolete, add the Brecker brothers' Some Skunk Funk to the tray - not that you'll listen to the other discs for a long while... Funk fans with an affinity for jazz (or vice versa) will dig the compositions and the arrangements, as well as the passionate playing of these veteran musicians. In an age of cobbled together CDs it's great to hear real players truly wreck a concert hall. -tired antVarious ArtistsDancehall Xplosion The RemixBlazing Flame Records
This makes so much sense it's ludicrous that it isn't done more often. What am I talking about? DJ-mixed dancehall compilations. Why is dancehall largely left out of the mix-CD market when dancehall is meant to be heard mixed? Let's put our hands together to thank the good people at Blazing Flame for Dancehall Xplosion The Remix then, which skillfully mixes 20 current dancehall tracks into a hot and sweaty set. If you have any interest in dancehall at all, check this out.-Douglas AdamsDepeche ModeSpeak & SpellRhino
Depeche Mode will never die-at least not amidst the spate of CDs and DVDs that have just been released. For fans that just can't get enough, this two-disc edition of Speak & Spell should more than satisfy their DM addiction with a re-mastered CD and a DVD documentary for must-see interviews with band members. Sometimes labels re-release material to no benefit for the fan. Here Rhino is doing devotees a great service. -tired antChristine Brewer/Donald Runnicles Atlanta Symphony OrchestraStrauss & WagnerTelarc
A lot of university pseudo intellectuals pass through an agonizing romantic stage during which time they read a lot of Nietzsche and listen to Wagner (and Strauss, albeit mostly because of Kubrick's 2001) every day. You might evolve out of the former eventually, but you'll never tire of Wagner's dramatic arrangements and haunting melodies. It's not easy to find a great recording that captures the full dynamic range of the Prelude & Liebestod. This Telarc disc is above average. -tired antV for VendettaWarner Home Video
V for Vendetta SHOULD have been the follow up to the Wachowski brothers' Matrix instead of the disappointing sequels that movie fans got. Better late, as they say. Former assistant director James McTeigue gets his shot at directing and does well to follow the spirit of the brothers instead of forcing a departure in style. This is the best action flick of 2006. And it has a lot more going for it than violence and heart-stopping explosions. Great entertainment that also examines the perennial and current political problem of fascism.-tired ant