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May 11 2011 
DVDfever co uk
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Liam Carey reviews
V o l u m e # 9 |
AH, KELLY!The odds on the debut solo album from one-third of Destiny's Child reaching #1 and becoming hugely popular would not be especially high, given the trio's ubiquity in contemporary pop music and culture. However, what might be less predictable is that the record in question should not be by amazonian diva Beyonce Knowles, but the rather less ebullient Kelly Rowland. No doubt aided by her duetting duties on last year's smash Nelly single Dilemma, Ms. Rowland has quietly but convincingly entered into the public's conscience. Simply Deep has been on the UK chart since the start of the year, clocking up sales to rival Destiny's Child themselves, and spawning the impressive hits Stole and Can't Nobody in additon to featuring Dilemma. The album showcases Rowland's pleasingly sweet vocals which never grandstand or venture into unnecessary histrionics, and while several of the songs are unremarkable, its jubilant highpoint - Train On The Tracks - is scheduled for release as the next UK single later in the summer. Expect the popularity of Simply Deep to soar to even greater heights as 2003 progresses. |
RINGING THE CHANGESIt's been 30 years since Mike Oldfield conquered the UK album charts, and launched not only his career but that of then-fledgling label Virgin, with Tubular Bells. Time for another inevitable re-issue then, just five years after the remastered 25th Anniversary edition? Well, sort of. Not content with exploiting the TB brandname four times already in the past 11 years (1992's Tubular Bells II, 1998's Tubular Bells III, 1999's Millennium Bell and 2001's The Best Of Tubular Bells), Oldfield has re-recorded the whole shebang afresh, creating a 2003 facsimilie of the original in every sense. Given that the only Oldfield albums to sell in any quantity during the past three decades have all borne the TB association either in their title, such a tactic is perhaps understandable. Last year's excellent Tr3s Lunas for example, despite positive reviews, failed to make much of an impact in this country. |
RIGA 2003:NUL POINT IN EUROVISION?For the first time in the UK's long and occasionally glittering Eurovision history, its entry ended the night with the dreaded "Nul points". A result of Britain's part in the War on Iraq, which most of Europe opposed? Or simply a reflection on the quality of Jemini's song, and its out-of-tune performance? Whatever the merits of participating in such an ultimately dubious competition may be (notably the blatant "you scratch our back, we'll scratch yours" voting by neighbouring countries), the UK provides most of the funding for the body in charge of running the contest each year and the clear snub on the UK was joined by the lack of votes for the song by host nation Latvia. If musical merit obviously counts for so little, then perhaps Eurovision's prime source of income and whichever nation happens to be holding the contest also ought to be granted a more charitable approach... That said, Jemini hardly deserved to succeed, being a wretchedly cliched and forgettable sub-Steps concotion. Rather than signalling the end of their career, however, the infamy of coming last appears to offer a "unique" marketing and promtional angle if this week's newspaper and television reports are to be believed. The most notable aspect of 2003's Eurovision, chart-topping faux-lesbian duo t.A.T.u. representing their mother country Russia, passed without much incident other than backstage claims of the girls' petulant diva-like behaviour and 3rd place. Ne Ver, Ne Boisia has now been added to a freshly-issued version of the 200KM/H In The Wrong Lane album, which also includes a bonus DVD of interview footage lasting 25 minutes and a fold-out colour poster. |
FUTURE SOUNDSThe best music on the horizon:
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The following is a list of Liam's Liner Notes online :
Volume 22: December 17th 2003 Volume 21: December 3rd 2003 Volume 20: November 5th 2003 Volume 19: October 22nd 2003 Volume 18: October 8th 2003 Volume 17: September 24th 2003 Volume 16: September 10th 2003 Volume 15: August 27th 2003 Volume 14: August 13th 2003 Volume 13: July 30th 2003 Volume 12: July 9th 2003 Volume 11: June 25th 2003 Volume 10: June 11th 2003 Volume 9: May 28th 2003 Volume 8: May 14th 2003 Volume 7: April 30th 2003 Volume 6: April 16th 2003 Volume 5: April 2nd 2003 Volume 4: March 19th 2003 Volume 3: March 5th 2003 Volume 2: February 19th 2003 Volume 1: February 5th 2003
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As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
