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Special Event: atrlcritic | Ed Sheeran's new songs after the upgrade
Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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This is why I love Vespertine 
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Member Since: 4/4/2014
Posts: 10,514
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Quote:
Originally posted by Vespertine
TONY BENNETT FT. LADY GAGA - CHEEK TO CHEEK
I'm nervous as I line up backstage for my One Direction meet and greet; I don't know what to expect, as I've always heard that Anything Goes at these meetings. I reach the front of the line and he immediately locks eyes with me, those dazzling sapphire eyes burning a hole in my legs. Louis excuses himself from the group and whisks me away to an empty hallway, pushing me up against the wall and taking me to heeeaaaven with his soft lips pressed to mine, Cheek to Cheek and toe to toe, my heart racing against his and my breath shallow with excitement. Now he's leading me down the hall and out the door--to his tour bus I expect, until I realize he's pulling me across the street and into the woods, leaving me wondering what he has in store for me.
We reach a grassy clearing in the woods and he pushes me to the ground, and we're just two Nature Boys caught in the moment, unable to Give each other Anything But Love on the forest floor. I feel his warm breath on my ear as he's whispering, "I Won't Dance around the subject... I need you now." With no one but the Fireflies watching, I give Louis what he wants, the Lush sound of his voice invigorating me with new Life, and his assurances that I'm far more Sophisticated at this than any Lady he has ever "dated" coaxing me along.
After we finish up, he extends a hand to me. "Let's Face The Music," he says, pressing 'play' on his iPod and letting my favorite Joni Mitchell song (All I Want, now available on iTunes) ring out, "and Dance together."
"But Beautiful Louis," I whisper, "It Don't Mean A Thing until you promise me it's forever. Can you do that?"
Louis looks at me with a grin in his eyes and a slight blush spreading across his cheeks.
"Bang Bang, you bet I can."
7/10
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 27,248
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Quote:
Originally posted by Vespertine
TONY BENNETT FT. LADY GAGA - CHEEK TO CHEEK
I'm nervous as I line up backstage for my One Direction meet and greet; I don't know what to expect, as I've always heard that Anything Goes at these meetings. I reach the front of the line and he immediately locks eyes with me, those dazzling sapphire eyes burning a hole in my legs. Louis excuses himself from the group and whisks me away to an empty hallway, pushing me up against the wall and taking me to heeeaaaven with his soft lips pressed to mine, Cheek to Cheek and toe to toe, my heart racing against his and my breath shallow with excitement. Now he's leading me down the hall and out the door--to his tour bus I expect, until I realize he's pulling me across the street and into the woods, leaving me wondering what he has in store for me.
We reach a grassy clearing in the woods and he pushes me to the ground, and we're just two Nature Boys caught in the moment, unable to Give each other Anything But Love on the forest floor. I feel his warm breath on my ear as he's whispering, "I Won't Dance around the subject... I need you now." With no one but the Fireflies watching, I give Louis what he wants, the Lush sound of his voice invigorating me with new Life, and his assurances that I'm far more Sophisticated at this than any Lady he has ever "dated" coaxing me along.
After we finish up, he extends a hand to me. "Let's Face The Music," he says, pressing 'play' on his iPod and letting my favorite Joni Mitchell song (All I Want, now available on iTunes) ring out, "and Dance together."
"But Beautiful Louis," I whisper, "It Don't Mean A Thing until you promise me it's forever. Can you do that?"
Louis looks at me with a grin in his eyes and a slight blush spreading across his cheeks.
"Bang Bang, you bet I can."
7/10
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oh my god
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Banned
Member Since: 8/31/2013
Posts: 20,327
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TONY & GAGA CHEEK TO CHEEK
Not going to lie: I didn't have high expectations for this album. I figured it would be rushed and kind of tossed aside for future releases in 2015 after the tour. I was wrong! Cheek to Cheek is not anything super innovative or deep - it's a solid retelling of classic songs millions of people around the world already love. Tony & Gaga have great chemistry on nearly every song and Gaga's vocals are surprisingly controlled and sweet on 90% of the album. Jazz doesn't require the singers to shout over loud electronic atmosphere and Gaga takes hint at that. Her personal connection to the song Lush Life is especially endearing and well-done. The standout tracks from the record: Ev'ry time We Say Goodbye, Nature Boy, I Can't Give You Anything But Love, I Won't Dance, the title track and Lush Life. The only place where I think things fall flat are on Let's Face the Music and Dance; but even then it's not really something that bothers me or stands out as 'bad'. Regardless of what Slant Mag and their baked potatoes think, Cheek to Cheek is a solid record.
Score: 10/10
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Member Since: 7/9/2010
Posts: 42,506
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Cheek to Cheek
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga join forces to create an album in which both artists brilliantly cover classic jazz standards. A collaboration that probably should have happened sooner, it is one that many would never expect. Nonetheless, Gaga and Tony have a great chemistry throughout the album and complement each other's voices quite nicely. On the title track, Gaga's beautiful voice shines as she sings the words "Heaven, I'm in heaven. And my heart beats so, that I can hardly speak". Another track in which Gaga's phrasing and delivery is on point is on the track "Lush Life". Tony's voice is also stellar for his age, as he impresses on a solo track by the crooner himself, "Don't Wait Too Long". The two both sound amazing on one of the best tracks on the album "Nature Boy". Other standout tracks where the pair work particularly well are "Anything Goes" and "Firefly". The track "They All Laughed" is also a cute, joyous song where the two mesh together well. There isn't a single bad track on this collaborative effort. At times Gaga belts a bit too much and it almost sounds like shouting, however she manages sufficient control over her vocals. Overall, this was a successful collaboration.
Best tracks: Nature Boy, Cheek to Cheek, Lush Life, Anything Goes
Rating: 8/10
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Member Since: 7/9/2010
Posts: 42,506
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Chasing Time - Azealia Banks
I just listened to this in full, so this is my immediate reaction. This sounds uninspired and feels like something that was quickly thrown together. The production is convoluted, and like in many of Azealia's tracks, her rapping gets lost in between it all. This is nothing like her older work where her rapping flows quite well with the production. Her verses aren't great on this track at all, either. The chorus of this track is the only redeeming thing about it. Azealia will not truly break through if she keeps putting out work like Chasing Time and Heavy Metal & Reflective.
Rating: 2.5/10
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,973
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Quote:
Originally posted by Remixed
Chasing Time - Azealia Banks
I just listened to this in full, so this is my immediate reaction.
Rating: 2.5/10
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Member Since: 2/5/2014
Posts: 29,111
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Let me see if I can fire these three out real quick...
Azealia Banks - Chasing Time
Azealia continues her hot streak, looking back and moving ahead at the same time. On Chasing Time, Azealia Banks loses the industrial throb of last single Heavy Metal And Reflective and goes back to the house sound of her Fantasea Mixtape, and anybody that was a fan of that tape will most likely find something to like here. Chasing Time takes things a step further from Fantasea lyrically as Chasing Time is a look at a relationship in which Azealia wasted a lot of her time; her she is looking to move on and move forward which is more of a mature look for her. The track seems to be a statement: Heavy Metal And Reflective was a reminder that she's still one of the best (even without that elusive album) and can go hard when she wants, Chasing Time is her picking herself up from all the troubles and telling us that she's moving on with her sound in tact. Key lyric: "My attitude is bitchy but you already knew that / And since we can’t get along / I think we should both move on."
While the track is solid and enjoyable and works to let us know that she's over her troubles, it is less awe-inspiring from Heavy Metal And Reflective and a slight step ground. But it is still nice to hear her capable of making Fantasea caliber tracks whenever she wants.
Grade: A-
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga - Cheek To Cheek
One of the strangest collaborations in a year chalk full of them (still can't get over Shakira and Rihanna being a thing or Riff Raff and Katy Perry), the dynamic jazz duo of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga surprisingly works well. This album has been planned for awhile and has been subject to a lot of push-backs and delays, but the end result is pretty great. It's a lowkey side project for sure, made up of covers of jazz standards; unfortunately (or fortunately?) there is no original material, but Gaga and Tony bring enough to the table to add a unique touch to the songs here. The two work well together because throughout the album Tony's obvious experience and showmanship comes across naturally and he sounds incredibly smooth and cool which is a nice contrast to Gaga's obvious amateur enthusiasm and theatricality; a solo album by one of these two might be too much, Tony's album would threaten to get boring and sound-alike while Gaga's would be a little overdone. As is, the two balance each other out nicely and seem to be having fun together; Tony seems to be a little looser on the duets calling her "Lady" or "Gaga," and Gaga seems to reel in the theatricality and be occasionally flirty (on tracks like Goody Goody), she sounds like she's having fun.
The album as a whole is made up of standards from different eras but flows very well, only stumbling on some of the uptempo tracks: I Can't Give You Anything But Love sounds out of place, sandwiched between two slower songs; Let's Face The Music And Dance is the album's only bum song, the latin sound doesn't work compared with the other songs; and Firefly comes out of the blue after the gloomy Ev'rytime We Say Goodbye. Overall, the instrumentation is the reason to check out the album. The instrumentation through the album is lush, but never overdone and importantly, both Tony and Gaga often step out of the way and let stretches of instrumentation take over. It's a swinging album.
Highlights: Lush Life, Cheek To Cheek, Nature Boy, Sophisticated Lady, I Won't Dance, It Don't Mean A Thing If You Ain't Got That Swing.
Grade: A-
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Member Since: 2/5/2014
Posts: 29,111
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U2 - Songs Of Innocence
I like U2. They're a great band that is capable of delivering stadium filling anthems and nobody does Big music like them. They are a band that works best when they can let completely lose and go all out on a track (see: Beautiful Day) or when they strip things down to make a statement (watch their amazing acoustic performance of Ordinary Love from The Tonight show with Jimmy Fallon, it completely puts the original to shame).
Songs of Innocence was free, offered to all iTunes users,and you really can't beat that (U2's album will be a nice addition to the couple free tracks from unknowns that always sit in your iTunes when you fire up your computer for the first time). It's nice that the band that helped to sell iPods back in the day (with their song Vertigo) and in return had their career revived by Apple, is still trying to innovate and push the envelope of what a band and brand can do (and U2 is definitely big enough to be a brand). A partnership with one of the biggest companies in the world is something very few musicians could pull off, And to actually be in a position to be able to give away an album for free is pretty impressive in itself and would be fantastic if the music was good.
Songs of Innocence ends up just being ok. U2 worked with some pop songwriters and producers and the majority of the album was produced by Danger Mouse (Broken Bells, the Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley...) and it's the production that lets down the album. Bono is in good form as always, happy to be able to sell the songs here and he sounds eager to take the songs and make them explode like One or Where The Streets Have No Name but is often held back by the production. Often, the production is very constraining and overly busy; it has the effect of muting a lot of the songs and distracting from some solid songwriting. it's unfortunate because songs like Iris, Song For Someone, Volcano (really the whole middle of the album) with production that lets U2 cut loose and breathe could really take the songs to another level instead of sounding strangely sterile.
Grade: C+
 My Reviews
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Member Since: 4/29/2012
Posts: 15,977
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Tony Bennet & Lady Gaga -Cheek To Cheek
Lady Gaga's decision to make a full on jazz album came equally as unexpected as expected to me.On one hand it is a complete departure from the sound that made her the big star she is, on the other hand she was always very vocal about making a Jazz record. So she finally went through with it unfortuanatly the result is more than disappointing. I never cared for Gaga's studio records but on the piano she always impressed me which is why I was looking forward to hear her on more vocal focused music. And indeed her and Tony's vocals are on point. But thats really the only positive thing you can say about the record. The album consists of nothing but covers and neither Tony nor Gaga add anything interesting or new to these classics. In fact the album is really nothing but uninspired and simply boring Jazz covers. It starts off pretty good with " Anything goes" and ends with the amazing cover of " Bang Bang" but everything in between is a consistently uneventful blur.
I hope that Gaga stays away from electro pop because this album is definitely her best so far but I think a more rock and piano based acoustic style fits her and her voice better. With original material of course.
Final say: Great vocals but everything else just flies by without leaving any sort of impression.
Best tracks: Anything Goes,Bang Bang
3/10
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 39,572
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I was gonna write a review for U2 but I couldn't stretch 'bland and pretentious' into more than a paragraph 
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Member Since: 3/14/2013
Posts: 37,294
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| Jazz legend Tony Bennett has decided to collaborate with the pop superstar Lady Gaga on their new "Cheek To Cheek". After the underperformance of Gaga's 3rd studio album "ARTPOP", the pop star decided to pull a little side project with Tony Bennett on this one.
The album is, overall, a good one, but it has some flaws. Tony's & Gaga's voices flaw very well and they go well together. The songs are amazing, but I am disappointed that there are no original songs. Also, I hate that the bonus track is the best track. Her voice in "Bang Bang" is just wow and she totally slayed me with that.
Overall, most of the songs are amazing and good to calm you, but some of them are fillers and the album seems too long. Also, I have to admire both Tony's and Gaga's vocals as Tony can still do it after so many years and Gaga had never had such good vocals. Hopefully, this will help Gaga's career after what happened almost a year ago. |
Score: 8.9/10
Other reviews
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Quote:
Originally posted by hello_world
I was gonna write a review for U2 but I couldn't stretch 'bland and pretentious' into more than a paragraph |
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Member Since: 9/13/2012
Posts: 29,559
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Quote:
Originally posted by hello_world
I was gonna write a review for U2 but I couldn't stretch 'bland and pretentious' into more than a paragraph |
Maybe I should listen. I deleted it off my phone immediately though 
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Quote:
Originally posted by Vespertine
Maybe I should listen. I deleted it off my phone immediately though
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The review period is ending right now though
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Quote:
Originally posted by alexanderao
| Songs Of Innocence - U2
U2 | Island | Release Date: September 9, 2014
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68 | Member Score
Generally Favorable Reviews
based on 5 Ratings | ddddd. | dddddd
}-- | Modscore
N/A
based on 0 Mods |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The surprise release from the rockers is their thirteenth studio album. | Record Label: Island
Genre(s): Rock |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 3 | | d | ....iMixed: ██████████ 2 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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| | Mod Reviews | | d | .iPositive: 0 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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Songs of Innocence results.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Quote:
Originally posted by alexanderao
| Cheek To Cheek - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga | Interscope | Release Date: September 19, 2014
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81 | Member Score
Universal acclaim
based on 11 Ratings | ddddd. | dddddd
}-- | Modscore
N/A
based on 0 Mods |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The collaborative jazz effort between Lady Gaga and jazz legend Tony Bennett. | Record Label: Interscope
Genre(s): Jazz |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 10 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: █ 1 |
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| | Mod Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ? | | d | ....iMixed: ? | | d | Negative: ? |
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Cheek To Cheek results.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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Azealia Banks - Chasing Time - 24 HOUR NOTICE
You have approximately 24 hours to review Chasing Time , if you have not already.
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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| Yellow Flicker Beat - Lorde
Lorde | Republic | Release Date: September 29, 2014
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81 | Member Score
Universal acclaim
based on 13 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
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N/A
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| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: Lorde gets the lead single off of the "Mockingjay" soundtrack that she curated. | Record Label: Republic
Genre(s): Alternative, Pop |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ████████████████ 11 | | d | ....iMixed: █ 1 | | d | Negative: █ 1 |
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| | Mod Reviews | | d | .iPositive: 0 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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Member Since: 1/1/2014
Posts: 43,331
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| L.A.LOVE (la la) - Fergie
Fergie | Interscope | Release Date: September 29, 2014
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34 | Member Score
Generally Unfavorable Reviews
based on 9 Reviews | ddddd. | dddddd
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N/A
based on 0 Mods |
| | dddddddddddddd | Summary: The former Black Eyed Peas member releases her first single in 6 years. | Record Label: Interscope
Genre(s): Hip-Hop, Pop |
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| Member Reviews | | d | .iPositive: ███ 1 | | d | ....iMixed: ██████████ 3 | | d | Negative: ████████████████ 5 |
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| | Mod Reviews | | d | .iPositive: 0 | | d | ....iMixed: 0 | | d | Negative: 0 |
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