PAUL VAN DYK
For as legendary as he is-- in techno own circles-- I'm not quite sure I understand how he got that way. I listened to a bunch of his work, and wanted to like all of it (not just what's on the stylin' bonus Seven Ways remix disc), but I couldn't get into the "trance lite" work. Don't get me wrong, the guy isn't horrible. Once you listen to "Words" you'll have it stuck in your head for days-- in a good way; The track is one of the jewels on my favorite 1998 trance compilation Tranceglobalnation. The aforemention Seven Ways is fully worth a used disc price for the bonus disc alone, so if you come across it don't pass it up!
VANILLA ICE
If I were a professional rock critic reviewing Ice's latest album, in the tride and true tradition of journalistic punniness, I'd have to say his Hard To Swallow album is "koRny," and that would be very polite. Vanilla Ice is one of music's most bloated egos, which is saying a lot: He credits himself, Run DMC, and the Beastie Boys as bringing rap to the masses; even though Run DMC got big in '85, the Beasties in '87, and Ice in-- hmmm-- late '90. That chronology is almost as confusing as his hardcore gangsta rappa' / rasta routine from his last album some years ago. Ice admitted that before this latest album, he didn't even know who koRn were, proving-- we can pray for the last time-- the "man" is a shameless pop culture whore who has no place behind a microphone; except to provide comedy relief in the music biz every few years. Still, 30 seconds into his new album, he becomes a lot less funny and a lot more pathetic. And more pathetic. And more pathetic. And more pathetic...
THE VERVE PIPE
Let's look up "verve" and "irony" in the dictionary and find the connection.
THE VERVE STORY: 1944-1994
Verve is one of the top jazz labels ever and in the last decade have made vast efforts to remaster their recordings into some of the best that I've ever heard. This 4-CD set highlights their last 50 years and introduced me to such artists as Cal Tjader (vibes), Jimmy Smith (jazz organ), Ben Webster (tenor sax), Sonny Stitt (sax), and others. It contains a heart-melting rendition of "Honeysuckle Rose" by diva Anita O'Day, which is one of the most sensuous songs I've ever heard. If you want to explore jazz, this is the best place to do it (and if you don't want to shill out the dough, there are cheaper compilations of their recordings). Still the same, this falls somewhere in the top 5 of my favorite box sets.
HILDEGARD VON BINGEN
One of the world's first great composers, it's somewhat a wonder why von Bingen, a 12th Century woman, wasn't burned at the stake for doing something such as compose music! The result is some of the most finest, beautiful canticles around-- Sort of a female version of the overpopular Chant. A perfect companion for stargazing.
