Music Reviews
Popular Music Reviews - Part 3 - October, 1996


By Cynthia Robertson

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Ratings:    
  Extraordinary
  Good
  Acceptable
  Mediocre
  Poor

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Garbage Garbage
ALM
AMSD-80004
$12.99
Performance:
Audio Quality:

I don't know why Garbage calls this album "Garbage", because it is only remotely so. Their new CD, titled after the group's name is a suitable CD to listen to if you are heading downtown for the evening, dressed in black cigarette pants with a vinyl top and boots to match. And that's just for the fellows. The album has a pretty good sound and beat through most of the CD that you would expect to find in a club, but it's not going to win any awards. I don't think my parents would listen to this, but I am from the notorious Generation X era, so not much of what I listen to would be found in my parents CD collection. "Queer," "Only happy when it rains," and "Stupid Girl" are familiar tunes that the local radio stations play, but there are a few other, lesser known tracks that are worth listening to, such as "A stroke of luck" and "Milk". You can fast forward through the rest . . . . End of story.

Cynthia Robertson

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Bryan Adams Bryan Adams
18 til I die
A&M Records, Inc.
31454 0551 2
$15.99
Performance:
Audio Quality:

I saw this CD and I thought that it would be worth having just to listen to the jokes made by my more "alternative" friends. "18 til I die" has your basic 50% good replay songs and the other half you can skip through. How common is this? Why aren't all CD's $7.99 to cover the filler tunes? Don't get me wrong because there are some really good tracks that would make a decent argument for purchasing this album such as, "Let's make a night to remember," "I think about you," and "I'll always be right there." Adams has a distinct scratchy voice like Demi Moore, which doesn't work in his favor for all of his music. I can't exactly picture Demi singing a Quite Riot song, but then Bryan wouldn't have done too well as the title character of "Striptease". However, Adams has his moments, like the classic "Summer of 69" from his earlier work. Thus, 18 til I die is a good choice if you have ever turned up the volume for a Bryan Adams song, just to tick off your room mate.

Cynthia Robertson

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Celine Dion Celine Dion
Falling Into You
550 Music/epic
BK 67541
$12.99
Performance:
Audio Quality:
 

Pick me up and put me down, but I suuuuuuuuuuuure wish I had a voice like this. Put "Falling Into You" on, and whisk the cream sauce while making dinner for yourself and that special someone, or in my case, my cat. With an incredible voice like Dion's, a stereo system with more than two speakers (i.e., surround sound system) would be like adding an extra stick of butter to the pound cake. I comfortably skipped through more than half of the songs, like most albums (let's ask the CD player manufacturers to add a "Detect Crummy Tracks and Delete from Programming" button), but there are a few choice cuts that you might want to listen to each time the CD is in the machine. "It's all coming back to me now," "Because you loved me," and "Seduces me" are up there on my list. If you like to hit the high notes with your favorite artists, Celine Dion would be a great partner. Definitely not for Karaoke players that eliminate the voice from the recording.

Cynthia Robertson


© Copyright 1995, 1996, 1997 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
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