Muse - Origin Of Symmetry

YOURZ

I bought Origin Of Symmetry because of one song: Plug In Baby.  I'd heard the song numerous times on radio and I saw the accompanying video and I really liked what I heard. 

We saw them at a Big Day Out a couple of years later, after they had released the Absolution, the follow up to this album and the one that saw the band move from clubs to stadiums around the world.  And they put on a great live show and make a whole heck of a lot of noise for a three piece.  Since then, they've risen to become one of the biggest acts in the world. 

The problem for me, however, is that I very quickly grow tired and a little bit annoyed with the pervasive use of Bellamy's histrionic falsetto.  And then I end up wishing Bellamy would just grow some balls and sing like a man.  I know this is probably a poor critique but there you have it.  Muse have a lot of fans and good on them for doing so.  However, I'm not one of 'em.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

MINE

These are the things I think about Origin of Symmetry:

Matt Bellamy has obviously never taken singing lessons.  Yes, he's got a great voice, but it's very painful listening to him gasp his way through songs.  Dear Matt, breathe from the diaphragm, relax your shoulders and open your throat.

All the songs on the CD sound the same.  Grumpy and whiny.  Oh, except for the one track I vaguely recognised (Feeling Good) which is actually a cover.  Of a Nina Simone song.  Oh, the horror.

They just pack too much into each track.  Too much vocal flightiness, too many bells and whistles, too many twinkly piano lines.  Enough, already!

Rock?  They sound like an indie version of Coldplay. Bleurgh.  (YourZ sez: not really indie, anymore, though)

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://muse.mu/

Verve Remixed Volumes One and Three

MINE

They're just so cool, you know?  The collection that translates into so many settings. Background for getting ready before a big night out.  An effortless listen after you've had a big night.  A party-opener that's not too raucous but still has a bit of pizazz.  And of course, ideal for gettin' busy.  You know what I mean.

Never a stretch for me, as I've grown up with most of these early jazz and blues songs, plus I love hearing them remixed by so many great DJs.  And the albums are full of my favourite singers - Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holliday, Nina Simone - beginning to see a pattern here?  Girl loves her jazz divas, no question.

While I've enjoyed having these in our collection, I'm a bit cheesed we don't have all the albums - so I'm voting we give these away and buy the deluxe set...  AND the Christmas CD which I had no idea existed before doing the back-story research for this review. (YourZ sez: okay, this is probably a Christmas CD I could listen to without wanting to pull my tongue out through my ears)

VERDICT: THROW THEM OUT (after we get the box set, of course)

YOURZ

Now this is jazz I can listen to without any problem.  Remixed by some of the best producers around, the addition, in a lot of cases, of cool, groove-laden beats has only improved the tracks.  I'm sure a lot of jazz purists would probably vomit on their grandmother before listening to any of these songs, but the reality is the Verve collection has updated a lot of standards and exposed them to a whole new audience and, in doing so, has guaranteed these awesome pieces of music will live well beyond the artists who originally performed them.  

Both these collections feature some great versions of songs you might already know but done with such refreshing twists, you may not initially recognise them.  Take Summertime, for instance, performed by Sarah Vaughan on Volume One.  It is remixed by United Future Organisation (UFO), who have taken the original to a new and very different place.  The original song, so often covered, is barely recognisable but for the vocals.  It is a superb update.

Another track by Sarah Vaughan is the classic Peter Gunn.  I always thought the track was an instrumental, so imagine my surprise hearing the vocals to this classic.  The remix, by Mick Sedgley, adds a big beat element to the original that suits it perfectly.  Nina Simone's version of Lilac Wine, another favourite, has been given a simple yet effective ambient retelling.  This is only a taste of the listening treats available on these two collections alone and, as Mine has suggested, the box set won't be too far away.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/ververemixed/music/

Katalyst Presents Dusted - Essential

YOURZ


Welcome to our first compilation review.  In our introductory note way back at the start of this month, we said we'd pick one out of our extensive collection of compilations and review it for your reading pleasure.  For both of us, there was no argument about which compilation we'd pick first.  Katalyst Presents Dusted won hands down. 

So, if you could put together a collection of songs guaranteed to keep a party rockin', who would you put on it?  I think someone must have asked this question of Ashley Anderson, otherwise known as Katalyst, because he has put together quite possibly one of the greatest collections of tracks known to man, deftly mixed together on two discs of pure listening pleasure.  But Dusted is more than a compilation or a mixed tape. Katalyst has seamlessly blended old school, new school and rare grooves into a listing transcending the very idea.

Oh sure, it doesn't have anything approximating hard rock or even medium rock, for that matter, but he does have the original track Eminem sampled to use for My Name Is..., Labi Siffre's I Got The... and some of the world's biggest hip hop luminaries in acts such as A Tribe Called Quest (Check The Rhime), Public Enemy (Burn Hollywood Burn), Wu-Tang Clan (Uzi (Pinky Ring) ) and Run DMC (Down With The King) as well as some classic old school acts like Fred Wesley, The JBs, Roy Ayers, Nina Simone and The Meters.

It's surprising how well this blend of old and new works and this album never fails to inspire and delight.  But it's in his own tracks he really shines, highlighting both his love of hip hop (Let The Music Talk) and funky grooves (Uprock This).  Both are instant classics.

If you've not heard this collection before and you want something 100 percent guaranteed to kick start your party, even if the party is of one, you won't find anything better.  It even makes me wanna dance, something very few recordings can do.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP hit repeat and let 'em dance all night

MINE

Party party party party - this 2-CD album is an essential for an "all back to mine" event.  We saw him - erm "live" - a couple of years ago and he was a-ma-ZING!

As a collection of songs, it works beautifully - from the first strains of California Soul to Run-DMC's Down With the King on CD 2.  My personal favourites are the funky tunes (have I mentioned I like to dance?) especially Cherrystones and I Changed My Mind.

But the rappier and rockier songs work too - showing he's well worth all the gongs he's garnered as a music producer and DJ.  This is the second copy of this album we've owned after the first one walked - and I'm voting for it as one of the CDs I'd buy first if the whole collection vanished tomorrow.  Nothing else to say but...

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (invite your best mates over and get the cocktail shaker out)

For more information: http://www.katalystmusic.com.au/

In our collection we also have What's Happening