Yellow, folks. (Part II)
A week has passed and no updates. Darn. I should put blogging on my todo list again.
Anyway, I got myself a couple of CDs a couple of weeks ago. Was thinking of posting mini-as-donuts reviews of those nifty little things, but I figure time was cracking me up. Fortunately, I relented. :)
First up, a duo of Michael Bolton CDs. (Yes. Michael Bolton. :)
I picked up 'Love Songs' after hearing it play on Cable Cafe, that ad-cum-pseudomessageboard-cum-whatever channel on Sky Cable's Channel 34. (I'd actually tune in to that channel for the music, and the occasional postings that might turn out to be interesting. One of my stranger viewing habits. :)
Love Songs differs from many older Michael Bolton greatest-hits compiles simply because of how Michael leverages his powerful, raspy-yet-strangely enchanting voice to render songs in a lovely, almost timeless fashion. In this album, Michael drops his wannabe-rockstar image in favor of something more mature, more flavorful and more interesting in terms of music. In addition, the album has an obvious sprinkling of pop/mainstream jazz, as exemplified by a good number of the songs in the album. Of particular note was the opening trio tracks from "Soul Provider" to "Once in a Lifetime". Kenny G, one of my favorite mainstream instrumentalists, also makes a cameo appearance and lends his art in "Missing You Now". Halfway through the album, other equally-good and appreciable gems makes their presence heard too: "When a Man Loves a Woman", "Now That I Found You", "The Best of Love" (which reminds me of Eric Clapton's "Change the World") and one of my favorites, "How am I Supposed to Live Without You".
Towards the homestretch, the album's pace slows down quite noticeably, as if to wrap up something truly worthwhile. (There's another reason I love this CD. Read on to find out :) Of particular note were "Stand Up for Love", "A Love so Beautiful" and "New Love".
Frankly, this is the Michael Bolton I first heard, encountered, and noticed; not his earlier works. For what its worth, Michael definitely shines brighter doing romance-inspired, melting-in-mush, love-themed ballads like these.
A plus: it's perhaps the first album I stuck on the car CD player without turning off mum and pop when they're around. If parents approve of it, surely, it must be cool. Hahah.
Another thing cool about this entire thing: It just cost me a cool PhP 280 from Music One at Greenbelt 3. (It's a relatively old release actually: circa 2001.) Bargain bin, you say? Hardly: Clearly, this is Michael Bolton's zenith... and it's not one album I'm about to leave to layaway anytime soon.
Album Mini-Review: Michael Bolton's 'Vintage'
When I first picked this thing up, I could not help but exclaim, "WTF? Yet Another Great American Songbook-inspired album? What's up with these guys anyway?" (I did pick up Aaron Neville's 'Nature Boy' last term which featured a considerable number of songs from ye olde America.)
Little did I know that I was in for a treat. Michael Bolton's balladeering, combined with more jazz-flavored tracks, I was literally being brought one closer to nirvana with these playing through my wondrous pair of Sennheisers.
The album is starts off warm, with an almost-homey feel one could easy grow fond of. Michael's voice certainly lends more flair and dimension to the old, rustic charm of the songs in the album.
Being a recent release overseas (and was just recently released locally), this one's not that cheep. Think usual prices. With less tracks. If there's one major gripe I have over this, this may be it.
Overall, the album quality is excellent. While some of the tracks may be unfamiliar to many of today's younger tots, the songs, rendered in Michael's unfailingly unique voice, have the potential to attract more listeners and fans.
For the Bolton fan, this is a must. Even to those who haven't really liked his music and or his voice, "Vintage" has a shot at changing a lot of misimpressions about him. Highly recommended.
If I still have the time, I'll try to post another review or two, plus some updatage. Stay tuned. :)
Until next time!
A week has passed and no updates. Darn. I should put blogging on my todo list again.
Anyway, I got myself a couple of CDs a couple of weeks ago. Was thinking of posting mini-as-donuts reviews of those nifty little things, but I figure time was cracking me up. Fortunately, I relented. :)
First up, a duo of Michael Bolton CDs. (Yes. Michael Bolton. :)
I picked up 'Love Songs' after hearing it play on Cable Cafe, that ad-cum-pseudomessageboard-cum-whatever channel on Sky Cable's Channel 34. (I'd actually tune in to that channel for the music, and the occasional postings that might turn out to be interesting. One of my stranger viewing habits. :)
Love Songs differs from many older Michael Bolton greatest-hits compiles simply because of how Michael leverages his powerful, raspy-yet-strangely enchanting voice to render songs in a lovely, almost timeless fashion. In this album, Michael drops his wannabe-rockstar image in favor of something more mature, more flavorful and more interesting in terms of music. In addition, the album has an obvious sprinkling of pop/mainstream jazz, as exemplified by a good number of the songs in the album. Of particular note was the opening trio tracks from "Soul Provider" to "Once in a Lifetime". Kenny G, one of my favorite mainstream instrumentalists, also makes a cameo appearance and lends his art in "Missing You Now". Halfway through the album, other equally-good and appreciable gems makes their presence heard too: "When a Man Loves a Woman", "Now That I Found You", "The Best of Love" (which reminds me of Eric Clapton's "Change the World") and one of my favorites, "How am I Supposed to Live Without You".
Towards the homestretch, the album's pace slows down quite noticeably, as if to wrap up something truly worthwhile. (There's another reason I love this CD. Read on to find out :) Of particular note were "Stand Up for Love", "A Love so Beautiful" and "New Love".
Frankly, this is the Michael Bolton I first heard, encountered, and noticed; not his earlier works. For what its worth, Michael definitely shines brighter doing romance-inspired, melting-in-mush, love-themed ballads like these.
A plus: it's perhaps the first album I stuck on the car CD player without turning off mum and pop when they're around. If parents approve of it, surely, it must be cool. Hahah.
Another thing cool about this entire thing: It just cost me a cool PhP 280 from Music One at Greenbelt 3. (It's a relatively old release actually: circa 2001.) Bargain bin, you say? Hardly: Clearly, this is Michael Bolton's zenith... and it's not one album I'm about to leave to layaway anytime soon.
Album Mini-Review: Michael Bolton's 'Vintage'
When I first picked this thing up, I could not help but exclaim, "WTF? Yet Another Great American Songbook-inspired album? What's up with these guys anyway?" (I did pick up Aaron Neville's 'Nature Boy' last term which featured a considerable number of songs from ye olde America.)
Little did I know that I was in for a treat. Michael Bolton's balladeering, combined with more jazz-flavored tracks, I was literally being brought one closer to nirvana with these playing through my wondrous pair of Sennheisers.
The album is starts off warm, with an almost-homey feel one could easy grow fond of. Michael's voice certainly lends more flair and dimension to the old, rustic charm of the songs in the album.
Being a recent release overseas (and was just recently released locally), this one's not that cheep. Think usual prices. With less tracks. If there's one major gripe I have over this, this may be it.
Overall, the album quality is excellent. While some of the tracks may be unfamiliar to many of today's younger tots, the songs, rendered in Michael's unfailingly unique voice, have the potential to attract more listeners and fans.
For the Bolton fan, this is a must. Even to those who haven't really liked his music and or his voice, "Vintage" has a shot at changing a lot of misimpressions about him. Highly recommended.
If I still have the time, I'll try to post another review or two, plus some updatage. Stay tuned. :)
Until next time!
posted by ralph at
8:33 PM
1 Comments:
Thanks for your great review about Michael Bolton`s CD`s.
I really enjoyed reading them, you have a good taste in Music!
A Fan in Switzerland
By
Anonymous, at 11:30 PM
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