the Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God


year 87 Album Genre British Folk: review: The rest of the album takes Celtic trad (fifes, accordions, bodhráns and all) into similarly uncharted stylistic waters, from the crazy cornball Orientalia of "Turkish Song of the Damned" and the effervescent pop of "The Broad Majestic Shannon" to the almost-out-of-control "Fiesta" (a sort of Spanish beer-hall raveup) and the bittersweet going-to-America anthem "Thousands Are Sailing." There are also straight trad snippets (most memorably the woozy "Worms"), a tumultuous big-band excursion ("Metropolis") and even a sod's lullaby (the gorgeous "Lullaby of London"). Obviously the Pogues can do it all. And it sounds as if they've only just begun.

Cars - Soundtrack

year 2006 review: Scorching southwestern summer temps always bust pistons on good ol' 66, so if you're planning on taking that California trip, gear up for them certain breakdowns with some hot tunes courtesy of the Cars soundtrack (Disney). A handful of new recordings on the album will move the downtime along (but we'll agree, not nearly fast enough when the barometer says 110!); classic tunes ("Sh-Boom," "Route 66") will keep our bop from being burnt, and Randy Newman's animated underscore keeps things... well, animated. In "Real Gone," Sheryl Crow's edge handles powerfully, knocking bicyclists right off the road and into the tumbleweeds (careful there, Lance... soft shoulder ahead); "Life is a Highway" maintains maximum speed with Rascal Flatt's new twang, while Brad Paisley's "Behind the Clouds" and Hank Williams' "My Heart Would Know" daydream us right into the dusty world of love gone missing. The highlight of this soundtrack, rightfully so, is Randy Newman's "Our Town," melancholily performed by beloved James Taylor. Touching on the idea that our own town changes for the worse over time, as does the world, perhaps it's not the world around us that changes but ourselves... and the best way to enjoy life is to love what we have, even if it's all caved in on us. Deeply beautiful songs like this, even though hidden in a wild comedy adventure movie about talking cars, can change lives. download depositfiles.com

Dead Can Dance - Aion

year 90 review: Their reputation growing by leaps and bounds, including a huge underground following in the U.S. -- they were able to tour there even without one domestic release available, while at one point Dead Can Dance was the biggest selling band in 4AD's history -- Perry and Gerrard once again did the business with Aion. Its cover taken from Bosch, Aion's medievalism was worn more openly than ever before, with songs adapted from centuries-old material. The beautiful, entrancing "Saltarello," with lead performance by what sounds like an old wind instrument, comes from an Italian dance of the 14th century, while the mysterious moods of "The Song of the Sibyl" derive from 16th-century Catalonia. The group's command of not merely recording possibilities -- witness the exquisite layering of vocals on the opening "The Arrival and the Reunion" -- but of musical traditions, instruments, and more from around the world was arguably never stronger. Gerrard's vocals in particular have an even stronger, richer feeling than before, not merely able to command with its power but softly calm and seduce.