Getting Near Christmas...



Tori Amos - Tales of a LIbrarian

It must be getting near Christmas, it seems that there is nothing but compilation albums in the shops. I'll forgive this one though, since a) it consists of songs that have been remastered and subtley remixed and b) it's by Tori Amos and as such beyond any sort of criticism. OK, maybe a bit of criticism - there's a couple of songs on here that don't deserve to be on a best of album, and a few that are missing, and maybe rather than a free DVD it would have been better to have a CD with some of her more full on dance remixes. Anyway, I'm treating this as a utility CD, it's here to do the job of providing me with a compilation of Tori Amos tunes, as such it does it's job well.



Jay-Z - The Black Album

Some very silly Spinal Tap-esque packaging going on here, but that didn't hurt Metallica when they did it. Anyway, let's get back on track, suprisingly (considering all the obscure crap I buy to try to make myself seem more interesting) I have a lot of respect for Jay-Z. His album 'The Blueprint' has to go down as one of the greatest hip-hop albums ever, he's got Beyonce by his side, and now he's saying farewell to the hip-hop game with this practically flawless album. Great beats provided by big names like The Neptunes, Timbaland, and Rick Rubin (let's not forget he produced Licensed to Ill and Raising Hell, and would 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' sound the same without his influence?), lyrically it's quite brutal and honest: if this is truly his final album then the gauntlet is well and truly laid down for all the young upstarts. And 14 tracks! No skits! In the world of commercial rap and hip-hop that sort of retraint is a fucking miracle!