THE TING TINGS - SOUNDS FROM NOWHERESVILLE

Don't ask me how I discovered The Ting Tings cause I honestly can't remember.  I heard their name mentioned somewhere and one day, I was looking for some new music to listen to and I tried their name in a Youtube search.  The first song I listened to was 'Shut Up And Let Me Go' from their first album.  I was hooked.  The relentless and infectious beats layered in the fantastic rhythm guitars and the most interesting vocals I've heard in a long time.

This is their second album and first one I'm actually reviewing.  I've become such a huge fan of this group I purchased their entire catalog in the same week.  A little bit of research helped me determine this version of the album was the one I wanted to buy.  It includes a whole slew of bonus tracks.  Most of them are mixes, but there's also a couple of b-sides included.

The album starts off with 'Silence'; which sorta reminds me of one of The Chemical Brothers' stadium anthems.  It seems they always include one semi-slow song that builds and ebbs, like 'The Private Psychedelic Reel'.  It's usually quite long.  Even though 'Silence' doesn't fit that criteria, the progression and keyboards remind me of these tracks.

And then, we're right into the funky pop rock The Ting Tings do so well.  'Hit Me Down Sonny', 'Hand It Up' and 'Give It Back' are like a power trio of funky fun goodness you can't help but shiver and shake to.  All three of them are amazing by themselves but even more satisfying when you put them together.

'Guggenheim' is a bit of an anomaly.  It fits the format of those old girl groups like The Shangri-Las' track, 'Leader Of The Pack'.  Infused with some punk aggression, this track is definitely a stand out and quite powerful.  It's followed by one of the more funky typical TTT track, 'Soul Killing'.  It's probably my favorite track on the album.  I love this one, but to be honest, I usually let the disc play through without skipping or playing individual tracks, that how solid I think the album is and how much I like the entire disc.

'One By One' ventures into a more electro style and the vocals are much more subdued than usual.  Adversely, 'Day To Day' relies on an acoustic guitar played over some synth sound effects patches and the vocals are more soulful and layered.  

'Help' is another anthem-like track, but it's also the only song I would actually consider a ballad on the album.  It's followed by 'In Your Life' which I can only describe as something like Nancy Sinatra's cover of 'Bang Bang'.  Originally written by Sonny Bono for Cher, Sinatra's version features a tremolo guitar and that's the prominent instrument on this track.  It's a very haunting track.

This would constitute the main body of the album, but then you get all the bonus material on the deluxe edition.  There are two additional songs, 'Hands' and 'Ain't Got Shit'.  'Hands' is actually a mix and it sounds almost like an 80's single.  There's a fun beat driven by the keyboards.  Not much there, but still quite fun.  'Ain't Got Shit' is probably the most experimental track on the disc.  It utilizes a simple electro beat throughout and Katie White's vocals sound rather distant because of an echo effect.  It takes the tone of an old spiritual, but at the same time sounds mysterious and strange.  I actually really like the song!  I think it's a highlight on this disc.

The rest of the tracks are mixes and a demo version of 'Give It Back'.  I quite like the mixes.  They're all decent and enjoyable.  I'm super excited about the demo for 'Give It Back'.  It's a rockin' track by itself.  The demo only gives it more of an edge.  It feels somewhat raw and that unpolished sounds makes it even louder, stronger and energetic.

I can't recommend this group enough.  They've got a style all their own.  They're crossing genres and sounds to create some excellent material for your ears.  I'm always surprised by the variety I hear in their music!  You need to check them out.  Like right now.

My final words:  YOU WON'T MISS WITH THIS DISC.  ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING NEW GROUPS I'VE HEARD!

THE TING TINGS - SOUNDS FROM NOWHERESVILLE
01. Silence
02. Hit Me Down Sonny
03. Hang It Up
04. Give It Back
05. Guggenheim
06. Soul Killing
07. One By One
08. Day To Day
09. Help
10. In Your Life
11. Silence (Bag Raiders Remix)
12. Hang It Up (Inertia Remix)
13. Give It Back (Demo)
14. Hang It Up (Abacus & Vargas 'Predator' Remix)
15. Hands (Mixed By Calvin Harris)
16. Guggenheim (Andy Taylor 'Got It Right' Remix)
17. Hang It Up (Shook Remix)
18. Ain't Got Shit
19. Hang It Up (CKB Remix)

PRINCE - 4EVER

My biggest fear after Prince died was that major record companies would do what they've done with artists like Elvis Presley or Jimi Hendrix.  Anytime they come up with a previously unreleased outtake, demo or live recording, they package it along with previously released material to make a greatest hits package they can sell for a cool profit.

I hoped, with the amount of music Prince left behind, there would be the motivation to release entire albums of previously unreleased material.  However, in its rush to capitalize on Prince's passing, Warner Bros. put together this hasty compilation.  The packaging is lovely, but at the same time, a bit disappointing.  They use photos from his previous greatest hits package, Paisley Park's "The Hits/B-Sides".

In order to make the set more appealing, they also list edits of certain songs as previously unreleased on CD.  We all know that's not the case.  With most of these tracks, you can find the edits on CD singles or promotional CD releases.  There's no real value here.

There is one, and let me be specific here, one singular unreleased track included.  'Moonbeam Levels'.  And this is exactly what I feared would happen.  For the rest of our lives, we'll get a new Prince greatest hits compilation once a year with one or two new songs.  They'll charge us the price of a double disc set for a single song or two.  Not even at his most anti-establishment, "artists should profit from their legacies" moments would Prince imagine screwing over his fams like this.

Most die-hard fans already have copies of this song.  Either downloaded or purchased on bootlegs.  It's not new to the community.  So now, you're asking me...  If you have all of this material, why did you invest in the set?  

The answer is simple...  I've always said and I wrote this in a chat with Prince himself once, that even if I owned a bootleg, if he released music in an official capacity, I would purchase it legally.  And I have.  However, I'm disappointed with what's happened here.

Prince is not an artist you can parse out over time.  He has work that needs to be put together and sold as a complete package.  Anything else is a betrayal of his legacy.

I'm not going to get into this release much more.  I find it somewhat sad and not worth the price tag.  I'll leave it at that.  My final words:  A SKIP UNLESS YOU'RE A COMPLETIST.

PRINCE - 4EVER
CD1
01. 1999
02. Little Red Corvette
03. When Doves Cry
04. Let's Go Crazy
05. Raspberry Beret
06. I Wanna Be Your Lover
07. Soft And Wet
08. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?
09. Uptown
10. When You Were Mine
11. Head
12. Gotta Stop (Messin' About)
13. Controversy
14. Let's Work
15. Delirious
16. I Would Die 4 U
17. Take Me With U
18. Paisley Park
19. Pop Life
20. Purple Rain
CD 2
01. Kiss
02. Sign 'O' The Times
03. Alphabet St.
04. Batdance
05. Thieves In The Temple
06. Cream
07. Mountains
08. Girls & Boys
09. If I Was Your Girlfriend
10. U Got The Look
11. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
12. Glam Slam
13. Moonbeam Levels
14. Diamonds And Pearls
15. Gett Off
16. Sexy MF
17. My Name Is Prince
18. 7 (Album Edit)
19. Peach
20. Nothing Compares 2 U