Greatest Hits By:
Billy Idol
Billy Idol's secret is one that he shares with, of all people, Trent Reznor--the ability to take a pop base and disguise it with layers of other genres, most notably hard rock. His adaptability is on display throughout this 16-song career retrospecti
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An Illustrated History By:
Puffy Amiyumi
Every so often during the recording of this album, Ami or Yumi would say "This track is pretty good, but it only has five entirely unrelated brilliant things going on in it. Can we have seven more please?", and Andy Sturmer (for it is he) would pick
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Ride The Lightning By:
Metallica
Don't let that classical-guitar-ish opening to "Fight Fire with Fire" fool you--Ride the Lightning packs a heavy-metal wallop. While not as ambitious as the subsequent Master of Puppets, this early Metallica album is indubitably one of their best. Th
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Pathways By:
California Guitar Trio
The California Guitar Trio was formed by Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya and Paul Richards. All three perform acoustic guitar, on this CD, in unedited live studio performances. This 1998 recording is their third work together as a trio, after the 1995 disc
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Welcome to Earth By:
Apoptygma Berzerk
This is a different sound for Groth. "7" was pretty aggressive EBM, and "Welcome to Earth", while much better-produced, is more uneven as an album.
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On the Ropes By:
Mint Royale
Mint Royale has put out a complex, upbeat, fun, musical party masterpiece of an album. This mere density of melodies and content of this album is amazing. "Deadbeat" is a bubbly, hyperactive dance tune of whimsy that will send all of its listeners in
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God Loves Ugly By:
Atmosphere
"See, bands like us don't get groupies," Slug tells a female admirer between cuts on God Loves Ugly. "I mean, have you heard our songs? " Groupies, presumably, require hits, and he's right, there isn't anything resembling one on the album, just as th
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Kid A By:
Radiohead
How is it that Kid A's opening track, laden with an electronic vocal stuttering "bleh, bluh-bleh bleh bluh" is the most fascinating statement made in rock & roll this year? Because somehow, even when Radiohead blathers and blips nonsense, it's profou
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