POISON SCOOTER

Spin This!

Okay, so since I baited a couple folks into getting me some new cds for my birthday, I think I owe you at least a few words about my thoughts on them.

Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire

If you have to go with one word to sum this up, I think pretty about covers it. Most of the tracks are melodic, somber and above all else enjoyable to the ears. And I was worried, especially since a) I'm not a huge fan of Sean's voice (slightly whiney) and b) this kid has such an overwhelming shadow to try and get out of. It seems like Lennon put a lot of time and effort into production of this record and it shows. Lots of orchestration, the accompanying DVD with videos for each track on the disc, you can't help but think that Sean is going for broke on this one. If it sucked, maybe he'd call it day with making music and move on to something else. But it doesn't.

John Legend - Once Again

I can't figure this guy out. He's two-thirds throwback to Motown and one-third contemporary R&B, if such a genre even exists anymore. Since I'm funny and all, I think of him as a black Burt Bacharach. Think about it. Burt played the piano, Legend does. Burt wrote a ton of material for Dionne Warwick, and Legend could easily do the same if he wasn't such a capable singer in his own right. I can honestly say that no other Urban Soul, R&B, or whatever you want to call it, artist even remotely interests me in the least. But much like when I heard his Ordinary People a couple years ago, Save Room the first single off Once Again just hit me and made me want to get in touch with my soulful side.

So overall, I'd say home run for both cds.

posted by Scooter @ 5:13 PM