Edited music in Rock & Pop Music

"A Hangover You Don't Deserve [Edited]" (09/14/2004) Rock & Pop Bowling for Soup, Jive Records (USA)This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Bowling for Soup: Jaret Reddick (vocals, guitar); Erik (vocals, bass guitar); Chris (guitar); Gary (drums). Looking at the cover images of a quartet of tattooed, Orange County-style punk rockers, one might be forgiven for assuming that Bowling for Soup is yet another band of Blink 182 wannabes. While A HANGOVER YOU DON'T DESERVE's chugging guitars, high-pitched vocals, tight playing, and rapid tempos are certainly elements common to the music of the Texas-based combo's Southern California brethren, Bowling for Soup's sharp songwriting places it in a different category altogether. With pure pop smarts on par with Fountains of Wayne, lead vocalist/songwriter Jaret Reddick is more inventive than the average neo-punk frontman. Lyrically, Reddick may be the closest thing to his genre's Elvis Costello, spinning out unusually clever observations and oft-hilarious pop-culture references. ("Ohio [Come Back To Texas]" may be the only song in history to name-check Pantera and the twin daughters of George W. Bush in a single line.) A must-listen for fans of both pop-punk and power-pop's humorous sides, A HANGOVER YOU DON'T DESERVE will keep listeners snickering and moshing in equal measure.

"Past, Present & Future [Edited]" (09/23/2003) Rock & Pop Zombie, Rob, Geffen Records (USA)This release includes a bonus DVD. Personnel includes: Rob Zombie, Iggy Pop, Lionel Richie, Trina, Alice Cooper, Howard Stern (vocals); White Zombie. Proudcers include: Andy Wallce, Biyan Carlstrom, Terry Dale, White Zombie, Charlie Clouser. This release includes a bonus DVD. Personnel includes: Rob Zombie, Iggy Pop, Lionel Richie, Trina, Alice Cooper, Howard Stern (vocals); White Zombie. Producers include: Andy Wallce, Biyan Carlstrom, Terry Dale, White Zombie, Charlie Clouser. Rob Zombie has aptly carried the torch lit by the shock-rock pioneers of the 1970s. Sporting a vocal style that bellows (think Chuck Billy of Testament) and razor-cuts (think James Hetfield of Metallica), Zombie possesses a creepy yet futuristic swagger seldom seen in hard rock music. PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE is an education in the legacy of the once-struggling, underground New York City musician (whose interests and projects have since branched into many other forms of entertainment). Unfolding chronologically, the set reviews highlights from his band White Zombie first. Not surprisingly, "Thunder Kiss '65" and "Black Sunshine" have maintained a powerful raw edge; clearly this band was pioneering nu metal before the sub-genre even had a tag. The collection shifts focus to Zombie's solo material, with many notable moments, including "Dragula" (named for the car made famous on THE MUNSTERS), and a fresh interpretation of the Ramones classic "Blitzkrieg Bop." For the completist, PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE is rounded out by two previously unreleased tracks.

"Try This [Edited]" (11/11/2003) Rock & Pop P!nk, Arista Records (USA)Personnel includes: Pink (vocals); Peaches (vocals); Tim Armstrong (guitar, piano, loops, background vocals); Jonathan S. Davis (acoustic & electric guitar, keyboards, bass, programming); Billyman (acoustic & electric guitar, background vocals); John Fields (guitar, piano, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion, programming); Linda Perry (guitar, sitar, mellotron); Lars Frederiksen, Steve Stevens (guitar); Lon Price (tenor saxophone); Greg Smith (baritone saxophone); Lee R. Thornburg (trumpet); Nick Lane (trombone); David Paich (Hammond B-3 organ); Matt Freeman (bass); Atticus Ross (synthesizer, percussion, loops); Matt Mahaffey (omnichord, glockenspiel, drums, turntables); Joshua Seth Eagan (drums, percussion); Travis Barker (drums, percussion); Galadriel Masterson, Hopey Rock (background vocals). Producers: Tim Armstrong, Damon Elliott, Linda Perry, Billyman, Jonathan S. Davis. "Trouble" won the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. On Pink's first album, she was squarely in the R&B/pop mode, but her follow-up contained the single "Just Like a Pill," a fierce rocker that pointed toward a new direction. TRY THIS moves Pink further into rock territory; where its predecessor contained collaborations with former 4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry, TRY THIS is dominated by songs co-written with (and produced by) Rancid vocalist Tim Armstrong. There are a couple of R&B-oriented songs to round things out (not to mention a steamy duet with notoriously nasty female rapper Peaches), but, for the most part, Pink goes Avril Lavigne one better on this album. She manages to mate the punk ethic and modern pop/rock production values with a rawness and immediacy that goes far beyond Lavigne's pop-punk amalgam. To drive her point home, Pink closes the album with an unlisted hidden track that attacks teen-poppers like Britney and Christina with expletive-filled glee.

"Survival of the Sickest [Edited]" (08/17/2004) Rock & Pop Saliva, Island Records (USA)Saliva: Josey Scott (vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion); Wayne Swinny, Chris D'Abaldo (guitar, background vocals); Dave Novotny (bass guitar); Paul Crosby (drums). Additional personnel: Paul Ebersold (strings, keyboards, programming); Scott Hardin (piano, background vocals); Jackie Johnson, Brad Arnold (background vocals). On SURVIVAL OF THE SICKEST, Saliva largely forgoes the rap-metal and post-grunge sounds that characterized the group's previous albums in favor of an old-school, Southern rock-informed brand of blazing power metal. The riffs are simpler, the melodies catchier, and the lyrical sentiments more up-front than ever before, making for a particularly bracing listen. On "Rock & Roll Revolution" and the title track, Saliva sounds like a combination of early Metallica and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but with the celebratory spirit of classic Kiss. "Open Eyes," on the other hand, is a straight-up power ballad of the sort that would make Poison and Ratt proud. Throughout, the band sounds like it's having a great time, repeatedly skewering record-industry phonies while proving that hard rock remains as vital as ever.

"Splinter [Clean] [Edited]" (12/09/2003) Rock & Pop Offspring (The), Columbia (USA)This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. The Offspring: Dexter Holland, Noodles (vocals, guitar); Greg K (vocals, bass). Additional personnel includes: Suzie Katayama (strings); Jason Powell (saxophone); Phil Jordan (trumpet); Erich Marbach (trombone); Brendan O'Brien (piano); Ronnie King (keyboards); Josh Freese (drums); Juan Alvarez (bells); Mark Moreno (scratches); Jim Lindenberg, Jack Grisham, Lauren Kinkade (background vocals). Recorded at Henson Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California and Southern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, Georgia. This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Personnel: Noodles (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Dexter Holland (vocals, guitar); 2002 Reading Festival Crowd, Greg K. (vocals); Gayle Levant (harp); Matt Funes, Eve Butler, Natalie Leggett, Mario Diaz de Leon, Denyse Buffum (violin); Larry Corbett (cello); Jason Powell (saxophone); Phil Jordan (trumpet); Erich Marbach (trombone); Brendan O'Brien (piano); Ronnie King (keyboards); Josh Freese (drums); Chris Higgins (sound effects); Mark A. Moreno (scratches); Lauren Kinkade, Chris "X-13" Higgins, Jack Grisham, Jim Lindberg (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Brendan O'Brien. Recording information: Henson Recording Studio, Los Angeles, CA; King Neptune's, Sunset Beach, CA; SOuthern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, GA. Photographer: Rupert Truman. Ten years after their breakthrough hit, "Keep 'Em Separated," and 14 years after their debut, the Offspring maintains pace with SPLINTER. Since the last release, the band has lost longtime drummer Ron Welty, who's replaced here by A Perfect Circle skins-pounder Josh Freese. There's no discernible let-up in momentum; Dexter and company are essentially pursuing the same stylistic path they've been on from the beginning. Even though they achieved fame at the tail end of the grunge era, their '80s beginnings make them the grand old men of third-wave punk, and SPLINTER consequently bears a lot more gravitas than the efforts of younger pop-punks. As usual, the band throws in a touch of ska-punk, this time with cautionary drinking tale "The Worst Hangover Ever," complete with horn section. And there are a couple of diversions from the norm--Ronnie King's wah-wah synth lightening things up on "Hit That," the acoustic guitar textures of "Spare Me the Details"--but the tried-and-true smart-aleck lyrics and pounding punk cadences that ensnared Offspring fans from the get-go are still very much in evidence. It's more mixing of stylized punk revival and hybridism with left-field musical experimentation and in-the-now pop culture lyrical references on Splinter, the Offspring's seventh full-length. "Never Gonna Find Me," "Long Way Home," and "Lightning Rod" each bristle with overdriven guitars and Dexter Holland's high-pitched bleating; they're somewhat workmanlike, but still roil with that precision fury particular to a veteran band. At the same time, Holland, guitarist Noodles, and bassist Greg Kriesel can't resist returning to the towel-slapping trash humor and mean-spirited loathing that typified past tracks like "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" and "Self Esteem." Lead single "Hit That" talks up baby daddies over a bopping bassline and keyboard right out of a Bloodhound Gang track, while "Spare Me the Details" subverts its lighthearted acoustic strum with foul-mouthed (on the clean version, anyway) attacks on a philandering girlfriend ("I'm not the one who acted like a ho"). "Da Hui" overdrives surf rock while paying homage to hardcore Hawaiian board riders, and "When You're in Prison" ends Splinter with sage advice about protecting your dignity in the clink. For whatever reason, the latter track is performed as 1930s Brill Cream dinner theater, complete with the faked crackle of an old 78 and muffled crooner vocals suggestive of a whining Victrola. The curious "Prison" renews the longstanding knock on the Offspring. They're very talented, write killer hooks, and can really crank up a punk rock racket when th

"Permission to Land [Clean] [Edited]" (11/25/2003) Rock & Pop Darkness (The), Atlantic (USA)The Darkness: Justin Hawkins (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer); Dan Hawkins (guitar); Frankie Poullain (bass); Ed Graham (drums). Recorded at Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire, England and Paul Smith Music Studios, London, England. Personnel: Justin Hawkins (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer); Dan Hawkins (guitar); Ed Graham (drums). Audio Mixer: Pedro Ferreira. Recording information: Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire, England; Paul Smith Music Studios, London, England. Photographer: Patrick Ford. Pouncing onto the British music scene like the hyperactive spawn of the late-1970s hard-rock scene, the Darkness unveiled their 2003 debut, PERMISSION TO LAND, to great success in the UK. Led by unitard-wearing, falsetto-brandishing vocalist/guitarist Justin Hawkins, the group revels in the kind of pop metal once made famous by Def Leppard and Whitesnake, boasting big guitar riffs and driving rock rhythms. The band's not-so-secret weapon is Hawkins himself--an irrepressible, high-kicking frontman who gleefully unleashes lyrics such as "a nimbus of blue light surrounds a crimson paw" in a voice that ranges from a growl to a wail rivaling Queen's Freddie Mercury or Judas Priest's Rob Halford. Although the Darkness may come across as tongue-in-cheek metal revivalists, they're entirely sincere on soaring power ballads such as "Love Is Only a Feeling" and "Holding My Own." And when Hawkins screams out "guitar!" before the guitar solo in "I Believe in a Thing Called Love," there's no mistaking the intention of these energetic British lads--they've come to rock. Upon its U.K. release in summer 2003, Permission to Land, the debut album from spandex-clad retro metalheads the Darkness, was a surprise success, hitting the British charts at number two (behind only Beyonc?'s Dangerously in Love). After hearing Permission to Land, it's easier to understand why the British public went crazy for it, and for the Darkness. The album is more or less straightforward pop/rock with some '80s metal window-dressing, and the Darkness themselves live up to traditional notions of what a rock band should be: louche, decadent, and harboring a don't-bore-us-get-to-the-chorus mentality. While the band is far from ironic in its homages to Kiss, Judas Priest, and Queen, the Darkness certainly are campy (and with a list of influences like that, they'd almost have to be), with a uniquely British sensibility, personified by singer Justin Hawkins. A one-man campaign to bring back the unitard as fashionable rock gear, Hawkins sings about sex, drugs, and Satan with the voice of a castrato, backed by arena-sized riffs and rhythms. The Darkness would be an utter failure if the band didn't write good songs, but miracle of miracles, they do. The first two-thirds of Permission to Land is nearly flawless, an eerily realistic simulation of '80s metal that manages to sound familiar but not rehashed. "Black Shuck" revels in pseudomystic gobbledygook like "Flames licked round the sacred spire"; on the great single "Get Your Hands off My Woman," Hawkins sings "woooomaaan" higher than most actual women probably could. "Growing on Me" (which includes the great lyric "I want to banish you from whence you came") and "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" are tightly crafted songs that would sound good in almost any style, while "Givin' Up" is one of the jauntiest songs about heroin ever written. Even the prerequisite power ballad, "Love Is Only a Feeling," stays on the fun side of cheesy, adrift on clouds of strummed guitars and gooey backing harmonies. The album has such a strong beginning and middle that it's not entirely surprising that Permission to Land runs out of steam near the end, although "Stuck in a Rut" is a crazed enough rocker -- complete with demonic laughter -- to nearly rival the album's earlier songs. Softer songs like "Friday Night" and "Holding My Own" make the collection unusually ballad-heavy; if anything, the Darkness could stand to rock a little harder. Even though Permission to Land isn't quite as metal as its singles suggested it might be, the album is surprisingly

"Professional *" (04/04/2006) Rock & Pop Scotch Greens (The), DRT EntertainmentThe Scotch Greens: Zander Cox.

"Songs for the Deaf [Deluxe Edition] [Edited] [PA] [Limited]" (08/27/2002) Rock & Pop Queens of the Stone Age, Interscope Records (USA)Queens Of The Stone Age: Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, Dave Grohl, Mark Lanegan. Additional personnel includes: Dean Ween (guitar). Producers: Josh Homme, Eric Valentine, Adam Kasper. Recorded at The Site, San Rafael, California and Barefoot Studios, Hollywood, California. "Go With The Flow" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. "No One Knows" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. Chinese version contains a Pal format DVD, "Real Number 1", which features live footage recorded at the L.A. Troubadour with singer Mark Lanegan and drummer Dave Grohl. SONGS FOR THE DEAF includes the bonus tracks "The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret" (Live), "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy", and "Mosquito Song" (Hidden). Chinese version contains the additional track "Everybody's Gonna Be Happy", as well as a bonus CD-ROM that features a video for "No One Knows" and visual footage of the video production process. Includes a bonus DVD disc. DJs: Chris Goss; C-; Twiggy Ramirez; Blag Dahlia; Dave Catching; Casey Chaos. Audio Mixers: Adam Kasper; Nick Raskulinecz. Recording information: Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Sound City Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA. Photographer: Nigel Copp. Unknown Contributor Roles: Dave Grohl; Mark Lanegan; Nick Oliveri. When one speaks of supergroups, alternative rock has seen its share of shining moments, from 1991's Temple Of The Dog to 1995's Mad Season. In 2002, the wheel spun around to Queens Of The Stone Age with SONGS FOR THE DEAF, their bid to save hard rock. While QOTSA founders Nick Oliveri and Josh Homme have often used a variety of players to round out their lineup, having Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) make his return to the drum throne is cause enough to stop the presses. If that weren't enough, add former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan and you've got all the ingredients for hard-rock greatness. Classic rock fans may recall with fondness the car-radio opening from Kiss' DESTROYER, paid tribute on opening track "Millionare" (SONGS is strung together with a series of similar radio station interludes). The vibe is set with fierce impact; requisite Sabbath-like riffs and T. Rex-from-hell swagger are the weapons of choice. Grohl sounds quite at home behind the drums, leaving double-bass drummers scratching their heads with his single-kick mastery in "First It Giveth." Be it undeniable vocal harmony ("Another Love Song"), balls-out psychedelic rock ("Song For The Dead"), or moody alt-rock grooving ("The Sky Is Falling"), SONGS FOR THE DEAF makes a strong case for rock album of 2002. Certain people would have you believe that Queens of the Stone Age's third album, Songs for the Deaf, is the return of real rock -- a bonecrushing work of boundless imagination, the cornerstone in a new era of great rock, much like Nevermind was a decade beforehand. These people, coincidentally, happen to be in the same group that criticizes the Strokes and the White Stripes, claiming that those two bands are nothing but hype, while shamelessly indulging in breathless hyperbole whenever they speak a single word about QOTSA. Anybody who heard Songs prior to its release claimed it was the greatest rock album in years, at least the greatest since Rated R, setting up expectations impossibly high for this very good album. To begin with, this ain't accessible -- not because the music is out-there or unfamiliar (lots of Cream filtered through garage rock, prog-metal, album rock, and punk does not make one a Borbetomagus, nor does it make it "imaginative," either), but because it is so insular, so concerned with pleasing themselves with what they play that they don't give a damn for the audience. This extends to the production, which sounds like a stoned joke gone awry as it compresses and flattens every instrument as if it were coming out of a cheap AM car radio. Sure, that might be the point -- the album begins with radio chatter, and there are lots of jokey asides by a fake DJ -- but Deaf winds up being entirely too evenhanded and samey, since every guitar h