AlBUM REVIEW: "LIFE IN CARTOON MOTION" by MIKA

When I first listened to this album's second single, "Grace Kelly", back in 2007, I was like: WOW, this is really good! So, I bought the album, and it was awesome! I'm not a great fan of pop, only Michael Jackson and a few more, but turns out that this album was more of a glam rock and power pop record than anything else. It even featured acoustic rock! But, why is it awesome? Let's find out!

"Life in Cartoon Motion" kicks-off with "Grace Kelly", and it's amazing: it features Elton John's pianos, Freddy Mercury's voice and Brian May's guitar in only 3:05 minutes. Listen to it!

"Lollipop" is the second song. It is quite cool, and you will smile when the song finishes, but Mika's vocals in the chorus are from adorable from very annoying.

"My Interpretation" follows, and it is quite good, it's really beautiful, with an acoustic guitar and intimate lyrics.

"Love Today" is the next song, and it is catchy as hell! It is a power-pop song, with disco and even glam rock influences. Unfortunately, just like in "Lollipop", Mika's vocals are in the line between adorable and annoying. It reminds me of Queen!

"Relax (Take It Easy)" is another excellent song, with Mika's awesome falsetto.

"Any Other World" is one of the best songs on the album. It's a lovely ballad, with excellent arrangements.

"Billy Brown" is another funny song. You will love it, and it tells the story of a married man who has an affair with another man. Awesome!

"Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" reminds me of Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls". It is excellent: very catchy, very cool!

"Stuck in the Middle" isn't bad, but it isn't awesome too. Simply good.

"Happy Ending" is one of the greatest songs of the album. The vocals are awesome, the melody is awesome, it is awesome!

Fifty seconds after "Happy Ending", the hidden track starts. It is called "Over My Shoulder", and it's very sad, quite intimate and personal... It has one of the greatest vocal performances I've ever seen.

While Mika isn't the greatest songwriter around, he is definitely one of the greatest singers of this time. He has an amazing voice, which reminds me (and everyone) of Freddy Mercury. This album is an amazing debut album, and it really deserves the following classification:

Tracklist:

1.   Grace Kelly*

2.   Lollipop

3.   My Interpretation*

4.   Love Today*

5.   Relax (Take It Easy)*

6.   Any Other World*

7.   Billy Brown*

8.   Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)*

9.   Stuck in the Middle

10. Happy Ending*

11. Over My Shoulder (Hidden Track)*

*Best songs

ALBUM REVIEW: "WHAT ABOUT NOW" by Bon Jovi

After four years without a new album, the Jersey boys are back with "What About Now"! Bon Jovi promised the new album to be a big rock record, but that's what they promise before each album... Is "What About Now" worth the wait? Let's find out...

First of all: the album was produced by John Shanks. Man, I hate that guy! He destroyed every song with his silly pop production, turning the album into a pop/rock collection of music. Tico's drums seem to have been recorded from a drum computer, always the same rhythm. Not even Richie's amazing solo's appear in most of the songs. The album doesn't feature the classic Bon Jovi style, which is strange, after the back to the roots sound of "The Circle". The album's sound is more similar to a Jon Bon Jovi solo album, because it is quite eclectic, just like "Destination Anywhere". Jon even stated that the record is much his solo record as a band record. It was probably a solo project that latter morphed into a band album.

The record kicks-off with "Because we Can", and, unfortunately, it has a big pop appeal  but it's catchy as hell! It's a good raise-your-fist-in-the-air-arena-rock song, with a solo recycled from "Captain Crash & The Beauty Queen From Mars". 

"I'm With You" is the second song, and probably the best of the album, featuring a rocking guitar solo by Richie. The lyrics are also quite good, and the song itself is an amazing hard rock song.

After that, we have "What About Now", title track. It has amazing lyrics, and a great chorus, but the riff is similar to the one in "Lost Highway".

"Pictures of You" is also quite good, with good vocals, excellent melodies and awesome keyboard playing by David Bryan.

"Amen" is the first ballad of the album, and it feels like the Bon Jovi version of "Hallelujah". Jon's vocals on the song are amazing and quite strong, which is good, because the man has lost many of his range over the years.

"That's What The Water Made Me" is also quite good. The first words are "Baby, baby, baby", which isn't very original (try to count the songs that start with these words...) but the song reminds me of the old school Bon Jovi, with an excellent riff. I didn't actually understand the meaning of the song but... it doesn't matter!

"What's Left of Me" is, apparently, the younger brother of "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night", but is actually very good, one of the greatest songs in the album.

"Army of One" is the worst song. I'm tired of that "Never give up and hold on" style, and this song has it x100 plus (I think) autotune!! Autotune on a Bon Jovi song!! What happened to the world??  The lyrics are stupid, and the only good thing of the song is Tico' drums, which sound like a army march. The lyrics are quite ironical  reminding me of when people think of Bon Jovi as a singer and not as a band. I suggest you to skip this track.

"Thick as Thieves" is another ballad, and it is quite good.

"Beautiful World" is another excellent rocker, like "I'm with You" but this time it doesn't feature a guitar solo (like most of the songs in the album). The melody is extremely similar to "How Far We've Come" by Matchbox 20, which I thought was a bit strange: Bon Jovi sometimes reinvents other artists' style, but never to this point. Listen to both songs and take your own conclusions...

"Room at the End of the World" is, again, a ballad. I think they exaggerated a bit, putting so many ballads and so little rock songs on the album.

"The Fighter" is an acoustic ballad, quite good but... well, it's not that Bon Jovi-styled ballad, and I think it's not the best way to end an album.

In the deluxe version, we have "With these two hands", which is a nice rocking song, but with some many synthesizers you could think Will I Am was the producer. "Into the Echo" is a good song, but is wont save the deluxe version. "Not Running Anymore" and "Old Habits Die Hard" are solo songs by Jon Bon Jovi, for the movie "Stand Up Guys". I haven't seen the movie, but the songs are nothing special. Finally, the album ends with "Every Road Leads Home To You", the first single of Richie's last year's solo record. I think it was a good idea to put it in here, to promote Richie's solo work.

After all this, I give the the standard version:

And the deluxe version:

Tracklist:
1.   Because We Can
2.   I'm with You*
3.   What About Now*
4.   Pictures of You
5.   Amen*
6.   That's What The Water Made Me*
7.   What's Left of Me*
8.   Army of One
9.   Thick as Thieves
10. Beautiful World*
11. Room at the End of the World
12. The Fighter
13. With These Two Hands (deluxe version only)
14. Into the Echo (deluxe version only)
15. Not Running Anymore (deluxe version only)
16. Old Habits Die Hard (deluxe version only)
17. Every Road Leads Home To You (deluxe version only)*

*Best songs

ALBUM REVIEW: "NEW JERSEY" by Bon Jovi

 Hello guys! This is my first review of an album. For those who don't know me (all of you), I'm a great 80's rock and metal fan, especially Bon Jovi, so I decided to review my favorite album: "New Jersey".

Most people consider "Slippery" the band's masterpiece, but they couldn't be more wrong. Although the anthems from Slippery When  Wet remained, the band wished to show a level of diversity on the album, making it more experimental.

"New Jersey" kicks-off with "Lay Your Hands on Me", with its epic keyboard/drum solos introduction. Then, it materializes into a glam/heavy metal song, with a catchy  but a bit repetitive gospel-like chorus, and a kick-ass guitar solo by Richie. This song runs for 6 minutes, although the radio version is smaller, with 3:49 minutes. One of the best songs on the album.

The second song is "Bad Medicine", highlighted by the awesome keyboard playing by David, loud guitar playing by Richie and fast-paced vocals of Jon. 

Then, we get "Born To Be My Baby", which is a nice love song witch an awesome guitar solo. It's one of the best songs of the album

"Living in Sin" is a ballad, another Top 10 song, with more believable lyrical content, saying that love is stronger than everything ("I call it love/ they call it living in sin"). It features great bass work by Alec, and another excellent guitar solo.

"Blood on Blood" is a nostalgic song about everlasting friendship and loyalty, with excellent drum work, keyboard playing and, again, great guitar solo and chorus.

"Homebound train" is quite interesting. The intro has a cowboy feel, and the guitar riff is simply awesome. The vocals are quite good, however, after the chorus, you get the feeling that the song needs to change, but it has a interesting harmonica and organ duel, and, of course, another great solo by Master Richie.

The next song is "Wild is the Wind", with a beautiful flameco-guitar intro, and again a cowboy feel. The guitar solo is awesome, but the chorus is a bit repetitive. 

"Ride Cowboy Ride" is another great, cowboy song. It was credited to Captain Kidd and King of the Swing, the nicknames of Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. It was recorded in mono, and it runs for only 1:25 minutes, 1:25 minutes of pure awesome music. 

 

"Ride Cowboy Ride" looks like the intro to the next song, "Stick to Your Guns", which is quite better than "Homebound Train" or "Wild is the Wind". It has a excellent balance between electric and acoustic guitar, Jon's vocals in this song are quite good, and this song, along with "Ride Cowboy Ride" should be on a Western movie.

After these five cowboy songs, we throw the cowboy away with the fantastic power-ballad "I'l Be There For You", which is, although musically and lyrically simple, the definitive glam metal ballad.

"99 in the Shade" is quite simple, but fun at the same time. It's a very good summer rock song, you can imagine yourself drivin' your car, wind on the hair and this song playing.

"Love for Sale" is the final song of the album. It was recorded drunk during an "hell of a party", and it is a funny blues-rock song. It was made for fun, but it's quite a fantastic way to finish the album.

In the end, this album is one of the best hard rock albums ever, and a glam metal masterpiece. It is simple, but still fantastic. So, I give the album:

Tracklist:
1.   Lay Your Hands on Me*
2.   Bad Medicine*
3.   Born To Be My Baby*
4.   Living in Sin*
5.   Blood on Blood*
6.   Homebound Train
7.   Wild is the Wind*
8.   Ride Cowboy Ride*
9.   Stick To Your Guns*
10. I'll Be There For You*
11. 99 in the Shade
12. Love For Sale*

*Best songs