CD Review:
If you thought that respected rap only comes out of New York or Los Angeles, then it is time to recognize this group from Minneapolis/St. Paul. The group was the first to make noise from an indie label called Rhyme Sayers Entertainment. The group consists of Slug (Sean Daley), Spawn (Derek Turner) and Ant (Anthony Davis). Although Spawn moves on afterward, leaving Atmosphere as a Slug fronted group. Ant takes care of sound and Slug and Spawn the rap.
The group is almost an antithesis to the west coast gangsta rap that enveloped mainstream hip hop in the early 90s and still persists today. The lyrics are good but need more polish but Slug has a great feel for the rap he spits which makes up for the small lyrical blips.
A good many of the tracks on this CD are not going to stay with you, but saying that, there are some gems that will. "Ajust" is about Slug trying to get a drug dealing friend out of the lifestyle. "@" is a track where Ant gets a spotlight to show his sound manipulation techniques. "Multiples" is a song that tells what Atmosphere is about and thanks those that listen and gives examples of who would garner the group's respect. "Scapegoat" which is shot at all those that don't think they are responsible for their own actions. "WND" which stands for "writers never die" which takes the gansta ideology and shows the stupidity of it through a bit of humour. "Caved In" is about how a young man deals with the death of his father.
Atmosphere is a refreshing voice in the hip hop world. Rather then spew rape and murder, they take a different angle, and not lose any respect while doing it. They begin to garner attention with the release of the Lucy Ford CD but this one is well worth a listen.
FS Staff
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| Band |
Rick Astley |
| Album Title |
Whenever You Need Somebody |
| Date Of Release |
1987 |
| Genre |
Dance-Pop Singer |
| Official Website |
Rick Astley |
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CD Review:
Rick Astley was playing in the soul band FBI when he was discovered in 1985 by the pop producer Pete Waterman. Waterman was later to produce some of Divine's and Kylie Minogue's work and his production team Stock, Aitkin and Waterman were quite respected in the pop music industry. Waterman wrote some of the most memorable pop songs of the 80s and he took Astley out of the soul scene and turned him into a dance pop sensation.
Except for his voice and some of the not too great songs on the album, this release's popularity rests on the talent of Waterman and his production team. The 3 singles, "Never Gonna Give You Up", "Whenever You Need Somebody" and "Together Forever" were all smash hits and propelled this album and his next ( Hold Me In Your Arms) to great sales. All the songs are basically dance songs about love and have the fluff that pop is so famous for.
Astley, along with other stars of this variety and time (like Samantha Fox, another singer that Watterman worked with) has the shine of the music dull quickly and you move on to the next bubblegum pop star.
The only saving grace for Astley is that he does have a great voice. His baritone or bass-baritone is great and would suit R&B and the soul music he left in order to sing this fluff. He wises up and returns to these roots as he knew that all the kudos for talent were bypassing him and resting on Waterman's shoulders.
FS Staff
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