May 3, 2008 by Willis.

“How you feel about “Songs From the Sparkle Lounge” will depend almost entirely on how you react when the hand claps turn up on the final chorus of “Nine Lives,” a highly carbonated country-rocker (co-starring Tim McGraw) that’s designed to trigger all the synapses in your head that still have parts of “Hysteria” rattling around them. The band’s first new set since 2002 is full of these well-intentioned attempts to recapture some of that ’80s pyromania (or in the case of the absurdly large power ballad “Love,” herculean ’70s prog-rock balladry), but without producer Robert “Mutt” Lange, who left for the much more profitable world of country years ago, the results are solid if unspectacular. It’s tough to imagine “Sparkle Lounge” putting the Lep back out front for long, but there are a handful of tracks here that’ll sound pretty good on tour this summer. —Jeff Vrabel”

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May 3, 2008 by Willis.

“Fans of Lil Mama’s infectious “Lip Gloss” have been waiting nearly a year for the release of her debut album, wondering perhaps if the CD would emphasize this young MC’s desire to join the ranks of New York’s rap elite or to turn Miley Cyrus devotees into hip-hop heads. “VYP: Voice of the Young People” suggests that those two goals needn’t be mutually exclusive. Presiding over tracks produced by A-listers including Dr. Luke, T-Pain, Cool & Dre and Scott Storch, Lil Mama shows off some impressive verbal firepower here, like when she challenges her skeptics over a booming trash-can beat in “One Hit Wonder.” Yet she never goes long before reminding us of the value of a killer chorus, either; in “Broken Pieces” she even pulls off an unlikely emo-blues ballad.—Mikael Wood”

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May 3, 2008 by Willis.

I can see this track doing alright on country stations. 6/10

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May 3, 2008 by Willis.

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May 3, 2008 by Willis.

Decent style, personally i like this better than “I Like The Way She Do It”. 7/10

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May 3, 2008 by Willis.

“Already a pop star in the United Kingdom, Newton Faulkner has a soulful, I-love-the-’90s croon. He crafts catchy, acoustic-based songs that showcase his distinctive guitar style, a wild mix of fingerpicking, tapping and slapping. His debut album is a confident, impressively kaleidoscopic effort featuring simple, Jack Johnson-y beach tunes (”People Should Smile More”), yearning post-grunge ballads (”Uncomfortably Slow”) and virtuoso instrumentals. The breezy “Dream Catch Me,” a huge radio smash in Britain, has already garnered airplay stateside, and “I Need Something” could be the gospel version of a lost Audioslave outtake. Sure, Faulkner is not the first melancholic man-with-guitar to cover Massive Attack’s “Teardrop,” but he drums the beat on the body of his instrument, showing us that, while his music is full of echoes, he’s going his own way. —Sven Philipp”

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May 3, 2008 by Willis.

“Like its two predecessors, “Lyfe Change” features his staple heartfelt love songs (”Never, Never Land,” “Midnight Train”) and uplifting tracks (”Warriors”). The big, well, changes this time around are the production tactics, like the “Tom’s Diner” sample on the hopeful “Keep On Dreaming” and the reggae riddims on the Wyclef Jean-assisted “You Think You’ve Got It Bad.” The hip-hop-driven “Brand New,” a collaboration with T.I., contains elements of “If I Ruled the World” by rapper Nas, an alternate rhythmic avenue for Jennings as well. Still, songs like “It’s Real,” where Jennings rhymes over thumping drums like his 2007 hit “S.E.X.,” remind us why his sound didn’t need much tweaking in the first place.—Mariel Concepcion”

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May 3, 2008 by Willis.

Highly repetitive, should do alright though. Nothing fantastic though. 6/10

Posted in New Tracks - Hip Hop | No Comments »

May 3, 2008 by Willis.

Pretty good chorus, starting to heat up the charts. 7/10

Posted in New Tracks - Rock | No Comments »

May 3, 2008 by Willis.

Hasn’t this whole Lil thing gotten out of control? Creativity is huge in the music business, and obviously these guys failed that class. Regarding the song, its not very good at all. 4/10

Posted in New Tracks - Hip Hop | No Comments »