Good, but not as good as Lets Get It
938273
I was skeptical whether or not to get another Young Jeezy cd after buying "Dont ban the snowman", which was garbage. I was suprised after listening to The Inspiration. This cd isn't as good as his first, Lets Get It, but it comes close. If you liked Lets Get It, then you should get this cd. Very catchy beats. Best songs-Still on It, Go Getta,Streets on Lock & What you talkin bout'
3081646
Certainly a good album, but the The Drums are only bettered by their original self-titled album. This album was a little less focused than the first
1848151
This second volume of A Santa Cause doesn't have as many "name" artists as the first volume.  It's also not quite as good as the first one.  That's not to say it's bad, though; most of the recordings are pretty good.  The recordings are mostly pop punk, but my personal favorite track is by rapper MC Lars.
4486979
I rate the group highly but the single version is not nearly as good as thier other versions.  The group is good
3635176
I've been a big fan of Channels and it's previous incarnations (Burning Airlines and Jawbox). This is still a *great* album, but I think it's a bit weaker than Open. That being said, their music usually takes a while to grow on me, so I might have to post an update in a month or two.
706433
Not a bad sophmore follow-up to his first self-titled CD, but not as striking as the first.  This is a fun CD...the kind you can put on and do something else (e.g. clean the house).  I think that Amos Lee has more in him, as was hinted at with his first CD, but he needs help with songs that fit his talent.
2784029
Good album, but not as good as their first one. I'm soooo glad that good ole rock is still around and thriving.
4958099
Good, but not NEARLY as good as their- Ain't I'm A Dog! from the same series.
209215
"Stunt" was one of my favorite albums when it came out and I  still rotate it regularly in my car so I was eagerly awaiting  "Maroon". The results are mixed. Where I don't think it's nearly  as commercial pop as it's predecessor, it does manage to move into some  musical avenues they haven't explored before. It's also an album that takes  more than one listen to to get a feel for it. The first track "Too  Little Too Late" kicks off with a driving rhythm that sets up the rest  of the CD. "Go Home" sounds like a country song fused with The  Monkees, and leaves you with a stupid grin on your face much like their  first single release, "Pinch Me". "Conventioneers",  about two  co-workers who end up in bed or the bath as the song sings, has  an almost Spandau Ballet quality to it. But one of the most fun songs on  the CD is "Sell, Sell, Sell" a nearly Calypso infused song  meditating on fame, fortune, and the willing consumer. Ultimately if you've  liked their previous albums, you won't be disappointed with this one. True,  they definitely seem to be trying new things musically but who wants the  exact same thing? That's what cloning is for.
2524719
This wasn't as good as I thought it would be.....we like the earlier stuff better.
1478248
The song is good but the radio mix, in my opinion, is better. I love the energy of that song. This one is much more subdued.
4716189
I am sad to say, this is not my new favorite album. I enjoy it, but unlike the previous three albums, I was only "grabbed" by a couple songs on this one. I enjoy the sound and variety, but a couple tracks felt a little bland for Seether and the lyrics are just a little repetitive from song to song. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed the album, but I've been in LOVE with the last three, so it was just a little disappointing that their new direction wasn't one I'm crazy about. I still eagerly await more albums and I'm sure more songs will grow on me as time goes by. There just weren't a lot of chills given this time or flat out audiogasms like in previous works.
1806647
If you like I Love You Through and Through this is another good one. We bought The More We get Together as well, but I wasn't impressed with that one.
896984
It is not as good as his previous CD.  It was nice but did not have the beat and warmth of first one.
4507851
I loved this duo's previous album, "Dimanche a Bamako", so I was eager to get this one too. Initially, I liked this album too. Sonically, it's well recorded and the songs are vibrant and pulsing with energy. But I've gone back and listened to it again recently, a few years after first hearing it, and now it's not striking me as much.

No, this far from awful, and I actually enjoy it overall, but I don't think the East-Meets-West treatment of their music is really playing to their strengths, either vocally or musically. I guess I'm just a purist in this sense, and don't care much for the high-tech gloss that covers so much of this album. Strip it down and give me the basics. I realize that the "modern" production touches and guest vocalists and rappers and all that stuff have been added in order to boost sales and market the album, hoping it will appeal to a wider audience. But I just don't think it's necessary and ends up diluting the power of Amadou and Mariam's music.

Reading the reviews, it's obvious that some people are very impressed with this album, so please listen and see what you think. But for my tastes, I'm slightly disappointed.
663296
Redemption's one of those bands where I have to listen to the album, process it and then listen to it several more times before I get a sense of what the band's trying to do and this album is no exception. Like their previous efforts, the lyrics are intelligent and topical and the song-writing is pretty strong, though a bit more uneven on this effort than their last album. The thing I struggled with the most personally on this album more than their previous albums were the vocals in about half of the songs. I've never found Ray to be an outstanding prog-metal singer, though in past releases he's been mostly serviceable and in some cases has actually done quite nicely. This album made me wonder if perhaps on some of the material they have brought in a different vocalist to sing lead on several of the songs where I thought Ray's voice just didn't cut it alone.

Musically, I felt the album was a bit more uneven than their last couple of albums as well. Some of the songs like "Stronger than Death" were very strong and others just didn't much for me despite the obvious talent of the musicians involved. They did incorporate a few new wrinkles to their sound in this album but by and large it's very similar to  "The Fullness of Time" and "Snowfall on Judgement Day".

With that in mind, if you're a big Redemption fan, then obviously you'll want to pick this up even though I don't consider this to be their strongest effort. If you're a casual fan of them or the prog-metal genre than I'd either start with "Snowfall on Judgement Day" or given the 30 second preview clips several spins each to see if there's enough in there that appeals to you.

Note: I purchased the edition with the cover songs from Toto, Elton John and others and while they do a reasonably competent job covering the material, there's nothing about the covers that I feel warrant spending the extra money if you already have the originals.
581986
well...
not as good as the first one... but a whole helluvalot better than the copycats...
a couple of the cuts seemed kinda harsh and forced together... not all hip hop transfers easily into a jazzy format... the more jazzier the original song, the more success they have with their renditions...
but still, overall, you can have you some good cognac moments with this one!