5 stars doesn't mean perfect.....
582194
I've thought about this book repeatedly since I finished it last week, a testament to how deeply it affected me.  There is much to ponder, particularly the power of memory and the profundity of its loss.  Marina is in her 80s, struggling with the early stages of Alzheimers disease.  As her short term memory begins to falter, she drifts back to the dramatic years of her youth during the siege of Leningrad in WWII.  Beautifully written, with nice transitions from the present to the past and back again without disruption.

So what didn't I like?  I found it unlikely (but not impossible) that her children would know so little of their mother's past, and I felt the story would be richer had there been more exploration of Marina's present circumstances.  That having been said, I highly recommend this novel for its originality and its loving depiction of the waning years of a life.
310543
Under Amazon standards I probably should've given Give Us Rest 5 stars but that's not me. A 5 star album has to be practically perfect but even so, buy this CD it is amazing with different styles and beautiful lyrics. What a way to go out on a final album!

The reason I wouldn't give it 5 stars though is mostly because of the Sequence section. I like its artistic merit but I found the first 2 especially to be too way out there. After the fantastic music previously on this CD the Sequence series was lacking a little. I say a little because it was still good just not great. My guess is if you really liked the Sequence section, you gave this album 5 stars. The second CD was strong as well. Not as artistic as the first cd but very very good and I loved that it ended with a live concert. Really moving.

There is no doubt I will miss these guys. I discovered them on the WOW Worship Yellow Album and at that time the latest album was Illuminate. Bought that, loved it and bought the remaining albums at the time, "Can You Hear Us","The Lime CD", and "Sunsets and Sushi". "A Collision" came out a year later and I was hooked. I wish they weren't hangin it up but if this body of work is their legacy I'm happy. I just thought we had more time....
3483031
Close, but not perfect.
Do I feel that my tablet is fully protected?  YES!!!
Will I be returning this case?  NO! I'm pretty happy with it. It's more great than horrible.

I love the snug tablet-slide-in feature, but once my 8.4 Galaxy Tab S was in place the imperfect fit became apparent. Most of the protective cover cuts are a fraction off.

1. The front facing "Samsung" logo is covered. Why?
2. Front facing camera is in the clear to work but the hole cut is not evenly placed around it.
3. Bottom of protective case sits a fraction too high and covers the bottom of tablet screen too much.
4. Facing speaker on right is slightly covered.
646782
Not bad....better than I thought it would be...
611877
I didn't give it 5 stars because it isn't perfect... but for the price, it's pretty darn good.

Installation: Super easy! Familiarity with what's under the hood of your PC helps, but if you can follow simple instructions, you should be good. It takes 2 5.25" drive bays. I only had one bay free, but I'm pretty handy with a dremel and not afraid of a little minor pc-case surgery).

Hardware: YES, the VFD looks washed-out on installation. I'll give you that. BUT the contrast and brightness are software adjustable. So, if you spend a couple of minutes adjusting it, you can get to look like the one in the ad. The remote range and reception angle are quite good for me. The front buttons work fine, but are fairly useless with the remote (pretty much like any home theater appliance).

Software: As someone else said, don't bother with the bundled disk. Just get online and download the latest drivers and apps. I'm using Windows 7 (64bit) and the software works pretty well with it. The ability to turn the computer on and off, and launch your apps by remote control is outstanding. You can configure what apps that launch as well as the remote commands within the apps. I'm using it with Windows Media Center, XBMC, Hulu Desktop and Boxee. Haven't had a problem with any of them so far.

YMMV, but this unit is just what I needed for my HTPC and works really well so far (had it for about 2 weeks).
734122
This album is different, yes. But its very good. Seriously I think people need to give it a chance and not judge becasue its not heavy. All the greats have done it at one point. Once in a while its refreshing to hear what other sounds bands are capable of producing! I think its wonderful that the band can expand their minds and try something different. I think as fans we should do the same. These guys are so talented, they had to at least try it once! Get past the resentment and give a great band a chance.
4868668
I find it very interesting that Sharam and Dubfire contradict each other on their solo efforts.  Sharam is obviously the more commercial side of the duo while Dubfire keeps up with the trends in electronica.  However, even on this release...I am able to see flaws.

I will break it down by discs.  First, disc #1.  The fist 5 tracks are top notch selections...except for the fact that they are ALL old.  I would expect this from most other djs'...but not from someone of this caliber.  Remember, this guys is supposed to be one of the best in the industry.  The track selection should reflect this by being all new tracks with very limited release.  The rest of the cd is above average by being very listenable and enjoyable.  Special mention to the Yoshimoto track.  Very nice.

Disc 2 is in my opinion the superior disc.  It looks like everyone is giving the second disc bad reviews compared to the first...but I am here to tell you differently.  "Lucky heather" followed by the excellent "My MTV" (which is being played heavily at clubs everywhere) brings us to a different level.

To keep this short...disc 2 is darker and more geared toward the underground and is by far the better of the two.

It's not the album of the year...but still worth the money.
19498
So obviously it works great. But not 5 star great. With all the high ratings I went ahead and bought one. It does the job well. But some of the music seems slightly missing. I know its bluetooth and
 Compressed and all that. But the mid/highs are somewhat lacking. Having said all that. Bluetooth pairing is a snap. And the range is quite good.
203242
5 stars.... if you are thinking about it, get it. At this price point you can't go wrong. I have abused mine since it arrived and have on more than one occasion had to give it a break on my right hands behalf.
209225
This CD had to grow on me. At first, I didn't love it. But now I listen to it all the time. I like the poetry in their lyrics, though I do wish they had a few more songs of straight-up praise. Overall it's a great CD, faster paced Christian music done in a style that's totally up to date. That said, there's definitely a few rough spots on the CD where their voices don't quite hit the note etc. Still updating to 5 stars because I really do listen to it a lot now. Hope they keep working at it, they've got a great unique style & I'm looking forward to their next release.
3154739
actually, this was better than I expected. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 star rating is that nothing is ever perfect although this should be a 4 1/2 at least.
2747149
The album is The Wall in every way, even if it's with only with one member of Pink Floyd, and is a treat because of that.

However, it's not perfect. A minor (and unavoidable) quibble is that Roger's age come through quite clearly in his singing, which works surprisingly well, sometimes ("Hey You", for example, always worked better with a quieter and less bombastic performance in my opinion. and here Roger nails it perfectly), but other times creates a rather dissonant tone (To me, Roger sounds a bit like a lecherous old man in "Don't Leave Me Now", and it's quite...something, especially with the song having nothing to do with lechery).

A more major flaw, in my opinion, would be the gaps put between some lyrics that weren't there before (and I have every CD release of The Wall, as well as the movie, so I would know) seemingly for little reason other than to apparently make Roger sound as if he has to rest his vocal chords between certain lines (making him seem even older) and it's kind of annoying to me, though your mileage may vary, of course. Still, it was enough for me to lop off one star for, but not a deal breaker, by far.
4663031
All in all a great effort and a hair-thrashin' listen, but am I the only one who thinks these guys sound a lot like Tool and Perfect Circle (Benjamin sounds like he modeled his front on Maynard's vocal stylings) with a slowed-down System Of A Down riff or two thrown in? Don't get me wrong - I really like this album, along with Saturate - but it doesn't hurt to acknowledge your antecendents.
785661
I couldn't give this album the full monty, because it really isn't perfect. That's because of Tracks 7 and 8, "Quest for Fire" and "Sun and Steel". I enjoy listening to both of those songs every once in awhile, but not all the time. They are both kinda good, but aren't anything spectacular at all.

Hence my rating of 4.5.

The title of this review states "The Golden Era Begins". I wirte that because(obviously) this is when the Golden Era for Iron Maiden began band member wise. They would carry this lineup through their Seventh album "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son".

And that lineup looked a little something like this:

Steve Harris-Bass Guitar

Dave Murray-Lead Guitars

Bruce Dickinson-Lead Vocals

Nicko McBrain-Drums

Adrian Smith-Lead Guitars

The change they made to the lineup was bringing in Nicko McBrain for Clive Burr. Clive was great and talented but Nicko stuck. Every since "Piece of Mind" Nicko McBrain has been on every Iron Maiden album up to the most recent album "Dance of Death"(2003). The song lineup is goes as followed:

1. Where Eageles Dare

2. Revelations

3. Flight of Icarus

4. Die with your Boots On

5. The Trooper

6. Still Life

7. Quest for Fire

8. Sun and Steel

9. To Tame a Land

Even if you don't own this album I'm sure you have heard both "Flight of Icarus" and "The Trooper". They were the 2 biggest singles off "Piece of Mind" and are both excellent songs. "Where Eagles Dare" is the perfect way to start off the album as new drummer Nicko shows off his talent right from the start. "Revelations" is also excellent, as Bruce shows off his song writing talent. "Die with your Boots On" is a great catchy tune, that will impress the heck out of you. "Still Life" is one of my favorite songs off the album, and it's basically the title track. It starts slow, and builds too an extremely tremendous chorus. I've already given my opinion on "Quest for Fire" and "Sun and Steel" at the beginning off my review. They are both solid yet unspectacular. The longest track on the album is the closer "To Tame a Land". Some people say that they were just trying to make another "Hallowed be thy Name" with this song, but I believe that that is crap. This is absolutley nothing like that classic, and it is great in it's own way.

Overall, I'd reccomend this to any fan of the band, or just anyone looking for good music.
2769748
.....than you will really like this. I don't want to knock it, because it is really OK as a 'deep cut' release. At least it is not 'overly commerical.' But like early Small Faces they try to sound 'soulful' but are missing the melody. While not overly commerical, they seem to try too hard for that.....
4334134
Good....at times great. Tyrese is excellent, but some of the songs are not. Not sure who's to blame. Would I buy it again? YES. I've been listening to the disc in the car, skipping a trac here and there. Some are really good.....listen to it over and over again good.
2299696
Well done but just a little too different for my taste to give it a five star. That said, I can see how it would be five star for some. By the way, this is not  a feel-good movie.