Opinz

Mastodon – Crack The Skye

If you’ve ever wondered what a Black Sabbath cover band would sound like doing a Rush impersonation look no further than Crack the Skye; although the cloned Ozzy vocals can be eyeroll-inducing and the concept – something about a paraplegic kid who can travel on the astral plane, falling through a wormhole and winding up in Russia where a cult puts his soul in Rasputin’s body and his killed and the Devil takes his soul and so on – is exhausting if you try to follow it…but the music itself is good – not too heavy metal, not too rock – and is creative and manages to stay interesting throughout.
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Pearl Jam – Ten (Deluxe Edition)

In addition to the remastered original album which helped usher in an entire movement in rock music, the deluxe edition of Pearl Jam’s Ten includes a true gem – a DVD of the band’s MTV Unplugged performance (although not including songs performed but not aired in the original broadcast), a curious oddity – a complete remix of the album by Brendan O’Brien (which brings out a few new sounds but ultimately offers little new and only begs the question why anyone felt it was necessary), and a few treasures – a few demos including “State of Love and Trust” and “Breath” and the pseudo-new “Brother”; missing is a more comprehensive collection of B-sides and rarities (several were released on the Lost Dog compilation but they would have been perfect for this), more comprehensive album liner notes (all that’s included is some artwork and photos of knickknacks; even the lyrics included in the original album have been removed) and maybe a concert performance of the album (or an audio disc of the Unplugged show)…the new additions are nice but in the end you can’t help but feel it would be more complete with some more complementary material for such a stellar album. More »

Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream

While not Springsteen’s strongest effort (even in the last 7 or 8 years), Working On A Dream is still a solid, if not slightly meandering, collection that doesn’t really stick to a theme like the stripped-down grit of Devils & Dust or the jugband fun of We Shall Overcome, but still manages to outshine 2007′s Magic thanks to a stronger song selection and wider variety – it just might require a couple of listens to fully appreciate its diversity, from the rough-edged blues of “Good Eye” to the vintage Springsteen polished blue-collar optimism of “Working On A Dream.”

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AC/DC – Black Ice

Their best work since The Razor’s Edge and maybe even Back In Black – unlike Stiff Upper Lip and Ballbreaker, which acted more like maxi-singles with an hour worth of filler, there’s less filler here, and thanks to Brendan O’Brien everything is tight and well-produced.

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