Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna (a J!-ENT World Groove Digital Album Review)

If you are a big fan of the hit TV show “Glee”, more than likely you will dig “Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna”.  Otherwise, if you don’t, you can continue and listening to the awesome original Madonna versions instead.

ARTIST: Various Artists (Glee Cast)

ALBUM: Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna

LABEL: Columbia

DURATION: 27:40

RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2010

Lady GaGa and Beyoncé – Telephone the Remixes (a J!-ENT World Groove Digital Album Review)

A solid remix album for Lady GaGa and Beyoncé’s song “Telephone” with cool collaborations with Alphabeat, Crookers, DJ Dan, Tom Neville and many more. Definitely worth checking out!

ARTIST: Lady GaGa and Beyoncé

DIGITAL ALBUM: Telephone the Remixes

LABEL: Streamline/Interscoope/KonLive/Cherrytree

DURATION: 54:11

RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2010

“Telephone” is the latest digital single from Lady GaGa which is featured on her second album “The Fame Monster” and featuring both Lady GaGa and Beyoncé.    The song which was originally written for Britney Spears for her 2008 album “Circus” was not included and thus, Lady GaGa re-recorded the song with her on the main vocals and Beyoncé featured during the middle of the song.

Personally, I felt the original song was well done and along the same line as her dance hit “Just Dance”, “Telephone” was an addicting track.  Here we are now with a remix album featuring talent such as Alphabeat, Crookers, DJ Dan, Doctor Rosen, Tom Neville and other talented producers/remixers.

As for my favorite tracks from the remix album, “Telephone the Remixes” I felt that the “Telephone (Alphabeat Extended Remix)”, “Telephone (DJ Dan Vocal Remix)” and the “Telephone (Ming Extended Remix)” were my favorite in terms of how the vocals were used.  But in terms of musically, I dig the “Telephone (Passion Pit Remix)” and “Telephone (Tom Neville’s Ear Ringer Remix” the best.

Of course, when it comes to same-song remix album releases, remixes are subjective and it depends on the listener.  But overall, there are a good number of solid remixes in this album release and if you enjoyed “Telephone”, then definitely pick up this album or a few of the songs.

Ke$ha – Animal (a J!-ENT World Groove Digital Album Review)

“Animal” is an entertaining album debut for Ke$ha with a good number of solid, upbeat and energetic tracks that definitely showcase her vocal style and her ability to project that party girl feel.  But I get a feeling there is a lot more to the Ke$ha creatively and vocally than what we’ve heard on this album.

ARTIST: Ke$ha

DIGITAL ALBUM: Animal

LABEL: RCA Records Label

DURATION: 46:20

RELEASE DATE: January 5, 2010

Music artist Ke$ha had a solid year for 2009 with her collaboration for Flo Rida’s “Right Round and then her debut single “TiK ToK” reaching #1 on various charts worldwide.

But the artist has been featured in a variety of publications telling her story of persistence as a music artist who had a rough upbringing and then going to Los Angeles in order to make her dream of becoming a music artist come true.  Having written songs and providing background vocals for other well-known musical artists, Ke$ha wasn’t paid for her role with “Right Round” nor did she want to be credited.  She was an artist that wanted to be known as a legitimate artist and with “TiK ToK”, she definitely made her name known in the musical world.

Although, compared to artists such as Lady GaGa and also receiving criticism for her songs becoming a bit to sexually reckless especially after years of musical artists who were known for their “girl power” lyrics.  But from what I’ve read so far, Ke$ha is a well-balanced artist that can easily transition from R&B and pop tracks to Country music and needless to say, I was kind of curious where her debut album “Animal” was going go.   A mix of different musical genres or keeping consistent to “TiK ToK”?

After listening to “Animal”, you do get the “TiK ToK” style of songs with upbeat tracks such as “Your Love is My Drug”, “Take It Off”, “Backstabber” and “Blah Blah Blah” but then you get to songs like “Dinosaur” and I was asking myself, “WTF…is this?”.  In fact, it was a bit too L’Trimm (known for their one hit 80′s song “Cars that Go Boom”) for my tastes and then you get to a song like “Party at a Rich Dude’s House” and it sounds a bit too Katy Perry meets Kelly Clarkson.

So, overall you do get a mix bag of tracks that work very well, some that really showcase her strengths as a songwriter and vocalist and a few songs that fall a bit flat.  If anything, Ke$ha definitely has the naughty girl lyrics going in her songs and then you get songs such as “Animal”, “Hungover” and “Stephen” and you get a serious side of Ke$ha.

Overall, a good amount of synth-driven dance music with her rebel girl style and lyrics.  Definitely a gender play of what works with a lot of male R&B/pop stars, I’m sure that Ke$ha’s lyrical play of having sex, having fun, getting drunk is probably going to be appreciated as her music resonates strongly within her fans.

Where we have seen Britney Spears and Lady GaGa demonstrate this style which has worked perfectly for them, “Animal” is an entertaining album debut for Ke$ha with a good number of solid, upbeat and energetic tracks that definitely showcase her vocal style and her ability to project that party girl feel.  But I get a feeling there is a lot more to the Ke$ha creatively and vocally than what we’ve heard on this album.

Iyaz – Replay EP (a J!-ENT World Groove Digital Album Music Review)

If you enjoyed Iyaz’s “Replay” and haven’t grown tired of it, this EP features four solid tracks worth checking out!

ARTIST: Iyaz

DIGITAL EP: Replay EP

LABEL: Time Is Money/Beluga Heights/Reprise

DURATION: 16:29

RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2009

“Replay” has been such a tremendous hit for music artist Iyaz (from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands) was discovered by Sean Kingston who helped land the artist with recording deal with the label Time is Money/Beluga Heights.

Iyaz’s debut single reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and #1 in the Billboard Pop Songs chart and is set to release his upcoming single “Solo” in early 2010.  Recently released back in December 2009 was “Replay EP” that was part of a promo CD and release digitally from online digital retailers featuring four remixes from Flo Rida, Donni Hotwheel, Jason Nevins and Ruff Loadez.

The first track on the EP is by Florida-native hip hop artist Flo Rida who lends his rhymes to the track.  Cool beats and more closer to the original version of the song.

The second remix is by New York’s Donni Hotwheel who gives his club mix of “Replay”.  Known for his remixes for Rihanna and Britney Spears, Donni Hotwheel gives an upbeat synth club mix to the mix.

The third remix is by American DJ remixer, producer Jason Nevins known for his house tracks and gives a catchy, house remix of “Replay”.

The fourth and final remix is by Ruff Loadez who gives an uptempo, slightly sped up club mix catchy version of “Replay”.

Overall, Iyaz’s “Replay EP” is a solid release but if you are looking for one or two remixes to purchase, each song is pretty good.  If you are a Flo Rida fan, you’ll probably dig his version.  The other club mix on the EP are solid and I actually like all three versions but if I had to pick one, that would be hard.  I would have to go for the Jason Nevins Mix but truthfully all three are solid club mixes and you won’t be disappointed.

If you are still enjoying “Replay” and have not grown tired of it, this EP is definitely worth checking out!

Pet Shop Boys – Christmas (a J!-ENT World Groove Digital Single Review)

An enjoyable Christmas EP from the Pet Shop Boys featuring a new version of their 1997 fan club song “It Doesn’t Often Snow at Christmas” and a cover of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” and Madness song “My Girl”.  A solid Holiday EP for Pet Shop Boys fans!

GROUP: Pet Shop Boys

DIGITAL ALBUM: Christmas EP

LABEL: Astralwerks – Caroline

DURATION: 22:34

RELEASE DATE: December 15, 2009

I admit that I was quite surprised to see a Pet Shop Boys Christmas EP out for the holidays and what an enjoyable EP it turned out to be.

“Christmas” kicks off with the song “It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas”, a new version of the 1997 song that was an exclusive for the group’s fan club.  The latest version of the song features a collaboration with Marius de Vries.  I enjoyed de Vries work with The Sugarcubes and most recently for the film “Easy Virtue”.  Overall, an upbeat track but if anything, it’s the Pet Shop Boys lyrics that are quite meaningful and witty.  An enjoyable Christmas track!

The second single “My Girl” is a cover of the Madness song.  An upbeat synth-driven track that has that old school Pet Shop boys feel to it!  A pretty fun track!

The third track “All over the world (new version)” is slightly different from the version featured on their album “Yes” (which was released back in April).  This time the song features a Christmas theme and orchestral and brass accompaniment.  The song was another collaboration with Marius de Vries.

The fourth track is quite interesting as it is a cover of Coldplay’s Vida la vida and also features a medley of their 1988 Pet Shop Boys hit “Domino Dancing”.  A surprise cover that I wasn’t expecting but overall, it was a pretty cool cover track!

The final track features an “Our House Mix” of the Pet Shop Boys cover of the Madness song “My Girl”.  An upbeat synth-driven track.

If you’re a fan of the group, the fact that we’re getting a Christmas EP not long after their release of their “Beautiful People” single is pretty cool and found the tracks to be fun and really enjoyable.  Overall, this latest holiday EP release from the Pet Shop Boys is pretty solid. Definitely worth checking out!