Album Reviews

LMFAO – Sorry For Party Rocking (Polydor B0052AI0DC) £10.99: American uncle and nephew team Redfoo and SkyBlu are respectively the son and grandson of Motown record label founder Berry Gordy. However, genre wise, the duo are hardly following in Gordy’s footsteps. The comedic pair’s bouncy, electro-hop tunes on their second album are immature odes to high-octane nightlife, wild partying and sex. With the kind of lyrics you wouldn’t want your mother to hear, the cheeky tracks are made for those with a sense of humour. Global hit and UK number one, Sorry For Party Rocking sets the tone across this stomping 14-track production. TM
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Jul 2011, 11:47 BST

Rhydian – Waves (Nova B0053B2UV8) £12.99: Take one X Factor contestant with a penchant for all things classical and then throw in a load of new wave tunes. Sounds terrible? Well, Rhydian’s interpretation of songs such as Parade, originally by White & Torch, and Breathe’s Hands To Heaven aren’t quite as bizarre as they sound. His theatrical nature lends itself well to the songs and the Welsh singer certainly isn’t a one-trick pony. That’s not to say he hasn’t made a few wrong song choices. Covering No More I Love You’s is asking for trouble (unless, of course, you’re Annie Lennox). Yet overall this album somehow works. A surprisingly all right record. PW

Philip Sayce – Ruby Electric (Provogue B0051NAIXA) £12.99: Some 18 months after the release of Innerevolution, Welsh-Canadian guitarist Philip Sayce returns with his third album. Split into two volumes, the first contains six studio tracks; the second, eight live performances of older material. Let The Love In (featuring Melissa Etheridge) opens the first volume in a blaze of pop-rock. Four tracks in, and on King Of New Mexico, the material has mutated to a darker, classic sound. Having honed his craft plucking strings for Etheridge and Jeff Healey, talented Sayce favours indulgent solos. Slipaway stretches past eight minutes, while Alchemy is an instrumental track. NB

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Sunrise Ave – Out Of Style (Island B004QSQM22) £13.99: Already a big name in their homeland, Finnish pop foursome Sunrise Avenue return with their third studio album. Frontman Samu Haber formed the band nearly 20 years ago and they may have experienced numerous line-up changes over the years but that hasn’t stopped them achieving chart success in Europe. The first single, Hollywood Hills, starts with a simple guitar hook and builds to a full on, rousing chorus. This energy is also present in I Gotta Go and Sex & Cigarettes. Whether they are able to break the UK is questionable, but this album makes happy listening regardless. MF

Bingham – Jacobs Ladder/Organ works (Naxos 8.572687) £5.99: Growing up and educated in Sheffield, Judith Bingham was already forty-three when she devoted her life to composing. Today primarily known in the world of liturgical music written in an attractive language, this exciting new release contains a work for organ and strings, Jacobs Ladder, together with ten works for solo organ. Stunningly played by Tom Winpenny, one of our finest younger generation organists, on the massive instrument in St Albans’ Cathedral. Robust contribution from the Dimitri Ensemble in the first score. DD

Rimsky-Korsakov – Sheherazade (Monte Carlo OPMC 003) £13.99: Sexily sensuous, silky smooth and vividly coloured, this is a recording of Sheherazade that has everything, their conductor, Yakov Kreizburg, steering the Monte Carlo Philharmonic through the many changing moods often at white heat. His Polovtsian Dances from Borodin’s Prince Igor are equally superb with a very vibrant Monte Carlo Opera Chorus. A rather jerky Night on a Bare Mountain is rather less sure footed. Orchestral solos throughout are outstanding, and in such beautiful sound it is strongly recommended. DD

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