Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
46 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why I'm kicking myself, February 11, 2003
Some time ago, I gave up on buying entire albums for single tracks I like. Instead I buy almost exclusively now compilation albums and greatest hit packages. I've found that between US (Now, Totally Hits), Canadian (Big Shiny Tunes, Women & Songs), and UK (Now 45-53, Smash Hits) compilations I've been able to get just about any song I wanted. Legally and at a reasonable cost per track. (Of course, these collections are also generally available on Amazon.)I have nearly all the tracks on this CD, excluding Sting & James Taylor -- and please, can the Grammies have a moritorium on nominating remakes of 20-year old tracks by the same artist? -- but they are spread over a dozen CDs that probably cost me about 200 bucks in total. Aaarggh. But on to the tracks selected: It's as if the Grammies actually selected the nominees so that they could cherrypick tracks for this album. Absolutely the best Grammy album yet. If they'd replaced Britney Spears with a Springsteen track it would be perfect. As usual, all the Best New Artist nominees are represented, and it should be a real horse race between jazz prodigy Norah Jones (who could sing the phone book and still sound good) and hypersuccess Avril Lavigne, who put out a great album but has the personality & charm of rotweiller. Michelle Branch is great but perhaps under the Grammy radar. Ashanti is not Grammy winning material and John Mayer is there so this won't be thought of as the Best New Female Artist. I was shocked that Vanessa Carleton didn't join the other Best new Artist nominees, but "A Thousand Miles" fully deserves it's Best Song nomination. As do the fabulous Dixie Chicks for their album nomination. I would have selected "Landslide", the Fleetwood Mac cover, as another song of the year nominee, but since it's included I can't complain. I can fully concur with Eminem's nomination for song and album of the year. "Without Me" is a clever, witty and highly intelligent examination of the maelstrom Mr Mathers has begun around himself. But Nelly doesn't seem significantly better than any of the other rappers out there - his nominations are strictly a nod to his commercial success. There are all kinds of other great tracks, including the #1 song of the year on Billboard, "How You Remind Me", Pink's breakout hit "Get The Party Started", Sheryl Crow summer anthem for the ages "Soak Up the Sun" and Dave Mattehws' "Where Are You Going", but I'd like to congratulate the academy on finding and nominating Bowling for Soup. "Girl All the Bad Boys Want" is one of the best tracks from last year, and I fell for it on a single listen. Finally American radio is starting to play it, but it was already a top ten hit in England last year. This is the song you'll go back to over and over. So snap this one up people, cause the 2004 Grammy Nominees'll have t.A.T.u. and 50 Cent.
|
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This CD isn't a bad mix, September 30, 2003
I found this cd to be a solid mix of the years grammy nominees. Whether or not I agreed with who won the awards is a story for another day. The cover art is nice, and the track arrangement flows nicely. If your'e in the mood to listen to "whatever" this is a good disc for those times.
|
|
|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Snap Of 2002 Music, October 10, 2004
There was a time when the Grammy Awards were incredibly bias with their nominees for the major awards (good, but still bias). The 2003 awards (meaning music from 2002) was the year when all the diversity bariers were broken down. The tracklisting still has a slight tilt towards pop, the reason for that is because Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal are covered. But Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year and Best New Artist are included as well:
(1) Vanessa Carlton "A Thousand Miles" A-. A beautiful, sweet almost philosophical pop song. The material may seem standard but Vanessa's voice and lyrics make it a catchy piece of work.
Endlessly listenable with fantastic images.
(2) Norah Jones "Don't Know Why" C+. What is this song doing in 2002? Everything about it seems outdated and unfinished, like the producers just stopped trying. What little substance is here is lost because listeners are put to sleep.
(3) Nickelback "How You Remind Me" A. This is about as close as you can get to a perfect rock song. It has all the things you expect from a rock song, yet Chad Kroger's voice and the piercing lyrics add more weight and dimension to it.
(4) Dixie Chicks "Landslide" B. Again, country isn't bmy cup of tea, but this song works for me. The girls' make this Fleetwood Mac song their own and add some blueglass flavor with unique acoustic arangements.
(5) Eminem "Without Me" A. Easily Shady's most satirical, funniest and biting work yet. His "razor tounged lyrics" find the right targets, address a number of "issues" and make good point all to a hilarious entertaining results.
(6) Nelly "Hot In Herre" A. The level that this song works to is exceptional, considering its simplistic content. But Nelly's trademarked "southern flavor" turns ikt into a must hear summer dance/rap song. Completely enjoyable in every way.
(7) Ashanti "Foolish" B+. A smooth, relaxing and toughing R&B song which is darn infectious. Thankfully it contains a rather original idea, but has a flaw becuase it seems to hold the listener at a distance.
(8) Michelle Branch "All You Wanted" A. A deep and touching pop/rock song that finds the right impact from the lyrics and guitar chords. Another song that starts with simple material, yet rise far above it.
(9)Avril Lavigne "Complicated" A. Hands down THE best song writing from THE best new artist of 2002! Everything about this song works from the chilling guitar opening to deep, powerful and enotional lyrics. Every second of this masterpiece should put a tear in your eye.
(10) John Mayer "Your Body Is A Wonderland" A-. It's hard to believe that he was only 16 when he made this song. Content as old as Shakespeare gets a nice modern revamp in a sweet, light and easing ballad. It'll ease the troubled mind with no problem.
(11) Sheryl Crow "Soak Up The Sun" A-. This song just has an a complete summer feel to it. Everything about this light, catchy, fun pop/rock tune demonstrates the full extent of Sheryl Crows comprehensive talents.
(12) P!NK "Get The Party Started" B+. This was hailed by many as THE best sing of 2001. It's not that good, but it is still an endlessly enjoyable, clubbed up dance track with a combination of a slick production and killer voice and lyrics.
(13) Britney Spears "Overprotected" B-. It has more substance than your standard Britney song, yet it still feels like a whiny rant under the surface. Darkchild's production and the infectious beat make it listenavle though.
(14) Craig David "7 Days" B+. The song isn't in the same league as "Fill Me In", but is still very catchy and is a nice little relaxing listen. Craig David finds a relaxed tone to make the song flow efforlessly.
(15) Sting "Fragile" C+. Sting is a very talented male artist who just doesn't put in the full effort here. Everything starts out perfectly, then grows redundant and repedative as the song carries on. It's a work that just diudn't quite come together.
(16) James Taylor "October Road" A-. A nice piece for his later career to still to convey the talent he still has. Shows that sometimes a simple premise and tone is all that is needed to make a good song.
(17) Bowling For Soup "Girl All The Bad Guys Want" A-. A strange and original pop/punk transition. The song seems bizarre at first, but once it takes off it reaches maximum velocity. I love every second of it.
(18) Dave Matthews Band "Where Are You Going" C. Textbook standard light rock in every way. This is what happens when a group doesn't try and just goes through the standard flows of music.
(19) *N Sync "Girlfriend" B-. This isn't bad, it just lacks that flavor that the Neptunes Remix feat. Nelly had. That version benefitted alot from Nelly's style and attitude, maybe they couldn't nominate it because it was remix. Still a Neptunes production, this version remains listenable.
Bottom Line: ***1/2. The album may have a few slow spots scattered about, but the diversity and abundance of quality tracks make up for it. The nominees were a pretty good selection of music in 2002, too bad the winners weren't as well.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Grammy Nominees (Series)
~ Various Artists
~ Various Artists
~ Grammy Nominees (Series)
~ Various Artists
is mainly Pop, quite Traditional R&B, with hints of Alternative”
