Bloom Remix Album [ENHANCED]

Sarah McLachlan

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 6, 2005)
• Original Release Date: September 6, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000AA3002
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #90,393 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Many remixed CDs are mildly amusing at best. Sarah McLachlan's Bloom, on the other hand, is a showcase of world-class musicians reworking her timeless compositions to match their compelling styles, rather than just adding dance beats to pre-existing Sarah songs. The list of contributors to this collection is most impressive, likely to bring non-folk fans into her fold. Reggae legends Sly & Robbie have done some amazing dub-meets-downtempo work on "Train Wreck," arguably improving upon the original cut. DMC (of Run DMC fame) collaborates with Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas to turn out the very BEP-sounding track "Just Like Me," which is centered around McLachlan singing the chorus of "Cats In The Cradle." Famed South Asian DJ Talvin Singh has created a rich, tabla and sitar-infused take on the achingly beautiful "Answer," guaranteed to be a hit at yoga studios and aromatherapy shops everywhere. As far as the other songs are concerned, the majority are amped-up and turned into house music, especially Amsterdam legend Junkie XL's "World On Fire" and the (80's-esque driving beat of "Vox," mixed by Tom Middleton. Ironically, some of the best and brightest moments on Bloom occur when the strong cast of DJs and producers create compositions significantly different from McLachlan's masterful originals. The talent of Sly & Robbie, Talvin Singh, DMC, and Thievery Corporation alone make this album well worth acquiring. --Denise Sheppard

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

164 of 169 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review (and a WARNING about this CD), October 9, 2005

By	Matthew Dralle (Livermore, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been enjoying this album. Just Like Me feat. Will-i-am of the Black Eyed Peas is a total loser and completely doesn't belong on this CD (I wish Sarah had just done the Cat's in the Cradle song that is mixed in with this track.) All of the other tracks are interesting remixes and a refreshing change of pace.

BEWARE OF THIS CD - Sony and BMG have seen fit to include a BS copy protection program on the CD. When you install it into your PC, it will prompt you with a tiny warning and "licence" agreement. If you're like me, you won't read it and just click "yes". Unfortunately, this will then irreversibly install some crap on your hard drive that CANNOT be removed. Its suppose to "download license keys" and "allow you to play and copy the CD". Once the installer has run, there is no way to uninstall all the crap, however. The company, www.sunncomm.com that provides the copy protection software is completely useless in email dialogs about the software. For example, when I wrote them asking how to uninstall the software from my system, their response was, not instructions on how to actually remove it, but rather "our software is a small unobtrusive utility that will not harm your computer in anyway..." Huh? That's not what I asked...

Furthermore, this "copy protection" will not allow you to Rip your own MP3 versions of the tracks - you can Rip them, but they will be corrupted and not sound correct. Using Linux and a few additional other steps, there are ways to Rip your own MP3 version, but this is beyond most typical users.

In a twist of extreme irony, you can go to the Sarah McLachlan official web site and download the complete album in MP3 format for $10!!

Frankly, not buying this album is the best way to protest this kind of Draconian, "guilty until proven innocent" bull crap that the record companys are starting to pull. Just say NO.

In more irony, its actually easier to download a complete pirated version of this album off the Internet, than it is to try to Rip a legit MP3 version of your own off the CD you purchased. Go figure.

Update 1: If you beg and pled with sunncomm.com, they will eventually email you a link to an ActiveX program that will uninstall all of the software installed as a part of this CD installation.

Update 2: You can actually Rip an MP3 from this CD using Windows, but it will result only in a relatively low quality tracks. Here are the steps: 1) Use the sunncomm.com program and "rip" a copy of the cd to your HARD DRIVE (tracks will be in a low quality 128bps WMV format unfortunately). 2) Use Windows Media player to burn a "standard CD" using the tracks from Step 1. Step 3) Use your favorite MP3 Ripping tool to Rip MP3s from the CD created in Step 2. The problem with this whole process is, however, that the quality of the final MP3's is pretty poor. The version I Ripped using Linux directly from the actual CD is of much better quality. Not sure what the quality of the complete album in MP3 directly off of Sarah's web site is. Hopefully, better than what you can get using the sunncomm.com round about method...

Matt

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good music, bad marketing, October 16, 2005

By	B. Waterman (Nebraska USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While the actual music on the album is quite good, the fact that Arista/Sony/BMG tried to lock down the music behind copy protection means that it's likely going to be quite a hassle to listen to. In order to listen to this CD on your computer you must
1) Agree to a EULA that's 8,000 words long and forfeits every legal right you have, including trial by jury.
2) Install software that tracks your listening habits and can not be removed (Sony won't tell you on their web pages) and may or may not be spyware.
3) Give up your right to make a back up copy of the actual CD
4) Forfeit your right to listen to the music using a computer application of your choice. You are forced to use some 2nd rate player.

Or if you don't agree to these terms and want to listen to the CD on your own terms you have to either turn off auto-run on your computer when you insert the CD or on most Windows systems, hold down the shift key. After that, I was able to listen to the album from Winamp, and make MP3 copies without the agreeing to the EULA.
All in all, the hassle of getting around the restrictions that the record company tried to impose made me regret buying the CD. I certainly won't be buying any more music from Arista/Sony/BMG. Which is really ironic, since their attempt to copy-protect the CD ensured that they will make 0 future sales. I feel sorry for the artist that is caught in the middle, as I'm quite sure that Sarah McLachlan didn't have any choice in the matter and now it's her future sales that have been reduced.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very BAD copy-protection, November 10, 2005

By	WizKid "WizKid" (Sweden) - See all my reviews

This CD installs a rootkit which is be very bad for your computer. Read more about it here: http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html