Shrek 2 (2004) [repost]

The best thing about this release by Café Zimmerman – better than the stupendous performances, better than the glorious sound, better than the brilliant programming, better than the intelligent liner notes, and better even than the gorgeous reproduction of André Bouys' Servant Polishing the Silver on the cover – is the fact that it's the second release in a cycle of the complete concertos for diverse instruments by Bach. Led by violinist Pablo Valetti, Café Zimmerman is a lean and lovely period instrument chamber orchestra with impeccable ensemble, amazing virtuosity, incredible sensitivity, and endless nuances of tone and color.

John Mellencamp has been in need of a thorough, career-spanning compilation for a while, and Island/UTV's 2004 release Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits finally fills that gap. His previous hits collection, 1997's The Best That I Could Do, was too short, since he had more hits than could fit on a brief 14-track disc. Words & Music doesn't have the problem of brevity. Spanning 37 songs over two discs, this has nearly all of his charting hits. Radio hits like "Justice and Independence '85" and "Rooty Toot Toot" may be absent, but they're not missed, since all the big hits are here, including "Pink Houses," "Lonely Ol' Night," "Paper in Fire," "Authority Song," "Crumblin' Down," "Small Town," "Hurts So Good," and "Jack & Diane," among many others (including two solid new songs).

This is an amazing double CD tribute compilation - to commemorate 40 years in the business, Kool & The Gang has teamed up and remade many of their top hits top to bottom featuring many of todays most up & coming vocalists and artists. I am quite surprised that this project has not made more of a splash in the states, yet…

The Benoit Freeman Project 2 is an collaboration album by American pianist David Benoit and American Guitarist Russ Freeman released in 2004, and recorded for the Peak label. The album reached #7 on Billboard's Jazz chart. Russ Freeman also serves as leader and frontman for the Rippingtons.

Volume two of Hip-O's Mötley Crüe retrospective, Music to Crash Your Car To, is decidedly less impressive than its predecessor. That's not to say that the poster, essay-augmented booklet, demos, alternate mixes, unreleased track, and comic book aren't reasons enough for the average fan to run to the store…

Sir James Paul McCartney, CH, MBE (born 18 June 1942), is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He gained worldwide fame as the bass guitarist and singer for the rock band the Beatles, widely considered the most popular and influential group in the history of pop music. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon was the most successful of the post-war era…