11.14.06 New Releases

The Game: Doctor's Advocate The man, the myth, the legend is back with his sophomore release. The Game has been known as a member of G-Unit, then as the biggest hater of G-Unit. Most recently he has been toting himself as the "heir to the Aftermath throne". Which is where the title comes in, the Game believes he is Dr. Dre incarnate. Honestly, maybe he is. But where his flow sounds like Dre and where his subject matter sounds like Dre, his lyrics are more playful and inventive than Dre. But like Dre, this album could very well be this generations The Chronic. With guests like Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Jamie Foxx, Nas, and Will.I.Am and production from Swizz Beatz, Just Blaze, and Scott Storch, this is a sure to be classic. Rating: 8.2/10 MP3: The Game feat. Kanye West "Wouldn't Get Far" +44: When Your Heart Stops Beating After the bitter break up of Blink 182, Mark and Travis went one way and Tom went the other. While Tom went on to form Angels and Airwaves, Mark and Travis formed +44. Truthfully, +44 isn't much like Blink 182 except they write catchy songs. I've never listened to a Blink 182 album I liked all the way through, +44's debut is very similar. The album begins with several solid tracks but after the midway point the album puts forth several acoustic ballads which is definitely not the band's forte. Although they close the album with a good rock song in "Chapter XIII" it's not enough to wash out the bad taste in the listeners mouth from the previous 6 tracks. Rating: 4.6/10 MP3: +44 "Baby Come On" ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead: So Divided One of my favorite named bands of all time are back with their 5th full length album. I've often felt like previous Trail of Dead albums had kind of a dark undertones to them, this album feels like a party all the way through. From the albums intro which sounds like a medieval party to its Guided By Voices cover "Gold Heart Mountain Top Queen Directory", the album is fun. Even tracks with morbid titles like "Eight Day Hell" sound like they could've easily been written by Apples in Stereo. Rating: 6.8/10 MP3: ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead "Gold Heart Mountain Top Queen Directory" Fat Joe: Me, Myself and I I've had a certain amount of respect for Fat Joe ever since he went after G-Unit at the MTV music awards. Fat Joe is a good rapper, his flow is steady and he avoids cliches. However, his choruses are weak and often are almost unlistenable. Songs then guests like the Game or Lil Wayne do the chorus seem much more complete. Track production by The Runners, Nu Jersey Devil, and Scott Storch might save the album from being terrible to mediocre. Rating: 4.9/10 MP3: Fat Joe feat. Lil Wayne "Make It Rain" Joan Osborne: Pretty Little Stranger The Kentucky native one hit wonder singer/songwriter releases her 5th album. She proclaimed it her "Nashville album". It's country roots are reminiscent of Patsy Cline or Bonnie Rait. For those that are very into female country ballads, this is probably a great album. I can recognize when someone is doing something well even if it's not my thing. This is definitely not my thing. Rating: 3.3/10 MP3: Joan Osborne "Pretty Little Things"