As it is with the multiple Woodstock soundtrack albums, it's hard to keep up with what's on the soundtrack discs bearing the name Wattstax in the title, counting the two initial volumes that came out in the 1970s, and now this three-CD package. Making matters more confusing is how, as the title of this set infers, the albums mix music from the festival with music from, or somehow associated with, the film Wattstax (which had some scenes, musical and otherwise, that actually didn't take place at the Wattstax festival itself). And to make matters yet more confusing, Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film, for all its generous length, isn't simply a combination of the Wattstax music that appeared in the '70s on either Wattstax, The Living Word: Live Concert Music from the Original Movie Soundtrack or Wattstax: The Living Word, Vol. 2. A lot of tracks from those albums do appear on these three CDs, but some don't; plus, Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film adds 17 previously unreleased songs, as well as one (Isaac Hayes' "Theme from Shaft") that previously appeared on Isaac Hayes at Wattstax. It's something of a head-hurting exercise to keep it all straight. But ultimately, the most important thing to bear in mind is that Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film is the best, and certainly most bountiful, of the Wattstax-spawned discs, though it's marred by the exclusion of some previously issued tracks from the other Wattstax releases.
Most of this was indeed recorded at the Wattstax festival on August 20, 1972, featuring live soul from many artists on the Stax label. Most of the best performances from the previous Wattstax iterations were retained, among them well-recorded selections by the Staple Singers (whose four songs include "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There"), Eddie Floyd (doing "Knock on Wood"), the Bar-Kays (whose nine-minute "Son of Shaft/Feel It" is a highlight), Albert King, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor (with an eight-minute "Steal Away"), the Emotions, and Rufus Thomas. Some of the best cuts, however, are found in the dynamic previously unreleased material by lesser-known Stax artists, like Louise McCord's "Better Get a Move On," Lee Sain's "Them Hot Pants," Little Sonny's funk-blues "Wade in the Water," the Newcomers' Jackson Five-like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey," and Mel & Tim's hit "Backfield in Motion." The addition of some gospel songs also reflects the breadth of music at the festival, though the gospel tunes aren't as inspiring as the soul ones. On the whole, it's an important document of some of the better, live-'70s soul recordings. Arguably, however, some of the less interesting, previously unissued songs, should have been excluded to make room for some tracks by Albert King, Johnny Taylor, and Little Milton that showed up on the two Wattstax, the Living Word volumes, but somehow didn't make it onto Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film.
Disc 1
1 Salvation Symphony Warren, Wattstax '72 Orchestra 7:56
2 Introduction Jackson 5:51
3 Lift Every Voice and Sing Weston 3:39
4 Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom) Staple Singers 3:38
5 Are You Sure Staple Singers 4:02
6 I Like the Things About Me Staple Singers 5:55
7 Respect Yourself Staple Singers 4:38
8 I'll Take You There Staple Singers 5:15
9 Precious Lord, Take My Hand Manning 4:25
10 Better Get a Move On McCord 4:01
11 Them Hot Pants Sain 4:10
12 Wade in the Water Little Sonny 4:20
13 I Forgot to Be Your Lover Bell 2:37
14 Explain It to Her Mama Temprees 2:49
15 I've Been Lonely (For So Long) Knight 3:54
16 Pin the Tail on the Donkey Newcomers 2:47
17 Knock on Wood Floyd 3:41
Disc 2
1 Peace Be Still Emotions 9:08
2 Old Time Religion Golden 3:39
3 Lying on the Truth Allen 3:39
4 Up Above My Head Allen 4:02
5 Son of Shaft/Feel It Bar Kays 9:19
6 In the Hole Bar Kays 2:57
7 I Can't Turn You Loose Bar Kays 3:48
8 Introduction Porter 4:03
9 Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One) Porter 3:32
10 Can't See You When I Want To Porter 10:28
11 Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand Porter 3:17
12 Niggas (Spoken Word) Pryor 2:19
13 Arrest/Lineup (Spoken Word) Pryor 2:38
14 So I Can Love You Emotions 6:10
15 /Show Me How [Group Introduction] Emotions 5:37
Disc 3
1 Open the Door to Your Heart Little Milton 7:02
2 Backfield in Motion Mel & Tim 5:30
3 Steal Away Taylor 8:12
4 Killing Floor King 3:49
5 Pick Up the Pieces Thomas 2:53
6 I Like What You're Doing (ToMe) Thomas 3:34
7 B-A-B-Y Thomas 2:50
8 Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes) Thomas 3:10
9 I Have a God Who Loves Thomas 4:43
10 The Breakdown Thomas 4:39
11 Do the Funky Chicken Thomas 4:35
12 Do the Funky Penguin Thomas 5:47
13 I Don't Know What This WorldIs Coming To Soul Children 6:53
14 Hearsay Soul Children 7:30
15 Theme from Shaft Hayes 4:40
¡Aquí!
In the jazz world, tribute albums are inescapable. Every week, jazz artists are recording tributes to Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Cole Porter, or someone else they admire. But in rock, they aren't as plentiful -- for every Bob Dylan, Doors, or Rolling Stones tribute that gets recorded, there are a lot more Ellington or George Gershwin tributes coming from the jazz world. One of rock's more tribute-minded labels is Cleopatra, which has paid homage to countless rockers. As a rule, Cleopatra's tribute albums are interesting -- and this 2002 release (which finds 12 different artists providing Tool covers) is no exception. Even if A Tribute to Tool is mildly uneven; it has more ups than downs and offers a lot of intriguing takes on the headbangers' songs. The best covers are the ones that bring something new or different to a familiar song; operating on that premise, the artists on this CD acknowledge Tool on their own terms instead of slavishly emulating the band. While Tool's forte is alternative metal, A Tribute to Tool is full of industrial, darkwave, and goth rock interpretations of its songs. Not everything on the CD works, but most of the time, A Tribute to Tool hits its mark. Mists of Avalon successfully gives "Prison Sex" a goth makeover, while an industrial outlook works well for Translation Collapse on "Reflection," Beauty on "Disgustipated," and Razed in Black on "Part of Me." One of the best tracks is the Electric Hellfire Club's "Opiate" makeover; Hellfire's campy, over-the-top sense of fun is quite a contrast to Tool's artsy leanings. Do those with only a casual interest in Tool need to hear 12 Tool covers? Probably not. But Tool's hardcore fans will find this CD meaningful if they also have an appetite for industrial, darkwave, and goth rock.
1-1 Coph Nia – The Oath 
Essentially Elektra Records' tribute to a band that originally helped put them on the map, Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors was assembled by producer Ralph Sall, with a heavy concentration on mainstream-oriented alternative rock. While some tracks are the straight-up covers typical of tribute albums, die-hard Doors fans have greater reasons to pay attention. The surviving band members appear on several tracks -- sometimes as a backing unit, sometimes as individual guest collaborators -- with frequently vital-sounding results. Echoing the Fatboy Slim "Bird of Prey" single (coincidence that this was released around the same time?), producer Sall also incorporates sampled Morrison vocals, usually over atmospheric, electronic-tinged backing tracks; this tactic also produces beyond-the-grave Morrison duets with John Lee Hooker and William S. Burroughs. However -- perhaps logically -- it's the band performances that have the most life to them, especially those involving the Stone Temple Pilots and Ian Astbury. Even though Stoned Immaculate occasionally suffers from typical tribute-album unevenness, it's overall a fitting testament to the Doors' legacy.
A community that has existed since the creation of rooms on soulseek, Miaoussers are proud to present their 2003 Xmas (and debut) compilation: Xmasterpiece. This 9-track ep demonstrates the christmas spirit with sounds of electro, hip-hop, jazz, and some heavy shit too.
01 - Exawatt - Odissea Veneziana (RondΓ² Veneziana)
A1 Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou Dahomey* – Minsato Le, Mi Dayihome 
1. Steel Panther - Whole Lotta Rosie 4:02
From June until August of 2002, artists from Warp Records traveled across Europe, presenting to the world their latest musical and multimedia creations. The tour saw the artists collaborating and causing general havoc from the confines of a huge, state-of-the-art silver bus. Magic Bus Tracks is the limited-edition album commemorating the Ken Kesey meets Magical Mystery Tour-inspired festivities. Seemingly invigorated by the spirit of camaraderie, the participants are at the top of their respective games on the tracks compiled here. Luke Vibert's gloriously bouncy "Countdown" is a smartly arranged miasma of sonic textures. Richard Devine's "Mov Macros 7" is a thunderstorm of dark tones. "Simple" sounds like Mira Calix tossed Curve samples into a 30th century blender. Plaid's "Quickemit" is more of the gorgeous, complex techno for which the duo is known. Chris Clark's furious "Spinning Spines" assembles maddening slices of classic industrial noir in creating an atmosphere of dread and sweaty tension. A funny, spooky video for Plaid's "Itsu" sees director Pleix blending computer graphics and live-action video into a cautionary tale about corporate greed, office worker lust, and pet pigs. Magic Bus Tracks shows the reciprocal dedication and trust between Warp and its roster of artists.
01 - Ten Masked Men - Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake)
01- Royal Hunt - game of fear
This soundtrack to the Talking Heads film True Stories was the second release in a planned trilogy, the last of which -- the film's actors covering the Talking Heads songs from the album -- never surfaced. Fortunately, this second volume did, a selection of background music and non-David Byrne tunes written for the film. Of the Byrne-penned selections, only a few borrow from Heads songs, and the original compositions, perched somewhere between Penguin Cafe Orchestra and a general Americana feel, are pleasant. Meredith Monk's "Road Song" does Byrne one better in this department, and Carl Finch's incredibly silly "Mall Muzak" suite pokes cockeyed fun. The only proper songs here are Terry Allen's "Cocktail Desperado" and Steve Jordan's Tex-Mex "Soy de Texas," both romping good fun.
As it is with the multiple Woodstock soundtrack albums, it's hard to keep up with what's on the soundtrack discs bearing the name Wattstax in the title, counting the two initial volumes that came out in the 1970s, and now this three-CD package. Making matters more confusing is how, as the title of this set infers, the albums mix music from the festival with music from, or somehow associated with, the film Wattstax (which had some scenes, musical and otherwise, that actually didn't take place at the Wattstax festival itself). And to make matters yet more confusing, Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film, for all its generous length, isn't simply a combination of the Wattstax music that appeared in the '70s on either Wattstax, The Living Word: Live Concert Music from the Original Movie Soundtrack or Wattstax: The Living Word, Vol. 2. A lot of tracks from those albums do appear on these three CDs, but some don't; plus, Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film adds 17 previously unreleased songs, as well as one (Isaac Hayes' "Theme from Shaft") that previously appeared on Isaac Hayes at Wattstax. It's something of a head-hurting exercise to keep it all straight. But ultimately, the most important thing to bear in mind is that Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film is the best, and certainly most bountiful, of the Wattstax-spawned discs, though it's marred by the exclusion of some previously issued tracks from the other Wattstax releases. 
The soundtrack to Robert Zemeckis' groundbreaking film adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's popular children's book The Polar Express celebrates the season with both classic and contemporary holiday flair. Composers Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri provide the latter, relying on swelling choral arrangements, tender ballads, and polarizing yuletide offerings from Stephen Tyler and Josh Groban. Tyler struts his stuff on the amiable but derivative "Rockin' on Top of the World," a three-chord rave-up that finds the Aerosmith mouthpiece channeling a pack of howler monkeys, but it's Groban's syrupy, future American Idol favorite "Believe" that serves as the soundtrack's commercial centerpiece. Tom Hanks does his best Gene Wilder on the whimsical and strangely unnerving title track, a wonderfully unhinged performance that will have Willy Wonka fans clamoring for more, and the winsome vocals of preteens Matthew Hall and Meagan Moore give the ballad "When Christmas Comes to Town" a real sense of wonder. Silvestri's orchestral pieces are effective in tone, yet ape Danny Elfman's Edward Scissorhands theme so shamelessly that lawyers on both sides must have had words early on in the production. The Polar Express is ambitious for sure, but the fact that its most sincere pieces are the six classics that make up its caboose is telling. [The Polar Express is also available in a Special Edition that includes a decorative box and artwork from the book.]
