Featured Music Friday | Page 8 of 10

Music Review: The Rolling Stones, “Blue & Lonesome”

February 3, 2017

The latest project from legendary rock n roll band, The Rolling Stones, takes us back to the past, and to the genre that inspired the band to create music in the first place. Blue & Lonesome is a collection of post-war Chicago Blues covers, featuring a more stripped down version of the high rolling rock band. Mick Jagger’s vocals wail in time with the harmonica while covering Blues legends like Buddy Johnson (“Just Your Fool), Eddie Taylor (“Ride ‘Em On Down), Howlin Wolf (“Commit a Crime”), and Little Johnny Taylor (“Everybody Knows About My Good Thing”) amongst others.

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Music Review: John Legend, “Darkness and Light”

January 27, 2017

Featured Music Friday

FireCat

In his fifth studio album, “Darkness and Light,” R&B singer-songwriter, John Legend, tackles love, fatherhood, and politics, through a soulful lens, with vocals smooth as velvet. In “Right By You (for Luna)” Legend sings to his newborn daughter, and imagines what joys and sorrows she will face in this world. In “I Know Better,” “Penthouse Floor,” and “Marching Into the Dark,” Legend takes on the role of activist once again (Legend’s song “Glory” from the film “Selma” won him the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2015), with lyrics about police brutality, individual responsibility, and the strength of the Black community. “Darkness and Light” is filled with life, love, and the promise of a brighter future.

Apple Music

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Music Review: Childish Gambino, “Awaken, My Love!”

January 20, 2017

Featured Music Friday

FireCat

Multitalented comedian, actor, writer, and musician, Donald Glover, is back with his third studio album as Childish Gambino. In “Awaken, My Love!” Glover abandons his “Because The Internet” rap persona that gave him two grammy nominations in 2013, and instead, experiments in new-wave soul and funk. Not only does Glover create an entirely new sound for his latest album, he has also created an entirely new format on which to experience his music. Glover recently announced that “Awaken, My Love!” will be available on “virtual reality vinyl” sometime in 2017.

Apple Music

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Music Review: The Weeknd, “Starboy”

January 13, 2017

Featured Music Friday

FireCat

Canadian R&B singer/songwriter, The Weeknd, is back with his third studio album, Starboy. Hot off the heels of his mega-successful sophomore album, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), which made the once homeless musician a household name and earned him numerous awards, Starboy is The Weeknd coming to terms with his celebrity status. For Starboy, fame is loneliness and paranoia, filled with failed relationships and designer drugs, all wrapped into the luxe setting of an exclusive nightclub or a dark, elegant penthouse.

Apple Music

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Music Review: Miranda Lambert, “The Weight of These Wings”

January 6, 2017

Featured Music Friday

FireCat

Grammy-winning Country star, Miranda Lambert, has released her first album since her high profile split from husband and fellow Country Music artist, Blake Shelton. Lambert’s sixth studio album, “The Weight of These Wings”, takes the listener on an impressive, 24-track, two-disc journey from heartbreak to new beginnings. Starting off strong, yet vulnerable in “Runnin’ Just in Case,” the album’s opening anthem skillfully weaves Lambert’s Southern charm and a steady marching drum beat, ending in Lambert’s proclamation that “There’s freedom in a broken heart,” setting a high bar for the album as whole, which it certainly exceeds.

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