Bassey is back...and other new albums I will be listening too this week.

After a day of drinking,tubing, swimming and lying in the water with Will's cousins and family up on the Lake in Indiana, (yep, year two in a row that Lil Aussie gets pushed into the water by a 10 yr old whilst fully clothed!) I am starting this week sore from sunburn, and with muscular aches after holding onto the awesome tube, whilst being towed and flung around the Lake by a jet ski! Too much fun for a Sunday!!
So this week, it is a wondrous melange of music for the listeners palate.

Album #1. Get This Party Started - Dame Shirley Bassey
This is an album I have been totally surprised by! I have always been a fan of the Welsh legend, however this album proves that she is not only a powerhouse vocalist, but has a sense of humour and a great production team to light her way!
The album opens with a rendition of Pink's 'Get The Party Started' which just sounds hysterical when she recites the line 'Boulevard is freaking as I am coming up fast, I'll be burning rubber, you'll be kissing my arse'! Classic! It also features a remake of 'Big Spender' a sexy 'Slave To The Rhythm', 'You Only Live Twice and even a trippy take on Lionel Richie's 'Hello'. If you liked Shirley performing 'History Repeating' with The Propellerheads, I am pretty sure you will love this album. A true living vocal legend, in my book! Never mind the snobbery...check it out

Album #2.Zeitgeist - The Smashing Pumpkins
So, I when I first heard Tarantula, I thought that the Pumpkins might be on their way back from self imposed/ self indulgent/ crap music making phase. After many a disappointing release, they are back. Its a good album, not great, but if they had release albums like this instead of 'Adore' and 'Machina', many people would give them more of a chance. It does however echo sentiments of samples picked from early 80's new romantics meshed with their trademark sound. Highlights for me include 'That's The Way (My Love Is)', 'For God And Country' and 'Bring The Light' as well as the single 'Tarantula'. They also have one track from the album, 'Doomsday Clock' featured in the new 'Transformers' flick. It's no 'Siamese Dream' in my book however, but a inherently more enjoyable album than past efforts.