Kurt
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Post by Kurt on Jan 22, 2014 19:47:05 GMT -5
It's a one-month-a-year affair! Maybe third year's the charm with making this a trend, ha. To kick things off, let's use the rest of January as a warm-up with just one album, and we can continue to make nominations here for next month. John Newman - Tribute We'll kick things off with Tribute, the debut album from John Newman that was released in the UK last fall and received a US release earlier this month. The eleven-track set includes the single "Love Me Again," a top-15 pop hit at present, but has a sound that incorporates a modest helping of soul and electronic influences. Give the album a spin or two using the service of your choice, then discuss here through the end of the month. Album sampler (YouTube)Introductory video (YouTube)90-second previews of the album (SoundCloud) |
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Post by K. on Jan 23, 2014 15:49:45 GMT -5
I love his work with Rudimental, so I'm excited to listen.
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Hefty Hanna
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Post by Hefty Hanna on Jan 24, 2014 13:06:10 GMT -5
Making this post because I really want people to get involved in this project! I listened to the album in full last night. I am looking forward to posting my thoughts.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2014 13:07:15 GMT -5
I tried "Loved Me Again" and his vocals are too grating for my taste. Plus we already have Olly Murs so...
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Hefty Hanna
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Post by Hefty Hanna on Jan 24, 2014 13:12:17 GMT -5
I tried "Loved Me Again" and his vocals are too grating for my taste. Plus we already have Olly Murs so... LOL Olly Murs and John Newman are two completely different acts, but to me the point of this project is to go in without any sort of bias, listen, and tell us what you think. There are things other than vocals to focus on. For example, I was very impressed with the actual production and the music on this. Superb, but I will discuss that at length later.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2014 13:18:29 GMT -5
LOL Olly Murs and John Newman are two completely different acts, but to me the point of this project is to go in without any sort of bias, listen, and tell us what you think. There are things other than vocals to focus on. For example, I was very impressed with the actual production and the music on this. Superb, but I will discuss that at length later.  Production wise and stylystically speaking, their music isn't all that different. I'm not even a huge fan of Olly but his vocals are without a doubt good and personally speaking, it's difficult to really be unbiased about something when the one variable that separate the two are the vocals. I would lump John in the polarizing vocals category (either you love it or hate it). I'm going to be fair and listen more and maybe give a more detailed review later on. |
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Hefty Hanna
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Post by Hefty Hanna on Jan 24, 2014 13:22:21 GMT -5
LOL Olly Murs and John Newman are two completely different acts, but to me the point of this project is to go in without any sort of bias, listen, and tell us what you think. There are things other than vocals to focus on. For example, I was very impressed with the actual production and the music on this. Superb, but I will discuss that at length later. Production wise and stylystically speaking, their music isn't all that different. I'm not even a huge fan of Olly but his vocals are without a doubt good and personally speaking, it's difficult to really be unbiased about something when the one variable that separate the two are the vocals. I would lump John in the polarizing vocals category (either you love it or hate it). I'm going to be fair and listen more and maybe give a more detailed review later on. I am just going to have to completely disagree with you. Olly's music is polished for pop radio/mainstream consumption whereas John's music is actually made out of a soul/R&B blueprint. They are sonically worlds apart. Olly's music is pop music with a throwback feel while John's music is actually throwback. P.S. This would be a more valid argument if you actually listen to Tribute. #PulseAlbumClubPromo |
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horchata
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Post by horchata on Jan 24, 2014 13:31:39 GMT -5
John Newman and Olly Murs aren't similar at all, lol. Olly Murs is more to the vein of Robbie Williams if you were to compare him to someone, but even that's a minimal comparison. Like with Robbie? Olly's entertaining skills are great and he has a voice tailor made for pop music. John Newman is more throwback and definitely is to the vein of R&B/Soul like B4L pointed out. I have checked out a few songs by John and like his voice quite a bit + his work with Rudimental is good as well. I'll probably check out this album in full this weekend sometime and contribute to this.
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Post by K. on Jan 25, 2014 10:31:28 GMT -5
I agree that Olly and John are similar. But I also agree with what some others have said. Their styles are influenced by the same artists/sounds, but targeted at different audiences. John has a little more roughness to his voice and he incorporates alternative instruments and beats; Olly's sound is more polished and he draws from the pop and rhythmic realm. John's lyrics are a little more . . . considered. If I had to kind of map where they are fall in the tree of music . . . I'd probably put them somewhere along the lines of . . . Classic R&B
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Gnarls Barkley (urban alt) Usher (Rhythmic/Pop)
= Adele (singer/songwr) = Alicia Keys (throwback singer/songwr)
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John Newman Olly Murs Initial Impressions of TributeI really liked John's work with Rudimental ( Not Givin In, Feel the Love), and am pleased that his solo style isn't terribly different. The track most similar in style to NGI/FTL is probably Love Me Again, the first single, which I'm guessing is not a coincidence. I don't think LMA is quite as strong as NGI/FTL, it's a little repetitive (although I like the breakdown toward the end). But it's a good representation of the album as a whole. On first listen, I think the album really hits its groove between Losing Sleep and Out of My Head. Each of those tracks has a clear identity and a great hook. I think Losing Sleep has the most hit-potential on the album (again, first listen). Great beat. Love the "oo-oo-oo-oo"s -- consistently find myself singing along to that part. Love the little "heys" in the background (there are many nice, little touches like that sprinkled throughout the album). Easy and Try are similar to each other in that their choruses open with really passionate opening lines, where the title word is drawn out. And I like the driving beat of Try. Out of My Head has terrific lyrics. "Why would you wanna love somebody, when love hurts in the end" sounds like an Adele lyric. John has a clear, established sound, and the album is definitely cohesive. But the downside of that is there isn't a ton of variety. At about Cheating and Running I started getting tired. The beats and choruses are all just a little too similar. As a result, by the end of the album even the songs that stuck out originally just feel like a blur. Overall, I'd say it didn't really feel like an "album" as much as variations on a theme. I didn't feel like the work told much of a story or took me anyplace, except it established what "John's sound" is (which I guess is a good thing for a debut album to do). I'm certainly interested to hear what he does next. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2014 18:48:38 GMT -5
what.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2014 19:18:18 GMT -5
I enjoy this album more than I expected to. I would agree that some tracks sound somewhat repetitive. With time, these songs start to stand apart from each other and the album really shines. "Losing Sleep," "Try," "Cheating," and "Running" are excellent, but "Love Me Again" and "All I Need Is You" are fantastic. The whole album, though, is superb. Already, people have covered what I love most about the album: the production, the cohesiveness, and the vocals. Tribute was one impressive debut album.
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Kurt
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Post by Kurt on Jan 25, 2014 19:24:14 GMT -5
I really like the "Tribute" intro too - eventually, I need to count the number of artists he name-drops and check if he includes Céline.
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WotUNeed
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Post by WotUNeed on Jan 26, 2014 0:13:31 GMT -5
Oh, this exists again, eh? Well I've already listened to this album so, eh, might as well once again jump aboard. I really like the "Tribute" intro too - eventually, I need to count the number of artists he name-drops and check if he includes Céline. I thought the intro was great. It was an interesting way to kick off the album and it drew me in. I was particularly happy because "Tribute" (intro and the entire song) served its purpose not only as a song, but as an album opener: it set the tone for the album and told us exactly what we were getting both sonically and thematically. The artists feel purposefully selected; you can hear where a lot of them probably did influence Newman, and, in many ways, the album as a whole does pay tribute to his musical influences. Where some may have found repetition or everything being too samey, I heard cohesion and theme. Also, "Goodnight Goodbye" deserves more love. |
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#LisaRinna
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Post by #LisaRinna on Jan 26, 2014 9:23:44 GMT -5
Blah choice. 'Love Me Again' is so overrated and overplayed. If I had to kind of map where they are fall in the tree of music . . . I'd probably put them somewhere along the lines of . . . Classic R&B
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Gnarls Barkley (urban alt) Usher (Rhythmic/Pop)
= Adele (singer/songwr) = Alicia Keys (throwback singer/songwr)
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John Newman Olly Murs What is this? |
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Jan 26, 2014 9:49:18 GMT -5
When is the deadline for this? I want to play too! I'll try to get on it this week.
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Post by K. on Jan 26, 2014 10:28:52 GMT -5
If you view it in the Electric Pulse theme it might make more sense. It's supposed to be an R&B "family tree." John Newman is of the urban-alternative branch (mixing Gnarls Barkley and Adele) and Olly Murs is of the rhythmic branch (mixing Usher and Alicia Keys). That's basically what I was trying to say. |
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#LisaRinna
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Post by #LisaRinna on Jan 26, 2014 10:30:50 GMT -5
If you view it in the Electric Pulse theme it might make more sense. It's supposed to be an R&B "family tree." John Newman is of the urban-alternative branch (mixing Gnarls Barkley and Adele) and Olly Murs is of the rhythmic branch (mixing Usher and Alicia Keys). That's basically what I was trying to say. But don't they do Pop music? |
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Post by K. on Jan 26, 2014 10:55:06 GMT -5
Yes and no.
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franklin
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Post by franklin on Jan 26, 2014 15:20:34 GMT -5
I'm actually really bad at putting my thoughts on music into words so. But lol! this sounds nothing like Olly Murs. I've been meaning to give this album a listen since I saw the music video for "Love Me Again" on Vh1, glad I finally have the excuse. I just finished listening rn and I really enjoyed it, I love his voice -- it's soulful and soothing and works really well with the production on the album. As of right now "Out of My Head" and "Running" and my favorite tracks. Absolutely stunning. Also, "Goodnight Goodbye" deserves more love. ia. Went back and listened to it again -- the chorus is literally perfect. also, All of these tracks are so dramatic, there're like a whole movie sequence in under 4 minutes. I love it. |
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Hefty Hanna
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Post by Hefty Hanna on Jan 26, 2014 20:09:35 GMT -5
If you view it in the Electric Pulse theme it might make more sense. It's supposed to be an R&B "family tree." John Newman is of the urban-alternative branch (mixing Gnarls Barkley and Adele) and Olly Murs is of the rhythmic branch (mixing Usher and Alicia Keys). That's basically what I was trying to say. But don't they do Pop music? I would argue that John Newman has more soul than most contemporary R&B acts on the market today. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2014 20:19:06 GMT -5
This project is a great idea. I'll try to listen to this album and other ones in this project.
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Hefty Hanna
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Post by Hefty Hanna on Jan 28, 2014 19:42:33 GMT -5
Alright, finally getting a chance to discuss my thoughts on the album with everybody.
I liked John the moment I heard ‘Love Me Again’ for the first time, but admittedly never really gave much thought to listening to his debut album in full until PAC. I figured I would give it a whirl at the gym/at my desk working on things as background music but some of the songs had me hooked. The album starts with ‘Tribute’ and like most of the others who have posted their opinion, the intro is fantastic. Great way to hook the listener in. That being said, the title-track left me wanting a bit more. I didn’t think it was anything too outstanding and while I do think it was a really great way to set up the rest of the album sonically and thematically, it did leave me feeling a bit duped for some reason. ‘Love Me Again’, as stated, is fantastic and is an album highlight but once I got to ‘Losing Sleep’ I was really starting to feel something for this album. I am enamored with this song. I have honestly listened to it dozens of times and have even learned it on the piano acoustically. The song just speaks to me on so many different sort of levels. The tiny “hey’s” in the chorus, the production, I love every detail and his voice breaks you when you listen to it. You can feel the despair he is feeling about losing his lover. Really emotional. Definitely head and shoulders above a relatively strong debut album.
After that, it started to drag the tiniest bit for me. While the production is A+ and John can sing for days, there was something missing in the next slew of songs for me. ‘Easy’ left me bored and wanting more, ‘Try’ was good but the chanting background vocals that were sprinkled throughout the song bothered me, and I felt that ‘Out Of My Head’ has the potential to really go somewhere but never did. ‘Cheating’ started getting the album back on track though. ‘Gold Dust’ was great and I loved the high pitched vocal sample they used in the back and I found ‘Goodnight Goodbye’ to be extremely passionate. I didn’t like ‘All I Need Is You’ at all and I hated his pronunciation of “you” that he used throughout the song. Fortunately, the album closer, ‘Down the Line’, was the perfect choice. It was one of two songs I downloaded after listening to the album in full. The lyrics are heartbreaking and he sounds great with just a piano and some strings. Sometimes that is all you need. It is what ‘Out Of My Head’ should have been. It gets to that point of no return for me. Perfect.
Overall, this was a really strong debut from a stellar vocalist. While I don’t think the album was full of hit songs, I think that as a whole the album is a strong, cohesive piece of work. The production value of the album was stellar and his vocals are incredibly passionate and soulful. While I do feel as though the album lacked something lyrically, everything else more than made up for it.
Overall: 7/10
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franklin
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Post by franklin on Jan 28, 2014 19:56:03 GMT -5
Fortunately, the album closer, ‘Down the Line’, was the perfect choice. It was one of two songs I downloaded after listening to the album in full. The lyrics are heartbreaking and he sounds great with just a piano and some strings. Sometimes that is all you need. It is what ‘Out Of My Head’ should have been. It gets to that point of no return for me. Perfect. I was actually listening to this album again today at work and wanted to come in here and profess my love for "Down the Line". I agree with everything you said here. I literally must've hit replay 50 times. :'( A perfect, heartbreakingly beautiful song - kind shocked I glossed over it upon my first listen bc this is totally my type of song. Actually while I'm on the subject "Gold Dust" is amazing. After listening to the album more I definitely change my opinion and would say GD and DTL my favorite songs on the album. I still love "Out of My Head" and "Running" tho. I really hope "Gold Dust" is a single, I feel like it could be huge for him… potentially bigger than Love Me Again imo |
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Hefty Hanna
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Post by Hefty Hanna on Jan 28, 2014 19:59:20 GMT -5
Fortunately, the album closer, ‘Down the Line’, was the perfect choice. It was one of two songs I downloaded after listening to the album in full. The lyrics are heartbreaking and he sounds great with just a piano and some strings. Sometimes that is all you need. It is what ‘Out Of My Head’ should have been. It gets to that point of no return for me. Perfect. I was actually listening to this album again today at work and wanted to come in here and profess my love for "Down the Line". I agree with everything you said here. I literally must've hit replay 50 times. :'( A perfect, heartbreakingly beautiful song - kind shocked I glossed over it upon my first listen bc this is totally my type of song. Actually while I'm on the subject "Gold Dust" is amazing. After listening to the album more I definitely change my opinion and would say GD and DTL my favorite songs on the album. I still love "Out of My Head" and "Running" tho. I really hope "Gold Dust" is a single, I feel like it could be huge for him… potentially bigger than Love Me Again imo I rated 'Gold Dust' a 9/10 while listening, so it was in my Top 4. Really fantastic. I still want 'Losing Sleep' to be a single at some point, I think that song is absolutely perfect, but I can see the appeal in 'Gold Dust' for sure. It packs that punch. Edit: just bought that one too. |
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franklin
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Post by franklin on Jan 28, 2014 20:15:27 GMT -5
I was actually listening to this album again today at work and wanted to come in here and profess my love for "Down the Line". I agree with everything you said here. I literally must've hit replay 50 times. :'( A perfect, heartbreakingly beautiful song - kind shocked I glossed over it upon my first listen bc this is totally my type of song. Actually while I'm on the subject "Gold Dust" is amazing. After listening to the album more I definitely change my opinion and would say GD and DTL my favorite songs on the album. I still love "Out of My Head" and "Running" tho. I really hope "Gold Dust" is a single, I feel like it could be huge for him… potentially bigger than Love Me Again imo I rated 'Gold Dust' a 9/10 while listening, so it was in my Top 4. Really fantastic. I still want 'Losing Sleep' to be a single at some point, I think that song is absolutely perfect, but I can see the appeal in 'Gold Dust' for sure. It packs that punch. Edit: just bought that one too. I would be fine with "Losing Sleep" as a single - it would probably a safer choice (despite lacking the punch of Gold Dust"), it sounds like an Adele/Emeli Sandé baby w/ better production |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 19:27:35 GMT -5
I bought Love Me Again when it was free as iTunes's single of the week a few months ago. I except John Newman to be a hit wonder in the US. Overall I liked the album. The only issue is that a lot of him songs sound kinda similar. (This is the case in most artist's albums to be quite honest.)
Overall an 6.5/10
btw, my scoring system is kinda weird
0 = worst thing I've heard in my life
1 = absolutely horrible
2 = this is really bad
3 = bad
4 = kinda don't like it
5 = ok
6 = I like it
7 = good
8 = great
9 = amazing
10 = best thing I've heard in my life
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Feb 5, 2014 17:40:54 GMT -5
I've been meaning to get this CD at HMV but I haven't had a chance to get to it yet. I have like 4 CDs I want to buy and this is one of them. I will do my review when I get it... late or not.
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Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Feb 23, 2014 12:15:45 GMT -5
I'm sorry I'm so late with this album but I finally finished my review of it. www.themaxonline.net/2014/02/23/john-newman-tribute/To add to my review, which to sum up, I basically said that the album cover and his image really threw me off. I think he's a fantastic singer and the album is easy to get into if his voice doesn't turn you off right away. The difficulty of the album is that there isn't a ton of variation between most of the songs but he has his style and he definitely owns it. I really like how the album starts out with his listing of his inspirations. It's so simple but it's so well done and you know it's leading up to something big. I think Tribute is an awesome song. I notice about the album, which is mostly about heartbreak and heartache, that he seems to internalize a lot of the blame or at least doesn't ever say anything about his love interests. Going back to my impression of him before hearing his music, I have a feeling that he has more demons Probably nothing *too serious* but I think he has low self esteem and probably doesn't have many people he's particularly close with. When he gets confident enough in his songwriting, I can see his subject matter expanding to other areas on future albums. This is a solid album though. |
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