Though most people are unaware, A-Ha have been putting out albums quite consistantly since they broke into the scene in the 80\'s with their hit \"Take On Me\" which still defines them. Though their debut album acutally was worth the hype it recieved, it doesnt necessarily give an outsider an understanding of where the band is at now. The band failed to hang on to the momentum of their debut \"Hunting high And Low\", and by the third album \"Stay On These Roads\" it seemed they would truely dissapear into the one-hit wonders bin of the 80\'s. Yet, they re-amerged a few years later and traded the synth pop sound for something a bit more contemporary. The lead of single was the cover version of \"Crying in the Rain\". The Everly Brothers themselves commended the band for such a moving rendition of their song. Yet, people still seemed uninterested. A-Ha followed that with \"Memorial Beach\" and again showed a growing maturity in both their songwriting skills and production. Did anyone notice? Sadly, no. Then the band took a 7 year hiatus and returned in the new millenium with \"Minor Earth Major Sky\" and again, moved a great leap forward in defining their new sound. The most powerful force in their sound being Morton\'s instantly recognizable voice, also stood the test of time amazingly well. Still, no one in the Western world noticed. By this time A-ha has given up touring or even releasing albums here and this unfortunatly is when they begin to produce their best work. 2002\'s \"Lifelines\" was maybe 2-3 songs too long, but a great feat. Utilizing a few different producers it achieved a slick and modern sound overall. And now in 2005 we have Analogue. After repeated listens, I can safely say that A-ha has given us the strongest and most accomplished album of their long (if under-rated) career. Opening with the lead single \"Celice\", the album starts off strong. In fact the first 5 songs are all immediate winners. Strong melodies, great production and again, Mortons\' fantastic vocals. The second half of the album, beginning with \"Halfway through the Tour\" things dont go wrong, but they get a bit mellower. It\'s the last half of the album which will grow on you over a bit of time, until your left realizing what a great album overall it is. Will anyone over here get to hear it? Probably not. Should you do what you can to find it? Certainly!

If the Depeche crew had set out to create something completely different than the crisp minimal sounds of Exciter, they definately succeeded. "Playing The Angel" is darker and heavier as a whole than any album they've put out. Gone is the minimalism of both last albums "Ultra" and "Exciter". The sounds here are crunchy and heavily layered with live bass, guitars, analogue synths and drums. Starting things off with an ear splitting squeal in "A Pain That Im Used To" they let us know straight away that isnt going to be an 'easy-listening' cd. That's not to say it's short on melody however. Songs like "suffer well" and "Lilian" are catchy upon first listen, and have a great vintage-mode sound to them. The album as a whole has hints of 85-88 Mode with some heavy dashes of SOFAD thrown in. Those hoping for a pop gem like "Enjoy the silence" will not find it here. This is a much more aggressive and challenging listen. Which in the end moves Depeche Mode forward in their impressive catologue of LP's.

In the early days, before remixing became mainstream bands like Duran Duran would have to get a bit inventive. Instead of hiring producers to rip apart their songs and rebuild them as dancefloor friendly gems, Duran would actually re-record the whole song live with new musical bits. This worked incredibly well on songs like "Planet Earth", "Girls On Film" and "Hungry Like The Wolf". The first disc of this 2-disc set focuses on the bands finer moments and is also available in another collection entitled "Essential Duran Duran". I'm recommending sticking to "Essential" to hear the great moments and spare yourself the embarrassment of happened after that. It's not as if all Duran Duran's material after "Wild Boys" was bad. Each album has had it's share of masterful pop, unfortunately they werent usually remixed all too well. The second disc sounds terribly dated. Even more so then Disc 1 which is of much earlier material. Perhaps they handed their songs to the wrong people or perhaps the remix world is a place where Duran just don't belong. Whatever the reason mixes of "Love Voodoo", "Meet el Presidente" and "Come Undone" all seem to slaughter the originals. The mixes of "Violence of Summer" and "All She Wants Is" hold up the best, but that's only 2 tracks amidst a whole lot of filler.

Depeche Mode have been going strong for a long time. Ever since their 1986 album "Black Celebration" each album seemed to be more and more consistant, gaining them a larger fanbase with every release. Even after member and musician/producer extraordinaire Alan Wilder took off, Depeche released "Ultra" which gave fans confidence that Depeche were still capable of great things. "Exciter" then proves to be the bands first 'weak' album to halt their forward momentum. The biggest problem here is the production which was handed over to Mark Bell, famous for his work with Bjork. Taking a minimalist approach which was successful on the "Ultra" album, here it doesnt pan out so well. Some of the blame however must go to Martin's songs. With lyrics like "It's the dark night of my soul, and temptations taking hold, but through the pain and the suffering, through the heartache and trembling" from "I Feel Loved", Martin sounds as if he's trying to be dark out of obligation rather than inspiration. "I Feel Loved" oddly enough is probably the strongest and most 'Depeche' sounding song on here with its deep bass pulses and retro-synth lines. The first single "Dream On" is also quite strong, incorporating a great guitar hook and some nice vocal harmonizing by Dave and Martin. Sadly, these great moments are few and far between. Martin's two songs he sings himself are terribly weak and his "Breathe" is almost laughable. "Freelove" is simple and pure Depeche though I cant help but feel it would have sounded better if sung by Martin and had a fuller musical arrangement. Let's face it, Depeche have always had songs with simple lyrics and almost monotone melodies. It was the incorporation of strong musical arrangements that brought these songs out so well in the past. Now, with weaker songs and weaker production...what are you left with? Nothing too exciting. As an add on, I must say though that Dave's voice sounds superb in the lovely "Shine". When the material is there, they can still make it work.

I suppose everyone is entitled to a few mistakes in their careers. Lenny's first came in the form of "Circus" and his second is "Baptism". But for some reason, it's even scarier this time. When "Circus" was released and failed to get the critic and fan approval his albums usually recieve no one really thought it was over. And it wasnt. the follow-ups "5" and "Lenny" saw him rebuild his name and offered us some great rockin tracks. Now we have "Baptism". I say its 'scarier' now because Lenny's now 7 albums in and what if he just can't write those strong soaring songs he used to? If he can did he just decide not to this time around? I find that hard to believe, yet this album is lacking in much to grab onto. Coming out at the beginning of Summer 2004 I was expecting this to be my 'Summer Album'. Although the tracks "California" and "Where Are We Running?" nicely fit the bill of 'Summer Anthems' they sadly are the only two on here and are both just over 2 minutes long. A couple other tracks are mediocre, like "Flash" and "Lady" (which was beaten over our heads in a cheezy GAP ad). But even they lack the rich production that Lenny has been getting better and better at. With "Baptism" he takes a few steps in the wrong direction. Re-treading the mistakes he made on Circus and making me fear that the best of Lenny has come and gone. I do pray I'm wrong.