Train - Bulletproof Picasso Review #Bulletproof Picasso #O2O

No compensation was received for this post. I participated in the Train Bulletproof Picasso album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided a free album to review but all opinions are my own.

The Grammy award winning band Train is releasing their 7th album, Bulletproof Picasso on September 16th.

This San Francisco based group is best know for hits like "Hey Soul Sister" and "Drops of Jupiter". And you may have already heard the first single from the new album, "Angel in Blue Jeans", on the radio.


I have had the opportunity to listen to a review copy of the album over the past week. I already was familiar with Angel in Blue Jeans (didn't know I was familiar until the first time through the album) and have really enjoyed listening to the album. I find that several of the tracks are very catchy and I find myself singing and dancing along in the car (the dancing is somewhat subdued, as I am buckled in and driving - maybe more of a steering wheel tapping).

The other day, my son had been riding in my car and I had on the album. Then later we went out in my husband's car and we put on the album so that my husband could check it out. When the song came on that had been playing in my car earlier, my son remarked I know this song. Of course, since it wasn't the first single, it helped confirm just how catchy the songs were.

I think my four favorite tunes (in no particular order) are - Bulletproof Picasso, Angel in Blue Jeans, Wonder What You're Doing For The Rest Of Your Life and Just A Memory.

Tracklisting for Bulletproof Picasso:
1. Cadillac, Cadillac
2. Bulletproof Picasso
3. Angel In Blue Jeans
4. Give It All
5. Wonder What You're Doing For The Rest Of Your Life
6. Son Of A Prison Guard
7. Just A Memory
8. I'm Drinkin' Tonight
9. I Will Remember
10. The Bridge
11. Baby, Happy Birthday
12. Don't Grow Up So Fast

You can preorder your copy on iTunes and Amazon.

You can also find Train here:
* Official Train Website
* Twitter
* YouTube
* Facebook

No compensation was received for this post. I participated in the Train Bulletproof Picasso album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided a free album to review but all opinions are my own.

Court Yard Hounds Amelita review *

*No compensation was received for this post. A complimentary review copy of the album was provided. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

You may know Emily Robison and Martie Maguire as two-thirds of Dixie Chicks. Well, after a few years away from the limelight, these real-life sisters have found harmony by collaborating as Court Yard Hounds.

There are plenty of country-pop, fiddlin' folk, banjo-twangin' summery hooks in the songbook. Oh, and Emily and Martie can play more instruments than you can count on two hands. No big deal!

Along with the release of Amelita, Court Yard Hounds are set to embark on a US tour, kicking off with Lollapalooza in August. The first single off the album, "Sunshine", is available now.

I don't know about you, but I generally need to listen to a song a few times before I can form an opinion. With Amelita, which I have been listening to for about a week now, there were a couple of songs that jumped out at me right away and several others that I have really started to enjoy after a couple of listens. My daughter is even humming along in the backseat, and usually the first thing she asks when she doesn't know a song is "can you put on MY music?".

I really like the sarcasm in the song Sunshine. They have a friend that seems to be able to rain on everyone's parade and really bring down a perfect day, so they call them Sunshine. The best part is that we all know "Sunshine", we all have people in our lives who are so down on everything and they seem to try to bring you down too. The easy to relate to subject and the catchy tune make this an enjoyable song for me.

Another tune that I find myself humming to myself as I walk between meetings is The World Smiles. The song is about about keeping a positive attitude and believing in the good all around you. As an optimist, I certainly believe in finding the good in everything, so I really like the message in this song. Plus, there is just something about the different instrumental sounds included in the song, that really draws me in and leaves me humming along with the song and even when it's not on. In fact, as I type this, I can't help but sing it in my head.

Amelita Track Listing:

Sunshine
Amelita
The World Smiles
Aimless Upward
Guy Like You
Rock All Night
Phoebe
Divided
Gets You Down
Watch Your Step
The Road You Take

You can buy the album on Amazon or iTunes.

No compensation was received for this review. A complimentary review copy was provided through One2One. By completing a review, I am entered into a drawing. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Rod Stewart - Time *

* complimentary review copy provided for this review.

When I was back in high school (it really scares me a little when I consider how long ago it was now), I was very active in the church youth group. Every summer they would hold a large retreat at a nearby university. Each year, there was a theme for the retreat - based on a recent song. One of the years, the theme song was 'Forever Young', by Rod Stewart.

Much like that powerful ballad from the late 80s, the songs that are part of his just released (on May 7th) album Time have powerful lyrics. Many of the songs share the stories of his life and reflection on his life.

Rod Stewart has spent four decades being a rock star, three being a parent, and has a new album's worth of rollicking stories to tell. Time is his first album of new material in almost 20 years (and his hairstyle hasn't changed one bit!). The album was born from a burst of inspiration that came while Rod was reviewing his life for his recent memoir. Rod rediscovered his voice as a songwriter and rekindled his gift for writing the honest, nerve-touching narratives that have been the cornerstone to the first three decades of his career. 'Suddenly ideas for lyrics were piling up in my head,' he says. 'Next thing I knew, I had a song called 'It's Over' about divorce and separation. And now I was getting up in the middle of the night and scrambling for a pen to write things down, which has never happened to me. I finished seven or eight songs very quickly and I still wasn't done, and it became apparent that I would eventually have a whole album of material to record.'

Time Track Listing:
1. She Makes Me Happy
2. Can’t Stop Me Now
3. It’s Over
4. Brighton Beach
5. Beautiful Morning
6. Live The Life
7. Finest Woman
8. Time
9. Picture In A Frame
10. Sexual Religion
11. Make Love To Me Tonight
12. Pure Love


I really enjoyed listening to the album and the songs felt so familiar to me that there were even points where I was questioning if it was a song I had heard before, but only one was not an original song - Picture in a Frame. The liner notes features all of the lyrics and a few pictures - I love this, call me old-fashioned, but that was always one of my favorite features in an album, cassette or CD - the lyrics. I had three favorite songs - Can't Stop Me Now, Beautiful Morning and Time. I think of all the songs, Time was the most familiar sounding to me...it says though that it was copyright 2013 and it isn't the first single that was released...so I can't really explain why it was so familiar.

You can purchase a copy of the CD through Amazon or pick up the MP3 version (you'll miss out on the liner notes though).

Rod Stewart’s links:
Website: www.rodstewart.com
Twitter: @rodstewart
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rodstewart
YouTube: www.youtube.com/rodstewart

No compensation was received for this post. I participated in this campaign for One2One Network, who provided some information for the post. I received a free copy of the album to facilitate my review. By posting, I am entered into a giveaway. All opinions stated are my own or that of my family.

Michael Bublé - To Be Loved #ToBeLoved *

* complimentary review copy provided for this review.

For the past few months, I have been taking several workout classes at the Y and am fortunate to have a wonderful instructor...in fact, I have the same instructor 5 days a week for three different classes - spinning, boot camp and toning. For spinning she has a set play list, based on the workout of the day, but with boot camp and toning, she just has the music playing in the background and it seems, just plays whatever is in her library. The other day, we were in the midst of rotating between several very challenging stations in a circuit workout and the tempo of the music shifted...we had gone from 80's Hair Metal to Michael Bublé's 'Ave Maria'. One of the women in the class called out, definitely great music, not great workout music though - and the instructor switched to another song. The following day, in spinning, we were talking about the song when it came on during cool down. We all agreed that Michael Bublé has an amazing voice (and is nice to look at too!) and that we all love his music and how his Christmas album is a definite must have.



His amazing voice really shines on his newest album - To Be Loved. I recently had a chance to check out a review copy of his album and I really enjoyed it. There are four original songs and 10 cover songs. I love that when he does covers, that they range from the classics to things that I consider to be more 'current', like the BeeGees 'To Love Somebody'. Several songs feature other artists, including Bryan Adams on the original song 'After All' and even Reese Witherspoon on 'Something Stupid', a Nancy and Frank Sinatra cover.

You likely have heard the first single, an original tune, co-written by Michael Bublé, called 'It's a Beautiful Day'. I really enjoy the song which has a cheerful tune, although, I guess I haven't really listened closely to the lyrics before now, because I just read on his webpage that he considers it an 'anti-love song', a kind of revenge song. After listening closely, it is clear that the song is about a former relationship that she ends, because she just wants to be friends and he has an 'I don't care' attitude and won't spend his time thinking about the break-up. The good thing is that one of his other songs is a love song, a love song for the women in his life - his wife, his mother, his grandmother. "These are good times for the singer, who is about to become a first-time dad. He sounds like a man in love with life. "I wrote Close Your Eyes about my wife and about the power of all the women in my life—my sisters, my mom, my grandma and all women in general. Let’s face it, where would we be without them?"

The performance of the songs on the album is definitely great, he has an awesome voice. Some of the songs are slower, but the album would make a great back drop at a dinner or an evening with friends or just relaxing with my husband.

You can pick up a copy of the album at Amazon or iTunes or at a local retailer.

No compensation was received for this post. I participated in this campaign for One2One Network, who provided some information for the post. I received a free copy of the album to facilitate my review. By posting, I am entered into a giveaway. All opinions stated are my own or that of my family.