The Divine Comedy "Regeneration" (2001)

Regeneration
release date: Mar. 12, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Nigel Godrich
label: Parlophone Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Timestretched" - 2. "Bad Ambassador" - 3. "Perfect Lovesong" - 5. "Lost Property" - 7. "Love What You Do" - 8. "Dumb It Down" - 11. "The Beauty Regime"

7th studio album by The Divine Comedy with producer Nigel Godrich. All the previous albums have all been released on the smaller Setanta label but Hannon has now signed with a major label, EMI Records and releases through its sub-label, Parlophone Records. This is often referred to as Hannon's darkest album and his OK Computer Radiohead album. Well, it doesn't contain the normal amount of pure croon of baroque pop revival, or Scott Walker influenced ballads and does have a more art pop / rock style, which may be his closest release to Radiohead BUT it's still very much an original Neil Hannon fabricated album with great songs. It may just take more time to appreciate the single tracks.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Mogwai "Rock Action" (2001)

Rock Action

release date: Apr. 2001

format: digital (8 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]

producer: Dave Fridmann

label: [PIAS] Recordings - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Sine Wave" - 2. "Take Me Somewhere Nice" - 4. "Dial: Revenge" - 5. "You Don't Know Jesus" - 7. "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong"

3rd studio album by Mogwai with its title from the band's own label Rock Action Records (established in 1996) following two years after Come on Die Young sees the band embracing synthesizers and a more electronically-founded sound without losing touch with their beginnings with electric guitars, which in a way links this album with the bands more recent material. It contains 8 compositions with a total running time at just over 38 minutes making it one of the band's shortest full-length albums.

Rock Action is well-produced and the songs are rich in tone and colour making it one of the bands more varied albums.

[ bandcamp ]

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, The Guardian, Q Magazine, NME, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Jensen "One Fine Day" (2001)

One Fine Day [debut]

release date: Mar. 2001

format: cd

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]

producer: Kasper Winding

label: Virgin Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "One Fine Day" - 2. "When You Smile" - 5. "Spring" - 6. "In Between"

Studio solo debut by Allan (Bondo) Jensen former vocalist of Gangway with an album released under the name of Jensen. The album is produced by Kasper Winding who also produced the final album by Gangway: That's Life (Sep. 1996). All eleven songs are credited Jensen - which is mildly surprising as he except from two to three songs exclusively delivered vocal throughout the discography of Gangway, and producer Winding is additionally (only) credited engineering and some backing vocals. The album has a total running time of 40 minutes.

Stylewise, it doesn't fall far from what Gangway delivered on their '96 album - with less focus on electronica and synthpop it's more of a softer version of contemporary pop with focus on melodic harmonies, and then the lyrics are all without the ironic tone that always stuck to the lyrics by Henrik Balling.

The title track, which was picked as promotional single, experienced some airplay, and that's also the best track on an album that mostly places itself in an anonymous corner without intentions to stir up anything, except perhaps good vibes. The album cover art - front, back, and tray - underlines the positivity of Jensen's mood: it's all about smiles, sunny weather and being happy all over.

After a good start the album soon comes to a stand-still and never really reveal anything but intentions to spread universal happiness via sugary arrangements and Jensen's expressionless vocal topping generic pop songs of little originality.

Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari' "Shake" (2001)

Shake (Italian version)
release date: Sep. 14, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Corrado Rustici
label: Polydor - nationality: Italy

Track highlights: 1. "Sento le campane" - 4. "Ali d'oro (with John Lee Hooker)" - 5. "Ahum" - 6. "Scintille" - 7. "Baila Sexy Thing" - 8. "Dindondio" - 10. "Shake"

9th studio album by Zucchero is released by 'Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari' and it follows three years after his most recent studio album BlueSugar. In '99 Polydor released the compilation Overdose (d'amore / The Ballads with a mix of Italian and English-versioned ballads. Shake doesn't signal big changes to the formula. The album is released on the same label he has been with since his debut, and it's his sixth consecutive (seventh so far) to be produced by Rustici. The international version comes with six translated songs out of a total of eleven compositions and it also has a different running order (also a Spanish / Mexican and a US bonus track version was released).
The album seems like a pumped up pop / rock release, which points in too many directions. Predominantly, it has fast blues rock tracks and slow ballads, and then it contains pop soul and a relatively new addition to his repertoire: dance pop or: italo pop compositions. Ultimately, it turns out as a show-off thing to satisfy a broader international audience. The track "Ali d'oro" with John Lee Hooker was Hooker's last studio recording before his death (Jun. 2001).
The album is not really bad. Zucchero is too fine an artist to make nonsense and he is a remarkable songwriter with a nose for song structure. The downside to it is that it mostly sounds like Zucchero on cruise control. He wants to make a new album - he starts the engine and swings the bus on to the motorway where he swims like a fish in familiar waters. It may not impose too many speculations - he knows this ballgame, and it you get what you get: a new bunch of swinging Zucchero, which is not the same as brand new material. He lends, borrows and steals from his own back catalogue. The manager doesn't mind, the fans don't mind, so why care? The album is Zucchero's sixths consecutive number #1 album in Italy, it's his second to top the charts in Switzerland, and it's his album that has spawned the largest number of single releases with six selected songs (tracks #7, #5, #8, #1, #9 and #6) (something he would copy with albums released in 2016 and in 2019). The first single (track #7) is his so far only second single to top the charts in Italy, and it was made in various other versions: one "Baila Morena" featuring the Mexican band Maná topped the charts in France in 2006.
So, in terms of sold copies and exposure, Shake is definitely another grand success of his, so why change anything? Well, fans who look for artistic and musical nuances may not be overwhelmed. I guess, Zucchero cares but also thinks he will do what he feels is the right thing to do. I'm not overly enthusiastic about his recent albums and direction but I must admit that he continues to spit out delicious compositions. However my luke-warm enthusiasm for his recent works, Shake is admittedly another fine album, and I truly prefer any album by this man to the most recent musical direction by artists like Bowie, Depeche Mode or U2 - any day, but that remains a complete other story.
I cannot hand this my warmest recomendation - and for a first purchase with his music I will instead gladly direct anyone to his earlier works, which still dominate his 'best of' releases anyway.
Note: The front cover is identical for the various versions. It comes with two dedications: 'Dedicated to Mr. John Lee Hooker' and with: 'In Memory of Angiolino Figliè'.

The Durutti Column "Rebellion" (2001)

Rebellion
release date: Aug. 14, 2001
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "4 Sophia" (4 / 5) - 2. "Longsight Romance" (3 / 5) - 3. "Geh Cak Af En Yam" - 4. "The Feilds of Athenry" - 5. "Overlord Part One" - 6. "Falling" (3,5 / 5) - 7. "Voluntary Arrangement" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "Mello Part One" (3,5 / 5) - 9. "Mello Part Two" (3 / 5) - 10. "Protest Song" - 11. "Meschugana"

12th studio album by The Durutti Column released on Artful Records and the major classical label Decca Records, and is produced by Keir Stewart. Percussionist Bruce Mitchell appears on the release, almost as usual, only this time he has contributed as composer with Reilly on two tracks (#3, #11). The album shows a return to his trademark of ambient experimental art rock with both a classical and jazz feel, and gone is the new found indie pop style and the many years of experiments with house and electronic is put in the background. This is one of Reilly's better releases almost touching his finest hours of the 1980s.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Natalie Merchant "Motherland" (2001)

Motherland
release date: Nov. 12, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]
producer: Natalie Merchant, T-Bone Burnett
label: Elektra Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "This House Is on Fire" (4 / 5) - 2. "Motherland" - 4. "Put the Law on You" - 5. "Build a Levee" - 8. "The Worst Thing" (live) - 9. "Tell Yourself" (4,5 / 5) (live) - 10. "Just Can't Last" - 11. "Not in This Life"

3rd studio album by Natalie Merchant, co-produced by T-Bone Burnett, her last release on Elektra Records may not reflect big changes in her repertoire as it's primarily a singer / songwriter and folk release with focus on everyday-life existence. In a note Merchant dedicates the 12 track album to the victims of the recent 9/11 tragedy, but the album was made and recorded before the incident.
At first, I found this much in her usual style, and thought of it somewhere in between Tigerlily and Ophelia, but in a matter of months I came to see it as a major work - the songs just kept emerging from the album. Now, it may not contain the great uptempo compositions by her former band 10,000 Maniacs and their great In My Tribe or Our Time in Eden - only "Tell Yourself" sounds much like a typical 10,000 Maniacs composition - but I like this one just as much. Perhaps with the aid of Burnett in the production seat they have found room for elements of americana and roots rock, which makes it sound just right. Merchant's voice is almost always great, but here there's a strong inner sincerity brought to the listener, and the emotions are stressed by a strong soulful approach - there's a tone of blues and soul one hasn't heard on her albums before, which adds an extra layer of dynamics to the songs.
Imho, this the best solo album by Merchant and as such highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Mojo and Uncut 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

2001 Favourite releases: 1. Björk Vespertine - 2. Nathalie Merchant Motherland - 3. Rammstein Mutter

Best of 2001:Björk "Vespertine" (2001)

Vespertine
release date: Aug. 27, 2001
format: cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,32]
producer: Björk
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Hidden Place" (4 / 5) - 2. "Cocoon" - 3. "It's Not Up to You" (5 / 5) (live) - 4. "Undo" (live) - 5. "Pagan Poetry" - 7. "Aurora" (4 / 5) - 10. "Heirloom" - 12. "Unison" (4,5 / 5)

4th studio album by Björk following four years after Homogenic (Aug. 1997) is primarily produced by Björk and is originally released by One Little Indian. Before this she released the soundtrack album Selmasongs (2000), an album with (reworked) songs from the musical film "Dancer in the Dark" starring Björk and directed by Lars von Trier.
Vespertine marks a new change of style with the addition of ambient and glitch pop. A move from trip hop towards glitch pop may not be the biggest imaginable leap, but with the album, Björk introduces a completely different sound compared to any of her previous releases. It's an album with much less focus on electronic beats and a bolder organic sound filled with strings and vocal harmonies.
I've always enjoyed this album and think of it as possibly her biggest accomplishment.
Vespertine is the second album by Björk to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, NME, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars ]

2001 Favourite releases: 1. Björk Vespertine - 2. Nathalie Merchant Motherland - 3. Rammstein Mutter

Red House Painters "Old Ramon" (2001)

Old Ramon

release date: Apr. 10, 2001
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: Sub Pop Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "Byrd Joel" - 3. "Void" - 4. "Between Days" (4 / 5) - 5. "Cruiser" (4 / 5) - 6. "Michigan" - 7. "River" - 8. "Smokey" - 10. "Kavita"

6th and final studio album by Red House Painters follows almost five full years after Songs for a Blue Guitar (Jul 1996). Since that, the band has gone through a fase where Mark Kozelek was only performing member to this new line-up after guitarist Gordon Mack had already left the band in 1995, and the album is actually released after Kozelek had already issued his first solo ep Rock 'n' Roll Singer (Jun. 2000) and his first full-length solo album What's Next to the Moon (Jan. 2001) but Red House Painters is not yet a burried project. On Old Ramon, the band consists of founding member, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Mark Kozelek, new guitarist Phil Carney (former guitarist of Indian Bingo), and a return to the band's rhythm section made up by bassist Jerry Vessel and drummer Anthony Koutsos.

The releative long timespan in between albums is not only a matter of reconstructing the band anew as this had actually been recorded three years earlier, however, due to a merging of labels, the band essentially found itself without a legal record contract, and it wasn't until Mark Kozelek succeeded in purchasing the recordings of the album that he managed to finally release it on the American label, Sub Pop. All tracks are credited Kozelek and they're typical of his style a combination of alt. folk, indie rock, and singer / songwriter with bonds to American folk traditions.

Some tracks and parts of the overall sound tend to point to what was to become one of Kozelek's most praised albums - also my personal favourite by Kozelek - the Sun Kil Moon debut Ghosts of the Great Highway (Nov. 2003). As a Red House Painter's album this appears as quite light-hearted and electrified.

Red House Painters dissolved at some point following the album release, and then Kozelek more or less morphed the remains into a new band with primarily Kozelek but also with Vessel and Koutsos taking part in the formation of Sun Kil Moon - later Carney would also be included before it would turn into a Kozelek solo-project.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, NME 4 / 5 stars ]

Mark Kozelek "What's Next to the Moon" (2001)

What's Next to the Moon [debut]
release date: Feb. 27, 2001
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: Badman Recording Co. - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Up to My Neck in You" - 2. "Love at First Feel" - 3. "Love Hungry Man" - 4. "Bad Boy Boogie" - 5. "What's Next to the Moon" - 6. "Walk All Over You" - 7. "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me" (4 / 5) - 8. "If You Want Blood" - 9. "Riff Raff" - 10. "Rock 'n' Roll Singer"

Full-length solo album debut by Mark Kozelek released on Badman Recording Co. His ep-debut Rock 'n' Roll Singer from 2000 contained three of his own songs alongside three AC/DC covers (tracks #4, #7, #10) found on this, but this entire collection of songs are ALL originally credited Australian heavy rock band AC/DC. Undoubtedly, Kozelek has managed to re-arrange and to transform these covers into a completely different stylistic setting, and he manages to make these his own, and some are simply wonderful re-arranged compositions. It's fine and good, and not really great.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Tom Waits "Used Songs (1973-1980)" (2001)

Used Songs (1973-1980) (compilation)
relase date: Oct. 23, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Bones Howe
label: Elektra / Rhino / Warner - nationality: USA

16-track best of compilation by Tom Waits, basically containing some of his best-known songs from the first seven albums of the 70s - all compositions from his time at Asylum Records.

It is of course an almost impossible task to select this man's best tracks for a single CD release, as he has simply made so many worthy songs, but what is equally important: he has released entire albums of classic material that should be seen in context, and yet... for people who don't know his entire repertoire, this might be a good place to start.

Personally, I would undoubtedly have chosen other songs from this period, and I'm really surprised that only a single track has been selected from his first two albums, only two from Small Change (1976), whereas a less significant album like Foreign Affairs (1977) might boast of having as many as four tracks represented. And then all the tracks from the seven albums are scattered across the album in what looks like random order - starting with the title track from his final album on Asylum Heartattack and Vine (1980) and ending with his classic "Tom Traubert's Blues" from Small Change. Despite these slightly annoying decisions about the album, it can't take away the feeling of being a mighty fine collection.

PowerSolo "Lemon Half Moon" (2001)

Lemon Half Moon [debut]
release date: 2001
format: cd (ESP 998-2)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,52]
producer: Kim Kix (aka Kim Jeppesen)
label: E.S.P. Recordings - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "I Know a Game" - 4. "Kat Nazer" (live) - 14. "Eing Eing Eing"

Studio debut album by PowerSolo consisting of Kim Hjort Jeppesen (aka Kim Kix) on vocals and guitar, his brother Bo Hjort Jeppesen (aka Atomic Child, aka Atombarnet) on guitars and backing vocals, and with Jens Søndergaard (aka Chief Benz, aka JC Benz) on drums.
This is really like nothing else. The trio mix all (like in: ALL) kind of genres and musical styles to whatever it is they play. The most recognised styles here are psychobilly, punk rock, country rock, blues rock, psychedelic rock, new wave, industrial and no wave. Despite the huge pot of styles, it's highly energetic and full of humour. The lyrics often include a lot of swearing, sexual references, and are mostly about life... as such. Work, sex, addiction, relationships, moral, love, women, cats, sex, alcohol, music, ignorance, and... sex. Well, this is not their best. It mostly sound like a lot of recorded jam sessions under the influence of some form of stimuli.

Astrud Gilberto "Astrud Gilberto's Finest Hour" (2001)

Astrud Gilberto's Finest Hour (compilation)
release date: May 15, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

A best of compilation album by Astrud Gilberto. The album consists of 20 tracks, and it comprises her best bossa nova and vocal jazz performances including her works with Walter Wanderley Trio, Stan Getz, (husband) Joaõ Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim, as well as her better tracks into standards and easy listening.
This is a fine collection.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5 stars ]

John Mayer "Room for Squares" (2001)

Room for Squares
release date: Jun. 5, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: John Alagia
label: Aware / Columbia - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "No Such Thing" - 2. "Why Georgia" - 3. "My Stupid Mouth" - 4. "Your Body Is a Wonderland" - 5. "Neon" - 6. "City Love" - 9. "Love Song for No One" - 10. "Back to You" - 14. "St. Patrick's Day"

Full length studio album debut by John Mayer contains four previously released tracks from his debut ep Inside Wants Out (1999), although most of these have been altered considerably to fit the overall pop / rock sound on this.
Where Inside Wants Out had Mayer standing with one foot on slick pop soil and the other on traditional folk ground, this album is a homogeneously sounding pop / rock album through and through.
Now, I'm not saying this is my favourite Mayer album but what it does really well is presenting a whole. All songs here are produced as pop / rock tunes without any edges - it's rock music that could be played at any school or retirement home without stirring things up. And yeah, Sinatra and Charles would do just that too, but they have other qualities. Mayer, a young talented singer and songwriter with his feet planted in blues rock (Hendrix) and paid tribute to jazz on his previous release simply owes more than this to the world of music. And no, it's not bad! It's just so damn slick and each song sound as the previous. At some point you end up thinking "now isn't this, this or that song?" And after a few listens I concede that it's mighty fine but... just too damn honey-drooling for my liking.
Regardless my liking it really contains many fine tracks. I just need to be in the right mood.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone and Slant 4 / 5, Blender 3 / 5 stars ]

Röyksopp "Melody A.M." (2001)

Melody A.M. [debut]
release date: Oct. 2001
format: 2 cd (LTD.)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]
producer: Röyksopp
label: Wall of Sound - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: 1. "So Easy" - 2. "Eple" - 4. "In Space" - 5. "Poor Leno" - 8. "Remind Me"

Studio album debut by Norwegian duo Röyksopp consisting of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland is electronic downbeat with a certain ambient touch. It bears traces from a big mix of various influences where one will find reverberations from 1960s pop / rock and 1980s synthpop all fusioned with techno and dance pop of the 90s. Artists like Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre, Art of Noise, Aphex Twin, AIR, Fatboy Slim and Moby sound like obvious inspirational sources.
A few of the ten tracks have a more electropop-founded style, which have brought them wider recognition with various remixes, and this is not all bad. The album went straight to #1 on the national albums chart list, and the single "Eple" reached number #16 in the UK. What seems more vital to the band's popularity is the fact that many of the songs from the album have ended up in various commercial outings - e.g. computer and video games as well as television adds. The album is also enlisted in "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die."
It's an interesting albeit somewhat big scoped soundscape and a debut pointing in truly many directions. The track "Eple" was used as background or signature music in a vast number of tv productions of the early 2000s.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, NME, Blender, Q Magazine, The Guardian 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

The Cranberries "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" (2001)

US cover

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
release date: Oct. 21, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Stephen Street
label: MCA Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Never Grow Old" - 2. "Analyse" (4 / 5) - 3. "Time Is Ticking Out" - 5. "This Is the Day" - 6. "The Concept" - 7. "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" - 9. "I Really Hope" - *14 "Cape Town"
*Bonus track on US issue

5th studio album by The Cranberries is the band's first and only issued on MCA Records, and it's a welcomed return to initial producer Stephen Street. With Benedict Fenner the band had produced the predecessor Bury the Hatchet from 1999, which marked a bit of a return to their original sound and with this new one, they have in a way continued that tour towards their former best moments that are found on the band's first two albums.
Street is the secure and also the right choice for this band. As he was an important part in the stylistic changes with The Smiths, he seems like the gathering figure, who knows the band's strengths - and perhaps even better than the band members themselves. There's a fine balance of energetic rock, spacious keyboard- / synths-founded dream pop and the more guitar-based jangle pop, all of which has to make room for O'Riordans introspective ballads. I think, Fenner also handled that part well on the '99 album, but on To the Faithful Departed from '96, Bruce Fairbairn proved the difficult project as he didn't suffice to adjust the chemistry to ensure a successful balance.
Dolores O'Riordan has taken an even stronger role as primary songwriter on this new studio release. On the band's previous albums most songs were written and composed in a collaboration work with guitarist Noel Hogan - she would then write 3-4 songs entirely on her own and the remaining songs would have lyrics by O'Riordan and music by Hogan. Here, it's basically the reversed way: 5 songs together with Hogan and 8 songs on her own, i.e. on the standard 13 tracks album. Musically, it doesn't shine through at all, but in retrospect it may perhaps indicate what would happen in the near future, as the band would embark on its longest hiatus with O'Riordan, Hogan and Lawler will all dedicate precious time on other projects, which includes two full solo albums by O'Riordan.
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee may be the most overlooked album by The Cranberries, and personally, I think of it as somewhere between the '96 and the '99 album - it's nor their best, nor their worst and is worth more than just a glance.
The front cover is made by Storm Thorgerson and Peter Curzon at Hipgnosis, who also made the cover for Bury the Hatchet.
[ allmusic.com, Slant, Q Magazine 3 / 5, Blender 4 / 5 stars ]

original cover

John Frusciante "To Record Only Water for Ten Days" (2001)

To Record Only Water for Ten Days
release date: Feb. 13, 2001
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 2. "Someone's" - 3. "The First Season" - 4. "Wind Up Space" - 5. "Away & Anywhere" - 7. "Fallout" - 9. "With No One" - 15. "Moments Have You"

3rd album by John Frusciante. After the debut in '94 he released his second solo album Smile From the Streets You Hold in '97. I haven't heard the album but after reading reviews and Frusciante himself telling that many of the tracks are from the same period as his debut album, I have neglected it - also, Frusciante himself has disowned the album as being too poor.

This album is quite different from the debut, and it's said to have been made after a rehab period for his drug addiction. At least the songs seem organized in concordance with traditional songwriting procedures, which is also to say, that they appear as compositions with a start, a middle, and an end. On top of that, they have verses and choruses, and several tracks are rather good songs. The style is neo-psychedelic, indie rock and synthpop with a singer / songwriter touch. 

It's not bad. It's just not really great.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

The Beautiful South "Solid Bronze - Great Hits" (2001)

Solid Bronze - Great Hits (compilation)
release date: Nov. 12, 2001
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: various
label: Mercury, Go! Discs - nationality: England, UK

2nd official compilation album by The Beautiful South released at a time when rumors had it that the band was about to split. After Painting It Red (2000) Jacqui Abbott left the band and a chaotic live tour followed.
The album consists of 19 tracks and features songs from all of their albums, but with shuffled tracks it's a rather difficult listen, and some of the best tracks from Carry on Up the Charts: The Best of The Beautiful South from 1994 - the first compilation album are truly missing. The finest songs of the band's early career have been replaced by newer but lesser songs in order to make room for tracks released from '96 up until the most recent album Painting It Red, which has 3 tracks on the album.
The idea of the release is hard to find, if it was intended as the sequel to Carry on Up the Charts, it's hard to argue why on earth it would be necessary to include 7 [!] tracks from the first compilation album. If, on the other hand, it's an attempt to sum up the bands best songs ever, well, the band simply hasn't made enough great songs after Carry on Up the Charts to excuse the presence of 9 tracks from albums released since the first best of album, thus excluding some of the band's most familiar and popular songs.
The best songs on this album are still found on the '94 compilation, so the album would only be interesting if you just want two by the band. An even better solution might be to check out the 2006 2-disc compilation Gold with a total of 36 tracks. Only bad thing about that is a shuffled playlist, but the tracks are there.
*Two promotion compilations were released by Go! Discs in between the two mentioned official compilations, The Carry on Continues...: The Best and Next of The Beautiful South from '96, and To Hull and Back from 2000, but they were never official releases.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Nena "Chokmah" (2001)

Chokmah
release date: Oct. 29, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Florian Sitzmann
label: Eastwest Records - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Chokmah" - 2. "Heute hab' ich die Sonne mit dem Mond verwechselt" - 3. "Carpe Diem" - 9. "Silbermond" - 12. "Leuchtturm" - 14. "Carpe Diem (Söhne Mannheims Dancehall-Mix) [incl. hidden track]"

6th studio album as soloist by Nena is her first major stylistic change into electropop. The album follows a live album, and an album with music for children, thus making Wenn alles richtig ist, dann stimmt was nich (Jul. 1998) her last 'real' studio album.
Chokmah was met by mixed reviews - according to wikipedia, mostly positive. Internationally, Nena's popularity may not have grown much after she went solo, but in Germany this album seems like a stepping stone to greater fame. The album peaked as number #18 in Germany, which was a clear improvement to her previous solos as well as to the final album Eisbrecher (1986) with the band, which 'only' made it to number #45.
Although, I don't find the album entirely great, as it contains both highs and lows, I find it quite refreshing, and it's undoubtedly one of her albums that I have played the most.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Sort Sol "Snakecharmer" (2001)

Snakecharmer
release date: Apr. 1, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Peter Sunding, Sort Sol
label: Mercury Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "I'll Take Care of You" - 3. "Brogue" - 4. "Rhinestone" (4 / 5) - 5. "Next Century" - 7. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"

8th and final studio album by Sort Sol. It took the band 5 years to realise the album, and after Unspoiled Monsters and a band that was often quoted to be on the verge of a break-up, the release of a new album wasn't really expected. Despite coming from a bit of a failure, they basically perform very much as on the predecessor in terms of both style and sound.
Snakecharmer doesn't really change my perspective of a band that might as well give in. Without really impressing, the album also performs on par with the 1996 album. Bassist and central composer of the band, Knud Odde - who composed the best track(s) on the album - had become increasingly more occupied with his career as an artistic painter, and after this, he called it a day and left the band for good.
This album may not be the band's worst attempt but it's far from one of their best. All thanks to Knud Odde, the album is an original Sort Sol album, but if you're looking for artistic originality, you need to turn to the band's back catalogue.
The three remaining members continued performing as Sort Sol, although, also guitarist Lars Top-Galia left in 2004 after having released the soundtrack album Baby (2003) to the Danish movie by Linda Wendell. This left Steen Jørgensen and Tomas Ortved alone to bury the band, which they didn't. They put the band on hold - hoping they would somehow be able to pick up the pieces and carry on. Persuaded, Top-Galia re-joined the two in 2010, and the band toured and played a number of live concerts in 2011 when rumours circulated that a new album was to be released in 'a near future'. As of late 2015 this has yet to be proven...
As for Snakecharmer, this is not where you should start an investatigation of this band's discography, as it remains unrecommended.

Sting "... All This Time" (2001) (live)

... All This Time (live)
release date: Nov. 20, 2001
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Sting, Kipper [Mark Eldridge]
label: A&M Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Fragile" - 4. "All This Time" - 8. "When We Dance" - 10. "Roxanne" - 15. "Shape of My Heart" - 16. "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You"

Live album recorded at [Sting's] "Villa Il Palagio", Tuscany, Italy, Sep. 11, 2001. The concert was planned for a small audience from Sting's fan club and for live broadcast (which was cancelled), and it was carried out in spite of the tragic events that took place during the day of 9/11 2001.
Like his first live album it's a collection of songs from the heydays of The Police blended with his best known solo compositions, but here in a much less orchestrated and electric version, which really suits the songs nicely. The album was also released as a concert film.
I like the fact that the all songs have been rearranged to an intimate live performance, but other than that, I don't think the music by Sting is extremely well-suited as live recordings in general, and the long time span from compositions with The Police, though his jazz-era to more pop / rock-founded compositions makes the whole thing a bit of a mixed bag, really.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]