Qkumba Zoo - Wake Up & Dream -- This is one I got at a garage sale a week ago on Saturday. It was a quarter. It also was marked "Not For Sale" so it was a promo copy. How the folks at the garage sale got it, I don't know. It wasn't a group I'd ever heard of, but for a quarter I'm usually in the mood to take a chance. I haven't heard the entire thing, but parts of it I've heard several times. I love it. It has a world vibe going on, some foreign tribal words in it of some derivation. And some beautiful vocals and exotic tunes. The first several songs are the ones I'm familiar with to some extent. They are very catchy and dreamy, including one called "The Child (Inside)." Very nice song. All of them are quite cool, but this is a very neat one. The group on the cover has a weird, eclectic look, strange hairstyles and all quite exotic.
Roxette - Joyride -- I've been listening to this one almost constantly. I got the CD "Look Sharp" at Goodwill sometime in the last couple months. I listened to it so much that it's hard to believe, because it's great right straight through. So I ordered this one, Joyride, and it's also great right straight through. Some of the songs have a very exciting guitar presence. There's something about some of Roxette's intros -- on Look Sharp and Joyride both -- that remind me of the intro to "Last Train to Clarksville." There's a lot of very nice guitar stuff going on. Then there's the vocals, so sweet. The title song is an exciting one, which is lovable from the first listen. "Hotblooded," I'm thinking it's a cover song, but it's not. She's "hotblooded, baby," and that's good. The other songs -- there's some slow ones, but OK. "Soul Deep" is another title that is recycled, but it's a completely different song. This is a fast one, with a soul vibe. Exciting song. "The Big L" is an exciting song too, love and lust. The last song, "Perfect Day" is a slow one, a thoughtful song to wind up the album. As on Look Sharp, in a way, although, "Listen to My Heart" isn't quite as mellow. To me, and I haven't charted it out, I hear echoes of the Beatles in the album Joyride. Nothing too blatant, but some of the phrasing, such as in "Joyride," the word "joyrider" reminds me of Day Tripper. There's also lyrics including "no reply" and "hiding away," and just some sounds that hint at the Beatles without coming right out and saying it. Anyway, this and Look Sharp are both fantastic albums.
Qkumba Zoo - Wake Up & Dream -- This is one I got at a garage sale a week ago on Saturday. It was a quarter. It also was marked "Not For Sale" so it was a promo copy. How the folks at the garage sale got it, I don't know. It wasn't a group I'd ever heard of, but for a quarter I'm usually in the mood to take a chance. I haven't heard the entire thing, but parts of it I've heard several times. I love it. It has a world vibe going on, some foreign tribal words in it of some derivation. And some beautiful vocals and exotic tunes. The first several songs are the ones I'm familiar with to some extent. They are very catchy and dreamy, including one called "The Child (Inside)." Very nice song. All of them are quite cool, but this is a very neat one. The group on the cover has a weird, eclectic look, strange hairstyles and all quite exotic.
Roxette - Joyride -- I've been listening to this one almost constantly. I got the CD "Look Sharp" at Goodwill sometime in the last couple months. I listened to it so much that it's hard to believe, because it's great right straight through. So I ordered this one, Joyride, and it's also great right straight through. Some of the songs have a very exciting guitar presence. There's something about some of Roxette's intros -- on Look Sharp and Joyride both -- that remind me of the intro to "Last Train to Clarksville." There's a lot of very nice guitar stuff going on. Then there's the vocals, so sweet. The title song is an exciting one, which is lovable from the first listen. "Hotblooded," I'm thinking it's a cover song, but it's not. She's "hotblooded, baby," and that's good. The other songs -- there's some slow ones, but OK. "Soul Deep" is another title that is recycled, but it's a completely different song. This is a fast one, with a soul vibe. Exciting song. "The Big L" is an exciting song too, love and lust. The last song, "Perfect Day" is a slow one, a thoughtful song to wind up the album. As on Look Sharp, in a way, although, "Listen to My Heart" isn't quite as mellow. To me, and I haven't charted it out, I hear echoes of the Beatles in the album Joyride. Nothing too blatant, but some of the phrasing, such as in "Joyride," the word "joyrider" reminds me of Day Tripper. There's also lyrics including "no reply" and "hiding away," and just some sounds that hint at the Beatles without coming right out and saying it. Anyway, this and Look Sharp are both fantastic albums.
