Two Miles High Music

The brilliant 1978 beatles parody the brainchild of monty pythons eric idle follows four mop-topped young brits whose right choice of trousers tight propels them to rock super stardom. Includes such parodies as sgt. Rutters only darts club band.Features: commentary photo album bonus footage. Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 03/13/2001 Starring: Eric Idle Run time: 72 minutes Rating: Nr

Originally hatched in 1978 as a short film parody for Saturday Night Live, this expanded, 70-minute mockumentary on a trend-setting quartet of British mop-tops bloomed into one of Eric Idle's better projects outside Monty Python. Taking the career (and hagiography) of the Beatles and inverting them quite nicely, Idle conjures up four doppelgangers who offer the familiar mannerisms but practically none of the intelligence of their models. If that sounds like the same gag that powered This Is Spinal Tap (which emerged six years later), it is, with the crucial difference that Idle's lampoon is precise where Tap was consciously generic. In telling the saga of the Rutles, Idle (who doubles as earnest narrator and McCartney-esque Rutle Dirk McQuigley) works from a rich and immediately familiar trove of pop lore, and he has a ball revisiting and reinventing milestones from the Fab Four's fabled history. The attention to period detail helps elevate the gags further, but Idle's real secret weapon is Neil Innes, standing in as Ron Nasty, the Rutles' answer to John Lennon: it's Innes who serves as the musical architect for the wonderful Beatles parodies that give All You Need Is Cash a delicious kick, and Innes, a one-time principal in the legendary Bonzo Dog Band, is gifted enough to capture the band's lyricism and energy as well as their shifting sense of style. With the blessing and on-camera participation of George Harrison, and wry cameos from Mick Jagger and Paul Simon, All You Need Is Cash is a perfect companion to the Beatles' own glorious screen comedies and a great antidote to sanctimonious pop documentaries. --Sam Sutherland

The foursome come roaring out of the blocks with their latest collection. The album's first single, "Beautiful Day," raced to the No. 1 slot on the U.K. singles charts and received a similar rapturous reception stateside. From its shimmering preamble to its sweeping, infectious chorus, it perfectly stakes out the middle ground between the anthemic U2 of the '80s and the more grounded group of the '90s. With Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno sharing production chores again after having taken a break with Pop, the U2 team enters the new millennium with their lineup--and mission--intact. --Steven Stolder

If U2 hadn't used the title already, "A Sort of Homecoming" might have suited this, their 10th studio album. All That You Can't Leave Behind sounds, at various points, like any or all of U2's previous albums, as if the band is sending postcards back from a protracted ramble through previously conquered territories. The euphoric opening track, "Beautiful Day," reintroduces Edge's signature delay-laden guitar, which has been pretty much absent since The Unforgettable Fire. Elsewhere, the gospel stylings of Rattle and Hum resurface on "Stuck in a Moment," and the deranged, Prodigy-influenced dance textures that characterized 1997's Pop crop up on "Elevation." None of which suggest that this commendably restless bunch is running out of ideas. Having spent the '90s making three of the most bizarre and adventurous albums ever delivered by a stadium-rock band (the consecutive masterpieces Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Pop), it's as if they're now trying to figure out what is the one particular thing they've always done best. Based on the evidence presented here, their forte remains a facility for making the epic statement alongside Bono's increasing lyrical intimacy: "Walk On" and "Peace on Earth" are two of the best things he's ever written or sung. All That You Can't Leave Behind confirms that U2's laurels are still making them itch. --Andrew Mueller

Popular music is now an essential part of our lives - yet we know comparatively little about it - where it came from, how it developed, how it has influenced or been influenced by social change. Today, the popular music industry controls billions of doll

No Description Available.Genre: ChildrensMedia Format: Compact DiskRating: Release Date: 31-AUG-1999

What could possibly be cooler than hipping kids to some of the best pop music ever made? Music for Little People makes this project simple by producing a batch of the Beatles' sunniest songs performed by a prime adult band and your children's peers and slightly reworked in kid-friendly keys. The result is largely devoid of over-the-top cutesy-poo histrionics--these kids can really sing and the harmonies are quite commendable. Young listeners will be thrilled to sing along on the bouncy chorus of "Life Goes On," to count and do the alphabet on "All Together Now," and to distinguish the amusing sounds of a penny whistle, mandolin, and zither. Both Raffi and blues artist Eric Bibb make guest appearances, but the shining star at this party is child singer Bernie Steinberg, who takes lead on three tunes, including the touchingly performed "Mother Nature's Son" and the amazingly soulful "Birthday." --Paige La Grone

No Description AvailableNo Track Information AvailableMedia Type: CDArtist: KRALL,DIANATitle: ALL FOR YOUStreet Release Date: 03/12/1996

All for You is a tribute to the Nat "King" Cole Trio of the 1940s, when Cole performed as both a singer and a pianist. Krall, like her heroes Lena Horne and Carmen McRae, is also a singer-pianist, and she plays both roles on most of the songs here. She's able to link her singing to her piano playing in sympathetic ways and projects tremendous feeling through both. Like Cole in the '40s, Krall plays with a drummerless trio--here with guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Paul Keller. Their sense of intimate rapport is especially valuable on ballads such as "You Call It Madness" and "I'm Thru with Love," but also allows such uptempo tunes as "Hit That Jive Jack" to swing with surprising lightness. --Geoffrey Himes

Unlike those other members of her family, Janet Jackson's albums are still worth waiting for. The best parts of All for You, her first disc since 1997's The Velvet Rope, continue to display the first-class pop-R&B talent who broke through decisively in the mid-'80s with "What Have You Done for Me Lately" and "Nasty." Jackson's longtime cohorts Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are of course on board, and the production-writing trio demonstrates its mastery of everything from dirty funk ("You Ain't Right") to peppy, radio-perfect ("Come on Get Up" and 2000's No. 1 "Doesn't Really Matter") and hypnotically undulating sounds ("When We Oooo"). While much of All for You is irresistible, its handful of failures are poorly conceived and executed. Most glaring among these is "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)," an unlistenable sequel to Rope's "Got 'Til It's Gone" that substitutes one self-regarding singer-songwriter diva (Carly Simon) for another (Joni Mitchell), thereby wrecking Simon's one golden moment, "You're So Vain." "Son of a Gun" and "Truth" apparently target estranged husband Rene Elizondo, but Jackson is hardly as convincing a revenge artist as she is a sex kitten. In fact, the likes of "Love Scene (Ooh Baby)" and "Would You Mind" out-spice even the carnally obsessed Velvet Rope and Janet. --Rickey Wright

All To You (Mother Son Wedding Song) by DJ KeoThis product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Unlike those other members of her family, Janet Jackson's albums are still worth waiting for. The best parts of All for You, her first disc since 1997's The Velvet Rope, continue to display the first-class pop-R&B talent who broke through decisively in the mid-'80s with "What Have You Done for Me Lately" and "Nasty." Jackson's longtime cohorts Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are of course on board, and the production-writing trio demonstrates its mastery of everything from dirty funk ("You Ain't Right") to peppy, radio-perfect ("Come on Get Up" and 2000's No. 1 "Doesn't Really Matter") and hypnotically undulating sounds ("When We Oooo"). While much of All for You is irresistible, its handful of failures are poorly conceived and executed. Most glaring among these is "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)," an unlistenable sequel to Rope's "Got 'Til It's Gone" that substitutes one self-regarding singer-songwriter diva (Carly Simon) for another (Joni Mitchell), thereby wrecking Simon's one golden moment, "You're So Vain." "Son of a Gun" and "Truth" apparently target estranged husband Rene Elizondo, but Jackson is hardly as convincing a revenge artist as she is a sex kitten. In fact, the likes of "Love Scene (Ooh Baby)" and "Would You Mind" out-spice even the carnally obsessed Velvet Rope and Janet. --Rickey Wright