The Set List

Led Zeppelin at O2: The Raves Start To Pour In

The Telegraph critic says it was a joy and a privlege to be on hand, citing "Black Dog" and "In My Time of Dying" as highlights.
The Times of London critic is beside himself in his rave, a review that uses the word "heaviosity."
The classics prove music "doesn’t rock like it used to," according to the Sun.
Bloomberg News found a fan willing to call it "the concert of the millennium."
Meanwhile, fans told to stay away from Bron-yr-Aur in northern Wales.

Amazon Cuts Path In MP3 Forest

As a Luddite with every intention of purchasing Bruce Springsteen's "Magic" on vinyl, I'm taking the word of this guy at salon that amazon has created a shopping experience superior to iTunes.
Apple's site has always struck me as a place to go provided you knew exactly what you wanted to purchase. There is no sense of adventure, no way to casually wander the cyber-aisles, take chances or even get tips about music that hasn't paid for its POP. Amazon, which obvioulsy has paid-for placement as well, has always felt like a warehouse with some knowledgeable clerks. They knew that if you were ordering a wine book you might need stemware, too, not mention a Graham Parker CD to go with the Nick Lowe CD you just ordered.
Years ago, when iTunes was relatively new, I remember trying to describe the greatness of Richard Thompson at wine-saturated group at a friend's house. Amazon was great, with descriptions, reviews and 30-second bits of songs. Apple, though, was clueless as to the breadth and scope of his wonderful work.
Perhaps the most comical aspect of the competing MP3 shops is that Feist is getting the benefit of her iPod ads at amazon, where she has Wednesday's top seller.

Covering the Covers: Crix Dig New Singers Doing The Same Old Song

With covers albums swamping the release schedule this month, the Set List decided to explore whether anyone has anything positive to say about this discs. First stop was Metacritic, which does a fine job accumulating reviews, assigning a value to the reviewer’s opinion and then producing an average score. The problem was that Metacritic had deciphered data for only one of the albums on my list, Ann Wilson’s “Hope & Glory.” Based on four reviews, they gave it a 79. (That’s a lot higher than I would have given it).
Deciding to take on the data collection myself, suddenly I have new-found respect for what a chore this is. It appears major publications are either cutting way back on CD reviews or hiding them so Google’s search engine won’t discover them until the searcher has gone through four pages of Amazon, cduniverse and Barnes and Noble pages.
While overall it’s a glimmer hope that typing in the word “Tesla” does not yield many results or fan sites, it becomes a bit staggering to think Babyface just doesn’t get his albums reviewed like he did back in the day.
Searching for anything on some of these discs takes you to some rather clueless reviews. One self-appointed typist-critic of New Found Glory’s latest decided a) he didn’t like the songs they selected; b) that he didn’t like the way the songs were performed; and c) admitted that he went in with high expectations. But, he notes, it’s “a good time.” Oy.
Most shocking is how well liked some of these discs were. Have negative reviews become passé?
Barry Manilow’s “Greatest Songs of the Seventies” earned a rave from the BBC that said “For those who love Manilow, this is a must. For those who don’t, this could well be the disc to make them change their minds.” The Boston Herald said  his singing is “more impassioned” than ever.
Chaka Khan’s “Funk This” got two thumbs up from Robert Christgau at Rolling Stone and Mark Edward Nero’s Guide to R&B. The dean of rock criticism noted: “Chaka Khan has never bothered with great albums because she has such a great voice -- juicy, airy, spunky, transported. Though she's 54, it's also unfrayed, one reason this committed if never classic comeback makes its mark.”
“Playlist,” a collection of 1970s singer-songwriter material from Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds , finds Entertainment Weekly noting that he can take bland or treacly material and “render it superior to the original with delicate or atypical phrasing plus sheer commitment.” They loved his take on Bob Dylan's ''Knockin' on Heaven's Door''; disliked Jim Croce's “'Time in a Bottle.”
Herbie Hancock has released a tribute to Joni Mitchell titled “River: The Joni Letters.” New York magazine called it “a success”; the L.A. Times called Hancock “interpreter (who) really grasps the key to Mitchell's genius”; and the Boston Phoenix was impressed with his  “languid, meditative takes on the Mitchell songbook.”
The soundtrack to “Across the Universe” —  actors and Bono singing Beatles songs — received an indifferent review from the L.A. Times. “Even with many inviting arrangements and inventive production work from T Bone Burnett and Elliot Goldenthal, the Lennon-McCartney and Harrison songs too often wind up in nowhere land.”
The two-CD  “Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino” features a multitude of artists who got allmusicguide.com to rave: “Just how loved Fats Domino is by the music community is borne out by the A-list names who've contributed to one of the more remarkable tribute albums to surface in recent years.”
The Boston Globe uses words such as “fizzy,” “zippy,” “sultry” and “sassy” in a complimentary assessment of  “Trav'lin' Light” by Queen Latifah.
No publication or website has published anything on “Real to Reel Vol. 2” by Tesla or Boyz II Men’s “Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA.”
But as covers go, will any of them endiure or even compare with this?

The 'Idol'-Tastic Life: The Stars Are Still in the Finalists' Eyes

USA Today's Edna Gundersen, one of the best in this business of reporting-writing-critquing, got seven of the 10 "American Idol" finalists to explain their plans for the newspaper's "Idol" blog. What they don't seem to realize is that they were not as distinct as the class that came before them in which it was clear which direction six of them would take once the show ended. With the applause still ringing in the ears of the Season Six finalists, they don't seem to realize the real world is not quite sure exactly who Kimberley Locke is. And yet Chris Richardson sees himself as the fture of soulful rock.Oh these children.
Today they have visions of a roses and rainbows future, not the charts of recent musical revenue generated by Justin Guarini, Jasmine Trias and Corey Clark.

Jordin Sparks, who hopes to have an album in stores by Thanksgiving, said her effort is "kind of Kelly Clarkson’s pop edge meets Beyonce meets Carrie Underwood."
ANALYSIS: She is doing what she's told and singing the songs that have been chosen for her. There's no evidence that she has a unique style, but she feels she has a style that will elicit radio airplay.

Blake went to 19 Recordings with seven songs recorded and they apparently said "Cool, let’s do it."
ANALYSIS: There's no announcement yet from 19, so it's unclear if he is even signed. What he wants to do and what a label sees as his marketplace might be rather separate.

Melinda wants "to get the old school to team up with the new school" and record songs that are "funky, bluesy, soulsy.”
ANALYSIS: Paging the newly relaunched S-Curve Records. This is your gal.

Chris Richardson said he has written for Jordin, Blake and Phil. He says he's no Justin Timberfake, he's a faux Adam Levine.
ANALYSIS: Is there a demand for Maroon 5 wannabes?

Phil said he's moving to Nashville in the fall after his Navy term is up. He says he's singing at the Navy’s birthday celebration in October and he'll record a country album. "I’m not signed," he says.
ANALYSIS: Bonus points for honesty. He found his niche late in the season and that was in country ballads. He'll need someone with considerable ProTools experience as he rarely begins a tune smoothly and in key. 

Haley, who has a musical theater voice and look, shocked the blogosphere with her pronouncement she wants to make a country record.
ANALYSIS: Is a tribute a everybody's favorite '70s country tart Tanya Tucker unreasonable? How about a twangy mix of "Oklahoma!" and "Chicago"?   

Gina's demo is "kind of Evanescence meets Pink."
ANALYSIS: In other words, neo-Goth melodies with Goth-glam guitars, a throbbing beat, Goth-lite clothig and makeup with lyrics about un-Goth boys.

Chris Sligh is being chased by labels for his band's "pop/rock with some danceable stuff." He calls it "the Killers meets U2 meets Switchfoot."
ANALYSIS: When artists pile on the historic referneces like that one always has to wonder what element of the band do they mean? Since the Killers are the Cure meets the Smiths meets U2 meets Joy Divison minus joylessness and Switchfoot is  U2 meets "Nevermind" meets the Gin Blossoms and U2 is, well, U2, does he just mean lots of sonic layers, lots of energy, bold vocals and big drums?