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Larry Eisner (2082 KP) rated Bohemian Rhapsody - The Soundtrack by Queen in Music

Feb 28, 2019  
Bohemian Rhapsody - The Soundtrack by Queen
Bohemian Rhapsody - The Soundtrack by Queen
2018 | Rock, Soundtrack
8
8.9 (77 Ratings)
Album Rating Watch
Freddie Freaking Mercury (2 more)
Live Tracks
Excellent Audio Quality
No dialogue tracks or pre-tracks (1 more)
Doing All Right is very meh
Fantastic Album; Mediocre Soundtrack
Preface: I received a copy through the Smashbomb giveaway contest. That said, I’m not going to hold back...

So, Queen...How could anyone ever go wrong with a Queen album? Ever... Truth is you cannot. This album is fantastic and sits proudly alongside the greatest hits albums I already owned. It’s a great compilation of their best studio tracks alongside some rarely released live tracks including nearly the entire Live Aid set.

But what is lacking, most of all, and what I want in a film soundtrack is something I cannot get anywhere else...dialogue snippets from the film that place the tracks with the film itself. The film was a smash success, earring Rami Malek the Best Actor Oscar and rightly so. However, this album is simply that, a Queen album. We don’t get the Rami/Freddy mixes used in the film, we don’t get the sound bytes that tie a song to a moment in the film. So while it’s an awesome album and one I will rock out with in my car often, it’s not any different than a Queen compilation album tied around the film loosely. It may not be a drawback to you, but to me, it’s not worth calling it a soundtrack. It could just as easily been one of those “songs inspired by the film: Bohemian Rhapsody” instead of Official Soundtrack.

Now all that said, it’s a fantastic compilation album. The live tracks especially, are excellently mixed, and through listening, we are once again reminded why Queen and Mercury himself were so amazing... the live tracks demonstrate that despite his crazy moves on stage, the heat of the lights and all, Queen always sounded great. Unlike many modern bands, their live tracks are nearly identical in quality to the studio versions. Even though I knew this going in, I was still amazed.

And no track demonstrated this fact more than the We Will Rock You (Movie Mix) track that seamlessly blended the studio version into the live version used in the film.

Queen’s sound was and is iconic and unique to this day, and this album highlights why so perfectly. I’m just disappointed that the soundtrack didn’t have more throwback to the film itself.
  
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Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated Down at the End of the River: Stories in Books

Jan 12, 2018  
Down at the End of the River: Stories
Down at the End of the River: Stories
Angus Woodward | 2008
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
[Down at the End of the River] by [Angus Woodward] is a compilation of short stories, which usually are not the type of thing I like to read. I did enjoy these and if I did not know they were the same author I would have thought they were penned by many different people.

[Woodward] does an excellent job in creating characters and using those characters to drive the story. More than a few even caused me to feel the nervousness or anxiety of the characters.

I was disappointed that the setting of Louisiana was not highlighted more that it was just a passing reference. I believe the south has a character all it's own and could have added even more to the stories.
  
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Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated The Breeders (Breeders, #1) in Books

Jan 12, 2018  
TB
The Breeders (Breeders, #1)
Katie French | 2012
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received this book as a give away as part of a compilation [Shattered Worlds]. I have decided to give each book it's own review as I finish them to give the authors their due.

[The Breeders] by [Katie French] was a very exciting well written book. The main character of Riley was full of spunk and wasn't going to let anyone get the better of her. Her goal was to protect the ones she loves. As the story progresses she realizes she may need some help with this and must learn to trust other people.

This will be a book I look for in a paper edition to put in my classroom library. I will also be putting the {Believers] on my reading list.