Rihanna; loud

I’m not really a big Rihanna fan – I wouldn’t say I dislike her and I actually liked a lot of her earlier singles, but I’d lost interest, particularly after Umbrella. But there was something about Loud that I couldn’t shake off – I’d been hearing the songs everywhere and couldn’t seem to get away from them so thought I’d better take the plunge and download it.

I put it straight on the ipod and then listened to it at work the next day. I quite enjoyed it – its a nice mix of ballads and more up-beat tracks and I was bopping away at my desk (God knows what I looked like!).

I particularly like the first track – S & M – and the last track, Love the way you lie (well I was going to – Eminem is on it!). There’s also the fabulous What’s my name and I was pleasantly surprised with some of the other tracks on there too, although I have to say I’m not too keen on California King Bed and Man Down.

All in all I was pleasantly surprised and would definitely recommend it if you’re not sure about it!

Britney Spears; The Singles

I’m not a big Britney fan – as you know I’m more of  Christina fan – but I thought a cd of her singles would be pretty good; how wrong was I?

This cd just reminded me how awful most of her songs are. Things like Toxic, Everytime and Piece of Me I’d heard and liked, and there are a few that I’d not heard – like 3 and If you seek Amy – that I thought we’re pretty good.

However, most of the album just reminded me how much I disliked it when her voice was synthesised and the track with Madonna.

Its a good album for those who like Britney, but now one of my favourites.

Pink; Greatest Hits…So Far

Pink is amazing – she’s written so many awesome songs, most of which I’d forgotten until hubby bought me her latest offering Greatest Hits…So Far.

I’ve been sat here all afternoon at my desk, bopping away to the fantastic selection of tracks the talented artists has picked for this CD. It’s a great mixture of classic Pink with Get the party started, Just like a pill and Trouble, mixed in with a few track I hadn’t heard but loved listening to!

It’s almost like we’re taken on a whistle-stop tour of her career in the music industry and it’s just fantastic.One brilliant song after another

I love the she doesn’t care – she won’t be what people want her to be and isn’t afraid to speak her mind… wish I could be more like that…

Christina/Cher; Burlesque

I love this – I say that about a lot of albums I buy – but I really do! First time I listened to Burlesque , it put me in such a good mood and it was straight on the ipod – and it’s been on ever since.

Its not your usual type of album from Christina – hardly surprising since its a film sound track – but she sounds amazing. I really disliked the stuff Cher did ages ago with the electronic weirdness but she sounds really good on this album too!

I absolutely love the last two songs – Show Me How You Burlesque and The Beautiful People (from Burlesque) – are my favourites but I’ll quite happily sing along to them all. It’s a really fab feel-good album and its so much fun to dance around the house with it on!

The trailer for the film looks awesome and I’m really disappointed I didn’t get to see it in the cinema, but after listening to this album – I can’t wait!

Bon Jovi; Greatest Hits

What could be better than all of Bon Jovi‘s greatest hits all together in one album? Well nothing really!

My husband picked this up for me and it was a lovely surprise in my stocking this Christmas. Its full of all the best Bon Jovi hits; Livin on a Prayer; Always; and Bed of Roses - all my favourites. We put this on in the car on the way up to my mum and dad’s and were singing along all the way up there!

Hubby picked up the two disc version and it’s a good job s some of the best songs were on the second disc – Blaze of Glory; Some Day I’ll be Saturday Night and In and Out of Love. I’d say it’s worth paying the extra couple of quid to the two disc version otherwise you’ll miss out on some of the best of Bon Jovi’s tracks.

Take That; Progress

I’ve been a Take That fan for as long as I can remember. I loved them the first time round – with and without Robbie – and was so happy when they made their comeback. Even more so after my dad spent three hours on a Friday morning on the phone trying to get me tickets for their comeback – incidentally they were awesome.

Their last two albums without Robbie Beautiful World and The Circus were really good and I was a bit skeptical when they said Robbie was returning, even if it is only meant to be for a year. As we all know, Robbie’s ego is huge, and it concerns me that there will be a butting of heads again – but who knows, its only a year right?

The Flood is an awesome song, and I was expecting more of the same, but the rest of Progress is completely different. It took me a while to decide if I liked it – its completely different to their last two albums, and I can almost hear Robbie’s influence on the tracks, but that’s not to say that it’s not an enjoyable listen. Its another I’ve added to the Ipod, and I particularly like the final track Eight letters.

Still a must for any TT fan I think!

Christina Aguilera; Bionic

Birthday time has rolled itself around again so I’ve got the usual influx of albums and dvds to review – hurrah! Let’s start with Bionic from the legend herself Christina Aguilera.

As you can probably tell, I’m a bit of a Christina fan and I wanted to get this album when she released Not myself tonight but hubby said no I had to wait to he’d have think of more ideas for my birthday ­– and it was worth the wait.

Sometimes when I put an album on, I have to listen to it a few times before I can decide if I like it or not, but not this one – I’d decided after the first few songs that I loved it! It’s the usual mix of quirky upbeat tunes and simple ballads from the tiny poster! That was straight on my new ipod (review to come) and I’ll will no-doubt be singing it all evening.

As ever Christina has provided a fab track list, and if you’re lucky enough to have the deluxe version like me then there’s an extra five tracks on a bonus disc, ever so slightly different to the actual Bionic cd, but fab none the less!

Linkin Park; A Thousand Suns

Mmmm…really not sure about this one. Sometimes I need a few listens to decide if I like an album, but I’ve listened to A Thousand Suns a few times and I’m still not sure.

I guess its ok – a bit different to the normal Linkin’ Park we’re used to – but just ok. Maybe I was expecting too much, after all Minutes to Midnight was awesome, why shouldn’t their latest offering be equally as awesome?

The catalyst – one of the songs towards the end of the album that has been released – is what I normally expect from the band, and I was so excited when I first heard it. But I have to admit I’m a little disappointed. The rest of the album is nowhere near being awesome and I can’t figure out why – maybe it’s the Indian influence or the spoken American worlds over some of the tracks, it’s just not a great. In fact, the more I think about it the more I dislike it – which is a shame as I so want to love it!

Eminem; Recovery

As you know, I’m a big Eminem fan and was impressed by the Relapse album, so when this one came along I knew it was going to be good. Just looking at the track listing and seeing collaborations with the likes of Pink and Rihanna, I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

From the first time I heard this album, I knew it was going to be my favourite for a while. I thought Relapse was good, but this was even better – Eminem is back to his usual fantastic self.

I think my favourite songs on this albums are the duets with Pink – Won’t back down – and Rihanna, Love the way you lie. But the whole album is great and I’d definitely recommend adding it to your cd collection.

Scouting for Girls; Everybody wants to be on TV

Its been a long time, but Scouting for Girls are back – and their new album is fantastic. I read that they wrote this album, but went away and re-wrote it as they weren’t happy with it, which might explain why they were away for so long… but it was well worth the wait.

Just from hearing the first few notes, I knew that  Everybody want to be on TV was going to be just as good as their first album. Scouting for Girls have this unique sound, and this album started in exactly the same tone – with a few twists along they way.

Its a great album and for £8ish its definitely worth adding to the CD collection. I think my favourites have to be  Posh Girls and Little Miss Naughty and 1+1 but they whole album is a great listen and I found myself dancing around the kitchen while cooking, but I don’t really care!

I think this is going to be added to the playlist on my phone and will be staying on the CD player for a long time to come.