Sampler 2: Art, Pop and Contemporary Music Graphics
CJAD – Together they will talk about the important issues of the day from political change to climate change, from pop culture to your culture. Strombo’s talk show marks a return to radio for George who spent five years as a popular VJ on Much Music where Continue
Russ Conway Plays Piano Pops 
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North of Watford Vol.2: 24 Rare Pop & Soul Classics 1964-1979 
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Top of the Pops 1978 
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Pop Idol – The Big Band Album Considering the long, pain-staking process in selecting the nation’s Pop Idol it seems a little impetuous to rush release the finished product with The Big Band Album–but at least public interest is still riding high. Will and Gareth’s singles were quick and simple with record-breaking results but listening to this release you can’t help wondering if they should have spent a little more time rehearsing and recording it.
Thirteen tracks of big band standards feature the 10 finalists of the show each doing their bit. Will, Gareth and Zoe each get an extra slice of the pie and lucky for them as Will’s performance on “Beyond the Sea” pales in comparison to his second effort just as Zoe’s fantastic “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” trounces her slightly disappointing “Get Happy”.
For a cynic it would be easy to knock the pop idols as it’s almost a national sport but they all prove they can sing with Darius, Aaron and Hayley turning in some great performances but for the most part they have been let down by poor production and the recording standards of a karaoke machine. Robbie Williams came under a lot of criticism for what people saw as his butchering of classic numbers on Swing When You’re Winning but Pop Idol’s Big Band Album is way short of the mark set by Robbie showing that you can’t rush a project of this size and expect the same results. –David Trueman
Customer Review: It’s GGGreat!
This is a must for any Pop Idol fan. The final ten rise to the challenge with almost faultless consequences. Although I do admire Zoe’s voice I would have prefered more Darius! The album contains all the magic from the show. I only wish that they would have released the album before the pop idol tour, so I would have been able to sing along to more songs at Wembley!!
Customer Review: Girl power
Now, I sadly admit I enjoyed ‘Pop Idol’, particularly the early stages. But, it’s clear that the phone lines must have been clogged by pre-pubescent girls calling in as anyone without cloth in their ears realises Hayley and Zoe should’ve made the last two. Gareth’s voice is as weak as a new-born lamb as shown on his feeble rendition of ‘Mack the Knife’. Dear old Louis must be turning at 500 rpm gravewise. The solo efforts by the girls are considerably better than those by the boys, as was clear on PI hence the 2 stars. I’d also give another halfstar for the absence of Will Young’s destruction of one of the great classics to come out of the 60’s namely ‘Light my fire’.
Sampler 2: Art, Pop and Contemporary Music Graphics
This reviewer angrily objected to the advent of CDs on the grounds that four square-inch cover art simply doesn’t do justice to the medium. This loving, lavish exploration of music graphics by London-based design practice Intro–who themselves design record covers and direct music videos–shows that perhaps this reviewer was a bit hasty.
The evolution of music graphics seems to have been galvanised, rather than hindered, by shrinking covers to a third of their former size and encasing them in jewelled plastic. Sampler2 leads you through the evolution of this specialisation, from typography to layout to printing techniques, and explores what designer Adrian Shaughnessy of Intro characterises as a search for authenticity that’s distinct from the instant gratification we often associate with conventional graphic design.
But mainly this book gives joy by inundating you with page after page of cover art, the graphics printed on the CDs themselves and the little extras–hand-written liner notes, translucent paper packaging and the like–we’ve grown to expect from the artistry of modern music. –Liz Bailey
Customer Review: Better than he thinks.
I think that the Intro books are superb…along with the two volumes of Blue Note cover art, the book on soundtrack cover art, and the one covering the blues, I think these are essential for anybody interested in the history & development of commercial graphic arts as applied to the music industry. Of course these books will cover contemporary releases, they’re put together by a contemporary design firm, after all. It doesn’t matter when these designs were made, some of them are still rather ingenious.
Customer Review: Covers a lot of good music related design
This book shows a good selection of graphics, which are mostley used in the music industry,But a lot of it you would have seen before if you buy current music.So i was a bit disapointed by this, But it is a really good book to have if you want to discover whats out and about at the moment in the wonderfull world of music packaging.
