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Joy Electric’s growth as a group has gone through many evolutions and albums, but always sticks to the core pop synth sound.  Legacy Vol. 1: The White Songbook is the first of an upcoming “Legacy” series of albums.  The new album is an excellent one, with some of the same old sounds and some new ones.  The opening track is a melancholy melody, with a narrator telling a story that seems to be a complex fairy tale, but when you look at the lyrics, it makes little sense and is slightly confusing.  The tracks vary from the slower, darker tune “And Without Help We Perish” to the “punk without guitar” song “A New Pirate Traditional.” I love his darker stuff, and this album has a little more of that than his previous ones. The only one that comes close with the slower, brooding tracks is Robot Rock. Those songs show he's not just a bubblegum pop guy.

The numerous tracks showcase Ronnie Martin’s ability and talent for songwriting, music arrangement and composing the tracks.  His songs go beyond simple pop melodies, easy to see after hearing the songs a couple times and reading the lyrics.  There is a deeper meaning to them, although the exact meaning is rather debatable and lets the listener come up with their own conclusions.  One of the best Joy Electric albums, it’s a must have for any previous fan and anyone wanting to expand their collection to include an insightful, multi-faceted work.

Official Joy Electric Site

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Jump5 - Dreaming in Color
By Heidi Reuss 2004

Official J5 Site

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Jump5 - The Very Best of Jump5
By Heidi Reuss

Jump5 has brought together some of their very best tracks for the new CD, called The Very Best of Jump5. This release contains nine tracks from previous CDs and three brand new ones. The latest tracks recorded sound awesome! All three of them will have you turning up the volume on the radio. When listening to the new tracks, you definitely will find a major difference in the sound of their voices from the very first tracks to the latest ones.

Its great that they mix up the newest songs in between the older ones. With their amazing voices, you would never guess that they are still in their teens! I personally don’t think they could have picked out better tracks for this CD. This truly is the very best of Jump5. The cover titles that they have chosen from their previous work are the best ones. "Beauty and the Beast" is one of my favorite covers, because they were able to take a once slow track from the amazing Disney classic and turn it into a fast and jumpin’ hit for all to enjoy. "We Are Family" has been a classic in many generations and now J5 has been able to bring this song successfully back for another round on the Radio Disney air waves. Not only that, but they have brought that track to a totally different beat on the scale.

That said, I really think that the best cover they have done and happens to be featured on this CD is “God Bless the USA.” This song has a certain reach to the American listeners after the tragedy of 9/11. Some people thought it was good enough for them to do a performance of that song for our President, which was then broadcasted on national television. Along with those covers and songs from previous releases, one of the new tracks is a cover of Michael W. Smith’s 1982 song “Friends.” I love this song, and it’s wonderful for every group of friends, young and old.

The song “Just a Dream,” from their last CD Dreaming in Color, is featured in the movie and soundtrack of Disney’s latest release The Ice Princess along with other huge stars such as Jesse McCartney, Superchic(k), and Raven-Symone. The rest of the songs on the this greatest hits album include their first hit on the airwaves, “Spinnin’ Around” from their first CD and “All I Can Do” from their second CD, All the Time in the World. Overall, I love this CD and can’t get enough of it, and it couldn’t have been better. J5 has accomplished a lot in the past four years and they don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. From the first album to this latest one and the ones to come, there is no stopping these four teens in the music world. The next album will be titled Radio the World, a soon to be sure-fire hit with all Jump5 fans around the world. These teens are making a difference in the music world one music lover at a time. The Very Best of Jump5 deserves the very best 5 stars rating without a second thought about it. I hope to see some of their tracks being played on more stations around the country to get their upbeat music to the masses.

Buy The Very Best of Jump5 (Autographed!)