Album Reviews

Ke$ha

`Animal'

(SonyBMG)

Ke$ha makes an impressive debut as a pop star, with her first single ``TiK ToK'' landing on the top of Billboard's single charts for the first two weeks of 2010.

``TiK ToK'' has shades of Lady Gaga, but Ke$ha describes her music as ``trash-glam-pop-electro.'' Listen to ``Animal'' and you'll know exactly what the 22-year-old pop singer-rapper means.

The album is filled with perky dance tracks with lyrics that will appeal to a youthful audience. She talks about creepy older men hitting on girls in ``Dinosaur,'' stalking her crush in ``Your Love is My Drug,'' and partying hard in ``Party at a Rich Dude's House.'' The slick sound is courtesy of top producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin. Whether you like Ke$ha's songs or not, there's no doubt that the infectious beats will stick in your head.

_ Cathy Rose A. Garcia

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

`Sherlock Holmes'

British director Guy Ritchie's irreverent film adaptation of ``Sherlock Holmes'' offers action, mystery and thrills. It's only appropriate that the soundtrack by award-winning composer Hans Zimmer is as equally thrilling and exciting.

Zimmer, who has done soundtracks for ``Dark Knight'' and ``Lion King,'' gives listeners something new. The album opens with ``Discombobulate,'' which starts off slowly but quickly turns into a rollicking piece. ``I Never Woke Up in Handcuffs Before'' is a crazy and fun number, while ``Not in Blood, But in Bond'' is a strangely haunting melody. ``Psychological Recovery … 6 Months'' is well-suited for the suspense-filled scenes in the film.

Chung Kyung-wha

`Chung Kyung-wha 40 Legendary Years'

(Universal Music Korea)

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Chung Kyung-wha's debut _ and in time for the violin virtuoso's anticipated comeback in May after a five-year hiatus _ comes a special package of her complete recordings under the Deutsche Grammophon and Decca labels.

This limited edition set presents 19 CDs, including three Chung Trio albums of which the LP versions have been digitally re-mastered, and a DVD of a concert with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Maestro Georg Solti.

The recordings feature performances alongside other world premier ensembles and maestros. Also included is a booklet featuring words from original album jackets and reviews in English, Korean and Japanese.

-Lee Hyo-won