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SCMP Reporter

Tata
Steve Wong Ka-keung
The album is former Beyond bassist's best solo effort to date.  But it still falls short of the  standard set by Beyond in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In an attempt to create a new music style that conforms to mainstream aesthetics and the mainland market, the Mandarin album has a bit of everything - from traditional Chinese music influences to disco beats - but fails to be anything.
Local rockers need to do much better to gain a footing in the  mainland market.
All the Lost Souls
James Blunt
Blunt is the kind of singer-songwriter who has found a winning formula and is happy to stick to it forever.
His sophomore album is stuffed with similar melancholic, nostalgic and self-pitying tunes  to his debut, which is still played to death.
His songs may be heartfelt,  but serious music lovers  must be tempted to throw their stereo out of the window when they hear Blunt's  whiny voice.
The Simpsons Movie
Soundtrack
Though summer blockbuster The Simpsons Movie  received worldwide acclaim, the  soundtrack is a surprisingly disappointing bore.
Unlike  most cartoon soundtracks,  this is an entirely orchestral album - there are no spoken interludes, dialogues or vocals.
While the  familiar  theme tune  reminds you how funny The Simpsons  are, the rest of the album  fails to excite.
Santi
The Academy Is ...
The Chicago band's sophomore  release is far from distinctive when compared to their debut.  Unlike their first effort, this 11-track album is far from being  love-at-first-listen.
They also borrow too heavily from other  bands:  the heavy funk of Arctic Monkeys and  soft rock of U2 are evident.
While the first three tracks are  energetic  and feature some original moments, the rest are  less impressive. The guitars are uninspiring and the music and lyrics are samey and boring.
Songs About Girls
Will.i.am
Despite being a founding member of successful hip hop group Black-Eyed Peas and one of the hottest producers around, when it came to his solo effort, will.i.am fell flat.
Lacking the unusual beats and vocal blends of his band  and the originality he's accorded such productions as Sergio Mendes' Timeless, the 96-minute-long collection of repetitive lyrics, uninspired melodies and predictable rhymes is about 90 minutes
too long.
Blackout
Britney Spears
Another horrible, record label-produced  album that  showcases the worst of the music industry with its sausage factory-like creativity.
What's more, the overly studio-enhanced dressing up of songs  shows how untalented Britney really is. Awful.
Brave
Jennifer Lopez
In this self-indulgent  album, J Lo  tells us  how to make relationships work -  ironic, given she's on her third marriage.
These are the sort of songs that were popular 10 years ago, and done better then, too.



Flops of 2007