A-ha - time and again, 2002

"They still sound remarkably inventive, and in many cases ahead of their time."

A-ha - solace, 2002

"Lifelines picks up, to an extent, where Minor Earth Major Sky left off and marks an evolution of a-ha’s sound, rather than a revolution. Harket’s trademark vocals sound virtually unchanged and there are still dramatic orchestral sweeps in various tunes, coupled with pop beats and a willingness to experiment with technology. But the mood is darker, more pensive and less immediate."

A-ha - cannot hide, 2002

"Lifelines is the seventh studio album by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha, released on 24 April 2002 by WEA. The album topped the charts in Norway and Germany, and reached the top 10 in Austria, Denmark, Poland and Switzerland. In 2019, Lifelines and Minor Earth Major Sky, both of A-ha's albums recorded for Warner Music Germany, were remastered and re-released with an extra disc, which contained demos, early versions and alternate mixes."

A-ha - turn the lights down, 2002

"Two of the very best tracks on the album Lifelines and Turn The Lights Down feature the gorgeous voice of Anneli Drecker. Classy and slightly dark (who would have thought it in 1985?) adult orientated pop/rock."

The The - pillar box red, 2002

"Pillar Box Red is a lesser-known vaudevillian ballad from 2002 that descends in scale while a vertiginous signature melody strikes over the top, making it sound like the soundtrack to a French detective series. “I paint my lips a pillar box red,” sings Johnson sotto voce, with a supporting female vocal less pronounced still. “It reminds me of the country where I was born and bred.” He actually grew up above a pub in the East End among a close but extended family, and in the promo video he is back on the premises of a local boozer, providing the entertainment with an acoustic while punters chatter among themselves. “The sarcasm / The bitter remarks,” he laments, “that pierce the chest and wound the heart.” Whether he is in character or singing from personal experience, it’s a beautifully realised song."

Phil Collins - testify, 2002

"the longest and most complex sounding song on the album, is according to Collins "one of the most direct and most personal love songs I have ever written".

Tahiti 80 - one thousand times, 2002

"More fully realized and bolstered with a stronger song selection than its predecessor, Wallpaper for the Soul is a well-crafted collection of infectious tunes that won't necessarily stick with you for years to come, but should be quite enjoyable while you're listening."

Paul McCartney - here there and everywhere live back in the us, 2002

"The broad arena-rock of expert nonentities robs the Beatle songs that jam this tour merch of all quirk and precision. Yet the Beatle songs still dwarf the proofs of his solo existence, which get lamer as he gets older. Either way his relentless smiley smile cloys on contact. And when he whips up some now-the-fellas now-the-ladies on "Hey Jude," it is to cringe with dismay at the survival of a generation."

Paul McCartney - band on the run live back in the us, 2002

"If anything, he's playing for the crowd even more than usual, filling out the set list with sentimental favorites, including a version of "Something" as a tribute to the recently departed George Harrison."

Paul McCartney - let it be live back in the us, 2002

"A double live album, Back In The US features highlights of Paul’s 2002 tour, in support of the previous year’s Driving Rain album. Like the DVD of the same name, it presented highlights from Paul’s first full tour in nearly a decade, from solo classics to Beatles favourites. It also marks the emergence of Paul’s most enduring stage band, including his long term sideman Paul “Wix” Wickens, the guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray and drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. The album’s release was in fact exclusive to North America and Japan, and it found tremendous success in both."

Paul McCartney - hey jude live back in the us, 2002

"Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" to comfort Julian Lennon, John’s 5-year-old son, during his parents’ divorce. Julian only found out the song was about him years later... and by then, Paul had been closer to him during that painful time than his own father was. John even mistakenly thought the song was about him and Yoko at first. So the world’s most famous comfort song is literally a little boy’s heartbreak... and he didn’t even know it was for him until he was grown up."

Nada Surf - no quick fix, 2002

"I remember calling that song “No Quick Mix.” It had something cool going on, but I don’t think it ever really hit its mark."

New Order - regret live reading festival england august twenty-nine nineteen ninety-three retro disco four, 2002

"This performance is a standout from New Order's set at the Reading Festival (held at Little John's Farm, Reading, Berkshire, England), which took place on Sunday, August 29, 1993. It was one of the band's final shows before their first breakup, capturing them at the peak of their Republic era (the album from which "Regret" is the lead single)."

Nada Surf - hi-speed soul, 2002

"Reacquainting myself with “Hi-Speed Soul” after a couple of decades was a pleasure. It’s a nice blend of pop and slightly punkish guitar. What really drives it for me is Ira Elliot’s masterful drumming … especially his cymbal work. I’m torn between focusing on the music and the slightly disaffected lyrics, because it’s all luscious. The song’s bridge blends ethereal lyrics/vocals and insistent percussion … and then it breaks down to a tasty bass riff leading into an extended outro that could go on for another five minutes of jamming without any complaint from me."

Nada Surf - the way you wear your head, 2002

"The Way You Wear Your Head" is a jangly, bittersweet power-pop song with Matthew Caws’ signature introspective lyrics about self-consciousness, identity, and quiet resilience."

Paul McCartney - all my loving live back in the us, 2002

"In a candid and perhaps unguarded moment, Paul McCartney told Guitar Player in 1990, "What do they say? 'A good artist borrows, a great artist steals' – or something like that. That makes The Beatles great artists because we stole a lot of stuff." McCartney wasn't admitting to theft. He was saying that The Beatles didn't operate in a vacuum and they assimilated what was happening around them to create original music. Their "yeah, yeah, yeahs" had previously been used by Elvis Presley and The Isley Brothers and their introduction to "I Feel Fine" mimics Bobby Parker's "Watch Your Step". When McCartney woke up one morning with a beautiful melody in his head, he was sure he had nicked it. After friends told him it was original, he recorded it as "Yesterday". I would speculate that McCartney had heard Nat "King" Cole's "Answer Me, My Love". The mood and the tempo are similar and Nat even sings, "You were mine yesterday, I believed that love was here to stay." Written in 1963, "All My Loving" was McCartney's first attempt at writing an MOR standard, but play "Kathy's Waltz" from the Dave Brubeck Quartet. You might think that a modern jazz group was improvising around "All My Loving", but "Kathy's Waltz" was recorded in 1959."

Nada Surf - blizzard of seventy-seven, 2002

"A funny thing happened to Nada Surf on the way to sure-fire late-'90s alt-rock stardom. Despite obtaining a decent amount of MTV exposure, their sardonic first single, "Popular," ultimately arrived just moments too late to capitalize on the era's short-lived mainstream fancy with geek rock."

Paul McCartney - freedom live, 2002

"McCartney performed the song on his 2002 Driving USA Tour and it appeared on the live album Back in the U.S. However, he chose not to perform it on subsequent tours, such as his 2005 The ‘US’ Tour, as he felt the song had acquired a militaristic meaning with the Bush administration’s Operation Iraqi Freedom. In an interview, McCartney stated: “And I thought it was a great sentiment, and immediately post-9/11, I thought it was the right sentiment. But it got hijacked. And it got a bit of a militaristic meaning attached itself to it, and you found Mr. Bush using that kind of idea rather a lot in [a way] I felt altered the meaning of the song.”

Saint Etienne - the way we live now, 2002

"Saint Etienne remain England's best pop group - they only look bad when they're compared to themselves, and this album, for all its shortcomings, has a handful of moments capable of making you think that they are the best pop group to have ever existed."

James - sit down live, 2002

"Filmed at the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, this concert was to be the last appearance of James, the iconic Manchester Indie band in their home town. This didn't prove to be the case as the band reformed and continue to this day, but it doesn't alter the fact that this is a stirring gig featuring many of the songs adored by their fans."