Tons of new CDs

So I took a bunch of my old CDs to the local CD store and traded them for store credit. Which I then promptly turned into other CDs. I'm now awash in so many new CDs it's been difficult to listen to them all. But listen I did (mostly) and here's some comments on them:

Bob Marley - Exodus
A lot of the songs from this album end up on greatest hits releases. This makes the album seem like a light-hearted party affair. With the exception of "Turn You Lights Down Low" these songs are very good. There's a light side to the album but also a very serious side.

Bob Marley - Survival
This album has my favorite Bob Marly song, "Ride Natty Ride". Overall it has Bob Marley taking up the cause of injustice in Africa. Great CD, but probably not as good overall as Exodus.

Black Sabbath - Black Box
This is a box set of the first eight Black Sabbath albums when Ozzie Osbourne was the lead singer. The albums are Black Sabbath, Paranoid, Master of Reality, No. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage, Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die! The slow heavy guitar riffs have a tendency to drag but the guitar solos elevate things. I don't think they ever did anything better than Paranoid, their second album. Though I have yet to actually listen to all of them.

U2 - War
I had War already, but I wanted to hear the remastered version. And it's pretty good. Not too loud and seems to maintain the dynamic range of the original with more clarity. This is a really good album. One of the best U2 ever did.

Pink Floyd - Saucer Full of Secrets
The second Pink Floyd album. There were four other albums released between this one and their big hit Dark Side of the Moon. The sound is much weirder and harder to listen to but it's growing on me.

Pink Floyd - Relics
A collection of songs from Pink Floyd's early days. Three songs come from their first two albums, a couple from the soundtrack for a movie called "Muse" and a lot of early singles and rarities. Not quite as hard to swallow as Saucer and there is some really awesome stuff, particularly the "Muse" songs. But if you are only familiar with later Pink Floyd this will not sound familiar.

Madonna - American Life
Madonna makes a political statement. I'm a fan of this period of Madonna's music which includes her two previous albums. I love the electronica beats harnessed by Madonna's poppy melodies. I love it when artists take on political themes. The scathing title track is almost too over the top with it's satirical faux rap but I dig it. I have the edited version of the album.

Yes - Close to the Edge
How come I've never heard a Yes song before? I love this album and it's probably my favorite of this batch of CDs. It's overblown prog rock and I only bought it based on my love of the prog rock band Jethro Tull. There were only three songs on the original album, but they ranged from 10 minutes to over 20. I love this over the top stuff. It rocks but it's not heavy like Black Sabbath or even Jethro Tull.