What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Oh Man, these guys are having fun.... :banana-dreads: :banana-guitar: :banana-tux:

Live Art -- 2 CD Set

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones

1996 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Something of a retrospective, Live Art is a treat for both newcomers and aficionados of the eye-popping artistry that is Bela Fleck, not to mention his more-than-capable partners in crime, bassist Victor Wooten and percussionist (well, it's not exactly a drum set he plays) Future Man. This two-disc set features live performances spanning a four-year period, with several guest appearances: Branford Marsalis sits in on "Flying Saucer Dudes," Chick Corea is featured on "The Message," and Bruce Hornsby appears on "More Luv." Several never-before-recorded songs appear here as well--the Scottish-inflected "Lochs of Dread," among others. Favorites like "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo," "UFO Tofu," and "Sinister Minister" are here as well, making this a well-rounded, enjoyable collection for any Fleck fan. Jazz? Folk? Bluegrass? Who knows, but whatever it is, it's well worth hearing. --Genevieve Williams

Disc 1

"Intro" – 0:38
"New South Africa" (Béla Fleck) – 4:43
"Stomping Grounds" (Victor Wooten/Fleck) – 5:26
"Lochs of Dread" (Fleck/Jerry Douglas) – 5:45
"Bigfoot" (Fleck) – 7:32
"Far East Medley" (P.D., arr. Fleck/V. Wooten/Future Man) – 7:21
"Flying Saucer Dudes" (Fleck) – 5:35
"UFO Tofu" (Fleck) – 3:38
"Interlude - Libation, The Water Ritual" (Future Man) – 3:06
"Vix 9" (V. Wooten) – 6:02
"The Message" (Fleck/Joe Wooten/V. Wooten/Future Man) – 4:05

Disc 2

"Improv/Amazing Grace" (P.D., arr. V. Wooten) – 6:46
"Shubbee's Doobie" (Fleck/Sam Bush) – 4:40
"Oh! Darling" (Lennon/McCartney) – 6:21
"Blu-bop" (Fleck/Howard Levy/V. Wooten/Future Man) – 7:36
"Sunset Road" (Fleck) – 5:56
"More Luv" (V. Wooten) – 7:43
"Early Reflection/Bach/The Ballad of Jed Clampett" – 6:09
"Early Reflection" (Fleck)
"Presto" from Sonata #1 in G minor for unaccompanied violin (Johann Sebastian Bach)
"The Ballad of Jed Clampett" (Paul Henning)
"Cheeseballs in Cowtown" (Fleck) – 5:38
"Sinister Minister" (Fleck) – 7:30
"Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" (Fleck) – 4:52


The Flecktones :bow-blue:

Béla Fleck - 5-string, 6-string, and electric synth banjos
Future Man - synth-axe drumitar, zendrum, acoustic percussion (on banjos and Philippine trash can), vocals
Victor Wooten - electric fretless, and tenor basses, cello, vocals

Guest musicians :text-bravo:

Sam Bush - mandolin, violin, vocals
Paul McCandless - soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, pennywhistle, English horn, sopranino saxophone
Branford Marsalis - soprano saxophone
Howard Levy - keyboards, harmonica
Chick Corea - piano, zendrum
Edgar Meyer - Acoustic bass (bowed)
Stuart Duncan - violin
Jerry Douglas - dobro
John Cowan - vocals on "Oh! Darling"
Bruce Hornsby - piano, vocals

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening....

October Road -- CD

James Taylor

2002 Columbia Records

Amazon.com

There's a comfortable sense of the familiar to James Taylor's first collection of new songs since 1997's Grammy winner Hourglass; such is the curse of being a decades-spanning cultural icon. But, as on his best work, there's also an almost stealthy sense of musical restlessness that seeps into Taylor's songs here, as he colors some with deft jazz and international influences. The reunion with producer Russ Titelman (they last collaborated on 1976's In the Pocket) seems to have gratifyingly inspired as much gentle reassessment as retrenchment. Longtime Titelman compatriot Ry Cooder guests on the title track, a song whose autumnal comforts fit the Taylor canon and other album tracks like "September Grass," "Baby Buffalo," "My Traveling Star," and "On the Fourth of July" (the story of Taylor's romantic meeting with current wife Kim) like an old slipper. However, "Belfast to Boston" cries for peace in Ireland and elsewhere with some surprising Gaelic flourishes, while "Whenever You're Ready" throws some Brazilian rhythms and jazzy horns into the mix, and Dave Grusin's slick orchestral arrangement turns "Mean Old Man" into an elegant cabaret surprise. A little more of this musical adventure amidst the familiar romantic ballads and paeans to the comfort of home and family--including a gorgeously spare cover of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"--certainly wouldn't hurt. --Jerry McCulley

All songs by James Taylor unless otherwise noted.

"September Grass" (John I. Sheldon) – 4:51
"October Road" – 3:57
"On the 4th of July" – 3:25
"Whenever You're Ready" – 4:14
"Belfast to Boston" – 4:16
"Mean Old Man" – 3:44
"My Traveling Star" – 3:55
"Raised Up Family" – 4:40
"Carry Me on My Way" – 4:30
"Caroline I See You" – 4:58
"Baby Buffalo" – 4:50
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (H. Martin, R. Blane) – 3:50

 

[Botch]

 

[Botch]

 

[heeman]

 

[Botch]

 

[Botch]

 

[Botch]

 

[Botch]

 

[Dennie]

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road -- 2 CD Set

Elton John

1973 MCA Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Rarely mentioned as one of the great double albums, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road had to settle for ending up in a few million record collections. So sprawling that it doesn't quite measure up to the earlier, more laid-back Honky Chateau or the later, pushy Rock of the Westies, this still holds claim to a lot of brilliant, very pop-savvy music: the winking rebellion of "Bennie and the Jets" and "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," the ready-made nostalgia of "The Ballad of Danny Bailey," the downbeat melodicism of "Harmony." --Rickey Wright

Disc One

1. Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
2. Candle in the Wind
3. Bennie and the Jets
4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
5. This Song Has No Title
6. Grey Seal
7. Jamaica Jerk Off
8. I've Seen That Movie Too

Disc Two

1. Sweet Painted Lady
2. The Ballad of Danny Bailey (1909-1934)
3. Dirty Little Girl
4. All the Young Girls Love Alice
5. Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'N' Roll)
6. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
7. Roy Rogers
8. Social Disease
9. Harmony
10. Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady)
11. Jack Rabbit
12. Screw You (Young Man Blues)
13. Candle in the Wind[Acoustic Mix][#]









7759

 

[topper]

.. the 2002 release ~ (vs. 1990 rel.

~ both are on Tuff Gong label ~ Island Rrecords
[which are good recordings]

 

[Dennie]

Mothership -- 2 CD Set

Led Zeppelin

2007 Atlantic Records

Amazon.com

For years, as playlists and multidisc players put Led Zeppelin tracks into a mix, there was a perpetual need to adjust the volume when Zep came on. Their tunes languished in the haze of substandard remastering--until now, at least for the 24 tracks on Mothership and the final fullness of the new Song Remains the Same reissue. For its part, Mothership's crisper, warmer audio owes its heft to the troika of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, who helped oversee the mastering, bringing out untold shades even in the throes of "Heartbreaker" and the sinews of "No Quarter." It's an impressive sonic leap. Where tinny high-ends and muffled lows used to co-exist, fatter and louder depths prevail. It's ever more astonishing that Zep got on with just four blokes. You can quibble with the 24 tracks here (where's "The Ocean"?), but the band picked each track here, from the stone-cold locks ("Communication Breakdown" and "Stairway to Heaven," no, duh) to the robust throb of "When the Levee Breaks." As for "The Ocean," you can find that in fantastically full form, along with five other gems on the newly remastered Song Remains the Same, which shows up for 2007's holiday season on DVD, too. Only rarely have four lads from England made so memorable an auditory and visual blast. --Andrew Bartlett

Disc one

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Good Times Bad Times" (from Led Zeppelin, 1969) John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page 2:48
2. "Communication Breakdown" (from Led Zeppelin, 1969) Bonham, Jones, Page 2:30
3. "Dazed and Confused" (from Led Zeppelin, 1969) Page 6:27
4. "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (from Led Zeppelin, 1969) Anne Bredon, Page, Robert Plant 6:42
5. "Whole Lotta Love" (from Led Zeppelin II, 1969) Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant, Willie Dixon 5:34
6. "Ramble On" (from Led Zeppelin II, 1969) Page, Plant 4:24
7. "Heartbreaker" (from Led Zeppelin II, 1969) Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant 4:14
8. "Immigrant Song" (from Led Zeppelin III, 1970) Page, Plant 2:27
9. "Since I've Been Loving You" (from Led Zeppelin III, 1970) Jones, Page, Plant 7:24
10. "Rock and Roll" (from Led Zeppelin IV, 1971) Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant 3:41
11. "Black Dog" (from Led Zeppelin IV, 1971) Jones, Page, Plant 4:58
12. "When the Levee Breaks" (from Led Zeppelin IV, 1971) Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant, Memphis Minnie 7:10
13. "Stairway to Heaven" (from Led Zeppelin IV, 1971) Page, Plant 8:02

Disc two

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "The Song Remains the Same" (from Houses of the Holy, 1973) Page, Plant 5:31
2. "Over the Hills and Far Away" (from Houses of the Holy, 1973) Page, Plant 4:50
3. "D'yer Mak'er" (from Houses of the Holy, 1973) Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant 4:23
4. "No Quarter" (from Houses of the Holy, 1973) Jones, Page, Plant 7:00
5. "Trampled Under Foot" (from Physical Graffiti, 1975) Jones, Page, Plant 5:36
6. "Houses of the Holy" (from Physical Graffiti, 1975) Page, Plant 4:03
7. "Kashmir" (from Physical Graffiti, 1975) Bonham, Page, Plant 8:31
8. "Nobody's Fault but Mine" (from Presence, 1976) Page, Plant 6:27
9. "Achilles Last Stand" (from Presence, 1976) Page, Plant 10:25
10. "In the Evening" (from In Through the Out Door, 1979) Jones, Page, Plant 6:51
11. "All My Love" (from In Through the Out Door, 1979) Jones, Plant 5:53

 

[Vinyl]

The Maggie’s are out for repairs – this is the album that probably killed the Maggie’s - I’m playing my trusty Vandersteen C1 till they come back.

 

[Dennie]

Thyrty - 30th Anniversary Collection -- 2 CD Set

Lynyrd Skynyrd

2003 MCA Records
Thirty Years of Great Southern Rock!!, August 12, 2003
By Louie Bourland (Garden Grove CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)


This review is from: Thyrty: 30th Anniversary Collection (Audio CD)

Lynyrd Skynyrd commemorates the 30th anniversary of their debut album with the release of "Thyrty", a collection that spans Skynyrd's entire career from 1970 up to the present including music from every album the band has ever released.
"Thyrty" includes such Skynyrd classics as "Gimme Three Steps", "Workin' For MCA", "What's Your Name", "That Smell" and the immortal "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". There are also tracks from the recent years of the band with Johnny Van Zant as vocalist. It's truly amazing to hear the similarities between the voices of Ronnie and Johnny. One would almost think it was the same person singing all the songs on this compilation.
For die-hard Skynyrd fanatics, "Thyrty" includes one unreleased track from 1970 entitled "Blues Medley" which is a 10-minute stellar blues jam featuring a youthful Ronnie Van Zant singing his heart out along with some jaw-dropping guitar work from Allen Collins and Gary Rossington. This compilation is almost worth it for this track alone.
This latest Lynyrd Skynyrd compilation is a definitive retrospective of Jacksonville, Florida's greatest band. If you don't own any of the other many Skynyrd compilations out there, "Thyrty" is definitely one to have. You get music from every era of the band plus an rare unreleased track and a CD booklet loaded with great photos and a brief but detailed history of the band. Definitely Essential.

Disc 1

Sweet Home Alabama
Blues Medley
Down South Jukin'
Was I Right or Wrong
I Ain't the One
Tuesday's Gone
Gimme Three Steps
Workin' for MCA
The Ballad of Curtis Loew
Call Me The Breeze
Saturday Night Special
All I Can Do Is Write About It
Free Bird

Disc 2

Whiskey Rock-A-Roller
Simple Man
What's Your Name
That Smell
I Know A Little
You Got That Right
Comin' Home
Gimme Back My Bullets
Smokestack Lightning
The Last Rebel
Things Goin' On
Talked Myself Right Into It
We Ain't Much Different
Workin'
Mad Hatter






7783

 

[topper]

Thyrty - 30th Anniversary Collection -- 2 CD Set

Lynyrd Skynyrd

2003 MCA Records
Thirty Years of Great Southern Rock!!, August 12, 2003
By Louie Bourland (Garden Grove CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)


This review is from: Thyrty: 30th Anniversary Collection (Audio CD)

Lynyrd Skynyrd commemorates the 30th anniversary of their debut album with the release of "Thyrty", a collection that spans Skynyrd's entire career from 1970 up to the present including music from every album the band has ever released.
"Thyrty" includes such Skynyrd classics as "Gimme Three Steps", "Workin' For MCA", "What's Your Name", "That Smell" and the immortal "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". There are also tracks from the recent years of the band with Johnny Van Zant as vocalist. It's truly amazing to hear the similarities between the voices of Ronnie and Johnny. One would almost think it was the same person singing all the songs on this compilation.
For die-hard Skynyrd fanatics, "Thyrty" includes one unreleased track from 1970 entitled "Blues Medley" which is a 10-minute stellar blues jam featuring a youthful Ronnie Van Zant singing his heart out along with some jaw-dropping guitar work from Allen Collins and Gary Rossington. This compilation is almost worth it for this track alone.
This latest Lynyrd Skynyrd compilation is a definitive retrospective of Jacksonville, Florida's greatest band. If you don't own any of the other many Skynyrd compilations out there, "Thyrty" is definitely one to have. You get music from every era of the band plus an rare unreleased track and a CD booklet loaded with great photos and a brief but detailed history of the band. Definitely Essential.

Disc 1

Sweet Home Alabama
Blues Medley
Down South Jukin'
Was I Right or Wrong
I Ain't the One
Tuesday's Gone
Gimme Three Steps
Workin' for MCA
The Ballad of Curtis Loew
Call Me The Breeze
Saturday Night Special
All I Can Do Is Write About It
Free Bird

Disc 2

Whiskey Rock-A-Roller
Simple Man
What's Your Name
That Smell
I Know A Little
You Got That Right
Comin' Home
Gimme Back My Bullets
Smokestack Lightning
The Last Rebel
Things Goin' On
Talked Myself Right Into It
We Ain't Much Different
Workin'
Mad Hatter






7783

~~~~~~~ This two-disc set sounds great! . . . . .
And I'm thinkin' it would sound a whole lot better in my living room.

 

[Dennie]

Thyrty - 30th Anniversary Collection -- 2 CD Set

Lynyrd Skynyrd

2003 MCA Records
Thirty Years of Great Southern Rock!!, August 12, 2003
By Louie Bourland (Garden Grove CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)


This review is from: Thyrty: 30th Anniversary Collection (Audio CD)

Lynyrd Skynyrd commemorates the 30th anniversary of their debut album with the release of "Thyrty", a collection that spans Skynyrd's entire career from 1970 up to the present including music from every album the band has ever released.
"Thyrty" includes such Skynyrd classics as "Gimme Three Steps", "Workin' For MCA", "What's Your Name", "That Smell" and the immortal "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". There are also tracks from the recent years of the band with Johnny Van Zant as vocalist. It's truly amazing to hear the similarities between the voices of Ronnie and Johnny. One would almost think it was the same person singing all the songs on this compilation.
For die-hard Skynyrd fanatics, "Thyrty" includes one unreleased track from 1970 entitled "Blues Medley" which is a 10-minute stellar blues jam featuring a youthful Ronnie Van Zant singing his heart out along with some jaw-dropping guitar work from Allen Collins and Gary Rossington. This compilation is almost worth it for this track alone.
This latest Lynyrd Skynyrd compilation is a definitive retrospective of Jacksonville, Florida's greatest band. If you don't own any of the other many Skynyrd compilations out there, "Thyrty" is definitely one to have. You get music from every era of the band plus an rare unreleased track and a CD booklet loaded with great photos and a brief but detailed history of the band. Definitely Essential.

Disc 1

Sweet Home Alabama
Blues Medley
Down South Jukin'
Was I Right or Wrong
I Ain't the One
Tuesday's Gone
Gimme Three Steps
Workin' for MCA
The Ballad of Curtis Loew
Call Me The Breeze
Saturday Night Special
All I Can Do Is Write About It
Free Bird

Disc 2

Whiskey Rock-A-Roller
Simple Man
What's Your Name
That Smell
I Know A Little
You Got That Right
Comin' Home
Gimme Back My Bullets
Smokestack Lightning
The Last Rebel
Things Goin' On
Talked Myself Right Into It
We Ain't Much Different
Workin'
Mad Hatter






7783

~~~~~~~ This two-disc set sounds great! . . . . .
And I'm thinkin' it would sound a whole lot better in my living room.

It absolutely would! :handgestures-thumbup:

Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music

City To City -- CD

Gerry Rafferty

1973/1990 Capitol Records

Amazon.com

It took Quentin Tarantino's using "Stuck in the Middle with You," the 1973 hit of Gerry Rafferty's former band Stealers Wheel, in Reservoir Dogs to make Rafferty hip again. But City to City, his 1978 solo breakthrough, has long been worth rediscovering--and not just because it contains "Baker Street," one of the biggest and best singles of the 1970s. Rafferty brilliantly modernizes his Scottish folk-rock background on such pop treasures as the churning title track, the minor follow-up hit "Right Down the Line," the bouncing ditty "Mattie's Rag," the enchantingly churchy "Whatever's Written in Your Heart," and others. It's as rewardingly refreshing a change of pace now as it was when it emerged in the midst of the disco era. --Peter Blackstock

"The Ark" – 5:36
"Baker Street" – 6:01
"Right Down the Line" – 4:20
"City to City" – 4:51
"Stealin' Time" – 5:39
"Mattie's Rag" – 3:28
"Whatever's Written in Your Heart" – 6:30
"Home and Dry" – 4:52
"Island" – 5:04
"Waiting for the Day" – 5:26





7800

 

[Dennie]

French Kiss -- CD

Bob Welch

1977/1992 Capitol Records

French Kiss is the solo debut by former Fleetwood Mac singer/guitarist Bob Welch. The songs, with the exception of "Sentimental Lady", were intended for a projected third album by Welch's previous band, Paris. However, the group fell apart in 1977 before recording could begin. So instead, Welch used these songs for his debut solo album.

For the most part, French Kiss presents a mix of hard rock guitar, disco-ish rhythms and sweeping strings. The big hits were "Ebony Eyes", which peaked at #14 in the US, and a revised version of "Sentimental Lady", which peaked at #8, a song that Welch had originally recorded with Fleetwood Mac in 1972, for the album Bare Trees.

"Sentimental Lady" - 2:52
"Easy to Fall" - 3:31
"Hot Love, Cold World" - 3:39
"Mystery Train" - 3:07
"Lose My Heart" - 1:55
"Outskirts" - 3:19
"Ebony Eyes" - 3:33
"Lose Your..." - 0:45
"Carolene" - 3:13
"Dancin' Eyes" - 3:20
"Danchiva" - 3:15
"Lose Your Heart" - 3:16

 

[trash]

 

[Dennie]

Fleetwood Mac -- CD

Fleetwood Mac

1975/1990 Reprise Records

Amazon.com

Given their monumental legacy, it's hard to imagine that the so-called "classic edition" of Fleetwood Mac essentially came together casually over chips and margaritas at an L.A. eatery; the then-obscure duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks (whose own mid-'70s debut album had initially gone almost straight to the cut-out bins) became the crucial axis of the legendary band without so much as a formal audition. As the eponymous title suggests, the 1975 Mac realignment seems like a fresh start, though tracks like Christine McVie's smooth-jazz inflected "Warm Ways" hearken back to the Bob Welch/Bare Trees/Heroes Are Hard to Find era. But it's Buckingham's compelling, updated take on '60s California folk-pop, informed by the mystique of Nicks's proto-New Age song-sorceress presumptions, that breathed new life into the veteran, chameleonic band on now-familiar songs like "Monday Morning" and "Rhiannon." His chemistry with McVie is no less powerful, yielding such Mac staples as their collaboration "World Turning" and suffusing her "Over My Head" with nervous, insistent guitar rhythms.

"Monday Morning" (Lindsey Buckingham) – 2:48
"Warm Ways" (Christine McVie) – 3:54
"Blue Letter" (Rick Curtis, Mike Curtis) – 2:41
"Rhiannon" (Stevie Nicks) – 4:11
"Over My Head" (C. McVie) – 3:38
"Crystal" (Nicks) – 5:14
"Say You Love Me" (C. McVie) – 4:11
"Landslide" (Nicks) – 3:19
"World Turning" (Buckingham, C. McVie) – 4:25
"Sugar Daddy" (C. McVie) – 4:10
"I'm So Afraid" (Buckingham) – 4:22