What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

On the back deck, where it is a warm 60 degrees.... :chores-chopwood:

Sleep Through The Static -- CD

Jack Johnson

2008 Brushfire Records

Amazon.com

Jack Johnson recorded his fourth album using nothing but solar power. This is somehow fitting for a singer-songwriter, surfer, and filmmaker who spends most of his days floating in the ocean under Hawaii's open skies. The forces of nature certainly seem to have found their way into the mellow grooves of standout tracks like "What You Thought You Need," "Adrift," and "Go On," songs so lovely and effortless that you can almost hear the melodies coming to Johnson on a warm breeze that rustles through the coconut trees. Sleep Through the Static documents his best work to date, even better than the Curious George soundtrack. The sedate singer transforms the acoustic campfire strums of the past into sublime, soulful ruminations on his wife, kids, and the state of the world. He even manages to conjure up some real anger on the title track, which is hardly diminished by its lavish grooves and glistening harmonies. --Aidin Vaziri

All tracks composed by Jack Johnson, except where noted.

"All at Once" – 3:38
"Sleep Through the Static" – 3:43
"Hope" (Jack Johnson, Zach Rogue) – 3:42
"Angel" – 2:02
"Enemy" – 3:48
"If I Had Eyes" – 3:59
"Same Girl" – 2:10
"What You Thought You Need" – 5:27
"Adrift" – 3:56
"Go On " – 4:35
"They Do, They Don't" – 4:10
"While We Wait" – 1:26
"Monsoon" (Jack Johnson, Merlo Podlewski) – 4:17
"Losing Keys" – 4:28

 

[PaulyT]

Pauly -
I own that Spyro Gyra SACD and find "Wrapped In A Dream" more enjoyable.

Rope

Yup, I've got that one too (and also Original Cinema), but haven't listened to those two yet; just randomly picked Go-Go because of the hot chick on the cover I guess. I also really like track #10 (Winter Tale) on that album.

 

[Dennie]

Running On Empty -- CD

Jackson Browne

1977/1990 Elektra Records

Amazon.com
Recorded onstage, backstage, in three different hotel rooms, and on a Continental Silver Eagle tour bus during a cross-country 1977 tour, Running on Empty is a paean to life on the road. Jackson Browne's sense of camaraderie extended to the road crew, if "The Load Out," a love song to his roadies, is to be believed. Browne is much more blithe here than in his earlier outings. But Empty also represents a fleeting lighthearted moment for the singer-cum-poet whose concerns became more political than personal after its appearance. Beneath its flippant surface, this disc is a look at the lengths Browne and his friends went to avoid facing the demands of the touring life. What with the frequent drug references, misogynistic references to on-the-fly pairings with women, and the sobering line in the title track--"I look around for the friends I used to pull me through / Looking into their eyes, I see them running, too"--one realizes that Browne was much more comfortable on the road than off. --Jaan Uhelszki

"Running on Empty" (Browne) – 5:20
Recorded live (8/27/77), Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
"The Road" (Danny O'Keefe) – 4:50
Recorded in room 301 (8/27/77), Cross Keys Inn, Baltimore, MD (first — 2:58) and live (9/7/77), Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
"Rosie" (Browne, Donald Miller) – 3:37
Recorded backstage (9/1/77) "in the big rehearsal room," Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Doug Haywood and tour photographer Joel Bernstein sing harmony.
"You Love the Thunder" (Browne) – 3:52
Recorded live (9/6/77), Holmdel, NJ
"Cocaine" (Browne, Reverend Gary Davis, Glenn Frey) – 4:55
Recorded in room 124 (8/17/77), Holiday Inn, Edwardsville, IL
"Shaky Town" (Danny Kortchmar) – 3:36
Recorded in room 124 (8/18/77), Holiday Inn, Edwardsville, IL
Danny Kortchmar sings harmony.
"Love Needs a Heart" (Browne, Valerie Carter, Lowell George) – 3:28
Recorded live (9/17/77), Universal City, CA
"Nothing but Time" (Browne, Howard Burke) – 3:05
Recorded "on a bus (a Continental Silver Eagle) somewhere in New Jersey" (9/8/77)
Russ Kunkel is credited as playing "snare, hi-hat, and cardboard box with foot pedal." The song was recorded aboard the band's Continental Silver Eagle tour bus (hence the lyrical reference to "Silver Eagle") while en route from Portland, Maine to their next gig in New Jersey. The bus's engine is audible in the background throughout, and its downshift and acceleration can be plainly heard during the bridge.
"The Load-Out" (Browne, Bryan Garofalo) – 5:38
Recorded live (8/27/77), Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
"Stay" (Maurice Williams) – 3:28
Recorded live (8/27/77), Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

 

[Botch]

5.1 SACD... :music-listening:

 

[Dennie]

Quah

Jorma Kaukonen with Tom Hobson

1974 Grunt Records

Quah is the first solo album by Jorma Kaukonen of Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane. The album was recorded with Tom Hobson. The initial plan was to have side-A be Kaukonen and side-B be Hobson. However, RCA felt that Hobson's recordings would not be accepted by the public.[1] Initially the record was planned to be released in mid-1973, but because of the issues with Hobson, Kaukonen returned to the studio to record new tracks for side B in May 1974. Only "Blue Prelude" and "Sweet Hawaiian Sunshine" of the original 1974 release feature Hobson's lead vocal, although he also plays guitar on "I'll Let You Know Before I Leave." On the CD reissue, Hobson is featured on all bonus tracks except for "Lord Have Mercy."

In 1980, Grunt Records reissued the album with a different cover that used the photographs that were originally used inside the gatefold. In 1987, Relix Records released the album under license from RCA. It was released on vinyl and was one of the first CDs released by an independent record label in the USA. The first Relix version was pressed in Switzerland, then Japan and finally manufactured in the USA. Relix also released a remastered and graphically revised version in the late 1990s with computer improved tracks from the original masters. BMG (incorporating the former RCA) re-released the original album on CD in 2003, along with the bonus tracks featuring Hobson.

Side One "Genesis" (Jorma Kaukonen) – 4:19 "I'll Be All Right" (traditional, arranged by Rev. Gary Davis, Kaukonen) – 3:08 "Song for the North Star" (Kaukonen) – 2:52 "I'll Let You Know Before I Leave" (Kaukonen) – 2:17 "Flying Clouds" (Kaukonen) – 4:07 "Another Man Done Gone" (Ruby Pickens Tart, Vera Hall, John Lomax, Alan Lomax) – 2:54

Side Two "I Am The Light Of This World" (Davis) – 3:46 "Police Dog Blues" (Blind Arthur Blake, arranged by Kaukonen) – 3:45 "Blue Prelude" (Gordon Jenkins) – 4:05 "Sweet Hawaiian Sunshine " (Tom Hobson) – 2:42 "Hamar Promenade" (Kaukonen) – 4:34

 

[Dennie]

The Best of Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke

1962 RCA Records

There's a timeless quality to Sam Cooke's music. And while he's been imitated from Dr. Hook and the Animals to Rod Stewart and Art Garfunkel, they've never matched the soulfulness of these originals. It's too bad the 2-disc collection The Man And His Music (1986) is out of print. While The Best Of does a fine job of covering his early commercial peak (1957-1962), it overlooks his gospel music and his post-1962 output. This is a fine collection and I have it on vinyl, but if you're upgrading to a CD release, go with 1998's Greatest Hits which includes everything on this album (except "Summertime") plus an additional nine songs.

1. You Send Me
2. Only Sixteen
3. Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha
4. For Sentimental Reasons
5. Wonderful World
6. Summertime
7. Chain Gang
8. Cupid
9. Twistin' the Night Away
10. Sad Mood
11. Having a Party
12. Bring It on Home to Me

 

[Dennie]

Can't Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan

1972 ABC Records

Can't Buy a Thrill is the first album by Steely Dan. Originally released in 1972, the album was a huge success. It went gold, and then platinum, peaking at #17 on the charts. In 2003, the album was ranked number 238 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Two songs were left out from the album and released as a single ("Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway"), but to date they have not been released on CD.

The album was originally released in two-channel Stereo and also in a special four-channel Quadrophonic mix. There are some significant musical differences between the two mixes, such as extra lead guitar fills in the Quad mix of "Reelin' in the Years".

The album cover features a line of prostitutes standing in a red light area waiting for clients, an image which was chosen because of its relevance to the album title. [1] The cover was banned in Franco's Spain and was replaced with a photograph of the band playing in concert. The title is taken from a lyric in the Bob Dylan song "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" on Highway 61 Revisited.[2] Becker and Fagen themselves commented on the album art in their liner notes to the reissued The Royal Scam, saying the aforementioned album possessed "the most hideous album cover of the seventies, bar none (excepting perhaps Can't Buy a Thrill)."
Side one

"Do It Again" – 5:56
Solos by Denny Dias and Donald Fagen
Vocal by Donald Fagen
"Dirty Work" – 3:08
Sax solo by Jerome Richardson
Vocal by David Palmer
"Kings" – 3:45
Solo by Elliot Randall
Vocal by Donald Fagen
"Midnite Cruiser" – 4:08
Solo by Jeff Baxter
Vocal by Jim Hodder
"Only a Fool Would Say That" – 2:57
Solo by Jeff Baxter
Vocal by Donald Fagen and David Palmer

Side two

"Reelin' in the Years" – 4:37
Lead guitar by Elliot Randall
Vocal by Donald Fagen
"Fire in the Hole" – 3:28
Steel guitar by Jeff Baxter
Vocal by Donald Fagen
"Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)" – 4:21
Steel guitar by Jeff Baxter
Vocal by David Palmer
"Change of the Guard" – 3:39
Solo by Jeff Baxter
Vocals by Donald Fagen and David Palmer
"Turn That Heartbeat Over Again" – 4:58
Vocal by Donald Fagen, Walter Becker and David Palmer

 

[Dennie]

Wind On The Water

David Crosby & Graham Nash

1975 ABC Records

This was Crosby & Nash's second album as a duo; it was also their first for ABC Records, although, interestingly, cassette and 8-track versions of the album were distributed by their previous label, Atlantic Records. Wind on the Water surprised many listeners with its heavier rock numbers and its trenchant lyrics about aging and death. Crosby and Nash were in their thirties and approaching middle age, and events in personal lives, such as the death of Crosby's mother (which "Carry Me" was partially written about) also affected their songwriting.

Wind on the Water is considered an "adult rock" album by many critics, many of them suggesting that it reflects the more mature outlook of two men who are more traveled and more seasoned than younger performers.

1. "Carry Me" (Crosby) – 3:35
2. "Mama Lion" (Crosby, Nash) – 3:17
3. "Bittersweet" (Crosby) – 2:39
4. "Take the Money and Run" (Nash, Rafferty) – 3:23
5. "Naked in the Rain" (Crosby, Nash) – 2:27
6. "Love Work Out" (Nash) – 4:45
7. "Low Down Payment" (Crosby) – 4:54
8. "Cowboy of Dreams" (Nash) – 3:30
9. "Homeward Through the Haze" (Crosby) – 4:06
10. "Fieldworker" (Nash) – 2:47
11. "To the Last Whale... (A. Critical Mass/B. Wind on the Water)" (Crosby, Nash) – 5:33

 

[Botch]

Can't Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan

Two songs were left out from the album and released as a single ("Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway"), but to date they have not been released on CD.

:scared-eek: Do Want!
"Dallas" was covered by Poco, on their Head Over Heels album iirc, but I'd love to hear the Dan version, plus Waterway which I've never heard.
The boxed set of their original albums (Thrill thru Gaucho on 4 CDs) included a really crappy early version of Everyone's Gone to the Movies, sure wish they'd included the above two songs instead.

 

[Dennie]

Shadowland - The Owen Bradley Sessions

k.d. lang

1988 Sire Records


Shadowland is the debut solo album by k.d. lang, released in 1988 (see 1988 in music). The album included her collaboration with Kitty Wells, Loretta Lynn and Brenda Lee on "Honky Tonk Angels' Medley" and was produced by Owen Bradley, who produced Patsy Cline's best-known work.

Side one

1. "Western Stars" (Chris Isaak) – 3:12
2. "Lock, Stock and Teardrops" (Roger Miller) – 3:28
3. "Sugar Moon" (Cindy Walker, Bob Wills) – 2:26
4. "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" (Frank Loesser) – 3:07
5. "(Waltz Me) Once Again Around the Dance Floor" (Don Goodman, Sara Johns, Jack Rowland) – 2:35
6. "Black Coffee" (Sonny Burke, Paul Francis Webster) – 3:17

Side two

1. "Shadowland" (Dick Hyman, Charles Tobias) – 2:28
2. "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes" (Slim Willet) – 2:20
3. "Tears Don't Care Who Cries Them" (Fred Tobias, Charles Tobias) – 3:03
4. "I'm Down to My Last Cigarette" (Harlan Howard, Billy Walker) – 2:46
5. "Busy Being Blue" (Stewart MacDougall) – 3:40
6. "Honky Tonk Angels' Medley" – 2:55
* "In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)" (Leroy Carr, Don Raye)
* "You Nearly Lose Your Mind" (Ernest Tubb)
* "Blues Stay Away from Me" (Alton Delmore, Rabon Delmore, Wayne Raney, Henry Glover)

8359

 

[Botch]

 

[Dennie]

Nashville Skyline

Bob Dylan

1969 Columbia Records

Nashville Skyline is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's ninth studio album, released by Columbia Records in April 1969.

The album marked a dramatic departure for Dylan, previously known for his groundbreaking, poetic folk music and rock'n'roll. Nashville Skyline, building on a rustic style he experimented with on John Wesley Harding, displayed a complete immersion into country music. Along with the more basic themes, simple songwriting structures, and charming domestic feel, it introduced audiences to a radically new singing voice from Dylan — a soft, affected country croon.

The result received mostly positive reaction from critics at the time, and was a commercial success. Reaching number 3 in the US, the album also scored Dylan his fourth UK number 1 album. All songs written by Bob Dylan.

Side one

"Girl from the North Country" (with Johnny Cash) – 3:41
"Nashville Skyline Rag" – 3:12
"To Be Alone with You" – 2:07
"I Threw It All Away" – 2:23
"Peggy Day" – 2:01

Side two

"Lay Lady Lay" – 3:18
"One More Night" – 2:23
"Tell Me That It Isn't True" – 2:41
"Country Pie" – 1:37
"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" – 3:23

 

[Botch]

Side two

"Lay Lady Lay" – 3:18

For years I thought that song was done by Mac Davis... :?

 

[Dennie]

Can't Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan

Two songs were left out from the album and released as a single ("Dallas" and "Sail the Waterway"), but to date they have not been released on CD.

:scared-eek: Do Want!
"Dallas" was covered by Poco, on their Head Over Heels album iirc, but I'd love to hear the Dan version, plus Waterway which I've never heard.
The boxed set of their original albums (Thrill thru Gaucho on 4 CDs) included a really crappy early version of Everyone's Gone to the Movies, sure wish they'd included the above two songs instead.

They will be touring in a few months, maybe you can catch up to them and tell them about it.

Here is the schedule: http://www.steelydan.com/

If they give you any grief, let us know and we'll get Rope and go open one of these......

Dennie :angry-tappingfoot:

 

[Dennie]

Side two

"Lay Lady Lay" – 3:18

For years I thought that song was done by Mac Davis... :?

I'm sure he "covered" it! It is a perfect song for his voice, which I have to admit to liking. I remember watching his T.V. Show as a kid. People would give him a topic and he'd make up a song about it, on the spot. Lot's O'fun! :laughing-rolling:


Dennie

 

[Rope]

Side two

"Lay Lady Lay" – 3:18

For years I thought that song was done by Mac Davis... :?

If it makes you feel any better, and to expose my deep pool of knowlege concerning music, up until three months ago I would have bet good money that Jimmy Buffett was the orignator of Escape (Pina Colada Song).

Rope

 

[Dennie]

Comes A Time

Neil Young

1978 Reprise Records

Comes a Time is a 1978 album by Neil Young, and a return to the country/folk rock sound of Harvest (1972). Many of the tracks are highlighted by harmony vocals from Nicolette Larson. Originally, it had started out as a solo record, but when Young played it for Reprise executives they asked him if he wouldn't mind adding rhythm tracks to what he already had. Young agreed to this, and the end product was the Comes a Time that was released. Two songs had Young backed by Crazy Horse, resulting in them having a rawer sound to the smooth production of the rest of the album.

Side one

1. "Goin' Back" – 4:43
2. "Comes a Time" – 3:05
3. "Look Out for My Love" – 4:06
4. "Lotta Love" – 2:38
5. "Peace of Mind" – 4:11

Side two

1. "Human Highway" – 3:09
2. "Already One" – 4:53
3. "Field of Opportunity" – 3:08
4. "Motorcycle Mama" – 3:08
5. "Four Strong Winds" (Ian Tyson) – 4:07

 

[Botch]

I remember watching his T.V. Show as a kid. People would give him a topic and he'd make up a song about it, on the spot. Lot's O'fun! :laughing-rolling:


Dennie

I remember that too, classic TV dinner fare on Sunday nights (growing up we always watched Hee Haw, Mac Davis' show, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (poor Jim!), and before I left for college, Bill Cosby's show. Swanson's TV Dinners on real metal TV trays from Sears. :laughing-lettersrofl:

I can actually still remember one Mac Davis on-the-spot:
Audience member: "Gnats On The Water"
Mac:
"I have a friend, his name is Nat,
He has a beautiful daughter,
When she goes bathing in the lake,
ol' Nat's on the water..." (standard I-IV-V chord progression) :text-lol:

 

[Dennie]

I remember watching his T.V. Show as a kid. People would give him a topic and he'd make up a song about it, on the spot. Lot's O'fun! :laughing-rolling:


Dennie

I remember that too, classic TV dinner fare on Sunday nights (growing up we always watched Hee Haw, Mac Davis' show, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (poor Jim!), and before I left for college, Bill Cosby's show. Swanson's TV Dinners on real metal TV trays from Sears. :laughing-lettersrofl:

I can actually still remember one Mac Davis on-the-spot:
Audience member: "Gnats On The Water"
Mac:
"I have a friend, his name is Nat,
He has a beautiful daughter,
When she goes bathing in the lake,
ol' Nat's on the water..." (standard I-IV-V chord progression) :text-lol:

I think you are my long lost brother!! :scared-yipes: LOL

Yeah, those were simpler times. I was our first "Remote Control". "Dennie, go change the channel. Turn the volume up while you're there." "Not that much!" :angry-tappingfoot:

Ahhh, the good ol'Days!

Dennie :character-oldtimer:

PS I had the Swanson Chicken Dinner most of the time! :dance: Ummmm!

 

[Botch]

Yeah, those were simpler times. I was our first "Remote Control". "Dennie, go change the channel. Turn the volume up while you're there." "Not that much!" :angry-tappingfoot:

Ahhh, the good ol'Days!

Dennie :character-oldtimer:

PS I had the Swanson Chicken Dinner most of the time! :dance: Ummmm!

The Chopped Steak was my favorite.
Hopefully you didn't have to hold the tinfoil and coathanger antenna with your left leg at a 40-degree angle, like I did...