What Are You Listening To?

[heeman]

Sitting on the patio, with the wife, drinking a Hefe-Weizen, her a Red Wine, watching the pong.......wife says "keep the music melo".......

 

[heeman]

and this:

 

[Dennie]

and this:

Nice choices! I love Colbie! I don't own any of her albums...yet, but she gets a lot of radio play in my neck of the woods!

:text-bravo:


Dennie

 

[PaulyT]

My wife got that one - not bad, the first song kinda grabbed me most of the rest was too "pop" for my taste. But that's just me!

 

[Dennie]

Good Ol'American Soul Music....

Soul 69 -- Remastered CD

Aretha Franklin

1969/1993 Atlantic Records

MUSICAL REINVENTION AT ITS BEST, June 30, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Soul 69 (Audio CD)

Easily my favorite Aretha Franklin recording, Soul '69 combines the singer's great jazz, blues and pop instincts to produce a fusion that sounds like nothing in her extensive catalogue. The recording's title is oddly misleading, providing little clue as to what this remarkable song package really offers. The wailing vocals, bluesy and jazzy, echoed by the screaming horn arrangements, and the big band productions offer some remarkable interpretations and rearrangements to a list of some well chosen contemporary -- 1969? -- songs . Aretha has never sounded so inspired. I have returned to this masterpiece many times. In an odd way, it has a seamless feel, much like Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks", that sets a consistent tone -- heartbreak? discontent? The character in these songs may be lamenting, but with a fierceness and toughness (and ocassional tenderness) that makes each song soar. The singer's reworking of Smokey's classic "Tracks of My Tears" transforms sadness into defiance. If someone has ever really done you wrong, put on this record. Believe me, you will not cry. You'll CELEBRATE having everpienced the pain. You will won't walk away from these songs feeling like anyone's victim. These songs are bewitching chants on LOVE.

"Ramblin' (Maybelle Smith) – 3:10
"Today I Sing the Blues" (Curley Hamner, Curtis Lewis) – 4:25
"River's Invitation" (Percy Mayfield) – 2:40
"Pitiful" (Rosie Marie McCoy, Charlie Singleton) – 3:04
"Crazy He Calls Me" (Bob Russell, Carl Sigman) – 3:28
"Bring It on Home to Me" (Sam Cooke) – 3:45
"The Tracks of My Tears" (Warren "Pete" Moore, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Tarplin) – 2:56
"If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" (Rudy Clarke) – 3:08
"Gentle on My Mind" (John Hartford) – 2:28
"So Long" (Remus Harris, Irving Melsher, Russ Morgan) – 4:36
"I'll Never Be Free" (Bennie Benjamin, George David Weiss) – 4:15
"Elusive Butterfly" (Bob Lind) – 2:45

 

[Dennie]

My wife got that one - not bad, the first song kinda grabbed me most of the rest was too "pop" for my taste. But that's just me!

I find it helps to look at her picture when listening to her music...

Dennie :text-coolphotos:

 

[Dennie]

Fiyo On The Bayou -- CD

Neville Brothers

1981/1990 A&M Records

Amazon.com

The Neville Brothers, as a working unit, emerged as a result of 1976's magnificent Wild Tchoupitoulas project. On that album, the Brothers and their Meters cohorts backed a group of tribal chiefs (including their uncle "Big Chief Jolly") singing traditional Mardi Gras "war songs" and marches. The Nevilles' 1978 debut left behind their New Orleans foundation and suffered because of it. However, 1981's Fiyo represents the pinnacle of the Neville collective, a percolating mix of R&B, soul, funk, and Caribbean rhythms that celebrates their Crescent City heritage. The standards, of course, are entrusted to Aaron's heavenly pipes, but it's the New Orleans anthems that would come to define both the band and the city. --Marc Greilsamer

"Hey Pocky Way" (Modeliste, Neville, Nocentelli, Porter) - 4:14
"Sweet Honey Dripper" - 5:19
"Fire on the Bayou" (Modeliste, Neville, Nocentelli, Porter) - 5:16
"Ten Commandments of Love" (Paul) - 3:45
"Sitting in Limbo" (Bright, Cliff) - 4:11
"Brother John/Iko Iko" (King, Neville) - 5:34
"Mona Lisa" (Jean) - 3:45
"Run Joe" - 3:36

 

[Dennie]

American Beauty -- CD

Grateful Dead

1970/1990 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Who says discipline is a bad thing? No one who's heard American Beauty, the Dead's greatest studio achievement. Showcasing 10 concise, country-rooted gems that sound equally good whether you're hanging on the front porch in the afternoon or nursing a bottle after hours, this one could win over many an anti-Jerry. Bewildered by loss both personal and social--the hippie dream was quickly crashing by Beauty's 1970 release date--the band put its querulousness ("Box of Rain") and wry humor ("Truckin'") into the service of a masterwork. The most impressive cut of all may be "Ripple," Garcia's spiritual credo. --Rickey Wright

"Box of Rain" (Robert Hunter, Phil Lesh) – 5:18
"Friend of the Devil" (Jerry Garcia, John Dawson, Hunter) – 3:24
"Sugar Magnolia" (Bob Weir, Hunter) – 3:19
"Operator" (Ron McKernan) – 2:25
"Candyman" (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:14
"Ripple" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:09
"Brokedown Palace" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:09
"Till the Morning Comes" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:08
"Attics of My Life" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:12
"Truckin'" (Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Hunter) – 5:03

10801

 

[Dennie]

Meet Me At Midnite -- CD

Maria Muldaur

1994 Black Top Records

Product Description
Maria's classic tribute to Memphis

After the rootsy Louisiana Love Call gained adulation from critics and fans alike, Maria decided to follow her tribute to New Orleans with an album dedicated to the music of Memphis, particularly soul and blues. In doing so, she honed in on the theme of love, both the agony and the ecstasy, and its overriding importance to Southern music. The result was the masterful Meet Me At Midnite, which features guest vocals from famed Hi Records soul singer Ann Peebles.

Track listing

1. Trouble With My Lover
2. Meet Me at Midnight
3. Send the Man Back Home
4. Sweet Simple Love
5. Power in Music
6. Ease the Pain
7. Trouble With Love
8. Recovered Soul
9. Down So Low
10. Serve Somebody
11. Woman's Lament
12. Mississipi Muddy Water

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening....

Quiet Nights -- CD

Diana Krall

2009 Verve Records

Product Description

Diana Krall's 12th album Quiet Nights is an intimate recording of ballads and bossa novas from the team that brought you her best-selling GRAMMY Award-winning CD The Look of Love. Accompanied by her quartet and orchestra, Diana turns her sensual vocals and consummate piano skills to "The Boy from Ipanema", "Walk on By"and other classic tunes. Quiet Nights is initially available as a limited edition CD including 2 bonus tracks - her stunning rendition of the Bee Gee's "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" and the standard "Every Time We Say Goodbye". Also available on LP pressed on 180 Gram Vinyl.

"Where or When" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 4:10
"Too Marvelous for Words" (Johnny Mercer, Richard A. Whiting) – 4:05
"I've Grown Accustomed to His Face" (Frederick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner) – 4:48
"The Boy from Ipanema" (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Norman Gimbel) – 4:54
"Walk On By" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) – 5:03
"You're My Thrill" (Jay Gorney, Sidney Clare) – 5:47
"Este Seu Olhar" (Jobim) – 2:45
"So Nice" (Marcos Valle, Paulo Sérgio Valle, Gimbel) – 3:52
"Quiet Nights" (Jobim, Gene Lees) – 4:45
"Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) – 4:59
"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) – 4:30
"Everytime We Say Goodbye" (Cole Porter) – 5:18

 

[Dennie]

Dr. John's Gumbo -- CD

Dr. John

1990 Elektra Records

Amazon.com essential recording

After the studio bloat of 1971's The Sun, Moon & Herbs, Gumbo is a tightly focused return to Rebennack's musical roots. His band is full of Louisiana legends (Harold Battiste, Lee Allen) plus lesser known but equally important 'Nawlins heroes: Ronnie Barron, Alvin Robinson, and a wonderful trombonist known simply as Streamline. Together, they rage through a dozen New Orleans classics, not only the work of Professor Longhair and Huey Smith, but also Earl King and Ray Charles, who lived in the Crescent City while leading the house band at the Dew Drop Inn. Many of these songs are closely associated with the '50s, but Gumbo never sounds forced or nostalgic; it's great work from start to finish. --Keith Moerer

 

[Dennie]

Pocket Full of Gold -- CD

Vince Gill

1991 MCA Nashville

excellent traditional country music, September 17, 1999
By kurtdiegel@aol.com (Ft. Lauderdale,FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pocket Full of Gold (Audio CD)

Vince Gill has the greatest voice in country music today. Pocket Full of Gold has a good mix of ballads as well as uptempo songs. The songs are heavily influenced by John Hughey on the steel guitar. Look At Us and Pocket Full Of Gold are my favorites, although every song is good enough to be a single.This CD runs the gammit of emotions from true love to heartache. If you love tradional country music, then this CD is a must for your collection.

"I Quit" (Max D. Barnes, Vince Gill) - 2:30
"Look at Us" (Barnes, Gill) - 3:59
"Take Your Memory with You" (Gill) - 2:34
"Pocket Full of Gold" (Brian Allsmiller, Gill) - 4:04
"The Strings That Tie You Down" (Barnes, Gill) - 3:39
"Liza Jane" (Gill, Reed Nielsen) - 2:53
"If I Didn't Have You in My World" (Gill, Jim Weatherly) - 3:52
"A Little Left Over" (Gill) - 2:06
"What's a Man to Do" (Curtis Wright) - 3:11
"Sparkle" (Jim Lauderdale, John Leventhal) - 3:16

 

[Dennie]

Reprise Please Baby - The Warner Bros. Years -- 4 CD Box Set

Dwight Yoakam

2002 Reprise/Warner Bros. Records

This Is Required Listening,
December 18, 2002
By Steve Vrana

This review is from: Reprise Please Baby: The Warner Bros. Years (Audio CD)
This 87-track collection from the artist who single-handedly kept alive the spirit of honky tonk music has something for everyone. For those who only know Dwight Yoakam from his radio hits--they're all here from 1986's "Honky Tonk Man" through 2000's "What Do You Know About Love."

For the serious fan, you get his one-off tracks like "Carmelita" (from Flaco Jimenez's album PARTNERS), "Holding Things Together" (from the Merle Haggard tribute album), "Rapid City, South Dakota" (from the Kinky Friedman tribute album), "New San Antonio Rose" (from Asleep at the Wheel's tribute album to Bob Wills) and "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" (from this year's ZZ Top tribute album). The only songs missing are "Suspicious Minds" from the Honemoon in Vegas soundtrack and "Truckin'" from the Grateful Dead tribute album. [They are, however, both included on disc 4 in live versions.] You also get two tracks ("Doin' What I Did" and "Hey Little Girl") that previously were available only on Reprise's international collection LA CROIX D'AMOUR. In addition there are four new recordings: "Louisville," "Sittin' Pretty," "Mercury Blues" and a solo reworking of "Sin City," which first appeared as a duet with k.d. lang on JUST LOOKIN' FOR A HIT.

Disc 4 is ALL PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MATERIAL!!! Tracks 1-10 are from Yoakam's 1981 demo recordings. Except for "Please Daddy," they would all show up in slightly different form on his first four studio albums. After hearing these demos, it's amazing it took five years for Yoakam to get a recording contract. Tracks 11 and 12 are superb duets with Kelly Willis. The last eight tracks are live songs from 1986, 1991 and 1995.

I've never been a huge country fan, but in 1986 I bought debuts from three artists that I thought would bring some integrity to country music. They were Steve Earle, Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakam. What they have in common is a sincerity and honesty in their music that makes them stand head and shoulders above the rest of the country music landscape. ESSENTIAL

Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. Honky Tonk Man
2. Guitars, Cadillacs
3. It Won't Hurt
4. Miner's Prayer
5. Little Sister
6. Little Ways
7. Please, Please Baby
8. Always Late With Your Kisses
9. This Drinkin' Will Kill Me
10. Streets of Bakersfield (with Buck Owens)
11. I Sang Dixie
12. I Got You
13. I Hear You Knockin'
14. Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses)
15. Long White Cadillac
16. Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose
17. You're The One
18. Nothing's Changed Here
19. It Only Hurts When I Cry
20. The Heart That You Own
21. The Distance Between You And Me
22. Dangerous Man
23. Send A Message To My Heart (with Patty Loveless)
24. Takes A Lot To Rock You
Disc: 2
1. Carmelita (Flaco Jimenez featuring Dwight Yoakam)
2. Suspicious Minds (live)
3. Doin' What I Did
4. Hey Little Girl
5. Ain't That Lonely Yet
6. A Thousand Miles From Nowhere
7. Try Not To Look So Pretty
8. Pocket of a Clown
9. Home For Sale
10. Fast As You
11. King of Fools
12. Holding Things Together
13. Nothing
14. Don't Be Sad
15. Sorry You Asked?
16. Gone (That'll Be Me)
17. Claudette
18. Baby Don't Go (with Sheryl Crow)
19. Train In Vain
20. Rapid City, South Dakota
Disc: 3
1. Only Want You More
2. Same Fool
3. Things Change
4. These Arms
5. A Long Way Home
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
7. Thinking About Leaving
8. New San Antonio Rose (Asleep At The Wheel featuring Dwight Yoakam)
9. Two Doors Down (Acoustic)
10. Bury Me (Acoustic)
11. Love Caught Up To Me
12. What Do You Know About Love
13. Free To Go
14. A Place To Cry
15. I Want You To Want Me
16. Alright, I'm Wrong (with Buck Owens)
17. Who At The Door is Standing (with Bekka Bramlett)
18. The First Thing Smokin'
19. I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
20. Louisville
21. Sittin' Pretty
22. Mercury Blues
Disc: 4
1. This Drinkin' Will Kill Me
2. It Won't Hurt
3. I'll Be Gone
4. Floyd County
5. You're The One
6. Twenty Years
7. Please Daddy
8. Miner's Prayer
9. I Sang Dixie
10. Bury Me
11. Golden Ring (with Kelly Willis)
12. Take Me (with Kelly Willis)
13. Sin City (Live)
14. Truckin' (Live)
15. Grand Tour (Live)
16. Oh Lonesome Me (Live)
17. Today I Started Loving You Again (Live)
18. Mystery Train (Live)
19. Can't You Hear Me Calling (Live)
20. Heartaches By The Number (Live)
21. My Bucket's Got A Hole In It (Live)

 

[Dennie]

Paper Airplane -- CD

Alison Krauss & Union Station

2011 Rounder Records

Product Description

A truly breathtaking collection of 11 exquisite songs, Paper Airplane is Alison Krauss' 14th album and the band's follow-up to 2004's triple Grammy® winning Lonely Runs Both Ways (Rounder). It is Krauss' first release since her 2007 internationally acclaimed, multi-platinum collaboration with Robert Plant, Raising Sand, which won six Grammys including "Record Of The Year" and "Album Of The Year."

Alison Krauss and Union Station features the talents of Krauss (fiddle and lead vocals), Dan Tyminski (guitar, mandolin and lead vocals), Barry Bales (bass and harmony vocals), Ron Block (banjo, guitar and harmony vocals), and Jerry Douglas (Dobro and harmony vocals). Paper Airplane was produced by the band and recorded in Nashville with engineer Mike Shipley (Maroon 5, The Cars, Def Leppard, Joni Mitchell). As bluegrass virtuosos the members of Union Station are beyond compare, and the music they create together transcends all genres. Their work on films such as Cold Mountain and O Brother, Where Art Thou? has contributed immeasurably to a renaissance of American roots music.

Part of Alison Krauss' incontestable talent is how effortlessly she bridges the gap between roots music and country, rock and pop. A highly sought-after collaborator, Krauss has worked with some of the biggest names in popular music, including James Taylor, Phish, Dolly Parton, Yo Yo Ma & Bonnie Raitt. Since signing with Rounder Records at the age of 14 in 1985 Krauss has sold in excess of 12 million albums and garnered 26 Grammy® Awards, the most for any female and the third most of any recording artist in Grammy® history.

1. "Paper Airplane" Robert Lee Castleman 3:36
2. "Dustbowl Children" Peter Rowan 3:06
3. "Lie Awake" Viktor Krauss, Angel Snow 3:55
4. "Lay My Burden Down" Aoife O'Donovan 3:52
5. "My Love Follows You Where You Go" Barry Dean, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose 4:03
6. "Dimming of the Day" Richard Thompson 5:20
7. "On the Outside Looking In" Tim O'Brien 3:35
8. "Miles to Go" Barry Bales, Chris Stapleton 2:54
9. "Sinking Stone" Jeremy Lister 4:42
10. "Bonita and Bill Butler" Sidney Cox 4:03
11. "My Opening Farewell" Jackson Browne 4:08

 

[Dennie]

Soul Journey -- CD

Gillian Welch

2003 Acony Records

Amazon.com

Blessed with a soulful and expressive voice and an innate grasp of the melodies and themes of traditional country music, Gillian Welch has made three beautiful, often brilliant, albums. Yet, one can make the case that she's still searching for her own true artistic voice. Soul Journey brings her ever closer to that elusive goal. After 2001's austere, solemn, at times inscrutable Time (The Revelator), this follow-up finds Welch showing more warmth, ease, and openness as both singer and songwriter. As the title portends, the concept of travel (physical and emotional) is a prevailing thread throughout these 10 tracks; she sings of rolling stones "on the road to sin," travelers on "black highways," girls "running around with the ragtop down" and "at the station rolling slow." These characters, perhaps autobiographical, are simultaneously searching for and running away from their pasts, while soft drums, fiddles, organs, and Dobros add a welcome bit of lightness. With the trusty David Rawlings again at Welch's side, the songwriting and production till the earth between their old-time heroes and more modern troubadours like Townes Van Zandt and Neil Young (both the bucolic strummer and, on the closing "Wrecking Ball," the ragged electric wanderer). For Welch and for us, Soul Journey is yet another fascinating rest stop on the never-ending road to self-discovery. --Marc Greilsamer

"Look at Miss Ohio" (Gillian Welch, David Rawlings) – 4:16
"Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor" (traditional with additional lyrics by Welch) – 2:45
"Wayside/Back in Time" (Welch, Rawlings) – 3:28
"I Had a Real Good Mother and Father" (traditional with additional lyrics by Welch) – 3:14
"One Monkey" (Welch, Rawlings) – 5:36
"No One Knows My Name" (Welch, Rawlings, traditional melody) – 3:16
"Lowlands" (Welch, Rawlings) – 3:19
"One Little Song" (Welch) – 3:12
"I Made a Lovers Prayer" (Welch, Rawlings) – 5:03
"Wrecking Ball" (Welch, Rawlings) – 4:56

 

[Dennie]

One Moment More -- CD

Mindy Smith

2004 Vanguard Records

Amazon.com

While the hype machine forever proclaims this or that new artist to be "unique," "original," or "a fresh new voice," most of the time what you hear is more of the same old, same old. Thus, it is a rare joy to hear a newcomer that actually qualifies as all of the above. Mindy Smith fits loosely in the alt-country genre but adds some distinctive touches that set her apart from the field. A residency in Nashville brings a welcome Music Row level of craftsmanship to the playing and production, while her singing and songwriting take the music to places where cliché has never been. A song like "Hurricane" has a hook Faith Hill would kill for, but tells a tale of rebirth that might prove a little raw for her emotional range. Like Julie Miller, Smith writes songs that deal with redemption and spiritual matters in a way that is powerful without being off-putting to the more secular among us. Likewise she can write about her stepmother's passing in terms general enough to make it a stirring ode to the loss of any love--and do it in a voice that could make a statue misty. Smith more than held her own on the Dolly Parton tribute, Just Because I'm a Woman, alongside the likes of Alison Krauss, Norah Jones, and Dolly herself. One Moment More proves that it was no fluke. This time believe the hype. --Michael Ross

"Come to Jesus" – 4:14
"Falling" – 3:35
"Raggedy Ann" – 4:55
"Fighting for It All" – 3:19
"Train Song" – 3:22
"It's Amazing" – 3:40
"Angel Doves" – 3:56
"Down in Flames" – 4:12
"Hurricane" – 3:33
"Hard to Know" – 3:06
"One Moment More" – 3:47
"Jolene" (Dolly Parton) – 4:20

 

[Dennie]

Not Much Work For Saturday -- CD

Henderson and Kaufman

1996 Hay Holler Records

Wayne Henderson and Steve Kaufman are two of the most widely recognized and admired guitarists in bluegrass/folk music. Wayne has a unique 3-finger style and Steve is the consummate flatpicker. Two pickers with markedly different styles join to make some of most exciting guitar music recorded in recent years.

Freight Train
Lonesome Moonlight Waltz
Cherokee Shuffle
Dill Pickle Rag
Bully of the Town
Denver Belle
Indian Killed the Woodcock
Bye Bye Blues
Wayfaring Stranger
East Tennessee Blues
Maiden's Prayer
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
When I Grow Too Old to Dream
Down Yonder
The Bells of St. Mary's

 

[Botch]

Threw about four new CDs into the truck for my week down in Tooele, and this one went into the player first.
It stayed there the whole week.

I dismissed this band when they first came out as a "Pretty-Boy-designed-for-the-MTV" band, but kept finding myself singing their songs in the shower; they could, and still can, write melodies which is kinda rare in pop music since the Beatles disbanded. There are also some talents in this band: love Simon's vocals, the harmonies are clean, the bass player is funky, guitarist has a very wild "whammy-bar" style, and the keyboardist, well, is an inspiration to me as he has less talent and makes more money than me.
The band changed a bit with musical styles as they came and went, but this album sounds like it could've been released during their heyday. Like it a lot! :handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Dennie]

Threw about four new CDs into the truck for my week down in Tooele, and this one went into the player first.
It stayed there the whole week.

I dismissed this band when they first came out as a "Pretty-Boy-designed-for-the-MTV" band, but kept finding myself singing their songs in the shower; they could, and still can, write melodies which is kinda rare in pop music since the Beatles disbanded. There are also some talents in this band: love Simon's vocals, the harmonies are clean, the bass player is funky, guitarist has a very wild "whammy-bar" style, and the keyboardist, well, is an inspiration to me as he has less talent and makes more money than me.
The band changed a bit with musical styles as they came and went, but this album sounds like it could've been released during their heyday. Like it a lot! :handgestures-thumbup:

Hey KAZAAM! Botch is talking to you! :eusa-whistle:

Something about Hanson or somebody.....I don't know who the heck they are!

Dennie
(who is now googling Duran Duran, although I think I have one of their albums....somewhere?!)

 

[Dennie]

BTW Mr. Botch.......

I would like to take a second out of my life to say.....

Thank you for serving in our Armed Forces, it means the world to me! Without people like you, we might not have places like this or the freedom to use them!

Again, from the bottom of my heart....Thank You! :text-bravo:



Dennie