What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Greatest Hits Plus -- CD

Ricky Van Shelton

1992 Columbia Records

Wonderful country ballads, November 9, 2007
By Ronald Van Scherpenzeel (Madrid, Spain)
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Ricky Van Shelton - Greatest Hits Plus (Audio CD)

Ricky van Shelton is one of those artists that are rather unknown
in Europe, although if they were promoted correctly, he could have
reached the same popularity as others did like Garth Brooks or The
Mavericks. Here we have 8 wonderful ballads most of which went to #1
+ two good old rockers (Elvis' "Wear My Ring... and Ned Miller's
"From A Jack To A King"), a duet with Dolly Parton that also became
a number one hit and the remaining three songs made it into the
top 5. This really deserves the "greatest" hits mentioning! If you
don't possess this beauty, GET IT!!

"Just as I Am" (Larry Boone, Paul Nelson) - 3:08
previously unreleased
"Wild Man" (Rick Giles. Susan Longacre) - 3:17
previously unreleased
"Somebody Lied" (Joe Chambers, Larry Jenkins)- 3:21
"I've Cried My Last Tear for You" (Tony King, Chris Waters) - 2:29
"I'll Leave This World Loving You" (Wayne Kemp) - 3:06
"Statue of a Fool" (Jan Crutchfield) - 3:04
"I Am a Simple Man" (Walt Aldridge) - 3:26
"Life Turned Her That Way" (Harlan Howard) - 3:23
"Keep It Between the Lines" (Russell Smith, Cathy Louvin) - 3:49
"Rockin' Years" (Floyd Parton) - 3:25
duet with Dolly Parton
"From a Jack to a King" (Ned Miller) - 2:21
"Living Proof" (Steve Clark, Johnny MacRae) - 3:22
"Don't We All Have the Right" (Roger Miller) - 2:36
"Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" (Bert Carroll, Moody Russell) - 2:11
previously unreleased on studio album

 

[Dennie]

One Moment More -- CD

Mindy Smith

2004 Vanguard Music

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]

This is my last one for the evening....

Ingenue -- CD

kd lang

1992 Rhino Records

Amazon.com essential recording

The album on which she officially gave up on Nashville and began singing torchy, adult-contemporary pop, Ingenue has been referred to by lang as her "stalker" album for its emphasis on songs about desire and obsession. Despite such onerous implications, the album is a charmer, thanks to lang's sincerity and passion and the smoldering arrangements of songs such as "Constant Craving," "The Mind of Love" and "Still Thrives This Love." The album's somewhat dark spirits are tempered by the campy "Miss Chatelaine," which lang has often performed live to the accompaniment of a Lawrence Welk-style bubble machine. With Ingenue, you can do the same in the comfort of your own home. --Daniel Durchholz

"Save Me" – 4:33
"The Mind of Love" – 3:48
"Miss Chatelaine" – 3:49
"Wash Me Clean" (Lang) – 3:17
"So It Shall Be" (Lang, Penny) – 4:30
"Still Thrives This Love" – 3:35
"Season of Hollow Soul" – 4:58
"Outside Myself" – 4:57
"Tears of Love's Recall" – 3:49
"Constant Craving" – 4:37

 

[heeman]

Don't laugh.........I was working in our garage last night and was playing this on cassette that I recorded years ago on our JVC Boom Box.

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

Medusa -- CD

Annie Lennox

1995 Arista Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Post-Beatles, the virtues of deft song interpretation have been consistently devalued in favor of self-contained composer-performers, seldom more so than in the initial response to this sequel to Annie Lennox's triumphant solo debut, Diva. That album's gripping originals deserve acclaim, but the lush Scottish alto remains one of the most riveting pop singers of the past two decades, and this smartly chosen, meticulously arranged collection of cover versions boasts its own abundant charms in her selection of obscure gems and bona fide classics from Al Green, Procol Harum, Neil Young, the Clash, the Temptations, Paul Simon, Bob Marley, and the Blue Nile. The songs are the rightful stars here, and Lennox brings passion and nuance to a set that plays beautifully. From the cinematic heartbreak of "No More I Love Yous" to the faithful recreation of the Blue Nile's "Downtown Lights," this is ravishing pop. --Sam Sutherland

1. "No More I Love You's" Joseph Hughes, David Freeman 4:51
2. "Take Me to the River" Al Green 3:31
3. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" Keith Reid, Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher 5:17
4. "Don't Let It Bring You Down" Neil Young 3:36
5. "Train in Vain" Mick Jones, Joe Strummer 4:38
6. "I Can't Get Next to You" Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong 3:09
7. "Downtown Lights" Paul Buchanan 6:42
8. "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" Richard Poindexter, Robert Poindexter, Jackie Members 5:53
9. "Waiting in Vain" Bob Marley 5:40
10. "Something So Right" Paul Simon 3:54
11. "Heaven" (Japanese bonus track) Richard Butler, Tim Butler 4:58

 

[Dennie]

Duets -- CD

Emmylou Harris

1990 Reprise Records

Amazon.com

Before raising her profile as a solo artist, Emmylou Harris established herself as the harmony queen of contemporary music, from her partnership with Gram Parsons through sessions with the likes of Bob Dylan. Duets showcases her ability to bring out the best in other singers, though its grab-bag selection doesn't necessarily showcase Harris at her best. Released to capitalize on the success of her initial Trio project with Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt, it compiles her collaborations with a variety of artists from the late Parsons (their riveting rendition of "Love Hurts") to Southern Pacific ("Thing About You," a Tom Petty obscurity) to George Jones ("All Fall Down," an album highlight) to Don Williams (their hit duet of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You"). From the sublime (Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson) to the irrelevant (John Denver, Earl T. Conley), the collection is more of a marketplace filler than a cohesive artistic statement. --Don McLeese

"The Price I Pay" [with the Desert Rose Band] (Chris Hillman, Bill Wilds) - 2:58
"Love Hurts" [with Gram Parsons] (Boudleaux Bryant) - 3:40
"That Lovin' You Feelin' Again" [with Roy Orbison] (Roy Orbison, Chris Price) - 4:00
"We Believe in Happy Endings" [with Earl Thomas Conley] (Bob McDill) - 3:34
"Thing About You" [with Southern Pacific] (Tom Petty) - 3:51
"Star of Bethlehem" [with Neil Young] (Neil Young) - 2:43
"All Fall Down" [with George Jones] (Ron Peterson, Harlan Howard) - 3:19
"Wild Montana Skies" [with John Denver] (John Denver) - 4:02
"Green Pastures" [with Ricky Skaggs] (Van Hoose) - 3:08
"Gulf Coast Highway" [with Willie Nelson] (Nanci Griffith, Danny Flowers, James Hooker) - 3:09
"If I Needed You" [with Don Williams] (Townes Van Zandt) - 3:35
"Evangeline" [with The Band] (Robbie Robertson) - 3:10

 

[Dennie]

One of my ALL TIME FAVORITES.... :text-bravo:

Famous Blue Raincoat - The Songs of Leonard Cohen -- CD

Jennifer Warnes

1987 Crypress Records (Import)
Acclaimed for its great sound when released, Warnes, February 24, 2001
By "musicnu" (Deerfield, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)
This review is from: Famous Blue Raincoat (Audio CD)

When this CD was released, it received critical acclaim both for its quality of music and the quality of the recording. This CD was deemed a benchmark for a great warm sound that took full advantage of the digital domain. Even today, reviewers of stereo equipment use this CD to judge a products sound quality. Leonard Cohen writes very literate lyrics and haunting melodies. Jennifer Warnes does an outstanding job of interpreting these Cohen standards. You will probably recognize "Bird on a Wire" but the title song "Famous Blue Raincoat" is almost worth the price of admission just on it's on. Jennifer Warnes is a very gifted vocalist and one of those consummate artists that just never made it.The CD is no longer available in the U.S., however, the import version is available and at a very reasonable price. So you should purchase this one now before it also becomes not available.

All songs written by Leonard Cohen except where noted.

"First We Take Manhattan" – 3:47
"Bird on a Wire" – 4:42
"Famous Blue Raincoat" – 5:33
"Joan of Arc" – 7:57
"Ain't No Cure for Love" – 3:21
"Coming Back to You" – 3:43
"Song of Bernadette" – 3:55 (Jennifer Warnes, Bill Elliott, Cohen)
"A Singer Must Die" – 4:52
"Came So Far for Beauty" – 3:37 (Cohen, John Lissauer)

11993

 

[Dennie]

This is my last one for the evening...

My One And Only Thrill -- CD

Melody Gardot

2009 Verve Records

Amazing though it is, the story of how Melody Gardot overcame the effects of a near-fatal accident to become one of the vocal sensations of 2008 is not the most extraordinary thing about the 23-year-old Philadelphia singer-songwriter. It is simply that here is a voice in a million; one that touches the soul.

Melody's debut album `Worrisome Heart' introduced, in The Sunday Times' words: "a remarkable talent by any measure", with songs of quiet, wistful poetry in arrangements that "ooze after-hours sophistication". Yet the follow-up, for release in April 2009, marks a substantial leap forward. `My One And Only Thrill' is an intensely creative milestone, transcending genre distinctions of jazz and blues to offer a haunting personal musical statement that will appeal to all music-lovers. As with her acclaimed live shows she captures and holds her audience in the palm of her hand.

These eleven songs, covering a wide range of emotions, are all her own except for an irresistible, Brazilian take on Somewhere Over The Rainbow. It would take a heart of stone to remain unmoved by the poignant title track My One And Only Thrill. And when the album is finished (as Irving Berlin wrote truly) the song is over, but the Melody lingers on . . .

All songs written by Melody Gardot, except when noted.

"Baby I'm a Fool" – 3:30
"If the Stars Were Mine" – 2:48
"Who Will Comfort Me" – 4:56
"Your Heart Is as Black as Night" – 2:42
"Lover Undercover" – 4:24
"Our Love Is Easy" (Gardot, Jesse Harris) – 5:28
"Les Etoiles" – 3:18
"The Rain" (Gardot, Harris) – 3:21
"My One and Only Thrill" – 6:10
"Deep Within the Corners of My Mind" – 3:19
"Over the Rainbow" (Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg) – 4:33
"If the Stars Were Mine" (Orchestral Version) – 3:13

 

[heeman]

Jethro Tull....... :text-bravo:

 

[PaulyT]

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music, if it does not rain......

21 -- CD

Adele

2011 Columbia Records

21 is the eagerly awaited sophomore album from British singer-songwriter Adele. It’s the follow up to Adele’s critically acclaimed, Grammy award winning debut album 19 (both named after her age at the time the songs were written). Recorded in Malibu and London, 21 offered Adele the opportunity to work with such luminary producers and songwriters as Rick Rubin, Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Dan Wilson and Fraser T. Smith, as well as continuing to work with Francis “Eg” White and Jim Abbiss.

This new collection of songs showcases the growth of this incredible artist, who at the very young age of twenty two, exhibits the poise of a seasoned veteran. Adele’s music takes some new direction while staying true to her signature style. “I discovered lots of artists I'd never heard of, particularly Wanda Jackson, Allison Krauss, Yvonne Fair, Andrew Bird, Neko Case, Lady Antebellum and Steel Drivers who I fell in love with. Then I delved in to more from artists I've loved forever - Mary J. Blige, Kanye West, Elbow, Mos Def, Alanis Morissette, Tom Waits and Sinead O'Connor. There's something in every single one of these artists that have really really inspired 21.”

1. "Rolling in the Deep" Adele Adkins, Paul Epworth Epworth 3:48
2. "Rumour Has It" Adkins, Ryan Tedder Tedder 3:43
3. "Turning Tables" Adkins, Tedder Jim Abbiss 4:10
4. "Don't You Remember" Adkins, Dan Wilson Rick Rubin 4:03
5. "Set Fire to the Rain" Adkins, Fraser T. Smith Smith 4:02
6. "He Won't Go" Adkins, Epworth Rubin 4:38
7. "Take It All" Adkins, Eg White Abbiss 3:48
8. "I'll Be Waiting" Adkins, Epworth Epworth 4:01
9. "One and Only" Adkins, Dan Wilson, Greg Wells Rubin 5:48
10. "Lovesong" Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Roger O'Donnell, Porl Thompson, Lol Tolhurst, Boris Williams Rubin 5:16
11. "Someone Like You" Adkins, Wilson Wilson, Adkins 4:45

 

[topper]

the 1995 compilation on Tuff Gong label . . (Island Records)

songs ~

1. Natural Mystic
2. Easy Skanking
3. Iron Lion Zion
4. Crazy Baldheads
5. So Much Trouble In The World
6. War
7. Africa Unite
8. Trenchtown Rock (live)
9. Keep On Moving
10. Sun Is Shining
11. Who The Cap Fit
12. One Drop
13. Roots, Rock, Reggae
14. Pimpers Paradise
15. Time Will Tell

 

[Yesfan70]

Like Hendrix? Cream or Blind Faith? Run, don't walk to get this album from this psychedelic 60s band from Barbados. :shock: :music-rockout:

 

[Dennie]

Crystal Visions..... The Very Best of Stevie Nicks -- CD

Stevie Nicks

2007 Reprise Records

Amazon.com

With a career that's seen her soar from struggling journeywoman to superstar via a fateful invitation to join Fleetwoood Mac, the singer who now bills herself as the most successful female artist in rock history looks back on the various facets of her iconography via this 16-track career retrospective. The mystic-folkie ethos that has long been her caricature are well-showcased via the cult fave Rumours outtake/B-side "Silver Spring," the muscular Sheryl Crow collaboration "Sorcerer," and a live version of the moody "Rhiannon" that casts it in even longer shadows. Yet Stevie Nicks has always displayed a willingness to push herself beyond her hippie muse, as witnessed by the dense aura of Deep Dish's remix of Mac's "Dreams" and such disparate, pop-savvy solo highlights as "I Can't Wait," "Stand Back," and shrewd, successful duets with Tom Petty ("Stop Draggin' My Heart Around") and Don Henley ("Leather and Lace"). Indeed, bookended by the original version of the hit "Edge of Seventeen" and a live revamping with the Melbourne Symphony that amps its every melodramatic nuance, reinvention often seems the anthology's subtext. The album is also available in a deluxe edition featuring a DVD packed with videos, commentary, and more. --Jerry McCulley

1. "Edge of Seventeen" Nicks 5:29
2. "I Can't Wait" Nicks/Rick Nowels/Eric Pressly 4:35
3. "Sorcerer" Nicks 4:54
4. "If Anyone Falls" Nicks/Sandy Stewart 4:07
5. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (Duet with Tom Petty) Tom Petty/Mike Campbell 4:02
6. "Silver Springs" (Fleetwood Mac Advanced Audio Version) Nicks 4:45
7. "Dreams" (Deep Dish Club Mix - Radio Edit) Nicks/Deep Dish 3:46
8. "Rhiannon" (Live) Nicks 7:01
9. "Rooms on Fire" Nicks/Nowels 4:34
10. "Talk to Me" Chas Sandford 4:10
11. "Landslide" (Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) Nicks 4:14
12. "Stand Back" Nicks 4:48
13. "Planets of the Universe" Nicks 4:45
14. "Rock and Roll" (Live) Jimmy Page/Robert Plant/John Paul Jones/John Bonham 4:03
15. "Leather and Lace" (Duet with Don Henley) Nicks 3:54
16. "Edge of Seventeen" (Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) Nicks 9:14
Total length:
78:21

 

[Botch]

15. "Leather and Lace" (Duet with Don Henley) Nicks 3:54

Huh, all this time I thought that duet was with Tom Petty... :shhh:
Nevertheless, my longstanding gripe stands: That tune could've been magnitudes better had they selected a male vocalist with a voice lower than Stevie herself (who almost sounds like a contralto).
Think of how good it'd have sounded had Neil Diamond been the male vocalist! :text-bravo:

 

[Dennie]

Wow Botch, I think you may be on to something. I think "Neil" would really sound good with her! :dance:

I think Stevie has sung that song with many a "Tom, Dick and Harry" in her career as a Rock Goddess! :music-rockout:


Dennie :twocents-mytwocents:

 

[Dennie]

Not Too Late -- CD

Norah Jones

2007 Blue Note Records

Amazon.com

Although the music of Norah Jones continues to blend pop, soul, folk, and country with a seasoning of jazz, her third album for Blue Note is the first where she's written (or collaborated on) all the material. Beneath the smooth surface lie darker strains on the album-opening "Wish I Could" (about a boyfriend lost to war), intimations of mortality in "The Sun Doesn't Like You," and the post-election horrors of "My Dear Country." The last seems to channel the inspiration of Brecht/Weill, while the equally bleak "Sinkin' Soon" is set to a jaunty Dixieland rag. Throughout, Jones's vocal intimacy and melodic warmth remain as disarmingly understated as ever. The soulful "Thinking of You," the countryish "Wake Me Up," and the syncopated "Be My Somebody" reflect the captivating style of her previous work. Although too much in the same midtempo mode becomes a dreamy lull, cut by cut, Jones's voice is irresistible. --Don McLeese

1. "Wish I Could" Norah Jones, Lee Alexander 4:17
2. "Sinkin' Soon" Jones, Alexander 4:37
3. "The Sun Doesn't Like You" Jones, Alexander 2:59
4. "Until the End" Jones, Alexander 3:55
5. "Not My Friend" Jones 2:54
6. "Thinking About You" Jones, Ilhan Ersahin 3:20
7. "Broken" Jones, Alexander 3:20
8. "My Dear Country" Jones 3:24
9. "Wake Me Up" Jones, Alexander 2:46
10. "Be My Somebody" Jones 3:36
11. "Little Room" Jones 2:43
12. "Rosie's Lullaby" Jones, Daru Oda 3:56
13. "Not Too Late" Jones, Alexander 3:31

 

[Dennie]

O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Soundtrack -- CD

Various Artists

2000 Lost Highway Records

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

The best soundtracks are like movies for the ears, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? joins the likes of Saturday Night Fever and The Harder They Come as cinematic pinnacles of song. The music from the Coen brothers' Depression-era film taps into the source from which the purest strains of country, blues, bluegrass, folk, and gospel music flow. Producer T Bone Burnett enlists the voices of Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley, and kindred spirits for performances of traditional material, in arrangements that are either a cappella or feature bare-bones accompaniment. Highlights range from the aching purity of Krauss's "Down to the River to Pray" to the plainspoken faith of the Whites' "Keep on the Sunny Side" to Stanley's chillingly plaintive "O Death." The album's spiritual centerpiece finds Krauss, Welch, and Harris harmonizing on "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby," a gospel lullaby that sounds like a chorus of Appalachian angels. --Don McLeese

1. "Po' Lazarus" traditional James Carter and the Prisoners 4:31
2. "Big Rock Candy Mountain" McClintock Harry McClintock 2:16
3. "You Are My Sunshine" Davis, Mitchell Norman Blake 4:26
4. "Down to the River to Pray" traditional Alison Krauss 2:55
5. "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (radio station version) Burnett Soggy Bottom Boys & Dan Tyminski 3:10
6. "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" James Chris Thomas King 2:42
7. "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (instrumental) Burnett Norman Blake 4:28
8. "Keep On the Sunny Side" Blenkhorn, Entwisle The Whites 3:33
9. "I'll Fly Away" Brumley Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch 3:57
10. "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby" traditional Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch 1:57
11. "In the Highways" Carter Leah, Sarah, and Hannah Peasall 1:35
12. "I Am Weary, Let Me Rest" Roberts The Cox Family 3:13
13. "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (instrumental) Burnett John Hartford 2:34
14. "O Death" traditional Ralph Stanley 3:19
15. "In the Jailhouse Now" Blind Blake, Rodgers Soggy Bottom Boys & Tim Blake Nelson 3:34
16. "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow" (with band) Burnett Soggy Bottom Boys & Dan Tyminski 4:16
17. "Indian War Whoop" (instrumental) Hoyt Ming John Hartford 1:30
18. "Lonesome Valley" traditional The Fairfield Four 4:07
19. "Angel Band" traditional The Stanley Brothers 2:15
Total length:
61:24

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening.....

Only Trust Your Heart -- CD

Diana Krall

1995 GRP Records

Amazon.com

Diana Krall, here with her first GRP album, expands on the delights that populated her 1992 debut, Stepping Out. Again, her talents are simply remarkable: she sings with feeling, emotion, and nuance--she invests a lyric with believability--and plays marvelous piano, no matter the tempo. The program pleases on so many levels: slip the disc into the player, hit any track at random, and you'll be moved. Take the oh-so-slow, heartfelt groover "Squeeze Me," on which her alto is both breathy and demonstrative and her accompaniments are sly, and which features a winsome solo by bass maestro Ray Brown. On another gut-wrenching crawler, "All Night Long," Krall tears you up with her emotive, intimate vocal, interspersing her singing with telling, shimmering piano notes, then delivering a solo full of wry confidences. The succulent title track is a deliciously slow bossa where Krall's vocal is partly whispered, as if sung in your ear. More upbeat is the finger-popping "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby," where the artist sings with grit and life then solos with an economical drive. Tenor saxophone giant Stanley Turrentine adds a trademark saucy improvisation. "I Love Being Here with You" is a romping shuffle where Krall's voice hits some notes on the head and stretches others like pulled taffy. "Broadway" is another vibrant outing that includes a singing, fat-noted solo from bassist Christian McBride and Lewis Nash's deft brush work. Aces all around. --Zan Stewart

"Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" (Bill Austin, Louis Jordan) – 4:57
"Only Trust Your Heart" (Sammy Cahn, Benny Carter) – 5:19
"I Love Being Here with You" (Peggy Lee, William Schluger) – 3:40
"Broadway" (Billy Bird, Teddy McRae, Henri Woode) – 7:27
"The Folks Who Live On the Hill" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) – 4:18
"I've Got the World on a String" (Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler) – 5:20
"Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)" (Duke Ellington, Lee Gaines) – 5:37
"All Night Long" (Curtis Lewis) – 6:41
"CRS-Craft" (instrumental) (Ray Brown) – 3:30

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

Greatest Hits Volume 2 - CD

Eagles

1990 Elektra Records

Amazon.com

This second collection of hits features a hardening of sorts for these laid back southern California rockers. The emphasis shifts away from the lazy, rolling rhythms of the first collection to the tighter and harder-edged material contained herein. Part of the blame may be the inclusion of James Gang veteran Joe Walsh who adds noticeable lead guitar work and galvanizes Don Henley and Glenn Frey into taking greater chances. "Hotel California" is the obvious potboiler, but "Heartache Tonight," "Life in the Fast Lane," and "The Long Run" are close runners-up. Timothy B. Schmit's vocals on "I Can't Tell You Why" return the band full circle to their mellow, country-rock roots. --Rob O'Connor

Side one

"Hotel California" (Don Felder, Don Henley, Glenn Frey) – 6:30
"Heartache Tonight" (Henley, Frey, Bob Seger, J.D. Souther) – 4:25
"Seven Bridges Road" (Steve Young) – 2:58
"Victim of Love" (Felder, Souther, Henley, Frey) – 4:11
"The Sad Café" (Henley, Frey, Joe Walsh, Souther) – 5:32

Side two

"Life in the Fast Lane" (Walsh, Henley, Frey) – 4:45
"I Can't Tell You Why" (Timothy B. Schmit, Henley, Frey) – 4:54
"New Kid in Town" (Souther, Henley, Frey) – 5:04
"The Long Run" (Henley, Frey) – 3:42
"After the Thrill is Gone" (Henley, Frey) – 4:41
After the song fades, there is a hidden track of a piano being played off-key

12045