What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Put The O Back In Country -- CD

Shooter Jennings

2005 Universal South

Amazon.com

Famous since infancy for his legendary parents, Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, Shooter Jennings arrives at his inevitable debut with the weight of the gods on his shoulders. He attempts to point up his heritage--rather than be crushed by the weight of it--by inviting George Jones and Hank Williams Jr. to appear in spoken-word bits which bookend the record. (The Possum also contributes a weak cameo on "4th of July.") But such shilling comes off as exactly what it is, and the listener knows to expect a song about how awful Nashville is and how modern country just ain't got no soul. Jennings does not disappoint--in fact, he's got a couple tunes like that (the Neil Young-based title track and "Solid Country Gold"), and he also obliges with an Outlaw penchant for self-mythologizing ("Busted in Baylor County," about being jailed for speeding and smoking). The younger Jennings doesn't have his father's commanding baritone, his mother's delicate balance of pathos and strength, or even their natural songwriting ability, though he blends Southern rock and hillbilly with ease, and demonstrates a wicked sense of humor on "Manifesto No. 1," in which sex and Jesus share equal time. But his uneven bow ultimately ingratiates for its honesty. In presenting a vulnerable self-portrait as a rootless, restless man, burning up the road to try to outrun his own heartache and confusion, Shooter honors his heritage in the best livin', lovin', and losin' tradition. --Alanna Nash

All songs written by Shooter Jennings except where noted.

"Put the 'O' Back in Country" (arr. by Shooter Jennings, LeRoy Powell, Ted Russell Kamp) – 3:25
Adaptation of "Are You Ready for the Country", written by Neil Young
"4th of July" – 4:26
feat. George Jones
"Lonesome Blues" (Powell) – 4:00
"Solid Country Gold" – 3:05
"Busted in Baylor County (Sweet Leaf Version)" (Jennings, Powell, John Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Terence Butler, William Ward) – 3:53
"Sweet Savannah" – 4:09
"Steady at the Wheel" (Kamp) – 2:57
"Manifesto No. 1" – 3:09
"The Letter" – 3:32
"Southern Comfort" (Jennings, Powell, Kamp) – 5:49
feat. Faith Evans, Jessi Colter and CeCe White
"Daddy's Farm" – 8:19


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[Botch]

:music-listening:

 

[Dennie]

Interesting Batman, wouldn't have thought you'd like this one. So I decided to listen to it again... didn't like it much the first time, and I still deeply dislike the second track, but the rest I now like quite a bit better the second (and now third) time around.

I agree Paul. My first listen, I was not very impressed. My Second left me liking the tracks near the end of the CD.

Does any one here have her first album???? Just curious how it compares?

Hey Heeman, my friend came over with "Adele 19" on his ipod, saying you HAVE TO HEAR THIS. Because of that listen, I ordered "21" and am enjoying it more and more with each listen. As to "19", I just remember that it was very similar to "21" with that Jazzy Pop feel to it. I enjoyed a few of the songs and her voice, but I could not name one song from it.

Listen to some samples on Amazon or Pandora, then you can let us know. I'll probably pick "19" up when my Used Music Guy has a copy for sale, but that may be a while. :handgestures-thumbup:


Dennie

 

[Rope]

Rope

 

[heeman]

Thanks Dennie!

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music.....

Rock N Roll Jesus -- CD

Kid Rock

2007 Atlantic Records

Amazon.com

Kid Rock maintains a remarkable propensity for wearing his contradictions on his sleeve, and more than anything he's previously released, Rock n Roll Jesus finds fuel in unresolved opposites. Is he a hard-core chauvinist ("Half Your Age") or a would-be gentlemen ("When U Love Someone")? Is he a God-fearing everyman ("Blue Jeans and a Rosary") or a bohemian hero ("So Hott")? These questions are nothing new, even if the album at hand takes them to freshly delirious extremes. Ever since he first began shedding his rap/rock posture to be the next Ted Nugent, Kid Rock has constructed his public persona out of full-frontal ambivalence: race, class, sex, religion, money, whatever it takes. This album's bookends--the title song and "bonus" track, "Lowlife (Living the Highlife)"--demonstrate all this irreconcilable nonsense in no uncertain terms, but all his polar wobbling is at least stabilized by a firm commitment to southern-styled rock, tinged at times with gospel, blues, a lingering need to rap ("Sugar"), and a rare, soul-fed instrumental jambalaya ("New Orleans"). In the end, Kid Rock may be a remarkable self-promoter, but a musical Messiah he is not. --Jason Kirk

1. "Rock N Roll Jesus" R.J. Ritchie, K. Tudrick, M. Young 4:29
2. "Amen" Ritchie 4:40
3. "All Summer Long" E. King, L. Marinell,R. Ritchie, G. Rossington, M. Shaffer, R. VanZant, R. Watchel, W. Zevon 4:56
4. "Roll On" Ritchie 6:11
5. "So Hott" Ritchie 4:07
6. "Sugar" B. Ervine, J. Krause, Ritchie, Shaffer, D. Simon, J. Smith, Young 3:44
7. "When You Love Someone" Ritchie, Shaffer, Young 5:40
8. "New Orleans" D.A. Coe, Ritchie 6:36
9. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" Ritchie, Shaffer, Young 4:20
10. "Blue Jeans And a Rosary" Ritchie, Young 4:35
11. "Half Your Age" Ritchie 3:45
12. "Lowlife (Living the Highlife)" J. Eddie, Ritchie 4:04

 

[Dennie]

Live At The BBC -- CD

Dire Straits

1995 BBC Worldwide

Fine material of Early Dire Straits, December 4, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Live at the BBC (Audio CD)

Alchemy, the band's double live CD, is a bit too polished for my taste. I prefer this earlier recording with the original line up (on 7 of the 8 tracks). The material covered is primarily from the band's first two albums, so if you're not a fan of Dire Straits or Communique, you probably won't enjoy this set.

While Alchemy certainly has its moments, the album sounds like their studio recording with a lack of spontanity. This album, on the other hand, captures the band in their earlier, rawer incarnation.

(all songs by Mark Knopfler, except where noted)

"Down to the Waterline" – 4:10
"Six Blade Knife" – 3:47
"Water of Love" – 5:29
"Wild West End" – 5:12
"Sultans of Swing" – 6:38
"Lions" – 5:26
"What's the Matter Baby?" (D. Knopfler, M. Knopfler) – 3:20
"Tunnel of Love" (Intro: "Carousel Waltz" by Rodgers & Hammerstein) – 11:56

 

[Dennie]

Thanks Dennie!

You are welcome, I wish I could of been more helpful!



Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

0304 -- CD

Jewel

2003 Atlantic Records

Amazon.com

Why pick on a girl for taking a chance? After experiencing flagging sales, Jewel has become proactive and given herself a cosmetic and artistic makeover. But 0304 isn't the winsome thrush's first leap into the unknown. Hiring Shakira producer Lester A. Mendez to give her solemn, folksy songs a pop sheen and some dance beats isn't as radical as starring as a Civil War widow in an Ang Lee film. Besides it's a lot more interesting to hear her squeeze her chaste, malleable soprano around an accordion solo in the futuristic namedropping fable "Intuition" or her voice a beat-driven condemnation of the George W. Bush regime on "America" to see her sashaying on the silver screen in those tight bodices and hoop skirts. Although she has changed the very structure and sound of her songs, Jewel's undeniable talent shines through. She still has a way with words and her voice is remains as pure as an Alaskan stream. --Jaan Uhelszki

1. "Stand" 3:13
2. "Run 2 U" 3:38
3. "Intuition" 3:49
4. "Leave the Lights On" 3:22
5. "2 Find U" 3:16
6. "Fragile Heart" (Kilcher, Anthony Bell) 3:33
7. "Doin' Fine" 3:14
8. "2 Become 1" (Kilcher, Guy Chambers) 4:40
9. "Haunted" 4:52
10. "Sweet Temptation" (Kilcher, Rick Nowels) 4:09
11. "Yes U Can" (Kilcher, Nowels) 4:01
12. "U & Me = Love" 3:36
13. "America" 3:40
14. "Becoming" 4:22



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[Kazaam]

The Finn Brothers - "Everyone Is Here"

Fans of Crowded House might like this one as it has brothers Tim (sometime band member) and Neil (bandleader). I think it's OK. Not superb, but as a fan I like it well enough. It seems more immediately accessible than do Neil's solo albums. Though probably not as catchy as the old Crowded House records.

 

[Botch]

The Finn Brothers - "Everyone Is Here"

Fans of Crowded House might like this one as it has brothers Tim (sometime band member) and Neil (bandleader). I think it's OK. Not superb, but as a fan I like it well enough. It seems more immediately accessible than do Neil's solo albums. Though probably not as catchy as the old Crowded House records.

That's about how I felt about it too.

 

[Dennie]

Thanks Greatdane, this is really, really good!!! :text-bravo:

Follow Me Down -- CD

Sarah Jarosz

2011 Sugar Hill Records

A Beautiful Album, May 18, 2011
By James Johnson (Wasco, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Follow Me Down (Audio CD)

FOLLOW ME DOWN is a beautiful album. I loved every cut. I'm a basic roots guy and normally indie rock and young woman singer-songwriter fare make me think about organizing my sock drawer, but Jarosz's soulful singing, fluid musicality and surprising twists make everything interesting. This CD is going to be riding in my pickup for a long time.

SONG UP IN HER HEAD was one of my favorite albums of 2009 but I think FOLLOW ME DOWN represents growth across the board. Her music has become more sophisticated, more expansive and richer without losing that mystic, bluesy, old-timey, "mountain soul" sound that makes Jarosz so special. She's changed the bathwater but the baby's still there.

FOLLOW ME DOWN is the third wonderful "roots +" album that I've purchased recently, joining Crooked Still's SOME STRANGE COUNTRY and Abigail Washburn's CITY OF REFUGE. These are exciting times for roots based acoustic music.

One last note. Sarah Jarosz is touring heavily this summer. If you get a chance to see her trio perform, do so. Alex Hargreaves on fiddle and Nathaniel Smith on cello are awesome musicians, truly A-list players. Even playing together sporadically, Jarosz, Hargreaves & Smith have been making amazing music. Playing together on a daily basis should only make their music better. I haven't mentioned age in this review because the music stands on its own merits, but their ages become pertinent in discussing a live performance. Jarosz turns 20 in late May, Hargreaves recently turned 19 and Smith is 17. Seeing these young kids play this incredible music with such skill, taste and verve is a jaw dropping, not to be missed experience.

1. Run Away
2. Come Around
3. Annabelle Lee
4. Ring Them Bells
5. My Muse
6. Floating In The Balance
7. Old Smitty
8. The Tourist
9. Here Nor There
10. Gypsy
11. Peace

 

[Dennie]

A New Album from Bela Fleck and the ORIGINAL Flecktones... :text-welcomewave: and... :text-bravo:

Rocket Science -- CD

Bela Fleck & The Flecktones

2011 e-one Records

Bela Fleck is the only musician to be nominated for Grammys® in jazz, bluegrass, pop, country, spoken word, christian, composition and world music categories. His total count is 11 Grammys® won, and 27 total nominations. Groundbreaking banjoist/composer/bandleader Béla Fleck has reconvened the original Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, the extraordinary initial line-up of his incredible combo. Rocket Science marks the first recording by the first fab four Flecktones in almost two decades, with pianist/harmonica player Howard Levy back in the fold alongside Fleck, bassist Victor Wooten, and percussionist/ drumitarist Roy Futureman Wooten.

Far from being a wistful trip back in time, the album sees the Grammy® Award-winning quartet creating some of the most forward thinking music of their long, storied career. While all manner of genres come into play from classical and jazz to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances the result is an impossible to pigeonhole sound all their own, a meeting of musical minds that remains, as ever, utterly indescribable. Simply put, it is The Flecktones, the music made only when these four individuals come together.

I didn t want to just get together to play the old music, Fleck says. That's not what the Flecktones are about. Everybody s full of life and ideas and creativity. I was intrigued by what we could do that we had never done before. Visionary and vibrant as anything in their already rich canon, Rocket Science feels more like a new beginning than simply the culmination of an early chapter. The band now embarks on an extensive tour, and there s no telling how this new music will further develop in performance. We're going to have to have this experience together and see how everybody likes it, Fleck says. I know that we haven't even come close to exhausting the possibilities with this record, but we sure went deeper than we ever had before.

"Gravity Lane" (Béla Fleck) - 5:58
"Prickly Pear" (Fleck) - 3:49
"Joyful Spring" (Howard Levy) - 2:39
"Life In Eleven" (Levy, Fleck) - 5:25
"Falling Forward" (Fleck) - 5:08
"Storm Warning" (Fleck) - 7:57
"Like Water" (Victor Lemonte Wooten, Fleck) - 4:42
"Earthling Parade" (Fleck) - 7:58
"The Secret Drawer" (Future Man) - 2:12
"Sweet Pomegranates" (Levy) - 5:55
"Falani" (Fleck) - 6:50
"Bottle Rocket" (Fleck) - 5:53

 

[Botch]

This one has been sitting on my kitchen table for over a month now, I finally slipped 'er in the Oppo. w00t!!! Great show, great band, great guests, and great photography/sound! One odd point: It seems during any crowd shot, everyone is looking in a different direction. :think: And just about everyone is holding a brown beer bottle; I didn't think they did that at concerts anymore. Maybe it's a Shea thing...


Dennie, I wasn't aware of the new Flecktones release; the cover is so much like Flight of the Cosmic Hippo I thought it was the same disk...
Added to the Cart!

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening.....

Light My Fire -- CD

Eliane Elias

2011 Concord Picante

Editorial Reviews

Since the mid-1980s, pianist/vocalist Eliane Elias has grafted various elements of jazz, pop, soul and other styles to her deep Brazilian roots to create a hybrid groove that exists comfortably on any hemisphere. Borrowing from an array of sources and singing in a variety of languages, Elias consistently forges a sound that appeals to listeners of every geographic locale and cultural persuasion. Her new album, Light My Fire - wields this universal sound to explore the various corners of the human heart - from romance and passion to the shared joy of being alive and embracing everyone into the dance of life. Along with four compositions written or co-written by Elias herself, the album also includes covers of familiar works by songwriters as diverse as Jim Morrison and the Doors, pop icon Stevie Wonder and jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond. Elias weaves it all together into a cohesive whole by injecting each of the twelve songs with distinctly Brazilian grooves that alternate effortlessly between the fiery and passionate to the cool and sophisticated.

"Some of the tunes are cool and laid back, but others are quite rhythmic and joyful," says Elias. "And they have some different grooves. I tend to gravitate toward romance - beautiful melodies, beautiful harmonies and rhythms with a great feel. But more than anything else, I'm singing about love on this record in its different aspects and dimensions. I've made more than 20 records in my career. I'm proud of all of them, but I'm especially excited about this one. It feels like it has a life and an energy all its own. With very few exceptions, nearly all of the songs were first takes. Everybody in the studio was so focused, and it was such a fun record to make. The music was really flowing, and we all felt very relaxed. From the very first day, not a note was wasted by anyone. It was an amazing experience."

Backing Elias on Light My Fire is a crew of twelve high-caliber players, including special guests guitarist/vocalist Gilberto Gil and trumpeter Randy Brecker. The rhythm section - which has accompanied Elias on several of her most recent recordings - includes guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Paulo Braga. Also on hand to sing with Elias and Gil on "Toda Menina Baiana" is Elias' daughter, singer-songwriter Amanda Brecker. New to Elias' team is percussionist Marivaldo dos Santos, drummer Rafael Barata, guitarists Romero Lubambo and Ross Traut, and flutist Lawrence Feldman.

Tracklist:

01 – Rosa Morena
02 – Stay Cool
03 – Aquele Abraco
04 – Light My Fire
05 – Isto Aqui O Que E (Silver Sandal)
06 – My Cherie Amour
07 – Toda Menina Baiana
08 – Bananeira
09 – Made In Moonlight
10 – Turn To Me (Samba Maracatu)
11 – Take Five
12 – What About The Heart (Bate Bate)

 

[PaulyT]

Dennie, I wasn't aware of the new Flecktones release; the cover is so much like Flight of the Cosmic Hippo I thought it was the same disk...
Added to the Cart!

:text-+1:

Thanks for the heads-up, Dennie! I've been listening to a lot of Fleck's music lately.

 

[Dennie]

Dennie, I wasn't aware of the new Flecktones release; the cover is so much like Flight of the Cosmic Hippo I thought it was the same disk...
Added to the Cart!

:text-+1:

Thanks for the heads-up, Dennie! I've been listening to a lot of Fleck's music lately.

Yeah, if you like the previous "Flecktone" releases, you will like this one! :text-bravo:


Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

Greatest Hits -- CD

Bruce Springsteen

1995 Columbia Records

Amazon.com

About as complete a selection of fan and artist favorites as any single-disc Bruce collection could be, this is a surprisingly coherent listen given the many stylistic and attitudinal shifts it charts. The inclusion of only four of Born in the U.S.A.'s seven Top 10 entries leaves space for less obvious choices like "Atlantic City" and four new cuts, among them songs recorded by a briefly reunited E Street Band. The pace lags a bit near the end--"Secret Garden" is turgid enough to take its place on a Sting album--but Greatest Hits earns its place in the car CD player with stuff like "Born to Run," "The River" and "Dancing in the Dark." --Rickey Wright

"Born to Run" – 4:30
(Originally released on the album Born to Run in 1975.)
"Thunder Road" – 4:48
(Originally released on the album Born to Run in 1975.)
"Badlands" – 4:03
(Originally released on the album Darkness on the Edge of Town in 1978.)
"The River" – 5:00
(Originally released on the album The River in 1980.)
"Hungry Heart" – 3:20
(Originally released on the album The River in 1980.)
"Atlantic City" – 3:56
(Originally released on the album Nebraska in 1982.)
"Dancing in the Dark" – 4:03
(Originally released on the album Born in the U.S.A. in 1984.)
"Born in the U.S.A." – 4:41
(Originally released on the album Born in the U.S.A. in 1984.)
"My Hometown" (early fade edit) – 4:12
(Originally released on the album Born in the U.S.A. in 1984.)
"Glory Days" (early fade edit) – 3:49
(Originally released on the album Born in the U.S.A. in 1984.)
"Brilliant Disguise" – 4:15
(Originally released on the album Tunnel of Love in 1987.)
"Human Touch" (edit) – 5:10
(Originally released on the album Human Touch in 1992.)
"Better Days" – 3:44
(Originally released on the album Lucky Town in 1992.)
"Streets of Philadelphia" (single edit) – 3:16
(Originally released on the soundtrack to Philadelphia in 1994.)
"Secret Garden" – 4:27
Recorded in January 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City
"Murder Incorporated" – 3:57
Recorded at The Power Station in April/May 1982
"Blood Brothers" – 4:34
Recorded in January 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City
"This Hard Land" – 4:50
Recorded in January 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City

 

[topper]

(acoustic blues)

* The late Booker White, for whom this album is named, was a cousin of B B Kinkg's

 

[PaulyT]

Good Friday afternoon music!