What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

Can't Buy A Thrill -- CD

Steely Dan

1974/1990 MCA Records

Amazon.com

Songwriters Walter Becker and Donald Fagen launched Steely Dan with a seductive, poker-faced 1972 debut as smoothly accessible in its music as it was elusive in its thematic concerns. The opening "Do It Again" snagged swift commercial success as one of the most mysterious pop hits in history, a sultry rock cha-cha that chronicled a series of harrowing catastrophes far removed from the reheated love songs and pro forma countercultural rebellion of the day. Though the core band boasted two formidable guitarists, Jeff Baxter and Denny Dias, it was the bloom of Fagen's keyboards and his reedy, smart-ass vocals that carried Thrill light years beyond modal, blues-based rock. That said, an enduring highlight remains the furious six-string fantasia of "Reelin' in the Years," spiked by Elliot Randall's downright historic solos, at once dour and giddy in its indictment of a poser, while "Dirty Work" (featuring short-lived, nominal lead singer David Palmer) offers a decidedly adult vignette of adultery. There isn't a weak track here, astonishing, considering how much growth future Dan albums would display. --Sam Sutherland

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

 

[Botch]

I had forgotten what a great song Ordinary World was; I'll have to see if its on EweTube...

Gotta love EweTube!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDLiVwpv89s[/youtube]

A band I was in about a dozen years ago did this song. The keyboard parts weren't difficult but there were so many different sounds and patches, great fun! :music-rockout:

 

[Dennie]

I've had this on DVD since it came out, but I just got the 2 CD Set yesterday...... :text-bravo:

Greatest Hits Live -- 2 CD Set

Boz Scaggs

2004 Gray Cat Records

The Yardstick Blue-Eyed Soul Is Measured By, August 28, 2004
By D. Sean Brickell (gorgeous Virginia Beach, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Greatest Hits Live (Audio CD)

Fair disclosure: I'm a huge Boz fan, have been since the '60s. But it's also true that some Boz is better than others.

This is the CD I've been hoping for since "Silk Degrees." It definitley deserves the most truthful titled CD of the year. It's his "greatest," featuring his "hits," and the "live" element reworks the songs in exciting new presentations.

Boz is the yardstick blue-eyed soul is measured by. He directly influenced Michael McDonald, Hall & Oates, Robert Palmer and others. This CD validates his rightful position amongst the great r&b/soul artists such as Ray Charles and Van Morrison.

It's a must-have set. 16 songs, and I couldn't live without a single one of 'em. Admitedly I'm being greedy, still I'd've loved a couple more personal favorites such as "What Do you Want The Girl To Do" and "It All Went Down the Drain." But I can't imagine discarding anything on the CD to include them.

Last year's "Standards" exposed Boz to countless new fans and placed him atop the jazz charts. Hopefully they'll now dive into his worthy catalogue to discover the scope and depth of his work. Not many artists have made it to the top of the rock, pop and jazz charts in a career. There's a good reason why they don't but Boz did, and that answer is found on this CD.

The band is top-notch, obviously well rehearsed, yet performs fresh and loose. The production is pristine yet not slick studio-sterile. Contributing to the overall class (there's a word that describes Boz!) is the subtle packaging. Look closely how it all ties together -- closed, open or folded -- and you'll see what I mean. No detail is too small to be less-than-perfect here.

Last night was a beautiful late-August full moon. My wife and I sat outside and just listened to Boz. We couldn't imagine a more perfect setting, other than the one for those lucky enough to have attended the concert.

In summary, I sure hope we get a "Volume Two Live." Boz has enough quality material, and nobody can get too much of something this good.

DISC 1:

Lowdown
Slow Dancer
Heart Of Mine
It All Went Down The Drain
Harbor Lights
Jojo
Ask Me 'Bout Nothin' But The Blues
Breakdown Dead Ahead

DISC 2:

Look What You've Done To Me
I Just Go
Georgia
Miss Sun
Lido Shuffle
Runnin' Blue
Loan Me A Dime
We're All Alone

 

[Dennie]

Healing The Wounds -- CD

The Crusaders

1997 GRP Records

The Crusaders as they should be!, October 10, 2000
By Allen Davis (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Healing the Wounds (Audio CD)

This cd is music by The Crusaders as it should be. As a long time Joe Sample and Crusaders fans, it was good for me to enjoy what I would consider to be "vintage" Crusader stuff. It also did me a lot of good for me to hear my favorite bassist, Marcus Miller, added to the mix. He adds that touch of funk that only he can do. With Marcus thumpin' the bass, Joe tickling the ivory, and the rest of the guys doing their things, you can't help but love this piece. "Healing the Wounds" is probably the best Crusader cd to date. If you like the old Crusader stuff, you'll love this! It's great music from cover to cover.

Track listing

1. Pessimisticism
2. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
3. Little Things Mean a Lot
4. Cause We've Ended as Lovers
5. Shake Dance
6. Maputo
7. Healing the Wounds
8. Running Man

 

[PaulyT]

Sarah's first album...

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

Raising Sand -- CD

Robert Plant - Alison Krauss

2007 Rounder Records

Amazon.com

Perhaps only the fantasy duo of King Kong and Bambi could be a more bizarre pairing than Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Yet on Raising Sand, their haunting and brilliant collaboration, the Led Zeppelin screamer and Nashville's most hypnotic song whisperer seem made for each other. This, however, is not the howling Plant of "Whole Lotta Love," but a far more precise and softer singer than even the one who emerged with Dreamland (2002). No matter that Plant seems so subdued as to be on downers, for that's one of the keys to this most improbable meeting of musical galaxies--almost all of it seems slowed down, out of time, otherworldly, and at times downright David Lynch-ian, the product of an altered consciousness. Yet probably the main reason it all works so well is the choice of producer T Bone Burnette, the third star of the album, who culled mostly lesser-known material from some of the great writers of blues, country, folk, gospel, and R&B, including Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, Milt Campbell, the Everly Brothers, Sam Phillips, and A.D. and Rosa Lee Watson. At times, Burnette's spare and deliberate soundscape--incisively crafted by guitarists Marc Ribot and Norman Blake, bassist Dennis Crouch, drummer Jay Bellerose, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, among others--is nearly as dreamy and subterranean as Daniel Lanois's work with Emmylou Harris (Wrecking Ball). Occasionally, Burnette opts for a fairly straightforward production while still reworking the original song (Plant's own "Please Read the Letter," Mel Tillis's "Stick with Me, Baby"). But much of the new flesh on these old bones is oddly unsettling, if not nightmarish. On the opening track of "Rich Woman," the soft-as-clouds vocals strike an optimistic mood, while the instrumental backing--loose snare, ominous bass line, and insinuating electric guitar lines--create a spooky, sinister undertow. Plant and Krauss trade out the solo and harmony vocals, and while they both venture into new waters here (Krauss as a mainstream blues mama, Plant as a gospel singer and honkytonker), she steals the show in Sam Phillips' new "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," where a dramatic violin and tremulous banjo strike a foreboding gypsy tone. When Krauss begins this strange, seductive song in a voice so ethereal that angels will take note, you may stop breathing. That, among other reasons, makes Raising Sand an album to die for. --Alanna Nash

1. "Rich Woman" Dorothy LaBostrie, McKinley Millet 4:04
2. "Killing the Blues" Roly Jon Salley 4:16
3. "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" Sam Phillips 3:26
4. "Polly Come Home" Gene Clark 5:36
5. "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" Don Everly, Phil Everly 3:33
6. "Through the Morning, Through the Night" Gene Clark 4:01
7. "Please Read the Letter" Charlie Jones, Michael Lee, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant 5:53
8. "Trampled Rose" Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits 5:34
9. "Fortune Teller" Naomi Neville 4:30
10. "Stick With Me Baby" Mel Tillis 2:50
11. "Nothin'" Townes Van Zandt 5:33
12. "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" Milton Campbell 4:02
13. "Your Long Journey" Doc Watson, Rosa Lee Watson 3:55

 

[Dennie]

Sarah's first album...

Nice! How do you like it?



Dennie

 

[topper]

(2011 release)

"How I Go" (special edition) .... with a couple extra songs
by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band

:handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Botch]

:music-listening:

 

[PaulyT]

Sarah's first album...

Nice! How do you like it?



Dennie

I've only listened to it once, but so far so good! Jerry Douglas plays on this one, too (yeah, I've been into his stuff a lot lately, have even gotten some of his "solo" albums). The style overall is pretty similar to her second album. Can't say yet which I like better, as I've listened to the second one many, many times, and it takes me a while to form a solid opinion.

 

[Dennie]

Gap Gold - The Best of The Gap Band -- CD

The Gap Band

1987/1990 Mercury Records

Best Early 80s Industrial Funk, October 6, 2005
By Pablo Parks "Pablo" (Bayonet Point, Florida) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gap Gold (Audio CD)

The Houston based "Gap Band" brought the best hard charging funk in the early 80s. All praise the Wilson brothers for their outstanding instrumental and vocal work evident on this bang up CD. Best tracks are "Burn Rubber", "Shake" and "Early in the Morning". "You Dropped the Bomb on Me" and "The Party Train" are club favorites and very popular outside of the funk scene. There are a few slower R&B numbers that work well especially "Outstanding" which also describes this collection.

Track listing

1. Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
2. Outstanding
3. I Don't Believe You Want to Get up and Dance (Oops!)
4. Party Train
5. Stay With Me
6. You Dropped a Bomb on Me
7. Early in the Morning
8. Yearning for Your Love
9. Shake
10. Season's No Reason to Change

 

[Dennie]

Sarah's first album...

Nice! How do you like it?



Dennie

I've only listened to it once, but so far so good! Jerry Douglas plays on this one, too (yeah, I've been into his stuff a lot lately, have even gotten some of his "solo" albums). The style overall is pretty similar to her second album. Can't say yet which I like better, as I've listened to the second one many, many times, and it takes me a while to form a solid opinion.

Yeah, I have it on my (never ending) wish list. It has good reviews and I like her other album, so I'll probably order it with my next amazon order.

Yeah, Jerry Douglas is, as Alison Krauss says, THE BEST DOBRO PLAYER IN THE WORLD. If I come across any of his work, either solo or with others, I always pick it up.

Thanks,

Dennie

 

[Yesfan70]

Not as good as musicforthemorningafter, but the more I listen, the more I like it. "Long Way Down" has a good 'power' feel to it.

"I don't love you, so why should I compete with other guys?" What a great lyric!

 

[Dennie]

Not as good as musicforthemorningafter, but the more I listen, the more I like it. "Long Way Down" has a good 'power' feel to it.

"I don't love you, so why should I compete with other guys?" What a great lyric!

That is a great lyric!

Hey, I love your new avatar. Did you get some Palladium's? :bow-blue:


Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Funkology - The Definitive Dazz Band -- CD

Dazz Band

1994 Motown Records

Easily the most comprehensive hits compilation for the Dazz Band, Funkology: The Definitive Dazz Band is a tasteful combination of not only their greatest hits from both phases of their career, but hard-to-find B-side alternate mixes and an amazing Megamix to kick off the album. Dazz delivers all of the goods you would expect from an Ohio funk group from that era: gorgeous production combined with well-thought-out songwriting arrangements wrapped around a slick bassline, topped off with a soulful melody. Since it is out of print, listeners would be well-served by checking out Universal's easily attainable 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Dazz Band. But if you can find this, by all means Funkology is the way to go. ~ Rob Theakston

Track listing

1. Megamix: Keep It Live (On The K.I.L.) / Joystick / Swoop (I'm Yours) / Let It Whip
2. Nasty Boogie
3. There I Go
4. Ten Toes Up
5. Swoop (I'm Yours)
6. Keep It Live (On the K.I.L.)
7. Love Song, A
8. I Might as Well Forget About Loving You
9. Knock! Knock!
10. Heartbeat
11. Let It Whip - (extended 7" mix)
12. Joystick - (extended 7" mix)
13. Let It All Blow - (alternate master mix edit)
14. Let the Music Play
15. Catchin' up on Love
16. When You Need Roses

 

[Dennie]

Super Hits -- CD

The Manhattans

2002 Columbia Legacy

Recorded between 1973 & 1980. All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Ten beloved recordings from the Manhattans' CBS era. The dazzling choices include a shining version of Timi Yuro's '60s hit "Hurt," which they rejuvenate with the addendum of a killer fade. Two underrated bawlers, "Wish That You Were Mine" and "Am I Losing You," are as gripping as their mega hits: "Shining Star" and "Kiss and Say Goodbye." These are coveted male group sounds by one of the urban genre's most durable and liked vocal groups. ~ Andrew Hamilton

Track Listing
1. It Feels So Good To Be Loved So Bad
2. Wish That You Were Mine
3. There's No Me Without You
4. Kiss and Say Goodbye
5. Am I Losing You
6. Don't Take Your Love
7. I Kinda Miss You
8. We Never Danced To a Love Song
9. Hurt
10. Shining Star

 

[PaulyT]

Not as good as musicforthemorningafter, but the more I listen, the more I like it. "Long Way Down" has a good 'power' feel to it.

"I don't love you, so why should I compete with other guys?" What a great lyric!

Got this one a few days ago based on your rec; haven't had a chance to give it a serious listen yet... soon!

 

[Yesfan70]

.........Hey, I love your new avatar. Did you get some Palladium's? :bow-blue:


Dennie

Nope.....Just dreaming a little. If they sound as good as they look, I sure wouldn't mind owning a pair. Too bad it would have to be the bookshelfs. ($$$$!!!!) LOL!

I am seriously thinking about the Reference line for an upgrade (Maybe the RB-81 II or the RB-61 II). I miss my KG towers I had, but it won't be until after the first of the year before I can do anything.


They've brought back the RF-7s (now the RF-7 II) and they look better than ever!

 

[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

 

[heeman]

Track Listing

All tracks composed by Boz Scaggs; except where indicated

1."What Can I Say" (Scaggs, David Paich) – 3:01
2."Georgia" – 3:57
3."Jump Street" (Scaggs, Paich) – 5:14
4."What Do You Want the Girl to Do" (Allen Toussaint) – 3:53
5."Harbor Lights" – 5:58
6."Lowdown" (Scaggs, Paich) – 5:18
7."It's Over" (Paich, Scaggs) – 2:52
8."Love Me Tomorrow" (Paich) – 3:17
9."Lido Shuffle" (Scaggs, Paich) – 3:44
10."We're All Alone" – 4:14