What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Stealing Second -- CD

Chris Thile

1997 Sugar Hill Records

America's Mandolin Mozart Mesmerizes, November 21, 2005
By Mark J. Fowler "Let's Play Two!" (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)
This review is from: Stealing Second (Audio CD)

A little historical perspective. Chris had won the national mandolin championship at 12, followed by the recording Leading Off...,"Stealing Second" was recorded at about age 17, very soon before the earth-shaking Nickel Creek debut CD.

On his first CD, "Leading Off", Chris worked with fine musicians and allowed himself to be mentored a little by Pete Wernick, mixing a few self-written ditties with several "parking lot favorites". On "Stealing Second" everything gets ratcheted up a notch. Chris writes ALL the tunes himself. The accompanying musicians are no less than Stuart Duncan on Fiddle and Jerry Douglas on Dobro. Now master David Grier takes on guitar work and Scott Vestal brings his 5-string wizardry to the project.

The results are, frankly, electrifying. Chris mixes in light, airy reels like "Ah, Spring" and "Hop the Fence" with serious barn-burning breakdowns like "Clear the Tracks". (One of the "hottest" bluegrass recordings in history.)

For anyone with any interest in Chris Thile, Bluegrass, Irish or Mandolin music, "Stealing Second" is required listening. Get it.

"Ah Spring" - 1:44
"Stealing Second" - 3:14
"Kneel Before Him" - 4:41
"Bittersweet Reel" - 5:04
"Alderaanian Melody" - 2:50
"Hyperdrive" - 3:38
"Leaves Fall" - 4:20
"A Night In Mos Eisley" - 2:50
"Hop The Fence" - 2:57
"The Game Is Afoot" - 6:38
"Clear The Tracks" - 3:02
"Golden Pond" - 3:11
"Road To Wrigley" - 3:22
"Ryno's Lament" - 2:25

 

[topper]

(2003)

:handgestures-thumbup:
Rory sings as great as she plays guitar . . . .
and I love to listen to her
:music-listening:

 

[Dennie]

My house keeper is here and she's not big on Bluegrass( :confusion-shrug: ), so I'm switching it up....

Graceland -- CD

Paul Simon

1986/1990 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com essential recording

The melding of South African styles and Simon's trademark sensibility made for one of the most intriguing albums--not to mention commercial hits--of the '80s. At once lively, thoughtful, gorgeous, and tough, Graceland acknowledges splits both in South Africa's social fabric and in Simon's personal life (the title track is a clear descendant of the earlier "Hearts and Bones," a song about the singer-songwriter's brief marriage to Carrie Fisher). Humor is hardly absent from the mix, though; witness the addled "I Know What I Know" and the fable-like "You Can Call Me Al." --Rickey Wright

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "The Boy in the Bubble" Forere Motloheloa, Paul Simon 3:59
2. "Graceland" Simon 4:48
3. "I Know What I Know" General MD Shirinda, Simon 3:13
4. "Gumboots" Lulu Masilela, Jonhjon Mkhalali, Simon 2:44
5. "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" Joseph Shabalala, Simon 5:45
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
6. "You Can Call Me Al" Simon 4:39
7. "Under African Skies" Simon 3:37
8. "Homeless" Shabalala, Simon 3:48
9. "Crazy Love, Vol. II" Simon 4:18
10. "That Was Your Mother" Simon 2:52
11. "All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints" Simon 3:15

 

[Dennie]

(2003)

:handgestures-thumbup:
Rory sings as great as she plays guitar . . . .
and I love to listen to her
:music-listening:

Thanks Topper, I've notified my "used music dealer" about Rory, he's going to "Keep An Eye Out" for me!


Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Haircut -- CD

George Thorogood & The Destroyers

1993 Capitol Records

WAY UP THERE AT THE TOP ! !, August 21, 2001
By James E. Lane "jaminjim" (Joplin, mo. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Get a Haircut (Audio CD)

Hard to belive I'm the first to talk about this cd,lol !! GET A HAIRCUT is by far a classic in the makeing. Nothing to do with the fact that my older brother's name is Bob and they're alway's telling me to get a haircut,lmao !! But really now, George has come along with a great cd full of jamin' boogie rock 'n' roll for us all and no one should be left out. Like all his lp / cd's everything from Howlin'Wolf to Bo Didley, on to John Lee Hooker right into the old Stones. Get it and shut up,ok?

"Get a Haircut" (David Avery, Bill Birch) - 4:12
"Howlin' for My Baby" (Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf) - 5:14
"Killer's Bluze" (Dex Rogers) - 6:10
"Down in the Bottom" (Dixon) - 4:03
"I'm Ready" (Dixon) - 3:36
"Cops and Robbers" (Bo Diddley) - 4:50
"Gone Dead Train" (Jack Nitzsche, Russ Titelman) - 4:07
"Want Ad Blues" (John Lee Hooker) - 5:06
"My Friend Robert" (Patrick Sky) - 2:30
"Baby Don't Go" (George Thorogood) - 3:24

 

[Dennie]

Machine Head -- CD

Deep Purple

1972/1990 Warner Bros. Records

Brilliant Purple, May 15, 2000
By R. Gorham "RCG2" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)


This review is from: Machine Head (Audio CD)

Deep Purple at their ultimate very best. The classic line up of Gillian, Blackmore, Lord, Glover and Paice. Too bad they only made a few albums with this grouping. Sure, we all know it's tough to get along with Ritchie Blackmore, but the esoteric types usually are. Blackmore shreds & slings like there is no tomorrow on Machine Head. All the band members click her, but most notably are Blackmore & Ian Paice. Paice is one of the most under-rated drummers ever... he cooks on this album. His drumming is smooth and almost effortless. "Highway Star" and "Smoke on the Water" are two songs that any person even slightly interested in rock & roll will remember. But, the songs that didn't make it to the radio (or got very little air play) are the ones that hold this great album together. "Pictures of Home", "Maybe I'm a Leo", "Never Before"... and "Lazy"... how can you not jump up from whatever you are doing and just run yourself silly? This classic hard rock is full of energy & heart. A 1972 essential in any rock library.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Highway Star" 6:05
2. "Maybe I'm a Leo" 4:51
3. "Pictures of Home" 5:03
4. "Never Before" 3:56
Side two
No. Title Length
5. "Smoke on the Water" 5:40
6. "Lazy" 7:19
7. "Space Truckin'" 4:31

 

[heeman]

Maybe I'm A Leo - From Machine Head is one of my favorite songs!

 

[Dennie]

Maybe I'm A Leo - From Machine Head is one of my favorite songs!

:text-bravo:

When I was a teenager, many, many, many, many years ago, we would go rafting down the American River, smoking what we had ( bscene-smokingjoint and blasting "Smoke On The Water". Good Times!

This song still takes me back to that time! :handgestures-thumbup:



Dennie, who dosen't go rafting anymore!

 

[Dennie]

Live: Duets -- CD

Chris Thile & Mike Marshall

2006 Sugar Hill Records

Amazon.com

When Bill Monroe pushed the mandolin forward as a lead instrument, he opened a Pandora's box of musical possibilities, but even he couldn't have imagined a recording like this. Neither classical nor jazz nor bluegrass, the sound owes much to David Grisman--whom Marshall studied under and Thile worshipped--who just called it "dawg music." Call these live instrumentals "cat music": slinky, cool, effete, at times sphinx-like, at times blissed out on improvisational 'nip. Culled from a range of small-theater concerts in the winter of 2003, the set emphasizes original compositions--some written collaboratively--and one Bach revision, plus a blazing Bulgarian folk tune. Though writing credits are split evenly, Marshall is the de facto leader here. His jaunty, funky rhythms keep Thile's capricious twists grounded through the time shifts of "The Only Way Out," and his playful countermelodies turn the pastoral, seven-minute excursion "Joy Ride in a Toy Car/Hey Ho" into an experiment from a time machine set to either 1740 or 2740. The improvisation on a Bach violin partita, however, conveys the warmest, clearest melody, while "Sedi Donka" deserves its own genre: thrashgrass. Hearing these two maestros, the most expert mandolinist will likely succumb to despair--albeit a dizzying, lyrical, even beautiful despair. --Roy Kasten

TRACK LISTING
1. Shoulda Seen It Comin'
2. Byron's
3. Carpathian Mt. Breakdown
4. I'd Go Back If I Could
5. Only Way Out, The
6. Hualalai
7. Dmin Gigue - (From Violin Partita #2, J.S. Bach)
8. Joy Ride in a Toy Car/Hey Ho: Joy Ride In A Toy Car / Hey Ho 'Till Dawn
9. 'Til Dawn
10. Sedi Donka - (Trad. Bulgarian)
11. Tanja

 

[Dennie]

O.C.M.S. -- CD

Old Crow Medicine Show

2004 Nettwerk Records

Amazon.com

During the "folk music-scare" of the early 1960s, a bunch of white middle-class youths with names like the Greenbriar Boys and the Even Dozen Jug Band discovered the mountain music of the Stanley Brothers, Skillet Lickers, and Uncle Dave Macon and set about introducing it to the country's college kids. Four decades later, the members of OCMS fit the profile of those early revivalists, yet if anything they have tapped deeper into the primal elements of an American art form. As demonstrated on their debut, they have assimilated not just the sound--banjos, harmonicas, acoustic guitar and bass--but more importantly the haunting spirit of music that was made to keep hard times at bay. How else to explain their ability to take a well-worn chestnut like "CC Rider" and infuse it with an energy that reveals once again why it is a classic? Not content to live completely in the past, they wrote "Big Time in the Jungle," which, though it is about Vietnam, could easily be transposed to 2004's desert conflicts. Kindred spirit and producer David Rawlings (Gillian Welch's longtime collaborator) has kept their energy intact, but one can only wonder what sort of magic they must deliver live. --Michael Ross

"Tell It to Me" (traditional) - 2:47
"Big Time in the Jungle" (Critter Fuqua) - 2:49
"Poor Man" (traditional) - 3:35
"Tear It Down" (traditional) - 2:11
"Hard to Love" (traditional) - 2:30
"CC Rider" (Ma Rainey) - 3:50
"Trials & Troubles" (Ketcham Secor, Willie Watson) - 2:57
"Hard to Tell" (Ketcham Secor) - 3:15
"Take 'Em Away" (Critter Fuqua) - 3:35
"We're All in This Together" (Ketcham Secor, Willie Watson) - 4:50
"Wagon Wheel" (Bob Dylan, Ketcham Secor) - 3:52


The band

Critter Fuqua - Banjo, Guitar, Vocals, Bottleneck Guitar
Kevin Hayes - Guit-jo
Morgan Jahnig - Bass (Upright)
Ketcham Secor - Banjo, Fiddle, Harmonica, Vocals
Willie Watson - Banjo, Guitar, Vocals

Guest musicians

David Rawlings - Guitar
Gillian Welch - Drums
Randy Thompson - Harmonica

 

[Dennie]

Live/Dead -- CD

Grateful Dead

1969/1990 Warner Bros. Records

Incredible performance from 1969...a vibe that makes me feel like I'm there...great jamming!, August 30, 2005
By Just Bill (Grand Rapids, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)


This review is from: Live / Dead (Audio CD)
Live/Dead (unlike, say, Without a Net) has a vibe to it that makes me feel like I'm right there in the audience. I'm not sure what it is about it that gives me that feeling, but it's there. Perhaps its the starkness of the recording, which sounds like it was made in a small club. Maybe it's the fearlessness of the musicianship. They SOUND like they're fresh-faced kids exploring music and having a great time at it.

All I can say is that very few live albums give me the chills like this one does. The jamming is unreal. And I agree with other reviewers, this does seem like the definitive version of "Dark Star" (which I'm listening to as I type this).

Of course, "Dark Star" inevitably seques into "St. Stephen" and "The Eleven" and, man, I feel like I'm in concert heaven. Every song is strong. The entire CD is outstanding.

Oh, and the sound quality is awesome. Rhino did a stellar job remastering this in glorious HDCD.

If you want to know what the Grateful Dead sounded like live, this would be the CD to start with.

From Wiki:

The cover art for Live/Dead is by R.D. Thomas. On the original album, the word "Live" is seen on the front cover, and the word "Dead" fills the back cover. The top part of the word "Dead" on the back cover spells "acid", a slang term for LSD, in block letters.

 

[Dennie]

Bringing It All Back Home -- Remastered CD

Bob Dylan

1965/2004 Columbia Records

Amazon.com

"You sound like you're having a good old time," a purist Dylan fan is spotted telling the artist in the documentary Don't Look Back just after the release of this, his first (half-)electric album. He certainly does. Updating Chicago blues forms with hilarious, tough lyrics--in fact, all but stealing the meter of Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business" for "Subterranean Homesick Blues"--on one side, dropping some of his most devastating solo acoustic science ("It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "Mr. Tambourine Man") on the other, the first of Dylan's two 1965 long-players broke it right down with style, substance, and elegance. --Rickey Wright

All songs written by Bob Dylan.

Side one

"Subterranean Homesick Blues" – 2:21
"She Belongs to Me" – 2:47
"Maggie's Farm" – 3:54
"Love Minus Zero/No Limit" – 2:51
"Outlaw Blues" – 3:05
"On the Road Again"– 2:35
"Bob Dylan's 115th Dream"– 6:30

Side two

"Mr. Tambourine Man" – 5:30
"Gates of Eden" – 5:40
"It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" – 7:29
"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" – 4:12

 

[Dennie]

Rain Dogs -- CD

Tom Waits

1985 Island Records

Amazon.com essential recording

The middle album of the trilogy that includes Swordfishtrombones and Franks Wild Years, Rain Dogs is Waits's best overall effort. The songs are first-rate, and there are a lot of them--19 in all, ranging from grim nightlife memoirs ("9th and Hennepin," "Singapore") to portraits of small-time hustlers ("Gun Street Girl," "Union Square") to bursts of street-corner philosophy ("Blind Love," "Time"). The album also contains the original version of "Downtown Train," which Rod Stewart turned into a smash hit. The image of "rain dogs"--animals who've lost their way home because the rain has washed away their scent--is an appropriate symbol for the entire cast of characters Waits has brought to life over the years, and this album has thus far proved to be his most enduring effort. --Daniel Durchholz

All songs by Waits, except where noted.

Side One
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Singapore" 2:46
2. "Clap Hands" 3:47
3. "Cemetery Polka" 1:51
4. "Jockey Full of Bourbon" 2:45
5. "Tango Till They're Sore" 2:49
6. "Big Black Mariah" 2:44
7. "Diamonds & Gold" 2:31
8. "Hang Down Your Head" Kathleen Brennan, Waits 2:32
9. "Time" 3:55

Side Two
No. Title Length
1. "Rain Dogs" 2:56
2. "Midtown" (Instrumental) 1:00
3. "9th & Hennepin" 1:58
4. "Gun Street Girl" 4:37
5. "Union Square" 2:24
6. "Blind Love" 4:18
7. "Walking Spanish" 3:05
8. "Downtown Train" 3:53
9. "Bride of Rain Dog" (Instrumental) 1:07
10. "Anywhere I Lay My Head" 2:48

 

[Dennie]

Heartattack And Vine -- CD

Tom Waits

1980/1990 Elektra Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Tom Waits's hipster persona began to evaporate at the beginning of the '80s, but not before he released the transitional but eminently worthwhile Heartattack and Vine, which contained "On the Nickel," a Dickensian tale of street life, and "Jersey Girl," a song Bruce Springsteen gave a far wider airing to on his Live 1975-1985 box set. You can hear hints of Waits's style growing more trenchant on songs like "Downtown" and the stark, bluesy title track, which contains the immortal line "Don't you know there ain't no devil / That's just God when he's drunk." Indeed. --Daniel Durchholz

Side One
No. Title Length
1. "Heartattack and Vine" 4:50
2. "In Shades" (Instrumental) 4:25
3. "Saving all My Love for You" 3:41
4. "Downtown" 4:45
5. "Jersey Girl" 5:11

Side Two
No. Title Length
1. "'Til the Money Runs Out" 4:25
2. "On the Nickel" 6:19
3. "Mr. Siegal" 5:14
4. "Ruby's Arms" 5:34

 

[Dennie]

Never Die Young -- CD

James Taylor

1988 Columbia Legacy

Another Number One Album For Old "JT"!, August 25, 2000
By Barron Laycock "Labradorman" (Temple, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Never Die Young (Audio CD)

James Taylor has given us so many wonderful albums over the last couple of decades (Gee, is it thirty years already?) that it is truly surprising to see him come up with yet another blockbuster of a song as "Never Die Young" along with a wonderful song cycle as he's produced here. From the opening bars of "Never Die Young", a wry but dreamy recollection of a couple destined to rise above the level of the ordinary humdrum of small town mentality to the thoughtful and well-arranged "T-Bone" to the reflective "Baby Boom Baby" to the rollicking "Sweet Potato Pie", there isn't a pooch in the passel. As always, this is an eclectic mixture of folk ballads like "Never Die Young" and the pensive and soulful "First Of May", which is my personal favorite here. What we have here, folks, is a guarantee of an entertaining, superbly rendered, and always memorable music by one of the old masters of popular folk-rock. After all, "JT" has now successfully negotiated the fifty-year mark, and like the rest of us boomers, shows no sign of slowing down or repeating himself. Enjoy!

All songs were written by James Taylor, except where noted.

"Never Die Young" – 4:24
"T-Bone" (Bill Payne, Taylor) – 3:47
"Baby Boom Baby" (Taylor, Zachary Wiesner) – 4:59
"Runaway Boy" – 4:18
"Valentine's Day" – 2:35
"Sun on the Moon" – 4:09
"Sweet Potato Pie" – 3:30
"Home by Another Way" (Timothy Mayer, Taylor) – 3:50
"Letter in the Mail" – 4:41
"First of May" – 4:01

 

[PaulyT]

Listening to this now for the first time; my first real exposure to these guys...

 

[topper]

Hey, Dennie,
You mentioned you were going to have your man look for Rory Block music for you . . . .
I'm a long-time fan of hers, and for people who are new to her music, "Shake 'Em On Down" and "From The Dust" are two cds I usually recommend. (really can't miss with either one of those)

Acoustic delta blues just doesn't get much better

:handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Dennie]

Country Life -- CD

Roxy Music

1874/1989 Island/Reprise Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Some contend Roxy Music peaked on their first two LPs, the ones with Brian Eno. Others contend they were best on their next two LPs, without Eno. Country Life is the second LP of the latter grouping, and it probably is the highpoint of the band's career (although its predecessor, Street Life, is stiff competition). The haunting, melancholic "The Thrill of It All," the art-rockin' "Out of the Blue," the almost-pure '50s rock of "If It Takes All Night," and the decadent Berlin-before-the-War affectations of "A Really Good Time" all lead to the concluding "Prairie Rose," Bryan Ferry's campy ode to Texas and amour Jerry Hall. This was "alternative" rock before the term existed. After this, Roxy Music became an entirely different band. --Bill Holdship

Side One

"The Thrill of It All" – 6:24
"Three and Nine" (Ferry, Andy Mackay) – 4:04
"All I Want Is You" – 2:53
"Out of the Blue" (Ferry, Phil Manzanera) – 4:46
"If It Takes All Night" – 3:12

Side Two

"Bitter-Sweet" (Ferry, Mackay) – 4:50
"Triptych" – 3:09
"Casanova" – 3:27
"A Really Good Time" – 3:45
"Prairie Rose" (Ferry, Manzanera) – 5:12

 

[Dennie]

Hey, Dennie,
You mentioned you were going to have your man look for Rory Block music for you . . . .
I'm a long-time fan of hers, and for people who are new to her music, "Shake 'Em On Down" and "From The Dust" are two cds I usually recommend. (really can't miss with either one of those)

Acoustic delta blues just doesn't get much better

:handgestures-thumbup:

Thanks Topper, I let "him" know! :handgestures-thumbup:



Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Get Away From Me 2 CD Set

Nellie McKay

2004 Columbia Records
Once there was a girl named Nellie..., March 22, 2004
By
M. Casarino (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Get Away From Me (Audio CD)
My goodness! Now THIS is a debut CD!!

Nellie McKay's "Get Away From Me" is either the best debut CD of the year, or one of the worst. She's clearly too full of creative energy to make anything boring or run-of-the-mill, so instead she offers this - a sprawling 2-CD set that covers about 30 musical styles, with her ethereal voice and strong piano skills as the only consistent threads.

Many reviewers seem a little stunned that such a young woman could create such music. I am too, to a degree - she displays an amazing range, from the torch ballad of "Manhattan Avenue" to the BeeGees-flavored "Change the World" to the Western Swingin' "It's a Pose" to the punkish-rap of "Inner Peace." The arrangements are layered, complex, and infectious - this is one fun album to listen to. Nellie may dive into piano jazz, but she don't make background music.

Nellie's youth becomes more evident in her lyrics, which are often cute, inflammatory, and silly. Some tunes border on novelty items (and some, like "Won't U Please B Nice," cross that border), but only a few hint at the real woman inside. Nellie is a master lyricist, but it's impossible to tell when she's being sincere, and when her words are a smokescreen. My guess is that every song reflects a little piece of her soul, but it's certainly possible that this whole album is a put-on.

Still, if she's going to make music this good, she can put me on any day! "Get Away From Me" isn't for everybody - it's for those who love great music without borders, those who don't have a "favorite" genre of music but love it all, as long as the artist is fueled by creativity. Nellie McKay is clearly one of the most creative artists in recent years - here's hoping she ends up being one of the most prolific as well!

Disc 1

"David"
"Manhattan Avenue"
"Sari"
"Ding Dong"
"Baby Watch Your Back"
"Dog Song"
"Waiter"
"I Wanna Get Married"
"Change the World"

Disc 2

"It's a Pose"
"Toto Dies"
"Won't U Please B Nice"
"Inner Peace"
"Suitcase Song"
"Work Song"
"Clonie"
"Respectable"
"Really"