What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Wild Angels CD

Martina McBride

1995 RCA Records
A perfect blend of old/new, country/rock, roots/polish, May 22, 2000
By hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Wild Angels (Audio CD)
McBride has always had a stupendous set of pipes, but like many gifted singers, she didn't always know what to do with them. Previously, and afterwards, she mixed spot-on emotional outpourings (e.g., "Independence Day" from 'The Way That I Am' LP) with songs that just left her singing loud.

Not so with this release. Together with her co-producers she's picked an album full of stellar songs from some of country music's greatest songwriting talents. And with her band, and her big set of pipes, she blows through this material like a wildfire.

Two of Matraca Berg's finest ("Wild Angels" and "Cry on the Shoulder of the Road"), a Delbert McClinton classic ("Two More Bottles of Wine"), and a host of hope, heartbreak and personal growth (the moving "You've Been Driving All the Time") combine to form the best album of songs that McBride's likely to ever collect. Even ballads like Pat Bunch's "Born to Give My Love to You" are filled with McBride's wonderful power.

Perhaps even more noteworthy is the way in which the album makes itself friendly to the relatively non-country tastes of commercial country radio, while at the same time hanging on to much of the music's roots. There's plenty of steel, fiddle and mandolin, and the lyrical sentiment, from "Phones Are Ringin' All Over Town" to "Swingin' Doors" is dead-on country. It's a supreme example of where Modern Country might have gone, had it not quickly reduced itself to cloying Top-40 fodder.

Though her followup would go over the adult contemporary edge, playing on her powerful vocals instead of her ability to communicate powerful emotion, for at least a few moments, this one struck the perfect balance.

1. "Wild Angels" (Matraca Berg, Gary Harrison, Harry Stinson) – 3:44
2. "Safe in the Arms of Love" (Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose, Pat Bunch) – 3:13
3. "Phones are Ringin' All Over Town" (David MacKenhie, Marc Beeson, Kin Vassy) – 3:31
4. "A Great Disguise" (Greg Barnhill, Hillary Kanter, Even Stevens) – 3:58
5. "Swingin' Doors" (Jim Foster, Chapin Hartford, Bobby Boyd) – 3:27
6. "All The Things We've Never Done" (Craig Bickhardt, Jeff Pennig) – 3:24
7. "Two More Bottles of Wine" (Delbert McClinton) – 3:15
8. "Cry on the Shoulder of the Road" (Berg, Tim Krekel) – 3:08
9. "You've Been Driving All the Time" (Stinson, Bunch) – 4:41
10. "Born to Give My Love to You" (Kennedy, Rose, Bunch) – 3:15
11. "Beyond the Blue" (David Kent, Ashe Underwood) – 2:25

Bonus Picture......

 

[Dennie]

Possibly my favorite Lyle album.....

** HIDDEN TRACK** and it is worth hearing, especially after a minute and a half of silence! :dance:

Road To Ensenada -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup: :eusa-clap:

Lyle Lovett

1996 MCA Records

Amazon.com essential recording

After the more experimental themes and misanthropic bit players populating his prior album, I Love Everybody, the songs on this superb 1996 set return to the more affable, earnest, but still knotty balance established by Lyle Lovett on his first four albums. He spins amiable yarns about his preferred headgear ("Don't Touch My Hat") and larger-than-life love objects (the one-eyed "Fiona"), sways hilariously through the backfired seductions of the samba-paced "Her First Mistake," and swings buoyantly through "That's Right (You're Not from Texas)," then ropes the equally droll Randy Newman into a tongue-in-cheek duet on "Long Tall Texan." In between, he sneaks a fresh string of dark love songs ("Private Conversation," "I Can't Love You Anymore") that sustain his formidable standards. Forget the forced issue of his putative ties to "new country": Lovett is simply one of the best American singer-songwriters extant, whether playing raconteur, philosopher king, or wounded romantic. --Sam Sutherland

All songs composed by Lyle Lovett except as noted.

1. "Don't Touch My Hat" – 3:47
2. "Her First Mistake" – 6:28
3. "Fiona" – 4:09
4. "That's Right (You're Not from Texas)" (Lovett, Ramsey, Rogers) – 4:54
5. "Who Loves You Better" – 4:46
6. "Private Conversation" – 4:32
7. "Promises" – 3:07
8. "It Ought To Be Easier" – 4:11
9. "I Can't Love You Anymore" – 3:14
10. "Long Tall Texan" (Henry Strzelecki) – 3:27
11. "Christmas Morning" – 3:43
12. "The Road To Ensenada" – 10:12
13. "The Girl in the Corner" -- hidden at the end of track 12, following 1:30 of silence**

 

[Dennie]

I just didn't expect HER to sound like Billy Holiday......WOW! :text-bravo:

Careless Love -- CD

Madeleine Peyroux

2004 Rounder Records

Madeleine Peyroux's unique blend of jazz and pop was first unveiled on 1996's DREAMLAND, where she sounded like a postmodern heir to the smoky-voiced tradition that ran down from Billie Holiday through the likes of Karen Dalton and Judy Roderick. Though Peyroux made a splash with her debut, she quickly dropped out of the music scene, not to appear again until eight years later with the long-overdue follow-up, CARELESS LOVE.
Here, Peyroux tackles material from a variety of sources; some songs were written expressly for her by such contemporary songsmiths as Jesse Harris (who penned Norah Jones's breakthrough hit, "Don't Know Why"). Perhaps most striking, though, are her interpretations of older compositions. Peyroux redefines the darkly yearning Leonard Cohen tune "Dance Me to the End of Love" as a sultry invitation rather than a heart-on-the-sleeve plea. Her lighter-than-air stroll through the clouds of Bob Dylan's "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" has a graceful ease that puts the song's many previous cover versions to shame. Throughout CARELESS LOVE, Peyroux--with highly sympathetic production from Joni Mitchell right-hand-man Larry Klein--proves fully up to the task of redefining the role of torch singer for the careworn 21st century.

1. "Dance Me to the End of Love" (Leonard Cohen) - 3:56
2. "Don't Wait Too Long" (Madeleine Peyroux–Jesse Harris–Larry Klein) - 3:10
3. "Don't Cry Baby" (Saul Bernie–James P. Johnson–Stella Unger) - 3:16
4. "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" (Bob Dylan) - 3:26
5. "Between the Bars" (Elliott Smith) - 3:42
6. "No More" (Salvador Camerata–Bob Russell) - 3:31
7. "Lonesome Road" (Gene Austin–Nathaniel Shilkret) - 3:10
8. "J'ai Deux Amours" (Vincent Scotto–Géorges Koger–Henri Varna) - 2:54
9. "Weary Blues" (Hank Williams) - 3:39
10. "I'll Look Around" (George Cory-Douglas Cross) - 4:47
11. "Careless Love" (William C. Handy-Martha Koenig–Spencer Williams) - 3:50
12. "This Is Heaven to Me" (Frank Reardon–Ernest Schweikert) - 3:12

 

[PaulyT]

Cool. I have Peyroux's newer album "Bare Bones" and like it. Though I like Melody Gardot better, who has a sort of similar style.

 

[Dennie]

Luck Of The Draw -- CD

Bonnie Raitt

1991 Capitol Records

Amazon.com

As its title makes clear, the 1991 sequel to Bonnie Raitt's platinum breakthrough on Nick Of Time takes nothing for granted. Raitt had achieved sobriety, renewed commercial focus, and then the payday that the prior album yielded, but Luck Of The Draw mirrors an even fiercer determination to make music as if her life depended on it. Again teamed with producer Don Was, Raitt surpasses herself with her best album to date: her wonderfully lush, blues-rimmed voice and sinuous slide guitar wrap themselves around a dozen potent songs culled from a typically shrewd mix of writers including Paul Brady, John Hiatt, Bonnie Hayes, Shirley Eikhard, and Billy Vera, and Raitt herself turns in her most generous batch of originals yet. Sympathetic guests include Brady and Delbert McClinton on harmony vocals, Richard Thompson on guitar, and Heartbreaker Benmont Tench on organ, in a program including the sassy "Something to Talk About," the sultry "Slow Ride," a soaring "Not the Only One," and the heartbreaking "I Can't Make You Love Me." This isn't luck, it's artistry. --Sam Sutherland

1. Something To Talk About
2. Good Man Good Woman
3. I Can't Make You Love Me
4. Tangled And Dark
5. Come To Me
6. No Business
7. One Part Be My Lover
8. Not The Only One
9. Papa Come Quick (Jody And Chico)
10. Slow Ride
11. Luck Of The Draw
12. All At Once

 

[Dennie]

Cool. I have Peyroux's newer album "Bare Bones" and like it. Though I like Melody Gardot better, who has a sort of similar style.

I have to agree, Melody is a fantastic artist and I can't wait for a new album from her! :handgestures-thumbup:


Dennie

 

[Botch]

Todd Rundgren's very under-rated band... :handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Aaron German]

I can't believe you guys are on page 14 already!

:text-bravo:


Dennie :eusa-clap:

I can't believe Dennie is on page 14 already! :music-listening:

 

[Dennie]

Garcia -- CD

Jerry Garcia

1972/1995 Arista Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Garcia's 1972 debut was truly a labor of love for the Grateful Dead guitarist, an album on which he plays every instrument except drums--he leaves the traps to his Dead compatriot Bill Kreutzmann. Six wonderful Garcia originals (cowritten with lyricist Robert Hunter) appear on record for the first time, all of which would become staples of the Dead's repertoire. Garcia mixes in a few creepy sonic experiments for good measure, but the album truly revolves around particularly satisfying readings--especially vocally--of some of his most enduring songs. --Marc Greilsamer

1. Deal
2. Bird Song
3. Sugaree
4. Loser
5. Late for Supper
6. Spidergawd
7. Eep Hour
8. To Lay Me Down
9. An Odd Little Place
10. The Wheel

 

[Dennie]

I can't believe you guys are on page 14 already!

:text-bravo:


Dennie :eusa-clap:

I can't believe Dennie is on page 14 already! :music-listening:

:eusa-whistle:



Dennie :music-listening:

 

[Dennie]

Oh Man, this is GOOD!!!

Smokin' At The Half Note -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Wynton Kelly Trio - Wes Montgomery

1989 Verve Records

Product Description

Smokin' at the Half Note by Wes Montgomery and Wynton Kelly, originally released by Verve in 1965, shouldn't need a build-up for anyone whose ears have been open for the last 40 years. When you begin a live session with 13 minutes of "No Blues," a cornerstone of the Miles Davis Quintet with Hank Mobley, circa 1961, you'd better have your stuff together. Montgomery, one of a handful of truly great 20th century jazz guitarists, and Kelly, the ultimate piano accompanist, are backed by Miles' fabulous Kind of Blue rhythm section consisting of bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. This 1965 live set, is indeed smoking! From a churning "If You Could See Me Now," written by bebop piano great Tadd Dameron, to Wes' own tour de force, "Four On Six," Montgomery and Kelly are two Jazz giants cutting loose with the best they've got.

1. "No Blues" (Miles Davis) – 13:00
2. "If You Could See Me Now" – 6:45
3. "Unit 7" (Sam Jones) – 7:30
4. "Four on Six" – 6:45
5. "What's New" – 6:00

 

[Dennie]

Look Who's Here -- CD

Russell Malone

2000 Verve Records
Amazon.com

Russell Malone is a godsend. Instead of being a guitar player full of pyrotechnic displays and special effects, he is a musician who plays guitar--a subtle distinction that benefits listeners. Long heralded as a sideman with Diana Krall and Branford Marsalis, Malone has quietly stepped out on his own as a leader. His latest CD finds him in good company, with pianist Anthony Wonsey, bassist Richie Goods, and drummer Byron Landham. It's a given that Malone is influenced by Wes Montgomery, but he also cites Chet Atkins and B.B. King as heroes. Russell combines their styles into his own soulful, swinging signature, which he signs with equal dexterity on the funky "The Angle" and the straight-ahead title track. Malone is at his best as an interpreter of popular songs. His singing versions of "Alfie," "The Odd Couple," and Stevie Wonder's inspirational "You Will Know" highlight his rare ability to expand the melodic content of a composition, while "An Affair to Remember" and "Get Out of Town" groove with light, hip-hop rim shots and Latin tinges. In short, Malone plays the guitar, instead of the other way around. --Eugene Holley Jr.
01. The Angle
02. Look Who Is Here
03. Alfie
04. The Odd Couple
05. Soulfull Kisses
06. Get Out of Town
07. You Will Know
08. The Heather on the Hill
09. An Affair to remember
10. Be Carefull, It's my Heart

 

[Dennie]

Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet -- 20 Bit K2 Remastered CD

Miles Davis- John Coltrane - Red Garland - Paul Chambers - Philly Joe Jones

1956/2001 Prestige/Fantasy Records

Red Garland's evocation of Big Ben in the opening chords of "If I Were A Bell" is a witty reminder that you're listening to the premier jazz combo of the 1950s, as Miles Davis once again plumbs the ravine of popular culture to come up with another engaging jazz classic.

In this case, it's a dandy from Frank Loesser's "Guys And Dolls," enlivened by Paul Chambers' perfect counter-melodies and Philly Joe Jones' supple brush work. Soon enough, Jones switches up with light stick work, as Chambers fires up his walk and Garland eggs things along with his light, sure, rhythmic strumming. A Harmon-muted Miles responds with delicate, bashful melodies, Coltrane digs in for a jitterbugging reveille and Garland mixes taut, pixieish single lines with velvety big-band chords; Jones defines the laid-back attitude with crisp side-stick accents on four.

Laid-back is the order of the day on RELAXIN'. "You're My Everything" highlights the interaction between Miles and Chambers, but it's Coltrane's expressive clarity that's such a revelation. A year before he'd probably have laid out on such a fragile ditty. On "It Could Happen To You," the band gently dances in cut time, while "I Could Write A Book" is taken at a light gallop (with superb Garland).

However, a pair from Rollins and Gillespie are equestrian events. With his boyish timbre and floating phrases, Miles updates his classic arrangement of "Oleo" from BAGS' GROOVE, as the drums and piano drop out to allow him to body surf with Chambers. Gillespie's anthem "Woody'n You" offers one briskly syncopated fanfare after another.

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, New Jersey on May 11 & October 26, 1956. Originally released on Prestige (7129). Includes liner notes by Ira Gitler.

1. "If I Were A Bell" (Frank Loesser) – 8:15
2. "You're My Everything" (Harry Warren) – 5:18
3. "I Could Write a Book" (Richard Rodgers) – 5:09
4. "Oleo" (Sonny Rollins) – 6:18
5. "It Could Happen to You" (Jimmy van Heusen) – 6:37
6. "Woody 'n' You" (Dizzy Gillespie) – 5:02

 

[Dennie]

Phantom Blues -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Taj Mahal

1996 RCA Victor

PHANTOM BLUES was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.

An eclectic bluesman would seem to be a contradiction in terms, but Taj Mahal, who has moved through the worlds of folk, rock, and pop to reach his present categorization, fits the description, and here he takes several pop and R&B oldies that came from blues roots -- "Ooh Poo Pah Doo," "Lonely Avenue," "What Am I Living For?," "Let the Four Winds Blow" -- and returns them to those roots. He also calls in such guest stars as Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt, who have more than a nodding acquaintance with the blues, to assist him. The result is progressive blues hybrid that treats the music not as a source, but as a destination. ~ William Ruhlmann

Track listing

1. Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes
2. Cheatin' on You
3. Hustle Is Om, The
4. Here in the Dark
5. Fanning the Flames
6. I Need Your Loving
7. Ooh Poo Pah Doo
8. Lonely Avenue
9. Don't Tell Me
10. What Am I Living For?
11. We're Gonna Make It
12. Let the Four Winds Blow
13. (You've Got to) Love Her With a Feeling
14. Car of Your Dreams, The

 

[Botch]

This is for Dennie:

 

[Botch]

This is for Dennie:

as is this:

And this:

 

[Dennie]

This is for Dennie:

as is this:

And this:

Wow, thanks Botch! Now, where did I leave my magnifying glass?

I'm getting to the point I can't find my magnifying glass without my magnifying glass! :angry-cussingblack:

Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Shoutin' In Key - Live -- CD

Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band

2000 Hannibal Records

Amazon.com

Recorded live over three nights in Los Angeles in 1998, Shoutin' in Key provides an accurate snapshot of late-1990s Taj and his all-inclusive view of the blues. In fact, blues is really just one ingredient in a stew that offers hard-driving, horn-fueled R&B, gently swaying Caribbean-style rhythms, slow-burning soul, loose reggae jams, 12-bar stomps, smart jazzy grooves, and polished country-blues updates. On this album, he's most compelling the further afield he moves. His reading of Delroy Wilson's "Rain from the Sky," a Jamaican standard, is a highlight here, as is his own Latin-jazz-infused instrumental, "Sentidos Dulce." And he delivers fine readings of signature songs like "Mail Box Blues," "Corrina," and "Leavin' Trunk" as well. While he's not at his most consistently inspired throughout, there are certainly enough high points to make this a worthwhile introduction to the Mahal style. --Marc Greilsamer

1. Honky Tonk
2. EZ Rider
3. Ain't That A Lot Of Love
4. Ev'ry Wind (In The River)
5. Stranger In My Own Home Town
6. Woulda Coulda Shoulda
7. Leavin' Trunk
8. Rain From The Sky
9. Mail Box Blues
10. Cruisin'
11. Corrina
12. The Hoochi Coochi Coo
13. Sentidos Dulce

 

[Dennie]

What can I say, it's Mark Knopfler. I really haven't found any of his music that I don't like. But I'm going to keep looking!!

Kill To Get Crimson CD

Mark Knopfler

2007 Warner Bros. Records
Amazon.com

Three decades after Dire Straits broke onto the scene with their remarkable debut, Mark Knopfler remains an iconic figure in popular music, his graceful guitar playing equaled only by his genial baritone and a novelist's ability to create distinct characters and themes in his songs. His fifth solo album since he pulled the plug on the band in 1995, Crimson reflects on a torrent of narratives, from the gracefully aging spouse in the flute-powered ballad "The Scaffolder's Wife" to the valiant down-and-outer in the Scottish folk song "Heart Full of Holes." Employing accordions, fiddles, and horns as majestic accompaniment, Knopfler drifts into the Celtic-tinged melodies of his past, explicitly in the whiskey-soaked singalong "Secondary Waltz," the busker's saga "Madame Geneva's," and "The Fish and the Bird," with its vagabond pensiveness. Clocking in at just under an hour, the album--without any page-turning epic--plays instead like an anthology of written works, every personification crisp in definition, every story exquisitely told. --Scott Holter

1. "True Love Will Never Fade" – 4:21
2. "The Scaffolder's Wife" – 3:52
3. "The Fizzy and the Still" – 4:07
4. "Heart Full of Holes" – 6:36
5. "We Can Get Wild" – 4:17
6. "Secondary Waltz" – 3:43
7. "Punish the Monkey" – 4:36
8. "Let It All Go" – 5:17
9. "Behind With the Rent" – 4:46
10. "The Fish and the Bird" – 3:45
11. "Madame Geneva's" – 3:59
12. "In the Sky" – 7:29

 

[soundhound]

Swingin' baby! :music-listening:

This is what Hi-Fi buffs used in the 1950s and 60s to show off their stereos. Enoch Light was one of the first stereo pioneers, using music and arrangements specifically chosen to show off stereo sound. The sound quality is still some of the best ever.