What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Curves Ahead -- CD

The Rippingtons

1991 GRP Records

my favorite jazz cd-by far., June 14, 1999
By erwin moritz @ erv66@hotmail.com (wilkes-barre, PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Curves Ahead (Audio CD)

Of the many jazz cds I own, including 5 other Rippingtons cds, this is the one I always can listen to straight through, over and over. It's clean and has no vocals. It has wonderful rich tunes that come alive and move. I've played this cd for three of my friends-they all bought it.

"Curves Ahead" - 5:39
"Aspen" - 5:28
"Santa Fe Trail" - 5:14
"Take Me With You" - 5:34
"North Star" - 5:24
"Miles Away" - 5:17
"Snowbound" - 4:51
"Nature of the Beast" - 6:21
"Morning Song" - 4:09

 

[Dennie]

You're The One -- HDCD

Paul Simon

2000 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com

The manner in which a superstar responds to a setback says a great deal about the artist. Some choose to conclude that the world is simply off its orbit and they're the only ones who've noticed. Others cower in semiretirement and never again climb to great heights. And another bunch go back to what brung 'em, which is the route Paul Simon has opted to take with his first outing since his misbegotten Broadway debut, Capeman. The title of this 11-song collection says it all. You're the One is as understated as they come; this time out, Simon is a singer-songwriter, not a composer. As such, You're the One is more reminiscent of initial insular post-Simon & Garfunkel LPs like There Goes Rhymin' Simon and Still Crazy After All These Years than the expansive Graceland. With no new lands to conquer, Simon has fashioned a collection whose appeal lies with its 11 crafty, catchy tunes, all of which are delivered with spirit and wit, particularly on the character-driven likes of "Pigs, Sheep and Wolves," "Darling Lorraine," and "Old." The lesson is that you don't need to make a Broadway production of life's little joys and heartaches; they fit quite nicely into a four-minute song. --Steven Stolder

All songs written and arranged by Paul Simon.

"That's Where I Belong" – 3:12
"Darling Lorraine" – 6:39
"Old" – 2:19
"You're the One" – 4:27
"The Teacher" – 3:36
"Look at That" – 3:54
"Señorita with a Necklace of Tears" – 3:41
"Love" – 3:50
"Pigs, Sheep and Wolves" – 3:58
"Hurricane Eye" – 4:12
"Quiet" – 4:17

 

[Dennie]

Hell Freezes Over -- CD

Eagles

1994 Geffen Records

Audio Nirvana -- Great "System Test" CD, March 4, 2001
By Randy Given (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Hell Freezes Over (Audio CD)

This recording is one of the best pop recordings available on CD. When analyzing high-end audio equipment, this is one of a handful that I absolutely must audition with.

Clear, tight, dynamic, you name it. Listen to the beginning of track 6, "Hotel California", especially right after 32 seconds into the track. If you have a really good system, you will probably get your hairs to stand on end.

Oh, the music itself? First class, of course. The best songs of the Eagles and all sound nice. My favorite is "Pretty Maids All In A Row" with "New York Minute" and "The Last Resort" just behind it. Of course, "Hotel California" sounds great, almost better than the original recording.

This album MUST be in your collection if you like popular music or even classic rock.

"Get Over It"* (Don Henley, Glenn Frey) – 3:31
"Love Will Keep Us Alive"* (Pete Vale, Jim Capaldi, Paul Carrack) – 4:03
"The Girl from Yesterday"* (Frey, Jack Tempchin) – 3:23
"Learn to Be Still"* (Henley, Stan Lynch) – 4:28
"Tequila Sunrise" (Henley, Frey) – 3:28
"Hotel California" (Don Felder, Henley, Frey) – 7:12
"Wasted Time" (Henley, Frey) – 5:19
"Pretty Maids All in a Row" (Joe Walsh, Joe Vitale) – 4:26
"I Can't Tell You Why" (Henley, Frey, Schmit) – 5:11
"New York Minute" (Henley, Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, Jai Winding) – 6:37
"The Last Resort" (Henley, Frey) – 7:24
"Take It Easy" (Jackson Browne, Frey) – 4:36
"In the City" (Walsh, Barry De Vorzon) – 4:07
"Life in the Fast Lane" (Henley, Frey, Walsh) – 6:01
"Desperado" (Henley, Frey) – 4:17

*All new songs were released as studio recordings on the album, but can be seen live on the VHS and DVD versions.

 

[Dennie]

Hits! -- CD

Boz Scaggs

1980 Columbia Records

A Brief Collection of Scaggs, October 17, 2002
By Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Boz Scaggs-Hits (Audio CD)

After starting out as a member of the original Steve Miller Band, Boz Scaggs embarked on a solo career in the 1970s that culminated with his massive 1976 hit album "Silk Degrees." He went on to record another hit in 1980 before essentially disappearing from view. Not surprising then that songs from "Silk Degrees" dominate "Hits." The romantic ballad "We're All Alone," the funky "Lowdown," and the relatively rocking "Lido Shuffle" were all staples of mid-70s rock radio alongside Fleetwood Mac and The Doobie Brothers. Of the remaining seven songs, "Breakdown Dead Ahead" was the biggest hit and "Dinah Flo" is a burning rocker.

Taken as a whole, the ten tracks on "Hits" are probably all the Boz Scaggs music most casual fans will ever need to own.

"Lowdown" (Boz Scaggs, David Paich) – 4:27
"You Make It So Hard (to Say No)" (Scaggs) – 3:32
"Miss Sun" (Paich) – 5:33
"Lido Shuffle" (Scaggs, Paich) – 3:41
"We're All Alone" (Scaggs) – 4:11
"Breakdown Dead Ahead" (Scaggs, David Foster) – 4:01
"Look What You've Done to Me" (Scaggs, Foster) – 5:17
"JoJo" (Scaggs, Foster, David Lasley) – 4:06
"Dinah Flo" (Scaggs) – 3:03
"You Can Have Me Anytime" (Scaggs, Foster) – 4:56

The Australian release of Hits! replaced Track 9 "Dinah Flo" with "What Can I Say" (B. Scaggs, D.Foster)

In 2006 Hits! was re-released with additional tracks and a new cover.

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening....

The Ragpicker's Dream -- CD

Mark Knopfler

2002 Reprise Records

Amazon.com

Even at the peak of Dire Straits' fame, Mark Knopfler's music often seemed informed by a restless worldview as abstruse as his guitar playing was fluid and expressive. This follow-up to his impressive 2000 collection, Sailing to Philadelphia, finds Knopfler chasing a similar musical and lyrical muse, with results that are even more surprising and loose-limbed. "Why Aye Man," the bracing opening chantey that sets much of the album's tone, draws parallels between Geordie pub-speak and Native American chants whilst lamenting economic refugees of Thatcherism forced to ply their blue-collar trades--and keep their Brit pub culture alive--deep in the Fatherland. From there, Knopfler takes us by "A Place Where We Used to Live" for a lounge-y, Jobim-inflected reminder that one can never really go home, drops in on "Quality Shoe" for a tribute to Roger Miller, and gives us a typically dry, so-deadpan-it's-funny rundown of his Circus Sideshow pals on "Devil Baby." "Marbletown," a graveyard folk-blues, showcases the musician at home on solo acoustic guitar, while the loping, laconic "Coyote" draws its good-natured inspiration from a beast named Wile E. But it's the way that Knopfler connects disparate cultures and histories with subliminal, deceptively effortless grace on "Fare Thee Well Northumberland," "You Don't Know You're Born" (both of which feature Knopfler's signature languorous, blues-inflected soloing), the folksy "Hill Farmer's Blues," and the country-fried "Daddy's Gone to Knoxville" that make the album a triumph of understatement. --Jerry McCulley

"Why Aye Man" – 6:14
"Devil Baby" – 4:05
"Hill Farmer's Blues" – 3:45
"A Place Where We Used to Live" – 4:34
"Quality Shoe" – 3:56
"Fare Thee Well Northumberland" – 6:29
"Marbletown" – 3:33
"You Don't Know You're Born" – 5:21
"Coyote" – 5:56
"The Ragpicker's Dream" – 4:20
"Daddy's Gone to Knoxville" – 2:48
"Old Pigweed" – 4:34

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

Aja -- CD

Steely Dan

1977/1999 MCA Records

Amazon.com

History gives Steely Dan's Walter Becker and Donald Fagen the last, hearty laugh on this, the crown jewel in their remarkable canon of '70s Mensa pop. Sneaking onto the charts a half-decade earlier with sinuous, jazz-inflected "rock," the dysfunctional duo's acerbic, anti-heroic visions had been critically lauded for their band identity and killer guitar riffs, then promptly challenged when the two songwriters retired from the road, dissolved any formal band lineup, and used the studio as laboratory. Aja carried the added indignity of its increased focus on sophisticated jazz models and musicianship, which carried the Dan's ambitions even further in terms of suave harmonies, intricate song structures, and brilliant playing. Time has proven them wiser than their rock crit detractors: These seven songs abound in knotty plots, sneaky imagery, and drop-dead brilliant performances from a blue chip studio repertory studded with first-call jazz players epitomized by Wayne Shorter's towering solo on the title song. From the hard-boiled jazz romance of "Deacon Blues" to the twisted Homeric vamp of "Home at Last," the veiled but ominous swing of "Peg" to the sci-fi eroticism of "Josie," Aja is a modern pop classic and the coolest fusion record no one ever thought to lump in that category. --Sam Sutherland

Side one

"Black Cow" – 5:10
"Aja" – 7:57
"Deacon Blues" – 7:37

Side two

"Peg" – 3:57
"Home at Last" – 5:34
"I Got the News" – 5:06
"Josie" – 4:33

 

[heeman]

It's been a while since I have listen to the Allman Brothers... :bow-blue:

 

[Dennie]

Slowhand -- CD

Eric Clapton

1977/ 1990 Polygram Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Clapton had already established himself as a guitar legend by the time he released Slowhand. His heroin habit long behind him, Clapton's songwriting mastery was fully evident on the album, particularly in the stunning ballad "Wonderful Tonight." It fully actualized all of the potential hinted at in his earlier "Promises," and Clapton trusted himself enough to slow things down. Some of his most expressive guitar work can be found throughout this album, not just within "Wonderful." Ironically enough, Slowhand is probably best known for the hit "Cocaine." Built upon a simple repeated riff, the song had Clapton's trademark smooth voice with its wear around the edges, and yet another stellar guitar solo. Flashy runs and licks were never the most integral part of Clapton's catalog, his blues background being the primary source for his sound. Slowhand, with its phrasings, both guitar and vocal, established Clapton as the possessor of one of the most extensive vocabularies in rock. --Steve Gdula

Side one

"Cocaine" (J.J. Cale) – 3:41
"Wonderful Tonight" (Clapton) – 3:44
"Lay Down Sally" (Clapton, Marcy Levy, George Terry) – 3:56
"Next Time You See Her" (Clapton) – 4:01
"We're All the Way" (Don Williams) – 2:32

Side two

"The Core" (Clapton/Levy) – 8:45
"May You Never" (John Martyn) – 3:01
"Mean Old Frisco" (Arthur Crudup) – 4:42
"Peaches and Diesel" (Clapton, Albhy Galuten) – 4:46

 

[Botch]

Youngest son of Femi Kuti, this disk has been generating huge buzz on my musician's forum. The Man in the Brown Shorts just dropped off my copy tonight, it's killer!!

Some samples:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z43Q5OtRUQM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gblAWhYOhXI[/youtube]

:music-rockout: :music-rockout: :music-rockout: :banana-rock: :banana-dance: :banana-rock: :banana-dance:

 

[Dennie]

I can't get enough of this one..... :bow-blue:

Rare Genius - The Undiscovered Masters -- CD

Ray Charles

2010 Concord Records

Concord Records is celebrating the 80th birthday of the legendary Ray Charles with a special gift for his legions of fans: Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters. This treasure trove of newly discovered recordings, highlighted by a duet with fellow icon Johnny Cash, will become available on October 26th, 2010.

Culled from four decades worth of demos and other previously unreleased material, Rare Genius showcases the remarkable artistic vision, stylistic range and emotionally rich vocals that crafted Charles enduring legacy. Listening to the ten gems from the '70s, '80s and '90s that comprise this CD, fans will have no trouble envisioning the late singer rocking back and forth at the piano as he effortlessly segues between R&B/soul, pop, country and gospel. "Ray would always get inside the meaning of a lyric and make the listener believe every word," says Concord Music Group Chief Creative Officer, John Burk. "His vocals carried incredible emotion and intensity, even on demo tapes. What we have here with Rare Genius is on par with some of his greatest works."

And that's crystal clear right from the album's sparkling opener, "Love's Gonna Bite You Back." The March 1980 session track features an upbeat horn arrangement behind what Rare Genius liner notes author Bill Dahl calls "a Charles vocal that's a signature mixture of sandpaper grit and heavenly goodness." Up next is the stunning ballad "It Hurts to Be in Love," which underscores the album's main thematic focus and one of Charles' favorite subjects: the ups and down of romance. Another compelling standout is the gospel-stirred Charles and Cash duet on Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me, Lord?" Discovered in the Sony vaults, the song was produced by Billy Sherrill in Nashville and recorded in 1981 for an anticipated release on a CBS album. For unknown reasons, that didn't come to pass. What's more important, however, is the emotional charge you get listening to these two powerful voices come together in this spirited and inspired pairing. Except for "Lord," the nine other Rare Genius tracks including the soul-drenched "I Don't Want No One But You," a blues-infused cover of songwriter Hank Cochran's country classic "A Little Bitty Tear" and the joyous "I'm Gonna Keep on Singin'" were found in the vault at Charles' R.P.M. International Studios in Los Angeles. Adding a little sweetening to some of the sparse, stripped-down tracks was a team of top-notch musicians and artists: guitarists Keb' Mo' and George Doering, organist Bobby Sparks, trumpeter Gray Grant, trombonist Alan Kaplan, bassists Trey Henry and Chuck Berghofer, drummers Gregg Field and Ray Brinker and background vocalist Eric Benet.

As with its Concord predecessor, 2004's Grammy-winning Album of the Year Genius Loves Company, Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters is another fitting tribute to Charles, who would have turned 80 on September 23, 2010. It's a fresh, vibrant reaffirmation of the music icon's unparalleled artistry and legacy.

"Love's Gonna Bite You Back" – 3:54
"It Hurts To Be In Love" (Dixson, Toombs) – 4:53
"Wheel Of Fortune" (Benjamin, Weiss) – 4:00
"I'm Gonna Keep On Singin'" – 5:30
"There'll Be Some Changes Made" (Blackstone, Overstreet) – 4:04
"Isn't It Wonderful" (Taylor, Webster) – 4:13
"I Don't Want No One But You" – 4:20
"A Little Bitty Tear" (Cochran) – 3:35
"She's Gone" – 3:10
"Why Me Lord?" (Kristofferson) – 3:57


Original recordings:

Ray Charles – vocals, piano / keyboards
The Raelettes – backing vocals
Johnny Cash – lead vocal on "Why Me Lord?"
others (horns, strings, etc.)

contemporary (2010) additions:

Keb' Mo' – guitar
George Doering – guitar
Bobby Sparks – organ
Larry Goldings – piano, organ
Gary Grant – trumpet
Alan Kaplan – trombone
Trey Henry – bass
Chuck Berghofer – bass
Gregg Field – drums
Ray Brinker – drums
Eric Benét – background vocal

 

[Dennie]

Various Positions -- CD

Leonard Cohen

1985/1995 Columbia Records

Dance Me To The End Of Love,
July 20, 2002
By Gary Selikow
This review is from: Various Positions (Audio CD)

In this album Leonard Cohen displays the full range of his genius.

It begins with the richly melodic `Dance Me To The End Of Love', with it's distinct Mediterranean/Israeli style, which remind me of hot romantic summer nights, by the sea.
It also includes such magnificent works as the passionate and intense love ballad, `Coming Back To You' and the fascinating mix of romantic and satirical `Night Comes On', the biting satire of `The Captain' and `Heart With No Companion' which embodies a heartfelt and deep explanation of the terrible experience of loneliness and isolation.

The greatest track on this album however, is the majestic and spiritual `Hallelujah':

"They say there was a sacred chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It went like this, the fourth, the fifth
the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah"

I also love Jennifer Warnes' rich, melodic, sensual voice, which particularly adds beauty to `Dance Me to The End of Love' and `Hallelujah'.

All songs were written by Leonard Cohen.

Side one

"Dance Me to the End of Love" – 4:38
"Coming Back to You" – 3:32
"The Law" – 4:27
"Night Comes On" – 4:40

Side two

"Hallelujah" – 4:36
"The Captain" – 4:06
"Hunter's Lullaby" – 2:24
"Heart With No Companion" – 3:04
"If It Be Your Will" – 3:43

 

[Dennie]

One Moment More -- CD

Mindy Smith

2004 Vanguard Records

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]

Today's work truck music....

Harvest -- CD

Neil Young

1972/1990 Reprise Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Proclaiming his intentions with "Are You Ready for the Country?" Young detoured briefly to the Nashville mainstream. On this No. 1 1972 album, even the singer's acquired-taste voice comes across smooth and beautiful--the smash "Heart of Gold," with steel guitars and Linda Ronstadt's backup vocals, is by far Young's most commercial-sounding song. His usual dissonant touches, like the otherworldly guitar in "Out on the Weekend," are less spooky in this new context. The last two tracks, the deceptively gentle "The Needle and the Damage Done" and the hypnotic rocker "Words (Between the Lines of Age)," predict "Tonight's the Night," Young's haunted 1975 classic. --Steve Knopper

All tracks written by Neil Young.

Side one

"Out on the Weekend" – 4:34
"Harvest" – 3:11
"A Man Needs a Maid" – 4:05
"Heart of Gold" – 3:07
"Are You Ready for the Country?" – 3:23

Side two

"Old Man" – 3:24
"There's a World" – 2:59
"Alabama" – 4:02
"The Needle and the Damage Done" – 2:03 (recorded in concert January 30, 1971)
"Words (Between the Lines of Age)" – 6:40

 

[heeman]

1."Good Clean Fun" (Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Johnny Neel) – 5:09
2."Let Me Ride" (Betts) – 4:36
3."Low Down Dirty Mean" (Betts, Neel) – 5:30
4."Shine It On" (Betts, Warren Haynes) – 4:51
5."Loaded Dice" (Betts, Haynes) – 3:29
6."Seven Turns" (Betts) – 5:05
7."Gambler's Roll" (Haynes, Neel) – 6:44
8."True Gravity" (Betts, Haynes) – 7:58
9."It Ain't Over Yet" (Doug Crider, Neel) – 4:54

 

[heeman]

1."All Night Train" (Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, Chuck Leavell) – 4:04
2."Sailin' 'Cross the Devil's Sea" (Allman, Haynes, Jack Pearson, Allen Woody) – 4:57
3."Back Where It All Begins" (Dickey Betts) – 9:12
4."Soulshine" (Haynes) – 6:44
5."No One to Run With" (Betts, John Prestia) – 5:59
6."Change My Way of Living" (Betts) – 6:15
7."Mean Woman Blues" (Betts) – 5:01
8."Everybody's Got a Mountain to Climb" (Betts) – 4:01
9."What's Done Is Done" (Allman, Woody) – 4:09
10."Temptation Is a Gun" (Allman, John Friga, Neal Schon) – 5:37

 

[nats]

 

[nats]

4 cd set

 

[nats]

 

[Dennie]

Eleven Daughters -- CD

Aaron Immanuel Wright

2010 Origin Records

New York bassist and composer Aaron Immanuel Wright's dynamic debut recording features the lyrical piano work of Darrell Grant, on saxophone Tim Wilcox, and drummer Brian Menendez. From the opening bass line of Something Mainstream, it's clear Wright has ideas that quickly move beyond the mainstream as the band explores his compositions in a truly modern vein. The lush arco tones of Wright's bass, blend with Grant's sensitive piano work on the title track, and the searching melody of Late Goodbye has an inspired European jazz aesthetic. On Eleven Daughters, Wright carries on the tradition of the great jazz bassists Mingus and Holland, who have a very natural knack of crafting superlative and nuanced ensemble recordings.

1) Something Mainstream 6:58
2) Eleven Daughters 6:12
3) Calling for Casey 7:50
4) Late Goodbye 7:07
5) Sunrise in Quebec 5:39
6) Laura 5:18
7) Ancestry 2:48

 

[Dennie]

4 cd set

A beautiful Set, Nats! :text-bravo:



Dennie