What Are You Listening To?

[heeman]

http://www.hd.net/blogs/hdnet-concerts-tom-petty/

Watching Listening to this right now on HD Net. It was amazing when Stevie Nicks came out and did "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" Flash back to the good ole' daze!!

 

[Dennie]

Rickie Lee Jones -- CD

Rickie Lee Jones

1979/1990 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com

The breezy melodies and jazz stylings of Rickie Lee Jones's debut album are usually found in the works of more mature pop artists. It's only the exuberance of Jones's often cackling voice that reminds you that a 23-year-old is at the controls. And Jones's "little girl lost" perspective, while hanging out in mid-1970s Los Angeles with neo-Beat songwriters-barroom troubadours Tom Waits and Chuck E. Weiss, makes for colorful storytelling. In fact, her tale about Weiss, "Chuck E.'s in Love," hit the Top 10. But there's a lot more elegant stuff here: "Last Chance Texaco" is a soaring ballad about automobiles and broken hearts, and the Sinatra-esque "After Hours" features a lonely Jones singing to a lamppost. --Bill Crandall

Songs written by Rickie Lee Jones, except where noted.

"Chuck E.'s in Love" 3:28
"On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" – 2:31
"Night Train" – 3:14
"Young Blood" – 4:04
"Easy Money" – 3:16
"The Last Chance Texaco" – 4:05
"Danny's All-Star Joint" – 4:01
"Coolsville" – 3:49
"Weasel and the White Boys Cool" (Rickie Lee Jones, Alfred Johnson) – 6:00
"Company" (Rickie Lee Jones, Alfred Johnson) – 4:40
"After Hours (Twelve Bars Past Midnight)" – 2:13

 

[Dennie]

Nighthawks at the Diner -- CD

Tom Waits

1975/1990 Asylum Records

Wistful - Funny - Swinging - Indolent - Beautiful - Hep, September 3, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Nighthawks at the Diner (Audio CD)

I have seen Tom Waits perform in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, NYC, and San Francisco over many years, and he has always come through with a great show. Even when he showed up in Philadelphia without his band (as a result of a group arrest after the previous night's show), he came through with a great acoustic performance. So. . . here's your chance to experience his show from the Seventies for yourself. Yes - I heard it was a studio recording as well, but that knowledge doesn't detract from the recording's allure, since it was done in front of a live audience in a big studio. The intent was to get get good sound quality, not stack the deck in terms of staged audience reaction.

If you're concerned about authenticity, let me assuage your fears. As someone who has seen Waits perform over 20 times, I can tell you that what you hear on this disc is what you would have heard in 1972 if you had seen him in person.

Great disc - I recommend it highly for both long-time fans as well as Tom Waits novices.

All songs written by Tom Waits, except where noted.

Side One
No. Title Length
1. "(Opening Intro)" 2:58
2. "Emotional Weather Report" 3:47
3. ""(Intro)" to "On a Foggy Night"" 2:16
4. "On a Foggy Night" 3:48
5. ""(Intro)" to "Eggs and Sausage"" 1:53
6. "Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson)" 4:19

Side Two
No. Title Length
1. ""(Intro)" to "Better Off Without a Wife"" 3:02
2. "Better Off Without a Wife" 3:59
3. "Nighthawk Postcards (From Easy Street)" 11:30

Side Three
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. ""(Intro)" to "Warm Beer and Cold Women"" 0:55
2. "Warm Beer and Cold Women" 5:21
3. ""(Intro)" to "Putnam County"" 0:47
4. "Putnam County" 7:35
5. "Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission)" Waits, Chuck E. Weiss 6:25

Side Four
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Nobody" 2:51
2. ""(Intro)" to "Big Joe and Phantom 309"" 0:40
3. "Big Joe and Phantom 309" Tommy Faile 6:29
4. "Spare Parts II and Closing" Waits, Weiss 5:13

 

[Dennie]

I'll always think of Ward (Wardsweb) when I listen to this one..... :dance:

Aja -- CD

Steely Dan

1977/1999 ABC/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

All songs written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen.
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

 

[Dennie]

Greatest Hits Live -- 2 CD Set

Boz Scaggs

2004 Gray Cat Records

Boz is back with a BANG!, September 7, 2005
By J. Scott "jake@pbg" (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Greatest Hits Live (Audio CD)

This is excellent Boz Scaggs. His reprise of oldies is not only technically better but the renderings are far more articulate and wonderfully sung and orchestrated than the originals. Boz's voice is now mature and his styling is better than ever. If you're a Boz fan and liked the originals, you'll love the new renditions of your old favorites. Great album.

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

 

[Botch]

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening...

Shangri-La -- CD

Mark Knopfler

2004 Reprise Records

Amazon.com

Mark Knopfler isn't afraid to drop names. The heavyweight Cassius Clay laid low, the man who made burgers and fries into big business, the kings of rock & roll and skiffle are among the motley assortment who pass through Knopfler's fourth solo album. Recorded in Malibu with a tight crew of steadfast Knopfler sidemen, Shangri-La (the title comes from the studio where the entire set was recorded) chronicles the foibles of the acclaimed and the adrift, all delivered with the nonchalant grace that has marked Knopfler's music since Dire Straits emerged in the late '70s. Seven of album's 14 originals clock in at between five and seven minutes. That's Knopfler in a nutshell--don't rush things, but don't loose the thread, either. As a songwriter, Knopfler has a storyteller's eye for minutiae, which he delivers with practiced nuance. He overreaches here and there ("Song for Sonny Liston" fails to capture the pathos of the menacing fighter), but also pulls off a few career highlights (the understated crime-drama opener "5.15 a.m."). --Steve Stolder

All songs written by Mark Knopfler.

"5.15 A.M." – 5:54
"Boom, Like That" – 5:49
"Sucker Row" – 4:56
"The Trawlerman's Song" – 5:02
"Back to Tupelo" – 4:31
"Our Shangri-La" – 5:41
"Everybody Pays" – 5:24
"Song for Sonny Liston" – 5:06
"Whoop De Doo" – 3:53
"Postcards from Paraguay" – 4:07
"All That Matters" – 3:08
"Stand Up Guy" – 4:32
"Donegan's Gone" – 3:05
"Don't Crash the Ambulance" – 5:06

 

[Dennie]

Happy Columbus Day Everyone.....

The Stranger -- CD

Billy Joel

1977 Columbia Records

Amazon.com essential recording

This, pop superstar Joel's breakout LP, came years after he first hit the charts with the novelty-ish "Piano Man." In the meantime, the New York-based songwriter released two lackluster and stylistically confused platters that blunted interesting songs with a sound that was neither Elton mellow nor Elton attitude. Produced by Phil Ramone, The Stranger took those who had written Joel off as a one-hit wonder by surprise ("Just the Way You Are" was among the biggest hits of 1977) and it remains a solid introduction to Joel's restless muse at a crucial point in his career. It invited a few comparisons to Bruce Springsteen, with its prominent sax breaks, hard-edged rebel-rockers ("Only the Good Die Young"), and slice-of-life dramatics ("Scenes From an Italian Restaurant"), recounting life in a lower middle-class (Eastern Urban) setting; but Joel's chameleonic, formalist approach to pop wasn't to be so easily pigeonholed (Glass Houses, The Nylon Curtain, An Innocent Man...). --Don Harrison

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel.

Side 1

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" – 3:30
"The Stranger" – 5:10
"Just the Way You Are" – 4:52
"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" – 7:37

Side 2

"Vienna" – 3:34
"Only the Good Die Young" – 3:55
"She's Always a Woman" – 3:21
"Get It Right the First Time" – 3:57
"Everybody Has a Dream/The Stranger (Reprise)" – 6:38

 

[Dennie]

Good To Go-Go -- SACD

Spyro Gyra

2007 Heads Up Records

Amazon.com

Spyro Gyra leader Jay Beckenstein credits the addition of Trinidadian drummer Bonny B with juicing the long-running contemporary jazz band's sound, making it more "live-sounding." Wherever the stimulus came from, Good to Go-Go is one of the more forceful albums by Beckenstein and company. The drummer's Caribbean-style "Jam Up," featuring Andy Narell on steel drums and Bonny B on vocals, is infectious in a tightly wound way and melodically flavorful. With its modern harmonies, "The Left Band," with Christian Howe's guesting on violin, has an edge most such music lacks. Elsewhere, Spyro Gyra's funk-based sound is boosted by Julio Fernandez's wired guitar and lyrically colored by Tom Schuman's unplugged piano. This is the band's 26th album. Three decades on, it would seem, it is entering a promising new phase. --Lloyd Sachs

"Simple Pleasures" (Jay Beckenstein) – 5:50
"Get Busy" (Tom Schuman) – 5:19
"Jam Up" (Bonny Bonaparte) – 4:15
"The Left Bank" (Jay Beckenstein) – 5:40
"Funkyard Dog" (Julio Fernandez) – 5:02
"Along for the Ride" (Julio Fernandez) – 6:45
"Island Time" (Scott Ambush) – 6:23
"Wassup!" (Tom Schuman) – 4:45
"Easy Street" (Jay Beckenstein) – 5:02
"A Winter Tale" (Jay Beckenstein) – 6:34
"Good to Go-Go" (Scott Ambush) – 6:41
"Newroses" (Jay Beckenstein, Julio Fernandez) – 6:46

 

[Dennie]

The Oscar Peterson Trio - Live at the Blue Note -- CD

Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis & Ray Brown

1990 Telarc Jazz

Amazon.com essential recording

This 1990 recording reunites Oscar Peterson's nonpareil 1950s trio of Ray Brown and Herb Ellis, fleshing out the lineup with drummer Bobby Durham from the great pianist's '60s group. Though all the principals were in their sixties at the time of the recording, their performances are as tight and fleet as ever, with Ellis sounding especially inspired. The ballads "I Remember You," "A Child Is Born," and "Tenderly" demonstrate their mature, melodic empathy, while "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Sweet Georgia Brown" are the type of barn burners for which Peterson and company were famous. --Rick Mitchell

1. Introductions
2. Honeysuckle Rose
3. Let There Be Love
4. Peace For South Africa
5. Sushi
6. Medley
7. Sweet Georgia Brown
8. Blues For Big Scotia

 

[Rope]

Rope

 

[heeman]

Rope

What a great album!! :music-rockout:

"I'm travelin' down the road and I'm flirtin' with disaster"

 

[Dennie]

Kessel Plays Standards -- CD

Barney Kessel

1955/1987 Comtempary/OJC Fantasy Records

Kessel & Coop Swing Unconventionally, December 22, 2000
By William Faust (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kessel Plays Standards (Audio CD)

I'm generally not a big fan of experimental instrumentation in jazz, especially swing. I like the traditional ensembles with saxes, trumpets, trombones, bass, piano & drums (preferably brushes). But this disc is an exception. It features swing guitarist Barney Kessel with a first rate (if traditional) rhythm section and the unusual addition of west coast tenorman Bob Cooper on (wait for it).....oboe! But what a treat! On the tracks where the oboe is featured it's done really well and counters the guitar in a relaxed and natural way. A big part of it is the careful arranging work - very impressive. Recorded in 54 and 55, this disc features 12 tracks, no alternate takes, and if you didn't guess from the title, they're all standards - both swinging up tempo charts and ballads. Highly recommended swing guitar with a twist.

Track Listing
1. Speak Low
2. Love Is Here to Stay
3. On a Slow Boat to China
4. How Long Has This Been Going On?
5. My Old Flame
6. Jeepers Creepers
7. Barney's Blues
8. Prelude to a Kiss
9. Foggy Day, A
10. You Stepped Out of a Dream
11. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
12. 64 Bars on Wilshire

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening....

Solo Guitar -- CD

Earl Klugh

1989 Warner Bros. Records

The Undisputed Master Of Fingerstyle Returns!, January 17, 2006
By Eddie C. Mccloud (SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Solo Guitar (Audio CD)

Most of Earl Klugh's Career has been spent with his guitar playing in settings that were less than ideal for such an accomplished musician. This changed in 1989 with the release of "Solo Guitar."
Ever since that release many of his fans, including this writer, have been waiting for another album of solo guitar pieces. Well at last, the wait is over for us.

"Naked Guitar," features Klugh once again in the most intimate of settings; just one man and one guitar. While the material here may arguably not be as familiar as those of its predecessor, the set is tight and the songs fit well together. Even when Klugh plays "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead," from "The Wizard Of Oz." it seems to fit right in with the other pieces. If there is anything that seems out of place here, it is his rendition of Lennon And McCartney's "I Want To Hold Your Hand." Klugh's unique chord voicings and penchant for melody make for an interesting interpretation of that very familiar tune.

Other highlights are the lovely "All The Things You Are" by Jerome Kern And Oscar Hammerstein II and Henry Mancini's "Moon River."
This is the perfect CD to put on after a long day to unwind or for a drive in the country. Klugh suprises, enchants and intrigues, but never disappoints. This is a great CD.

"It's Only a Paper Moon" - 2:15
"So Many Stars" - 3:13
"I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" - 2:23
"If I Only Had a Brain" - 2:13
"Emily" - 2:43
"Love Is Here to Stay" - 2:42
"Someday My Prince Will Come" - 2:03
"Any Old Time of Day" - 3:30
"Once upon a Summertime" - 3:06
"Embraceable You" - 3:50
"I'm All Smiles" - 2:41
"You Make Me Feel So Young" - 3:01
"Autumn Leaves" - 2:34
"The Way You Look Tonight" - 2:36

 

[Dennie]

Hello, I'm Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash

1969 Columbia Two Eye

Hello, I'm Johnny Cash is an album released by country singer Johnny Cash on Columbia Records in 1970 (see 1970 in music). "If I Were a Carpenter", a famous duet with Cash's wife, June Carter Cash, earned the couple a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1971 (see Grammy Awards of 1971); the song also reached No. 2 on the Country charts. The album also includes "To Beat the Devil", the first Kris Kristofferson song covered by Cash; the two would later collaborate numerous times, most famously on "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down". "See Ruby Fall" and "Blistered" were also released as singles, and the album itself reached No. 1 on the country charts and No. 6 on the pop charts.

"Southwind" (Cash) – 3:15
"Devil to Pay" (Merle Travis, Leon Rusk) – 3:28
"'Cause I Love You" (Cash) – 2:34
"See Ruby Fall" (Cash, Roy Orbison) – 2:52
"Route No. 1, Box 144" (Cash) – 2:28
"Sing a Traveling Song" (Ken Jones) – 3:08
"If I Were a Carpenter" (Tim Hardin) – 3:00
"To Beat the Devil" (Kris Kristofferson) – 4:22
"Blistered" (Billy Ed Wheeler) – 2:25
"Wrinkled Crinkled Wadded Dollar Bill" (Vincent Matthews) – 2:32
"I've Got a Thing About Trains" (Jack Clement) – 2:50
"Jesus Was a Carpenter" (Christopher Wren) – 3:57

 

[Dennie]

Live From Austin Texas - Austin City Limits -- 2 180 Gram LP Set

Norah Jones

2008 New West Records

 

[Dennie]

Songs of Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

1977 Monument Records

Outstanding songwriting, September 5, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Songs of Kris Kristofferson (Audio CD)

I have worn out my vinyl copy of this recording; but thank heavens the CD is indestructible. Maybe 15-20 years since I first heard them, the songs Kristofferson wrote send chills down my spine. Has ANYONE ever caught the emptiness of the down-and-out better than 'Sunday Morning Coming Down' ? Listen to him turn a phrase like "wiping out the traces of the people and the places I have been" and tell me who writes more gracefully with less effort. What song has ever captured bar-room lust better than 'you show me yours', or with more irony than 'Silver-tongued Devil' ?

Folk/country lost a real talent when KK decided to pursue an acting career and leave songwriting behind. His later efforts simply don't compare with his early works. But that work is good enough to land him in my singer/songwriters' pantheon right alongside Townes van Zandt, John Prine, and early Dylan.

This disk makes--and on some days, it would TOP-- my top ten 'desert island disks' list.

Side one

"The Silver-Tongued Devil"
"Loving Her Was Easier (than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)"
"Me and Bobby McGee" (Kristofferson, Fred Foster)
"Help Me Make It Through the Night"
"For the Good Times"
"Who's To Bless and Who's To Blame"

Side two

"You Show Me Yours (and I'll Show You Mine)"
"The Pilgrim: Chapter 33 (Hang In, Hopper)"
"Stranger"
"I Got a Life of My Own"
"Why Me"
"Sunday Morning Comin' Down"

 

[Dennie]

Blue Country Heart -- CD

Jorma Kaukoen

2002 Columbia Records

Jorma Kaukonen - From Jefferson Airplane to Nashville!, June 12, 2002
By George Walsh (Long Island, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Blue Country Heart (Audio CD)

Blue Country Heart
Jorma Kaukonen

Jorma Kaukonen's new CD, "Blue Country Heart", (Columbia Records) is warm, passionate and extremely enjoyable. Jorma's numerous fans (as well as newcomers) will find this CD essential listening. Jorma's gentle vocals and acoustic finger-picking guitar are right up front in the mix and the guest musicians who contribute dobro, mandolin, fiddle & banjo add a superb dimension. The old-timey songs swing, and are guaranteed to keep you grooving. Jorma, a legendary guitarist and member of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, was a founding member of Jefferson Airplane. The Airplane ascended to the Top of the Charts in 1967 (with Grace Slick's vocals) on the hit singles Somebody To Love and White Rabbit. Jefferson Airplane performed celebrated concerts at the Fillmore East (NY) and Fillmore West (SF), played on the Ed Sullivan show and were on the cover of Life Magazine in 1968. Jefferson Airplane, before mutating into Jefferson Starship, played all the major concert events of the 1960's, including: Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock (1969) and Altamont. Jorma left the Airplane in 1972 to pursue a more roots/blues-based form of music with "Hot Tuna" and also began a career as a solo performer. On "Blue Country Heart", Jorma Kaukonen shines on 13 "old timey" songs, including "Just Because", which was made famous by Elvis Presley in 1955 on the Sun Records Sessions. The opening song, "Blue Railroad Train", was originally recorded by The Delmore Brothers, who are one of the architects of early blues and rock. "Blue Country Heart" was recorded in Nashville in the Spring of 2002. All the songs were recorded live (no overdubs) and many selections feature mandolinist Sam Bush, dobro player Jerry Douglas, and banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck Jorma is a master at fusing country and bluegrass with his own traditional acoustic guitar style, which makes for a delightful "down-home" listening experience. George Walsh

"Blue Railroad Train" (Lionel Alton Delmore, Rabon Delmore) – 3:44
"Just Because" (Hubert A. Nelson, James D. Touchstone) – 4:16
"Blues Stay Away from Me" (L. Delmore, R. Delmore, Henry Glover, Wayne Raney) – 3:28
"Red River Blues" (Jimmie Davis) – 3:25
"Bread Line Blues" (Bernard Slim Smith) – 4:38
"Waiting for a Train" (Jimmie Rodgers) – 3:26
"Those Gambler's Blues" (Rodgers) – 3:07
"Tom Cat Blues" (Jelly Roll Morton) – 3:05
"Big River Blues" (L. Delmore) – 3:01
"Prohibition Blues" (Clayton McMichen) – 4:13
"I'm Free from the Chain Gang Now" (Lou Herscher, Saul Klein) – 3:28
"You and My Old Guitar" (Rodgers, Elsie McWilliams) – 2:45
"What are They Doing in Heaven Today?" (Traditional) – 3:20


Jorma Kaukonen - guitar, vocals
Sam Bush – mandolin, fiddle, background vocals
Jerry Douglas – dobro, weissenborn
Byron House – bass, background vocals
Béla Fleck – banjo on "Just Because" and "Bread Line Blues"

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening....

Dream Cafe -- CD

Greg Brown

1992 Red House Records

Greg lets his finest come to your ears...., January 3, 2003
By Peter Jackson (Spring Lake, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Dream Cafe (Audio CD)

If you are familiar with Greg Brown, you probably are familiar with this release. If you don't have it, get it and treat yourself to an experience that take you on a journey of loves lost and loves to come. For those who are curious about Greg's work, this is an excellent place to start. There is not a bad cut here, and in particular, "Dream Cafe", "Spring Wind" and "Laughing River" are a trio of songs that somehow work some sort of magic into allowing me to see into life a bit deeper for a period of time. Two other releases that go along well with this are "Further In" and "The Poet Game."

All songs by Greg Brown.

"Just by Myself" – 4:45
"Sleeper" – 4:28
"I Don't Know That Guy" – 4:51
"So Hard" – 2:38
"You Can Watch Me" – 3:37
"Dream Cafe" – 5:55
"You Drive Me Crazy" – 4:56
"Spring Wind" – 4:32
"Nice When it Rains" – 3:10
"Laughing River" – 4:16
"No Place Away" – 4:10
"I Don't Want to Be the One" – 3:24

 

[heeman]

1.San Andreas Fault – 3:57
2.Wonder – 4:26
3.Beloved Wife – 5:03
4.River – 5:32
5.Carnival – 5:59
6.I May Know the Word – 8:07
7.The Letter – 2:12
8.Cowboy Romance – 4:39
9.Jealousy – 2:41
10.Where I Go – 3:59
11.Seven Years – 5:31