What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

A Decade of Steely Dan -- CD

Steely Dan

1985 MCA Records

Amazon.com

The notion of a Steely Dan greatest-hits collection is suspect at best, if only because their biggest public successes ("Reelin' in the Years" from Can't Buy a Thrill, Prezel Logic's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number," and Aja's "Peg") are also in many ways their least typical. Indeed, after the craft-conscious Thrill, the duo of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen showed an almost perverse penchant for swimming against the prevailing pop current, despite the protestations of numbskull critics who Didn't Get It in a big way. That said, here's the duo's best-known public works and radio fodder (including all of the above), a sampler that will satisfy the hit-hungry and tempt the less acquainted to sample B&F's more colorful musical adventures. --Jerry McCulley

1. "FM (No Static at All)" (from the movie FM) 4:50
2. "Black Friday" 3:33
3. "Babylon Sisters" 5:51
4. "Deacon Blues" 7:26
5. "Bodhisattva" 5:16
6. "Hey Nineteen" 5:06
7. "Do It Again" 5:56
8. "Peg" 3:58
9. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" 4:30
10. "Reelin' In the Years" 4:35
11. "East St. Louis Toodle-oo" (Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley) 2:45
12. "Kid Charlemagne" 4:38
13. "My Old School" 5:46
14. "Bad Sneakers" 3:16

 

[topper]

High temp. for today - 48 deg, very windy, and rainling (feels like Chicago)
Nice and comfortable in my living room listening to this . . . .

, , :handgestures-thumbup:

 

[putty34]

Steve Eearle - Townes CD

 

[putty34]

Trampled By Turtles - Palomino

 

[Dennie]

Live at the BBC -- CD

Dire Straits

1995 Warner Bros. Records

Decent live album.,
August 24, 2001
By Matt "mattfl1"
This review is from: Live at the BBC (Audio CD)

First off, the sound quality of this recording is great, not muddy like you find in a lot of live recordings. Each band member is clearly audible. 75% of the album consists of live versions of what I consider to be the best tracks off their debut album. Then there are two other songs--"What's the Matter Baby" and "Tunnel of Love." Good live versions of all these songs, but they're essentially play just like they are on the studio versions (with the exception of "What's the Matter Baby"...is there a studio version of that anywhere?). Nothing really special about them, just your run of the mill live album that happens to have exceptionally good sound quality. I will admit though that the version of "Sultans of Swing" on this recording is great, and Knopfler's guitar solo on it is amazing. I still like the "Alchemy" album better.

(all songs by Mark Knopfler, except where noted)

"Down to the Waterline" – 4:10
"Six Blade Knife" – 3:47
"Water of Love" – 5:29
"Wild West End" – 5:12
"Sultans of Swing" – 6:38
"Lions" – 5:26
"What's the Matter Baby?" (D. Knopfler, M. Knopfler) – 3:20
"Tunnel of Love" (Intro: "Carousel Waltz" by Rodgers & Hammerstein) – 11:56


Mark Knopfler – guitars, vocals
David Knopfler – guitars, vocals
John Illsley – bass guitars, vocals
Pick Withers – drums
Alan Clark – keyboards

 

[Towen7]

What a FUN, FUN listen.

1. Olympic Fanfare and Theme, for orchestra
2. Suite No. 1, for military band in E flat major, Op. 28/1, H. 105: March
3. Nutcracker, ballet, Op. 71: Scene In The Pine Forest
4. The Sorcerer's Apprentice (L'apprenti sorcier), symphonic scherzo for orchestra: Excerpt(s)
5. Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47: Allegro Non Troppo   real  |  windows media
6. Octet for strings in E flat major, Op. 20: Allegro Moderato ma con Fuoco
7. Symphony No. 2 in C minor ("Resurrection"): Der Grosse Appell (Conclusion)
8. Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43: Vivacissimo, Finale [Excerpt]
9. Toccata and Fugue, for organ in F major, BWV 540 (BC J39, 55, 73): Toccata
10. Carmina Burana, scenic cantata for soloists, choruses & orchestra: Introduction: Fortune, Empress of
11. Sacrae Symphoniae: No. 2: Canzon septimi toni, for 8 parts: Canzon Septimi Toni No. 2
12. Boléro, ballet for orchestra: [Excerpt]
13. Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor ("Moonlight"), Op. 27/2: Adagio Sostenuto
14. Symphony in D minor, Op. 48: Allegretto
15. Fantasia for piano, chorus, and orchestra ("Choral Fantasy"), Op. 80: Excerpt
16. Sweet Georgia Brown

 

[Dennie]

What a FUN, FUN listen.

I love "samplers" like that. Usually some of their best tracks! :text-bravo:



Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Eric Clapton -- CD

Eric Clapton

1970/1990 Polydor Records

A Different Flavor, January 7, 2001
By G. J Wiener (Westchester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Eric Clapton (Audio CD)

This debut Eric Clapton has some blues rock but deviates into other styles. Easy Now is one pretty acoustic ballad and Eric gives one of his best vocal performances. The lyrics are pretty hip with the time it was recorded too. The female background vocalists add a special touch on several tracks most notably Lonesome andBottle Of Red Wine. However the real meat and potatoes songs are Blues Power, Bad Boy, After Midnight, and Let It Rain. They really rock with a passion as Eric's vocals really touch the soul. Do not overlook this recording.

All selections written by Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie Bramlett and Eric Clapton, except as indicated.

Side one

"Slunky" – 3:34
"Bad Boy" – 3:34
"Lonesome and a Long Way from Home" (Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell) – 3:29
"After Midnight" (J. J. Cale) – 2:51
"Easy Now" (Clapton) – 2:57
"Blues Power" (Clapton, Russell) – 3:09

Side two

"Bottle of Red Wine" – 3:06
"Lovin' You Lovin' Me" – 3:19
"Told You For the Last Time" (Delaney Bramlett, Bonnie Bramlett, Steve Cropper) – 2:30
"Don't Know Why" – 3:10[4]
"Let It Rain" – 5:02


Eric Clapton – guitar, lead vocals
Delaney Bramlett – rhythm guitar, vocals
Leon Russell – piano
Bobby Whitlock – organ, vocals
John Simon – piano
Carl Radle – bass
Jim Gordon – drums
Jim Price – trumpet
Bobby Keys – saxophone
Tex Johnson – percussion
Bonnie Bramlett – vocals
Rita Coolidge – vocals
Sonny Curtis – vocals
Jerry Allison – vocals
Stephen Stills – vocals

 

[Dennie]

French Kiss -- CD

Bob Welch

1977/1992 Capitol/CEMA Records

Takes me back to 1978, May 11, 2004
By Jamey Key (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: French Kiss (Audio CD)

I remember French Kiss as being one of the few albums you could listen to all the way through. As another reviewer said, there is a sameness to all of the songs but that may be one of the things that makes the album so enjoyable. The best time to play this cd? On a lonely road trip in the middle of the night. It's a mellow, moody, middle of the night piece of music - that rocks!

All songs written by Bob Welch except "Hot Love, Cold World" by Bob Welch and John Henning, and "Outskirts" by Bob Welch and John Carter.

"Sentimental Lady" - 2:52
"Easy to Fall" - 3:31
"Hot Love, Cold World" - 3:39
"Mystery Train" - 3:07
"Lose My Heart" - 1:55
"Outskirts" - 3:19
"Ebony Eyes" - 3:33
"Lose Your..." - 0:45
"Carolene" - 3:13
"Dancin' Eyes" - 3:20
"Danchiva" - 3:15
"Lose Your Heart" - 3:16


Bob Welch - vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Alvin Taylor - drums (except track 1)
Mick Fleetwood - drums on track 1
Christine McVie - background vocals on tracks 1, 2 and 12
Lindsey Buckingham - guitar and background vocals on track 1
Gene Page - string arrangements

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening...

City To City -- CD

Gerry Rafferty

1978/1990 U.A./Capitol Records

Amazon.com

It took Quentin Tarantino's using "Stuck in the Middle with You," the 1973 hit of Gerry Rafferty's former band Stealers Wheel, in Reservoir Dogs to make Rafferty hip again. But City to City, his 1978 solo breakthrough, has long been worth rediscovering--and not just because it contains "Baker Street," one of the biggest and best singles of the 1970s. Rafferty brilliantly modernizes his Scottish folk-rock background on such pop treasures as the churning title track, the minor follow-up hit "Right Down the Line," the bouncing ditty "Mattie's Rag," the enchantingly churchy "Whatever's Written in Your Heart," and others. It's as rewardingly refreshing a change of pace now as it was when it emerged in the midst of the disco era. --Peter Blackstock

All songs written by Gerry Rafferty. [5]

"The Ark" – 5:36
"Baker Street" – 6:01*
"Right Down the Line" – 4:20
"City to City" – 4:51
"Stealin' Time" – 5:39
"Mattie's Rag" – 3:28
"Whatever's Written in Your Heart" – 6:30
"Home and Dry" – 4:52
"Island" – 5:04*
"Waiting for the Day" – 5:26

* Raphael Ravenscroft – saxophone

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

Running On Empty -- CD

Jackson Browne

1977/1990 Elektra Records

Amazon.com

Recorded onstage, backstage, in three different hotel rooms, and on a Continental Silver Eagle tour bus during a cross-country 1977 tour, Running on Empty is a paean to life on the road. Jackson Browne's sense of camaraderie extended to the road crew, if "The Load Out," a love song to his roadies, is to be believed. Browne is much more blithe here than in his earlier outings. But Empty also represents a fleeting lighthearted moment for the singer-cum-poet whose concerns became more political than personal after its appearance. Beneath its flippant surface, this disc is a look at the lengths Browne and his friends went to avoid facing the demands of the touring life. What with the frequent drug references, misogynistic references to on-the-fly pairings with women, and the sobering line in the title track--"I look around for the friends I used to pull me through / Looking into their eyes, I see them running, too"--one realizes that Browne was much more comfortable on the road than off. --Jaan Uhelszki

"Running on Empty" (Browne) – 5:20
Recorded live (8/27/77), Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
"The Road" (Danny O'Keefe) – 4:50
Recorded in room 301 (8/27/77), Cross Keys Inn, Baltimore, MD (first — 2:58) and live (9/7/77), Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
"Rosie" (Browne, Donald Miller) – 3:37
Recorded backstage (9/1/77) "in the big rehearsal room," Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
Doug Haywood and tour photographer Joel Bernstein sing harmony.
"You Love the Thunder" (Browne) – 3:52
Recorded live (9/6/77), Holmdel, NJ
"Cocaine" (Browne, Reverend Gary Davis, Glenn Frey) – 4:55
Recorded in room 124 (8/17/77), Holiday Inn, Edwardsville, IL
"Shaky Town" (Danny Kortchmar) – 3:36
Recorded in room 124 (8/18/77), Holiday Inn, Edwardsville, IL
Danny Kortchmar sings harmony.
"Love Needs a Heart" (Browne, Valerie Carter, Lowell George) – 3:28
Recorded live (9/17/77), Universal City, CA
"Nothing but Time" (Browne, Howard Burke) – 3:05
Recorded "on a bus (a Continental Silver Eagle) somewhere in New Jersey" (9/8/77)
Russ Kunkel is credited as playing "snare, hi-hat, and cardboard box with foot pedal." The song was recorded aboard the band's Continental Silver Eagle tour bus (hence the lyrical reference to "Silver Eagle") while en route from Portland, Maine to their next gig in New Jersey. The bus's engine is audible in the background throughout, and its downshift and acceleration can be plainly heard during the bridge.
"The Load-Out" (Browne, Bryan Garofalo) – 5:38
Recorded live (8/27/77), Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
"Stay" (Maurice Williams) – 3:28
Recorded live (8/27/77), Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

 

[putty34]

A little Warren Zevon to get me through this Friday afternoon.

 

[Dennie]

Come On Home -- CD :text-bravo:

Boz Scaggs

1997 Virgin U.S. Records

Amazon.com

Having sat most of the '80s out, Boz Scaggs returns in the mid-'90s as an urbane blues crooner, effectively bringing his music full circle from the sleek, disco-friendly pop of his '70s commercial zenith to the purer R&B of his late '60s debut. Come Home is a soulful valentine to the same models that informed that first outing, juxtaposing solid new originals against venerable songs from Jimmy Reed, Earl King Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson, Willie Mitchell, and other blues and soul masters from Memphis, Texas, and Chicago. Scaggs, always a model of taste (who else could have produced disco hits that still sound stylish), juggles two blue-chip rhythm sections with strategic infusions of soulful brass, greasy organ, and Scaggs's own deep-fried guitar work sustaining the set's bluesy accents. --Sam Sutherland

"It All Went Down the Drain"
"Ask Me 'Bout Nothin' (But the Blues)"
"Don't Cry No More"
"Found Love"
"Come On Home"
"Picture of a Broken Heart"
"Love Letters"
"I've Got Your Love"
"Early in the Morning"
"Your Good Thing (Is About to End)"
"T-Bone Shuffle"
"Sick and Tired"
"After Hours"
"Goodnight Louise"

 

[Dennie]

Strike On Computers -- CD

Johnny Guitar Watson

1993 Valley Vue Records

The Gangster Of Love Does It All, August 19, 2007
By COMPUTERJAZZMAN "computerjazzman" (Cliffside Park, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Strike on Computers (Audio CD)

This is another of those relatively low-budget, self produced CD's that Johnny Guitar made and played all of the instuments on several tracks, before he had his big "comeback" album, Bow-Wow. But he always plays a nice funky beat and if you like his music, then you will enjoy this CD, although it is be no means his greatest stuff.

Track Listing

1. You Do Me Bad So Good
2. Boogie Down Pary Down
3. Scratching "85"
4. Let's Get Together
5. Strike on Computers
6. Byrd Ball Train
7. Statue of Liberty
8. Please Send Me Someone to Love

 

[Dennie]

Fleetwood Mac -- CD

Fleetwood Mac

1975 Reprise Records

Amazon.com essential recording

With the "classic" Fleetwood Mac and departed guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer a fading memory, namesakes and rhythm section Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John McVie (bass), along with second generation survivor Christine McVie (vocals, keyboards), let go of their British blues heritage and linked with a failed Californian pop-rock duo, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. That move, born of desperation, yields this 1975 classic: unveiling a taut, well-oiled pop rock band boasting three distinctive singers and songwriters in Buckingham, Nicks, and Christine McVie; Buckingham's extraordinary arrangements and versatile acoustic and electric guitars; and the undeniable horsepower of the founding fathers' rock-solid rhythm work. Buckingham's rave-ups, Nicks's sultry rock ballads, and Christine McVie's soulful, sunny pop form the template for Rumours, which would follow two years later. --Sam Sutherland

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Monday Morning" Buckingham 2:48
2. "Warm Ways" C. McVie 3:54
3. "Blue Letter" Rick Curtis, Mike Curtis 2:41
4. "Rhiannon" Nicks 4:11
5. "Over My Head" C. McVie 3:38
6. "Crystal" Nicks 5:14
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
7. "Say You Love Me" C. McVie 4:11
8. "Landslide" Nicks 3:19
9. "World Turning" Buckingham, C. McVie 4:25
10. "Sugar Daddy" C. McVie 4:10
11. "I'm So Afraid" Buckingham 4:22

 

[Dennie]

A Lot About Livin' and A Little 'bout Love -- CD

Alan Jackson

1992 Arista Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Of all the country music artists to break big in the '90s, Alan Jackson best straddles the genre's sense of tradition and its newfound modern sheen. More than any other superstar, the Georgia native clings to the age-old sound of fiddles, steel guitars, and rhythms that shuffle and swing. Still, on his third and his most successful album, Jackson proves how well he can turn traditional sounds into commercially accessible hits. "Chattahoochee" and "She's Got the Rhythm (And I've Got the Blues)" display his flair for bringing bright detail and a casual sense of fun to uptempo tunes. Meanwhile, ballads such as "Tonight I Climbed the Wall" show that he can create heartbreakers equal to those of his heroes, Merle Haggard and George Jones. --Michael McCall

"Chattahoochee" (Alan Jackson, Jim McBride) – 2:27
"She's Got the Rhythm (And I Got the Blues)" (Jackson, Randy Travis) – 2:24
"Tonight I Climbed the Wall" (Jackson) – 3:30
"I Don't Need the Booze (To Get a Buzz On)" (Toni Dae, Joy Swinea) – 3:15
"(Who Says) You Can't Have It All" (Jackson, McBride) – 3:28
"Up to My Ears in Tears" (Jackson, Don Sampson) – 2:53
"Tropical Depression" (Charlie Craig, Jackson, McBride) – 2:57
"She Likes It Too" (Zack Turner, Tim Nichols) – 2:50
"If It Ain't One Thing (It's You)" (Jackson, McBride) – 3:52
"Mercury Blues" (K. C. Douglas, Bob Geddins) – 3:39

 

[Dennie]

My last one for the evening....

Storms of Life -- CD

Randy Travis

1986 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com essential recording

When Storms of Life's singles were climbing the charts in 1986, they sounded like a miracle. After all, at the time, Randy Travis was just about the only young exemplar of traditional country you could hear on the radio. Travis's first hits ("1982," "On the Other Hand," "Diggin' Up Bones") helped put twang, briefly, back in the saddle, inspiring what was quickly dubbed the new traditionalist movement. So, yeah, this is an important album, but what's really important here is Travis's beautifully expressive and quivering baritone. On the bridge of "No Place Like Home," he gets down on his knees and begs his wife to take him back in--and, with that voice, it's no wonder he pulls it off. --David Cantwell

"On the Other Hand" (Paul Overstreet, Don Schlitz) - 3:05
"The Storms of Life" (Max D. Barnes, Troy Seals) - 2:43
"My Heart Cracked (But It Did Not Break)" (Ronny Scaife, Don Singleton, Phil Thomas) - 2:18
"Diggin' Up Bones" (Al Gore, Overstreet, Nat Stuckey) - 2:58
"No Place Like Home" (Overstreet) - 4:06
"1982" (Buddy Blackmon, Vip Vipperman) - 2:58
"Send My Body" (Randy Travis) - 2:59
"Messin' with My Mind" (Joseph Allen, Charlie Williams) - 3:06
"Reasons I Cheat" (Travis) - 4:20
"There'll Always Be a Honky Tonk Somewhere" (Steve Clark, Johnny MacRae) - 3:15

 

[AndySTL]

and drinking:

 

[heeman]

:banana-rock:

 

[topper]