What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Pictures At An Exhibition -- CD

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

1972 Victory Music

Lead Me from Tortured Dreams, August 25, 2007
By Thomas K. Emanuel "Music Fan & a Half" (Deadwood, SD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Pictures At An Exhibition (Audio CD)

Whether you like them or not, you've got to at least give Emerson Lake & Palmer credit for having the balls to pull off something like PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION. The original "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky is one of music's most highly-regarded piano showpieces; likewise, the arrangement by Maurice Ravel is hailed as one of the premier orchestral works of all time. And ELP, a band both renowned and reviled for their savagely bombastic jazz-inflected improvisations and self-conscious pomposity, decided to give it a whirl. You can almost hear the critics screaming. But I've learned to tune out the screaming and just listen to the music - when you're a Paul McCartney fan, as I am, that's par for the course. And also par for the course is finding that, while sometimes the critics have a point, more often than not they have no clue what they're talking about.

Strangely enough, I'd say in this case the critics got more right than they usually do in such situations. They called ELP's adaptation loud, noisy, pompous, pretentious, self-important, self-indulgent, and sacrilegious. And it's all of those things, with a heaping helping of grandiloquence on the side and silliness to taste. But that's precisely the point. Moments such as Keith Emerson's Hammond playing Mussorgsky's instantly recognizable "Promenade" backed by Carl Palmer's doomsday drumming; diverging from "The Old Castle" into some angular "Blues Variations"; and Greg Lake shouting lines like "There's no ending to my life/No beginning to my death/Death is life!" over "The Great Gates of Kiev", exist pretty much just for the sake of hearing something so absurd. And yet somehow ELP make their twisted rearrangements work as ELP and not just ELP playing Mussorgsky, sounding very much like themselves while still allowing you to hear the originals underneath. The playing is stellar throughout, of course, though as usual Emerson steals the show with his mind-bending keyboard soloing.

And just to make sure we realize that they realize how ridiculous this all is, PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION concludes with the awfully-titled "Nutrocker", a supremely silly cover of a supremely silly arrangement of the "March" from Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker". Now there's an example of the prog spirit if I ever heard one.
1. "Promenade" Mussorgsky 1:58
2. "The Gnome" Mussorgsky/Palmer 4:18
3. "Promenade" Mussorgsky/Lake 1:23
4. "The Sage" Lake 4:42
5. "The Old Castle" Mussorgsky/Emerson 2:33
6. "Blues Variation" Emerson/Lake/Palmer 4:22
7. "Promenade" Mussorgsky 1:29
8. "The Hut of Baba Yaga" Mussorgsky 1:12
9. "The Curse of Baba Yaga" Emerson/Lake/Palmer 4:10
10. "The Hut of Baba Yaga (Part 2)" Mussorgsky 1:06
11. "The Great Gates of Kiev/The End" Mussorgsky/Lake 6:37
12. "Nut Rocker" Tchaikovsky/Fowley 4:26

ELP!!! I Love This One!! :text-bravo:

......... :text-+1:






Dennie :handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Dennie]

The album's cover features Frank C. McCarthy's painting "The Last Crossing".

Long Hard Ride -- CD

The Marshall Tucker Band

1976 AJK Music

More country than the earlier albums and still great, February 18, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Long Hard Ride (Audio CD)

"Long Hard Ride" is one of the underappreciated MTB albums, coming between "Searchin' For A Rainbow" (with it's Top 40 hit "Fire On The Mountain") and the platinum "Carolina Dreams" (with the band's biggest hit "Heard It In A Love Song"). The album gets off to a rousing start with "Long Hard Ride." With it's bullwhip, fiddle and memorable guitar lead it's a killer opening salvo. Toy Caldwell was simply one of the most distinctive, creative, and powerful guitarists ever. His work on the first 10 MTB albums withstands the test of time. My favorite track on the album has to be "Am I The Kind Of Man." A downtempo number, lyrically and musically it touches your heart and soul.

If you're looking to start your MTB collection begin with "Where We All Belong" and "A New Life" but if you're looking for a killer addition to your existing MTB collection this would be a great one to pick up. Oh, yeah! The CD reissue has not only much-improved sound, but also a killer bonus live track: "(If I Could) See You One More Time."

"Long Hard Ride" (Toy Caldwell) - 3:48
"Property Line" (Toy Caldwell) - 2:57
"Am I The Kind of Man" (Toy Caldwell) - 4:21
"Walkin' The Streets Alone" (Toy Caldwell) - 5:05
"Windy City Blues" (Jerry Eubanks, Doug Gray, George McCorkle) - 4:53
"Holding on to You" (George McCorkle) - 3:48
"You Say You Love Me" (Toy Caldwell) - 3:57
"You Don't Live Forever" (Tommy Caldwell) - 3:55

 

[Dennie]

Calypso -- CD

John Denver

1997 LaserLight Digital

One of the best, July 9, 2001
By A Customer
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Calypso (Audio CD)

While I knew John Denver's music when he was a rising star, I didn't come to really get into his music until the last year. Over the past year I've become obsessed with collecting as much of his music as possible and I now can speak with some authority about those CDs I like and those I don't like so much. This is one of my favorites.

From the soul-stirring title song through the reprise of "Flower that Shattered the Stone," in duet with the "Japanese John Denver," which moves me to tears every time I hear it, each song in this album is a treasure. I first heard "Potter's Wheel" on this collection and it has to be one of my top 10 of Denver's songs. "Postcard from Paris" is the love letter that any traveler would send home to the one s/he left behind. "Sing Australia" is wonderful for anybody who feels any connection to that country. "Alaska and Me" is kind of a variation of Calypso, and isn't as strong as some of the others.

But really there isn't a weak song on this CD and when I load up the CD player in the car, out of the 17 Denver CDs that I currently own, you can bet that this is one of the ones that gets loaded just about every time.

Track Listing
1. Calypso
2. Flower That Shattered the Stone, The
3. American Child
4. Postcard from Paris
5. In a Far Away Land
6. Little Further North, A
7. Sing Australia
8. Alaska & Me
9. Stonehaven Sunset
10. Potter's Wheel - (live)
11. Flower That Shattered the Stone, The (Reprise) - (Reprise)

 

[Dennie]

Waitin' For The Hard Times To Go -- CD

Nashville Bluegrass Band

1993 Sugarhill Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Rather than be constricted by traditional-bluegrass structure, this quintet of veterans seem liberated by it. Their free and easy style offers expert musicianship, exuberant harmonies, and an infectious zest for the material. On this effort, they tackle George Jones's "Open Pit Mine" along with a couple of hot-picking showcases and two sterling a capella gospels featuring impeccable five-part harmonies. Fiddler Stuart Duncan, banjoist Alan O'Bryant, and mandolinist Roland White handle the breaks with aplomb. Nothing revolutionary takes place, but perhaps that's the point, and although this 1993 recording picked up a Grammy, it's not significantly better than any of their other consistently solid albums. --Marc Greilsamer

"Backtrackin'" (Dowling) – 2:58
"Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go" (Ringer) – 3:16
"Kansas City Railroad Blues" – 3:57
"Open Pit Mine" (Gentry) – 3:03
"Train of Yesterday" – 3:33
"Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee" (traditional) – 2:23
"When I Get Where I'm Goin'" (Allen) – 2:49
"Waltzing's for Dreamers" (Thompson) – 2:21
"I Ain't Goin' Down" – 2:30
"We Decided to Make Jesus Our Choice" (traditional) – 2:39
"On Again Off Again" (Allen) – 3:46
"Soppin' the Gravy" (traditional) – 2:24

 

[Dennie]

Aces -- CD

Suzy Bogguss

1993 Liberty Records

Honest Music, September 6, 2000
By merrystar (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Aces (Audio CD)

There is an honest and straightforward quality to this album which sets it apart from others I own. There are no flashy arrangements or glitzy orchestrations and no over-emoted vocals. Instead we get Suzy Bogguss' beautiful warm voice over rich band accompaniment. Steel guitars, violins, and the occasional harmonica give the music its gentle country feel. Thematically this album deals with separation - leaving, being left, being alone. The lyrics are remarkably uncliched, describing emotions and emotional situations in simple unadorned language. I have owned this album for many years, and it still seems remarkably honest and true.

Of the individual songs, "Outbound Plane" hits closest to home for me, reminding me of one of the most difficult breakups I have ever been through. "Letting Go", which deals with both a mother's and a child's emotions as the latter prepares to leave for college is a remarkably accurate description not only of the conflicting emotions I felt when I first left home for college, but of the similar feelings I had leaving college for grad school, and those I feel now as I contemplate my upcoming move to start my first job.

I consider this album to be an excellent, well-crafted, poignant piece of work. There is nothing which mars it in any way, it is pleasant to listen to, and most importantly, it speaks to my heart.

"Outbound Plane" (Nanci Griffith, Tom Russell) – 2:48
"Aces" (Cheryl Wheeler) – 3:45
"Someday Soon" (Ian Tyson) – 3:50
"Let Goodbye Hurt" (Ellen Crandell) – 3:11
"Save Yourself" (Beth Nielsen Chapman) – 2:50
"Yellow River Road" (Suzy Bogguss, Doug Crider) – 2:55
"Part of Me" (Tony Arata) – 3:16
"Letting Go" (Crider, Matt Rollings) – 4:31
"Music on the Wind" (Andy Byrd, Victoria Shaw, Jana Stanfield) – 3:21
"Still Hold On" (Kim Carnes, Dave Ellingson, Eric Kaz, Wendy Waldman) – 4:03

 

[Kazaam]

Beady Eye - "Different Gear, Still Speeding"

Feels so exciting. Much more so than Noel's solo album (which I nonetheless like very much!). Beady Eye's debut album is an instantly gratifying listen. But the Beatles homage on "The Roller" is so blatant that it almost ruins the song.

 

[Dennie]

Color Rit

Lee Ritenour

1989 Grp Records

I like it!, April 2, 2002
By Brian M. Coffee (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Color Rit (Audio CD)

I am actually a critic of most so called "smooth jazz" artist. However Rit does a nice job on this album. I particularly like the opening song "Rio Funk". It's just the type of funky jazz song that a Brazilian artist would actually do. Although Rit is not Brazilian he has several Brazilian guest musicians on this album including the great Gonzugingha who is the son of the even greater Louis Gonzaga. Anyway listen to him sang on "E" and you will feel the spirit of Brazil in this music. Another surprise is a remake of the Isley Brothers "Can't Let Go". Phil Perry handles the vocals which keeps the song interesting by not making it a instrumental gloss over. Great stuff!

Track Listing
1. Bahia Funk
2. É
3. All the Same Tonight
4. Mister Reggae
5. I Can't Let Go
6. Color Rit
7. Kiss, The
8. Malibu
9. Tropical Storm
10. Etude

 

[Dennie]

Empyrean Isles -- Remastered 24-Bit CD

Herbie Hancock

1964/1999 Blue Note Records

Amazon.com

Pianist and composer Herbie Hancock has had a long and varied career, during which he's enjoyed both creative and commercial success, though seldom at the same time. For many listeners, his creative peak came early, on two stunning Blue Note recordings, Maiden Voyage and the less celebrated Empyrean Isles. Recorded in 1964, Empyrean Isles is the earlier of the two and also the most radical. Hancock's quartet features Freddie Hubbard substituting a cornet for his usual trumpet, and getting a more burnished, slightly warmer sound. Without the jazz-typical saxophone present, Hancock's is almost a naked band, and the single horn blurs the lines between the pianist's mood-rich compositions and improvisation. The group uses the increased sense of space for intense collective creation, with Hancock and drummer Tony Williams pressing far beyond their instruments' usual roles and engaging Hubbard in edgy, complex dialogue, while bassist Ron Carter anchors the performances. Hubbard rises to the occasion with brilliance, responding to the stimulus with a fluency of thought and execution--a daring that built on his avant-garde experience with musicians like John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Eric Dolphy. From the breezy "Oliloqui Valley" to the funky "Cantaloupe Island" and on to the dissonance of the extended "Egg," this is one of the most significant documents of the Blue Note style that emerged in the mid-'60s. It's music that tests the balance of control and risk, and Hubbard's is also one of the great performances by a trumpeter in modern jazz. --Stuart Broomer

All compositions by Herbie Hancock.

"One Finger Snap" – 7:20
"Oliloqui Valley" – 8:28
"Cantaloupe Island" – 5:32
"The Egg" – 14:00

Bonus tracks on 1999 CD release:

"One Finger Snap" (Alternate Take) – 7:37
"Oliloqui Valley" (Alternate Take) – 10:47

Herbie Hancock − Piano
Freddie Hubbard − Cornet
Ron Carter − Bass
Tony Williams − drums

 

[Dennie]

Inventions & Dimensions -- Remastered CD

Herbie Hancock

1963/1988 Blue Note Records

One of the greatest "trio" records ever, June 3, 2004
By Jess Row (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Inventions & Dimensions (Audio CD)

"Trio" in quotation marks, of course, because there are actually two percussionists on this date, working as a single Afro-Cuban unit. I've always thought that Hancock's piano work is often overshadowed by the musical contexts he chooses to work in; this record is a rare example of Hancock alone at the helm, and it's a pure joy to listen to--an approach to "free" jazz that is relaxed and loose, critiquing jazz traditions without tearing them apart, as in the best work of Eric Dolphy (whom Hancock played with shortly before this recording). In some ways this record is similar to McCoy Tyner's "Plays Duke Ellington," especially in the mixture of Latin textures with jazz harmonies and structures. This is an overlooked gem which belongs in any Herbie Hancock collection.

All compositions by Herbie Hancock.

"Succotash" – 7:40
"Triangle" – 11:01
"Jack Rabbit" – 5:57
"Mimosa" – 8:38
"A Jump Ahead" – 6:33
"Mimosa" (alternate take) – 10:06 Bonus track on reissue

-----

Herbie Hancock – piano
Paul Chambers – bass
Willie Bobo – drums, timbales
Osvaldo "Chihuahua" Martinez – percussion (not on track 5)

 

[heeman]

:music-rockout:

 

[Dennie]

Concert By The Sea -- Remastered CD

Erroll Garner

1955/1987 Columbia Records

Amazon.com

The sound is atrocious and the piano is out of tune, yet this live trio recording from September 9, 1955, in Carmel, California, was a bestselling album. Garner brings a wealth of imagination to every performance of every song. On uptempo numbers like "I'll Remember April" and "Red Top" he hammers away with intense left-handed figures while unleashing relentless cascades of improvised lines with his right. On ballads like "Teach Me Tonight" and "April in Paris" he plays with the softest of touches, changing tempo from verse to verse for dramatic effect. His performance of "Autumn Leaves" is so over-the-top it could have gone to parody, but not in the hands of this master entertainer. His humming, grunting vocal accompaniment--he seems to be commenting on "They Can't Take That Away from Me" as he plays it--provides a kind of side show to the performance. More than 30 years later it's still starkly original work. --John Swenson

"I'll Remember April" (Gene de Paul, Patricia Johnston, Don Raye) – 4:14
"Teach Me Tonight" (Sammy Cahn, Gene de Paul) – 3:37
"Mambo Carmel-by-the-sea" (Erroll Garner) – 3:43
"Autumn Leaves" (Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert, Johnny Mercer) – 6:27
"It's All Right with Me" (Cole Porter) – 3:21
"Red Top" (Lionel Hampton, Ben Kynard) – 3:11
"April in Paris" (Vernon Duke, Yip Harburg) – 4:47
"They Can't Take That Away from Me" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 4:08
"How Could You do a Thing Like That to Me" (Tyree Glenn, Allan Roberts) – 3:59
"Where or When" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 3:06
"Erroll's Theme" (Garner) – 0:46

-----

Erroll Garner – piano
Eddie Calhoun – double bass
Denzil Best – drums

 

[Dennie]

Brothers In Arms -- 20th Anniversary Edition SACD

Dire Straits

2005 Mercury Records (Import)

SACD Review, June 23, 2005
By Michael R. Zwarun "phenker" (Thornhill, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Brothers in Arms (20th Anniversary Edition) (Audio CD)

I've waited a long time for this album to be available on SACD. The wait was definitely worth it. This is reference quality audio that beats any vinyl in my collection.
I dare you to listen to Money for Nothing and not get chills. The surround mix is fantastic,using all speakers to great effect.
My advice, rush out and buy this one. It may be the best SACD out there.

1. "So Far Away" 5:12
2. "Money for Nothing" (Knopfler, Sting) 8:26
3. "Walk of Life" 4:12
4. "Your Latest Trick" 6:33
5. "Why Worry" 8:31
6. "Ride Across the River" 6:58
7. "The Man's Too Strong" 4:40
8. "One World" 3:40
9. "Brothers in Arms" 7:00

 

[heeman]

Track listing

"Let Me In"
"You Can Have Me"
"Loosen Up Your Grip"
"Envy"
"Comes a Woman"
"Sailor"
"Beyond the Universe"
"Goodbye Again"

Personnel

Rick Derringer - vocals, guitar
Danny Johnson - guitar, vocals
Kenny Aaronson - bass, background vocals
Vinny Appice - drums

 

[heeman]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Rick Derringer; except where indicated

"Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo"[2] - 3:43
"Joy Ride" - 1:50
"Teenage Queen" - 3:31
"Cheap Tequila" - 2:44
"Uncomplicated" - 3:40
"Hold" (Derringer, Patti Smith) - 3:12
"The Airport Giveth (The Airport Taketh Away)" - 2:49
"Teenage Love Affair" - 3:20
"It's Raining" - 2:05
"Time Warp" - 2:53
"Slide On Over Slinky" - 4:21
"Jump, Jump, Jump" - 6:00

Personnel

Rick Derringer - vocals, guitar, organ
David Bromberg - guitar, dobro
Joe Walsh - electric guitar
Joe Vitale - drums
Kenny Passarelli - bass
Tasha Thomas - background vocals
Edgar Winter - keyboards
Lani Groves - background vocals
Carl Hall - background vocals
Suzi Quatro - bass
Paul Harris - keyboards
Joe Lala - percussion
Toots Thielemans - harmonica
Bobby Caldwell - drums

 

[Dennie]

Bridge Over Troubled Water -- Remastered CD

Simon and Garfunkel

1970/2001 Columbia Legacy

Amazon.com essential recording

No one can say Simon & Garfunkel went out with a whimper. The popular duo's 1970 swan song produced four hit singles and won six Grammy awards, including Record, Album, and Song of the Year. An involving mix of sweeping epics ("The Boxer," the title track) and breezy throwaways (a live cover of the Everly Brothers' "Bye Bye Love," the rock & roll trifle "Baby Driver"), Bridge was one of the most popular albums of its era. What's particularly striking about this collection is how brightly lesser-acclaimed songs like "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright" and the gorgeous "The Only Living Boy in New York" shine. (The 2001 reissue adds a pair of demos to the original work, including the traditional "Feuilles-O.")--Steven Stolder

All songs by Paul Simon except where noted.

Side 1

"Bridge Over Troubled Water" – 4:52
"El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" (Daniel Alomía Robles, English lyrics by Paul Simon, arranged by Jorge Milchberg) – 3:06
"Cecilia" – 2:55
"Keep the Customer Satisfied" – 2:33
"So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright" – 3:41

Side 2

"The Boxer" – 5:08
"Baby Driver" – 3:14
"The Only Living Boy in New York" – 3:58
"Why Don't You Write Me" – 2:45
"Bye Bye Love" (Felice and Boudleaux Bryant) (live recording from Ames, Iowa) – 2:55
"Song for the Asking" – 1:39

Bonus tracks (2001 CD reissue)

"Feuilles-O" [Demo] (Traditional) – 1:45
"Bridge over Troubled Water" [Demo Take 6] – 4:46

 

[Dennie]

Infinity -- CD

McCoy Tyner Trio - Featuring MIchael Brecker

1995 Impulse!/GRP Records

Ties with the past, January 7, 2002
By Chet (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Infinity (Audio CD)

Besides the fact that Tyner's group on this album is unbelievably tight, Brecker's contribution takes this album over the top. His solo on "Impressions" is worth the cost of the album alone. Rare is the jazz musician who can bring it to the table in the studio the same way he can on stage, but Brecker is that man. The greatest Tenor player around today, blows one of the most amazing recorded solos in a while on that track. Buy this album that solo alone, and you'll be happy.

"Flying High" - 10:14
"I Mean You" (Hawkins, Monk) - 7:19
"Where Is Love" - 5:31
"Changes" - 9:46
"Blues Stride" - 3:38
"Happy Days" - 9:42
"Impressions" (Coltrane) - 11:13
"Mellow Minor" - 5:26
"Good Morning Heartache" (Drake, Fisher, Higgenbotham) - 9:21

All compositions by McCoy Tyner except as indicated

------

McCoy Tyner: piano
Michael Brecker: tenor saxophone
Avery Sharpe: bass
Aaron Scott: drums
Valtinho Anastacio: congas, percussion

 

[Dennie]

Travelogue -- 2 CD Box Set

Joni Mitchell

2002 Nonesuch Records

A Major Work!, May 4, 2007
By D. W. Moore "Enthusiastic Amazon Fan" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Travelogue (Audio CD)

I didn't think I liked Joni Mitchel. The odd-ball octave shifts annoyed me as yodeling does. I was looking for some song of hers at the library and found Travelogue instead. It sounded more like Diana Krall. Very pleasing deeper voice without the old stunts. I happend to like the orchestra and the jazz styling.

There is more than 2 hours of mostly-wonderful music. There are only a few tracks that I skip. The sound is fresh and original. The lyrics are thought-provoking. It comes in a nice package containing a lyrics book and a book showing some of her original paintings.

The only problem is that I listen to it over and over and over. Addicted?

Disc 1

"Otis and Marlena" – 3:54
"Amelia" – 6:48
"You Dream Flat Tires" – 3:48
"Love" – 5:40
"Woodstock" – 5:56
"Slouching Toward Bethlehem" – 7:11 (Based on a poem by W. B. Yeats)
"Judgement of the Moon and Stars (Ludwig's Tune)" – 5:22
"The Sire of Sorrow (Job's Sad Song)" – 7:09
"For the Roses" – 7:28
"Trouble Child" – 5:02
"God Must Be a Boogie Man" – 3:56

Disc 2

"Be Cool" – 5:09
"Just Like This Train" – 5:04
"Sex Kills" – 3:57
"Refuge of the Roads" – 7:56
"Hejira" – 6:47
"Chinese Café / Unchained Melody" – 5:41 (Alex North, Hy Zaret)
"Cherokee Louise" – 6:00
"The Dawntreader" – 5:38
"The Last Time I Saw Richard" – 4:58
"Borderline" – 6:23
"The Circle Game" – 6:50

Joni Mitchell - vocals
Larry Klein - bass, musical direction
Herbie Hancock - piano
Billy Preston - Hammond B3 organ
Chuck Berghofer - double bass
Paulinho Da Costa - percussion
Brian Blade - drums
Wayne Shorter - soprano saxophone
Plas Johnson - tenor saxophone
Kenny Wheeler - flugelhorn
Gavyn Wright - orchestra leader
Vince Mendoza - conductor, arrangement

 

[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
(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]

I just upgraded Turntables. I went from a Pioneer PL-A35 Automatic to a PL-55X Simi-Auto and what a difference.... :handgestures-thumbup:

Shangri-La 2 180g LP Set

Mark Knopfler

2004 Warner Bros. 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]

Confessin' The Blues -- Reissue Lp

Little Walter

1974 Chess Vintage Series

Who's the king of all post-war blues harpists, Chicago division or otherwise? Why, the virtuosic Little Walter, without a solitary doubt. The fiery harmonica wizard took the humble mouth organ in dazzling amplified directions that were unimaginable prior to his ascendancy. His daring instrumental innovations were so fresh, startling, and ahead of their time that they sometimes sported a jazz sensibility, soaring and swooping in front of snarling guitars and swinging rhythms perfectly suited to Walter's pioneering flights of fancy. His influence remains inescapable to this day -- it's unlikely that a blues harpist exists on the face of this earth who doesn't worship Little Walter.


Songs:

Side A:
It Ain't Right
Rocker
I Got To Find My Baby
Lights Out
One More Chance With You
Crazy Legs
Temperature

Side B:
I Got To Go
Crazy Mixed-up World
Quarter To Twelve
Confessin' the Blues
The Toddle
Up the Line
Rock Bottom
Mean Old Frisco