What Are You Listening To?

[Zing]

Zing, you fucker!!!! bscene-buttred:

Towen made me do it. :eusa-whistle:

 

[Dennie]

Live! Bootleg -- CD

Aerosmith

1978 Columbia Records

Real live!, October 21, 2003
By Docendo Discimus (Vita scholae) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Live Bootleg (Audio CD)

This rough, tough and rowdy live album brings together 14 recordings from Aerosmith's 1977-78 tour, plus a couple of rarities from 1973 in the form of James Brown's "Mother Popcorn" and the Yardbirds' "I Ain't Got You".

The sound is very much live, with the loud, crunchy guitars of Joe Perry and Brad Whitford at the forefront, but it is also relatively clear, and not as cluttered as "A Little South Of Sanity". It is obvious that not a lot of overdubbing was involved to fix up the tracks, which results in a refreshingly authentic representation of Aerosmith at their best.

Almost every early Aerosmith classic is included: "Back In The Saddle" opens the CD, followed by "Sweet Emotion" and a seven-minute "Lord Of The Thighs".
The band's powerful version of John Lennon's "Come Together" is here as well, as is the superb "Walk This Way", the hard-rocking "Mama Kin", and one of Aerosmith's best and most overlooked songs, Richie Supa's catchy "Chip Away At The Stone".
And "Draw The Line" is here as well, although it is unlisted (probably to tie in with the casual "bootleg" design of the album, which includes fake coffee stains on the back).

There are a couple of lesser songs as well, but most of what is here is simply excellent. "Live Bootleg" is a must for fans of Aerosmith's seventies output.
4 1/2 stars.

1. "Back in the Saddle" (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry) – 4:25
* Indianapolis, IN, 4 July 1977
2. "Sweet Emotion" (Tyler, Tom Hamilton) – 4:42
* Columbus, OH, 24 March 1978
3. "Lord of the Thighs" (Tyler) – 7:18
* Chicago, IL, 23 March 1978
4. "Toys in the Attic" (Tyler, Perry) – 3:45
* Boston, MA, 28 March 1978
5. "Last Child" (Tyler, Brad Whitford) – 3:14
* The Paradise Club, Boston, MA, 9 August 1978
6. "Come Together" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 4:51
* The Wherehouse, Waltham, MA, 21 August 1978
7. "Walk This Way" (Tyler, Perry) – 3:46
* Detroit, MI, 2 April 1978
8. "Sick as a Dog" (Tyler, Hamilton) – 4:42
* Indianapolis, IN, 4 July 1977
9. "Dream On" (Tyler) – 4:31
* Louisville, KY, 3 July 1977
10. "Chip Away the Stone" (Richard Supa) – 4:12
* The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA, 8 April 1978
11. "Sight for Sore Eyes" (Tyler, Perry, Jack Douglas, David Johansen) – 3:18
* Columbus, OH, 24 March 1978
12. "Mama Kin" (Tyler) – 3:43
* Indianapolis, IN, 4 July 1977
13. "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" (Tyler) – 2:46
* Indianapolis, IN, 4 July 1977
14. "I Ain't Got You" (Calvin Carter)[1][2] – 3:57
* Paul's Mall, Boston, MA, 23 April 1973; WBCN-FM radio simulcast
15. "Mother Popcorn"/"Draw the Line"
16. (James Brown, Pee Wee Ellis)/(Tyler, Perry) – 11:35
* Paul's Mall, Boston, MA, 23 April 1973; WBCN-FM radio simulcast / Tower Theater, Upper Darby, Philadelphia, PA, March 26, 1978
17. "Train Kept A-Rollin'"/"Strangers in the Night" (Tiny Bradshaw, Howard Kay, Lois Mann)/(Bert Kaempfert, Charlie Singleton, Eddie Snyder) – 4:51
* Detroit, MI, 2 April 1978

# "Draw the Line" is featured as a hidden track at the end of "Mother Popcorn"

 

[PaulyT]

I'm really enjoying this one...... :handgestures-thumbup:

Sapphire Blue -- CD

Larry Carlton

Thanks Dennie, picked this one up based on your (repeated ) posts and like it a lot! A very fun album, good recording and nice variety of instruments and tempos.

Of course Zing would never listen to this because it's a white guy doing blues. bscene-buttred:

:angelic-green:

 

[Zing]

Of course Zing would never listen to this because it's a white guy doing blues. bscene-buttred:

That's not true and you know it. I listen to Jonny Lang, Tab Benoit, Devon Allman, JJ Grey, Warren Hayes, Susan Tedeschi, Robin Rogers, Eden Brent, Beth Hart, Carolyn Wonderland, et al. All white; all blues; and all have soul.

 

[PaulyT]

Heh heh... ok point taken, but I have to harass you about something... Any other areas of your life that you would like mocked?

 

[PaulyT]

I'm really enjoying this one...... :handgestures-thumbup:

Sapphire Blue -- CD

Larry Carlton

Thanks Dennie, picked this one up based on your (repeated ) posts and like it a lot! A very fun album, good recording and nice variety of instruments and tempos.

I will add, after a few more listens through this album this morning, that I really REALLY love the last track, "Take Me Down" - just acoustic guitar and harmonica, with a low bass drone from (I assume) a synth/organ.

 

[Dennie]

The Worm -- CD

Jimmy McGriff Organ and Blues Band

1968/2002 Blue Note Records

Jimmy McGriff's B-3 sound was always rooted in blues and gospel, and his soloing could be very smooth and polished. But every once in a while, he had to break out of his own soul box and tear it up on a session.

The Worm, issued on Solid State Records in 1968, is the very first place he did. This is the first true, all-out funky burner from McGriff, and it sounds very different from most of the other titles on his shelf. Having a band like this helps: trumpeter Blue Mitchell, tenor saxophonist Fats Theus (with Bob Ashton on baritone and Danny Turner on alto), alternating drummers Mel Lewis and Grady Tate, bassist Bob Bushnell, and guitarist Thornel Schwartz were all in their prime in 1968. The title track, written by McGriff, Theus, and producer Sonny Lester, sets the tone for the whole platter. The saxophone section lays in the cut and is prodded on in a driving, funked-up, hard soul groove by the expanded rhythm section (a B-3 album with a bassist wasn't unheard of, but it wasn't standard procedure either).

Solos by both McGriff and Mitchell are choppy and punchy in the extreme. The trumpeter is amazing here, offering a small taste of the sound he displayed on 1969's Collision in Black. But check out the next two tunes, both McGriff originals that push the LP into the red zone and keep it there.

"Keep Loose" takes the organist head-to-head against Schwartz's electric six-string, and forces a showdown. McGriff is like an out-of-control soul singer (James Brown in a concert setting comes to mind), incessantly forcing his band to play faster, greasier, and choppier on chorus after chorus. He ups the intensity level until there is nowhere to go but over the ledge. He takes them there on "Heavyweight," the very next number, a swinging boppish blues. The horns actually keep the track grounded as McGriff gets terse, dense, and finally unhinged: he's more adventurous in this solo than he had been before, then he double- and even triple-times the entire band! He brings Bushnell's bass up the ever-narrowing stairs of the riff until they become a single player, all groove, grit, and grease. McGriff's cover of Aretha Franklin's "Think" keeps the exuberance level high.

As the horns move right into the Memphis soul vamp, McGriff again plays the part of a vocalist: charging up and down the melody on his keyboards, popping in slippery side chords and harmonic flourishes. Tate's drums swing freely yet forcefully, and bass and guitar lines are simply nasty. The readings of Kenny Burrell's "Lock It Up" and Billy Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train" are the closest things to "straight" jazz here, though they're full of razored edges and hard angles. The reading of Neal Hefti's "Girl Talk" features the horns strolling leisurely on the melody and vamp, but McGriff goes into overdrive again and his solo hits the stratosphere.

The Worm is a monster album through and through. Not only is it a revelatory example of McGriff on the wild, it marks one of the first places where the new funky urban soul met jazz and blues and evolved into jazz-funk.

1 The Worm »» 03:17
2 Keep Loose »» 05:54
3 Heavyweight »» 06:15
4 Think »» 03:14
5 Lock It Up »» 05:11
6 Girl Talk »» 04:29
7 Blue Juice »» 04:56
8 Take The "A" Train 03:45

Blue Mitchell - Trumpet
Danny Turner - Alto Sax
Fats Theus - Tenor Sax
Bob Ashton - Baritone Sax
Thornel Schwartz - Guitar
Bob Bushell - Electric Bass
Grady Tate or Mel Lewis - Drums

 

[Dennie]

I'm really enjoying this one...... :handgestures-thumbup:

Sapphire Blue -- CD

Larry Carlton

Thanks Dennie, picked this one up based on your (repeated ) posts and like it a lot! A very fun album, good recording and nice variety of instruments and tempos.

I will add, after a few more listens through this album this morning, that I really REALLY love the last track, "Take Me Down" - just acoustic guitar and harmonica, with a low bass drone from (I assume) a synth/organ.

Great to hear Pauly! Yeah, Terry McMillan on Harmonica is something special indeed. And Larry's not to bad on the guitar, either! (for a white guy!) :laughing-rolling:


Dennie :eusa-whistle:

 

[Botch]

Any Crusaders fans here? They're a funk band from long ago, featuring a tenor and a trombone, but no trumpet, The unison sound those two horns made was a unique sound in funk/jazz, and Larry Carlton was an important member of the band in the early days.
Another interesting thing about Larry, he was loading his guitar into the trunk of his car after a studio date when he got shot in the head by a random drive-by; he almost lost his life but has come back. :shock:

Need to dig out my old Crusaders vinyl tonight... bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Dennie]

Any Crusaders fans here? They're a funk band from long ago, featuring a tenor and a trombone, but no trumpet, The unison sound those two horns made was a unique sound in funk/jazz, and Larry Carlton was an important member of the band in the early days.
Another interesting thing about Larry, he was loading his guitar into the trunk of his car after a studio date when he got shot in the head by a random drive-by; he almost lost his life but has come back. :shock:

Need to dig out my old Crusaders vinyl tonight... bscene-drinkingcheers:

Yes Sir! I've got the Crusaders on vinyl and shinny silver discs. Great stuff!

I'll see if I can dig anything up. Thanks for the reminder Botch! :handgestures-thumbup:



Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Deep Into It -- CD

Larry Carlton

2001 Warner Bros. Records

Some of jazz' finest musicians join guitarist Larry Carlton on Deep Into It, his second CD as a leader for the Warner Bros. Jazz label. Carlton wrote six new songs for this offering, and covers such songs as "Put It Where You Want It," written by Joe Sample, and the Stevie Winwood hit "Roll With It." Accompanying musicians are Chris Potter on saxophone and Billy Kilson on drums, both known primarily for their work with the Dave Holland Quintet; Harvey Mason, who holds down the rhythm logic on "I Still Believe"; and smooth jazz phenom Kirk Whalum, who turns in a great solo on the title track, on tenor saxophone. The two tenor saxophonists are highly capable in different approaches, and Carlton makes good use of both Potter and Whalum throughout the program. R&B hitmaker Shai lends his soulful vocals to "I Can't Tell You Why," and truly gives the Eagles' mega-hit a fresh interpretation with his one-of-a-kind artistry. Carlton's updated interpretations are a nice mixture of smooth, pop, and jazz guitar stylings, making for very creative listening on the beautiful "Closer to Home." His mellow tones and picking techniques are but two of the most fetching aspects of this work, as well as his new phrasings and smooth sound. These characteristics -- tone, phrasings, the shape of his underlying musical ideas, and the ability to connect emotionally with the listener -- are a few of the differences between Deep Into It and Carlton's previous effort, Fingerprints, and are all solid reasons for adding this CD to your smooth jazz collection. ~ Paula Edelstein

Track Listing
1. Put It Where You Want It
2. Deep into It
3. Don't Break My Heart
4. I Still Believe - (featuring Wendy Moten)
5. Morning Magic
6. It's a Groove Thang
7. Closer to Home
8. I Can't Tell You Why - (featuring Shai)
9. Like Butta'
10. Roll with It
11. Put It Where You Want It - (Extended Version)

 

[Dennie]

This one is after Larry Carlton left the group....

Rural Renewal -- CD

The Crusaders

2003 Verve Records

Everyone should own this record, May 8, 2003
By Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Rural Renewal (Audio CD)

I know virtually nothing about the Crusaders. Their kind of music--ultra-sophisticated, roots-based jazz-funk--has fallen outside my musical experience.

My loss.

Let me come straight out and say it. This is one of the most accomplished and satisfying discs I have ever encountered. There's this deep groove coming from some authentic place--Texas, I learned, since I became interested in this group. This is not the kind of music that can be mass produced, predicted, or even successfully copied. It has its own inherent, uncompromising authenticity and authority.

How can it be so precise without being slick? So soulful without being cliché? So sophisticated yet completely natural? I'll tell you. A lifetime of commitment combined with pure genius and musical telepathy set loose, UNLEASHED, given free rein.

Fundamentally, a project like this gains nothing by heavy-duty analysis, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead. Trust me on this: Just buy it.

Track Listing
1. Rural Renewal
2. Creepin'
3. Heartland
4. Healing Coming On, A
5. Sing the Song
6. Shotgun House Groove
7. Territory, The
8. Greasy Spoon
9. Viva de Funk
10. Lazy Sundays
11. Goin' Home

 

[Dennie]

New Beginning -- CD

Tracy Chapman

1995 Elektra Records

"Give Me One Reason" won a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. Tracy Chapman earned four additional Grammy nominations for NEW BEGINNING. "Give Me One Reason" was nominated for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and the album was nominated for Best Pop Album.

What made Tracy Chapman's self-titled 1988 debut significant was her ability to bring the troubling stories of America's underbelly to an audience mostly removed from such problems, but eager to listen. Her supremely crafted songs quickly became anthems, making her the first popular African-American singer-songwriter to reach mega-stardom. Seven years later, Chapman's fourth album, NEW BEGINNING, arrives with new stories, while diving into previously unexplored territory.

Chapman's knack for gripping storytelling is most evident on the chilling "Cold Feet," which describes the dangerous choices rational people often make to get ahead. Her protagonist takes only one risk in an otherwise peril-free life, but it turns out to be a fatal one. While we've all heard similar tales, "Cold Feet" forces even the most self-assured listener to examine his/her own decisions. Where NEW BEGINNING differs from her earlier work is Tracy's willingness to turn the microscope on herself. "Heaven's Here On Earth" affords us a glimpse of her spiritual side, while "At This Point In My Life" is Chapman at her most introspective. These songs show us more of Tracy Chapman than we've seen before and, in the tradition of the best singer-songwriters, force us to examine ourselves.

All songs written by Tracy Chapman

"Heaven's Here on Earth" – 5:23
"New Beginning" – 5:33
"Smoke and Ashes" – 6:39
"Cold Feet" – 5:40
"At This Point in My Life" – 5:09
"The Promise" – 5:28
"The Rape of the World" – 7:07
"Tell It Like It Is" – 6:08
"Give Me One Reason" – 4:31
"Remember the Tinman" – 5:45
"I'm Ready" – 4:56

Bonus track: "Save a Space For Me" appended to "I'm Ready"

 

[Botch]

 

[topper]

1999 release by Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
of "In Step" (released 1989) + additional recordings

1. The House Is Rockin'
2. Crossfire
3. Tightrope
4. Let Me Love You Baby
5. Leave My Girl Alone
6. Travis Walk
7. Wall Of Denial
8. Scratch-N-Sniff
9. Love Me Darlin'
10. Riviera Paradise
(bonus tracks) ~~~ 'previously unreleased'
11. SRV speaks
12. The House Is Rockin' (live)
13. Let Me Love You Baby (live)
14. Texas Flood (live)
15. Life Without You (live)

definitely worth adding to a SRV collection . . . .

 

[Dennie]

Restless -- CD

Shelby Lynne

1995 Magnatone Records

Amazon.com

Producer Brent Maher had to do something with his time after his prize clients, the Judds, broke up, and in Shelby Lynne, he has found one of the few women in Nashville who can match Wynonna Judd in vocal firepower. In 1993, Maher produced and co-wrote Lynne's Temptation, a terrific album of big-band country swing which somehow got lost in the shuffle. Lynne's sequel,Restless, is a return to the country mainstream after her left-turn detour through swing. When Lynne opens all the stops in her throat and just wails, as she does on the album's first single "Slow Me Down," there's no mistaking the sheer strength of her voice. But there's a lot more to her talent than that; she can down shift into a conversational murmur, as she does on "Talkin' to Myself," and still make you hang on every word--just by the way she maintains a full, intense tone even at the lowest volumes. Most importantly, her command of tricky rhythmic phrasing reminds one of Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson and few others in country-music history. All in all, this marks the full flowering of a major country talent and stands as one of the landmark events of 1995.--Geoffrey Himes

1. "Slow Me Down" (Stephanie Davis, Shelby Lynne, Brent Maher) – 3:14
2. "Another Chance at Love" (Maher, Allen Shamblin) – 2:25
3. "Talkin' to Myself Again" (Jamie O'Hara) – 3:18
4. "Restless" (Lynne, Maher, O'Hara) – 3:05
5. "Just for the Touch of Your Hand" (Lynne, Maher, O'Hara) – 3:56
6. "Hey Now Little Darling" (Lynne, Maher, O'Hara) – 3:02
7. "I'm Not the One" (Kent Blazy, Craig Wiseman) – 3:52
8. "Reach for the Rhythm" (Lynne, Maher, O'Hara) – 2:20
9. "Wish I Knew" (Rod McGaha) – 3:44
10. "Swingtown" (Lynne, Maher, O'Hara) – 2:34

 

[Dennie]

Worrisome Heart -- CD

Melody Gardot

2008 Verve Records

Product Description

". . . in a place where Billie Holiday meets Tom Waits . . . has moments that recall pieces of Nina Simone, early Rickie Lee Jones, and even the sophistication of Cole Porter. " - Business Week

Although there are elements of jazz, blues and folk in her music, it is simultaneously all of those things and none of them. Her engaging songs and sultry controlled vocals possess a timeless quality that places them in the tradition of the great female vocalists on Verve, whose work have also not been confined to any one genre or style
1. Worrisome Heart
2. All That I Need Is Love
3. Gone
4. Sweet Memory
5. Some Lessons
6. Quiet Fire
7. One Day
8. Love Me Like a River Does
9. Goodnite
10. Twilight (Instrumental)

 

[Botch]

 

[Dennie]

The Gift -- CD

Larry Carlton

1996 GRP Records - Promo Copy

It's what you expect from LC...pure fluid guitar mastery!!!, November 9, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Gift (Audio CD)

The "Gift" is exactly that! For the easy listening enthusiast this is as classic a work as you will find. From the title cut to the "fab" Fab Four rework(Things we said today),featuring the lovely Michelle Pillar Carlton, This album will take you from calm escapes to the spine chilling riffs LC is legendary for. A must have for the truly complete Jazz collection. Thanks Larry!

Track listing

1. Ridin' the Treasure
2. Things We Said Today - (featuring Michele Pillar Carlton)
3. Goin' Nowhere
4. Gift, The
5. Shop 'Till You Drop
6. Pammie Dear
7. Osaka Cool
8. My Old Town
9. Mourning Dove
10. Buddy

 

[Dennie]

Picnic -- CD

Robert Earl Keen

1997 Arista Records

Picnic, April 23, 2001
By Matthew Parks (DURHAM, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Picnic (Audio CD)

PICNIC was Robert Earl Keen's 1st new studio record after leaving his longtime label Sugar Hill, for the greener ($$$) pastures of a major label. Though some of the homey, folky intimacy of Keen's early records is lost, it is made up for with newfound confidence and fullness of sound that manifests itself as a multi-layered, multi-dimensional, somewhat more alt. rock-ish sound.

Although primarily noted as a songwriter, an often-overlooked aspect of Keen's talent is his gift for interpreting other writer's material. Terry Allen's "Amarillo Highway," for example, on BIGGER PIECE OF THE SKY, and his definitive rendition of the Steve Earle-penned "Tom Ames' Prayer" from GRINGO HONEYMOON. On PICNIC, Keen again shows his gift for making other folks' songs his own on James McMurtry's classic of Texas topography "Levelland," and a somber take on Dave Alvin's brilliant-but-neglected gem "Fourth of July."

Far be it from Keen to rely on other guys' material to get him through an album, though. Keen is at his story-telling best on "Undone," "Oh, Rosie," and "Shades and Gray," and Margo Timmins (the talented vocalist from the Cowboy Junkies) lends some additional vocal color to the equally impressive "Over the Waterfall" and "Then Came Lo Mein."

All tracks written by Robert Earl Keen, except where noted

"Undone" – 3:47
"Over the Waterfall" – 4:30
"Levelland" (James McMurtry) – 5:11
"I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight" – 4:08
"Oh Rosie" – 5:23
"Runnin' with the Night" – 4:15
"The Coming Home of the Son and Brother" (J. D. Hutchison) – 3:53
"Shades of Gray" – 5:07
"Fourth of July" (Dave Alvin)– 3:59
"Then Came Lo Mein" – 3:57