What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Best of WAR and More -- CD

WAR

1991 Avenue Records

Amazon.com

War peppers their music with Latin rhythms and instrumentations, mixing in elements of funk with oldies rock & roll to create a nonstop summer-block-party sound. Hits like "The Cisco Kid" and "Why Can't We Be Friends?" are characterized by the band's lower-register vocals and beg for a singalong. "Spill the Wine, " a hit during Eric Burden's tenure with War, lacks the freer, good-time feel of the later material, but "Low Rider, " a bottom-heavy salsa driven by a raunchy harmonica, remains one of the band's most popular songs. The Best of War ... and More goes beyond retro appeal, displaying a timeless quality. --Steve Gdula

1. Livin' In The Red
2. Low Rider
3. The Cisco Kid
4. Slippin' Into Darkness
5. Me and Baby Brother
6. Galaxy
7. Spill The Wine
8. All Day Music
9. Why Can't We Be Friends?
10. Summer
11. City Country City
12. Whose Cadillac Is That?
13. Low Rider (Remix)

 

[Dennie]

The Persuasions Sing The Beatles -- SACD

The Persuasions

2002 Chesky Records

Amazon.com

It's never a surprise when someone covers a Beatles song. But what is surprising on The Persuasions Sing the Beatles is the choice of songs. The fabulous a cappella foursome taking on the Fab Four is a heartfelt and inspired idea (and recorded live in a Manhattan church--talk about paying homage!). But it doesn't always succeed. That said, Persuasions fans will find genuine pleasure in hearing songs such as "Oh! Darling," "Yesterday," "Ob La Di, Ob La Da," and "Come Together" (with its rich vocal accents and reverberating bass lines). These songs readily lend themselves to the a cappella magic of Jerry, Jayotis, Ray, and Jim, their vocal highlights perfect for the group's persuasive alchemy. And there's plenty of transformation as the group mines the doo-wop soul roots of McCartney's "Darling" and the timeless solitude of "Yesterday." Even more pleasing is "Eight Days a Week," where the Beatles' playful lyrics meet the Persuasion's powerful frontline vocals. The other more curious takes of "The Ballad of John and Yoko," Rocky Raccoon," and "Imagine" (technically a Lennon solo effort) don't always hit the mark. Still, reinvention and innovation lie at the heart of any tribute record, and on that score, The Persuasions Sing the Beatles should satisfy both camps long enough until a follow-up delivers another 14 songs the world knows and sings by heart. --Martin Keller

Album Tracks

1. Eight Days a Week
2. Oh! Darling
3. Come Together
4. Rocky Raccoon
5. Octopus's Garden
6. Love Me Do
7. With a Little Help from My Friends
8. From Me to You
9. Yesterday
10. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
11. Don't Let Me Down
12. Ballad of John and Yoko
13. Imagine
14. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)

 

[Dennie]

Time and Time Again -- CD

Paul Motian - Bill Frisell - Joe Lovano

2007 ECM Records

By NENAD GEORGIEVSKI, 2008

There's always magic in the air whenever Paul Motian , Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano get together and this album is no exception. A sequel to the brilliant I Have the Room Above Her (ECM, 2005), this is another master painting by these fine artists. Jazz has always favored individual voices and expressionism, and these players have proven themselves undisputed masters on their instruments. But jazz also favors teamwork, something that is definitely evident on Time and Time Again. Several decades on, the musical partnership between drummer Motian, saxophonist Lovano and guitarist Frisell is stronger than ever.

Since no bass or piano is used here, whatever the band tries to express is done in a reflective and calm manner. Contemplation is the key word. The musicians create an alluring aural palette that mesmerizes, mystifies and beguiles. They breathe throughout as one organism, building subtle layers on tracks such as the meditative "Cambodia" and "Light Blue," shifting harmonic constructions seamlessly on the raucous "OneTwo" and wandering lonely towards the spontaneous improvisation "In Remembrance of Things Past." "Wednesday" has some beautiful whirling sax melodies, with Motian's elegant brushes sounding like birds' wings. The overall setting is perfect for Frisell's relaxed, lyric style, his guitar providing beautiful tapestries. All of the compositions have an ethereal and fluid quality, thus giving an impression of almost effortless improvisational mastery.

From the opening of "Cambodia" until the closing title track, the compositions have a strange and creative dreaminess about them. One moment things are sneakily avant-garde, the next, conservatively lyrical. As a collective experiment in spontaneous collaboration, Time and Time Again is a great success.

Track listing

1. Cambodia
2. Wednesday
3. Onetwo
4. Whirlpool
5. In Remembrance of Things Past
6. K.T.
7. This Nearly Was Mine
8. Party Line
9. Light Blue
10. Time and Time Again

 

[Dennie]

Hymns of the 49th parallel -- CD

k.d. lang

2004 Nonesuch Records

Amazon.com

Was it homesickness that compelled longtime Los Angeles resident k.d. lang to fashion her one-woman campaign for north-of-the-border nationalism, or just plain good sense? All Canadian content has long been a mainstay of the Canadian Broadcasting System, but few have selected their material with such a fine hand and a high aesthetic. The expatriate singer has taken great pains to create a sophisticated homage to her Canadian roots, elegantly reinterpreting 11 songs penned by some of her more illustrious countrymen (and women) such as Jane Siberry, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen. The idiosyncratic chanteuse turns Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" into an aching monochromatic lament, exploring new tributaries of pain that didn't exist in the original, while recasting Neil Young's "Helpless" into a haunting anthem of memory and comfort, all the while sounding anything but helpless. A gorgeous love letter to her brethren, complete with an intelligent and understated orchestration. --Jaan Uhelszki

"After the Gold Rush" (Neil Young) – 4:00
"Simple" (Lang, David Piltch) – 3:02
"Helpless" (Neil Young) – 4:15
"A Case of You" (Joni Mitchell) – 5:12
"The Valley" (Jane Siberry) – 5:31
"Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen) – 5:01
"One Day I Walk" (Bruce Cockburn) – 3:24
"Fallen" (Ron Sexsmith) – 2:56
"Jericho" (Mitchell) – 3:45
"Bird on the Wire" (Leonard Cohen) – 4:28
"Love is Everything" (Jane Siberry) – 5:43

 

[Dennie]

Prairie Wind -- CD

Neil Young

2005 Reprise Records

Amazon.com

An artist for all musical seasons, Neil Young returns to autumnal harvest mode on Prairie Wind, with homespun material and sing-song melodies that renew the spirit of some of his most popular releases. Yet the mood here is darker in its maturity than on Harvest and Harvest Moon--the previous releases in what now sounds like a trilogy--and the arrangements have greater range and aural depth, with Wayne Jackson of the soulful Memphis Horns, the Fisk University Jubilee Singers gospel choir, and a string section employed to striking effect. This is a song cycle of dreams, memories, family ties, and the passage of time--what is lost and what endures. The elliptical, epic "No Wonder," with its evocation of 9/11, ranks with the most ambitious songs of Young's career, while "Falling Off the Face of the Earth," "It's a Dream," and the bluesy title cut combine childlike innocence with unsettling experience. Spooner Oldham's church keyboards and coproducer Ben Keith's steel guitar reinforce the sound's sturdy simplicity. Young has released a lot of albums in different musical styles, but Prairie Wind feels like a homecoming, and ranks with his very best. --Don McLeese

All songs written by Neil Young, and ©2005 Silver Fiddle Music (ASCAP)

"The Painter" – 4:36
"No Wonder" – 5:45
"Falling Off the Face of the Earth" – 3:35
"Far From Home" – 3:47
"It's a Dream" – 6:31
"Prairie Wind" – 7:34
"Here for You" – 4:32
"This Old Guitar" – 5:32
"He Was the King" – 6:08
"When God Made Me" – 4:05

 

[heeman]

All songs by Joe Walsh, except where noted.


"Welcome to the Club" – 5:14
"Falling Down" (Walsh, Don Henley) – 4:56
"Pavanne for the Sleeping Beauty" (Maurice Ravel) – 1:56
"Time Out" (Walsh, Terry Trebandt) – 4:28
"All Night Laundry Mat Blues" – 0:58
"Turn to Stone" (Walsh, Terry Trebandt) – 3:47
"Help Me Through the Night" – 3:35
"County Fair" – 6:43
"Song for Emma" – 4:20

 

[Zing]

 

[No-L]

^^So I'm confused...do you like it?


:angelic-green:

 

[Botch]

I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon, hoping I might get it yesterday (I didn't), and now its 4:30 and its still not here...

 

[Zing]

I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon, hoping I might get it yesterday (I didn't), and now its 4:30 and its still not here...

I noticed about 3 months ago they stopped doing that. I wonder if they caught some shit over it. Nearly every pre-order that boasted receiving it the day it's released, arrived a day early on Monday. Everything I've pre-ordered like that since June or July has arrived on Tuesday.

Is your package trackable, Botch? Is it "on vehicle out for delivery"?

 

[Botch]

Is your package trackable, Botch? Is it "on vehicle out for delivery"?

Yes, and yes. Guess it must've slipped thru the cracks.

 

[heeman]

Rainbow

1980 - 1981 Lineup


Ritchie Blackmore - guitar
Don Airey - keyboards, backing vocals
Roger Glover - bass, backing vocals
Bobby Rondinelli - drums
Joe Lynn Turner - lead vocals, rhythm guitar



"I Surrender" (Russ Ballard) – 4:10 (Island Music Ltd.)
"Spotlight Kid" (Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover) – 5:04
"No Release" (Blackmore, Glover, Don Airey) – 5:42
"Magic" (Brian Moran) – 4:15 (Becket Music)
"Vielleicht Das Nächste Mal (Maybe the Next Time)" (Blackmore, Airey) – 3:23
"Can't Happen Here" (Blackmore, Glover) – 5:09
"Freedom Fighter" (Joe Lynn Turner, Blackmore, Glover) – 4:28
"Midtown Tunnel Vision" (Turner, Blackmore, Glover) – 4:44
"Difficult To Cure (Beethoven's Ninth)" (Beethoven, arr. by Blackmore, Glover, Airey) – 5:58

 

[topper]

Before his untimely death from Cancer in 1981, Bob Marley & the Wailers had been working on their 11th album for Island Records, "Confrontation". Unfortunately, Marley could not oversee much of this album's progress and the album would not be released until 1983, nearly two yeears after Marley's death. It contains a slew of stellar unreleased material from 1978-1981 and was intended to be his last in a trilogy of specifically African-themed albums, having been preceeded by 1979's "Survival," and 1980's "Uprising".

1 Chant Down Babylon
2 Buffalo Soldier
3 Jump Nyabinghi
4 Mix Up, Mix Up
5 Give Thanks & Praises
6 Blackman Redemption
7 Trench Town
8 Stiff Necked Fools
9 I Know
10 Rastaman Liive UP

 

[topper]

 

[topper]

 

[mzpro5]

Topper, you like guitar check this out.

The late Danny Gatton, Master of the Telecaster.

88 Elmira St. is a Grammy Award-nominated[1] 1991 album by guitarist Danny Gatton.[2] The album was Gatton's fifth, but his first on a major record label—Elektra.[2][3] The instrumental album covers a number of genres, including jazz, country, rockabilly, and blues.[2]

On the album, Gatton used a 1990 Fender Telecaster (his signature version with Joe Barden pickups), a Fender acoustic, a Martin D-28-32, a 1954 Gibson ES 295, a Gibson RB800 5 string banjo, a 1950 Fender 6-string lap steel, and a 1958 5-string Fender Precision Bass.[5] For amplification, he used a 1963 Fender Vibrolux, a 1963 Fender Super Reverb, a 1958 Fender Twin, a 1964 Fender Deluxe, and a 1958 Fender Bassman.[5] Shannon Ford used a Drum Workshop kit with Sabian cymbals.[5] John Previti's basses were the 5-string Fender Precision Bass, a Gibson Ripper and an unspecified upright bass.[5] The keyboards—used by Bill Holloman and Tommy Lepson—were a Hammond B3, a Yamaha DX7, and a Roland D50.[5]

1. Funky Mama 5:45
2. Elmira St. Boogie 4:09
3. Blues Newburg 4:13
4. Quiet Village 4:55
5. Red Label 5:10
6. In My Room 4:55
7. The Simpsons 3:20
8. Muthaship 4:42
9. Pretty Blue 6:13
10. Fandingus 3:10
11. Slidin' Home

 

[mzpro5]

Maybe it says something about rap's limitations that hip-hop's most creative acts move away from the form in order to expand artistically. While the Beastie Boys, head increasingly back toward hard rock, P.M. Dawn continues its course into the outer space of sonic gloss. Perhaps Jesus Wept, the duo's third album, relies on a celestial combination of airy R&B and acoustic hippie pop to float the Cordes brothers (Prince Be and J.C. the Eternal) into a higher level of consciousness than booming beats and rhythmic rhymes could take them. Or more likely, P.M. Dawn's musical evolution simply indicates these Jersey City homeboys are individuals unwilling to be limited or formatted.

Jesus Wept is, in fact, not all that different from the heady potion of English psychedelic synth pop, east coast new jack sway, and new age metaphysics the group brewed on 1993's The Bliss Album...?, only it's much more that way. Prince Be's existential voyage through his religious/spiritual identity crisis is surprisingly endearing, and songs like "The 9:45 Wake-Up Dream" and "Apathy...Superstar!?" are every bit as inventive as their titles suggest. And though the duo's typically heavy-handed production can make the mix sound more like marshmallow at times, the lush string/piano/acoustic guitar orchestrations ("Sonchyenne"), smooth dance beats ("My Own Personal Gravity"), and well-placed samples ("Downtown Venus") make Jesus Wept another exquisite slice of P.M. Dawn's gourmet auditory pastries. --Roni Sarig

1. Intro 1:41
2. Downtown Venus 3:33
3. My Own Personal Gravity 5:26
4. I'll Be Waiting For You 4:26
5. Forever Damaged (The 96th) 3:09
6. Apathy...Superstar!? 4:29
7. The Puppet Show 4:05
8. Silence...Recorded At The Gravesite Of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 0:20
9. Why God Loves You 4:08
10. Miles From Anything 5:08
11. The 9:45 Wake-Up Dream 4:51
12. Soncheyenne 3:39
13. A Lifetime 3:35
14. Sometimes I Miss You So Much (Dedicated To The Christ Consciousness) 4:42
15. Fantasia's Confidential Ghetto: 1999/Once In A Lifetime/Coconut

 

[mzpro5]

All for You is a tribute to the Nat "King" Cole Trio of the 1940s, when Cole performed as both a singer and a pianist. Krall, like her heroes Lena Horne and Carmen McRae, is also a singer-pianist, and she plays both roles on most of the songs here. She's able to link her singing to her piano playing in sympathetic ways and projects tremendous feeling through both. Like Cole in the '40s, Krall plays with a drummerless trio--here with guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Paul Keller. Their sense of intimate rapport is especially valuable on ballads such as "You Call It Madness" and "I'm Thru with Love," but also allows such uptempo tunes as "Hit That Jive Jack" to swing with surprising lightness. --Geoffrey Himes


1.I'm An Errand Girl For Rhythm
2.Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You
3.You Call It Madness
4.Frim Fram Sauce
5.Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
6.Baby Baby All The Time
7.Hit That Jive Jack
8.You're Looking At Me
9.I'm Thru With Love
10.Deed I Do
11.A Blossom Fell
12.If I Had You

 

[Rope]

Rope

 

[mzpro5]

Rope

I had completely forgotten I pre-ordered this. Looked on the front porch and there it was, delivered yesterday.

Just put it on.