What Are You Listening To?

[Batman]

 

[Botch]

 

[Dennie]

Jimmy's Mad as Hell and he's not going to take it anymore.
He needs more....... FRUITCAKES!!! :angry-tappingfoot:

Fruitcakes -- CD :handgestures-thumbup:

Jimmy Buffett

1994 MCA Nashville
Amazon.com

Fruitcakes is Jimmy Buffett's best recording in some time, for he has a better handle on the Caribbean flavors in his Gulf Coast beach-bum music than ever before. The Grateful Dead's "Uncle John's Band," for example, is completely recast as an easygoing calypso tune, thanks to Robert Greenidge's steel drums and Angel Quinones' congas. Even more radical is the tranformation of "Sunny Afternoon," the Kinks' satire of upper-class luxury which Buffett restates as a celebration of his own lifestyle. On the other hand, Buffett can be pretty insufferable when he waxes sentimental about his beach house, his childhood library and his daughter on the ballads "Lone Palm," "Love in the Library" and "Delaney Talks to Statues." --Geoffrey Himes

1. "Everybody's Got a Cousin in Miami" (Jimmy Buffett, Michael Tschudin) – 7:19
2. "Fruitcakes" (Jimmy Buffett, Amy Lee) – 7:40
3. "Lone Palm" (Jimmy Buffett) – 4:28
4. "Six String Music" (Jimmy Buffett, G.E. Smith) – 3:25
5. "Uncle John's Band" (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter) – 4:30
6. "Love in the Library" (Jimmy Buffett, Mac McAnally) – 4:40
7. "Quietly Making Noise" (Jimmy Buffett, Michael Tschudin) – 5:51
8. "Frenchman for the Night" (Jimmy Buffett, Roger Guth) – 4:30
9. "Sunny Afternoon" (Ray Davies) – 4:12
10. "Vampires, Mummies and the Holy Ghost" (Jimmy Buffett, Roger Guth, Peter Mayer, Jim Mayer) – 4:53
11. "She's Got You" (Hank Cochran) – 2:46
12. "Delaney Talks to Statues" (Jimmy Buffett, Mac McAnally, Amy Lee) – 3:41
13. "Apocalypso" (Matt Betton) – 3:56

 

[Dennie]

Solitude Standing -- CD :handgestures-thumbup:

Suzanne Vega

1987 A&M Records

Still standing head & shoulders above anything else..., October 4, 2001

There are those who want fireworks, Kiss-style with their music. There are those who want depth and musical sophistication--and get into some cerebral art-rock like Pink Floyd, where excellence and excess aren't that far apart.

....And then there's just good music. Like Suzanne Vega. English majors everywhere probably drool over this album, since it's striking that strange but serene balance between elegant simplicity and artistic depth. No one else could tackle growing pains, domestic abuse, the inadequacy of words, the cheapness of exterior beauty, and countless other subjects with such an honest, unassuming style. Encounters with other devotees of this woman have proved interesting--usually female, usually of a slight hippie persuasion (not that this is bad!). However, I took a chance on this album and I promptly became a believer; it's hard not to. There's something about her music that is genuinely timeless, however much people might try to lump her into the Lilith Fair crowd. People will still be spinning "Luka" long after trends have come and gone. She's a true artist in the best sense of the word, and people of her honesty and depth are too rare in the music business.

1. "Tom's Diner" – 2:09 (written 1981)
2. "Luka" – 3:52 (written 1984)
3. "Ironbound/Fancy Poultry" (Vega, Anton Sanko) – 6:19
4. "In the Eye" (Vega, Marc Shulman) – 4:16
5. "Night Vision" (Vega, Sanko) – 2:47
6. "Solitude Standing" (Vega, Visceglia, Sanko, Shulman, Stephen Ferrera) – 4:49
7. "Calypso" – 4:14 (written 1978)
8. "Language" (Vega, Visceglia) – 3:57
9. "Gypsy" – 4:04 (written 1978) Produced by Steve Addabbo, Lenny Kaye and Mitch Easter
10. "Wooden Horse (Caspar Hauser’s Song)" (Vega, Visceglia, Sanko, Shulman, Ferrera) – 5:13
11. "Tom's Diner (Reprise)" – 2:40

 

[-B-]

 

[Rope]

Rope

 

[topper]

Blue Light Til Dawn -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :text-bump: :handgestures-thumbup:

Cassandra Wilson

1993 Blue Note Records
***************************************************

I've heard Cassandra on my local NPR jazz station, but don't own any of her music. Sounds like this one would be excellent as my first.

I'm very impressed with her voice and her style.

[ thanks, Dennie. ]


Trying to slow down a bit on music purchases, but following these Music threads squashes that intention.

( The Boz Scaggs that Rope is spinning will probably be next. )

>

 

[PaulyT]

Yeah, I got that Scaggs album (Dig), and while I like some of the tracks (Vanishing Point is very cool), overall it's not that interesting to me. I like much more the other one of his that came up here earlier - Come On Home. That's got some cool sorta bluesy/jazzy stuff going on.

 

[Botch]

I brought four CDs with me driving down to Tooele this last weekend, and this one stayed in the player the whole time... :music-listening:

 

[Dennie]

The Definitive Collection -- CD :handgestures-thumbup:

Steely Dan

2006 Geffen Records

Stands the test of time..., April 16, 2010
By M. Orozco "Amateur Critic" (Los Angeles, CA)

Infused with a good dose of masculine, edgy vocals and clever lyrics intended to bewilder, this collection of Steely Dan is a much welcomed antidote to today's vacuous, image driven, reality-show produced musical offerings. Steely Dan's music makes such an impression that you shouldn't be surprised if one day out the blue you have a strange compulsion to utter "it's your favorite foreign movie" for no reason at all. It's the "Dan" effect. Enjoy, and while you're at it, Google "Steely Dan" for the meaning behind the band's name. Those sly musicians!

1. "Do It Again" – 5:57
2. "Dirty Work" – 3:10
3. "Reelin' In the Years" – 4:37
4. "Bodhisattva" – 5:18
5. "My Old School" – 5:45
6. "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" – 4:32
7. "Black Friday" – 3:39
8. "Bad Sneakers" – 3:20
9. "Kid Charlemagne" – 4:39
10. "Deacon Blues" – 7:32
11. "Peg" – 3:55
12. "F.M." – 4:50
13. "Hey Nineteen" – 5:05
14. "Babylon Sisters" – 5:51
15. "Cousin Dupree" – 5:27
16. "Things I Miss The Most" – 3:57

 

[Dennie]

Blue Light Til Dawn -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :text-bump: :handgestures-thumbup:

Cassandra Wilson

1993 Blue Note Records
***************************************************

I've heard Cassandra on my local NPR jazz station, but don't own any of her music. Sounds like this one would be excellent as my first.

I'm very impressed with her voice and her style.

[ thanks, Dennie. ]


Trying to slow down a bit on music purchases, but following these Music threads squashes that intention.

( The Boz Scaggs that Rope is spinning will probably be next. )

>

Hey Topper, always good to see you! bscene-drinkingcheers:

Cassandra's "Loverly" was my first of her albums, it is "Jazz Standards" and it really good.

On her 2006 Blue Note recording Thunderbird, vocalist Cassandra Wilson explored the outer reaches of jazz with a multilayered sonic approach piloted by pop producer T Bone Burnett and supported by his A-team of studio musicians including guitarist Marc Ribot and drummer Jim Keltner. This time, Wilson ventures into another fascinating direction with Loverly, a tantalizing, rhythmically driven collection of jazz standards given new luster with a top-drawer band of friends that includes Marvin Sewell on guitar, Jason Moran on piano, Herlin Riley on drums, Lekan Babalola on percussion and Lonnie Plaxico on bass.

“I wanted to work with spare arrangements this time,” says Wilson of Loverly, her first full album of standards since her 1988 JMT album Blue Skies. “And I decided to dig back into standards with a small, compact group of musicians. I don’t record the typical jazz standards a lot, but I love them and that’s how I honed my craft. I studied the standards, listening to how other singers put their swing into them. But it’s hard to do standards. You can’t really sing them until you understand them.”

Loverly tracks include "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most," “Caravan,” “Gone With the Wind,” “Black Orpheus,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “Till There Was You,” “A Sleeping Bee,” “The Very Thought of You” and “St. James Infirmary.” Plus, Wilson and company conjure up a joint original, the grooved “Arere.”

Cassandra Wilson Loverly Track Listing

1. Lover Come Back to Me
2. Black Orpheus
3. Wouldn’t It Be Loverly
4. Gone with the Wind
5. Caravan
6. Till There Was You
7. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
8. Arere
9. St. James Infirmary
10. Dust My Broom
11. The Very Thought of You
12. A Sleepin’ Bee

On "The very thought of you", it's just her and a Stand Up Bass and during the Bass Solo, you can hear her walk away and light a cigarette, then when it is time for her to sing again, she starts singing before she walks back over to the microphone. It makes it even more "real"!

I don't think you can go wrong with either (or any) of her albums, but "Loverly" will always be special to me! "Belly of the Sun" is also very good!

Dennie :twocents-mytwocents:

 

[Botch]

You guys made me dig out:

Cassandra Wilson, "Traveling Miles"

 

[topper]

Yeah, I got that Scaggs album (Dig), and while I like some of the tracks (Vanishing Point is very cool), overall it's not that interesting to me. I like much more the other one of his that came up here earlier - Come On Home. That's got some cool sorta bluesy/jazzy stuff going on.

**********************************

Thanks for your input.
I'll check 'em both out before choosing which I like best.

I've been a big Boz Scaggs fan for many years.

:text-nocomment:

 

[Batman]

 

[Dennie]

Belly Of The Sun -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Cassandra Wilson

2002 Blue Note Records
Amazon.com

By now, it's a moot point whether Cassandra Wilson is singing jazz or not. By unifying what were once considered disparate styles and song forms with her languorously rich vocals and offbeat instrumental textures, she has become the queen of her own genre. Largely recorded at a one-time train station in her native Mississippi, Belly of the Sun ranges from country-blues great Fred McDowell's gritty "You Gotta Move" (popularized by the Rolling Stones and here featuring acoustic-guitar wiz Richard Johnston) to Brazilian immortal Antonio Carlos Jobim's winsome "Waters of March" (featuring a children's choir) to a hauntingly feminized version of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman." Revealing her command of narrative material, Wilson draws seductive meaning from Bob Dylan's "Shelter from the Storm" and the Band's "The Weight." Featuring Kevin Breit and Marvin Sewell on all manner of guitars and related string instruments, Belly of the Sun also boasts three strong Wilson originals, including "Just Another Parade," a jazzy-soulful duet with India Arie, and "Show Me a Love." As her own producer, Wilson comes up with less compelling backgrounds than Craig Street, who produced her darker-tinged breakthrough albums. Still, this is her most seamless, smoothest-flowing, and most effortlessly expansive recording. "I need to feel some rich black soil that's moist between my toes," she sings. You can feel her Southern roots in the grooves as well. --Lloyd Sachs

1. "The Weight" (Robbie Robertson) – 6:05
2. "Justice" (Cassandra Wilson) – 5:27
3. "Darkness on the Delta" (Jay Livingston, Al J. Neiburg, Marty Symes) – 3:47
4. "Waters of March" (Antonio Carlos Jobim) – 4:26
5. "You Gotta Move" (Mississippi Fred McDowell) – 2:44
6. "Only a Dream in Rio" (James Taylor) – 4:32
7. "Just Another Parade" (Wilson) – 6:05 featuring India.Arie
8. "Wichita Lineman" (Jimmy Webb) – 5:48
9. "Shelter From the Storm" (Bob Dylan) – 5:17
10. "Drunk as Cooter Brown" (Wilson) – 4:58
11. "Show Me a Love" (Robinson, Wilson) – 3:49
12. "Road So Clear" (Richmond) – 5:22
13. "Hot Tamales" (Robert Johnson) – 1:43

 

[Batman]

Peter Gabriel: Shaking The Tree

 

[Batman]

 

[Dennie]

Low Spark of High Heeled Boys -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Traffic

1971/1990 Island Records

Amazon.com

Despite not even charting in the band's native England, this album became a platinum-selling American hit on the basis of three enduring FM radio staples--the expansive, jazzy impressionism of the near-12 minute title track, and the more straightforward funk of the R&B charmers "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" and "Rock & Roll Stew." Those disparate tracks perfectly underscore Traffic's rich musical appeal and its restless, sometimes problematic creative and interpersonal relationships. With now thrice-departed Dave Mason out of the mix and percussionists Jim Gordon and Reebop Kwaku Baah participating in the studio for the first time, the band's innate musicality truly takes wing. Winwood's familiar vocal phrasings nearly take a backseat to his fluid, dramatic guitar work on "Rock & Roll Stew Roll" and "Many a Mile to Freedom," while the Tull-ish, folk-madrigal sensibilities of "Hidden Treasure" and "Rainmaker" are further punctuated by Chris Wood's deft flute and woodwind flourishes. Compared with the more organic John Barleycorn album, the contrast is all the more remarkable. While many contemporary bands were experimenting with various attempts at fusion, few achieved this collection's rock-jazz-folk-R&B range or level of often subtle sophistication.

All songs written by Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi unless otherwise noted.

1. "Hidden Treasure" – 4:16
2. "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" – 11:35
3. "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" (Jim Capaldi) – 4:55
4. "Rock & Roll Stew" (Ric Grech, Jim Gordon) – 4:29
5. "Many a Mile to Freedom" (Steve Winwood, Anna Capaldi[1]) – 7:26
6. "Rainmaker" – 7:39

* The initial CD release placed Light Up or Leave Me Alone after Many a Mile to Freedom.

Bonus track (2002 reissue)

1. "Rock & Roll Stew Parts 1 & 2" (Grech, Gordon) – 6:07

 

[Batman]

 

[Dennie]

Raven -- CD :handgestures-thumbup:

Don Grusin

1990 GRP Records

As he proved in his production of David Benoit's 1989 smash Urban Daydreams, the younger brother of Dave Grusin is a master at texturing various synth textures with the acoustic piano. On his solo debut Grusin once again does a remarkable job of this, mixing up his styles along the way to include bits and pieces of funk, Brazilian and mainstream jazz, along with healthy doses of the obligatory pop jazz formulas. Though the ballads here, such as "Oracle," are likable, Grusin the player is most at home on funky and frisky numbers like the stealthy "Catwalk," which features some tasty acoustic improvisations layered sparingly amidst a contagious synth groove. The best cut is another funkfest, "Graffiti Bird," which features the very punchy solo chops of saxman Eric Marienthal. The horns of Gary Herbig, Gary Grant, and Jerry Hey brass up this cut, as well as the softer line of "Light in the Window," while Sal Marquez's trumpet (which added so much to The Fabulous Baker Boys) adds a mainstream touch to songs like the title cut. The Brazilian vocalizing by Djavan makes "Two Lives" a memorable experience as well. And let's not forget kudos for the solid backbeat by bassist Flim Johnson and skinmaster Tommy Brechtlein. GRP was the smooth jazz mecca for many years, but once in a while the label released a project like this which added a lot of twists to the tried and true. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide

Track listing

1. Flight of the Raven
2. Two Lives
3. Hip Hop Be Bop
4. Oracle
5. Outback Oasis
6. Light in the Window
7. Zuma Noon
8. Um Beijo (A Kiss)
9. Graffiti-Bird
10. Highline
11. Catwalk