What Are You Listening To?
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Dennie
Well-Known Member
Fair & Square -- CD
John Prine
2005 Oh Boy Records
Amazon.com
Good things come to those who wait. During John Prine's nine-year interval between albums of original material, fans who hailed his recovery from cancer wondered whether he'd ever return to full creative speed. Here, Prine puts doubts to rest with an album that ranks with the finest of an inspired career. The big heart of "Glory of True Love," the socially conscious bite of "Some Humans Ain't Human," the reflective grace of "Taking a Walk," the wry whimsy of "Crazy as a Loon"--the hallmarks of Prine's artistry are reaffirmed on Fair & Square. The album also reflects Prine's first attempt at producing himself, with the warmth of his rough-hewn vocals finding a comfortable fit among the organic, largely acoustic arrangements. Though Prine penned 12 of the 14 cuts (including two bonus tracks, one recorded in concert), a pair of covers prove revelatory: Blaze Foley's "Clay Pigeons" sounds like it could well be one of Prine's own (with a melody that recalls "Hello in There" and a lyric of renewal that sounds like personal testament), while A.P. Carter's "Bear Creek Blues" carries an electric charge as the traditional song rocks harder than anything else on the album. With a generous selection of close to an hour of music, the album stands as a creative triumph for Prine, a fully satisfying effort that rewards the patience of his loyal fans. Welcome back. --Don McLeese
All tracks composed by John Prine, except where indicated:
1. "Glory of True Love" (Prine, Roger Cook) – 4:12
2. "Crazy as a Loon" (Prine, Pat McLaughlin) – 5:03
3. "Long Monday" (Prine, Keith Sykes) – 3:22
4. "Taking a Walk" (Prine, McLaughlin) – 6:09
5. "Some Humans Ain't Human" – 7:03
6. "My Darlin' Hometown" (Prine, Roger Cook) – 3:14
7. "Morning Train" (Prine, McLaughlin) – 4:02
8. "The Moon Is Down" – 3:47
9. "Clay Pigeons" (Blaze Foley) – 4:27
10. "She Is My Everything" – 4:25
11. "I Hate It When That Happens to Me" (Prine, Donnie Fritts) – 2:49
12. "Bear Creek Blues" (A.P. Carter) – 4:45
13. "Other Side of Town" (Live recording) – 4:53
14. "Safety Joe" – 3:58
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Red Dirt Girl -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:
Emmylou Harris
2000 Nonesuch Records
Amazon.com
Consider this Emmylou Harris's emancipation proclamation--an album that confirms that 1995's adventurously atmospheric Wrecking Ball wasn't an aberration, but a preview of more radical changes to come. Long the godmother of alternative-country's traditionalist wing, Harris here writes songs with Luscious Jackson's Jill Cunniff, sings a duet with Dave Matthews ("My Antonia"), and recruits Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa to provide harmonies on the album's most compelling ballad ("Tragedy"). The production by Malcolm Burn applies sonic treatments of drum machines, shimmering guitars, and echoed vocals to a song cycle by Harris that is largely original and deeply personal, filled with dream imagery and evocations of a spiritual quest. While material such as "Michaelangelo" and "Bang the Drum Slowly" suffers from an arty ponderousness, it's doubtful that Harris has ever recorded an album that means more to her than this one. --Don McLeese
All tracks written by Emmylou Harris, except where noted.
1. "The Pearl" – 5:02
2. "Michelangelo" – 5:14
3. "I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now" – 4:47
4. "Tragedy" [with Patti Scialfa - duet vocals & Bruce Springsteen - harmony vocals] (Harris, Rodney Crowell) – 4:24
5. "Red Dirt Girl" – 4:19
6. "My Baby Needs a Shepherd" – 4:39
7. "Bang the Drum Slowly" (Harris, Guy Clark) – 4:51
8. "J'ai Fait Tout" (Harris, Jill Cunniff, Daryl Johnson) – 5:31
9. "One Big Love" (Patty Griffin, Angelo) – 4:33
10. "Hour of Gold" – 5:00
11. "My Antonia" [with Dave Matthews] – 3:43
12. "Boy from Tupelo" – 3:48
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Classic Masters -- 24-bit Remastered CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:
Robbie Robertson
2002 Capitol Records
Out of print in the U.S.! This 2002 compilation CD presents choice cuts from the solo career of the former leader of The Band, spiced up with a few curious but superior alternate mixes. The tracks are, in turn, hypnotic and smokey-groove. Much ... Full Descriptionin the same way Peter Gabriel integrated world music with british '80s Pop so does Robbie Robertson successfully incorporate American Tribal music and contemporary African American rhythym into the familiar palette of Robertsonian storytelling. Includes liner notes by Robbie Robertson. All tracks have been digitally remastered. 13 tracks.
1. Making a Noise - (Olympic version)
2. Stomp Dance
3. Unbound - (Glen Ballard Remix, Glen Ballard remix)
4. Ghost Dance - (New Mix)
5. Coyote Dance
6. In the Blood
7. Code of Handsome Lake, The
8. Mahk Jchi
9. Sacrifice - (featuring Leonard Peltier)
10. Sound Is Fading, The - (featuring Leah Hicks-Manning)
11. Golden Feather - (New Mix)
12. Peyote Healing - (featuring Verdell Primeaux/Johnny Mike)
13. Take Your Partner by the Hand - (New Mix, bonus track)
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Triumvirate -- CD
Bloomfield - Hammond - Dr. John
1973 Columbia Records
These guys may or may not have gotten together in a cynical attempt to create a roots music supergroup, but their sole album is in fact a lot better than its lack of commercial success might suggest. Each member has a signature specialty--Hammond's in country blues, Bloomfield's at the more modern Chicago variety, with Dr. John the epitome of New Orleans second-line R&B piano--and the material is split accordingly.
Hammond, however, is the designated frontman and he's up to the task, although Dr. John's evocatively gruff vocals are missed. Among the highpoints are a sensitive reading of the blues classic "It Hurts Me Too," with terrific horn charts and strong soloing by Bloomfield, and a spooky version of John Lee Hooker's "Groundhog Blues," which has the distinction of being the one song here where all three styles are convincingly meshed.
Track listing
1. Cha-Dooky-Doo
2. Last Night
3. I Yi Yi
4. Just to Be with You
5. Baby Let Me Kiss You
6. Sho 'Bout to Drive Me Wild
7. It Hurts Me Too
8. Rock Me Baby
9. Ground Hog Blues
10. Pretty Thing
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Four Corners -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:
Yellowjackets
1987 MCA Records
Taking a cue from Weather Report (not to mention a percussionist, Alex Acuña), the Yellowjackets created more exotic textures for Four Corners, often with the use of Zawinul-like synthesizers from Russell Ferrante. The album otherwise represents a shift toward more traditional jazz, felt profoundly in the rhythm section of Jimmy Haslip and new drummer William Kennedy. The change in strategy is made plain on the opening "Out of Town," which finds everyone rethinking their instrument beyond the smooth jazz of Shades. While the atmospheric production of David Hentschel and the band lends an ominous air to the music, fans may see it as a poor tradeoff for the readily identifiable (and often instantly likeable) melodies of their previous work. Though nothing leaps off of Four Corners screaming "Hum me," sections of it are mesmerizing. "Past Ports" and "Wildlife" in particular absorb the listener into a breathing musical world. The disc isn't a full conversion from smooth jazz; Marc Russo's sax is still as sweet as ever, but on a track like "Open Road" the effect is icing on a spice cake. Haslip provides some noisy patterns that suggest he was striving for more substance; in fact, he and Ferrante seem to duke it out for control of "Postcards," while everyone throws their own wrench into "Room With a View." Four Corners is the product of four separate musicians striving to cultivate their own voice, a journey that discovers some interesting music along the way. That the Yellowjackets wanted to explore beyond the fringes of smooth jazz boded well for the band's future. ~ Dave Connolly
Track listing
1. Out of Town
2. Wildlife
3. Sightseeing
4. Open Road
5. Mile High
6. Past Ports
7. Postcards
8. Room With a View
9. Geneva
10. Indigo - (bonus track)
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Here In The Real World -- CD :handgestures-thumbup:
Alan Jackson
1989 Arista Records
Amazon.com essential recording
If Alan Jackson's 1989 debut album were to be released in a crossover climate, it's debatable if anyone at country radio would give it a shot. "Too country now for country" might be the verdict. With its mournful warning that in the real world "cowboys don't always get the girl," the title ballad was an instant classic. Jackson wrote or cowrote every song on the album but one, including the semi-autobiographical "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" and "Home." In the liner notes, he referred to George Jones's death-of-country lament "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes." "I don't know if I can fill 'em, but I'd sure like to try 'em on," he wrote. Guess what? They fit. -Rick Mitchell
1. "Ace of Hearts" (Carson Chamberlain, Ron Moore, Lonnie Wilson) – 3:06
2. "Here in the Real World" (Mark Irwin, Alan Jackson) – 3:38
3. "Blue Blooded Woman" (Jackson, Roger Murrah, Keith Stegall) – 2:14
4. "Wanted" (Charlie Craig, Jackson) – 2:59
5. "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" (Jackson, Jim McBride) – 3:06
6. "She Don't Get the Blues" (Jackson, McBride) – 2:46
7. "I'd Love You All Over Again" (Jackson) – 3:11
8. "Dog River Blues" (Jackson) – 2:20
9. "Home" (Jackson) – 3:18
10. "Short Sweet Ride" (Jackson, McBride) – 2:29
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Carrying Your Love With Me -- CD
George Strait
1997 MCA Records
Amazon.com
It's easy to take George Strait for granted. After all, every year he comes out with another album of Texas dance tunes and honky-tonk ballads, both delivered with that smooth baritone purr and a rhythm as seductive as it is slippery. The quality is always incredibly high--as high as it gets in American music--but the level of surprise is always very low. Typically, Carrying Your Love with Me is as good as country music gets these days. It's different from his previous albums in only the most subtle ways: his vocal tone has a little more butter on it, and his phrasing coils and uncoils with a little more spring. But, those nuances are the key to his art. --Geoffrey Himes
1. "Round About Way" (Steve Dean, Wil Nance) – 3:02
2. "Carrying Your Love with Me" (Jeff Stevens, Steve Bogard) – 3:50
3. "One Night at a Time" (Roger Cook, Eddie Kilgallon, Earl Bud Lee) – 3:49
4. "She'll Leave You with a Smile" (Jackson Leap) – 3:06
5. "Won't You Come Home (And Talk to a Stranger)" (Wayne Kemp) – 2:49
6. "Today My World Slipped Away" (Mark Wright, Vern Gosdin) – 3:12
7. "I've Got a Funny Feeling" (Harlan Howard, Jackson Leap) – 3:00
8. "The Nerve" (Bobby Braddock) – 4:06
9. "That's Me (Every Chance I Get)" (Mark D. Sanders, Ed Hill) – 2:16
10. "A Real Good Place to Start" (Dean Dillon, Gary Nicholson) – 3:53
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Here For The Party -- CD :handgestures-thumbup:
Gretchen Wilson
2004 Epic Records
Amazon.com
Her mother was 16 when she had her, and her father moved on when she was two. By the age of 15, with a double-barrel shotgun always at the ready, she was managing a kicker bar in rural Illinois where the corn fields meet the pig farms. That gave Gretchen Wilson something to sing about, with attitude in spades. "You might think I'm trashy, a little too hardcore," she admits on the smash single "Redneck Woman," "but in my neck of the woods I'm just the girl next door." Wilson, already the toast of Nashville before this full-length debut hit the shelves, isn't just putting the trailer park back into country music--she's the antidote to Shania and Faith. Nothing here sounds manufactured or studied, and the best songs are those she wrote. If most of those spotlight the fightin' side that has made "Redneck Woman" an anthem with blue-collar babes, she lets her vulnerability show on her choice of covers, particularly Leslie Satcher's gospel-rap of "Chariot" and the marital weeper "The Bed." Whatever you think of Wilson, who packs a hint of Sammi Smith and Allison Moorer--and even Janis Joplin--into her double-fisted delivery, you won't forget her. Move over, Loretta. Make way, Tanya. Here's another good ol' honky-tonk girl. --Alanna Nash
1. "Here for the Party" (John Rich, Big Kenny, Gretchen Wilson) – 3:16
2. "Redneck Woman" (Wilson, Rich) – 3:42
3. "When I Think About Cheatin'" (Rich, Wilson, Vicky McGehee) – 4:09
4. "Homewrecker" (George Teren, Rivers Rutherford, Wilson) – 3:27
5. "Holdin' You" (Thom McHugh, Wade Kirby) – 3:34
6. "Chariot" (John Caldwell, Leslie Satcher) – 4:26
7. "What Happened" (Al Anderson, Bob DiPiero, Bekka Bramlett, Tim Nichols) – 3:51
8. "When It Rains" (Rich, McGehee, Wilson) – 3:03
9. "The Bed" (Keith Anderson, Rich, McGehee) – 2:53
* feat. Big & Rich
10. "Pocahontas Proud" (Rich, McGehee, Wilson) – 5:15
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Massey Hall 1971 - Live -- Remastered CD/DVD :text-bravo:
Neil Young
1971/2007 Reprise Records
Amazon.com
"I'm gonna sing mostly new songs tonight," Neil Young tells the rapt Massey Hall audience, "...I've written so many new ones that I can't think of anything else to do with them other than sing 'em." He steps to the mic unadorned, distant from CSNY's rippled harmonies or Crazy Horse's yowl, hypnotically nailing 17 tracks on this unreleased 1971 solo set. You hear him tower at vocal heights on the chorus for "Old Man" (then a debuted, brand-new song) and name-check Canada on "Journey to the Past" and North Ontario on "Helpless," much to the Toronto crowd's delight. The sound is impeccable, and the closeness to Young in this spare setting exhilarates--especially his vocal quavering in the high registers, his intricate guitar work, and an overall vibe that exceeds description. And the DVD: Here you catch Young in tightly framed, starkly-lit shots, flourishing in the early years of an unparalleled rock career. Not only that, you get commentary from 1997, a rare window on how Young thinks, how he speaks, his humor. --Andrew Bartlett
Product Description
One of the greatest singer-songwriters of the rock era. Solo. Acoustic. January 19, 1971. Live At Massey Hall, the legendary concert from Neil Young, is finally officially released, and in highresolution stereo, in this CD+DVD package (also as a solo CD). The acclaimed Toronto performance features classics "Old Man" and, in a suite, "A Man Needs A Maid" and "Heart Of Gold" (before they were recorded for Harvest) along with some of his most popular songs ("Cowgirl In The Sand," "Ohio") as well as the most obscure ("Bad Fog Of Loneliness"). Live At Massey Hall is a newly mined rock gem.
All songs written by Neil Young.
1. "On the Way Home" – 3:42
2. "Tell Me Why" – 2:29
3. "Old Man" – 4:57
4. "Journey Through the Past" – 4:15
5. "Helpless" – 4:16
6. "Love In Mind" – 2:47
7. "A Man Needs a Maid / Heart of Gold Suite" – 6:39
8. "Cowgirl in the Sand" – 3:45
9. "Don't Let It Bring You Down" – 2:46
10. "There's a World" – 3:33
11. "Bad Fog of Loneliness" – 3:27
12. "The Needle and the Damage Done" – 3:55
13. "Ohio" – 3:40
14. "See the Sky About to Rain" – 4:05
15. "Down by the River" – 4:08
16. "Dance Dance Dance" – 5:48
17. "I Am a Child" – 3:19
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Amazing Grace -- 2 CD Box Set :text-bravo:
Aretha Franklin
1972/1990 Atlantic Records
Amazon.com essential recording
Originally released as a double LP in 1972, Amazing Grace cracked the Billboard Top Ten upon its release, making it one of the bestselling gospel records of all time. Grace was recorded in a large Baptist church with an ultraenthusiastic, loving audience in the pews and a full, funky, band as well as the Southern California Community Choir under the direction of her mentor Rev. James Cleveland. Her voice is melismatic and intensely emotional, yet pure and controlled--as if she were directly channeling the Holy Ghost. Aretha's father, the brilliant preacher Rev. C.L. Franklin, makes a brief, proud appearance, remarking how "she has never left the church!" Highlights include the beautiful "Wholy Holy," an 11-minute, heart-stopping "Amazing Grace," and Inez Andrews's stirring song "Mary, Don't You Weep." Way more than a return-to-the-roots record, the set is an inspired gospel-soul workout that arguably showcases Aretha's strongest singing ever. --Mike McGonigal
Disc: 1
1. Mary, Don't You Weep
2. Precious Lord, Take My Hand/You've Got A Friend
3. Old Landmark (Spoken Introduction)
4. Give Yourself To Jesus
5. How I Got Over
6. What A Friend We Have In Jesus
7. Amazing Grace
Disc: 2
1. Precious Memories
2. Climbing Higher Mountains
3. Remarks By Rev. C.L. Franklin
4. God Will Take Care Of You
5. Wholy Holy
6. You'll Never Walk Alone
7. Never Grow Old
Dennie
Well-Known Member
It was my pathetic attempt to draw a little more activity! :angry-tappingfoot:PaulyT said:Dennie said:I can't believe you guys are on page 31 already!
Nice work and some great music!bscene-drinkingcheers:
Dennie
Umm... am I alone in wondering what this you guys bullshit is all about? :teasing-tease:
Dennie :shhh:
