What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Speak Low -- 2 Lp Set :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Boz Scaggs

2008 Decca U.S.

Speak Low is the silken-voiced singer's newest collection of standards and first studio album since his #1 jazz album, But Beautiful. Co-produced with Grammy award-winning producer/arranger Gil Goldstein, the album includes Boz Scaggs' stirring interpretations of Ellington, Mercer, Rodgers & Hart and other classic writers and composers. In addition to Goldstein on piano and keyboards, the line up includes Alex Acuña (drums), Bob Sheppard (woodwinds) and Scott Colley (bass).
Boz Scaggs Speak Low Track Listing

1. Invitation
2. She Was Too Good To Me
3. I Wish I Knew
4. Speak Low
5. Do Nothin Till You Hear From Me
6. I'll Remember April
7. Save Your Love For Me
8. Ballad Of The Sad Young Men
9. Skylark
10. Senza Fine
11. Dindi
12. This Time The Dream's On Me

 

[Dennie]

Today's Work Truck Music....

Long Road Out Of Eden 2 CD Set

Eagles

2008 Eagles Recording Company

Amazon.com

What a long, strange wait it's been. Don Felder has left, a generation has grown into adulthood, and at long last, Eagles return with a new studio album, their first since 1979's The Long Run. Given the interim, though, fans couldn't possibly have asked for more. The two-disc, 20-track Long Road Out of Eden not only retains the entire menu of the Eagles' staple sounds--effortless, multi-part harmonies; colorful, if not intricate, guitar embellishment; meticulously crafted songwriting; squeaky-clean, almost geriatric production--but many of these songs also viscerally recall past hits from Eagles' or the extant members' solo records. Like revenant doubles, "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" echoes "Life in the Fast Lane," "How Long" channels "Take It Easy," the guitar arpeggio threading through "Center of the Universe" hints at the ubiquitous "Hotel California," and "Business As Usual" could have been culled from the cutting room floor from Don Henley's The End of the Innocence. The effect of all this familiarity is one of masterfully crafted self-tribute with one eye riveted on posterity, calculated to please both the deep-pocketed who can still afford the Eagles' concerts and those who'd given up on ever hearing new material again. --Jason Kirk


Disc one

1. "No More Walks in the Wood" (Don Henley, Steuart Smith, John Hollander) - 2:00
2. "How Long" (J. D. Souther) - 3:13
3. "Busy Being Fabulous" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Steuart Smith) - 4:19
4. "What Do I Do with My Heart" (Glenn Frey, Don Henley) - 3:54
5. "Guilty of the Crime" (Frankie Miller, Jerry Lynn Williams) - 3:43
6. "I Don't Want To Hear Any More" (Paul Carrack) - 4:21
7. "Waiting in the Weeds" (Don Henley, Steuart Smith) - 7:45
8. "No More Cloudy Days" (Glenn Frey) - 4:02
9. "Fast Company" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey) - 4:00
10. "Do Something" (Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Steuart Smith) - 5:12
11. "You Are Not Alone" (Frey) - 2:22

Disc two

1. "Long Road out of Eden" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmit) - 10:17
2. "I Dreamed There Was No War" (Glenn Frey) - 1:38
3. "Somebody" (Jack Tempchin, John Brannen) - 4:09
4. "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Steuart Smith) - 5:46
5. "Last Good Time in Town" (Joe Walsh, John David Souther) - 7:07
6. "I Love to Watch a Woman Dance" (Larry John McNally) - 3:16
7. "Business as Usual" (Don Henley, Steuart Smith) - 5:31
8. "Center of the Universe" (Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Steuart Smith) - 3:42
9. "It's Your World Now" (Glenn Frey, Jack Tempchin) - 4:22

 

[topper]

****

( released 2002 )

Recorded at the historic Olympia Theatre in Paris in November 2001, this is Diana Krall's first live album. Backed by her quicksilver combo of bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton, and guitarist John Pisano (on some tracks), Krall's jazz heritage comes through loud and clear on this program of standards, ballads, and bossa novas. On Peggy Lee's "I Love Being Here with You," Bob Dorough's "Devil May Care," and Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon," Krall's snappy, postbop piano playing shows off her debt to Nat "King" Cole and Jimmy Rowles. Her cool contralto vocals are illuminated by the Orchestre Symphonique Europeen, under the direction of Alan Broadbent, as well as the London Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Claus Ogerman. Krall's deep take on Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You" is a great choice for an encore, and the CD concludes with Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" (a studio track from a film called The Guru), with tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker and bassist Christian McBride. This collection only hints at what Diana Krall has to offer in the future. ~ Eugene Holley Jr.

:handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Dennie]

Breakfast In America :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Supertramp

1979 A&M Records

Amazon.com

After a shaky start followed by several critically acclaimed releases, the English group Supertramp hit the commercial jackpot in 1979 with Breakfast in America. The album combined the band's FM radio, AOR-rock style with an almost carnival-like nature. Breakfast gave the band major hits with "The Logical Song," "Goodbye Stranger," and "Take the Long Way Home." The plinking piano and dramatic clarinet runs of "The Logical Song" imparted a comic, yet bittersweet tone to the release as a whole. In another example of the band's devotion to alternative ways to carry their melody lines, "Goodbye Stranger" rings with some of the purest whistling ever recorded. There's also a healthy dose of cynicism running through the 10 tracks with "Just Another Nervous Wreck." --Steve Gdula

1. "Gone Hollywood" – 5:20
2. "The Logical Song" – 4:10
3. "Goodbye Stranger" – 5:50
4. "Breakfast in America" – 2:38
5. "Oh Darling" – 3:58
6. "Take the Long Way Home" – 5:08
7. "Lord Is It Mine" – 4:09
8. "Just Another Nervous Wreck" – 4:26
9. "Casual Conversations" – 2:58
10. "Child of Vision" – 7:25

 

[Rope]

Rope

 

[Dennie]

Year of the Cat :handgestures-thumbup:

Al Stewart

1976 Rhino Records

One of his best original albums..., September 24, 2004
By William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA)
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Year of the Cat (Audio CD)

"Year of the Cat" has nine songs, and I think seven of them rate five stars, and the other two a mere four stars. I won't tell you which ones, because every listener will have a different preference. This is a stronger disc overall than "Time Passages" although the title song on that one is even better than "Year of the Cat". Al has many great songs scattered through his other releases, especially the historical sagas, so in his case, I do recommend "Greatest Hits" or "Song on the Radio" as the starter kits, with "Year of the Cat" a third choice as one's introduction to Al. If you like your initial dose of Mr. Stewart, then you are ready for songs such as "Road to Moscow" and "Nostradmus" and "Ryiad." Look them up and give them a chance. Al was filling a need in the '70's and '80's, combining a folk feel, with rock underpinnings, but writing lengthy sagas about obscure historical moments which had intellectual appeal. It's probably a love him or hate him kind of encounter, but a friend introduced me to his work around 1985 and it was love at first listen.

Side 1

1. "Lord Grenville" – 5:02
2. "On the Border" – 3:23
3. "Midas Shadow" – 3:16
4. "Sand in Your Shoes" – 3:04
5. "If it Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It" – 4:30

Side 2

1. "Flying Sorcery" – 4:22
2. "Broadway Hotel" – 3:58
3. "One Stage Before" – 4:41
4. "Year of the Cat" (Stewart, Peter Wood) – 6:37

 

[Dennie]

I know it says "Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark", but it is the "Eagles, On The Border" when it plays..... :dance:

Must have been pressed on a Monday! :angry-cussingblack:

On The Border :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Eagles

1974 Elektra/Asylum Records

Amazon.com essential recording

On their third album, the Eagles finally produced a No. 1 hit with "The Best of My Love," but most of On the Border is marked by tough rockers, not sweet ballads. "Already Gone" is a brusque kiss-off and "Midnight Flyer" a bluegrass kicker, while "James Dean" recalls the '50s rebel icon, and the title track reflects on paranoia and creeping Big Brotherism. The Eagles also cover a Tom Waits tune, "Ol' 55," and pay tribute to alt-country godfather Gram Parsons on "My Man." The album title is prophetic in the sense that the band that made this record (bolstered by the addition of guitarist Don Felder) was on the verge of greatness, but not quite there yet. --Daniel Durchholz
Side one

1. "Already Gone" (Tempchin, Strandlund) – 4:13
* Lead vocal by Glenn Frey, lead guitar (uncredited) by Don Felder, guitar solos by Glenn Frey and Don Felder
2. "You Never Cry Like a Lover" (Souther, Henley) – 4:02
* Lead vocal by Don Henley, lead guitar (uncredited ) by Bernie Leadon
3. "Midnight Flyer" (Paul Craft) – 3:59
* Lead vocal by Randy Meisner, slide guitar by Glenn Frey, banjo by Bernie Leadon
4. "My Man" (Leadon) – 3:31
* Lead vocal and pedal steel guitar by Bernie Leadon
5. "On the Border" (Henley, Leadon, Frey) – 4:28
* Lead vocals by Don Henley, T.N.T.S. by "Coach", claps by The Clapetts, lead guitar (uncredited) by Glenn Frey

Side two

1. "James Dean" (Browne, Frey, Souther, Henley) – 3:37
* Lead vocal by Glenn Frey, lead guitar by Bernie Leadon
2. "Ol' 55" (Waits) – 4:22
* Lead vocals by Glenn Frey and Don Henley, pedal steel guitar by Al Perkins
3. "Is It True?" (Meisner) – 3:14
* Lead vocal by Randy Meisner, slide guitar by Glenn Frey
4. "Good Day in Hell" (Henley, Frey) – 4:27
* Lead vocals by Glenn Frey, lead and slide guitar by Don Felder
5. "Best of My Love" (Henley, Frey, Souther) – 4:36
* Lead vocal by Don Henley, pedal steel guitar by Bernie Leadon

 

[Botch]

Lost my virginity to this one, thanks for bringing a smile to my face!

 

[Dennie]

Lost my virginity to this one, thanks for bringing a smile to my face!

Ahhhh.......Just so we are clear........

I WAS NOT THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED!! :scared-yipes: :angry-tappingfoot: LOL

You're :text-welcomeconfetti: ! :handgestures-thumbup:


Dennie :teasing-tease:

 

[Rope]

Lost my virginity to this one, thanks for bringing a smile to my face!

Why, you man whore! :twisted:

Rope

 

[topper]

Lost my virginity to this one, thanks for bringing a smile to my face!

******
Botch! Don't you know how dangerous being that candid around these guys
can be?

:music-listening:

 

[Dennie]

Book Of Dreams :text-bravo:

Steve Miller Band

1977 Capitol Records

1. "Threshold" (Steve Miller) – 1:06
2. "Jet Airliner" (Paul Pena) – 4:25
3. "Winter Time" (Miller) – 3:12
4. "Swingtown" (Miller, Chris McCarty) – 3:56
5. "True Fine Love" (Miller) – 2:39
6. "Wish Upon a Star" (Miller) – 3:39
7. "Jungle Love" (Lonnie Turner, Greg Douglass) – 3:07
8. "Electro Lux Imbroglio" (Miller) – 0:57
9. "Sacrifice" (Curley Cooke, Les Dudek) – 5:20
10. "The Stake" (David Denny) – 3:58
11. "My Own Space" (Jason Cooper, Bobby Winkelman) – 3:04
12. "Babes in the Wood" (Miller) – 2:32

 

[Botch]

Lost my virginity to this one, thanks for bringing a smile to my face!

******
Botch! Don't you know how dangerous being that candid around these guys
can be?

:music-listening:

I guess not... :?

I'm still reminicing, rimensc, uh. remembering, though...

 

[Dennie]

A Classic....... :text-bravo: :text-bravo:

Moondance 180gram reissue

Van Morrison

1970/2008 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Van Morrison went a long way towards defining his wild Irish heart with his first two classic albums: the brooding, introspective Astral Weeks (1968), and the expansive, swinging Moondance. If the first was the work of a poet, its sequel was the statement of a musician and bandleader. Moondance is that rare rock album where the band has buffed the arrangements to perfection, and where the sax solos instead of the guitar. The band puts out a jazzy shuffle on "Moondance" and plays it soulful on "These Dreams of You." The album includes both Morrison's most romantic ballad ("Crazy Love") and his most haunting ("Into the Mystic"). "And It Stoned Me" rolled off Morrison's tongue like a favorite fable, while "Caravan" told a tale full of emotional intrigue. Moondance stood out in the rock world of 1970 like a grownup in a kiddie matinee. --John Milward
Side one

1. "And It Stoned Me" – 4:30
2. "Moondance" – 4:35
3. "Crazy Love" – 2:34
4. "Caravan" – 4:57
5. "Into the Mystic" – 3:25

Side two

1. "Come Running" – 2:30
2. "These Dreams of You" – 3:50
3. "Brand New Day" – 5:09
4. "Everyone" – 3:31
5. "Glad Tidings" – 3:13

 

[Dennie]

Lost my virginity to this one, thanks for bringing a smile to my face!

******
Botch! Don't you know how dangerous being that candid around these guys
can be?

:music-listening:

I guess not... :?

I'm still reminicing, rimensc, uh. remembering, though...

That's the thing about music. It can take you right back to a time and place! :handgestures-thumbup:

When ever I play "The Stones, Some Girls" album, it takes me back to riding my Schwinn 5 Speed bicycle, to tower records to get it. If memory serves me correctly, it took a couple of weeks of allowance to get it. :doh:

Ahhh, maybe your memory is better! LOL :think:

Dennie

 

[Dennie]

California Dreaming :text-bravo:

Wes Montgomery

1966 Verve Records

As Wes Montgomery sailed into ever-poppier waters towards the end of his career, two things remained constant: he kept writing and including original tunes on his albums, and he kept playing and including the blues in one shade or another. Thus, on CALIFORNIA DREAMING, another big band-orchestrated Verve album, we get "Sun Down," a six-minute original blues, cut for the most part with just the first-call rhythm section of Herbie Hancock, Richard Davis, Grady Tate and Ray Baretto. The other original, "Mr. Walker," is just as cooking, and dates from Montgomery's second Riverside album, the aptly titled INCREDIBLE JAZZ GUITAR OF WES MONTGOMERY.
CALIFORNIA DREAMING, unlike BUMPIN', emphasizes groove tunes over ballads, and keeps the pop challenges to a minimum. It's not the relentless cooking of SMOKIN' AT THE HALF NOTE, or the aforementioned INCREDIBLE JAZZ GUITAR, but it's solid Montgomery nonetheless.

Track listing

1. California Dreaming
2. Sun Down
3. Oh You Crazy Moon
4. More, More, Amor
5. Without You
6. Winds of Barcelona
7. Sunny (Alternate Take)
8. Sunny
9. Green Peppers
10. Mr. Walker
11. South of the Border

 

[Dennie]

San Francisco Moods -- Red Vinyl LP :text-bravo:

Cal Tjader

1958 Fantasy Records

While with Brubeck, Tjader signed with Dave's label, Fantasy, but it was not until he left Shearing in 1954 that he began recording in earnet. Over the next seven years, Fantasy released an amazing string of 30 albums, over half of them featuring Latin music. To some extent, Fantasy was trying to capitalize on the mambo craze of the mid-1950s, and, in hindsight, the Latin albums tended to cause some listeners (including this writer) to overlook his straight-ahead jazz albums. Worth particular note among these are the two "Brubeck/Tjader" albums and "San Francisco Moods," which featured a number of Tjader originals and remains one of the most listenable albums from the West Coast jazz era.

A1 Running Out 3:19
A2 Raccoon Straits 2:24
A3 The Last Luff 3:39
A4 Sigmund Stern Groove 4:37
A5 Coit Tower 1:35
A6 Triple T Blues 6:01
B1 Union Square 4:20
B2 Skyline Waltz 3:43
B3 Viva Cepeda 3:40
B4 Grant Avenue Suite 7:30

 

[Rope]

Lost my virginity to this one, thanks for bringing a smile to my face!

******

Botch! Don't you know how dangerous being that candid around these guys
can be?

:music-listening:

I guess not... :?

I'm still reminicing, rimensc, uh. remembering, though... [/quote]

That's the thing about music. It can take you right back to a time and place! :handgestures-thumbup:

When ever I play "The Stones, Some Girls" album, it takes me back to riding my Schwinn 5 Speed bicycle, to tower records to get it. If memory serves me correctly, it took a couple of weeks of allowance to get it. :doh:

Ahhh, maybe your memory is better! LOL :think:

Dennie

Sting Ray, Banana Peeler, Pea Picker?

Rope

 

[Kazaam]

Rope

A good album! I bought the CD/DVD-Audio and probably had if for close to a year before I even bothered to listen to it, but once I finally gave it a chance it grew on me quickly.

Interestingly, I recently bought a CD of David Crosby's "Oh Yes I Can" album from around 1989/1990. (His first *solo* album since his arrest and subsequent decision to get sober.) Anyway... T'was just listening to it and I can't complain too much. (Only paid three bucks total.) The lame cover art, to me anyway, only *somewhat* belies the music found within. It has a clunker or two, to be sure: The song "Drive My Car" sucks hard and sounds just as 1980sish as the artwork looks. On the other hand, "Melody" might be OK; it has those potentially damning 1980s-sounding keyboards, but it's somewhat growing on me. That said... there are also a few timeless-sounding tracks, such as "Tracks In The Dust", "Distances", and "Oh yes I can" which (for the money) combine to make this purchase a winner.

Also, Crosby's version of "My Country Tis Of Thee" is quite nice.

This album might be more satisfying than anything CSN/Y did during all of the nineties.

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music.....

The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Linda Ronstadt

2002 Elektra Records

Amazon.com

Linda Ronstadt, who emerged from SoCal's vaunted early-'70s country-folk scene, became the American female rock superstar of the Me Decade. After the initial success of the Stone Poneys' Michael Nesmith-penned "Different Drum," Ronstadt expanded her horizons through interpretations of a long string of successful pop and R&B covers. Along the way she championed emerging songwriters like Warren Zevon ("Poor Poor Pitiful Me") and contemporary favorites like Neil Young ("Love Is a Rose") in the bargain. As the formula waned with the changing tastes of the '80s, she briefly turned to new wave before stepping boldly back to the pop standards of the '30s, '40s, and '50s. Unfortunately, this collection inexplicably skips over that three-album collaboration with arranger-conductor Nelson Riddle, a body of work that presaged the 1990s' lounge-pop revival by a full decade--and outclassed it by miles. It also eschews a compelling contemporary Latin chapter of her career in favor of her winning collaborations with Aaron Neville ("Don't Know Much" and "All My Life") and less successful AC fodder like "Winter Light" and "Somewhere Out There" with James Ingram. A good primer to Ronstadt's immense vocal talents and recording history, but one that's flawed by some crucial missing chapters. --Jerry McCulley

1. "You're No Good" (1974) – 3:44
2. "It's So Easy" (1977) – 2:28
3. "Blue Bayou" (1977) – 3:56
4. "Don't Know Much" (duet with Aaron Neville) (1989) – 3:33
5. "Somewhere Out There" (duet with James Ingram) (1986) – 3:59
6. "When Will I Be Loved" (1974) – 2:09
7. "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" (1975, 2007) – 2:45
8. "Different Drum" (with The Stone Poneys) (1967) – 2:38
9. "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (1977, 2007) – 3:42
10. "The Tracks of My Tears" (1975, 2007) – 3:14
11. "After the Gold Rush" (with Valerie Carter and Emmylou Harris) (2007) – 3:33
12. "Long Long Time" (1970) – 4:22
13. "Just One Look" (1995/96) – 3:17
14. "Heart Like a Wheel" (1974, 2007) – 3:09
15. "Back in the U.S.A." (1995/96) – 3:01
16. "That'll Be the Day" (1976) – 2:34
17. "Hurt So Bad" (1980, 2007) – 3:16
18. "All My Life" (duet with Aaron Neville) (1989) – 3:30
19. "Ooo Baby Baby" (1995/96) – 3:19
20. "The Blue Train" (1995) – 3:37
21. "How Do I Make You" (1980, 2007) – 3:37
22. "Desperado" (1973) – 3:37
23. "Winter Light" (1995) – 3:16