What Are You Listening To?

[Botch]

Personnel

Béla Fleck - banjo
Tony Rice - guitar
Sam Bush - mandolin
Stuart Duncan - fiddle
Mark O'Connor - fiddle
Jerry Douglas - Dobro
Pete Rowan - vocals

Someone here had started a Bluegrass thread, Wow that's some lineup! I think I may be ordering it… :eusa-clap:

 

[Dennie]

Personnel

Béla Fleck - banjo
Tony Rice - guitar
Sam Bush - mandolin
Stuart Duncan - fiddle
Mark O'Connor - fiddle
Jerry Douglas - Dobro
Pete Rowan - vocals

Someone here had started a Bluegrass thread, Wow that's some lineup! I think I may be ordering it… :eusa-clap:

I know, Right! :bow-blue: ................:text-bravo:

"SuperGroup" is almost an understatement.

Go with the regular CD, 'cause that "Original Master Recording" is getting expensive. :scared-eek:




Dennie bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Botch]

Go with the regular CD, 'cause that "Original Master Recording" is getting expensive.

I would anyway; "0100100101110" is the same, written in aluminum or gold.

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

Hot House -- CD

Bruce Hornsby

1995 RCA Records

This album is addicting and mesmerizing., October 26, 1999

This album is both addicting and mesmerizing. From the first strains of Spider fingers to the last notes of Cruise control, Bruce Hornsby proves that he is the consumate musician and story teller. He's racked up a bunch of superior musicians and vocalists to work with here. Incuded are Jazz guitarist Pat Metheney, country Banjoist Bela Fleck and the always funky and fabulous diva Chaka Khan. All of them give stellar performances, but none outweigh the arresting presence of Bruce himself. The cd just gets better and better with each track, my favorites are "White wheeled limosine" the story of a jilted bride and "Country doctor" the story of a doctor who's wife dies under mysterious circumstances. The music is jazzy and jammin not the pop piano songs that you might expect. It's hard to believe that this is the same guy who wrote "The way it is". Patty Hayes

All songs written by Bruce Hornsby.

"Spider Fingers"
"White Wheeled Limousine"
"Walk in the Sun"
"The Changes"
"The Tango King"
"Big Rumble"
"Country Doctor"
"The Longest Night"
"Hot House Ball"
"Swing Street"
"Cruise Control"

 

[PaulyT]

Go with the regular CD, 'cause that "Original Master Recording" is getting expensive.

I would anyway; "0100100101110" is the same, written in aluminum or gold.

I just ordered Drive myself yesterday. Yeah I looked for the MoFi SACD (no it's not just a re-pressing of the original CD), but was like $45. I've got enough other HD audio discs that I don't listen to often so just went with the regular CD.

 

[heeman]

Today's work truck music....

Hot House -- CD

Bruce Hornsby

1995 RCA Records

This album is addicting and mesmerizing., October 26, 1999

This album is both addicting and mesmerizing. From the first strains of Spider fingers to the last notes of Cruise control, Bruce Hornsby proves that he is the consumate musician and story teller. He's racked up a bunch of superior musicians and vocalists to work with here. Incuded are Jazz guitarist Pat Metheney, country Banjoist Bela Fleck and the always funky and fabulous diva Chaka Khan. All of them give stellar performances, but none outweigh the arresting presence of Bruce himself. The cd just gets better and better with each track, my favorites are "White wheeled limosine" the story of a jilted bride and "Country doctor" the story of a doctor who's wife dies under mysterious circumstances. The music is jazzy and jammin not the pop piano songs that you might expect. It's hard to believe that this is the same guy who wrote "The way it is". Patty Hayes

All songs written by Bruce Hornsby.

"Spider Fingers"
"White Wheeled Limousine"
"Walk in the Sun"
"The Changes"
"The Tango King"
"Big Rumble"
"Country Doctor"
"The Longest Night"
"Hot House Ball"
"Swing Street"
"Cruise Control"

This one really shows how diverse of a musician/song writer Bruce really is.................

Thanks for posting Dennie, I will have to give it a listen soon!

 

[Dennie]

A Garland of Red -- CD

The Red Garland Trio

1956/1991 Prestige/OJC Records

Thirty-three at the time of this, his first recording as a leader, pianist Red Garland already had his distinctive style fully formed and had been with the Miles Davis Quintet for a year. With the assistance of bassist Paul Chambers also in Davis's group and drummer Art Taylor, Garland is in superior form on six standards, Charlie Parker's "Constellation" during which he shows that he could sound relaxed at the fastest tempos and his own "Blue Red." Red Garland recorded frequently during the 1956-62 period and virtually all of his trio recordings are consistently enjoyable, this one being no exception. - Scott Yanow


"A Foggy Day" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 4:51
"My Romance" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers) - 6:51
"What Is This Thing Called Love?" (Cole Porter) - 4:53
"Makin' Whoopee" (Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn) - 4:15
"September in the Rain" (Al Dubin, Harry Warren) - 4:48
"Little Girl Blue" (Hart, Rodgers) - 5:07
"Constellation" (Charlie Parker) - 3:31
"Blue Red" (Red Garland) - 7:40

Personnel:
Red Garland - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Art Taylor - drums

 

[Dennie]

A Question of Balance -- SACD

The Moody Blues

1970/2006 Threshold/Decca Records

The beautifully remastered version of the Moody Blues's 1970 back-to-basics album (translation: they cut way back on the overdubs) strips away the original aural murk at last, and includes informative liner-note interviews with the band about the recording process. Standout tracks include the classic sort-of protest song "Question" and "It's Up to You," one of singer/guitarist Justin Hayward's most authoritatively wistful riff-rockers.There is a clear attempt to pare back the lush excesses of their earlier work in favor of a leaner rock sound, as heard on cuts like John Lodge's pell-mell "The Tortoise and the Hare." Still, one of the album's standouts is Ray Thomas's "And the Tide Rushes In," a lovely psychedelic ballad of the sort that moved the Who's Pete Townshend to remark that the Moody Blues' albums were so gorgeously produced that listening to them was like "being in church." A QUESTION OF BALANCE is a fine album, and a clear preparation for its successor EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR, one of the band's finest moments.

Side One

"Question" (Justin Hayward) – 5:40
"How Is It (We Are Here)" (Mike Pinder) – 2:48
"And the Tide Rushes In" (Ray Thomas) – 2:57
"Don't You Feel Small" (Graeme Edge) – 2:40
"Tortoise and the Hare" (John Lodge) – 3:23

Side Two

"It's Up to You" (Hayward) – 3:11
"Minstrel's Song" (Lodge) – 4:27
"Dawning is the Day" (Hayward) – 4:22
"Melancholy Man" (Pinder) – 5:49
"The Balance" (Edge, Thomas) – 3:33

2006 SACD Expanded Edition Tracks (also 2008 remaster)

Bonus tracks on the SACD version:

"Mike's Number One (Previously Unreleased)" (Pinder) – 3:36
"Question (Alternate Version)" (Hayward) – 6:08
"Minstrel's Song (Original Mix)" (Lodge) – 4:35
"It's Up to You (Original Mix)" (Hayward) – 3:19
"Don't You Feel Small (Original Mix)" (Edge) – 3:02
"Dawning is the Day (Full Original Mix)" (Hayward) – 4:36


The Moody Blues: Justin Hayward, Graeme Edge, John Lodge, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas.Engineers: Derek Varnals, Adrian Martins, Robin Thompson.Includes liner notes by John Reed.All tracks have been digitally remastered.

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

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

 

[PaulyT]

Been listening to THe Flower Kings today, this is indeed good, very interesting, music. The song The Resurrected Judas is particularly powerful IMHO. Awesome bass line! Terrific playing all around. I do think it's funny how they pronounce it "the REE-surrected Judas" but I guess we can forgive their temerity to be foreign.

 

[Dennie]

Never Before Released Recordings 1965-1972 -- CD

Duke Ellington

1991 Jazz Heritage Society

Whenever there was "down time" for Ellington and his band, he'd get them into the studio to rework older pieces or design prototypes for new ones in order to keep the band's edge intact. This happened frequently enough, and the great jazz composer/bandleader was so prolific a composer, that throughout his long career there accumulated what Ellington would refer to as "the stockpile." Taken from the "stockpile," this set contains works recorded in Los Angeles, NY, Chicago, San Francisco and Milan, Italy.Earlier styles (as his group's '20s/'30s sound) were "revisited" in the shimmering "Swamp Goo." "Charpoy" is an interesting bit of India-inspired exotica. "Girdle Hurdle" swings like a dance tune from the height of the Swing Era, with Jimmy Hamilton's virtuoso clarinet playing in the spotlight (is there a bit of klezmer music in that solo?). A fine collection with lots of variety for Ellington fans to savor.

Track Listing
1. The Old Circus Train Turn-Around Blues - (previously unreleased)
2. Swamp Goo - (previously unreleased)
3. Trombone Buster - (previously unreleased)
4. Bourbon Street Jingling Jollies - (previously unreleased)
5. Mellow Ditty - (previously unreleased)
6. To Know You Is to Love You - (previously unreleased)
7. Naidni Remmus - (previously unreleased)
8. The - (previously unreleased) Prowling Cat
9. Maiera - (previously unreleased)
10. Thanks for the Beautiful Land - (previously unreleased)
11. Charpoy - (previously unreleased)
12. Portrait of Louis Armstrong - (previously unreleased)
13. Girdle Hurdle - (previously unreleased)
14. Sans Snyphelle - (previously unreleased)
15. Woods - (previously unreleased)

Personnel: Duke Ellington (piano); Tony Watkins (vocals); Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Hamilton, Harry Carney, Norris Tunny, Harold Ashby, Buddy Pearson, Harold Minerve (reeds); Cat Anderson, Cootie Williams, Ray Nance, Herbie Jones, Mercer Ellington, Nat Adderley, Allen Smith, Fred Stone, Nelson Williams, Money Johnson, Al Rubin, Richard Williams, Eddie Preston (trumpet); Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Connors, Booty Wood, Malcolm Taylor (trombone); Jimmy Jones (piano); Wild Bill Davis (organ); John Lamb, Joe Benjamin (bass); Sam Woodyard, Louie Bellson, Chris Columbus, Rufus Jones (drums).Includes liner notes by Stanley Dance.

 

[Dennie]

The Joker -- XRCD

The Steve Miller Band

1973/2008 Capitol/JVC Records

Although Steve Miller had been slugging it out since the late 60's as a blues-rock guitarist, it wasn't until his 1973 release, THE JOKER, that he finally found his most marketable niche in radio friendly rock. Here Miller abandoned his edge and his rootsy sensibilities, and leaned toward a lighter, more melodic approach. This is typified in the title track, a shuffling groover with an infectiously hooky chorus that went on to become a monstrous smash, and something of a signature song for Miller.While "The Joker" is the centerpiece of the album the be-bop ditty "Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma," the humorous "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash," and the underrated Miller composition "Sugar Babe" are also noteworthy. THE JOKER is most interesting as a look at Miller in transition: it contains many of the elements that would go on to make him a superstar over the course of his next two releases, 1976's FLY LIKE AN EAGLE and 77's BOOK OF DREAMS.

Track Listing
1. Sugar Babe
2. Mary Lou
3. Shu Ba da du Ma Ma Ma Ma
4. Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash
5. The Joker
6. The Lovin' Cup
7. Come on in My Kitchen
8. Evil
9. Something to Believe In

Steve Miller Band: Steve Miller (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Dickie Thompson (Clavinet, organ); Gerald Johnson (bass); John King (drums).Additional personnel: Sneaky Pete Kleinow (pedal steel guitar); Lonnie Turner (bass).Producer: Steve Miller.Reissue producer: Akira Taguchi.Engineers: Greg McCarthy, Jay Ranellucci.Recorded at Capitol Records, Hollywood, California; Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and The Aquarius Theatre, Boston, Massachussetts.Digitally remastered by JVC using XRCD (extended resolution compact disc).

 

[Dennie]

...at The Kosei Nenkin -- Remastered CD

Milt Jackson

1976/1998 Pablo Records

This double album features vibraphonist Milt Jackson with some of his best musical friends (tenor-saxophonist Teddy Edwards, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Ray Brown and drummer Billy Higgins) for a typically swinging set of standards. It is particularly welcome to hear the underrated Edwards in this setting and all of the musicians are in top form on such superior songs as "Killer Joe," "St. Thomas," "Bolivia" and "Bye Bye Blackbird." ~ Scott Yanow

Track Listing
1. Killer Joe
2. Get Happy
3. All Blues
4. St. Thomas
5. The Prophet Speaks
6. Bolivia
7. Birk's Works
8. Stolen Moments
9. Bye Bye Blackbird

Personnel: Milt Jackson (vibraphone); Teddy Edwards (tenor saxophone); Cedar Walton (piano, electric piano); Billy Higgins (drums).Audio Remasterer: Joe Tarantino.Recording information: Tokyo, Japan (03/22/1976/03/23/1976).Photographer: Phil Stern.Unknown Contributor Roles: Ray Brown ; Teddy Edwards.

 

[Dennie]

Centerpiece: At the Kosei Nenkin Vol. 2 -- Remastered CD

Milt Jackson

1976/2002 Pablo Records

The original two-record set featuring Milt Jackson at the Kosei Nenkin was reissued in condensed form on an earlier CD; this second volume includes the omitted pair of tracks as well as eight previously unreleased songs. Accompanied by tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards, pianist Cedar Walton, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Billy Higgins, the veteran vibraphonist gives his Tokyo audience their yen's worth. The leader dominates the hard-charging opener, "Centerpiece," though Walton and Edwards both get in some choice licks. Charlie Chaplin's "Smile" seems a bit more upbeat than typically performed, but Edwards' soulful saxophone gets the message of its bittersweet lyric across. Other standards, including "Little Girl Blue" and "Someday My Prince Will Come" (the latter song first recorded by Dave Brubeck in 1957, then in 1961 by Miles Davis; liner note writer Ed Michel has it backwards), inspire the musicians to the top of their respective games. Unfortunately, Walton's switch to electric piano gives a rather dated sound to Don Redman's "Cherry" and Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa." It goes without saying that anyone who picked up the original two-record set or just the companion volume to this CD should snap it up without delay. ~ Ken Dryden

Track Listing
1. Centerpiece
2. Holy Land
3. Smile
4. Cherry
5. Little Girl Blue
6. Someday My Prince Will Come
7. Speed Ball
8. Blue Bossa
9. Watch What Happens
10. Organ Grinders Swing

Personnel: Milt Jackson (vibraphone); Teddy Edwards (tenor saxophone); CedarWalton (piano); Ray Brown (acoustic bass); Billy Higgins (drums).Recorded at Kosei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan on March 22 & 23, 1976.

 

[Dennie]

No Sun In Venice - Soundtrack - CD

The Modern Jazz Quartet

1975/1988 Atlantic Records

This recording has six John Lewis compositions that were used in the French film No Sun in Venice. The music is quite complex and disciplined, making this set of lesser interest to fans who prefer to hear Milt Jackson playing bebop-oriented blues. However the versatile group was perfect for this type of music and these thought-provoking performances reward repeated listenings.~ Scott Yanow

From Wiki:

The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays No Sun in Venice (originally titled The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays One Never Knows: Original Film Score for "No Sun in Venice") is a soundtrack album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet featuring performances recorded in 1957 for Roger Vadim's No Sun in Venice and released on the Atlantic label.

All compositions by John Lewis

"The Golden Striker" - 3:39
"One Never Knows" - 9:20
"The Rose" - 4:55
"Cortege" - 7:24
"Venice" - 4:26
"Three Windows" - 6:43


Milt Jackson - vibraphone
John Lewis - piano
Percy Heath - bass
Connie Kay - drums

 

[Dennie]

A Meeting By The River -- SACD

Ry Cooder & V.M. Bhatt

1993/2008 Waterlily/Analogue Productions

A Meeting by the River can best be described as a spontaneous outpouring of music, unhindered by convention or form, brought into being by musicians so supremely capable that the music is never labored, the technique of their craft always subservient to the final product. Cooder and Bhatt are genuine masters of the guitar and mohan vina, respectively. The latter, an instrument created by Bhatt himself, is a sort of hybrid between a guitar and a vichitra vina, and is played with a metal slide. This fact is just one of the many things that connect Bhatt's playing to Cooder's, who plays nothing but bottleneck guitar here. The musical interplay between Cooder and Bhatt is nothing short of astounding, especially so considering that they met for the first time only a half-hour before the recording of this album. The voices of the two instruments blend marvelously, first alternating melodic statements, then doing so together, each dancing around the other, playing cat and mouse, probing, answering, reflecting. They are ably accompanied by a pair of percussionists: tabla player Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari and Cooder's own son, Joachim, on dumbek. A Meeting by the River is one of those few cross-genre albums in which the listener never feels for a second that there is some kind of fusion going on; one does not hear the component parts so much as the integrated whole. However, one can theoretically separate guitar from vina, America from India, the Mississippi from the Ganges. Once this is done, the resulting music makes more sense than ever before, the combination of two traditions of stringed instruments that use slides to produce sound and value improvisation and voice-like phrasing. As good as this sounds on paper, the actual results are even more impressive. The splendor of the music is aided in its transmission by the fact that, like all Water Lily Acoustics releases, this album is masterfully recorded; each instrument is clear, distinct, and three-dimensional sounding. A Meeting by the River is a must-own, a thing of pure, unadulterated beauty, and the strongest record in Cooder's extensive catalog. ~ Daniel Gioffre

Track Listing
1. A Meeting by the River
2. Longing
3. Ganges Delta Blues
4. Isa Lei

Personnel: Ry Cooder (bottleneck guitar); Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (mohan vina); Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari (tabla); Joachim Cooder (dumbek).Recorded at Christ The King Chapel, St. Anthony's Seminary, Santa Barbara, California in September 1992. Includes liner notes by Jelaluddin Rumi.All songs written by Ry Cooder and V.M. Bhatt, except "Isa Lei" (Lieut. A.W. Caten).A MEETING BY THE RIVER won the 1994 Grammy Award for "World-Music Album".

 

[Botch]

Peter Gabriel - Scratch my Back and I'll Scratch yours

This is a very interesting, double album. Peter selected a dozen of his favorite artists, picked one song from each, and recorded them with the Gabriel touch. One restriction: no guitars or drums. This is what makes up the first disk. The second disk are those same dozen artists (I guess there were many more volunteers ) who each picked a PG song and gave it their own treatment. Artists include Eno, David Byrne, Bon Iver, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Randy Newman, etc.

Only halfway through disk one so far, there's some gems here!! :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Dennie]

Peter Gabriel - Scratch my Back and I'll Scratch yours

This is a very interesting, double album. Peter selected a dozen of his favorite artists, picked one song from each, and recorded them with the Gabriel touch. One restriction: no guitars or drums. This is what makes up the first disk. The second disk are those same dozen artists (I guess there were many more volunteers ) who each picked a PG song and gave it their own treatment. Artists include Eno, David Byrne, Bon Iver, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Randy Newman, etc.

Only halfway through disk one so far, there's some gems here!! :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

I'll have to look into that one. Thanks for posting it Botch! :handgestures-thumbup:



Dennie bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Botch]

Peter Gabriel - Scratch my Back and I'll Scratch yours

This is a very interesting, double album. Peter selected a dozen of his favorite artists, picked one song from each, and recorded them with the Gabriel touch. One restriction: no guitars or drums. This is what makes up the first disk. The second disk are those same dozen artists (I guess there were many more volunteers ) who each picked a PG song and gave it their own treatment. Artists include Eno, David Byrne, Bon Iver, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Randy Newman, etc.

Only halfway through disk one so far, there's some gems here!! :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

I'll have to look into that one. Thanks for posting it Botch! :handgestures-thumbup:



Dennie bscene-drinkingcheers:

It was fun listening to the first disk. Most tunes I'd recognize the lyrics, but the melody/time/harmony could sometimes be so convoluted I didn't know who did the original. I'd allow myself to glance at the song's title from the back of the CD cover, and sometimes that would make the connection, sometimes not. PG's version of Heroes was a brilliant choice, as was Talking Heads' Listening Wind, which is obscure and very little known. Fun stuff!

 

[Dennie]

Peter Gabriel - Scratch my Back and I'll Scratch yours

This is a very interesting, double album. Peter selected a dozen of his favorite artists, picked one song from each, and recorded them with the Gabriel touch. One restriction: no guitars or drums. This is what makes up the first disk. The second disk are those same dozen artists (I guess there were many more volunteers ) who each picked a PG song and gave it their own treatment. Artists include Eno, David Byrne, Bon Iver, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Randy Newman, etc.

Only halfway through disk one so far, there's some gems here!! :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

I'll have to look into that one. Thanks for posting it Botch! :handgestures-thumbup:



Dennie bscene-drinkingcheers:

It was fun listening to the first disk. Most tunes I'd recognize the lyrics, but the melody/time/harmony could sometimes be so convoluted I didn't know who did the original. I'd allow myself to glance at the song's title from the back of the CD cover, and sometimes that would make the connection, sometimes not. PG's version of Heroes was a brilliant choice, as was Talking Heads' Listening Wind, which is obscure and very little known. Fun stuff!

It looks like it's going to be hard to find the 2 disc set. Amazon is out of stock and not sure if and when it will be back in stock. :angry-banghead:

I'll let my used music dealer know to keep an eye out for it. :handgestures-fingerscrossed:



Dennie