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Dennie
Well-Known Member
Today's work truck music...
New Favorite CD
Alison Krauss + Union Station
2001 Rounder Records
No expectations, June 16, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: New Favorite (Audio CD)
It seems that most of the negative or lukewarm reviews here are written by those who approached this record with expectations of what bluegrass should be, or what Krauss & Union Station should be, or what country should be.
I came in with none of those. I know almost nothing about bluegrass or AKUS...I'm not even sure what a dobro is.
I heard "Lucky One" on an "adult alternative" radio station, of all places, and had heard about Krauss' talent, so I took a chance on this CD. I'm not a country fan nor a bluegrass fan by any means, I just thought it was a pretty song.
It turns out that the whole CD is very strong, filled with beautifully written and performed songs. There's definitely a pop feel to a few of the tunes, such as Fogelberg's "Stars", but every one is played and sung with feeling and musicianship. The production values are excellent too -- no studio gimmicks, just pure sounds crystal clear.
It's hard to imagine anyone who appreciates music being let down by this set.
"Let Me Touch You for Awhile" (Robert Lee Castleman) – 3:21
"The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn" (Traditional) – 4:40
"The Lucky One" (Castleman) – 3:10
"Choctaw Hayride" (Jerry Douglas) – 3:10
"Crazy Faith" (Mark Simos) – 3:47
"Momma Cried" (Bob Lucas) – 3:20
"I'm Gone" (Eric Kaz, Wendy Waldman) – 3:28
"Daylight" (Lucas) – 4:03
"Bright Sunny South" (Traditional) – 3:00
"Stars" (Dan Fogelberg) – 2:54
"It All Comes Down to You" (Ron Block) – 2:44
"Take Me for Longing" (Simos) – 2:51
"New Favorite" (David Rawlings, Gillian Welch) – 4:34
New Favorite CD
Alison Krauss + Union Station
2001 Rounder Records
No expectations, June 16, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: New Favorite (Audio CD)
It seems that most of the negative or lukewarm reviews here are written by those who approached this record with expectations of what bluegrass should be, or what Krauss & Union Station should be, or what country should be.
I came in with none of those. I know almost nothing about bluegrass or AKUS...I'm not even sure what a dobro is.
I heard "Lucky One" on an "adult alternative" radio station, of all places, and had heard about Krauss' talent, so I took a chance on this CD. I'm not a country fan nor a bluegrass fan by any means, I just thought it was a pretty song.
It turns out that the whole CD is very strong, filled with beautifully written and performed songs. There's definitely a pop feel to a few of the tunes, such as Fogelberg's "Stars", but every one is played and sung with feeling and musicianship. The production values are excellent too -- no studio gimmicks, just pure sounds crystal clear.
It's hard to imagine anyone who appreciates music being let down by this set.
"Let Me Touch You for Awhile" (Robert Lee Castleman) – 3:21
"The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn" (Traditional) – 4:40
"The Lucky One" (Castleman) – 3:10
"Choctaw Hayride" (Jerry Douglas) – 3:10
"Crazy Faith" (Mark Simos) – 3:47
"Momma Cried" (Bob Lucas) – 3:20
"I'm Gone" (Eric Kaz, Wendy Waldman) – 3:28
"Daylight" (Lucas) – 4:03
"Bright Sunny South" (Traditional) – 3:00
"Stars" (Dan Fogelberg) – 2:54
"It All Comes Down to You" (Ron Block) – 2:44
"Take Me for Longing" (Simos) – 2:51
"New Favorite" (David Rawlings, Gillian Welch) – 4:34
ccasion-santa: 
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Today's work truck music....
Come On Home -- CD
Boz Scaggs
1997 Virgin U.S. Records
Bobby Bland, Jimmy Reed, T-Bone Walker . . . Boz Scaggs!, November 4, 2001
By stranger2himself (Down Here) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Come on Home (Audio CD)
I grew up on Ray Charles, James Brown, soul, blues, country & gospel. I've been listening to and collecting music for 40 years, and have approx. 3,000 recordings. Simply put, this is one of the best, most soulful, powerful, bodaciously BAD records I've ever heard! There is not a weak cut here. Boz sounds like he's been holding this in for 30 years! The production & playing are flawless, but not too slick. The "live-in-the-studio" sound is preserved. There are no "highlights", every cut is astounding. With that in mind, "Love Letters" brings tears to my eyes, and, like the previous reviewer, I fall to my knees when Boz testifies "I've Got Your Love". His vocal chords should be enshrined; his heart and soul could provide electrical power to most of North America. If you like ANY kind of blues or R&B, you will surely dig this!
"It All Went Down the Drain"
"Ask Me 'Bout Nothin' (But the Blues)"
"Don't Cry No More"
"Found Love"
"Come On Home"
"Picture of a Broken Heart"
"Love Letters"
"I've Got Your Love"
"Early in the Morning"
"Your Good Thing (Is About to End)"
"T-Bone Shuffle"
"Sick and Tired"
"After Hours"
"Goodnight Louise"
Come On Home -- CD
Boz Scaggs
1997 Virgin U.S. Records
Bobby Bland, Jimmy Reed, T-Bone Walker . . . Boz Scaggs!, November 4, 2001
By stranger2himself (Down Here) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Come on Home (Audio CD)
I grew up on Ray Charles, James Brown, soul, blues, country & gospel. I've been listening to and collecting music for 40 years, and have approx. 3,000 recordings. Simply put, this is one of the best, most soulful, powerful, bodaciously BAD records I've ever heard! There is not a weak cut here. Boz sounds like he's been holding this in for 30 years! The production & playing are flawless, but not too slick. The "live-in-the-studio" sound is preserved. There are no "highlights", every cut is astounding. With that in mind, "Love Letters" brings tears to my eyes, and, like the previous reviewer, I fall to my knees when Boz testifies "I've Got Your Love". His vocal chords should be enshrined; his heart and soul could provide electrical power to most of North America. If you like ANY kind of blues or R&B, you will surely dig this!
"It All Went Down the Drain"
"Ask Me 'Bout Nothin' (But the Blues)"
"Don't Cry No More"
"Found Love"
"Come On Home"
"Picture of a Broken Heart"
"Love Letters"
"I've Got Your Love"
"Early in the Morning"
"Your Good Thing (Is About to End)"
"T-Bone Shuffle"
"Sick and Tired"
"After Hours"
"Goodnight Louise"
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Today's work truck music....
Raising Sand -- CD
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
2007 Rounder Records
Amazon.com
Perhaps only the fantasy duo of King Kong and Bambi could be a more bizarre pairing than Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Yet on Raising Sand, their haunting and brilliant collaboration, the Led Zeppelin screamer and Nashville's most hypnotic song whisperer seem made for each other. This, however, is not the howling Plant of "Whole Lotta Love," but a far more precise and softer singer than even the one who emerged with Dreamland (2002). No matter that Plant seems so subdued as to be on downers, for that's one of the keys to this most improbable meeting of musical galaxies--almost all of it seems slowed down, out of time, otherworldly, and at times downright David Lynch-ian, the product of an altered consciousness. Yet probably the main reason it all works so well is the choice of producer T Bone Burnette, the third star of the album, who culled mostly lesser-known material from some of the great writers of blues, country, folk, gospel, and R&B, including Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, Milt Campbell, the Everly Brothers, Sam Phillips, and A.D. and Rosa Lee Watson. At times, Burnette's spare and deliberate soundscape--incisively crafted by guitarists Marc Ribot and Norman Blake, bassist Dennis Crouch, drummer Jay Bellerose, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, among others--is nearly as dreamy and subterranean as Daniel Lanois's work with Emmylou Harris (Wrecking Ball). Occasionally, Burnette opts for a fairly straightforward production while still reworking the original song (Plant's own "Please Read the Letter," Mel Tillis's "Stick with Me, Baby"). But much of the new flesh on these old bones is oddly unsettling, if not nightmarish. On the opening track of "Rich Woman," the soft-as-clouds vocals strike an optimistic mood, while the instrumental backing--loose snare, ominous bass line, and insinuating electric guitar lines--create a spooky, sinister undertow. Plant and Krauss trade out the solo and harmony vocals, and while they both venture into new waters here (Krauss as a mainstream blues mama, Plant as a gospel singer and honkytonker), she steals the show in Sam Phillips' new "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," where a dramatic violin and tremulous banjo strike a foreboding gypsy tone. When Krauss begins this strange, seductive song in a voice so ethereal that angels will take note, you may stop breathing. That, among other reasons, makes Raising Sand an album to die for. --Alanna Nash
1. "Rich Woman" Dorothy LaBostrie, McKinley Millet 4:04
2. "Killing the Blues" Roly Jon Salley 4:16
3. "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" Sam Phillips 3:26
4. "Polly Come Home" Gene Clark 5:36
5. "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" Don Everly, Phil Everly 3:33
6. "Through the Morning, Through the Night" Gene Clark 4:01
7. "Please Read the Letter" Charlie Jones, Michael Lee, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant 5:53
8. "Trampled Rose" Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits 5:34
9. "Fortune Teller" Naomi Neville 4:30
10. "Stick With Me Baby" Mel Tillis 2:50
11. "Nothin'" Townes Van Zandt 5:33
12. "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" Milton Campbell 4:02
13. "Your Long Journey" Doc Watson, Rosa Lee Watson 3:55
Raising Sand -- CD
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
2007 Rounder Records
Amazon.com
Perhaps only the fantasy duo of King Kong and Bambi could be a more bizarre pairing than Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Yet on Raising Sand, their haunting and brilliant collaboration, the Led Zeppelin screamer and Nashville's most hypnotic song whisperer seem made for each other. This, however, is not the howling Plant of "Whole Lotta Love," but a far more precise and softer singer than even the one who emerged with Dreamland (2002). No matter that Plant seems so subdued as to be on downers, for that's one of the keys to this most improbable meeting of musical galaxies--almost all of it seems slowed down, out of time, otherworldly, and at times downright David Lynch-ian, the product of an altered consciousness. Yet probably the main reason it all works so well is the choice of producer T Bone Burnette, the third star of the album, who culled mostly lesser-known material from some of the great writers of blues, country, folk, gospel, and R&B, including Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, Milt Campbell, the Everly Brothers, Sam Phillips, and A.D. and Rosa Lee Watson. At times, Burnette's spare and deliberate soundscape--incisively crafted by guitarists Marc Ribot and Norman Blake, bassist Dennis Crouch, drummer Jay Bellerose, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Seeger, among others--is nearly as dreamy and subterranean as Daniel Lanois's work with Emmylou Harris (Wrecking Ball). Occasionally, Burnette opts for a fairly straightforward production while still reworking the original song (Plant's own "Please Read the Letter," Mel Tillis's "Stick with Me, Baby"). But much of the new flesh on these old bones is oddly unsettling, if not nightmarish. On the opening track of "Rich Woman," the soft-as-clouds vocals strike an optimistic mood, while the instrumental backing--loose snare, ominous bass line, and insinuating electric guitar lines--create a spooky, sinister undertow. Plant and Krauss trade out the solo and harmony vocals, and while they both venture into new waters here (Krauss as a mainstream blues mama, Plant as a gospel singer and honkytonker), she steals the show in Sam Phillips' new "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us," where a dramatic violin and tremulous banjo strike a foreboding gypsy tone. When Krauss begins this strange, seductive song in a voice so ethereal that angels will take note, you may stop breathing. That, among other reasons, makes Raising Sand an album to die for. --Alanna Nash
1. "Rich Woman" Dorothy LaBostrie, McKinley Millet 4:04
2. "Killing the Blues" Roly Jon Salley 4:16
3. "Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us" Sam Phillips 3:26
4. "Polly Come Home" Gene Clark 5:36
5. "Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)" Don Everly, Phil Everly 3:33
6. "Through the Morning, Through the Night" Gene Clark 4:01
7. "Please Read the Letter" Charlie Jones, Michael Lee, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant 5:53
8. "Trampled Rose" Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits 5:34
9. "Fortune Teller" Naomi Neville 4:30
10. "Stick With Me Baby" Mel Tillis 2:50
11. "Nothin'" Townes Van Zandt 5:33
12. "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" Milton Campbell 4:02
13. "Your Long Journey" Doc Watson, Rosa Lee Watson 3:55
Dennie
Well-Known Member
By Request... -- CD
Renee Olstead
2002 Renee Records
About the Artist
Renee is a multi-dimensional entertainer with a unique style and emotional energy that produces an extra-ordinary entertainment experience. She has been singing and entertaining for over half of her life. She spends her time with live vocal appearances and playing the violin. Her credits are many. Just to mention a few of her performances, she has performed at: The Pasadena Jazz Institute Series, The Derby, The Madison Supper Club, Suzie Q' Swing Club, The Satin Ballroom, Hollywood Palace, Hollywood and Highland, NASA, Six Flag, Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo, Continental Airlines, The Dick Clark Production of the YoungStar Awards in Hollywood, U.S. Space and Rocket Center, National Stage @ The Pasadena Rodeo, A Night At the Oscars, The Audrey Hepburn Foundation, numerous festivals around the State of Texas and California. She has performed the Naional Anthem numerous times at different sporting events including the prestigious Inaugural Opening Night for the W! NBA, Houston Comets. Her incredible vocal prowess, passion and unique style are sure to reach countless new fans in the new millennium.
1. Sunday Kind Of Love
2. Sentimental Journey
3. Georgia On my Mind
4. Taking a Chance on Love
5. Bill Bailey
6. What a Wonderful World
7. Over The Rainbow
8. At Last
Dennie adds: It is hard to believe she is 13 years old on the CD. WOW!
Dennie
Well-Known Member
Everything For Love -- CD
Chuck Mangione
2000 Chesky Records
Chuck Mangione, the famed flugelhornist and trumpeter fills his first recording of the 21st century with some wonderfully subdued love songs whose subtle, intimate qualities may surprise those of his fans who best know his boisterous pop hits. More than simply expressing a romantic boy-girl kind of love, Mangione is playing gentle, atmospheric jazz for a wide variety of special people, real and animated. And there is no doubt that the truest love here is that between the artist and some of his old bandmates; saxman Gerry Niewood played with Mangione from 1968 through the mid-'70s, while guitarist Grant Geissman (showing a rich, traditional jazz depth only hinted at on most of his smooth jazz efforts) and bassist Charles Meeks were there during Mangione's late '70s pop heyday. "Slo Ro," dedicated to Mangione's wife, is a moody reflection piece led by a drifting muted trumpet and the bluesy duality of Niewood's smoky tenor and Allen's keys. A seven-minute meditative version of "Amazing Grace" begins as a quiet, prayer-like duet between Mangione and Geissman, who switches partway through from the Wes sound to an electric rock axe for an edgy solo; then, Allen's organ solo takes this very spiritual rendition to church before Niewood chimes in with a sweet flute solo. Within each song, there are moments when Pellegrini's drums kick the softness up a few notches, and the peppery horn playing on "Fox Hunt" and the clapping percussion on the Latin-spiced "I Do Everything for Love" show a more playful side than Mangione displays elsewhere. Fans who know Mangione's whole career will see this as a fine addition to his jazz catalog; those who want more pop hits will be surprised at the low-key nature of the project. ~ Jonathan Widran
Track Listing
1. Peggy Hill
2. Slo Ro
3. Amazing Grace
4. Seoul Sister
5. Viola
6. Fox Hunt
7. Annalise
8. I Do Everything for Love
9. Papa Mangione
10. Freddie's Walkin'
Personnel: Chuck Mangione (trumpet, flugelhorn); Charles Meeks (vocals, electric bass); Gerry Niewood (soprano & tenor saxophones); Corey Allen, Tim Regusis (keyboards); Grant Geissman (acoustic & electric guitars); Darryl Pellegrini (drums); Paulette McWilliams, Cindy Mizelle (background vocals).Producers: David Chesky, Chuck Mangione, Joel Goodman.Recorded at St. Peter's Church, New York, New York from May 8-11, 2000. Includes liner notes by Chuck Mangione.
