What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music...

Alive and Kickin' -- CD

Willie Nelson & Friends

2003 Lost Highway Records

WILLIE STILL KICKIN' AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, July 9, 2003
By Larry MacInnis (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Willie Nelson & Friends: Live & Kickin (Audio CD)

Willie Nelson Live & Kickin' delivers the goods! Sure Wyclef Jean is no Julio Iglesias on "To All The Girls I've Loved Before," but so what. His quirky interpretation is not the catastrophe others have claimed it to be.

Such quibbles about an offbeat interpretation or two do not dilute the overall charm and fun of this disc, especially Willie and Toby Keith kickin' it all out on "Beer For My horses." (If there is any justice, radio stations will replace the studio version of "Horses" with the live version heard here -- the way the live "Okie from Muskogee" replaced the original studio version on the radio airwaves in 1970 and has now become the version of choice for Merle Haggard fans.)

Other stand-outs include Shania and Willie on "Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain," and the offbeat coupling of Willie and Nora Jones on "Wurlitzer Prize," originally made a classic by Willie's late, great good buddy Waylon Jennings.

I thoroughly enjoyed this CD and would recommend it to anyone who loves Willie and his music -- and is not afraid to hear these songs in a refreshing and different light.

"I Didn't Come Here (And I Ain't Leavin')" (Scotty Emerick, Michael Smotherman) - 3:12
"Night Life" (Walt Breeland, Paul Buskirk, Willie Nelson) - 4:32
duet with Eric Clapton
"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" (Fred Rose) - 2:55
duet with Shania Twain
"Homeward Bound" (Paul Simon) - 3:57
duet with Paul Simon
"Beer for My Horses" (Emerick, Toby Keith) - 3:33
duet with Toby Keith
"Crazy" (Nelson) - 4:35
duet with Diana Krall and Elvis Costello
"To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (Hal David, Albert Hammond) - 4:25
duet with Wyclef Jean
"The Wurlitzer Prize" (Bobby Emmons, Chips Moman) - 2:30
duet with Norah Jones
"She Loves My Automobile" (Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill) - 2:40
duet with ZZ Top
"Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" (Nelson) - 4:37
duet with Shelby Lynne
"A Song for You" (Leon Russell) - 5:22
duet with Ray Charles
"I Couldn't Believe It Was True" (Eddy Arnold, Wally Fowler) - 2:53
duet with John Mellencamp
"Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning" (Donna Farar, Gary P. Nunn) - 4:33
duet with Kenny Chesney
"Run That by Me One More Time" (Fred Foster, Arthur Hancock, Jimmy Lambert) - 2:34
duet with Ray Price
"One Time Too Many" (Richard Supa, Steven Tyler) - 5:30
duet with Steven Tyler

 

[PaulyT]

 

[mcad64]

 

[Dennie]

Happy Saturday everyone.... :banana-rock:

Building The Perfect Beast -- CD

Don Henley

1984 Geffen Records

Amazon.com

Henley--arguably the most talented member of the Eagles--had toyed with playful pop hooks on his I Can't Stand Still solo bow in 1982. Two years later he got down to business on this brainy, politics-themed sophomore disc, which indicted his native Hollywood as venomously as "Hotel California" once did. Surfaces were still somewhat glossy--there's no denying the foot-tapping elan of "Boys of Summer or "All She Wants to Do Is Dance." But the vitriol roiling just beneath those surfaces was deep, intellectual stuff. Henley, as he continued to prove with the more eloquent The End of the Innocence a few years later, is someone his fans can neither underestimate nor predict. Can we say the same of Glenn Frey or Randy Meisner? --Tom Lanham

1. "The Boys of Summer" (Don Henley, Mike Campbell) – 4:45
2. "You Can't Make Love" (Henley, Danny Kortchmar) – 3:34
3. "Man With a Mission" (Henley, Kortchmar, J.D. Souther) – 2:43
4. "You're Not Drinking Enough" (Kortchmar) – 4:40
5. "Not Enough Love in the World" (Henley, Kortchmar, Benmont Tench) – 3:54
6. "Building the Perfect Beast" (Henley, Kortchmar) – 4:59
7. "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" (Kortchmar) – 4:28
8. "A Month of Sundays" (Henley) – 4:31 (cassette and CD only)
9. "Sunset Grill" (Henley, Kortchmar, Tench) – 6:22
10. "Drivin' With Your Eyes Closed" (Henley, Kortchmar, Stan Lynch) – 3:41
11. "Land of the Living" (Henley, Kortchmar) – 3:24

Note: "A Month of Sundays" appeared on the cassette and compact disc versions of the album but was not included on the LP format. On vinyl it was released as the B-side of the single "The Boys of Summer".

 

[Dennie]

Second Wind -- CD

Herb Alpert

1996 Almo Records

Welcome Back Herb!, September 30, 1998
By W. J. Bernardi (Austin, Tx USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Second Wind (Audio CD)

Herb Alpert's first release in four years - and on his new label - is a joyous one! Teaming up with keyboardist Jeff Lorber, Alpert embarks on a funk-jazz romp that showcases some of his best playing on record. He conjures up images of Miles Davis on many of the songs, yet it isn't a ripoff of Miles at all. Alpert is a smart player. He knows what he can and can't do, and stays within himself. Opening up with the aptly-titled "Second Wind" Herb and Lorber create a great groove which gives Alpert some freedom to roam around on the horn. "Driving Home" is another hot song with Herb playing some really nice jazz on. Lorber does some nice playing on "Sneakin' In" with the Hammond B3 organ, conjuring up images of Jimmy Smith. This is some of Lorber's best playing on record, too. On his own Lorber ends up playing a zillion notes per second, but under Alpert's guidance he plays only when necessary. The two combined to compose most of the songs, including the beautiful "Rendevouz", where Alpert shows his romantic side of playing. And his version of "My Funny Valentine" is also very hip. For those who haven't listened to Herb Alpert in a long time, this is a CD that will impress you.

One other note: The Japanese version of this CD contains a bonus track - a "live" version of "The Lonely Bull", which was Alpert's very first hit with the Tijuana Brass. Very funky, with great solos by Alpert and Lorber!

1 Second Wind
2 Flirtation
3 Wherever You Are
4 Sneakin' In
5 Drivin' Home
6 Can't Stop Thinking About You
7 Flamingo - Herb Albert
8 My Funny Valentine - Herb Albert
9 Side Steppin'
10 Rendezvous
11 Across the Bridge
12 Sugar Cane

 

[Dennie]

Greatest Hits Live 2 CD Set

Boz Scaggs

2004 Gray Cat Records

Looking Back, July 22, 2010
By P. Goode - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Greatest Hits Live (Audio CD)

By 1976, Boz Scaggs had established a steady base of musically aware fans who appreciated his brand of blue-eyed soul/R&B (including me). Scaggs broadened the base with the immensely successful Lowdown, which added disco to the mix and took advantage that genre's use of electronic drums and synthesizers. As a commercial decision, Scaggs hit a home run, and indeed Lowdown is an excellent album featuring some of his best material.

But the steely meticulousness of Lowdown sacrificed the warmth and looseness of the early albums, and his original fans missed the easy charm of Moments, And Band, My Time, and Slow Dancer. Greatest Hits Live offers something of a return to those days with intimate, mature renditions of the old songs and easy, more natural versions of the new material -- all without sacrificing the precision that has come to signify Scaggs' music. Terrific extended jams of Loan Me a Dime and Running Blue show the basis his early appeal, and the superb production will make any sound system shine.

Usually I'm skeptical of live greatest hits albums, but Boz Scaggs Greatest Hits Live offers an intriguing look at the career of a successful artist who gained a larger audience by altering his approach without losing his integrity.

DISC 1:

Lowdown
Slow Dancer
Heart Of Mine
It All Went Down The Drain
Harbor Lights
Jojo
Ask Me 'Bout Nothin' But The Blues
Breakdown Dead Ahead

DISC 2:

Look What You've Done To Me
I Just Go
Georgia
Miss Sun
Lido Shuffle
Runnin' Blue
Loan Me A Dime
We're All Alone

 

[Botch]

5.1 SACD

 

[Babs]

^ Wow, Don Henley is actually hot in this pic, I enloy his music, but never thought he was that good looking.

Currently enjoying...

 

[Dennie]

Well Botch, it is 75 degrees here today and we turn the clocks forward tonight, so I thought this one was appropriate for a warm (almost) Spring day...


..... :music-rockout:

Boston -- CD

Boston

1976/1990 Epic Records

Amazon.com

"Better music through science" was the Epic Records-coined slogan that Boston leader Tom Scholz hated, but this masterwork of studio-happy, high-school-parking-lot music earned it. Scholz fine-tuned his overdubbed guitar orchestra to a pitch that a thousand subsequent album-rockers couldn't resist. And why should they? Where the band's later records were hardly worthy of note, Boston pulls together classic after classic: "More Than a Feeling," "Peace of Mind," "Hitch a Ride." The pseudo-cosmic ambience invites scoffs as the year 2000 recedes into the past, but it's really just part of the disc's charm. Let it take you home tonight. --Rickey Wright

Side one
No. Title Length

1. "More Than a Feeling" 4:45
2. "Peace of Mind" 5:02
3. "Foreplay/Long Time" 7:47

Side two
No. Title Length

1. "Rock & Roll Band" 3:00
2. "Smokin'" (Scholz, Brad Delp) 4:22
3. "Hitch a Ride" 4:11
4. "Something About You" 3:48
5. "Let Me Take You Home Tonight" (Delp) 4:43

 

[Zing]

Well Botch, it is 75 degrees here today and we turn the clocks forward tonight, so I thought this one was appropriate for a warm (almost) Spring day...

Interesting. I've always viewed that album as "summertime music". Thought maybe I was weird. Nice to know I have company. bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Dennie]

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

2010 Hollywood Records

For five years, Grace Potter & Nocturnals have been hammering it out on stages large and small, playing 200 shows a year, and impressing audiences in the U.S. They've recorded two previous albums -- 2005's rightfully acclaimed Nothing But the Water, and their Hollywood Records debut This Is Somewhere. The sophomore effort failed musically; its songs were unfocused and sloppy, and its production lethargic. Three years later, with two new bandmembers in bassist Catherine Popper and rhythm guitarist Benny Turco, and the aid of super producer Mark Batson (Jay-Z, Snoop Dog, Beyonc‚, Alicia Keys), the Nocturnals sound like a band reinvigorated. This self-titled set is very polished -- from cover photo to last note it's designed to scale the Billboard charts -- yet it offers a representative showcase of the band's strengths. And while it doesn't come off as spontaneously as their live gigs, it's not supposed to. The glammed-up Nocturnals are still a tough, few-frills rock band, and despite his pedigree, Batson -- who co-wrote six of 13 songs with Potter here -- gets that. "Paris" kicks off the set. It's introduced by a mean grunt from Potter, and a twin guitar blast. With Scott Tournett's lead guitar slicing through Matt Burr's drums, and Popper's funky bassline, the singer -- with power and pitch -- lays down the brazen lyric: "If I was a man, I'd make my move/If I was a blade I'd shave you smooth . . . " On "Medicine," another rocker, Potter stakes claim to her man though she's competing with a mysterious seductress. The riff and refrain are instantly memorable. The dual guitar leads are balanced by her B-3, and the tune's bluesy feel is seductive. "Hot Summer Night" is a nasty roots jam with Potter beating the hell out of an upright piano over trashy guitars and handclaps … la the Faces. "Low Road," influenced deeply by Memphis soul, puts Potter's stellar voice, the meld of B-3, guitars, and rhythm section inside the bellybone of the listener, and it's sexy as hell. The midtempo numbers -- the soul-drenched "That Phone" and the blazing "Only Love," with its infectious bassline and distorted guitars -- work to fine effect. In sum, this the most representative outing from Grace Potter & the Nocturnals to date, and displays, however slickly, a heady quotient of strut, crackle, and groove. ~ Thom Jurek

Track Listing
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Oasis
3. Medicine
4. Goodbye Kiss
5. Tiny Light
6. Colors
7. Only Love
8. Money
9. One Short Night
10. Low Road
11. That Phone
12. Hot Summer Night
13. Things I Never Needed
14. [CD-ROM Track]

 

[Babs]

Luv, Eddie & Gerald! :music-listening:

My favorites...

Track #7...Something to Talk About
Track #8...Make It with You
Track #12...The Simple Life

 

[Dennie]

Weird Scenes Inside The Gold Mine -- Remastered 2 CD Set

The Doors

1972/2014 Elektra Records

A very interesting double LP retrospective two years after Jim Morrison's version of the Doors had officially closed. Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine contained the first album release of two B-sides, Willie Dixon's "(You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further," sung by Ray Manzarek, originally on the flip side of the 1971 45 "Love Her Madly," and the beautiful "Who Scared You," "Wishful Sinful"'s flip with Jim Morrison on vocals from a session in 1969. Both are worthwhile additions not found on their first "greatest hits" collection, 13. This compilation is a strange amalgam of their music, the LP title taken from a line in the song "The End," which concludes side two. Five of the 22 songs are from the L.A. Woman sessions, including the title track of that album and the full length "Riders on the Storm," both clocking in at seven-plus minutes. With "The End" and "When the Music's Over" at 11:35 and 11:00 respectively, that's 38 minutes and 38 seconds between four titles, more than a third of the 99-plus minutes of music on this collection. Nothing from Absolutely Live is included, and surprisingly, the classic "Waiting for the Sun" is not here, though that Morrison Hotel number would fit the mood perfectly. "Love Street," the flip of "Hello I Love You," is here, but pertinent singles like "Wishful Sinful" or "Do It" and its flip, "Runnin' Blue," from The Soft Parade, are all missing in action. The cover art pastiche by Bill Hoffman is worth the price of admission if you already have all this material, while the inside gatefold picture looks like an outtake from the first album. Bruce Harris' liner notes are truly the '60s merging with the '70s; he calls Jim Morrison "merely the index of our possibilities" and states that Morrison didn't want to be an idol "because he believed all idols were hollow." The essay is all the more silly when you realize it isn't tongue-in-cheek in the way Lou Reed's incoherent ramblings inside Metal Machine Music are more enjoyable than the disc. Harris seems to actually believe what he pontificates. But the music is awesome, so put it on and read the Metal Machine Music scribblings instead. Weird Scenes Inside the Goldmine is a work of art in the first order, the way the Beatles #1 album is wonderfully redundant, and it should see the light of day again. This time they could add "Tree Trunk," the flip of the "Get Up and Dance" 45 RPM from 1972's Full Circle album. ~ Joe Viglione

Disc: 1

1. Break On Through (To The Other Side)
2. Strange Days ( Lp Version )
3. Shaman's Blues ( Lp Version )
4. Love Street ( Lp Version )
5. Peace Frog/Blue Sunday
6. The Wasp ( Texas Radio And The Big Beat ) ( Lp Version )
7. End Of The Night ( Lp Version )
8. Love Her Madly ( Lp Version )
9. Spanish Caravan ( Lp Version )
10. Ship Of Fools ( Lp Version )
11. The Spy ( Lp Version )
12. The End ( Lp Version )

Disc: 2
1. Take It As It Comes ( Lp Version )
2. Running Blue
3. L.A. Woman ( Lp Version )
4. Five To One ( Lp Version )
5. Who Scared You
6. (You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further
7. Riders On The Storm
8. Maggie Mcgill
9. Horse Latitudes ( Lp Version )
10. When The Music's Over ( Lp Version )

 

[Babs]

I know I have posted about Amanda before. IMO, a hidden talent. As far as her voice, she is a powerhouse, plus, the lyrics in her songs have so much meaning. For me, they touch the soul!

 

[Botch]

Well Botch, it is 75 degrees here today and we turn the clocks forward tonight, so I thought this one was appropriate for a warm (almost) Spring day...

Interesting. I've always viewed that album as "summertime music". Thought maybe I was weird. Nice to know I have company. bscene-drinkingcheers:

My favorite "first-warm-day" cassette had the first Boston album on one side, and the Doobie's Greatest Hits on the other. Played many, many times on my 1971 Rustang, 1986 Saab 900, and 1988 Saab 900 Convertible, always with the windows and/or top down. :music-rockout: bscene-drinkingcheers:

 

[Dennie]

^^^ I remembered Botch and thought it was very fitting for yesterday. :handgestures-thumbup:



Happy Sunday everyone... :banana-dance:


Remembering Selma....

A Message From The People -- CD

Ray Charles

1972/2009 Concord Records

It was 1972, the turbulent ‘60s were winding down, and the music world was about to fork off in several directions: the soft rock of James Taylor and Carole King, the outlaw country of Waylon and Willie and soon . . . Disco.

America was on people’s minds: Don McLean with “American Pie” and there was even a band named America. Our nation was at war in Vietnam; we had landed on the moon. African-Americans were emboldened and encouraged by the progress they were achieving. The album A Message From the People, produced by Ray and recorded at his RPM International Studio, contained a song that did not chart at the time, but went on to become one of his best loved recordings: “America the Beautiful.” He would perform it countless times on TV and in live concert for the rest of his life.

“Mr. Charles wanted A Message From the People to include 'America the Beautiful' because of his tremendous love for our country,” stated Valerie Ervin, President of the Ray Charles Foundation. “Throughout his career he performed 'America' at a Super Bowl, a World Series game and for seven U.S. Presidents,” she added.

On May 5th, Concord Records will reissue, in its entirety, this landmark album for the first time on CD and digital download as part of its extensive reissue program of Ray Charles’s post-1960 catalog which, as part of his deal with ABC-Paramount Records, was owned and controlled by Ray himself. A Message From the People is the first in a series of albums to be reissued by Concord, which will include his classics Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music, Volumes 1 and 2; The Genius Hits the Road and Genius + Soul = Jazz, among others. For A Message From the People, Ray chose some of the world’s finest musicians including Freddie Hubbard, Ray Brown and Jean “Toots” Thielemans. The charts were written by his old friends Quincy Jones and Sid Feller, plus TV soundtrack meister Mike Post.

The songs Ray selected include “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem; Dion DiMucci’s hit, “Abraham, Martin and John”; “Stevie Wonder’s plea for brotherly love, “Heaven Help Us All”; “John Denver’s loving ode to America’s heartland, “Take Me Home, Country Roads”; and Melanie’s “Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma,” which was also a hit single for Ray. Ray even came up with the idea for the album’s cover featuring the faces of Abe Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King and Jack and Bobby Kennedy, and commissioned artist Al Willis to bring it to fruition.

1. Lift Every Voice and Sing
2. Seems Like I Gotta Go Wrong
3. Heaven Help Us All
4. There'll Be No Peace Without All Men As One
5. Hey Mister
6. What Have They Done to My Song
7. Abraham, Martin and John
8. Take Me Home, Country Roads
9. Every Saturday Night
10. America the Beautiful

 

[Botch]

Didn't quite know what to expect on this. Every video clip I've seen of the Beach Boys in the studio (all both of them ) show the boys all singing together into one mic; how do you then separate the voices for Surround?
It sounds great, will have to read the insert to see if it describes the mixing process. :music-listening:

EDIT: Oh yeah, this is still available for a decent price. I've been trying to get a copy of Steven Wilson's bluray remix of Aqualung, but existing copies are already going for about $175. :scared-eek:

 

[mcad64]

 

[Dennie]

Happy Monday everyone... :doh:

The Very Best of the 60's -- CD

Aretha Franklin

1994 Atlantic Records

Amazon.com

This 16-track disc and its companion piece (Volume 2) do a great job of recapitulating Aretha's singles career at Atlantic. Some of the most compelling music ever recorded, these sides bring forth the best of one of the great singers. Whether all but rewriting "Respect" ("That girl stole my song," an admiring Otis Redding said) or barely masking the pain behind "Call Me," she tells some of the truest stories around. And what a piano player. --Rickey Wright

Respect
Baby I Love You
I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
Chain of Fools
Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
A Natural Woman, (You Make Me Feel Like)
Since You've Been Gone, (Sweet Sweet Baby)
Ain't No Way - (bonus track)
Think
See Saw
The House That Jack Built
I Say a Little Prayer
The Weight
Eleanor Rigby - (bonus track)
Share Your Love With Me - (bonus track)
Call Me - (bonus track)

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

The Great American Songbook - Live -- CD

Carmen McRae

1972 Atlantic Jazz

On this popular two-LP set, singer Carmen McRae interprets songs by Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Michel Legrand, Warren & Dubin, Henry Mancini, and Jimmy Van Heusen, among others, but it is her rendition of a humorous Jimmy Rowles novelty ("The Ballad of Thelonious Monk") that is best remembered. Joined by pianist Rowles, guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Chuck Domanico, and drummer Chuck Flores, McRae had what was at the time a rare opportunity to record a live, spontaneous, jazz-oriented set. She sounds quite enthusiastic about both her accompaniment and the strong repertoire, which includes "At Long Last Love," "I Only Have Eyes for You," "Sunday," "I Cried for You," and "I Thought About You." ~ Scott Yanow

Track Listing
1. Satin Doll
2. At Long Last Love
3. If the Moon Turns Green
4. Day by Day
5. What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life
6. I Only Have Eyes For You
7. Medley: Easy Living/Days of Wine and Roses/It's Impossible: Easy Living / The Days Of Wine And Roses / It's Impossible
8. Sunday
9. Song For You, A
10. I Cried For You
11. Behind the Face
12. Ballad of Thelonious Monk, The
13. There's No Such Thing as Love
14. They Long to Be Close to You
15. Three Little Words
16. Mr. Ugly
17. It's Like Reaching For the Moon
18. I Thought About You