What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Amazon.com has this RIGHT NOW for $18.82, which is the cheapest I've ever seen it!

NOTE: Ships in 1 to 2 months <---------WTF??? :angry-tappingfoot: This was true with my copy! But was worth the wait!! :handgestures-thumbup:

Simple Dreams --- Original Master Recording 24k Gold UltradiscII CD

Linda Ronstadt

2010 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs

Delightful Ear Candy, April 5, 2010
By Terry D. Robertson "Terry D. Robertson" (Asheville, NC USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Simple Dreams (Audio CD)

Mobile Fidelity is wisely releasing Linda's Elektra/Asylum platinum discs chronologically. From "Don't Cry Now" to the new "Simple Dreams", this makes disc #4. This is Linda's biggest selling and most eclectic recording. Mastered in "real time" on their famous Ultra 24K gold disc, the rich warm tones of her mega Hit "Blue Bayou", "It's So Easy", "Tumbling Dice", and "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me", gives the listener a ringside seat in the studio. The audiophile sound on such gems as the title track and "Camermelita" are a pleasure to listen to. Plus you get that sexy Ronstadt cover art. What more can you ask for.

This is a short disc, sporting only 10 songs. Throw out your old CD, and give this mini LP sleeve limited edition, numbered disc a good listen to. It is amazing how many new sounds the listener picks up. The next CD on the list should be "LIVING IN THE USA", another #1 LP for Linda and don't forget to buy "Don't Cry Now", "Prisoner in Disguise" and "Hasten Down the Wind". I plan on collecting as many as I can. This are not only true collector items, but will spoil you for any other CD.

The sound is soft and spatial, never screeching on the hard rock tunes. All these MoFi discs are in a gate fold outer sleeve with a protective inner sleeve to prevent scratches and dust.

Another winner from one of our truly great iconic pop stylists.
1. It's So Easy
2. Carmelita
3. Simple Man, Simple Dream
4. Sorrow Lives Here
5. I Never Will Marry (w/Dolly Parton)
6. Blue Bayou
7. Poor, Poor Pitiful Me
8. Maybe I'm Right
9. Tumbling Dice
10. Old Paint

 

[Dennie]

Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs -- Original Master Recording Ultradisc II 24k Gold CD

Derek And The Dominos

1993 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab

A Masterpiece from two Incredible Guitarists,
March 9, 2004
By "mycorhizal" (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs [GOLD CD] (Audio CD)

Nearly any Clapton album would be nice enough to own, (particularly those from his early days) but an album containing the talents of both Clapton and Duane Allman is truly remarkable. Their meeting is almost legendary, and the inevitable result was Clapton's invitation extended to Allman for a recording. What ensued was their creation, "Layla and Assorted Love Songs." The music itself is a combination of blues standards, ("Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" and "Key to the Highway") Clapton's ballads ("Bell Bottom Blues" and "Why does Love Got to be So Sad") and good ol' fashioned rock (the title track, and Hendrix's "Little Wing"). The album came during Clapton's depression as a result of his love for George Harrison's girlfriend at the time (Harrison being his best friend). The resultwas pure magic, and the song "Layla." Clapton was in fact too bashful to use the lady's name, and instead substituted the name of a Persian legend, Layla. Allman filled in on slide guitar, along with "Key to the Highway" while Clapton sung his heart out. Bobby Whitlock's organ and piano melds beautifully with the blues from Clapton and Allman, and percussion from Jim Gordon and Carl Radle is a nice compliment. Although all the songs on this venerable album are good, the title track smokes, while "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" brings in the blues and "Little Wing" veers off into Hendrix's psychadelia. It makes for a powerful work. In all seriousness, this is a must-have.

Track listing

1. I Looked Away
2. Bell Bottom Blues
3. Keep On Growing
4. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
5. I Am Yours
6. Anyday
7. Key to the Highway
8. Tell the Truth
9. Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?
10. Have You Ever Loved a Woman
11. Little Wing
12. It's Too Late
13. Layla
14. Thorn Tree in the Garden

 

[GreatDane]

:music-listening:

 

[Botch]

:music-listening:

RAWK!!!

I saw these guys a couple summers ago during SLC's free "Jazz on the Plaza" series, they absolutely smoked. I have several of their CDs, but really wanted a DVD concert from them.
Before I posted this, I checked Amazon one more time, and they have a DVD concert, recorded this year, coming out in November!! That's the longest "pre-order" I've ever done.

RAWK!!!
:text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1: :text-+1:

 

[Zing]

If you guys like Soulive, you gotta get you some Papa Grows Funk. It's a little less R&B and a little more funk; a little less polished and a little more raw.

Allow me to recommend...

Mr. Patterson's Hat

and

Shakin'

 

[Botch]

Added to the list, thanks!!

(my list may have to grow for awhile, I just spent $175 at Amazon this afternoon... ).

 

[Zing]

I just spent $175 at Amazon this afternoon... ).

On CDs?

 

[Dennie]

Rhythms CD

Badi Assad

1995 Chesky Records
Six String Enchantress,
March 7, 2008
By Jack Baker "Beauty Will Save the World" (LeRoy,IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Rhythms (Audio CD)

Badi Assad is a true musical phenom from Brazil. Her technical ability on the guitar is astounding, yet she remains very lyrical. Her vocals are quite lovely as well. She often employs mouth pops, guitar slaps, and even an electric fan for percussion. Her work is always interesting and this is no exception. Some of my favorites are "Pulo do Gato", "Ica", "Feixe", and "Quase Um Funk P'ra Badi/Virus". The sound engineering is crystal clear, every nuance captured. This is a superb performance and recording.

1. Pulo do Gato
2. À Gandáia das Ondas/Beppo
3. À Primeira Vista
4. O Choro de Juliana
5. Rhythms
6. Song for Badi
7. Bate-Coxa
8. Feixe
9. Quase Um Funk P'ra Badi/Vírus
10. Laser
11. Ica
12. Pau Brasil
13. Moods
14. Carta a l'Exili

 

[Dennie]

Standards Vol. 1 - CD

Stanley Jordan

1986 Blue Note Records
Amazon.com

Guitarist Stanley Jordan's extensive use of tapping, using each hand independently on the instrument's fret board to create separate parts simultaneously, was a major technical breakthrough for the instrument when he first appeared in the early '80s. He could play the instrument much like a piano, whether mixing lead and rhythm or adding bass lines to chords. The technique has never been more apparent than on this 1986 session of unaccompanied guitar, with Jordan crossing musical boundaries to play songs from both the jazz and pop idioms. The "standards" of the title might as easily refer to technical ones as to Jordan's mixed repertoire. His playing here is often simply dazzling; the ease and fluent invention of his runs would still be impressive if another guitarist were supplying the accompaniments. But there's real warmth, too, on "Georgia on My Mind" and "Silent Night." --Stuart Broomer

1. Sound of Silence
2. Sunny
3. Georgia on My Mind
4. Send One Your Love
5. Moon River
6. Guitar Man
7. One Less Bell to Answer
8. Because
9. My Favorite Things
10. Silent Night

 

[Dennie]

Hearts And Flowers - CD

Joan Armatrading

1995 A&M Records

When Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" blanketed the airwaves in the summer of 1988, many listeners first assumed that the song was a new Joan Armatrading single. The similarity between the two singers' voices is uncanny. For her first album after Chapman's early success, Armatrading--undoubtedly unconsciously--positioned herself away from acoustic-oriented folk-pop into a more adventurous musical realm. Led by ghostly keyboards and prominent atmospheric bass work by Mick Karn (ex-Japan), the songs sound terrific, but the most interesting aspect of HEARTS AND FLOWERS is in the lyrics. Songs like "More Than One Kind of Love," "Promise Land," and "Someone's In The Background" seem intentionally ambiguous; they could as easily be declarations of new found religious faith as simple love songs. The title track is equally impressive, and the album as a whole is remarkably bold and adventurous.

Track listing

1. More Than One Kind of Love
2. Hearts and Flowers
3. Promise Land
4. Someone's in the Background
5. Can't Let Go
6. Free
7. Something in the Air Tonight
8. Always
9. Good Times
10. Power of Dreams, The

 

[Dennie]

Added to the list, thanks!!

(my list may have to grow for awhile, I just spent $175 at Amazon this afternoon... ).

What did you get?? :text-bravo:


Dennie

 

[Dennie]

ALWAYS Never The Same - CD

George Strait

1999 MCA Nashville

Amazon.com

George Strait's work in the '90s is like a hall of mirrors: each new million-seller mirrors the previous million-seller, which mirrors the one that came before. And yet the master's touch never fails, and the music charms and sometimes thrills. Drawing again on his steady stable of writers--Jim Lauderdale, Dean Dillon, Steve Bogard, and Jeff Stevens--and adding Melba Montgomery's careful pen, Strait's latest is a fitting end to a decade he helped define for country music. The material isn't especially impressive given the routine, radio-safe themes, and Strait's band--the crème de la crème of Nashville (Randy Scruggs, Stuart Duncan, Paul Franklin)--plays impeccably but with little distinction. Still, even the middling material, delivered in Strait's lush, plangent tenor, has hit potential. Except for the two-beer ballad "That's the Truth" (one to drink, one to cry into), which explores the borders of deception and honesty, and the soaring, climactic "Meanwhile," which very convincingly weaves reality and fantasy, Always Never the Same is good but never great, consistent but never classic. --Roy Kasten

1. "Meanwhile" (Wayland Holyfield, Fred Knoblock) - 3:36
2. "Write This Down" (Dana Hunt Oglesby, Kent Robbins) - 3:41
3. "That's the Truth" (Steve Leslie, Melba Montgomery) - 3:19
4. "What Do You Say to That" (Jim Lauderdale, Montgomery) - 3:04
5. "Peace of Mind" (Aaron Barker, Dean Dillon) - 3:16
6. "That's Where I Wanna Take Our Love" (Hank Cochran, Dillon) - 3:20
7. "Always Never the Same" (Marvin Green, Terry McBride) - 3:06
8. "One of You" (Kostas, Lauderdale) - 2:35
9. "I Look at You" (Steve Bogard, Jeff Stevens) - 3:31
10. "4 Minus 3 Equals Zero" (Lonnie Williams) - 3:11

 

[Botch]

On CDs?

Mostly:
Delivery estimate: September 10, 2010
1 "Ellington At Newport 1956"
Duke Ellington; Audio CD; $16.49

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "Coming Up"
Suede; Audio CD; $11.68

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "Blue Man Group - Audio"
Blue Man Group; DVD Audio; $17.98

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "Live 8"
Bob Geldof; DVD; $39.49

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "Revisions: The Songs of Stevie Wonder"
Jen Chapin; Audio CD; $18.98

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27"
Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Audio CD; $8.99

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "Jam Session (Dig)"
Mark O'Connor; Audio CD; $8.99

Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
1 "The Imagine Project"
Herbie Hancock; Audio CD; $10.99



Delivery estimate: September 13, 2010 - September 28, 2010
Shipping estimate for these items: September 7, 2010 - September 8, 2010
1 "Arnold Schoenberg: Gurrelieder [Hybrid SACD]"
Philharmonia Voices; Audio CD; $24.56

Sold by: -importcds
1 "Together"
New Pornographers; Audio CD; $9.62

I successfully resisted any books this time, I still have six "to-reads" on my coffee table. :roll:

 

[Flint]

 

[PaulyT]

Arnold Schoenberg: Gurrelieder [Hybrid SACD]

Wow, interesting choice! How'd you come upon that one? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it when you get a chance. I don't know Schoenberg's music all that well, but he's got some interesting stuff, especially some of his vocal/choral things.

 

[Botch]

Wow, interesting choice! How'd you come upon that one? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it when you get a chance. I don't know Schoenberg's music all that well, but he's got some interesting stuff, especially some of his vocal/choral things.

I know pretty much nothing of Schoenberg, but there was a great review of this piece in either HT or S&V. Gotta try the new stuff! :handgestures-fingerscrossed:

 

[Kazaam]

George Strait

I always thought I hated George Strait until one day I realized he sang "Fool Hearted Memory", "All My Ex's Live In Texas", and "Ocean Front Property".
.
.
.
(In Arizona, that is)

His singing definitely does those songs justice. And he's sang a few newer songs... well... new as in from the 90s and newer, that is, that I've recognized. Some tolerable, some not so much. That said, he's recorded so much stuff that I've never heard and definitely has some talent.

Speaking of which... Who here has watched "Pure Country"?

 

[Dennie]

It Just Happens That Way - CD

Mindi Abair

2003 Verve Records

Mindi Abair's GRP debut, It Just Happens That Way, showcases the multi-talented artist's pop-influenced vision of jazz. The saxophonist/vocalist/percussionist and composer offers listeners 12 exceptional tunes on which she plays alto and soprano saxophones, keyboards, vox, and wind chimes. Best known for her featured solos on tour with the Backstreet Boys, Mindi Abair is both invigorating and exciting. She finds a new challenge with Eagle-Eye Cherry's smash hit "Save Tonight," on which she showcases her inviting vocals, which are reminiscent of Norah Jones and Sheryl Crow. Abair co-wrote all but one of the CD's tracks, including "Save the Last Dance," "Flirt,"and "Lucy's." Overall, the debut is a sure indication that Mindi Abair has much more to offer than just a pretty face. ~ Paula Edelstein

Track listing

1. Lucy's
2. Flirt
3. Save the Last Dance
4. As Good as It Gets
5. Save Tonight
6. Right On
7. It Just Happens That Way
8. Salt and Lime
9. Momo
10. Play
11. Remember
12. Home

 

[Dennie]

Metal -- CD

Brian Bromberg

2005 Artistry Records

"Metal", the powerful new recording by critically acclaimed bassist/producer Brian Bromberg, showcases the bassist in a rare fusion-rock setting, simulating a full band on an arsenal of custom basses. Demonstrating Bromberg’s instrumental fusion-rock songwriting and aggressive playing, "Metal" is a departure from Bromberg’s jazzier outings, featuring him primarily on the guitar-like piccolo bass. Bromberg tears through melodies and solos with the force of today’s most skilled guitar heroes, playing the piccolo bass much like a lead guitar. But don’t be fooled – there are no guitars on this album. The rhythm guitar sounds and bass parts are also played by Brian on an array of different basses. What makes this recording exceptional is that nine of the eleven songs feature only Bromberg and hard-hitting drummer Joel Taylor. Rounding out this ground breaking project is keyboardist Dan Siegel, guesting on two tracks.


1. Good Morning [5]
2. The Dungeon [8]
3. Through the Window [5]
4. Trade Show [5]
5. Carlos [5]
6. Top Down [5]
7. Fooled Ya! [5]
8. Message Within [3]
9. Flight of the Phoenix [5]

 

[Dennie]

The Birthday Concert -- CD

Jaco Pastorius

1995 Warner Bros. Records

On an irregular basis in the early '80s, the innovative electric bassist Jaco Pastorius led a big band that he called Word of Mouth. This excellent CD documents Pastorius' 30th birthday party, a concert at which he was joined by the Peter Graves Orchestra (consisting of 14 horns, two steel drums, and two percussionists) plus drummer Peter Erskine, Don Alias on conga, and both Michael Brecker and Bob Mintzer on tenors. Brecker co-stars with Pastorius on a strong program that is highlighted by "The Chicken," a burning rendition of "Invitation," and "Liberty City." The music is full of spirit and joy, featuring Pastorius at the peak of his powers just before his tragic decline. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

1. "Soul Intro/The Chicken" – 08:01
2. "Continuum" – 02:34
3. "Invitation" – 17:42
4. "Three Views of a Secret" – 05:56
5. "Liberty City" – 08:12
6. "Punk Jazz" – 04:35
7. "Happy Birthday" – 01:48
8. "Reza" – 10:36
9. "Domingo" – 05:39
10. "Band Intros" – 02:38
11. "Amerika" – 01:43