What Are You Listening To?

[Kazaam]

I had a VHS instructional tape that said it could help make me the next "Yngwie Malmsteen". I didn't know who that was, but now that I've seen his picture on that album cover I am counting my blessings that I never became a very good guitarist!

 

[Botch]

Kazaam, you made me lose a $10 bet. Here's the original cover:

One of my buddies got the marketing account for Yngwie this weekend, and all of us on that musicians' forum are laughing at him with great vigor! :laughing-rolling:
Someone else doctored up that album cover, and you'd have to look carefully to catch it.

Here's a parody on one of his "instructional videos":
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DXchqNhkbs[/youtube]

 

[Kazaam]

Hah, hah!!!! That's awesome! I didn't even catch the "flamer" part. Thank goodness that 80s makeup wasn't real! Is there really a parody video? The link you gave just shows the original artwork, again. I wanna watch it!!!! :text-bravo:

EDIT: Never mind, I see you got it fixed already.

 

[Kazaam]

Nice video! Sounds like Arnold Schwartzeneger. "If I played that any faster your minds would blow up... I'm so amazing... the best!"

:laughing-lettersrofl:

 

[Kazaam]

Here's what I listened to the most tonight: Works Progress Administration - "WPA".
I highly recommend this CD.

I liked it at first, but I like it even more after a few listens. Bandmembers include Glen Phillips (singer from Toad The Wet Sprocket), Sean & Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), Benmont Tench (keyboardist for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) and a whole slew of other musicians. Lots of acoustic guitar, fiddle, and other non-electric sounds. To me it's a cross between a slightly "country-fied" version of Toad The Wet Sprocket and Sean Watkins's solo albums. (Not much at all like Nickel Creek, though.) I think Phillips wrote at least half the songs, with Sean writing the second most. Phillips sings the most songs, Sean the second most, and Sara sings lead on a couple of tracks. Check out the YouTube video posted below for some samples.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqTWgXDogOE[/youtube]

 

[Dennie]

drag -- CD

k.d. lang

1997 Warner Bros. Records

k.d. lang is a goddess, December 26, 2001
By Kristen A. Criado (Franklin, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Drag (Audio CD)

k.d.lang has a voice that just soars and is able to wrap itself around a song. I would call her a modern day Karen Carpenter. The depth of emotion in her singing and the songs on this album just show off that range. The theme of "drag" is carried throughout the album in the smokey sound of her voice and the literally smokey/airy titles of the songs. "The Air That I Breathe" is a perfect example of the floating vocals making a perfectly perfect ethereal atmosphere.

This is an amazing album of songs sung by an amazing voice of our time. Haunting and moving. A definite must for any music lover and an absolute must for a k.d. fan.

1. "Don't Smoke in Bed" (Willard Robison) – 3:22
2. "The Air That I Breathe" (Albert Hammond, Mike Hazelwood) – 5:58
3. "Smoke Dreams" (John Klenner, Lloyd Shaffer, Ted Steele) – 3:49
4. "My Last Cigarette" (Gary Clark, Boo Hewerdine, Neill MacColl) – 4:09
5. "The Joker" (Eddie Curtis, Ahmet Ertegün, Steve Miller) – 4:44
6. "Theme from the Valley of the Dolls" (Dory Langdon, Andre Previn) – 3:02
7. "Your Smoke Screen" (David Barbe) – 2:29
8. "My Old Addiction" (David Wilcox) – 6:39
9. "Till the Heart Caves In" (T-Bone Burnett, Bob Neuwirth, Roy Orbison) – 3:30
10. "Smoke Rings" (Gene Gifford, Ned Washington) – 3:36
11. "Hain't It Funny" (Jane Siberry) – 6:23
12. "Love Is Like a Cigarette" (Jerome Jerome, Walter Kent, Richard Byron) – 4:45

 

[Dennie]

The Road To Ensenada -- CD

Lyle Lovett

1996 MCA Records

Amazon.com essential recording

After the more experimental themes and misanthropic bit players populating his prior album, I Love Everybody, the songs on this superb 1996 set return to the more affable, earnest, but still knotty balance established by Lyle Lovett on his first four albums. He spins amiable yarns about his preferred headgear ("Don't Touch My Hat") and larger-than-life love objects (the one-eyed "Fiona"), sways hilariously through the backfired seductions of the samba-paced "Her First Mistake," and swings buoyantly through "That's Right (You're Not from Texas)," then ropes the equally droll Randy Newman into a tongue-in-cheek duet on "Long Tall Texan." In between, he sneaks a fresh string of dark love songs ("Private Conversation," "I Can't Love You Anymore") that sustain his formidable standards. Forget the forced issue of his putative ties to "new country": Lovett is simply one of the best American singer-songwriters extant, whether playing raconteur, philosopher king, or wounded romantic. --Sam Sutherland

1. "Don't Touch My Hat" – 3:47
2. "Her First Mistake" – 6:28
3. "Fiona" – 4:09
4. "That's Right (You're Not from Texas)" (Lovett, Ramsey, Rogers) – 4:54
5. "Who Loves You Better" – 4:46
6. "Private Conversation" – 4:32
7. "Promises" – 3:07
8. "It Ought To Be Easier" – 4:11
9. "I Can't Love You Anymore" – 3:14
10. "Long Tall Texan" (Henry Strzelecki) – 3:27
11. "Christmas Morning" – 3:43
12. "The Road To Ensenada" – 10:12
13. "The Girl in the Corner" -- hidden at the end of track 12, following 1:30 of silence

 

[Botch]

drag -- CD

k.d. lang

1997 Warner Bros. Records

k.d. lang is a goddess, December 26, 2001
By Kristen A. Criado (Franklin, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Drag (Audio CD)

k.d.lang has a voice that just soars and is able to wrap itself around a song. I would call her a modern day Karen Carpenter. The depth of emotion in her singing and the songs on this album just show off that range. The theme of "drag" is carried throughout the album in the smokey sound of her voice and the literally smokey/airy titles of the songs. "The Air That I Breathe" is a perfect example of the floating vocals making a perfectly perfect ethereal atmosphere.

This is an amazing album of songs sung by an amazing voice of our time. Haunting and moving. A definite must for any music lover and an absolute must for a k.d. fan.

1. "Don't Smoke in Bed" (Willard Robison) – 3:22
2. "The Air That I Breathe" (Albert Hammond, Mike Hazelwood) – 5:58
3. "Smoke Dreams" (John Klenner, Lloyd Shaffer, Ted Steele) – 3:49
4. "My Last Cigarette" (Gary Clark, Boo Hewerdine, Neill MacColl) – 4:09
5. "The Joker" (Eddie Curtis, Ahmet Ertegün, Steve Miller) – 4:44
6. "Theme from the Valley of the Dolls" (Dory Langdon, Andre Previn) – 3:02
7. "Your Smoke Screen" (David Barbe) – 2:29
8. "My Old Addiction" (David Wilcox) – 6:39
9. "Till the Heart Caves In" (T-Bone Burnett, Bob Neuwirth, Roy Orbison) – 3:30
10. "Smoke Rings" (Gene Gifford, Ned Washington) – 3:36
11. "Hain't It Funny" (Jane Siberry) – 6:23
12. "Love Is Like a Cigarette" (Jerome Jerome, Walter Kent, Richard Byron) – 4:45

It took me over a year to catch the "drag/cigarette" pun of that album (and it took me three years to get Frank Zappa's Sheik Yerbouti...

 

[Dennie]

drag -- CD

k.d. lang

1997 Warner Bros. Records

k.d. lang is a goddess, December 26, 2001
By Kristen A. Criado (Franklin, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Drag (Audio CD)

k.d.lang has a voice that just soars and is able to wrap itself around a song. I would call her a modern day Karen Carpenter. The depth of emotion in her singing and the songs on this album just show off that range. The theme of "drag" is carried throughout the album in the smokey sound of her voice and the literally smokey/airy titles of the songs. "The Air That I Breathe" is a perfect example of the floating vocals making a perfectly perfect ethereal atmosphere.

This is an amazing album of songs sung by an amazing voice of our time. Haunting and moving. A definite must for any music lover and an absolute must for a k.d. fan.

1. "Don't Smoke in Bed" (Willard Robison) – 3:22
2. "The Air That I Breathe" (Albert Hammond, Mike Hazelwood) – 5:58
3. "Smoke Dreams" (John Klenner, Lloyd Shaffer, Ted Steele) – 3:49
4. "My Last Cigarette" (Gary Clark, Boo Hewerdine, Neill MacColl) – 4:09
5. "The Joker" (Eddie Curtis, Ahmet Ertegün, Steve Miller) – 4:44
6. "Theme from the Valley of the Dolls" (Dory Langdon, Andre Previn) – 3:02
7. "Your Smoke Screen" (David Barbe) – 2:29
8. "My Old Addiction" (David Wilcox) – 6:39
9. "Till the Heart Caves In" (T-Bone Burnett, Bob Neuwirth, Roy Orbison) – 3:30
10. "Smoke Rings" (Gene Gifford, Ned Washington) – 3:36
11. "Hain't It Funny" (Jane Siberry) – 6:23
12. "Love Is Like a Cigarette" (Jerome Jerome, Walter Kent, Richard Byron) – 4:45

It took me over a year to catch the "drag/cigarette" pun of that album (and it took me three years to get Frank Zappa's Sheik Yerbouti...

That was my first listen to that album and WOW! Great Album! I, for some reason, picked up on the "Drag/Cigarette/Smoking" from the track listing and thought ohhh, that kind of a "Drag"!

The cover would make you think otherwise! :doh:

Dennie

 

[Dennie]

Rush Hour -- CD

Joe Lovano
Composed, Arranged and Conducted by Gunther Schuller

1995 Blue Note Records

Amazon.com

It's easy to understand why Joe Lovano is the most admired tenor saxophonist under the age of 50 in jazz today. The 43-year-old Cleveland native has the thick, burnished tone of swing giants such as Ben Webster and Lester Young, yet he is completely comfortable with the open structures and radical harmonics of such members of the vanguard as David Murray and Bill Frisell. In Lovano's playing, you can hear the essential unity of the jazz tradition. Seldom has that unity been illustrated with as much lucidity or feeling as on Lovano's Rush Hour, a brilliant album which should expand his following from critics and fellow musicians to a much wider audience. Rush Hour is an unusual album, for nine of the 13 tracks were arranged and conducted by Pulitzer Prize-winning classical composer Gunther Schuller. For four ballads, including Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss," Schuller backs Lovano with a jazz combo and a string orchestra which thickens the atmosphere without sweetening it. For four more vigorous works--including two extended Schuller compositions plus a movement from the Charles Mingus "Epitaph" symphony which Schuller resurrected--the conductor backs the saxophonist with a brass, reed, and woodwind orchestra which features some dazzling clusters of low-pitched clarinets and high-pitched saxophones. Coleman's ballad "Kathline Gray" is arranged as a jazz chamber piece for soprano sax, cello, harp, guitar, bass, and drums with gorgeous results. Lovano completed the album with three of his own compositions plus Billy Strayhorn's "Chelsea Bridge;" on these he multi-tracked various reeds and drums himself and added some truly adventurous scat singing by his wife Judy Silvano. In its perfect pairing of a major jazz voice and an uncommonly imaginative orchestrator, Rush Hour reminds one of nothing so much as Miles Davis's collaborations with Gil Evans. --Geoffrey Himes

Track listing

1. Prelude to a Kiss
2. Peggy's Blue Skylight
3. Wildcat
4. Angel Eyes
5. Rush Hour On 23rd Street
6. Crespuscle With Nellie
7. Lament For M
8. Topsy Turvy
9. Love I Long For, The
10. Juniper's Garden
11. Kathline Gray
12. Headin' Out Movin' In
13. Chelsea Bridge

 

[Dennie]

Armando's Fire -- CD

Oscar Lopez

2000 Narada World

2002 Juno Award - Best Instrumental Album

Great talent cannot be contained. So it is with Oscar Lopez - he is nonstop, relentless and impossible to resist. How Lopez performs is how he feels about the music. "I know a lot of people use the word, but passion is what I feel when I play. Everything is in the heat of the moment."

Music can take on a human form. Conception begins with a note or idea. A series of notes, a jolt of percussion, a myriad of influences from different artists, cultures and experimentation - these are the nourishing elements. Over time, it develops personality, wealth and character. This is the belief held by Lopez. Never afraid to venture into different genres, Lopez is known as one of today's most daring, eclectic artists.

Lopez leaves his music open to change, allowing it to take on different forms, while infusing it with the passion and heat that it is signature style. What may start as jazz, evolves over time, taking on Latin characteristics as well as blues, folk and flamenco. ARMANDO'S FIRE is a perfect example of this free-flowing approach.

The album is inspired by Lopez's inner voice, Armando - Lopez's middle name, and noted by some as the "other" Lopez persona. "Armando is as much a part of me as Oscar," he explains. "He has a strong voice, and so I decided that this album was his chance for self-expression."

1 Armando's Fire
2 Walking Through The Pyramid
3 Games of Love
4 Chile
5 Frontiers
6 Gypsy Soul
7 Latino
8 Waiting For You
9 Dance Of The Sun
10 Nostalgia
11 Other Faces
12 Romance
13 Better Late

 

[Dennie]

Rhythms -- CD

Badi Assad

1995 Chesky Records

Recorded at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, New York, New York from June 26-29, 1995.

While Badi Assad isn't a jazz singer per se, the singer/acoustic guitarist clearly thrives on improvisation and spontaneity. This is no doubt one of the main reasons she ended up on the jazz-oriented Chesky Records. When Rhythms was recorded at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in New York, Chesky treated the project much as it would treat a jazz recording -- the tape was rolling, and Assad was encouraged to simply let loose and blow. No overdubbing took place, and this very honest and straightforward approach makes for a riveting listen on songs by Chico César, Marco Pereira and other Brazilian composers. Although the vast majority of her influences are Brazilian, Assad's Lebanese heritage is a definite advantage on the magnificent and varied Rhythms. ~ Alex Henderson


Personnel: Badi Assad (guitar, vocals, harmonic copper pipe, electric fan, percussion); Cyro Baptista (percussion).

Track listing:

1. Pulo Do Gato
2. A Gandaia Das Ondas / Beppo
3. Primeira Vista, A
4. O Choro de Juliana
5. Rhythms
6. Song For Badi
7. Bate-Coxa
8. Feixe
9. Quase Um Funk P'ra Badi / Virus
10. Laser
11. Ica
12. Pau Brasil
13. Moods
14. Carta a L'Exili

 

[Dennie]

Watermark -- CD

Enya

1988 Reprise Records

Sail away, sail away, sail away!, October 13, 2002
By
Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)


This review is from: Watermark (Audio CD)
Simply lovely piano instrumentals such as the title track and "Miss Clare Remembers" glide with a calm majesty. They are emotional paintings in an audial museum, tugging at the listener with a sense of wonder.

The haunting Latin "Cursum Perficio" was inspired by an inscription written on the portico of the Brentwood house Marilyn Monroe died in. Loosely translated, it means "my journey ends here." The frenzied part of the song and chorus reflects the whirlwind way in which Marilyn's life ended. "Eternum" is sung four times, and then comes that final chord, signalling her last breath.

The lush instrumentation in "On Your Shore," "Exile," and "Evening Falls" really highlight Enya's vocals. A flute breaks the silence in the second song as a deep contrast from the strings. It really does paint a stark portrait of an exile, especially with the lyrics: "I'll wait the signs to come/I'll find a way/I will wait the time to come/I'll find a way home." Somehow, the exile will come home to his (her) family and friends. These three songs alone is reason enough to get this album.

The lush "Orinoco Flow," which became a #1 single in the UK stands out with its plucked pizzicato strings and vibrant sound. It evokes waterfalls, springs, and sailing into a wondrous fantasy-land. Sail away, sail away, sail away!

"River" is a gentle melodic keyboard instrumental that highlights Enya's talents in other ways. She provides all instrumentation on this album.

The Celtic-sung "The Longships" does evoke the image of the said ships sailing across the Irish Sea, with the pounding drum serving as the beater's drum, which sets the stroke of the oars striking the water.

"Na Laetha Geal M'oige," also sung in Celtic, is a forlorn song, with pipes lending the melancholy atmosphere.

"Storms In Africa II" begins with a clap of thunder and is also sung in English. There's a lot more drumming in this version, and also a part where she sings, accompanied only by the rhythmic pounding of African drums. This is also the version on her Moonshadows video collection. It's better than the first version on the album. Both have that exotic "na-na-na, ne-ne-ne" sound.

A giant leap from the understated Enya album (now called The Celts), Watermark is a watershed and benchmark for the former Clannad vocalist. Enya probably has THE best female vocal ever, even surpassing Sarah Brightman at her best. Watermark only hinted at better things to come.

1. "Watermark" 2:24
2. "Cursum Perficio" 4:06
3. "On Your Shore" 3:59
4. "Storms in Africa" 4:03
5. "Exile" 4:20
6. "Miss Clare Remembers" 1:59
7. "Orinoco Flow" 4:25
8. "Evening Falls..." 3:46
9. "River" 3:10
10. "The Longships" 3:36
11. "Na Laetha Geal M'óige" 3:54
12. "Storms in Africa (Part II)1" 3:01

 

[Dennie]

Today's work truck music....

Bat out of Hell -- CD

Meatloaf

1977/1990 Sony Music

Amazon.com

Overwrought and undeniable, Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell remains both one of rock's biggest--and least likely--hit albums. The byproduct of a partnership between beefy singer Marvin Lee "Meat Loaf" Aday and fellow journeyman/National Lampoon Road Show cast member Jim Steinman, Bat out of Hell met 1977's vaunted Year of Punk with a blast of neo-operatic, Wagnerian-scaled bombast (based on Peter Pan, no less) that was as reactionary as anything the spiked set and their supporters could possibly imagine--13 million units worth, and counting. Bat seems to have thrived on the same formula that's made Andrew Lloyd Webber a multimillionaire knight: if you do kitsch, do it big. And what could be more kitschy and emblematic of the '70s than the ubiquitous "classic rock" (an overused adjective that applies all too well here) of "Two out of Three Ain't Bad" or the breathless nookie-quest, "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," replete with Phil Rizzuto calling the play-by-play? This digitally remastered edition also includes '78-vintage bonus live cuts of "Bolero" (the live show's equally over-the-top opener) and "Bat out of Hell" that showcase the production's energetic, perfectionist bent. The sonic upgrading here also underscores the oft-overlooked efforts of producer Todd Rundgren. --Jerry McCulley

Side one

No. Title Length

1. "Bat Out of Hell" 9:48
2. "You Took the Words Right out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)" (intro spoken by Jim Steinman and Marcia McClain) 5:04
3. "Heaven Can Wait" 4:38
4. "All Revved Up with No Place to Go" 4:19

Side two

No. Title Length

5. "Two out of Three Ain't Bad" 5:23
6. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" (duet with Ellen Foley) 8:28
7. "For Crying Out Loud" 8:45

 

[topper]

rel. 2004 . . (a Telarc blues stereo cd)

:handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Dennie]

Smokin' At The Half Note -- CD

Wynton Kelly Trio & Wes Montgomery

1965/1989 Verve Records

Product Description

Smokin' at the Half Note by Wes Montgomery and Wynton Kelly, originally released by Verve in 1965, shouldn't need a build-up for anyone whose ears have been open for the last 40 years. When you begin a live session with 13 minutes of "No Blues," a cornerstone of the Miles Davis Quintet with Hank Mobley, circa 1961, you'd better have your stuff together. Montgomery, one of a handful of truly great 20th century jazz guitarists, and Kelly, the ultimate piano accompanist, are backed by Miles' fabulous Kind of Blue rhythm section consisting of bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. This 1965 live set, is indeed smoking! From a churning "If You Could See Me Now," written by bebop piano great Tadd Dameron, to Wes' own tour de force, "Four On Six," Montgomery and Kelly are two Jazz giants cutting loose with the best they've got.

1. "No Blues" (Miles Davis) – 13:00
2. "If You Could See Me Now" (Tadd Dameron, Carl Sigman) –8:21
3. "Unit 7" (Sam Jones) –6:45
4. "Four on Six" (Wes Montgomery) – 6:44
5. "What's New?" (Bob Haggart, Johnny Burke) – 6:11


* Wes Montgomery – guitar
* Wynton Kelly – piano
* Paul Chambers – bass
* Jimmy Cobb – drums
* Rudy Van Gelder – engineer

 

[Dennie]

Drive -- OMR - SACD

Bela Fleck

2005 Mobile Fidelity

Amazon.com

When Béla Fleck produced this little-known gem in 1988, the New Grass Revival was winding down and the Flecktones had yet to be formed. Fleck's previous solo outings had strayed from his bluegrass roots to varying degrees, but what makes Drive so special is how closely it hews to traditional bluegrass in sound and instrumentation while still allowing for exciting new ideas, crisp ensemble passages, and brilliant improvisation. The musicians who help out are all tops in their field: Dobro player Jerry Douglas, flat-picker Tony Rice, mandolinist Sam Bush, fiddlers Stuart Duncan and Mark O'Connor (who team up for a twin-fiddle sound on two down-home cuts), and bassist Mark Schatz. There's not a missed note (or superfluous one for that matter) anywhere, from the steamrolling opener "Whitewater" to the minor-keyed, jazz-based "Natchez Trace" to the warm ballad "Lights of Home" to the powerful "Crucial County Breakdown." The much heralded, classical-influenced Strength in Numbers record came less than a year later and included Fleck, Bush, O'Connor, and Douglas, but Drive certainly deserves a spot next to it in your newgrass collection. --Marc Greilsamer

All tracks written by Béla Fleck

1. Whitewater
2. Slipstream
3. Up and Around the Bend
4. Natchez Trace
5. See Rock City
6. The Legend
7. The Lights of Home
8. Down in the Swamp
9. Sanctuary
10. The Open Road
11. Crucial Country Breakdown

 

[Botch]

EDIT: Dayam, Dido is HAWT!!! :drool:

'nuther EDIT: I need to check out the Kaiser Chiefs... :banana-dance:

 

[Botch]

Drive -- OMR - SACD

Bela Fleck

2005 Mobile Fidelity/quote]
Whoa, didn't know that existed; added to the list! :handgestures-thumbup:

 

[Dennie]

I bought this CD for the song "People Are Crazy", but I really like the whole album.

"God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy." :handgestures-thumbup:

Little Bit of Everything -- CD

Billy Currington

2008 Mercury Nashville

Product Description

"People kept asking what kind of music they'd hear on this next album, whether it was going to be R&B, pop, country or rock, and I seemed to keep saying the same thing," said Currington. "It's going to be a little bit of everything, I guess." Currington has topped the country singles chart with "Good Directions" and "Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right."

1. "Swimmin' in Sunshine" (Brett Beavers, Jim Beavers) – 4:46
2. "Life and Love and the Meaning Of" (Billy Currington, Tony Martin, Mark Nesler) – 3:40
3. "Every Reason Not to Go" (Currington, Martin, Nesler) – 4:12
4. "Don't" (J. Beavers, Jonathan Singleton) – 3:57
5. "People Are Crazy" (Bobby Braddock, Troy Jones) – 3:52
6. "Everything" (J. Beavers, Chris Hennessee) – 4:20
7. "Walk On" (Ashley Gorley, Wade Kirby, Bryant Simpson) – 3:58
8. "No One Has Eyes Like You" (Currington, Brett Jones) – 2:58
9. "That's How Country Boys Roll" (Currington, Dallas Davidson, B. Jones) – 3:44
10. "I Shall Return" (Currington, Bob DiPiero, Scotty Emerick) – 3:11
11. "Heal Me" (Tony Stampley, Bonnie Swayze) – 4:09




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