What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

Old Ways -- 24k Gold CD :text-bravo:

Neil Young

1996 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Ultradisc II

Amazon.com

Neil Young's most dependable route has always been to head for the back roads. Country-flavored releases Harvest (1972), Comes a Time ('78), Harvest Moon ('92), and Silver & Gold ('00) are among the most commercially popular titles in a fitful career, which makes Old Ways something of a anomaly. Released in 1985 as the mid-title in a misbegotten five-LP stint with Geffen, it failed to exhibit the kind of roughhewn muscle of its more robust country cousins. With Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson making vocal contributions and a mix of longtime Young sidemen and Nashville cats laying down a bed of fiddles, steel guitar, and banjo, it would seem to be cruising right up Music City's main drag of the mid-'80s. But Young being Young, he goes around the bend with "Misfits," which summons an indelible image of space-station astronauts watching reruns of Muhammad Ali fights. It happens to be the most memorable number on Old Ways, which perhaps explains why those new fans never showed up and the old ones found other things to do for awhile. --Steven Stolder

1. The Wayward Wind
2. Get Back To The Country
3. Arew There Any More Real Cowboys?
4. Once An Angel
5. Misfits
6. California Sunset
7. Old Ways
8. My Boy
9. Bound For Glory
10. Where Is The Highway Tonight?

 

[Dennie]

Switching Gears......

One of a Kind Love Affair - Anthology -- 2 CD Box Set

The Spinners

1991 Atlantic Records

Amazon.com

Despite hailing from Detroit, the Spinners had only sporadic success as a Motown act, most notably with the Stevie Wonder-produced "It's a Shame." But with the early-'70s addition of Philippe Wynne as lead singer and new associations with Atlantic Records and producer Thom Bell, the group was transformed into one of the decade's key soul acts. With Wynne's gorgeous voice and ever-inventive improvisations riding Bell's smooth tracks, the Spinners made deathless single after deathless single while also committing must-own LPs like the self-titled one that featured "I'll Be Around." A One of a Kind Love Affair charts the great career of an outfit with truckloads of both R&B and pop credibility. --Rickey Wright

Track listing

DISC 1:

1. That's What Girls Are Made For
2. I'll Always Love You
3. It's a Shame
4. I Wish I Could Sleep, (Oh Lord) - (previously unreleased)
5. How Could I Let You Get Away
6. I'll Be Around
7. Could It Be I'm Falling in Love
8. One of a Kind (Love Affair)
9. Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You
10. Ghetto Child
11. Mighty Love
12. I'm Coming Home
13. He'll Never Love You Like I Do
14. Love Don't Love Nobody
15. Then Came You
16. Living a Little, Laughing a Little
17. Sadie

DISC 2:

1. Games People Play
2. I Don't Want to Lose You
3. Honest I Do
4. Love or Leave
5. Sweet Love of Mine
6. How Could I Let You Get Away
7. Wake up Susan
8. Rubberband Man, The
9. Me and My Music
10. You're Throwing a Good Love Away
11. Heaven on Earth (So Fine)
12. Working My Way Back To You / Forgive Me, Girl
13. Funny How Time Slips Away

 

[Botch]

 

[Dennie]

Nice choice Botch! I haven't listened to that one in a long, long time!

Thanks for the reminder,

Dennie

 

[Botch]

Nice choice Botch! I haven't listened to that one in a long, long time!

Thanks for the reminder,

Dennie

Watched a couple disks from the Live 8 worldwide concert last night, and Madonna live just impresses the shit out of me (it was her spot-on performance at Live Aid that elevated her out of the "pop-tart" category for me). Title track is just killer!!!

(and speaking of reminders, Spinners Greatest Hits is next in the que; I'll Be Around is one of my favorite songs. :music-listening:

 

[Dennie]

Nice choice Botch! I haven't listened to that one in a long, long time!

Thanks for the reminder,

Dennie

Watched a couple disks from the Live 8 worldwide concert last night, and Madonna live just impresses the shit out of me (it was her spot-on performance at Live Aid that elevated her out of the "pop-tart" category for me). Title track is just killer!!!

(and speaking of reminders, Spinners Greatest Hits is next in the que; I'll Be Around is one of my favorite songs. :music-listening:

I saw you post that set last night and still I'm jealous! :handgestures-thumbup:

Video can really help me see an artist "in another light", so to speak. Take Alison Krauss for example, if I had not seen this DVD.....

I would have probably never given her a second listen, or Bluegrass period. But once I saw that DVD, I was sold and now love the whole genre! :handgestures-thumbup:

Madonna has a lot of talent, but sometimes in the "Marketing" business, talent isn't what's called for. :doh: So we tend to miss the talent.

Glad you're enjoying her music.

Dennie

 

[Botch]

Video can really help me see an artist "in another light", so to speak. Take Alison Krauss for example, if I had not seen this DVD.....

I was the same way with Diana Krall; she sounded okay to me, and she looked okay, but when I finally watched her live disc I became a fan. Elvis Costello is a smart (and lucky) guy!
And I've added the Allison Krauss disk to my list too; I actually played in a bluegrass band for one summer, but haven't paid much attention since.

 

[Dennie]

Band On The Run -- 25th Anniversary Edition 2 CD Box Set

Paul McCartney & Wings

1974/1999 Capitol Records

Amazon.com essential recording

Band on the Run should have been a disaster. Two of Wings' original members quit in a huff just before its production. The whimsical decision to record in Lagos, Nigeria, became a nightmare when McCartney and company found themselves in a decaying studio, then had many of the project's demos stolen by armed bandits. Despite these hardships--perhaps because of them--Band on the Run remains the most focused and consistently satisfying record of McCartney's wildly uneven post-Beatles career. This mini box set contains the original album, a well-written booklet by Mark Lewisohn, and a bonus disc featuring outtake snippets and interviews with all the album's participants (including its cover crew, which includes actors James Coburn and Christopher Lee) and Dustin Hoffman, who recounts how he spurred McCartney to spontaneously write "Picasso's Last Words" on a dare. This second disc would make a fine radio show; it comes up short where it matters most--in music. Time spent detailing the album-cover photo session could have been more gratifyingly devoted to more contemporary outtakes (much of the bonus Band material is culled from live performances from as recently as the mid '90s; perhaps McCartney wants us to know how important the record has been to him over the years) or to a pair of single B-sides, which are curiously absent here. --Jerry McCulley

Side One

No. Title Length
1. "Band on the Run" 5:10
2. "Jet" 4:06
3. "Bluebird" 3:22
4. "Mrs Vandebilt" 4:38
5. "Let Me Roll It" 4:47

Side Two
No. Title Length
6. "Mamunia" 4:50
7. "No Words" 2:33
8. "Helen Wheels" (US and international only; not UK) 3:34
9. "Picasso's Last Words (Drink to Me)" 5:50
10. "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five" 5:27

 

[Botch]

Since discovering him at wayyy too late a date, I've been snatching up Scott Hamilton's CDs where I can, especially the ballad stuff. This disc, called After Hours, sounds like a ballad album but it isn't. However, Tommy Flanagan is the pianist and the whole thing smokes. Nice! :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

 

[PaulyT]

Since discovering him at wayyy too late a date, I've been snatching up Scott Hamilton's CDs where I can, especially the ballad stuff. This disc, called After Hours, sounds like a ballad album but it isn't. However, Tommy Flanagan is the pianist and the whole thing smokes. Nice! :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

COol, I definitely need some more of Hamilton's albums now, I'll be grabbing this one...

 

[Dennie]

Since discovering him at wayyy too late a date, I've been snatching up Scott Hamilton's CDs where I can, especially the ballad stuff. This disc, called After Hours, sounds like a ballad album but it isn't. However, Tommy Flanagan is the pianist and the whole thing smokes. Nice! :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Okay, Okay! I've seen you playing Scott a couple of times now. I've added him to my Wish List!

Thanks Botch,


Dennie

 

[Batman]

Thanks for the responses to my question fellas...

:happy-smileygiantred:

 

[Dennie]

The World's Greatest Gospel Singer -- CD :text-bravo:

Mahalia Jackson

1992 Sony Music

One of the finest vocal performances ever recorded, July 11, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The World's Greatest Gospel Singer (Audio CD)

This magnificant work of art, produced by Geroge Avakian in the mid 1950's, contains one of the finest vocal performances ever committed to record, irrespective of musical genre. Accompanied brilliantly by the jazz/blues influenced Fall-Jones Ensemble, Jackson delivers a remarkable reading of African-American spirituals, including some of her own compositions. A recording for the ages, delivered superlatively by one of the greatest voices of the 20th century. In short, a masterpiece.
Track Listing

* 1 I'm going to live the life i sing about
* 2 when i wake up in glory
* 3 Jesus met the woman at the well
* 4 oh lord is it i?
* 5 i will move on up a little higher
* 6 when the saints go marching in
* 7 Jesus
* 8 out of the depths
* 9 walk over god's heaven
* 10 keep your hand on the plow
* 11 didn't it rain

 

[Dennie]

Video can really help me see an artist "in another light", so to speak. Take Alison Krauss for example, if I had not seen this DVD.....

I was the same way with Diana Krall; she sounded okay to me, and she looked okay, but when I finally watched her live disc I became a fan. Elvis Costello is a smart (and lucky) guy!
And I've added the Allison Krauss disk to my list too; I actually played in a bluegrass band for one summer, but haven't paid much attention since.

Agreed about Elvis Costello!

Then I think you're going to really enjoy Alison with Union Station. All top notch musicians, which includes Jerry Douglas, the World's Greatest Dobro Player!

Dennie

 

[Dennie]

The "Artist" formerly known as "Hootie".......

Learn To Live -- CD

Darius Rucker

2008 Capitol Nashville

Amazon.com

As the lead singer and co-writer for Hootie & the Blowfish, Darius Rucker always eschewed overt R & B, and fixed the band’s music in roots rock. Now on this solo album, Learn to Live, he immerses himself in the typical Nashville themes of home, hearth, and spirituality, with varying results. His sturdy baritone knows how to carry these messages, and he displays an ease with country phrasing. Furthermore, he's assembled a fine passel of pickers, from mainstream guests Vince Gill, Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley, to 'grassers Aubrey Haynie and Bryan Sutton. All this works fine on the radio—the album and the single "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," which logged the number one slot on the country charts. But while Rucker pays fine homage to Buck Owens with the intro to the humorous divorce declaration "All I Want," and nurtures his inner redneck on the barroom anthem "Drinkin' and Dialin'," too many clichés weave their way into his lyrics, and the overall sound is that of amiable, cookie-cutter, country pop. Next time out, let’s hope Rucker reaches farther back into his South Carolina roots for a more authentic backwoods connection. -– Alanna Nash

1. "Forever Road" Frank Rogers, Darius Rucker, Chris Stapleton 4:01
2. "All I Want" Rogers, Rucker 3:49
3. "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" Clay Mills, Rucker 3:03
4. "Learn to Live" Rogers, Rucker 3:48
5. "If I Had Wings" Rogers, Rucker, Rivers Rutherford 4:03
6. "History in the Making" Mills, Rogers, Rucker 3:29
7. "Alright" Rogers, Rucker 3:51
8. "It Won't Be Like This for Long" Chris DuBois, Ashley Gorley, Rucker 3:39
9. "Drinkin' and Dialin'" DuBois, Gorley, Rucker 3:04
10. "I Hope They Get to Me in Time" Monty Criswell, Wade Kirby 3:26
11. "While I Still Got the Time" Rogers, Rucker, Rutherford 3:49
12. "Be Wary of a Woman" Dave Berg, Patrick Davis, Rucker 3:26

 

[Dennie]

This is my first spin of this Willie album (ah...err...CD) and I am really enjoying it......

Healing Hands of Time -- CD

Willie Nelson

1994 Liberty Records

Willie Nelson has crossed the borderline between musical genres countless times over his illustrious career. Initially he precipitated a rebellion against those who would dictate what a country record was supposed to sound like. Now fully established in country music as both a songwriter and a singer--having personally defined the outlaw sound--he broke through to the pop market in the late '70s with his mega hit STARDUST, a luminous collection of standards.

In a way, the lush orchestral charts of Nelson's nostalgic HEALING HANDS OF TIME mark a return to the clarity and wisdom of STARDUST, the big difference being that more than half of these standards are classics penned by Nelson himself--songs so imbued with lyrical craftmanship and emotional urgency that they can stand proudly next to the work of America's most esteemed songwriters.

Nelson's wistful classic of longing, loss and betrayal, "Funny How Time Slips Away," became a phenomenal single for Joe Hinton; the same goes for "Crazy," which was Patsy Cline's biggest hit. Both songs receive tender, forlorn readings from Nelson, goosed along by the gentle urgings of a 60-piece orchestra. Nelson offers a definitive reading of "Night Life," which is to Willie what "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" is to Sinatra, while his poignant title tune tugs at the heartstrings like Hank Williams. And his earnest interpretations of "All The Things That You Are" and "I'll Be Seeing You" are the stuff dreams are made of.

Track Listing:

1. "Funny How Time Slips Away" - 5:30
2. "Crazy" - 3:30
3. "Night Life" - 3:56
4. "Healing Hands of Time" - 3:45
5. "(How Will I Know) I'm Falling in Love Again" - 4:14
6. "All the Things You Are" - 2:51
7. "Oh, What I Seemed to Be" - 3:21
8. "If I Had My Way" - 3:23
9. "I'll Be Seeing You" - 3:02
10. "There Are Worse Things Than Being Alone" - 4:08

 

[Dennie]

Come Rain or Come Shine - The Harold Arlen Songbook -- CD

Sylvia McNair - Vocals
Andre Previn - Piano
David Finck - Double-Bass

1996 Philips Classics

Wonderful songs in superb performance, December 14, 1999
By bossa_nova (Kent) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Come Rain Or Come Shine: The Harold Arlen Songbook (Audio CD)

Harold Arlen's songs are wonderful and far too little known. Sylvia McNair sings beautifully and shows real understanding of Arlen's jazzy idiom, Andre Previn is superb in support and the whole session is a magical experience. Both are at their best in 'This time the dream's on me', a performance unlikely to be surpassed. Highly recommended to all lovers of quality music.

1. The Wizard Of Oz: Over The Rainbow
2. Cotton Club Parade - 22nd Edition: Stormy Weather
3. Rhythmania: Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
4. Casbah: It Was Written In The Stars
5. Cotton Club Parade - 24th Edition: As Long As I Live
6. Star Spangled Rhythm: That Old Black Magic
7. The Morning After
8. House Of Flowers: A Sleepin' Bee
9. Here Come The Waves: Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive
10. Saratoga: Goose, Never Be A Peacock
11. St. Louis Woman: I Wonder What Became Of Me?
12. The Great Magoo: It's Only A Paper Moon
13. House Of Flowers: Two Ladies In The Shade Of The Banana Tree
14. Jamaica: Cocoanut Sweet
15. Bloomer Girl: Right As The Rain
16. Nine-Fifteen Revue: I've Got The World On A String, Get Happy
17. St Louis Woman: Come Rain Or Come Shine
18. Blues In The Night: This Time The Dream's On Me
19. Here Come The Waves: Let's Take A Walk Around The Block, Let's Take The Long Way Home
20. Last Night When We Were Young

 

[Dennie]

Haunted Heart -- CD

Hilary Kole

2009 Justin Time Records

Product Description

After years performing in the world's top venues with such jazz legends as Hank Jones and Oscar Peterson, here is Hilary Kole's debut, produced by John Pizzarelli, a jazz star in his own right, and who also serves as the album's guitarist. Together, Hilary and John have assembled 13 songs with roots in the great American songbook, but largely unknown, including Tom Waits Old Boyfriends and You For Me, best known from the late Blossom Dearie's interpretation. Here is a jazz vocalist for today!

Hilary Kole co- created and originated the lead female roles in the critically acclaimed, award winning Off-Broadway musicals, Our Sinatra (2000 MAC Award) and Singing Astaire.

Ms. Kole has been hailed by critics as a 'a musical marvel!' (Rex Reed, New York Observer.) Robert Daniels from Daily Variety said 'Kole is quite the prettiest young thrush on the club circuit...it's torch singing at its apex.'

1. It's Love
2. There's A Small Hotel
3. 'Deed I Do
4. I Didn't Know About You
5. Better Than Anything
6. Like A Lover
7. Blackberry Winter
8. The Snake
9. Old Boyfriends
10. How Am I To Know
11. What'll I Do
12. You For Me
13. Haunted Heart

 

[Kazaam]

PS I listen to all music in Stereo

You and I, sir, are NO LONGER on speaking terms!!!!! (I kid, I kid... :teasing-neener: )

 

[Dennie]

PS I listen to all music in Stereo

You and I, sir, are NO LONGER on speaking terms!!!!! (I kid, I kid... :teasing-neener: )

Funny........ :laughing-rolling: !

I only have two Klipsch La Scala speakers, if I get 3 to 5 more, I may change my "music" listening habits!

I hope you'll still wave if we see each other on the street! bscene-drinkingcheers:



Dennie