What Are You Listening To?

[Dennie]

This is another "Deserted Island" album, it is truly an amazing album. "Tryin' Times" sounds like it was written for today!! I could go on and on about every song, just get this album/CD/whatever!!!

First Take -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup: :eusa-clap:

Roberta Flack

1969/1995 Atlantic Records

Although originally released in 1969, FIRST TAKE languished in obscurity until noted jazz fan Clint Eastwood chose Roberta Flack's haunting, minimalist reinterpretation of Scottish folkie Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" ... Full Descriptionto score a love scene in his 1972 film PLAY MISTY FOR ME. Latter-day fans of that single and Flack's later smooth soul hits might be surprised at the overall sound of FIRST TAKE.

Recorded with a small combo of jazz giants--guitarist John Pizzarelli, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Ray Lucas, with Flack on piano--and produced by Atlantic's house eccentric Joel Dorn, FIRST TAKE is a jazz album with soul and pop influences. The recording has more in common with Nina Simone, or even Dorn's work with eclectic reedsman Rahsaan Roland Kirk, than mainstream soul divas of the 1970s. Flack's utterly controlled, elegant vocal style and her churchy piano chords root this album, which has a stately power and deliberate grace even at its most soulful--particularly on a call-and-response version of the spiritual "I Told Jesus" and the heartbreaking "Angelitos Negros."

1. "Compared to What" (Gene McDaniels) - 5:16
2. "Angelitos Negros" (Andres Eloy Blanco, Manuel Alvarez Maciste) - 6:56
3. "Our Ages or Our Hearts" (Robert Ayers, Donny Hathaway) - 6:09
4. "I Told Jesus" (Traditional) - 6:09
5. "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" (Leonard Cohen) - 4:08
6. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (Ewan MacColl) - 5:22
7. "Tryin' Times" (Donny Hathaway, Leroy Hutson) - 5:08
8. "Ballad of the Sad Young Men" (Fran Landesman, Tommy Wolf) - 7:00

 

[Dennie]

Ok, off to Amazon I go! I did get the two Ella&Louis albums, have been listening to them... guess I need to fill out the jazz thread some. I'll post about other albums I get based on your recs.

And of course I still have the set of CDs you "shared" with me a while back! MD's Sketches of Spain has become one of my all-time favorites.

Yeah Pauly, if you get a album on my recommendation and you don't like it, let me know and we'll work something out. People have different tastes and life experiences. It all has an influence. :teasing-tease:

Dennie :twocents-mytwocents:

 

[PaulyT]

No prob Dennie, I certainly wouldn't blame you if I got something I didn't like; everything's subjective. So far that hasn't happened, though, with you or anyone of this crowd who've recommended stuff. I mean, I've gotten maybe a few that I'm not 100% thrilled by, but nothing that just completely stinks. I have no problem with that little bit of risk, especially since most of what I get is used and inexpensive, for the vast reward of the great music I've been exposed to that I otherwise wouldn't have known about.

 

[CMonster]

Listening to Counting Crows - August and Everything After (and some lawn mowers :angry-cussingblack whilst sitting on my back deck on a beautiful evening here in KC. Three fawns are frolicking in my neighbors yard (oops two, just scared one off while trying to get a pic) and I'm trying to decide between a glass of pinot grigio or a frosty mug of Blvd Wheat from the keg. Decisions, decisions...

 

[Dennie]

Leo Kottke Live -- CD

Leo Kottke

1995 On The Spot Records
Amazon.com

Leo Kottke has peppered his oeuvre with live albums, which is befitting since his extraordinary instrumental technique and droll humor make him a natural (albeit low-key) audience charmer. This 15-song set from a 1995 Boulder, Colorado, concert finds the guitarist focusing on late '80s and early '90s albums. He draws from 1986's A Shout Toward Noon (check out his cover of Duane Allman's deceptively intricate "Little Martha"), '88's Regards from Chuck Pink, '89's My Father's Face, '90's That's What, and '94's Peculiaroso. Kottke reaches deeper into his song bag to pull out "Bean Time" (from 1972's Greenhouse), but it's refreshing to hear him reexamine a particularly fertile period in his career while the original recordings are still fresh in his mind. The clear-as-lake-water audio quality also deserves kudos. As usual, Kottke's playing is beyond reproach and his between-song remarks are winning. --Steven Stolder

1. "William Powell" – 5:32
2. "The Room at the Top of the Stairs" (Randall Hylton) – 2:47
3. "Airproofing" – 4:50
4. "Jack Gets Up" – 4:49
5. "Combat" - 6:05
6. "Peg Leg" – 2:21
7. "Twilight Time" (Buck Ram, Morty Nevins, Al Nevins) – 2:27
8. "Bean Time" – 1:40
9. "Roy Autry" – 6:25
10. "Parade" – 4:11
11. "I Yell at Traffic" – 5:40
12. "Flattened Brain" – 3:45
13. "Little Martha" (Duane Allman) – 2:04
14. "Oddball" – 3:18
15. "Arms of Mary" (Ian Sutherland) – 4:08

All songs by Leo Kottke except as noted.

 

[CMonster]

INXS - Kick

The deer are gone, the mosquitoes are not.

 

[PaulyT]

What, working hard on that Pinot? Sheesh... lush. bscene-drinkingdrunk:

 

[CMonster]

What, working hard on that Pinot? Sheesh... lush. bscene-drinkingdrunk:

Wow, what'd I ever do to you, aside from pretty much inviting myself to your place, showing up sans gift since liquor stores in DC are closed on Sunday, parking my fat ass in the sweet spot of your HT for a couple of hours and then have you treat me to lunch??? It's not like I had you chauffeur me to/from the train station. Oh, wait...

 

[Dennie]

The World Is A Ghetto -- CD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

WAR

1973/1992 Avenue Records
Amazon.com essential recording

Best known for its distinctive fusion of Latin-flavored jazz, funk, rock, and soul, War was unquestionably one of the most successful fusion bands to emerge in the early '70s. Initially working with Eric Burdon, former lead singer with the British '60s band the Animals, the seven-member team enjoyed a commercial breakthrough with 1971's "All Day Music." The follow-up, The World Is a Ghetto took War mainstream thanks to the crossover success of the title track, a top 10 pop and R&B smash as 1972 became 1973. Cuts like the 13-minute-plus jazz-flavored adventure known as "City, Country, City" alongside the witty "Where Was You At" and the eerie "Four Cornered Room" were standouts on the six-track album. But it was the immediacy of the No. 2 pop single "The Cisco Kid," with its catchy hook that helped give the band a chart-topping No. 1 gold-selling album in 1973, arguably the best representation of its work as groove pioneers of the day. --David Nathan
1. The Cisco Kid
2. Where Was You At
3. City, Country, City
4. Four Cornered Room
5. The World Is A Ghetto
6. Beetles In The Bog

 

[Kazaam]

Faith No More's "What Cares a Lot? The Greatest Hits" just came in the mail this afternoon. Seller said it was in 'good' condition, but I would tend to disagree---what with the fingerprint funk, scratches, and skips. (Maybe "acceptable" condition seeing as how it was dirt cheap, but not "good".)

Thankfully, a SkipDr made it play just fine.

I've had the band's "Angel Dust" album for years and it's got some good stuff on it, but I never loved it enough to dig around elsewhere in their catalog until now with this hits package. I hated the song "Epic" back when it was initially popular and I still don't care much for it, but I find myself finally digging "Falling To Pieces" after all these years. The band's older single "We Care A Lot", with the pre-Mike Patton singer, is kind of a nice bass-funky Chilipepperesque tune but better. The odd cover of the Bee Gee's "I Started A Joke" sucks compared to FNM's cover of L. Ritchie's "Easy", but it's still a nice curiosity to have added to my music collection. "Stripsearch", on the other hand, is excellent!

However, unless the tidbits on disc 2 turn out to impress me immensely, I don't think I'll be digging any deeper into Faith No More's catalog. (Plus, I've all but forgotten about possibly picking up any of that strange Mr. Bungle stuff.)

Note: The sound quality of some of the later tracks is pretty good and beefy, but earlier tracks sound like crap.

 

[CMonster]

Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

 

[Dennie]

Belly Of The Sun -- CD

Cassandra Wilson

2002 Blue Note Records

Amazon.com

By now, it's a moot point whether Cassandra Wilson is singing jazz or not. By unifying what were once considered disparate styles and song forms with her languorously rich vocals and offbeat instrumental textures, she has become the queen of her own genre. Largely recorded at a one-time train station in her native Mississippi, Belly of the Sun ranges from country-blues great Fred McDowell's gritty "You Gotta Move" (popularized by the Rolling Stones and here featuring acoustic-guitar wiz Richard Johnston) to Brazilian immortal Antonio Carlos Jobim's winsome "Waters of March" (featuring a children's choir) to a hauntingly feminized version of Jimmy Webb's "Wichita Lineman." Revealing her command of narrative material, Wilson draws seductive meaning from Bob Dylan's "Shelter from the Storm" and the Band's "The Weight." Featuring Kevin Breit and Marvin Sewell on all manner of guitars and related string instruments, Belly of the Sun also boasts three strong Wilson originals, including "Just Another Parade," a jazzy-soulful duet with India Arie, and "Show Me a Love." As her own producer, Wilson comes up with less compelling backgrounds than Craig Street, who produced her darker-tinged breakthrough albums. Still, this is her most seamless, smoothest-flowing, and most effortlessly expansive recording. "I need to feel some rich black soil that's moist between my toes," she sings. You can feel her Southern roots in the grooves as well. --Lloyd Sachs

1. "The Weight" (Robbie Robertson) – 6:05
2. "Justice" (Cassandra Wilson) – 5:27
3. "Darkness on the Delta" (Jay Livingston, Al J. Neiburg, Marty Symes) – 3:47
4. "Waters of March" (Antonio Carlos Jobim) – 4:26
5. "You Gotta Move" (Mississippi Fred McDowell) – 2:44
6. "Only a Dream in Rio" (James Taylor) – 4:32
7. "Just Another Parade" (Wilson) – 6:05 featuring India.Arie
8. "Wichita Lineman" (Jimmy Webb) – 5:48
9. "Shelter From the Storm" (Bob Dylan) – 5:17
10. "Drunk as Cooter Brown" (Wilson) – 4:58
11. "Show Me a Love" (Robinson, Wilson) – 3:49
12. "Road So Clear" (Richmond) – 5:22
13. "Hot Tamales" (Robert Johnson) – 1:43

 

[Dennie]

Another thing to note (Pauly), I do read every review before I steal/post it. I try to pick one that I think is relevant to how "I" feel about the music/artist.

Paulistana -- CD :handgestures-thumbup:

Eliane Elias

1993 Somethin' Else / Blue Note Records

Eliane Elias in one of her most inspired albums!, October 27, 2004
By Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Paulistana (Audio CD)
The inner mood in which Eliane Elias approachs to the Brazilian sound is simply absorbing . She plays music with refined commitment and expressive fineness , she never lets a sound free of articulation considering the music as great puzzle in which every little bar is essential for getting the right tone and the precise color .
Acquire this CD and convince by yourself about this wonderful achievement of this brazilian artist.

 

[Dennie]

Did You Feel That CD

Joe Sample and the Soul Committee

1994 Warner Bros. Records

The Best Jazz/Funk Album to come along in years, October 2, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Did You Feel That (Audio CD)
Top notch musicianship and every single song on this CD is a keeper......there is no filler to this album and you wont catch yourself skipping over any of the songs.It's all top of the line jazz/funk.

 

[PaulyT]

Another thing to note (Pauly), I do read every review before I steal/post it. I try to pick one that I think is relevant to how "I" feel about the music/artist.

Ok, good to know, thanks!

 

[PaulyT]

His first solo album - recorded when he was all of 24! He's changed a lot in some ways, and in other ways has kept to his "core" style. Interesting to track the evolution. The studio quality of the albums definitely seems to have improved over time. I mean these older ones aren't bad by any means, but they don't stand out in SQ the way the newer ones do, to me anyway.

 

[Dennie]

UFO Tofu -- CD

Bele Fleck & The Flecktones

1992 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com essential recording

There's a sly wit to every Béla Fleck & the Flecktones album; the foursome of virtuosos takes its progressive fusion of jazz and bluegrass to such extremes (and with such ease), the musicians can't help but smile. "Nemo's Dream" exemplifies the spirit of the group as each member--Fleck on banjo, Howard Levy on piano, Victor Wooten on bass, and Future Man on drum-synth--let loose and have their fun. The title track erupts with a flurry of notes from Fleck and Levy that slowly evolves into intricately patterned quartet interplay. "Magic Fingers" never stops being funky. And "True North" starts out (oddly enough for this crew) with a plaintive, New Agey pennywhistle. "The Yee-haw Factor" returns the disc back to its wild bluegrass roots. One of the Flecktones' very best. --Jason Verlinde

All songs by Béla Fleck unless otherwise noted.

1. "The West County" – 4:30
2. "Sex In A Pan" (Victor Wooten) – 3:33
3. "Nemo's Dream" – 5:07
4. "Bonnie & Slyde" – 4:18
5. "Scuttlebutt" – 4:04
6. "UFO Tofu" – 3:46
7. "Magic Fingers" – 5:13
8. "True North" – 4:54
9. "Life Without Elvis" – 5:06
10. "Seresta" (Howard Levy/Manfredo Fest) – 3:39
11. "The Yee-Haw Factor" – 6:57
12. "After The Storm" – 3:52

 

[Dennie]

Esperanza -- CD

Esperanza Spalding

2008 Heads Up Music
Amazon.com

Never mind that in 2005--at the age of 20--Esperanza Spalding became the youngest instructor in the history of Berklee College of Music. It's what's on wax that counts--or CD, or MP3, if preferred. On Esperanza, her debut set for Heads Up International, Spalding presents a prowess on the acoustic bass that many bassists with far more experience could be inspired by. Need proof? Check out "Mela," on which Spalding’s chops on the upright are matched (if not exceeded) by her tangerine-and-honey vocals. There is a lilt in her voice that, to be sure, puts the blind optimism of her youth front and center. But who needs another jaded jazz singer? This multi-lingual set starts off with the mellow, mid-tempo "Ponta De Areia." From there Spalding winds her way through an appropriate group of mostly self-penned songs that are simultaneously sweet, commanding, calming, and intense. Of particular note are the hopeful "Espera," and her take on "Cuerpo y Alma" (the jazz standard "Body & Soul" in Spanish). And yes, purists, she can scat. Her name, Esparanza, is the Spanish word for "hope." Here's hope for a bright future and satisfying career following this wonderfully refreshing album. --Eric C.P. Martin

1. "Ponta de Areia" - 5:39
2. "I Know You Know" - 3:46
3. "Fall In" - 3:57
4. "I Adore You" - 7:27
5. "Cuerpo y Alma" - 8:01
6. "She Got to You" - 4:29
7. "Precious" - 4:24
8. "Mela" - 6:57
9. "Love in Time" - 5:47
10. "Espera" - 4:40
11. "If That's True" - 7:33
12. "Samba Em Preludio" - 5:11

 

[Aaron German]

However, unless the tidbits on disc 2 turn out to impress me immensely, I don't think I'll be digging any deeper into Faith No More's catalog. (Plus, I've all but forgotten about possibly picking up any of that strange Mr. Bungle stuff.)

I am not all that experienced with the music of Mike Patton, but I think I've heard enough to know that if the Faith No More is too much to the weird side for you, then Mr. Bungle most definitely will be. But Mr. Bungle might not be as heavy??? Any other opinions about this would be welcomed.

 

[Vinyl]

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