What Are You Listening To?

[trash]

I like things that are a little different.

 

[PaulyT]

Nice!

This one's interesting, especially the context:

 

[Rope]

Rope

 

[Botch]

Getz/Gilberto -- SACD

I would kinda like this on SACD, but Astrud sings the entire album about 20 cents flat, just maddenly, consistently flat, and I have a bit of trouble listening to it. :doh: Fantastic album otherwise.

 

[Dennie]

Hard Promises -- HDCD :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

1981/2001 MCA Records

Amazon.com

Tom Petty's love affair with the more pop-oriented output of the Byrds and Dylan at their mid-'60s prime continued to find an increasingly wide audience in the '80s--and damned if some people didn't persist in calling it "new wave." Go figure. If writing hook-laden, instantly memorable pop-rock songs was both a sign of genius and one of music's toughest feats, Hard Promises (and its FM evergreens, "The Waiting" and "A Woman in Love") confirmed that Petty was one skinny, little, hard-working prodigy. Picking up effortlessly where *** the Torpedoes left off, Petty and the equally conscientious Heartbreakers took nothing about their newfound fame for granted, delivering their fourth strong effort in a row, this one increasingly seasoned with touches of their Southern roots. The title hints at the tough underbelly beneath the jangly veneer of Petty's ever-accessible songwriting, exemplified here by "Nightwatchman," "Something Big," and "The Criminal Kind." All tracks on this edition have been upgraded via digital remastering, and the album's original inner artwork and lyrics have also been restored. --Jerry McCulley
Side one

1. "The Waiting" – 3:58
2. "A Woman in Love (It's Not Me)" (Petty, Mike Campbell) – 4:22
3. "Nightwatchman" (Petty, Campbell) – 3:59
4. "Something Big" – 4:44
5. "Kings Road" – 3:27

Side two

1. "Letting You Go" – 3:24
2. "A Thing About You" – 3:33
3. "Insider" – 4:23
4. "The Criminal Kind" – 4:00
5. "You Can Still Change Your Mind" (Petty, Campbell) – 4:15

 

[Dennie]

Getz/Gilberto -- SACD

I would kinda like this on SACD, but Astrud sings the entire album about 20 cents flat, just maddenly, consistently flat, and I have a bit of trouble listening to it. :doh: Fantastic album otherwise.

Fortunately, I fell in love with her on this album, so I've enjoyed her for a long time and I've learned to "be okay" with her singing. This album cover is one of my favorite pictures of her!! :eusa-clap:


Dennie

 

[Dennie]

I picked up this one today...... bscene-drinkingcheers:

Old Ways -- 24k Gold CD

Neil Young

1985 Geffen/ MFSL Ultradisc II

There has always been a strong country element to Neil Young's music and OLD WAYS is perhaps the ultimate manifestation of Young's love of that style. Songs like "Get Back To The Country" (a stomping track on which fiddles and a Jew's harp are the lead instruments) and "California Sunset" are indeed pure country. Other songs--including "The Wayward Kind," "Misfits" and "Old Ways"--boast poignant melodies and straightforward performances that would not be out of place on classic Young albums like HARVEST and COMES A TIME. Labeled a "country album" when it was released in 1985, OLD WAYS is a lot less country than Garth Brooks or Dwight Yoakam, though with guests spots from Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, it's not your typical Neil Young album either. OLD WAYS is an enthusiastic, well-played exploration of country music by a rock artist who is never afraid to try something new.

Neil Goes Country With Bela Fleck And Others

Side one

1. "The Wayward Wind" – (Herb Newman, Stan Lebowsky) 3:12
2. "Get Back to the Country" – 2:50
3. "Are There Any More Real Cowboys?" – 3:03
4. "Once an Angel" – 3:55
5. "Misfits" – 5:07

Side two

1. "California Sunset" – 2:56
2. "Old Ways" – 3:08
3. "My Boy" – 3:37
4. "Bound for Glory" – 5:48
5. "Where Is the Highway Tonight?" – 3:02

 

[Dennie]

VH1 Storytellers -- CD

Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson

2002 American Recordings

2 legends doing what they do best, February 26, 2005
By DanD - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)

This is one of those intimate, legendary concerts that people dream of attending. And while you probably weren't there, you will at least FEEL like you were there, as you listen to this CD--all the songs, all the anecdotes, all the banter...it's captured on VH1 STORYTELLERS, one of the best CDs you could ever hope to purchase.

How good is this album? Well, if the 5-star rating wasn't evidence enough, and if the presence of two of the best singer/songwriters ever isn't enough, the how about a recap of the album's highlights: namely, all fifteen tracks. Two voices, two guitars...songs such as "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and "Funny How Time Slips Away" are given new life, with other classics (such as "Crazy," "Always on My Mind," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Don't Take Your Guns to Town," and "Me and Paul") revitalized and sounding as sweet as ever. Cash's haunting Vietnam-era track "Drive On" blends in perfectly with Willie's autobiographical "Me and Paul"--two songs of different subjects, with different atmospheres, blending together because they are performed by two friends.

Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson are the best music can get, and they're on one album. Can you resist? Probably. But why the heck would you want to?

1. (Ghost) Riders In The Sky
2. Worried Man
3. Family Bible
4. Don't Take Your Guns To Town
5. Funny How Time Slips Away
6. Flesh And Blood
7. Crazy
8. Unchained
9. Night Life
10. Drive On
11. Me And Paul
12. I Still Miss Someone
13. Always On My Mind
14. Folsom Prison Blues
15. On The Road Again

 

[Dennie]

Real Live Roadrunning -- CD + DVD-V :text-bravo:

Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris

2006 Warner Bros. Records

A great venue, a great tour, two great artists, and a great performance. So it was for icons Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris on June 28, 2006, at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles before a sold-out crowd. Their concert together, one of only a handful in the U.S., followed the April release of All The Roadrunning, their long-awaited rootsy collaboration that soared into the Top 10 in the U.K. and Top 20 in the U.S. Now that special night has been captured on Real Live Roadrunning, a CD+DVD package that showcases real live greatness.

C D :
Right Now
Red Staggerwing,
Red Dirt Girl
Done With Bonaparte
Romeo and Juliet
All That Matters
This Is Us
All the Roadrunning
Boulder To Birmingham
Speedway At Nazareth
So Far Away
Our Shangri-La
If This Is Goodbye
Why Worry

DVD :
Right Now
Red Staggerwing
Red Dirt Girl
I Dug Up A Diamond
Born To Run
Done With Bonaparte
Romeo & Juliet
Song For Sonny Liston
Belle Starr
This Is Us
All The Roadrunning
Boulder To Birmingham
Speedway At Nazareth
So Far Away
Our Shangri-La
If This Is Goodbye
Why Worry

 

[Dennie]

1. The Loco-Motion - Grand Funk
2. Slow Ride - Foghat
3. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Bachman Turner Overdrive
4. Radar Love - Golden Earring
5. Love Hurts - Nazareth
6. I'm on Fire - Dwight Twilley Band
7. Must of Got Lost - The J. Geils Band
8. Welcome To My Nightmare - Alice Cooper
9. Jessica - The Allman Brothers Band
10. Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo - Rick Derringer
11. Takin' Care of Business - Bachman Turner Overdrive
12. Smokin' in the Boys Room - Brownsville Station
13. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
14. Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me) - The Doobie Brothers
15. Can't Get Enough - Bad Company
16. Bad Time - Grand Funk
17. Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd

 

[Dennie]

Happy Friday Everyone!

Dennie :mrgreen:

 

[Dennie]

Workingman's Dead -- CD

Grateful Dead

1970/1990 Warner Bros. Records

The Grateful Dead were already established as paragons of the free-form, improvisational San Francisco psychedelic sound when they abruptly shifted gears for the acoustic Workingman's Dead, a lovely exploration of American roots music illuminating the group's country, blues, and folk influences. The lilting "Uncle John's Band," their first radio hit, opens the record and perfectly summarizes its subtle, spare beauty; complete with a new focus on more concise songs and tighter arrangements, the approach works brilliantly. Despite its sharp contrast to the epic live space jams on which the group's legend primarily rests, Workingman's Dead nonetheless spotlights the Dead at their most engaging, stripped of all excess to reveal the true essence of their craft.

1. Uncle John's Band
2. High Time
3. Dire Wolf
4. New Speedway Boogie
5. Cumberland Blues
6. Black Peter
7. Easy Wind
8. Casey Jones

 

[Dennie]

The Union Deluxe CD (2 bonus tracks)/DVD

Elton John/Leon Russell

2010 Decca/Rocket Records

The Deluxe Edition is a CD + DVD Package
The CD includes two tracks not available on the standard release: "My Kind Of Hell" and "Mandalay Again"
The DVD features "The Union" the Making Of By Cameron Crowe.

Decca Records is pleased to announce the release of the highly anticipated collaboration between two musical legends, Elton John and Leon Russell with The Union available October 19 in the U.S. (To be released October 25 in the U.K. on Mercury Records.) This album marks the first time these iconic artists have worked together since 1970.

Produced by Oscar and multiple-Grammy winning producer T Bone Burnett, who took home numerous awards in 2009 for his production work on Raising Sand with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, The Union features songs written by John and his lifelong lyricist Bernie Taupin, as well as in combination with the extraordinary talents of Russell and Burnett.

Recorded live in the studio with John and Russell on dueling pianos, the album features a variety of musical genres from R&B, soul, gospel, country, pop and rock. Icons Neil Young and Brian Wilson provide guest vocals on the 14-track record along with legendary R&B organist Booker T. Jones, steel guitarist Robert Randolph and a 10-piece gospel choir.

Russell first met John in 1970 when he attended John's first ever U.S. show at the famous Troubadour in Los Angeles. The meeting heralded the beginning of a long friendship and a mutual appreciation between the two artists. "In the late '60s and early '70s, the one piano player and vocalist who influenced me more than anybody else was Leon Russell," John said. "He was my idol." The pair went on to tour together shortly thereafter at New York's Fillmore East and to this day have held such high admiration for each other's work.

After years of being out of touch, John listened to Russell's music while on safari in Africa last summer and was inspired to reconnect with his idol. "Elton called to ask if I would do a duet album with him,'" Russell said. "I'm very happy that he chose me to do this."

The monumental career of international singer/songwriter and performer Elton John has spanned more than three decades. He is the one of the top-selling solo artists of all time with 35 gold and 25 platinum albums and more than 250 million records sold worldwide. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has awarded John multiple Grammys, including the Grammy Legend Award.

Russell has performed his gospel-infused southern boogie piano rock, blues and country music for over 50 years. This legendary and Grammy award winning musician and songwriter has topped music charts, led the famous Joe Cocker's 'Mad Dogs & Englishmen' tour, performed with George Harrison and Friends at the Concert for Bangladesh and in 2006 was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Bare Bones International Film Festival.

The Union is a unique collaboration of two of the most talented artists in the music business. Combining forces and fusing diverse talents, John and Russell along with Burnett have produced an extraordinary album.
1. If It Wasn't For Bad
2. Eight Hundred Dollar Shoes
3. Hey Ahab
4. Gone To Shiloh
5. Hearts Have Turned To Stone
6. Jimmie Rodgers' Dream
7. There's No Tomorrow
8. Monkey Suit
9. The Best Part Of The Day
10. A Dream Come True
11. I Should Have Sent Roses
12. When Love Is Dying
13. My Kind Of Hell
14. Mandalay Again
15. Never Too Old (To Hold Somebody)
16. In The Hands Of Angels

 

[Dennie]

One Take Radio Sessions -- EP :handgestures-thumbup: :handgestures-thumbup:

Mark Knopfler

2005 Warner Bros. Records

Amazon.com

Eschewing much of the stardust that the worldwide success of Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms virtually guaranteed him, Mark Knopfler's belated and halting solo career since has often seemed willfully spectral, if ever driven by a quietly intense musical restlessness. Taking "Rudiger" from his '96 solo debut and seven core tracks from his savory, thematically eclectic '04 collection, Shangri-La, Knopfler returned to the Malibu studio of the same name to forge these more focused, nigh-perfect live renditions with his bandmates. The intimate setting offers added poignancy to "The Trawlerman's Song" and casts "Back to Tupelo" in bluesier, more supple tones, while "Song For Sonny Liston" bristles with grittier energy. Fans of Knopfler's fluid, expressive guitar technique will find much to admire as well, from the sprightly, country-fied chicken-pickin' of "Donegan's Gone" to the tasteful, economic soloing on "Boom, Like That" and "Everybody Pays." But, as on the album that inspired this EP, the real star here is Knopfler the songwriter--an artist whose choice in themes and subtle wordplay has become the equal of his compelling fretwork. --Jerry McCulley


1. "The Trawlerman's Song"
2. "Back to Tupelo"
3. "Song for Sonny Liston"
4. "Rüdiger"
5. "Boom, Like That"
6. "Everybody Pays"
7. "Donegan's Gone"
8. "Stand Up Guy"

 

[Dennie]

:text-bravo:

Chapter Two -- CD

Roberta Flack

1970/1992 Atlantic Records

One of the 5 Greatest Albums of All Time, Period., May 28, 2003
By "jeremiah256"

I was a child when this album came out and it has haunted me ever since. Turn the lights out, light a fire in the fireplace, select your favorite bottle of wine, kick the kids out, curl up on the couch with your loved one, put this album on and enjoy. Hell, this albums so good you don't need anyone. Kick everyone out. "Reverend Lee", with good reason, is the classic of this album. You'll feel Roberta's warm breath on your neck as she sings of sin and lust. It'll take you back in time to that someone whom you couldn't resist, even though you knew better. Other favorites are "Do What You Gotta Do", "Gone Away", and "Until It's Time For You To Go". Those three songs along with "Just Like A Woman" are beautiful in their meaning and the mood they create. "Business Goes On As Usual" is placed last. It's a haunting anti-war song and you'd think it wouldn't fit in with the other songs of love and regret but it does. That's because it too is about love and the lose of that loved one. My personal favorite is "Let It Be Me". Like "Impossible Dream", Roberta's voice, the tempo, what I believe is a French Horn in the background, all combine to make you realize how beautiful songs can be, even songs you've heard a hundred times, when given to a vocal talent such as Roberta Flack. After you've recharged your soul with this album, let the spouce and kids back in and give them a hug.

1. "Reverend Lee" (Gene McDaniels) 4:31
2. "Do What You Gotta Do" (Jimmy Webb) 4:09
3. "Just Like a Woman" (Bob Dylan) 6:14
4. "Let It Be Me" (Gilbert Becaud, Mann Curtis, Pierre Delanoë) 5:00
5. "Gone Away" (Donny Hathaway, Leroy Hutson, Curtis Mayfield) 5:16
6. "Until It's Time for You to Go" (Buffy Sainte-Marie) 4:57
7. "The Impossible Dream" (Joe Darion, Mitch Leigh) 4:42
8. "Business Goes on as Usual" (Fred Hellerman, Fran Minkoff) 3:30

 

[Dennie]

Loverly -- CD

Cassandra Wilson

2008 Blue Note Records

Amazon.com

Cassandra Wilson's Loverly is something more than just her unique spin on songs from long ago. For this set, she has assembled an impressive core group of musicians to accompany her: Jason Moran on piano, Lonnie Plaxico on acoustic upright bass, and Marvin Sewell on guitar. Her low and hypnotic contralto glides so knowingly through each song that they would seem to be of her own creation--but aren't. To be sure, each of the 12 songs found on Loverly are stamped with her trademark Delta-baby, bluesy style (most noticeably on "Dust My Broom"). But Wilson and company have taken it one step further by turning tear-jerkers such as "Til There Was You" and "The Very Thought of You" into sultry bubblers that invite ballads into the bedroom. Throw in the moody "Black Orpheus" and her funky, down-to-business take on "St. James Infirmary," and it doesn't take long to realize that Loverly is a complete attempt to satisfy the soul; a sexy mesh that dares rival anything Cassandra Wilson has released before it. --Eric C.P. Martin

1. Lover Come Back to Me
2. Black Orpheus
3. Wouldn’t It Be Loverly
4. Gone with the Wind
5. Caravan
6. Till There Was You
7. Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most
8. Arere
9. St. James Infirmary
10. Dust My Broom
11. The Very Thought of You
12. A Sleepin’ Bee

 

[Botch]

Perfect rainy-cold-saturday morning music.

 

[Dennie]

Rainy day music it is..........

Brushfire Fairytales CD

Jack Johnson

2002 UMD

Fans of Willy Porter, Ben Harper, and G. Love will all want to check out Jack Johnson's engaging folk- and blues-inflected pop. Born in Oahu, Hawaii, Johnson, a former surfer and film-school graduate, has a knack for acoustic ballads whose calm surfaces hide a subtle but strong lyrical undertow. "It seems to me that 'maybe' pretty much always means 'no,'" sings Johnson on "Flake," which features crony Harper on slide guitar. Production by J.P. Plunier (who also handles Harper's recordings) is simple and uncluttered: acoustic guitar and drum tracks share the foreground with Johnson's easygoing vocals, which evoke everyone from G. Love (who recorded Johnson's "Rodeo Clowns" on his Philadelphonic album) to Nick Drake to Willy Porter. And while Johnson may not have Porter's guitar chops, these songs have a relaxed beauty and understated depth that reward repeated listening. --Bill Forman

 

[topper]

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band ~ "Live In Chicago"

~ released Sept. 2010


>

 

[Dennie]

Genius Loves Company -- SACD :text-bravo:

Ray Charles

2004 Concord Music

Genius Loves Company is the final studio album by rhythm and blues and soul musician Ray Charles, posthumously released August 31, 2004 on Concord Records.[1] Recording sessions for the album took place between June 2003 and March 2004.[2] The album consists of R&B, country, pop and blues standards performed by Charles and several guest musicians, such as Natalie Cole, Elton John, James Taylor, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Gladys Knight, Diana Krall, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt. Genius Loves Company was the last album recorded and completed by Charles before his death in June 2004.

The album was produced as a collaboration of Concord Records and Hear Music, the record label owned by the coffee chain Starbucks.[3] It served as the first original non-compilation release by Hear Music,[3] as well as one of Ray Charles' most commercially successful albums. On February 2, 2005, Genius Loves Company was certified triple-platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America following sales of over three million copies in the United States.[4] The album featured an iconic image by photographer Norman Seeff on the cover.

1. "Here We Go Again" (feat. Norah Jones) Laniel, Steagall 3:59
2. "Sweet potato Pie" (feat. James Taylor) James Taylor 3:47
3. "You Don't Know Me" (feat. Diana Krall) Eddy Arnold, Cindy Walker 3:55
4. "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (feat. Elton John) Elton John, Bernie Taupin 3:59
5. "Fever" (feat. Natalie Cole) Eddie Cooley, Davenport 3:30
6. "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?" (feat. Bonnie Raitt) Burnette, Smotherman 4:34
7. "It Was a Very Good Year" (feat. Willie Nelson) Ervin Drake 4:59
8. "Hey Girl" (feat. Michael McDonald) Gerry Goffin, Carole King 5:15
9. "Sinner's Prayer" (feat. B.B. King) Lowell Fulson, Lloyd Glenn 4:25
10. "Heaven Help Us All" (feat. Gladys Knight) Ronald Miller 4:32
11. "Over The Rainbow" (feat. Johnny Mathis) Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg 4:54
12. "Crazy Love" (feat. Van Morrison) Van Morrison 3:42