Yesterday, listened to a few things...
Stars Of The Lid and Their Refinement of the Decline
Grateful Dead Go To Heaven - no offense to hardcore Dead fans (late getting in touch with my inner Deadhead so new to me) but this one just struck me as weird. Track 2 I swear has them sounding like Queen. A very "pop-ish" album overall. Good sound quality however.
Eple Trio - In The Clearing, In The Cavern. Not sure what to think. Is it as shallow as it seems on first or second listen or is it some masterful exercise in minimalism? Norwegian jazz from their deep woods.
KingKong: Jean Luc Ponty Plays the Music of Frank Zappa. I tend to like jazz violin. This was a low cost Blue Note CD from Amazon. Acman over on the Jazz Aficionados thread had mentioned it. A little underwhelming on first listen. Glad it was cheap. First track which you can find on YouTube might be the strongest.
Right now have Rick Braun on thanks to Nutty's suggestion. Full Stride has segued into Body & Soul. Like the sound of his horn. I'd call it smooth jazz. Pretty mellow and "easy listening".
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@dbtom2 - I’ll see your "Enigmatic Ocean" and raise you a couple of Sugar Cane Harris, "Keyzop" and "Sugar Cane’s Got the Blues". Harris is a bluesier player but maybe not as refined or technically proficient as JLP. More soul, though (for me at least). Found Engimatic Ocean on Spotify. Listening now. The SCH you might have to go to You Tube to find if you are interested.
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@dbtom2 & @nutty - so glad you like Sugarcane. Privileged to make the introduction. Wish he got more love when he was alive. He was around a lot of years. Paid his dues. Like Jean Luc he played with Zappa. In fact, Zappa sort of "rescued" him from time to time you might say...bailed him out; got his violin out of hoc; memory of the details is a little blurry but you can read about it. If you can handle Zappa, check out Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Little House I Used to Live In. Great live improvisation track starts at 19:13 on link here; Harris' solo starts at 24:28. It soars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBRUcElxhJU db, the Eleanor Rigby you are enjoying is from Fiddler On The Rock. Sugar Cane's Got the Blues is very good...maybe better than Fiddler. The Sugar Cane album that really does it for me is, "Keyzop". Full album at the link here. Hope you will enjoy it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDxf6WtbMY8 |
nutty - Fantastic...keep the feed back coming.
BTW - as a result of arcam88’s Paul Rodgers reference on the Obscure Bands thread and the link you posted to The Law, you all got me on a Bad Company jag. Someone has posted quite a few complete Bad Co. albums to YouTube...sound quality is NOT bad at all! Just finished Running With The Pack. Now into Burnin’ Sky. I need to check out Beth Hart. I like Joe B and know he toured and recorded with her. Think I sampled some of their duo stuff but not a lot of time with it. I will look up Immortal and "Am I The One". |
@nutty - I get bored easy. Heard a lot over the years. Some modern things seem so derivative. This Beth Hart "Immortal" is a strong LP.
She has some voice...tears it UP and sings it like she means it. Reminds me of Janis...maybe crossed with one of the Wilson sisters :-)
Her song writing is good. Tight little band too. Another solid recommendation from the N man. Just got to Am I The One...channeling Janis for sure on this! Thanks.
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@falconquest - thanks for the reminder about Phoebe Snow. I remember when Poetry Man was getting a lot of air play. That s/t album had great sonics too. Pulled up Second Childhood on Spotify. I always liked "All Over"...Nine of diamonds, nice of diamonds, Lord that's a lucky card.
Speaking of nines...track 9 "Pre-dawn Imagination" has a gorgeous melody. Great change up after Beth Hart.
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Hey nutty - a couple of things. I appreciate the ongoing dialog here. On too many A’gon threads, it’s like people posting are just talking to themselves. No responses. No interaction. Like hollering down a well.
Glad you checked out that Zappa showcasing Sugar Cane. If you liked Keyzop, Sugar Cane’s Got The Blues would also please you, I think.
I’m not a huge Patricia Barber fan but the 2 CDs of hers I own are very well recorded. Great sound quality and some interesting music too. Good "side men" accompanying her. The 2 are: Cafe Blue & Modern Cool.
That YouTube link from falconquest is a bit of a revelation to me. Had no idea she was that good on piano. That performance is quite a bit different than the rather concise, more conventional song structures on the 2 CDs I own. The CDs focus on voice more than instrumental jazz solos. OK. Later.
PS - nutty - just saw your Spock's Beard "Healing Colors" link...have the Patricia Barber playing but will try that SB recommendation later. |
N - Morning Phase is a beautiful album. Sea Change is very good too. These 2 are often seen as sort of complementing one another - but you probably already know that. I don't own anything else by Beck but these two. From what I've sampled and read, I believe they are kind of unique in his discography. In my O-pinion, they are "brilliant" (to borrow that overused Brit adjective). If you know anything else he's done that is in a similar vein, let me know.
Did listen to Healing Colors by Spock's Beard this AM. It's a complex and sprawling composition. Great musicianship but (no offense) it just doesn't do it for me...I don't come away thinking, "I have to listen to that again!" Sorry. Am not passing judgement on the merit's of SB - just reporting my response. Glad you enjoy and admire them.
To misquote Bogie, "We'll always have Glenn Hughes." |
Hi Radfrad - You and Nutty were who I had in mind w/r to thanking for the Trower recommendation. I will definitely sample some of those titles you listed. I recognize a couple as being on Spotify. |
Hey Nutty. Thanks. Good hearing from you. Was away a little bit.
Got to say, Trower sounds darn good on those 2 latest releases. I didn't even realize it was him singing until I came across a reviewer on Amazon commenting about it. Heck, even if he's getting some auto tune help....he sounds real good - vocally, instrumentally, writing-wise - never mind for a 70 something.
BTW - Robin Trower LIVE which I'd never heard before was an absolute revelation to me. Just splurged on 2 BGO double CDs: Earth Below & Live; Long Misty Days & City Dreams + Twice Removed (also a BGO CD). Will listen to the later 2015/2016 stuff on Spotify for a while before buying.
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Not to beat a dead horse... BUT, while I might not be the world's biggest Robin Trower fan, for whatever reason, been listening to him a good deal yesterday and today. Going through some of his older discography that I'm less familiar with (i.e., NOT Bridge of Sighs that I know too well), e.g., Long Misty Days, Twice Removed & City Dreams, I was really struck by James Dewar's vocal on Bluebird from City Dreams. What a beautiful voice.
Also pulled up two of Trower's more recent releases: 2016's Where Are You Going To & 2015's Something's About to Change. Gosh, even on Spotify, the sonics on these recordings are superb. The song writing is strong and Trower sounds excellent. Very economical and tasteful guitar playing. Thanks to all who've posted earlier about RT. Might just have to buy WAYG & SATC.
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Chris Stamey "Euphoria"
Nada Suff "The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy" |
The Nines . Don’t be confused by other bands with the same name (especially a wedding band that goes by that name). You want Steve Eggers’ power pop trio from Canada and the self-titled 2011 release, specifically (first track: Sun Don’t Shine); only available as a download, unfortunately. Here’s a link to the full album on Spotify. spotify:album:04LmRFSkQGjQicDN3u2cXm Here it is on CDBaby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thenines2 Talk about criminally unknown....that’s The Nines. |
Andy Summers - "The Golden Wire"; "Earth + Sky"
Glenn Hughes - "The Way It Is"
Bozzio, Levin, Stevens - "Black Light Syndrome"
The Boats - "Sleepy Insect Music" |
Nutty - that JJ Grey & Mofro you posted about over on the Minority Report is really really good. Found them on the Spot. Listening to "Brighter Days", a live recording. Really well done. Great performances. Great soul singer. Fantastic rhythm section. Good melodies. That would definitely be a band to see live. |
Collective Soul "Dosage"
radfrad - your description of Boys Club Live from California has me intrigued. Going to have to see if I can find that one for a listen.
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Fleetwood Mac - Penguin (old cutout vinyl; some songs courtesy Bob Welch)
Stanley Clark - School Days (more old vinyl w/very good SQ)
Orange Peels - Begin the Begone (an "under the radar" pop band)
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Andy Summers "Charming Snakes"
Beatles White Album
George Harrison "All Things Must Pass"
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New Mastersounds, "Made for Pleasure"
Donald Fagen, "The Nightfly"
Paul Butterfield Blues Band, "The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw" |
Yesterday it was The Tony Williams Lifetime: Collection (compilation of Believe It & Million Dollar Legs).
Today, George Harrison's All Things Must Pass (2001 remaster).
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Carles Benavent - Quartet
Great "bass" recording recommended by Victor Wooten.
Outstanding musicianship and sonics.
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James Gang, "Yer Album" & "Thirds". Not usually a fan of remasters but these sounded pretty good on The Spot w/headphones and now on the main system. Ordered them from Amazon Prime for $5.00 each. Supposedly Bill Szymczyk was involved in these June 2000 remasters. Nice detail and separation. Neither sounds hot or shrill. BTW - the bass playing by Tom Kriss on Yer Album is just excellent. A sort of 2nd lead approach; Jack Bruce sounding. Great tone. They did an excellent job recording the bass on this one. Don’t understand why he only did the one album with Joe. http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/james-gang-tom-kriss.244993/ |
The Standard - "Albatross" and "Swimmer" |
Hey Nutty - Not sure what hits collection you were playing. The 2 compilations that I like (they focus on pre-Fly Like an Eagle) are Steve Miller Band - Anthology and Steve Miller Band - The Best of 1968 - 1973.
Good reminder on Wishbone Ash. I will have to dig into them. Have some OLD vinyl that was/is my wife's but they never hooked me. Still, worth trying again. One of the first bands to feature twin leads.
haha - I gave jafant some grief about GnR over on The Minority Report. Hope he doesn't mind. |
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Longwave - Secrets Are Sinister (2008) Another one of those Spotify Browse/Discover recommendations. |
Jazz Pistols, "Special Treatment" (2001). Contemporary fusion from Germany. Three man outfit...guitar, bass, drums. Very tight. Excellent sonics. |
Jazz Pistols - live
Crowded House - Time On Earth
Shawn Colvin - A Few Small Repairs |
Glad you like her, @jafant.
I only have Small Repairs and 4 Walls. Based on those, her songwriting is strong, the arrangements and production are superb and the sound quality (CD) is very good on both. I need to get a listen to her other albums. |
Hey Nutty - Got Resonate cranking now and LOUD. Thanks for your note about it. Playing it the second time now back to back (streaming from Tidal). Not too many things that hold my interest all the way through these days, let alone twice in a row. Not much of metal head and while I hear that in this, it’s well mixed with other influences. Like the "prog" break half-way through Flow and the Deep Purple organ at the start of (Steady?). The chord sequence on the (refrain?) of When I Fall Again is gorgeous. Glenn has got to be pushing 70! Dunno how much they fix his voice in the studio - if at all, but doesn’t sound like he’s lost anything. Got to see if it draws me back over the next few days. Thanks again. It’s a good ’un.
PS - Forgot to mention the Hendrix style guitar licks at the beginning of Landmines. More good. |
Rory Gallagher "Against the Grain". This is a good one, Nutty. Strong songs and good sonics on the CD version I picked up used. "Buddah Records original masters" if you are interested. |
Takeshi Nishimoto - "Lavandula". Listening to this frequently since finding it a month or so ago. |
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Happy to read that, Nutty. Gave Killing Floor a listen myself last night. Hadn’t in a while. It was way better than I remembered - especially the lead guitar work.
You get a chance do check out that Irish Tour ’74 Film. Used to be on YouTube but no longer.
I’ll have to give Andy Timmons a listen. Don’t know that name. Ahhh...wait. Pokey 77 had mentioned him to me in the past. In fact he recommended "Resolution." Did check him out briefly back then. Great player but, for me, didn’t connect on an emotional level. Maybe give another listen tonight.
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Joe Bonamassa - Leftovers (from Blues Deluxe) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTCSkMpXdqA&ab_channel=badceltHey Nutty - yes...the music CD from Irish Tour '74 is still up on YouTube. Used to be the entire film was uploaded there. That's what I meant as ain't there any longer. Hope you like that RG music, regardless. |
Street Survivors - strong songs and a great reminder what good musicians the boys in 'Skynryd were. Sonics from this "Deluxe Edition" on Tidal are very good too. |
UK - Danger Money (in memoriam John Wetton). |
Crickelwood Green - 10 Years After
Sounding very good, lo these many more than ten years after. |
Led Zeppelin III - "Since I've Been Loving You". Sounds great and still fresh 47 years down the road.
Spinning Jennies - "Full Volume: The Best of....". Crank it UP. |
Hey @milpai - found that Human Remains on the Spot. Pretty fussy about the country I listen to but his songs are strong. Guy is kinda John Prine & Kris Kristofferson with a little Randy Newman thrown in. Can’t be a bad thing. Do I hear Lucinda Williams doing harmony vocals? Pretty sure I do. Another good thing. Interesting guy as per the bio in Wikipedia... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Allen_(artist) |
Hey arcam88 - A big AMEN to that! (tried to @ ya but it wasn't working).
@reubent - Don't know Radio Paradise but certainly interested in checking it out. The Aries Mini provides access to internet radio. It's unexplored territory for me. Have to say I do miss the great FM stations from when I lived on the east coast. Does RP have DJ's...i.e. radio personalities with some reasonably intelligent commentary? Either way, thanks for the recommendation |
@reubent - "Tuned in" Rado Paradise for a little bit last night. Immediately hearing some different stuff (e.g., Shearwater) and not the same tired old classic rock. You are right about Bill G having a great voice for radio. Thanks again for the recommendation. Will be revisiting the station soon. |
Back at ya, Nutty. This was on my system yesterday (appropriately, enough), but it is good any day! Joe Bonamassa, "A New Day Yesterday Live". The title track, Track 4, is all you need to know about Joe B. This track tells you everything...that’s good and bad, unfortunately. Don't know when this Rockpalast performance is from. Thinking that maybe I prefer the ANDYL performance (more disciplined not quite as over the top?). Still this'll give anyone a good idea what we be talkin' 'bout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWx-3fiG7mk&ab_channel=JoeBonamassaTVApologies if this has already been mentioned. |
Nutty - If you like Stevens, give a listen to Black Light Syndrome and Situation Dangerous. These are collaborative recordings he did with Terry Bozzio and Tony Levin (BLS). Great sonics and great playing by all. Standout tracks for me from Black Light Syndrome are Duende & Book of Hours. I especially like Spiral and Tziganne from Situation Dangerous. If you don't already know 'em, could be some great new music for you (though these are not new recordings). |
Nutty -
Have Memory Crash going in the 'phones tonight. Tried this recording a while back. For whatever reason, it didn't grab me then. Sure am picking up on it tonight though! Like the fact it is mainly instrumental (well, just got to his cover of Day of the Eagle...so a vocal there). This LP has a bit of a prog feel to it...Water on Ares does, at least. Good recommendation.
arcam88 - I have the SACD version of Up. It is a fantastic recording and I expect that applies to the Redbook CD version just as much. The dynamics on Track 1 have startled the heck out of me more than once. Many strong songs. My fav is what immediately follows More Than This, that being Signal to Noise. Something very moving about that song. |
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@nutty
Digging into Dalton Santos’ "The Inner Things" tonight.
Been listening to a lot of fusion lately. Seems like Santos’ music falls into that category. Thanks for recommending him. Great SQ on the recording. Songs that are interesting and musical...not just soulless chop shop displays. My main complaint? It's not long enough!
Some things you might enjoy (not necessarily real new)...
Bunny Brunel - Momentum
Tribal Tech - s/t
Gary Willis - Bent
Steve Smith & Vital Information - Come On In
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Re Dalton Santos, "Glad we found that one." Too generous...it was you posted the Santos You Tube vid, nutty. Great stuff. Tracking down more Bunny Brunel and came across some albums by CAB (Chambers, maAlpine, & Brunel). On CAB4, supposedly the best of them, there’s also Brian Auger (if you remember that name) and some great piano work by Partrice Rushen. To further confuse thinks, CAB4 is actually the 3rd by this fusion "super group". Here are two great tracks (Tracks 6 & 7) BB’s Rumba (or should that be Rhumba?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7-khoaPTcE&ab_channel=CAB-Topichttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2t8AKj9mJ0&ab_channel=CAB-TopicI found Trial X "Through the World" on Tidal and saved it. Thought they were more talent from Brazil but it looks like Argentina. Listened a little. Will have to give it another go. First impression: not as inspired or polished as the Santos but it’s early on. |
Hey N...
Pleased you liked it. Something appropriate to the day. That is track 6, Amazing Grace, from The Blind Boys of Alabama "Spirit of the Century, a 2001 recording on Real World Records. I first heard it maybe 15 years ago while driving one night listening to WXPN out of Philadelphia. The whole album is very, very good. Superior sound quality; great songs, arrangements and performances. |
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