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Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Tue 28. Jun 2011, 11:54
by Webster
Re: What's in your cd player??

Post by webster on Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:59 pm
Yes, the new Costello is just beginning to sink in as we're speaking. Recently, I've been listening a lot to "Pink Velour" by Syd Straw, to "Hills And Valleys" by The Flatlanders (Joe Ely's band - oh my can those 3 guys write great lyrics!), an album by Link Montana & the Rough Riders entitled "Joe's", which is the band that Joey Spampinato of NRBQ fame now plays in, to the comeback album by Booker T Jones, entitled "Potato Hole", which has lots of Neil Young's electric guitars on it, too - and to a Various Artists album from the early 90s called "One World One Voice", which runs through as a continuous mix and blends a lot of musical styles into a whole. And John Hiatt's "Same Old Man" is in rediscovery mode at my place.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Tue 28. Jun 2011, 11:54
by Webster
Re: What's in your cd player??

Postby webster on Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:12 am
Well, it's been quite a while since I last wrote in here about what CDs are piling next to my player. So here is a short report.

PETE YORN & SCARLETT JOHANSSON - BREAK UP
I got this one because it's produced by Sunny Levine - and over the last 2 or 3 years I've gotten to enjoy Sunny Levine's production style a lot, not at least thanks to his solo album "Love Rhino". Like on that one, "Break Up" mixes modern drum sounds with nonstandard traditional instruments like violin and banjo in a very pittoresque way. The multi-instrumentalist / string player who provides these on his productions is called Amir Yaghmai and he is present on "Break Up", too. I find Sunny's production style rather uplifting, even when the lyrics aren't always exactly that.
Except for one song, all of the tunes on "Break Up" are Pete Yorn compositions, but in "Relator" he borrowed a line from a very old tune called "All My Loving" that the Beatles also recorded. Miss Johansson of course brings the star power to this album, and when the star just features in a duet vocal / backing vocal capacity, the band can have fun, which is exactly what they do here. The album is a bit short at just over 29 minutes, though.


REGINA SPEKTOR - FAR
To be honest, I wouldn't have noticed this release, if there weren't a few songs on it that Jeff Lynne (of Traveling Wilburys fame) produced. Spektor herself is a pianist and non-native speaker with a writing and vocal style that some would label as "quirky", so it is no surprise that her lyrics border to being Bjorkish at times. But I like that quirkiness, because even when the topic is downbeat in one song, the music is uplifting in the next one again. In the end, I found a few of the Mike Elizondo produced and a few of the Garrett Jacknife Lee produced songs to be even better or at least as good as the Jeff Lynne productions, and that even though I quite disliked what Jacknife Lee did on the U2 album from 2004.
Regina herself really surprised me an impressed me with the melodic twists in her songwriting.


MATT MALLEY - THE GODDESS WITHIN
Matt used to be the bass player in Counting Crows and this is his first solo album. He is doing an OK job as a singer, but he is handling all of the instruments on the album, not just the bass, so it is really a solo record. The melodies are mostly in the style of the Crows more uplifting songs (yes, they do have them) and there are quite a few enjoyable tunes on there if - and a big if that is: IF you can accept it that he featured his guru on the cover and that the lyrics are full of spiritual or even religious undertones. Luckily, the lyrics are not missionary, otherwise I wouldn't have liked this album.


THE VERBS - TRIP
This is the duo of drummer/guitarist/producer Steve Jordan and his singing wife Meegan Voss. Stylistically, it's in the same vein as their previous album which I think I also wrote about on here - with the exception that they rock a little harder here on "Trip". Just like last time around, Tamio Okuda and Danny Kortchmar are guesting on guitars.
I guess I was lucky to find a used promo CD of this one because so far, it's only available release is online as sound files.
That's probably the reason why this CD doesn't sound exactly like what you would call an audiophile release, even though the music itself would be worth one.


THE REFRESHMENTS - A BAND'S GOTTA DO WHAT A BAND'S GOTTA DO
This Swedish Rock N Roll outifit that got to my attention by ways of their previous collaborations with Billy Bremner of Dave Edmund's band Rockpile fame, is back with a new album of mostly original tunes after a covers and a Xmas album. And this time, it is indeed a real comeback: This is their best album since 2001's "Real Songs On Real Instruments" which shows especially in the step back up again in Joakim Arnell's songwriting and in the fact that this time, the producers allow Johan Blohm's piano licks more space in the mix. This time around, it's been refreshing again indeed.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Tue 28. Jun 2011, 11:55
by Webster
Re: What's in your cd player??

Postby webster on Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:52 pm
JOHN FOGERTY w/BLUE RIDGE RANGERS - RIDES AGAIN
This is the sequel to Fogerty's first post-Creedence album of country covers on which he played all the instruments, Blue Ridge Rangers. This time around, the Blue Ridge Rangers are a real band, but it's still a covers album of mostly country songs. What better song can there be to be in love to than "Never Ending Song Of Love", originally by Delaney and Bonnie? It's easily the highlight of the album for this listener for purely personal reasons, even despite the fact that my girlfriend does not even like country music. Oh, and the rest of the album is pretty solid, too.

MAATA HAARI - ART & MONEY
This out-of-print double CD of Sunny Levine's old band finds the singer / producer / programmer on his way into musical accessibility. Hence, the songs on CD1 entitled Money are enjoyable pop songs for the most, somewhat in the vein of his solo album "Love Rhino" from a few years later, and CD2 entitled Art has got the more complex pieces which don't necessarily grab the listener's attention at first listen. It doesn't say on the sleeve when the album came out, but going by what I've read on the internet, it must be from 2002. The band is Sunny Levine, Eamon "Ryland" Shumov, Jed Wheadon, Amir Yaghmai, Andy Smith and Joachim Cooder. And the extended Cooder family and friends is of course the path through which I became aware of Sunny Levine, a great producer in his own right. The "other Levines" are playing additional horns. This music is not electronica and not hip hop even though Sunny tried out these styles at one point. Highly recommended if you like Sunny's production and songwriting style and if you can find it.

BRUCE HORNSBY & the NOISEMAKERS - LEVITATE
Just to warn the unexpecting listeners: this album is more "Big Swing Face" than "Halcyon Days". Yet, it got both sides of the pie. Still, the electronic and experimental tracks work out for the better here when compared to some of the piano stuff which seems somewhat dull in comparison. But then, I'm one of those guys who actually like "Big Swing Face", so maybe it's just me. I wish I could give this one a good review and it does indeed have 3 great songs or 4, but unfortunately, this is the first average Hornsby album since "Scenes From the Southside". Recommended if you like "Big Swing Face".

PAOLO NUTINI - SUNNY SIDE UP
I became aware of this album because it was produced by Ethan Johns, the lead guitarist and drummer from John Hiatt's "Stolen Moments" album. Up to now, Ethan has become one of my favourite producers, so I figured I would like this one.
But the real genius behind this album is the bandleader and songwriter himself, Paolo Nutini. He's got a great sense for melodies and lyrics and his voice is pretty unique: with his Scottish Italian roots, his voice got a silken rawness to it that is unheard of in this era of auto-tuned celebrities. The musical arrangements are also very handmade and the band does include a horn section. Stylistically, the album is all over the place in the Americana spectrum, including reggae influences at times. Highly recommended if you'd like to get to know a good new voice.

BLACKBERRY SMOKE - LITTLE PIECE OF DIXIE
Most of the songs from this album by this amazing Southern Rock band have been streamable online in live versions for a while now, yet they have managed that the album sounds fresh anyway. Guitarist and lead singer Charlie "Starr" Gray, the rhythm section of brothers Richard Turner and Brit Turner (all 3 of them formerly of Gary Stier's Buffalo Nickel, who only made a single album that was co-produced by Matt Wallace of John Hiatt's "Perfectly Good Guitar" fame), plus their other guitarist Paul Jackson (no resemblance to the smooth jazz guitarist Paul Jackson) really let it rock on this album. If you like rock, feel free to give this album a spin. It's worth it.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Tue 28. Jun 2011, 11:55
by Webster
Re: What's in your cd player??

Postby webster on Mon May 17, 2010 12:26 pm
JOHN HIATT - THE OPEN ROAD
Oh, wait ... I guess I was supposed to write about other artists on this sub section of the forum only, was I? Well, it's hard not to love this album by you-know-who, because it's a return to form and then some. Hiatt's songwriting has turned out great once again on this disc. The new guitarist Doug Lancio fits the sound of the band very well, too. What I like best is that the music on this album makes for great listening in the car. "Haulin" deservedly is the 1st single, but not the only one by far. Here's hoping the next album will be even better.

ALI 'FARKA' TOURE & TOUMANI DIABATE - ALI AND TOUMANI
This recent album by the master of the guitar from Mali and the master of the kora is the 2nd collaboration of these giants of West African music and Touré's final album. Both are in fine form here. The album has both instrumental and vocal tunes, opposed to their first collaboration album that was mostly instrumental. Fitting with the harp-like kora, which is an acoustic instrument, this album finds Ali mostly in acoustic guitar mode, which sounds really stunning. Nick Gold of World Circuit Records, the album's producer, has Orlando 'Cachaito' Lopez of Buena Vista Social Club fame guesting on his signature instrument, the string bass. This is a nice contribution, but this album has Ali's handwriting all over it. If you liked "Talking Timbuktu" but no other Toure album since then, I guess this is the one for you.

BACKYARD TIRE FIRE - GOOD TO BE
I first came across this rock band fronted by singer/songwriter Ed Anderson when I read on another message board that Steve Berlin, best known for his sax player/producer role in Los Lobos, had produced this album. As I'm kind of a fan of his production style lately, I took a risk and got this without prior listening. I was pleasantly surprised. Backyard Tire Fire have got the rock n roll in their bones, so to speak. The title track, "Brady", "Roadsong", "Piss And Moan" and my personal choice for 1st single, "Ready Or Not", are my favourites from the album so far. With songs like these, this band's got a bright future ahead of them.

RINGO STARR - Y NOT
Ringo is back from the mediocre that was his last album "Liverpool 8". This time around, he's got a bona-fide 1st single on his album: "Walk With You" which is co-written by Van Dyke Parks (!)
A lot of the guitars on this album are played by his relation Joe Walsh, but some musicians from his old group Roundheads were involved in the proceedings as well. The title track is nice, "Peace Dream" is soulful, "Time" is pleasant, "Mystery Of the Night" is surprising and "Who's Your Daddy" has Ringo joining in on the chorus only whilst the lead vocal of the verses is handled by a young female soul singer from England, which is something different for Ringo. Yet, his choice to go with an electronic drum kit for some songs of the album is rather questionable whereas his tasteful use of AutoTune is really benefitting the music. Y Not is an above average Ringo album.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Tue 28. Jun 2011, 11:56
by Webster
Re: What's in your cd player??

Postby webster on Fri Mar 18, 2011 4:07 pm
It's been a while since I wrote in here about what is stacked besides my player, or stuck on my playlist for that matter. The reason for that is only that I've been too busy to write. That hasn't changed substancially, but I did find the time to listen to some great stuff during that time. Yet, now I'd like to speak my mind.

DAVID RHODES - BITTERSWEET
He's probably best known as the guitarist from Peter Gabriel's band. Yet, he's a great session guitarist for other artists, producer (including "Big Harvest" by Indio and "The Talking Animals" by T Bone Burnett) and songwriter, too. This is his debut as a solo artist. The CD has received a very good mastering job, too, so the music sounds beautiful as well. As expected, the album is rather on the proggy side of things and is recommended if you like great guitar.

THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS - THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS (2009)
Singer, bandleader and harmonica virtuoso extraordinaire Kim Wilson has assembled yet another new version of Fabulous Thunderbirds to back him up on this album that is only available on the band's website (you guessed it, fabulousthunderbirds.com ). Musically, this album is their best since "Hot Number" from way back in 1987 because of the high number of good songs (even though the opener is a reprise of "Paralyzed" from "Walk That Walk Talk That Talk" (1991) with different lyrics). Of the previous version of the band, only Kirk 'Eli' Fletcher plays guitar on a few songs. But Mike Keller, Randy Bermudes and the Moeller brothers Jay and Johnny are a band that's fun to listen to.

RANDY JACOBS - THE RETURN OF RANDY DYNAMITE
Guitarist Randy Jacobs who is also the bandleader of his own group The Boneshakers, is probably best known for his stint in Was (Not Was) and his session work for producer Don Was. This is his instrumental solo album on which he plays mainly funk with some blues thrown in for good measure. His backing band includes several members of The Boneshakers. Again, this is recommended if you like great guitar - and enjoy a little funk.

JAKOB DYLAN - WOMEN AND COUNTRY
On his 2nd solo album, Jakob Dylan is produced by T Bone Burnett who brings along his excellent studio band featuring Greg Leisz, Marc Ribot, Dennis Crouch and Jim Keltner (among others) and this results in some great Americana with unique musical arrangements that are both down-to-earth and atmospheric, sometimes even at the same time. With Neko Case and Kelly Hogan, there is some further star power in the harmony vocal department, too.

BLACK DUB - BLACK DUB
As we're talking down-to-earth and atmospheric, I have to mention this band led by producer and guitarist Daniel Lanois as well. Backed by Darryl Johnson and Brian Blade, Lanois and vocalist Trixie Whitley have put out a true beauty of an album. Both of them are singing, but there is something instrumental, too. And the album is not reggae as the title might suggest. The musical content is much more diverse. Again, some great guitar work in here. My girlfriend says that Trixie Whitley's voice reminded her a little of Janis Joplin.

TOM JONES - PRAISE AND BLAME
This one is Tom's gospel album and lyrically, it's unexpectedly dark at times. Produced by Ethan Johns (of "Child of the Wild Blue Yonder" fame to us on here on the board), it features a very good band, too, not just a very good voice. But the star here clearly is Tom, who is in fine form here. Given what he can do with the right music backing him up, it is somewhat strange that on his albums from the last few decades, the style of the music just did not fit the voice well. It's almost as if he deliberately had decided not to record rhythm'n'blues music. Only when Jools Holland invited Tom to sing an album with his Rhythm N Blues Orchestra a few years go, he went back to this music that he does so well.

ROBERT FRANCIS - ONE BY ONE
This is the debut album of famed Little Village guitarist Ry Cooder's son in law Robert Francis, who wrote the songs, sings them and plays guitar. He is joined by other family members and friends such as Joachim Cooder and Juliette Commagere, whilst Sunny Levine is thanked in the credits for having helped him with the arrangements, which led to some very nice quirky results on some of the songs. Ry Cooder brings his guitar to one song as well. The album is slowed down electric folk music mainly.

CURTIS STIGERS - BRIGHTER DAYS
A discovery from the used bins, this album is Curtis Stigers' last pop oriented album before he returned to his swing jazz style. On this one, he finds himself very much in Americana mode. Davey Faragher (of Nashville Queens fame) guests on bass, Paul Brady plays an Irish tin whistle, Michael Urbano (of Guilty Dogs) and Jim Keltner (of Little Village) play drums. And the guitarists include not only producer Bob Thiele, Jr., but David Immerglück (of Nashville Queens) and Val McCallum (of Jackshit) as well. And Jules Shear contributed a song. With all this expertise brought to the table by the guest musicians, it doesn't hurt the album that Curtis Stigers only plays sax on two songs.

AFROCUBISM - AFROCUBISM
This is one for all of you who liked "Buena Vista Social Club" that was presented some 10 years ago by the lead guitarist of Little Village, Ry Cooder. This album was initiated by the English label of that Cuban super group, this time without Cooder's presence, to finally do what they originally had in mind when recording the BSVC album in the first place: to have Cuban musicians recording together with musicians from the country of Mali in Africa. So here, Eliades Ochoa (of Buena Vista Social Club fame) and his group are joined by kora player Toumani Diabate, ngoni player Bassekou Kouyate and guitarist Djelimady Tounkara (among others). To me, this is genre trancending world music at its best.

NICOLE GORDON - LONG TIME
This singer songwriter's voice sounds like a mix of Loreena McKennit, Natalie Merchant and Bonnie Raitt. The style of her music is bluesy and folky Americana with some country, too. Produced by pianist Barry Goldberg, the band includes guitarist Johnny Lee Schell and Dean Parks, Joe Sublett (of Texacali Horns) and Little Village's very own Jim Keltner (yet again!), among others.

ORELIA HAS ORCHESTRA - ORELIA HAS ORCHESTRA
Looking around the web for music involving a new favourite producer of mine, Sunny Levine, whose playing came to my attention on albums of Little Village guitarist Ry Cooder and his son Joachim, I found this soulful gem of an album that's criminally unavailable on CD because it was only released as a download so far. (I don't buy downloads so I wrote to the official website and asked if I can buy a CD-R, to which I'm glad they agreed because the music is so good.)
Jennifer Reed a/k/a Orelia is the lead singer, acoustic guitarist and main songwriter on this album. Her voice is soulful and sweet and her lyrics are honest and charming. It's clearly audible that producer Sunny Levine does some of the rhythm and that his violinist and guitarist Amir Yaghmai is present as well. Dion Rambo plays some guitar. I have no idea who else from Sunny's production team plays on it, but they always turn out quality, so if you like RNB with a heart, feel free to enjoy this one.

CORLEA - SHADES OF THE RAINBOW
Another of Sunny Levine's productions, this album is South African singer Corlea Botha's debut recording. By now I hear she has switched genres to Contemporary Christian music in the Afrikaans language, but this one is all over the place stylistically. African jazz master Hugh Masekela, who discovered her, and some members from his band are featured here, and Corlea sings in different African languages and in English, too. Both violinist Amir Yaghmai and bassist Giuseppe Patane from Sunny's production team are present as guest musicians and songwriters. If you liked the South African musical stylings that the western world got a glimpse of when Paul Simon put out "Graceland", this is an updated version of it that includes some current yet soulful RNB influences as well. The only downside of it is that the album may be somewhat hard to find.

BEAUTIFUL - BEAUTIFUL
This is the Italian rock jam band of electronica producer Howie B, who is best known for his work with U2, Björk, Les Negresses Vertes and Sly & Robbie. He is joined here by singer and guitarist Cristiano Godano, his band called Marlene Kuntz and bassist Gianni Maroccolo. Together, they can rock out quite hard at times, but also deliver some tasty electronics. Most of it is instrumental, but there are some songs with vocals as well (including a fairly throwaway live version of a Jefferson Airplane cover). This music might take a little effort to get into, but that is rewarded after repeated listens.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Tue 28. Jun 2011, 17:40
by Juergen
great idea webster, thanks - here's what I'm listening to while waiting on John's Dirty Jeans:

Cody Canada & The Departed - This is Indian Land
Jason Isbell & 400 Unit - Here We Rest
Levon Helm - Ramble At The Ryman (with special guests John Hiatt , Sheryl Crow, Buddy Miller...)
Steve Earle - I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (extended edition with a DVD)
Eric Bibb - Troubadour LIVE (with Staffan Astner)
Buddy Miller - Buddy Miller's The Majestic Sover Strings

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Sat 3. Dec 2011, 21:14
by Webster
Oh, I guess it's been a while since my last post of this kind was written. Vielleicht sollte ich hier auch auf Deutsch schreiben, denn das hier ist ja nicht mehr das Board von Emile. Aber vorerst bleibe ich mal beim Englischen. After all, this is my first posting of this kind on Juergen's board. Thank you for your positive reaction to the thread.

Since March 2011, a lot of time has passed and it was quite a busy time so I did not have a chance to write about music and continue this series of postings. But this is of course not intended to become a monologue. On Emile's site, I may have been the last remaining contributor since the others probably have moved over to Facebook, but you are very welcome to list your recent musical discoveries. And here are mine:

EDIE BRICKELL - EDIE BRICKELL
The New Bohemians' singer (a/k/a Mrs Paul Simon) has self-released this eponymous solo album earlier in the year. Her songwriting is strong as always and her voice is in fine form, too. Produced by Charlie Sexton, the Dylan guitarist and member of ARC Angels, the piano playing of former New Bohemian keyboardist Carter Albrecht (RIP) is all over this CD.
However, it comes in all-cardboard ecopak packaging, so beware if you do not like that.

CREED BRATTON - BOUNCE BACK
The singing TV actor has assembled a great band for this album of his own songs: Val McCallum (of Jackshit) on guitar, Brian MacLeod (of Hiatt's Guilty Dogs) on drums, the inimitable Greg Leisz on steel, songwriter Dillon O'Brien on keyboards.
It's part country, part rock and very enjoyable on the whole.

JERRY JOSEPH & WALLY INGRAM - CIVILITY
Wally Ingram used to be David Lindley's drummer throughout most of the late 90s and early 00s until he went on sick leave. It was great to hear when this very humorous gentleman returned to music, having regained his full health. Here, he even is back in duo format with Jerry Joseph on vocal and acoustic guitar, who started out as a US American follower of the style of reggae music. Some certain Jamaican influences can be felt in this music, too, but overall, this is a folk CD. On the guitar, he is no match for Lindley, but really, who could be? This music is best enjoyed in the summertime.
However, it comes in all-cardboard ecopak packaging, so beware if you do not like that.

PAUL SIMON - SO BEAUTIFUL OR SO WHAT
The iconic 60s songwriter is all over the place stylistically on this album. He even uses a West African kora harp on one of the songs. Also, he uses the technique of sampling recordings so ancient they are in the public domain as a starting point for some of his songs. Despite this, the album is no electronica, but finds itself in rather familiar musical territory. There is the odd lyrical reference to a song from his hit album Graceland, but overall, his lyrics stay close to home. His home that is, which means New York City and the culture he lives in.

JOE ELY - SATISFIED AT LAST
Hiatt's frequent touring partner and member of the Flatlanders is back with a new solo effort. Of the 10 songs, there are 6 new Ely originals. He is joined on these recordings by the rhythm section of Glenn Fukunaga (bass) and Pat Manske (drums). Joel Guzman plays keyboards and several guitarists join in such as Mitch Watkins, David Grissom, Rob Gjersoe, Lloyd Maines. If you enjoy his 2 mid-90s solo albums, this one is for you. Even flamenco guitarist Teye has a cameo.
However, it comes in all-cardboard ecopak packaging, so beware if you do not like that.

ROBBIE ROBERTSON - HOW TO BECOME CLAIRVOYANT
The master guitarist and lyricist has waited a while for to make this solo album. In the guitar department, this time he has got more help than ever in the hands of Eric Clapton (who also sings a duet and has some co-writes), Robert Randolph and Tom Morello. The lyrics are deep as always, but the autobiographical stuff might be just a little less interesting since fans of his former The Band would know about it anyway. Robertson brings back keyboardist Marius DeVries as producer and he does a good job. Pino Palladino (bass) and Ian Thomas (drums) are the rhythm section throughout.
I've got the CD in an edition with bonus tracks on a 2nd CD which unfortunately is housed in a cardboard case and I have not seen any other edition, but there may also be a more incomplete package, so buyer beware.

MICHAEL SACKLER-BERNER - MSB
This young singer/songwriter from New York has assembled a stellar band for his debut album: David Mansfield (of Alpha Band), Val McCallum (of Jackshit), Davey Faragher (of Hiatt's Nashville Queens), Jim Keltner (of Little Village) and bassist Reggie McBride. Produced by Bob Thiele Jr., they present Sackler-Berner's folk rock songs with their deep lyrics.
Unfortunately, there is no CD version of this album and the CD-R is not widely available. However, the mp3 version is on iTunes and amazon. But if you want to listen to this in lossless, which I recommend you do because it really is that good, I suggest you look at the contact info on the artist's website and write him an email, just like I did. This way, I could buy the CD-R of the album which he otherwise sells only at his shows. And for pre-listening, he's got a lot of his songs uploaded onto youtube.

BROKEN BELLS - BROKEN BELLS / MEYRIN FIELDS EP
Singer/Songwriter James Mercer (of a group called The Shins) and Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton (of Gnarls Barkley) are Broken Bells. The songwriting is very much based in the folk rock tradition but the production has got Danger Mouse's signature sound all over it, which is exactly what I got this CD and its companion 4 track CD "EP" for. Even Italian orchestral arranger Daniele Luppi appears here several times. The music may be a little downbeat in mood overall, but that does not distract from the crazy beauty of the musical arrangements achieved by Danger Mouse and his studio trickery.

BILLY BURNETTE - ROCK N ROLL WITH IT
The country singer/songwriter who is most well known for being a rockabilly heir, having been a Fleetwood Mac guitarist and a touring guitarist for Dylan and John Fogerty, has released a new album of his own rockabilly songs this year. And rockabilly is what he does best. Despite the health scare from a few years back, he makes a strong comeback here with what to me as a longtime fan is at least his 3rd best solo album ever. The band consists of guitarist Kenny Vaughan, bassist Dave Roe and Neil Young's drummer from Nashville, TN, Chad Cromwell.
The CD is available only through Burnette's website and comes in just a cardboard slipcase (a/k/a mini-LP sleeve) but I recommend you get this if you're interested because the CD is lossless and the widely available mp3 release is not, but compressed instead.

TROUBLE BOYS - BAD TROUBLE
Guitarist and singer Billy Bremner (of Rockpile) has founded a new band with some veteran rock n rollers in Sweden such as singer Sean Tyla and saxophonist Micke Finell (of Refreshments) and this is their first CD. It is pub rock throughout, maybe with the exception of 2 songs which are harder and have got less of the "roll". I have never heard before of the other 2 guys in the band, the rhythm section of Tommy Cassemar (bass) and Ingemar Dunker (drums) but they are very good players, too. This band is tighter and the music has certainly got more drive than almost anything the Refreshments released since Bremner has left them about 10 years ago. So far, the CD is only a Swedish release, but if you like his Rockpile bandmates Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe (of Little Village), I'd recommend this over any late 00s Refreshments CD. However, it comes in all-cardboard ecopak packaging, so beware if you do not like that.

THE BRIDGE - NATIONAL BOHEMIAN
This is the final CD by a 6 piece rock band from Baltimore, MA, which was produced by Steve Berlin (of Los Lobos). They play bluesy stuff, have got a folk and a bluegrass influence as well since one of theirs is a mandolin player. Sometimes they get funky, sometimes they get country. In guitarist Cris Jacobs and mandolinist Kenny Liner, they have got two vocalists among them who both contribute songs. They are a very tight band as well. It's just a shame they have dissolved the band because they could no longer make a living as a touring band earlier this year. Yet, they went out on a high with a really strong album.

TÉTÉ - LE PREMIER CLAIR DE L'AUBE
This African Frenchman is a chansonnier excellent who writes his own songs and accompanies himself on acoustic guitar. I would call this music French singer/songwriter rock. Also produced by Steve Berlin (of Los Lobos), he is backed by some of my favourite studio musicians on this CD, some of which were already mentioned above, and it was thanks to their names that I found him: Davey Faragher (of Hiatt's Nashville Queens), Brian MacLeod (of Hiatt's Guilty Dogs), Val McCallum (of Jackshit) and Cougar Estrada, the current drummer of Los Lobos. I don't understand a lot of French so I cannot comment on lyrical content, but this music is very enjoyable.

MALCOLM MCLAREN - DUCK ROCK
The former alternative clothing shop owner who is most famous for managing a band (most famous for technically simple music and wild behaviour) in the late 70s which he named after his shop, got a record deal of his own at one point in the early 80s and travelled the world with his advance money and his producer Trevor Horn. The music on this CD incorporates such diverse styles as urban hip hop with rappers, rural hillbilly country with fiddles, South African kwaito and some Spanish Caribbean influences from the Dominican Republic and Cuba, all the while McLaren is pretending this mixture is still punk rock. Engineer Gary Langan and orchestral arranger Anne Dudley (both of Art Of Noise) are credited accordingly, also keyboardist Thomas Dolby, percussionist Louis Jardim and guitarist David Birch, but lead guitarist Marks Makwane (of Mahlathini & the Mahotella Queens) is not. Neither are Simon "Mahlathini" Nkabinde nor the actual Mahotella Queens Hilda Buthelesi Tloubatla, Nobesuthu Mbadu and Mildred Nyembe Mangxola despite the fact they can be heard prominently. Country band the Hilltoppers are at least named in the special thanks and hip hop radio duo The World's Famous Supreme Team are featured artists. This music is pure world beat and it's got the special charm of an old field recording today.
The CD is almost 30 years old but you don't seem to hear a new musical mixture of styles like this one anymore these days. Why? The world is still there.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Thu 22. Mar 2012, 10:38
by Webster
Eigentlich finde ich, hier sollte ich auf Deutsch schreiben, aber ich habe diese Serie nunmal in Englisch angefangen. Jürgen, wenn du das hier liest, bitte gib mir ein bißchen Feedback, was besser wäre. Kommen die Seitenzugriffe eher aus dem dt. oder dem engl. Sprachraum?

And now on to what's been close to, stacked onto and put into my player recently.

STEVIE ANN - LIGHT UP
This young, pop/folk sounding singer/songwriter from the Netherlands went to California to record this album with producer/keyboardist Mitchell Froom who got her some great players as backing band: Val McCallum (of Jackshit), Davey Faragher (of Hiatt's Nashville Queens), Matt Chamberlain (formerly of Edie Brickell's New Bohemians), Greg Leisz and even the Texacali Horns on a few tracks. Froom's wife Vonda Shepard (of Ally McBeal fame) guests on backing vocals a few times. Most of the songs are written by the headliner on her own, but there are co-writes, too, like the one with Maia Sharp (who I know has written for Bonnie Raitt and Art Garfunkel before, among others). Stevie Ann has got a beautiful voice and this is a very enjoyable record with deep, heartfelt lyrics. Mostly the songs are mid-tempo and are arranged with a lot of care and not overdone at all. It's one of those records which are great to paint to in a light flooded atelier. Music for Sunday mornings. And for me, it envokes good memories of visiting the Netherlands during the summertime. I'm glad I discovered this one.

PAT McLAUGHLIN - GET OUT AND STAY OUT
The 2nd album by rock singer/songwriter McLaughlin (who by the way has moved on to become a successful country tunesmith in the meantime) was shelved by its original label after he handed it in back in 1989. It took until the mid-90s to come out. It's a great continuation of his first album but with an even stronger band. Mitchell Froom also produced this one.
Billy Bremner (of Rockpile) is back on the lead guitar, Carlo Nuccio plays drums, Will MacGregor plays bass and the formidable Ian MacLagan (of Faces) plays keyboards. It's hard to understand how the original label refused to release this great soulful rock'n'roll album back in the day but I guess it was the 80s, days of wimpy vintage keyboard rhythm programming. None of the latter can be found here. This is pure and even better than his first album.

SUPERHEAVY - SUPERHEAVY
Originally conceived as a supergroup project to lure you into buying a novel cell phone of some sort and commissioned by the cell phone provider for this purpose, or so I have heard, this album eventually made it out to the public the traditional way. Mick Jagger (of Rolling Stones), Dave Stewart (of Eurythmics), A.R. Rahman (probably best known for his "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack), soul singer Jocelyn "Joss" Stone and Jamaican toaster Damian Marley comprise the 5 main members of the group who are all shown in the group photos and with the exception of Stewart who produced this album with Jagger, all get to contribute lead vocals. Backed by Marley's group of bassist Shiah Coore and drummer Courtney Diedrick, the backing musicians also include violinist Anne Marie Calhoun, keyboardist Mike Rowe and engineer/programmer Ned Douglas from Stewart's production team. The musical style on the album is world beat clearly made with an urban Western audience in mind. It's a mixture of rock, the rather current blend of electronic disco pop, soul, reggae and Indian influences. But beware: there were different versions released of the CD. One is called the "deluxe version" which has got 4 additional songs when compared to the so-called "standard CD". 3 of those 4 songs are really good and do make a difference, hence I got the "deluxe edition" with the pale yellow/white-ish background to its cover even despite this one coming in an inferior cardboard packaging. The so-called "standard CD" is lacking those 4 songs and thus is best to avoid, despite it having the nice cover with the red background. But if you have a computer printer and a scanner, you can fix this by constructing your own jewelcase version with an empty box and the *.jpg of the standard edition cover from amazon ;-)

EVERYDAY PEOPLE - YOU WASH ... I'LL DRY
Released in the early 90s in England to little attention, this is the soul group's only album. Produced by Stewart Levine (who did work for Simply Red and Dr. John among others and now has an instrumental solo album out under the project name Ear Theatre, see above), this group includes vocalist Desy Campbell (formerly of Floy Joy and Was(Not Was)), bassist Shaun Ward (who later followed Levine to Simply Red) and guitarist Lloyd T. Richards. They are backed by drummer Richie Stevens, keyboardist Aaron Zigman, guitarist Jim Williams, percussionist Lenny Castro and a horn section which includes solo playing by Mark Russo and the baritone sax of Jim Horn. The musical style is soul/pop of the late 80s/early 90s which is rather reminiscent to the Simply Red albums of the era. Things even get Steve-Cropper-esque at times. If you like this style and find this album cheaply, like I did, it would be a welcome addition to the collection.

RY COODER - PULL UP SOME DUST AND SIT DOWN
Hiatt's former Little Village bandmate Ry Cooder really surprised me with this song cycle last year, since it's even better than his previous album "I Flathead". Though maybe not rocking quite as hard as that one, the slow songs are great here, too. I must point out that 2011 was quite the year for Little Village fans with all 3 members with own solo careers putting out solo albums, and that this time around, Ry Cooder's album is my favourite of the 3. Backed by a core band of his son Joachim Cooder (formerly of Maata Haari) on drums and Robert Francis on bass, Cooder himself plays all the guitars and sings all the lead vocals and the band is helped out by Flaco Jimenez on accordion and backing vocalists Terry Evans, Arnold McCuller, Willie Green and Juliette Commagere (of Hello Stranger). Jim Keltner is credited as co-writer on one song for a drum part in a song which he originally recorded for the Johnny Handsome soundtrack back in the 80s. The lyrics themselves are all rather political in nature and also adress recent events like the financial crisis. Deep lyrics and great arrangements is just what a good album needs.

THE B-52's - FUNPLEX
This is the comeback album released in the late 00s by this Athens, Georgia, fun rock group from the late 70s. Fronted by the 3 singers Kate Pierson (also known for duetting with REM on "Shiny Happy People"), Cindy Wilson and Fred Schneider (who always tends to remind me of Kenneth Williams from the British movie series "Carry On, dt.: Ist ja irre"), main melody songwriter and guitarist Keith Strickland is helped here in the musical department by bassist/producer Steve Osborne, drummers Zac Alford and Sterling Campbell, programmer Pete Davis and bassist Tracy Wormworth. A little over-the-top humor as usual, this is a great party record if you like a certain sillyness. It's like they have never been away.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Sat 19. Jan 2013, 10:33
by Webster
Anscheinend betreibe ich diesen Thread nur noch alleine. Falls euch interessiert, wie es seit etwa einem Jahr musikalisch bei mir weitergegangen ist, würde ich mich über etwas Feedback freuen. Dann mache ich auch hier weiter.

Seems like I'm now alone in this thread. If some of you are interested in what I have listened to during the past year, I'd be happy about a few comments of yours. That surely could motivate me to continue writing about more music.

See you.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Mon 21. Jan 2013, 17:57
by Gudi
Webster wrote:Anscheinend betreibe ich diesen Thread nur noch alleine. Falls euch interessiert, wie es seit etwa einem Jahr musikalisch bei mir weitergegangen ist, würde ich mich über etwas Feedback freuen. Dann mache ich auch hier weiter.

Seems like I'm now alone in this thread. If some of you are interested in what I have listened to during the past year, I'd be happy about a few comments of yours. That surely could motivate me to continue writing about more music.

See you.
Hallo Webster,
Du hast TOTAL RECHT !!! und shame on me dass ich mich bisher ebenfalls nicht beteiligt habe !
Bislang hatte ich mich über "other Musicians" In Jürgens anderen Forum ausgelassen,
aber leider ist das Forum auf Grund mangelnder Beteiligung nun geschlossen :cry: :roll: :cry: .
könnte hier ja glatt auch passieren, da die Beteiligung insgesamt ja auch eh sehr gering ist !
Also will ich mich dann auch mal hier bemühen neben John auch ANDERE Musik aufleben zu lassen, als auch Beiträge darüber zu kommentieren.
Allerdings würde ich persönlich das Ganze lieber in Deutsch abhandeln, weil mein Englisch halt nicht so gut ist.
Also, mach bitte weiter auch wenn man sich sicherlich nicht gleich ALLES anhören kann ;-))
ich liste mal einfach hier meine Top 12 aus dem Jahre 2012 auf ;-))

Drew Landry - Sharescropper's Whine
mein persönliches Album of the Year !
Colin Brooks - Blood in The Water (Wiederveröffentlichung)
Leeroy Stagger - Radiant Land
US Rails - Southern Canyon
John Hiatt - Mystic Pinnball
Paul Thorn - What The Hell Is Going On
Lincoln Durham - The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones
Sons Of Bill - Sirens
Bonnie Raitt - Slipstream
Tom Gillam - Good For You
American Aquarium - Burn.Flicker.Die
Wrinkle Neck Mules - Apprentice To Ghosts

so long
Gudi

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Mon 4. Feb 2013, 23:48
by Webster
Thank you Gudi for your reply. OK, I'll continue.

JUNIOR BROWN - VOLUME TEN
This is the comeback EP of the master of the double-necked electric/steel guitar hybrid called the guit-steel from Austin, TX.
He is up to his usual high quality standards as far as humorous lyrics and excellent playing are concerned but unfortunately, at only 5 songs, the EP format is a bit short after so many years of silence. It's a self-release so if you want more, like me, this disc may well be required to sell well until there will be more. All tracks are good, so I recommend them all.

RY COODER - ELECTION SPECIAL
Listening to this CD, I've got the distinct advantage of not being a US citizen, otherwise I'd probably gotten enough of the advertising of both parties long before the 2012 presidential election. The former Little Village guitarist delivers his 2nd album in 2 years time with this one and it's not noticeable how fast this one has come to him as a songwriter. These are all topical songs, told from point of views which are anti-Republican, pro-civil rights. Over here in Germany, some might say Cooder's inner "Wutbürger" has written this album. He has done a good job both lyrically and musically, playing all instruments aside of the drums which are the department of his son Joachim. As far as the melodies are concerned, I prefer this one over "Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down" even. Cooder's recent 3 albums have all been very impressive. 10 years ago, I wouldn't have expected material this good from him. At 9 tracks, it's also a bit short, but the promo has got 1 song more. If you love "Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down" and can find the promo of this album here, I can tell you it's totally worth getting over the regular 9 track CD.

BOBBY KING - THEY DON'T KNOW
This is the comeback of the former partner of Terry Evans in duo they had during the late 80s, both of them of course having been longtime band members of the aforementioned Little Village guitarist. Bobby King has been a Christian all his life and this is his self-released gospel CD which came out fairly recently. Unfortunately, nothing is said in the booklet about the musicians, apart from Ry Cooder doing a cameo on electric guitar on the title track, which is sadly, a bit lost in the mix. Bobby King's vocals are nothing short of stunning. Recommended tracks include the title track, "You Delivered Sanctified Me You Saved Me" in which he sounds a little like the guy from Gnarls Barkley, "Am I Right Am I Wrong", "Don't Take Your Love Away" and "I'm Available". On King's website, it says that, strangely enough, on song #9 on the album, he let his pastor take the lead vocal and King himself does the backup. You can call that devotion or whatever but it's an unexpected thing to do if this is meant as a comeback album.

HANS THEESSINK & TERRY EVANS - DELTA TIME
The 2nd duo album by the Austrian master guitarist Theessink and Terry Evans (of King & Evans fame). This time around, they get backup vocal help from Willie Greene, Jr., Ray Williams and Arnold McCuller. Ry Cooder, the aforementioned Little Village guitarist was invited to play a few cameos, too. He does a wonderful job on a cover of "How Come People Act Like That", written by Bobby Charles. 5 of the songs are new ones written by Theessink which are all recommended, and the rest of the songs are covers from the blues and soul genres. It's a mostly acoustic blues album with some electric guitar thrown in to spice things up. I feel this is the better of the 2 Theessink & Evans CDs. I guess you will like this if you enjoy both artists individually and together, and if you know Cooder, it's a nice introduction to Theessink, though for this purpose, you should really start with "Crazy Moon" and start your way into Theessink's oeuvre from there, like I did.
By the way, this comes in an all cardboard sleeve, so I recommend having a spare jewelcase ready to store the CD in there to prevent it from getting scratched.

DOGS OF BALI - PICASSO'S PARTY
Dogs Of Bali are the duo of singer Dyan Ondovchik and multi-instrumentalist Grant M Olsen. I became aware of this album through the impressive list of guest musicians which play on it, including drummers Jim Keltner (of Little Village), Jerry Marotta and Kenny Aronoff, percussionist Lenny Castro, bassist Tony Levin (of Spin 1ne 2wo, amongst others, if anybody remembers them) and one Indian violinist L Shankar. The whole affair was mixed by Tchad Blake (of Latin Playboys fame).
The music is situated in a place where progressive rock meets folk/Americana, and they really do rock out in places. The lyrics are deep and Dyan's voice reminds me of a less countrified Emmylou Harris. It's hard not to recommend the whole album because it's that good but I'll try to narrow my recommendations down to a few songs: "Sticky Threads", "Angels Over the USA", the title track, "No Harm", "Liars Leap", "Redemption Kiss", and if you're about to separate from your partner, "World Without You" might make you think twice. It's a great album but unfortunately, it's only widely available as mp3s. If you want the lossless version, feel free to write to the artists through their website, like I did. This is how I got the CD-R version which they sell at shows. This album is definitely worth making that effort to get the lossless version.

WORLD FAMOUS HEADLINERS - WORLD FAMOUS HEADLINERS
This quintet comprises three vocalist/guitarist/songwriters: Big Al Anderson (of NRBQ fame who co-wrote a song of two with our man John Hiatt back in the day), Shawn Camp (who was in Bluegrass Elvises recently with Billy Burnette) and Pat McLaughlin (who had a solo career for a while and then played guitar with John Prine, amongst other things). Add to them the rhythm section of Michael Rhodes, bass, and Greg Morrow, drums, and you get the finest of what Nashville has to offer these days. Literally. It's the best album Al Anderson has released since "Pay Before You Pump" and that means something. Recommended tracks include "Mamarita", "Heart Of Gold", "Jukin'", "Too Fast For You" and "Nobody To Love", but again, this is just to narrow the selection down to a few. These are the outstanding ones, the others are all very good, too. This album is in the running for best album I got last year, but it's a little difficult to decide which year to file it under. It came out in 2012 but in the cover, it says 2011. That's the music world these days ... small scale releases seem to get pushed back over and over again and when they finally come out, they risk going under everyone's radar. But not this one because I tell you about it ;-)

FLORATONE - FLORATONE II
Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell's project from a few years back with drummer Matt Chamberlain (of Edie Brickell & New Bohemians fame), his keyboardist Lee Townsend and producer Tucker Martine (the resident engineer of Flora Studios at Portland, OR) have delivered a follow-up album last year. Having not cared about music due to being busy with work, this one came totally out of the blue for me, but it's totally worth it if you like Frisell. It's not as blues heavy as the first Floratone album but feels more relaxed and to me, II is a better album as a whole because it's got more good songs. The guests include Ron Miles on trumpet, Eyvind Kang on viola and Mike Elizondo on bass. Recommended tracks to try out the album include "More Pluck", "Move", "Do You Have It", "The Bloom Is On" and "No Turn Back".

SAM PHILLIPS - SOLID STATE (Songs From the "Long Play")
This singer/songwriter may well be best known for having formerly been married to the now famous producer T-Bone Burnett (who won a Grammy Award TM for the soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou") with whom she recorded quite a few of her solo albums. Not this one, in fact. She produced this one all by herself. It's the physical outcome of an online subscription project which she did circa 2010-2011. Musicians include herself on vocals and acoustic guitar, Jay Bellerose on drums, the Section Quartet, led by Eric Gorfain on strings, Chris Bruce and Greg Leisz on guitars, Jennifer Condos on bass and Patrick Warren on keyboards. Sam's singing and guitar are center stage here. I know many of her albums but only have a few because many include some great songs amongst songs which are not so great. Not this one, this one is very consistent. It's like now after the T-Bone years, her own voice finally has conquered the album length. This disc is better than "Martinis & Bikinis" which is widely seen as her previous career highlight. Unfortunately, "Solid State" is playing a bit hard to get: it's only available via mailorder through the artist's website. If you like T-Bone Burnett's productions as much as I do but feel a bit bored by him reprising the Raising Sand Band sound so often, I highly recommend getting the "Solid State" CD. Recommended tracks include "Magic For Everybody", "Throw Yourself Away", "Lying (2011)", "What It All Means", "Tell Her What She Wants To Know", and most of all, "Lever Pulled Down".

VARIOUS COMPOSERS & ENSEMBLE H2O - NEW WATER MUSIC
The music on this disc was premiered in live performance on a barge floating down the River Thames in London, England, at the Diamond Jubilee Pageant of Queen Elisabeth II, so it is no surprise that this music sounds very English. It's an album consisting of instrumental music written by current era classical and soundtrack composers for a modern, small orchestral ensemble, with the goal of premiering it in the same style as Georg Friedrich Händel's Water Music was first performed: on a barge floating down the Thames. Thus, all of the pieces contained herein were inspired by Händel's Water Music. Mind you, this is not rock music and it's not exactly classical music either, this is more like easy listening in a way, but in a good way. This disc came to my attention because Anne Dudley (of Art Of Noise fame) has got a composition on it. That tune, "Fast Slow Fast" is also one of my recommendations on here. Others would be "Air On the River" by Stephen Warbeck, "Gigue" by Debbie Wiseman, "Jubilee Gavotte Rock" by Christopher Gunning, "Bourree" by John Lunn and "London Bells" by Jocelyn Pook. Music for bright and sunny Sunday mornings indeed.

BILLY BREMNER - BILLY BREMNER'S ROCK FILES
The former bandmate of Little Village's Nick Lowe in Rockpile, Billy Bremner, has released his 4th solo album with this CD in Sweden. It was co-written and produced by Bremner's former bandmate in Refreshments, sax player Micke Finell. Bremner plays guitar and bass throughout. 3 drummers and 3 keyboarders took part in the sessions, among them the formidable boogie woogie pianist Johan Blohm and Mats Forsberg from the Refreshments. This is more in the vein of the countrified rock n roll which Bremner presented on his 2nd solo album "A Good Week's Work" so if you like that one, you cannot go wrong with this one. Lyrically, it may well have been a breakup album because many songs are about relationships not working out. Sometimes, that's a little hard to swallow, I have to admit, so my recommended tracks are mainly none of those songs: "The Cocktail Of the Year", "Lie Detector", the instrumental "Lena", "Emergency", "Alligator and the Rockadile" and "At Last the Summer's Here".

JOE WALSH - ANALOG MAN
The long-awaited comeback album of the Eagles guitarist includes a lot of songs Walsh has co-written with Tommy Lee James (who I have never heard about before). Also, about half of the songs from the album are co-produced by Jeff Lynne (of Traveling Wilburys fame) who plays almost all instruments on those songs, to great effect I must say. Other musicians include Ringo Starr on drums, Joe Vitale and Bruce Sugar on keyboards, Rick "The Bass Player" Rosas and Kenny Passarelli on bass. The album is a nice twist on familiar rock styles and you can hear the fun it was to make the music, which is great. Only on the instrumental "India" which involves electronica in a way Jeff Beck would have done it in his work of the 2000s does Joe Walsh branch out into unchartered territory. But that kind of consistency is not a bad thing at all. In fact, this is his best album on pure songcraft since I don't know when. I got the "deluxe CD/DVD" version because of the 2 bonus tracks and it was worth it for me, so it might be for you as well. Recommended songs for first listening include the title track, "Lucky That Way", "Spanish Dancer", "Hi-Roller Baby", "Fishbone", "One Day At A Time", "Wrecking Ball" and "India".

DAVID BYRNE & BRIAN ENO - EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS WILL HAPPEN TODAY
Byrne and Eno's 2nd duo album ended what was then a run of several albums in succession during which Eno worked on song-based material again. Amongst the headliners, the band includes Leo Abrahams and Steve Jones on guitars and Seb Rochford on drums. Most of the material here feels like country/gospel style music dressed up in a synth pop/electronica costume. It's quite quirky a record and that's no surprise from Eno. I quite enjoyed his previous solo album "Another Day On Earth" but waited almost too long to get this one, since the CD seems to be out of print now. Recommended songs include "Strange Overtones", "Life Is Long", "Home" (which includes portions of Paul Simon's songs "Sounds Of Silence" and "Homeward Bound" - Simon and Eno worked together on Simon's then previous solo album "Surprise"), "The Lighthouse" and "One Fine Day".

SARABETH TUCEK - SARABETH TUCEK
This is another seemingly out of print album from not so long ago. It seems like in the iPod age, they press a CD once and when it's sold out, it's gone. I guess I was lucky to find this one, the debut of this singer/songwriter from New York City, NY, which was produced by Ethan Johns (who first came to my attention by playing lead guitar and drums on John Hiatt's album "Stolen Moments"). The band on this album consists almost entirely of Ethan Johns and Luther Russell. Sarabeth Tucek's songs and voice take center stage. That voice is sometimes rather reminiscent of the Velvet Underground's Nico Päffgen so it is no surprise the album is quite dark and moody at times. I prefer the lighter moments and this is reflected in my recommended tracks: "Nobody Cares", "Blowing Kisses", "Come Back, Balloon", "Something For You".

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - MR BLUE SKY (The Very Best Of)
Amongst the 2 albums which Jeff Lynne (who played with Little Village drummer Jim Keltner in Traveling Wilburys, just to establish the Hiatt connection) released in 2012, I picked this one because it includes the only newly self-written song he released on both albums, "Point Of No Return". It's a good song, and the updated versions of the old ELO songs which he plays all by himself here, can hold their own, but maybe not for those who love the originals since the 70s which I have to admit I don't. Preferring re-recordings over the originals may be called a late-borner syndrome but I only prefer some of the re-recordings on here over the originals, and those are my other recommended tracks on here: "Don't Bring Me Down", "Do Ya", "10538 Overture" and "Livin' Thing". The other Lynne album from that year, "Long Wave", clocks in at just under half an hour, consists entirely of covers, most of which are from the pre-rock n roll era and surprisingly turned out to be not that much my cup of tea. However, I'm very much looking forward to the new album of original material which Lynne recently confirmed he is working on.

K'NAAN - COUNTRY, GOD OR THE GIRL
And now for some more genre-bending: I got interested in this album thanks to the several cameos by high profile artists, well, maybe you could call them music superstars, too. The Somalia-born Canadian Keinan Warsame started out as a rapper in hip hop music and this is his major label funded attempt to cross over into the mainstream. I feel it's been pretty generous by the label to fund him the participation of co-lead vocalists like Paul Hewson (of U2 fame), Nelly Furtado and Nas (of Fugees fame), and of the guitarist Keith Richards (of Rolling Stones) who also contributed to one song as a writer.
Producer Steve Jordan (of Blues Bros Band and The Verbs) also appears but the real big musical contributions on here come from people I had not heard about before, despite them probably already having lengthy careers, such as producers Brian West, Ryan Tedder and Chuck Harmony. Luckily for a hip hop artist in these times, K'naan has also got a competent singing voice which is on display here more often than when he is just rhyming. That may not be purist, but the number of hip hop purists on this board is probably rather small, so whatever. My recommended tracks include "Hurt Me Tomorrow", "Is Anybody Out There", "70 Excuses", "Bulletproof Pride", "Sleep When We Die" and "The Wall". If you're interested now in this album, make sure you got the deluxe version because the Keith Richards cameo song is not on the "regular" CD, thus rendering it an "inferior CD pressing" over the "deluxe version". Those label politics sure are confusing. Why don't they just release only the bonus track version and skip the incomplete version altogether?

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Wed 22. May 2013, 16:42
by Webster
Today, I'll keep things short:

STEVE LUKATHER - TRANSITION
The former Toto guitarist's most recent solo album is a comeback of sorts. To me, he has not sounded this vivid since the early 90s. Helped in the songwriting department by CJ Vanston and Randy Goodrum, the album is a little short at just 9 songs but those are of high quality. John Pierce who played bass on John Hiatt's "Perfectly Good Guitar", joins Lukather on this album. Other notable guests include Fourplay's Nathan East, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith, Bissonette brother Gregg, Lee Sklar and percussionist Lenny Castro. "Do I Stand Alone", "Rest Of the World", "Creep Motel" would be great Toto songs if that band still existed.

ROBERT FRANCIS - STRANGERS IN THE 1st PLACE
This is already the 3rd album from this singer/songwriter from the extended Cooder family. Both Hello Stranger's Juliette Commagere and Joachim Cooder appear here as band members. Maata Haari's Amir Yaghmai is there, too. Little Village's Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner have one cameo each, as does Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers and Dirty Knobs fame). Martin Pradler recorded, mixed and produced this (who used to be assistant to Don Smith who produced Hiatt's "Walk On" and "Beneath This Gruff Exterior").
It's a very nice sounding production, though I have to admit that the lyrics are not always that interesting.

INGRID SCHROEDER - LOVE RUNS FASTER
The London (UK) based trip-hop chanteuse/songwriter branches out into folk-pop with this 2nd album of hers, keeping only those kind of electronics as part of her sound which can give this music a timeless quality. Unlike her debut which was overseen by a roomful of different producers for each song (including Rob Playford and Howie B), this one is produced by Barry Flynn and herself for all of the songs. The album is much better than her debut. "Beat Up Little Box", "Smoke On A Breeze", "Mouth Into Motion" clearly showcase this.

THE REFRESHMENTS - HIGHWAYS & BYWAYS
Swedish Rock N Roll group Refreshments have hit a golden songwriting vein again this time around. Guitarists Jonas Göransson's 2nd album with the group is their best one of the band since the early days of his predecessor in the band's guitar chair. It's also more stylistically diverse than most of their albums which only adds to the fun. "El Camino", "Delicate Flower", "Burning to the Core", "Fooled By Love", "Twice As Nice" - what's not to like here? Also, in recent months, this album has turned out to be the final one by the band to include the sax playing of founding member Micke Finell who has retired from touring and his role in band management, so it may be the last time for this band on record as a 5 piece.

SINEAD O'CONNOR - HOW ABOUT I BE ME (AND YOU BE YOU)
This is the great voice's best album since her return to the music business at one point in the mid-00s. It's produced by her longtime collaborator, drummer John Reynolds, and it includes 9 songs written by her and her band, and one cover. The songs are strong throughout: "4th and Vine", "Old Lady", "Take Off Your Shoes", "The Wolf Is Getting Married", "I Had A Baby", to name just a few.

WYCLEF JEAN - WELCOME TO HAITI: CREOLE 101
This is not hip hop despite being an album by a hip hop artist, because guitarist/producer Wyclef Jean, formerly of Fugees, is more than just a hip hop artist. Originating from Haiti in the Caribbean, he and his musical partner Jerry Duplessis produced this album of tunes in the mid-00s which is heavily influenced by traditional Creole music styles from Haiti. If you have to give it a genre name, feel free to call it world beat but even that description would not be fitting since Wyclef's pop music sensibilities are very much present here, too. It may not have scored on the charts but that's mostly due to his major label having rejected it and farming it out to an indie label. I've never really been into hip hop (so far) but I dig this disc. However, there are several versions of it in circulation, all of which have a different track listing. To get an overview of these before you decide which version to get, the wikipedia article is quite good. Or you just go the easy way like I did and take the local version, released in your territory.

THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS - ON THE VERGE
Kim Wilson's band with the Moeller Brothers, Mike Keller and Randy Bermudez is back with their 2nd album. This time, it's
seen a wider release than their 2009 effort released only through their website (which is unavailable today). It repeats 3 songs from that album in re-recorded versions. This one is a strong album focussing mainly on the soulful voice of Kim whereas the predecessor rocked out more and focussed more on the guitars. Guests include keyboardist and co-producer Kevin Anker who also helped in the songwriting department. "Lovin' Time", "Too Much Water", "Diamonds Won't Kiss You Back", "Got To Bring It With You" are my favourites unique to this album.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - Mann Tut Was Mann Kann SOUNDTRACK (PRODUCED BY MOUSSE T)
German producer Mousse T (most famous for his collaborations with Tom Jones and Emma Lanford) has branched out into producing movie soundtrack albums. This is his 2nd one. I haven't seen the film and cannot comment on it but the tracks which are exclusive to this album are pure Mousse T and true to his Peppermint sound. Highlights include "Melt" with Anna Leyne on vocals, "Men Do What They Can" with Ivy Quainoo on vocals, "Spring" with Daniel Hall, and the two songs by his longtime guitarist Stavros Ioannou who also takes lead vocals on those. Other Mousse T regulars present on the exclusive tracks to this album include co-writer Errol Rennalls, keyboardist Lutz Krajenski, guitarist Fanfan La Tulipe (a/k/a Michael Bartel of Magnetissimus Elektro) and arranger Peter Hinderthür. In the meantime, Mousse T has scored another German movie but no soundtrack CD has been released.

SAHARA SMITH - MYTH OF THE HEART
The debut album by this singer/songwriter was produced by T-Bone Burnett's cellist Emile Kelman, and the Raising Sand Band's (Marc Ribot, Dennis Crouch, Jay Bellerose, Greg Leisz, Keefus Ciancia) playing is all over the record, expanded by guitarists Chris Bruce and Corby Schaub, bassist Paul Bryan and pianist Dorian Danoff. Most of the songs are slow to mid-tempo and bass heavy. Smith's vocals are mainly in the higher register and sound pretty angelic at times, with this combination turning the country/folk stylings into a rather deep experience. So if you like the Alison Krauss/Robert Plant album the band first played on, this one would be a fitting follow-up.

And what are you listening to currently?

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Thu 27. Feb 2014, 00:08
by Webster
Oh, I guess I need to write an update for this. Is anybody interested? Thanks for letting me know.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Thu 16. Apr 2015, 16:08
by Webster
Well, it's been over a year and I still got no reply.

Yet, I've been listening to a lot of stuff since the last time I have written about it here. Let's have a few examples which might be of some interest to you folks around here:

ARTHUR ALLIGOOD - ONE SILVER NEEDLE
This folk-ish singer/songwriter's album boasts an impressive guest list including none other than Michael Ward (of Hiatt's Guilty Dogs) on guitar, Jim Keltner (of Little Village) on drums and Lee Sklar on bass. The songwriting is deep and heartfelt, and that's why this album is highly recommended.

ROY JAY - FAIRFAX AVENUE
David Immerglück (of Hiatt's Nashville Queens) joins his mate Chris Seefried (of Low Stars) on stringed instruments, who has also produced the album for this blues- and folk-influenced singer/songwriter. Most of the songs are rather relaxed in a JJ Cale kind of fashion, yet Jay does not copy Cale's style at all. Reknowned bassist Rob Wasserman (of Lou Reed and Bob Weir fame) joins the proceedings.

ALEKESAM - THE SOUND OF ALEKESAM
Sunny Levine, known around these parts for having been the frontman of Joachim Cooder's former band Maata Haari, has produced this disc for TV moderator and singer Selema 'Sal' Masekela. The usual cast of characters for a Levine production are here, too: guitarist Eamon 'Ryland' Shumov, string virtuoso Amir Yaghmai (who also played on Ry Cooder's "End Of Violence" Soundtrack Score) and bassist Giuseppe Patané. Together, they have created a rather beautiful pop record with some great melodies and grooves.

HUMDINGER - HUMDINGER
This is Eamon Ryland's band from 2006. On an album of self-penned Americana tunes, his own guitar and vocals are center stage for the first time (as far as I know), whilst he is backed up by his mate Giuseppe Patané (also from Maata Haari) and drummer Brett Borges. The trio has long disbanded by now, probably because not enough people knew about their stuff for them to be able to make a living from it.

ELENI MANDELL - LET'S FLY A KITE
Early in her career, Eleni was labelled a "female Tom Waits" by critics, due to her chirping, moaning and hollering vocal techniques. It's too bad that this unique vocal delivery has been gone from her recordings for some 10 years now, with her having largely settled in a more lush, jazzy singing style. Vocally, this album is no different but by now, she has found the right backing for this vocal style: it's former Little Village bassist Nick Lowe's band (!). She is joined by keyboardist Geraint Watkins and drummer Bobby "Robert Treherne" Irwin on this album, amongst others. "Snakebite" and "Afternoon" are still my preferred Eleni albums, though.

GERAINT WATKINS - MOUSTIQUE
Whilst we're talking Watkins, he's got a new solo album out since the fall of last year. And I feel this is his most consistent album so far as a songwriter. Steve Donnelly is there on guitar and Robert "Bobby Irwin" Treherne on drums, too. Plus, he's got an orchestra-sized string section on a few songs which sounds very impressive. Rhythmically, it's very relaxed, and it's also very soulful.

Re: What's in your cd player??

Posted: Tue 5. May 2015, 19:30
by Juergen
some interesting artists even though I haven't heard of any of them - but I will for sure. Thank you! :D