All fixed? We'll see...

Great. blogger lost half my template. Stay tuned - dunno when I can fix it...

Listening List

Bought some $5.99 CD's for my wife, gave them a listen:

Stevie Nicks - Belladonna
Phil Collins - Hello, I Must Be Going
Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon
Joni Mitchell - Clouds

Actually the Jonis were for me - kinda chick flick territory, but reminds me of the girls I went to college with. And MAN is she a creative writer.

Here's a tiny review of something else:

Neil Young - Freedom

Another $5.99 buy - cheap at twice the price. Has two versions of "Rockin in the Free World", one acoustic, one electric - both rock! Other standout tracks include Crime Stories and Wrecking Ball. A wack version of On Broadway is more interesting than good, but if ya like Neil, you'll like this. Not a clinker on the album.

Listening List

Songlines mag - Going Global
Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
Neil Young - Freedom
Deep Purple - Machine Head
BB King - Greatest Hits

and

Dusty Springfield - Am I the Same Girl

Continuing with the $5.99 discs - This is an Australian collection of Dusty's stuff. A lot of her greats - Windmills, Son of a Preacher Man, Stay Awhile, Breakfast in Bed, but missing classics like You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, Wishin' and Hopin', Brand New Me, and (!!!) The Look of Love. Also missing, but it doesn't bother me much, is Only Wanna Be With You.

In its place are some second rate tunes, which Dusty valiantly tries to rescue, and some cover tunes, of varying quality. "Am I the Same Girl" is brilliant - I was only familiar with the "Soulful Strut" instrumental version, and the cover from 10-15 years ago - I forget the band - sort of a Manhattan Transfer knockoff. "Piece of My Heart" took some warming up to, but her "white Aretha" take on it was pretty cool. Nothing can replace Janis' tears-n-sweat version, but this beats the hell out of Sammy's version, or Faith Hill's travesty.

"Sunny" was interesting - a fast jazz waltz, made it through all the lyrcs twice in like 1:45 or something - showed she could get convincingly jazzy, though. "Spooky" and "This Girl's in Love" suffered from unimaginative licks-off-the-record arrangements, and clumsy gender shifts, but her singing was still eminently musical. "Close To You" was borderline unlistenable, though - Dusty's silky voice and always-behind-the-beat phrasing just don't work for CTY.

If you're only going to buy one Dusty CD, buy the Ultimate Collection. If you're going to get a second one, get the Memphis Sessions. BUT --- if you only have $5.99 to spend, hurry down to Meijer's - this one is a great introduction to Dusty.

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Old listening list is gone from the sidebar. In its place are song links. I believe these are set up for real audio right now - send me a note if you have trouble listening. If you're on dialup, you'll probably want lo-fi. Otherwise, hi-fi probably sounds better.

Anyhow, today is Alyssa's birthday - she's 2. Baby Baby Girl was written for her soon after she was born - give it a listen. Happy birthday, Alyssa!

Updated listening list

Prince - Very Best of
Pink Floyd and Friends - Interstellar Overdrive
Dusty Springfield - Am I the Same Girl?
Yes - Classic Yes
James Brown - Greatest Hits
Alison Krauss and Union Station - In Concert
Van Morrison - Brown-Eyed Girl

and

Wishbone Ash - Their Greatest Hits

Except for Prince and Krauss, all the above were in the $5.99 bin at Meijers. So I was willing to take some chances. I remembered nothing about Wishbone Ash except that I bought my brother an album for his 14th (or so) birthday, I used to like them, and they did a lot of twin guitar harmonies. It's been 25 or 30 years though...

...and boy, what a difference 30 years makes. Ecch. Sort of like Grand Funk meets Uriah Heep, but with even triter lyrics and even worse vocals. Musicianship wasn't really there, either. It was a chore to listen. The best moments were barely okay, the worst were embarrassingly bad. All live, too - no (or few, anyhow) studio cuts. Stay away!

Listening List

I'm back from Cinci. Listened to a lot of church label compilations, organ demos, etc. But mixed in with that:

Karl Henning - Henningmuzik
SAVAE - Ancient Echoes

and

Shelby Lynne - I Am

Shelby completely redefined herself with this 2001 CD - got herself a "Best New Artist" Grammy for it, after a 10-12 year stint in the C&W market.

Whatever. This is great great pop music - Dusty Springfield meets Bonnie Raitt, or something. Every song's a keeper, killer instrumentation and arranging, really supports Shelby's emotive voice. I didn't like her that much as a country artist, but THIS is one of the best CDs I own. If you appreciate well crafted rootsy pop, you gotta buy this.

Now THIS sounds like fun...

Song Contest

Please limit your song to three minutes or less. An eight-minute musical manifesto may show your true genius, but some of us have sound-bite attention spans and tend to get impatient cooking Minute Rice.

Great attitude anyhow. BTW, already have a first prize (BLUE Baby Bottle condensor mic), but a second one would be cool. And second and third prizes are great, too.

Side note - I'll be offline for a week or so - church musician's convention, plus mini-vacation. Back 7/22, I think.

Listening List Update

Melanie Michaels (1995 Demo)
Little Feat - Representing the Mambo
Ry Cooder - Mambo Sinuendo
Ma/O'Connor - Appalachian Waltz
Van Morrison - Moondance
Earth Wind & Fire - Greatest Hits I

and

Diana Krall - Live in Paris

Sweet voice, good chops, lotsa taste, hot band, what's not to like? A bit more stylistic variety would be nice - strongest tune is her encore, Joni's "A Case of You" - just brilliant. Nothing else like that on the CD, though, all standards and show tunes. And the final track, Just the Way You Are, sticks out like a sore thumb - studio rather than live, heavy pop jazz instrumentation, kinda crappy sounding rhodes-like piano, and way too licks-off-the-record --- Brecker's solo is nice, but way derivative of the original Phil Woods take.

It's not bad, it's just kind of like tacking a Bob James cut on the back of an Oscar Peterson LP, or sumpin. Rest of the CD is great, though - standout tracks are The Look of Love and Under My Skin, plus the Joni cover.

Someone sent me this

Should be required reading for all rock/pop musicians:

The Life and Art of Bass Playing
by Tony Levin

In the beginning there was a bass. It was a Fender, probably a Precision, but it
could have been a Jazz - nobody knows. Anyway, it was very old ... definitely
pre-C.B.S.

And God looked down upon it and saw that it was good. He saw that it was very
good in fact, and couldn't be improved on at all (though men would later try.)
And so He let it be and He created a man to play the bass.

And lo the man looked upon the bass, which was a beautiful 'sunburst' red, and
he loved it. He played upon the open E string and the note rang through the
earth and reverberated throughout the firmaments (thus reverb came to be.) And
it was good. And God heard that it was good and He smiled at His handiwork.

Then in the course of time, the man came to slap upon the bass. And lo it was
funky.

And God heard this funkiness and He said, "Go man, go." And it was good.

And more time passed, and, having little else to do, the man came to practice
upon the bass. And lo, the man came to have upon him a great set of chops. And
he did play faster and faster until the notes rippled like a breeze through the
heavens.

And God heard this sound which sounded something like the wind, which He had
created earlier. It also sounded something like the movement of furniture, which
He hadn't even created yet, and He was not so pleased. And He spoke to the man,
saying "Don't do that!"

Now the man heard the voice of God, but he was so excited about his new ability
that he slapped upon the bass a blizzard of funky notes. And the heavens shook
with the sound, and the Angels ran about in confusion. (Some of the Angels
started to dance, but that's another story.)

And God heard this - how could He miss it - and lo He became Bugged. And He
spoke to the man, and He said, "Listen man, if I wanted Jimi Hendrix I would
have created the guitar. Stick to the bass parts."

And the man heard the voice of God, and he knew not to mess with it. But now he
had upon him a passion for playing fast and high. The man took the frets off of
the bass which God had created. And the man did slide his fingers upon the
fretless fingerboard and play melodies high upon the neck. And, in his
excitement, the man did forget the commandment of the Lord, and he played a
frenzy of high melodies and blindingly fast licks. And the heavens rocked with
the assault and the earth shook, rattled and rolled.

Now God's wrath was great. And His voice was thunder as He spoke to the man.

And He said, "O.K. for you, pal. You have not heeded My word. Lo, I shall create
a soprano saxophone and it shall play higher than you can even think of."

"And from out of the chaos I shall bring forth the drums. And they shall play so
many notes thine head shall ache, and I shall make you to always stand next to
the drummer."

"You think you're loud? I shall create a stack of Marshall guitar amps to make
thine ears bleed. And I shall send down upon the earth other instruments, and
lo, they shall all be able to play higher and faster than the bass."

"And for all the days of man, your curse shall be this; that all the other
musicians shall look to you, the bass player, for the low notes. And if you play
too high or fast all the other musicians shall say "Wow" but really they shall
hate it. And they shall tell you you're ready for your solo career, and find
other bass players for their bands. And for all your days if you want to play
your fancy licks you shall have to sneak them in like a thief in the night."

"And if you finally do get to play a solo, everyone shall leave the bandstand
and go to the bar for a drink."

And it was so.
*****************************************************

Updated Listening List:

Waitresses - Best of
Oxford American (compilation) - 2003 Southern Songs #6

and:

Fleetwood Mac - Say You Will

If you like their formula, you'll like this. If you really wish they'd stretch out, there's some things to like here too. Christine's gone, but not really missed. And, for a change, instead of just revisiting their Rumours hit factory, they also revisited Tusk.

So between the Tusk spinoffs and the seriously new stuff, this was kind of a fun listen. They kind of clean the palate between the lush 3-chord pop harmony tunes that make them all their money - which are also pretty good.

"Come" and "Bleed for Your Love" were my favorites on my first pass through. They rock especially hard on "Come" - heavily compressed and distorted drums were especially compelling. There are 1000 guitarists who could have provided a better solo than LB does in this - a bit out of his genre - but it was okay. Souinded like maybe Sheryl Crow on the vocs on this one - I know she's somewhere on this CD.

One last thing - remember the scene in "Amadeus" where Mozart does his impression of Salieri at a costume party? Makes fun of him for his serious scowling approach to his EZ-Big-Note music? Anyhow... Mick Fleetwood is Salieri. Whole damn CD is full of Drumschool 101 patterns. They work, but sheesh....

Updated listening list:

Compilation (Various) - All Blues'd Up - The Songs of the Rolling Stones
Uncut Mag Compilation - Acid Daze (60's psychedlic trax from the UK)
Uncut Mag Compilation - Bob Dylan Tribute

and:

Steely Dan - Everything Must Go.

If you agree that Aja is the finest album ever recorded, the pinnacle of the arranging / recording craft, the consummate achievement that all recording should strive for... then you'll love this album. Let's do the time warp again.

Performances are excellent, arrangements are stellar, writing's as good as ever. But MAN, I wanted to hear some new ground being broken. We get to hear Walter sing one, finally - not bad. And the title track starts off with a Pharaoh Sandersesque free time thing, that's kinda nice, and gives us some much rawer vocals from DF than we're used to. Song topics have shifted, there's a bit of a breakup theme in here, less about life in the scofflaw lane. But it's largely refried Aja, just like Gaucho, Firefly, Kamarkiriad, and I imagine, Two By Nature (which I've never heard, so I'm only guessing).

I would buy a lifetime's worth of refried Aja, if they keep producing it. It is rich, deep stuff. But there was a time, when the boys were moving by leaps and bounds with each album: Thrill->Countdown->Royal->Aja was an amazing progression (yes I left out Prezel and Katy) - and then WALL. We have achieved perfection, we're not moving off it. Or something like that.

In a nutshell: Good album. No surprises. Can't have a great album without surprises.

Updated listening list:

Moby: Play
Trojan Records (sampler): 20 Reggae Classics, 1966-74
Jackie Lomax: Is This What You Want?
Fleetwood Mac: Say You Will

I should actually read the Lomax liner notes someday. Sure sounds like Ringo on most of the tracks, plus some trademark Lennon guitar sounds on a few songs. Three or four GREAT songs on this, either marred or made parfect by Lomax's voice, depending on what you think of his unconventional sound. The rest is substandard filler. Duynno if he ever did another album - this one was hot in its day (1970?), but apparently hasn't made the Clear Channel Inc. playlists. Grumble.