Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit

Christmas In February

Jeff — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:40:26 +0000

Last week, I got to the “Christmas” portion in my alphabetized collection of vinyl records. That was just a bit surreal. I got three albums ripped last week. The first one was “Christmas Carols Around the World,” by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

This album was produced in 1961 on Columbia records (LE 10091). It contains some familiar carols, such as “Here We Come A-Caroling,” “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” “We Three Kings,” and a medley of “Good Christian Men, Rejoice” and “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen.” There are also some that I had never heard before, such as “What Perfume This? O Shepherds Say!” “Song of the Bagpipers,” “See the Radiant Sky Above,” and others. It was quite enjoyable to listen to. I believe this one came from my Grandmama’s record collection. After a bit of searching, I was able to find a clip on You Tube of “See the Radiant Sky Above.”

The next one was great fun, bringing back some childhood memories. “Christmas with the Chipmunks.” Yes, really. David Seville and his adorable chipmunks bring us many favorite Christmas songs.

My copy is a reissue of the original on “Mistletoe Records” MLP1216. The original was released in 1961 on Liberty Records. This copy was released in 1975. This also seems to have come from Grandmama’s record collection. Here is a You Tube clip of the original Chipmunk Christmas Song, simply called “The Chipmunk Song.”

The record also includes “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “White Christmas,” “It’s Beginning To Look Like Christmas,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “Up On the Housetop,” “Over the River and Through the Woods,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” “Silver Bells,” and “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town.”

Finally, I have one of old Goodyear “Great Songs of Christmas” albums. I remember those, back when I was growing up. I remember looking forward to a new one coming out every Christmas. This one is number seven.

Oddly enough, though, the record is in the jacket for album eight.

Very strange. This one also seems to have come from Grandmama’s collection. I have no idea what happened to album 8. Anyway, album seven was produced in 1967 by Columbia Special Projects (CSS 547). These were star-studded Christmas albums. This one had 20 tracks on it, ranging from “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” to “Silent Night.” Strangely, there is a Barbra Streisand recording of “The Lord’s Prayer,” which, in my opinion, has never been regarded as a Christmas song. I found this You Tube clip of The Harry Simeone Chorale singing “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” Someone made a video of their record playing. Heh.

That’s it for Christmas, at least for now. The next couple records are Eric Clapton, then Phil Collins.

I listened to two more albums from 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die, last week. One was a world music selection by Waldemar Bastos, called “Pretaluz.” The caption for the article was “Laments From a Native Son of Angola.”

This recording, released in 1998, was, apparently, a response to violence in his country. He is quoted as saying it is a “response to the fratricide in Angola, a simple message emphasizing the value of all life.” Even though I could not understand any of the lyrics, I could hear the soulfulness in the songs. As Mr. Moon calls it a “lament,” I could certainly hear that in the songs. The key tracks, as listed by Moon, are “Kuribota,” “Morro do Kussava,” and “Menina.” Here is a “Kuribota” from You Tube.

The second recording that I listened to last week was by a group called Bauhaus. The album is “In the Flat Field.”

Yes, that is a naked man. He seems to be holding something that looks like a vuvazela. I don’t get it. Of course, that fits, since I didn’t really “get” the recording, either. The caption for the article was “The Dawning of a New Gloomy Day.” It is categorized as “goth rock,” although I’m not sure I agree with that. It was released in 1980. The group, although they have a German name, is from England. The key tracks, as listed by Moon, are “Double Dare,” “God In An Alcove,” “Stygmata Martyr,” and “Nerves.” I found only two of the eighteen tracks that I could say that I sort of liked. One was the first track, “Dark Entries.” When the album started playing, I was thinking that they sounded a bit like “Interpol.” (Not the international crime agency.) But the album deteriorated drastically from that point. The lead “singer” (I use the word loosely) is, quite literally, horrid. Instrumentally, the group is not bad, but not great, either. The other song that I kind of liked was called “Terror Couple Kill Colonel.” I found this You Tube clip of “Dark Entries.”

Ah…the eighties…it makes me laugh. Honestly, after seeing them on the stage, the whole recording makes a lot more sense. Hahahah…it doesn’t make me like it any more, though. This recording was truly horrible. I wouldn’t include it on “50,000 recordings to hear before you die.” Heh.

That’s it for this installment. I think I get to listen to some Beach Boys next. At least Mr. Moon’s taste is diverse, I’ll say that for him. And, honestly, I have to respect his endeavor to include all genres of music in his book.

I’ll be off to write an entry in my devotional blog, now, Revelling in the Overflowing Grace of God.

TTFN, y’all!

Swingin’ With Basie

Jeff — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:07:35 +0000

Welcome back to another blog about music. Today, I’ll begin with my most recent ripping, which continues with the last two Chris Christian records I have. The first one was called “With Your Love.” Produced in 1979 on Myrrh Records (MSB-6614), it features a song also recorded by The Imperials, “Praise the Lord.” It also includes another song recorded by The Imperials, “Heed the Call.” It is pretty standard Contemporary Christian Music, but, again, for its day, was a pretty good record. The final song on the album, “Pray Away,” is one of my favorite Chris Christian songs. Here’s a youtube clip of “Pray Away.”

The final Chris Christian album that I own was not produced until 1985. There are a few in there that I did not purchase. This one is called “Mirror of Your Heart,” (Home Sweet Home Records SPCN 7-01-000339-4) and was designed to be a sort of “easy listening” record, for use in devotions and meditations.
It was mostly songs already recorded, such as “Praise the Lord,” and “Pray Away.” It also featured “Living Sacrifice,” and the title track “Mirror of Your Heart.” Here is a youtube clip of a song from the album, called “We Are An Offering,” a very nice worship song.

My most recent foray into the land of 1000 Recordings had me listen to a three disc set of Count Basie, called “The Complete Decca Recordings.”
The caption of the article in Tom Moon’s book says, “The Definition of Swing.” Now, I don’t know much about Count Basie. Sure, I’ve heard the name, who hasn’t? But now that I’ve listened to 63 tracks of his music (it took me three days at work to get through this one, backtracking several times because I missed something because of, you know, work), I have a good feel for what he accomplished. William James Basie was born in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1904. In the early twenties, he studied briefly with Fats Waller, met Duke Ellington, and Willie “The Lion” Smith. He eventually became the pianist for the Bennie Moten Band in Kansas City. When Moten died, Basie formed his own band, made up of some from the Moten band.

This recording, according to Mr. Moon’s article, showcases “the first great Basie band, circa 1937, just after it arrived in New York. Of the Basie band and its technique, Moon describes them as a group of “ordinary elements” that became “a screaming locomotive of rhythm, boogying down the tracks and levitating just above them, sweeping up everything in its path.” Heh. I really like that description, and, having listened to this recording, agree 100%.

Moon’s key tracks for this recording are “Listen My Children and You Shall Hear,” “Roseland Shuffle,” and “One O’Clock Jump.” I find it baffling that he only came up with three key tracks from a 63 track recording! I made a list of songs that I really liked, and it had 23 songs on it! Just to mention a few, they were “Topsy,” “Swingin’ the Blues,” “Boogie Woogie” (I think I probably like any song with that title), “The Fives,” “Shorty George,” and “Panassie Stomp.” Like I said, there were 23 in all, and I’m not going to list them all here. Here’s a youtube clip of “Topsy.”

Here’s one of “Panassie Stomp.”

That’s a 78 rpm record in that video, by the way.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this recording. Swingin’, man!

TTFN, y’all!

Music from Austria – Parov Stelar

Jeff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:15:02 +0000

Reblogged from World Music – the Music Travel:

A great one this afternoon! Parov Stelar, born in 1974, is an austrian electroswing musician from Linz. Here’s his wonder-, wonderful song “Catgroove”, a must to you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twqM56f_cVo

This was great fun! Thanks to Xandi!

Finally Finished With Chicago

Jeff — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:55:24 +0000

Once again, I’ve let a few weeks go by without posting here. I have not abandoned my two musical quests, one being ripping all my vinyl to digital, and the other, listening my way through 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. It just seems that I have not had time to blog here, lately.

I finally finished all of my Chicago albums, the last one I have being Chicago 19.

This album was released in 1988 on Reprise Records (although it still had the “Full Moon” logo on it). In my opinion, it continues the mediocre streak of songs, and is hardly worth listening to. This would be the last Chicago album I would buy, until 25 came out, which is actually a very nice Christmas CD. I have learned that this would also be Danny Seriphine’s last album, their drummer for the whole time of their existence. I don’t know the circumstances behind his leaving.

The album charted at number 37 on Billboard’s top 200, with four singles released. They did have a number one song on the album, “Look Away,” which hit number one on both the Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary. “I Don’t Want to Live Without Your Love” made it to number 3 on the Hot 100 and number 5 on Adult Contemporary. “You’re Not Alone” made it to 10 on the Hot 100 and 9 on Adult Contemporary. “We Can Last Forever” only got to 55 on the Hot 100 and 12 on Adult Contemporary.

Here’s a clip of the song “Look Away.”

The next album I ripped takes me way back to right about the time I started College. It was by a young man named Chris Christian, who was very influential in Contemporary Christian Music (otherwise known as CCM) back in the day. It was his first album, simply called “Chris Christian.”

It featured a lot of songs that brought back good memories for me. He had his own version of “Why Does the Devil Have All the Good Music?” But it wasn’t nearly as good as Larry Norman’s. There’s a song that I used to play quite a bit, called “Odessa Beggarman ’74.” Also included is “Great, Great Joy.” It was produced in 1976, the year I graduated from high school.

Sadly, I can’t find any youtube clips from this album. It was, for its time, a great album.

I just finished another Chris Christian album this morning, called “Chance.”

This one must be his second album, as it was produced in 1977. It contains songs such as “Satisfaction Guaranteed,” “Sail On” (which would be recorded by The Imperials), and “First Morning in Heaven” (which, I think, was also recorded by The Imperials). While not as good as the first offering, it still had some very listenable songs on it.

I found a youtube clip of “Satisfaction Guaranteed.”

Now, for some more selections from 1000 Recordings. It has actually been a couple of weeks since I listened to these, so I have to refresh my memory. The next thing I listened to was “Barretto Power,” by Ray Barretto. The caption for the article says “Salsa Caliente.” So that tells you right off what kind of music it is.

There are only eight tracks on this album. Mr. Moon’s key tracks are “Oye la noticia,” “Right On,” “Quitate la mascara,” and “Power.” I found this album to be enjoyable listening. It’s not my favorite style, but it was good Latin music, good beats, a tight band, and good sound. It is Latin music with a jazz feel to it. Here is a youtube clip of “Power.”

Next up was a vocalist named Cecilia Bartoli. The album is called “The Vivaldi Album.” The caption of the article is “The Pleasures of Italy, in Sound.”

Released in 1999, this album features a number of Vivaldi arias. Bartoli has won four Grammy awards for her singing, and Moon describes her as having “jaw-dropping agility.” After listening to this recording, I heartily agree! His key tracks are “Zeffiretti che sussurate,” “Sventurata navicella” (from Il Guistino), “Alma oppressa” (from La fida ninfa). I have no idea what any of that means. The two tracks that literally made my jaw drop, however, were “Dopo un’ orrida procella” and “Anch’il mar par che sommerga (Il Tamerlano).” The sheer dexterity of her voice is mind-boggling. Here is a youtube clip of her singing “Sventurat navicella.”

It is actually quite astounding to watch. I have no idea what the piece is about, but her facial expressions are fun to watch.

So that brings me up to date on my listening. Hope you all have a great day, and I’m off to do my devotional blog, Revelling in the Overflowing Grace of God.

TTFN, y’all!

R.I.P. Etta James

Jeff — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:37:41 +0000

11/22/63 SPOILER ALERT!!!!*

Jeff — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:24:30 +0000

If you have not read 11/22/63 and plan to, DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT read this! You have been warned.

I’m not sure quite what to say about this book. I might be over-reacting because it’s so fresh, but this may be the best King novel ever. It may be better than The Stand. It transcends genre. It’s not quite horror, but, in same cases, yes, it is. It’s drama, it’s thriller, it’s human interest, it’s a hero story, and it’s science fiction. All wrapped into one small…no wait. There’s no such thing as a “small” Stephen King package, is there? 849 pages worth, this one.

11/22/63 is a time travel story. Jake Epping discovers that his friend Al Templeton has a “rabbit hole” in the pantry of his diner. This “rabbit hole” is a sort of “time tunnel” (we find toward the end that it’s called a “bubble”). It goes back to 1158am, September 9th, 1958. Every time you go through it. (I was 6 months old, then.) And, no matter how long you stayed, when you got back, it had been exactly two minutes in 2011. Al had gone back, and as an experiment, had saved a girl from being killed by a gunshot in a hunting accident. The problem is, when he went back, it reset everything. She was dead again. He eventually comes up with this valiant plan to, if you know your dates at all, you’ve already guessed it, save JFK from being assassinated in 1963. He almost makes it, but his health is failing, and he can’t quite do it. So he enlists Jake Epping. Jake is skeptical. But he goes through just to see. At the entrance (or exit) is this guy known as the Yellow Card Man. Later on, we find that these guys are sort of “guardians” of the time travel strings. Anyway…Jake comes up with his own experiment. There’s a janitor at the school in which Jake is a teacher. His name is Harry, but everyone calls him “Hop-along,” because of an injury he received as a child. Seems his father flipped out and murdered his whole family, but Harry managed to escape. So Jake decides to try to prevent this one.

He goes back as George Amberson. Al has already prepared fake identification for him. He also had a stack of money that he had won gambling back there. Easy to win, right? You already know who won everything. George goes back. He finds a way to occupy himself until October 31, the day that Harry Dunning’s father went nuts. But time, as King keeps saying in this book, is “obdurate.” It resists being changed. George encounters several obstacles that night, but still manages to get into Dunning’s house just as the dad is coming in with the sledgehammer. He, along with a helper that enlisted himself, manages to save everyone except Harry’s older brother. He goes back to 2011 (two minutes after he left) to find that Harry survived only to enlist in the armed forces and die in Vietnam. He’s satisfied that this all works, agrees to go in for the five year stretch and try to save JFK.

When he gets back in, he starts over. He finds Harry Dunnings father in a cemetery (at his own parents’ grave) and kills him there, before he ever gets to Halloween night. Then he goes and saves the girl from the hunting accident. Then he just kind slowly meanders down to Texas. He spends a few years in Florida, teaching. He gambles a little (but not little enough to keep from raising some suspicion, which is why he has to leave Florida). He gets to Texas and, not liking the atmospheres in Fort Worth and Dallas, moves down south of Dallas to a town called “Jodie.” He lands a substitute teaching position at the local high school and befriends a few people. Times were different then…they didn’t do background checks.

He also falls in love with Sadie. As he stalks Lee Harvey Oswald through his various moves in Fort Worth and Dallas, Sadie becomes suspicious and cools things off. One day, though, Sadie’s ex husband shows back up and hurts her. He slashes her face with a knife. George shows up, along with their friend Deke, in time to save her life, but not in time to save her face. She becomes very depressed after this, and almost kills herself one night. George shows up just in time, saves her life, and this causes her to finally believe in him. (They had been broken up for a while.)

She eventually figures out that he’s “not from around here,” time-wise. She finally asks him, point blank, “Are you from the future?” After this, she insists on helping him. After many other events, they finally arrive in Dallas on 11/22/63, where, together, the fight through all the obstacles that time puts in their way, and make it to the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository in Dallas, Texas. Oswald is in the window, gun pointed. The motorcade is coming around. George/Jake (Sadie knows his real name, by now, as does Deke) yells at Lee. He turns, snarls, and turns back to the window. As he takes a shot, George/Jake shoots at him with his .38 Special. It misses, but causes Lee to miss. Screams are heard from below. Lee turns and aims at George. George trips when Lee fires. The bullet hits Sadie, who was right behind him. She dies. You knew King couldn’t let George be happy, right? But then bullets fly from below, and Lee Harvey Oswald “danced in death like a marionette.” (Thank you, Elton.) The president is saved. George Amberson becomes a hero. The FBI investigates him, finds that he was not involved with Oswald, and lets him “disappear.” In fact, the help him disappear. He makes his way back to Maine (where it all started…I totally left out the whole Derry, Maine section…as well as the dancing parts; they were very cool). As he finally approaches the “rabbit hole,” he meets another “guardian” (this one with a green card). They have a brief discussion about all the damage that Jake has done by saving JFK. He tells Jake to go ahead, go back to his time, but don’t stay too long. Jake goes through the portal/bubble. He’s in a bathroom, instead of a pantry (remember, it’s still only two minutes after he left). There are no buildings, only ruins. There are some people, around, but not many. There’s a gang of rough kids running around. There are earthquakes rumbling every few minutes. (Oh, I forgot about the California earthquake that happened shortly after he saved JFK, killing 7000 people!) Everything is different. He stumbles across Harry (remember him…I had completely forgotten him by this time) in a wheelchair. This time, he had still gone to ‘nam, but had only been paralyzed by a copter crash. But all the presidents had been different. There had been other assassinations. Wallace had been president, and was assassinated. McGovern had been president. Bill Clinton died of a heart attack, so his wife was president.

Jake decides to go back through the hole. His plan, though, this time, was only to meet Sadie again. Forget Harry Dunning. Forget the hunting accident girl. Forget JFK. He loved Sadie and wanted her back. The Green Card Man pleaded with him. Don’t do it. Just reset it and go back home. After staying a short while, Jake realizes that it’s too risky. He can’t be so selfish that he can risk the world just to satisfy his love. So he goes back to 2011. The diner is back. Everything is back.

After a short while, he takes a trip to Texas. Down to Jodie. Where he finds eighty-year old Sadie. They dance.

Of course, I’ve left out a lot. It was, in my opinion, a beautiful story. There are some problems with it…King made a few mistakes. For example, in 1963, someone tells George/Jake to bet money on the Bears to win the NFC. Um…sorry…that was much later. There was, I think, an AFL along with the NFL, but the first Superbowl wasn’t until 1967. Later, the AFL and NFL merged, forming the sole NFL, split into NFC and AFC.

Also…he kept misspelling Killeen! There is a town in south Texas called Killeen. King consistently spells it “Kileen.” I’m not sure I understand this.

Anyway. I can live with these small mistakes. It’s a great book. Right up there with the Dark Tower.

TTFN, y’all!

Chicago’s Crowning Glory

Jeff — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:42:16 +0000

I didn’t intend for it to be quite so long between entries, but we seem to have been busier lately. The next album in my ripping schedule was Chicago 17.
This album was released in 1984, and was their most popular and successful album ever. I believe that, currently, it has gone platinum seven times. It had four top twenty hits. “Stay the Night” reached 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and 7 on the mainstream rock chart. “Hard Habit To Break” (my personal favorite of Chicago’s ballads), reached number 3 on Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary. “You’re the Inspiration” reached number 3 on Billboard Hot 100 and 1 on Adult Contemporary. “Along Comes A Woman” reached number 14 on Billboard Hot 100, 10 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, and 25 on Adult Contemporary. The album reached number 4 on the The Billboard 200. Other good songs on the album included “Remember the Feeling” and “Once In A Lifetime.”

It would be Peter Cetera’s last album with the group. I still believe that was a mistake for him.

Here’s a youtube clip of the official music video for “Hard Habit to Break.” It looks like someone recorded it from MTV. But it’s not terrible.

And, just for grins, here’s the official video for “Stay the Night.” It looks pretty silly in 2012.

Chicago 17 was followed up, of course, by Chicago 18. No surprises there, eh?

(I guess that’s the bottom of a swimming pool?) This one was released in 1986, and was the first album without bassist/lead singer Peter Cetera. He was replaced by Jason Scheff (and, frankly, I couldn’t tell the difference). The album had marginal success, but was disappointing after the “smash-hitiness” of Chicago 17. The album only reached 35 on the charts, and had three singles. “If She Would Have Been Faithful,” a different kind of take on a relationship, reached number 17, but “Will You Still Love Me” made it to number 3. The unnecessary remake of “25 or 6 to 4″ only reached number 48. Here’s a video of “Will You Still Love Me.”

On from ripping to more of the albums/songs featured in Tom Moon’s 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. First up is a song (if you want to call it that) called “Planet Rock” by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force. It’s a cool group name, I have to give them that. But the song, itself, I didn’t find all that interesting. It was mostly rhythm and shouting. It was released in 1986, and categorized as Hip-Hop. The caption for the article says, “Hot Enough to Rock the Planet.” Meh. Apparently, according to Moon’s article, they sampled heavily from Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express.” Here’s a youtube clip of the song.

This made me laugh. They look like a mash-up of The Village People and Funkadelic.

The next album was, in my opinion, much better. But remember…this is all opinion. Next up was “The Band” by…The Band. Released in 1969 on Capitol Records, this album was chock full of hits. The caption for the article simply says, “Come Hear the Band.”
The first sentence in this article: “It’s as if an itinerant old-time medicine show somehow skipped a few generations, pulled off a two-lane Arkansas highway in 1910, and woke up in 1968, with its remaining potions turned to hallucinogens.” For key tracks, Moon says, “All of them.” I pretty much have to agree. However, my favorites are probably everyone else’s favorites, too. “Rag Mama Rag,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” (I think this was Joan Baez’s biggest hit), “Up On Cripple Creek,” and “Whispering Pines.” That’s about half of the album. It’s a wonderful journey back to a simpler time (that I actually remember, mind you, thanks to the fact that I did NOT participate in above-referenced hallucinogens). Here’s a video clip (home-made) of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”

That’s it for today’s installment. Now it’s on to my devotional blog, Revelling in the Overflowing Grace of God.

TTFN, y’all

Chicago Bounces Back; Baez and Two Bakers

Jeff — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:32:50 +0000

I’m gonna try and crank out a ~~quick~~ entry, here. It’s been about a week, I think, since I blogged here. In that time, I’ve ripped a couple more vinyl records. Continuing in my Chicago collection, I ripped Chicago XIV (they can’t decide if they want to use Roman or Arabic numerals during this phase).
On this cover, their now famous logo is embedded in what appears to be a thumbprint. The album, itself, is said to have been their most unsuccessful release, commercially. I tend to agree. I’m sure the only reason I have this album is that I was a die-hard Chicago fan, and, hey, they released another album. It was released in 1980, and they were still suffering from the loss of Terry Kath. The short-time replacement, Donnie Dacus was no longer with the band, and a studio player named Chris Pinnick, chimed in, but was not a “member” of the band. It was also the last album that Chicago would do on the Columbia label. The album reached only number 71 on the Pop Albums chart, and the only single from the record, Thunder and Lightning (I don’t remember every hearing this song on the radio) reached only number 56 on the Pop charts. By all standards, it was a miserable failure. Here’s a youtube clip of Thunder and Lighting.

Oddly enough, when I searched for this song, this was the only clip that came up. Everything underneath it was actually video clips of thunderstorms in Chicago.

Next up was Chicago 16 (back to Arabic…and XV was another “Greatest Hits” album…I still don’t buy those).
I suppose the logo featured on a microchip indicated the band’s decision to enter the eighties and start making use of more of the technology being offered in that decade. There is a new producer, and a new label, being Warner Brothers/Full Moon. There is also a new face in the band. Bill Champlin has arrived. His voice was closer to Terry Kath’s in timber, so he was a much needed addition to the group. All of the other original members are still there, though. This album was released in 1982, and did much better than the previous three albums. The first single, “Hard To Say I’m Sorry,” was released and hit number 1 on the Pop Singles chart! It was also released, along with it’s segue piece, “Get Away,” on the Adult Contemporary Charts and hit number 1. “Love Me Tomorrow” came out as the second single, but only reached 22 on the Pop Singles, but hit number 8 on the Adult Contemporary Charts. You see…Chicago’s fans from the sixties and seventies were growing up. Heh. There was a third single, “What You’re Missing,” that was released in 1983, but only hit 81 on the Pop Charts. Nevertheless, Chicago had gained a second wind, which would be fully realized with their next album (I’m halfway through ripping that one…sorry).
I found a youtube clip of a live recording of “Hard To Say I’m Sorry.”

My latest adventures from the list of 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die began with a folk legend.

Yes, it’s Joan Baez. The caption for this article is, “The Arrival of A Subtle Folk Voice.” And listening to his, her first recording, released in 1960 on Vanguard records, helps me understand why she was included on the list of 100 greatest guitar players, by Rolling Stone Magazine. (There is nothing on earth that could make me understand why Neil Young is on said list.) This recording consists of Baez’s take on 15 traditional folk songs (the digital re-release in 2001 includes a sixteenth track, “Girl of Constant Sorrow.” Her voice is powerful, and her guitar playing is captivating in this album. Her rendition of “House of the Rising Sun” is closer, from what I can tell, to the original version of the song, than the more popular version by The Animals. There is also a wonderful version of “All My Trials,” which I first heard by Peter, Paul, and Mary. (I wonder if they are on this list…I’m not looking ahead.) Then, she has a version of “Wildwood Flower,” which I have played for years on the guitar, but never knew it had words! It’s actually a sad song. Tom Moon lists “East Virginia,” “House of the Rising Sun,” “Mary Hamilton,” “John Riley,” and “I Know You Rider” as key tracks. I would include “All My Sorrows” in my list. I listened to this album twice. Here’s a youtube clip of her version of “House of the Rising Sun,” with some beautiful photography work in the video.

Next up is, perhaps another kind of legend. I’m still not sure what “Quiet Storm” refers to, but this lady seems to have it down.

“Rapture” is Anita Baker’s major label debut. It was released in 1986 on Elektra records. It only has eight tracks on it, but it’s enough. Or maybe it isn’t. Thinking back to last week’s “R&B” entry, Erykah Badu, there is no comparison. THIS lady can sing R&B! Anita has a deep, soulful voice that Badu could only dream of having. Mr. Moon’s caption for the article is “Sultry Upscale Soul.” And yes, it is. Moon lists “Sweet Love” (the opening track) and “Caught Up In the Rapture” as his key tracks. I would include “Watch Your Step,” as it was one of my favorites. He even compares her to Billie Holiday and Roberta Flack. Here’s a youtube clip of a live performance of “Watch Your Step.”

Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

The most recent recording I listened to from this list was by a guy I’d never heard of before, named Chet Baker. The album listed is “Let’s Get Lost: The Best of Chet Baker Sings.” Now, I’m still not sure I listened to the right recording. According to Moon’s article, captioned “Getting Lost, in a Mist, with the Master,” the recording was released in 1989 on Pacific Jazz/Capitol records. However, I couldn’t find that particular recording in Rhapsody. I did find, however, a recording called “The Best of Chet Baker Sings,” released in in 1956 on Blue Note. Moon says that all of the recordings were made in the fifties, “before heroin ravaged his body and blunted the little-boy-blue purity of his voice.” All of the key tracks were on the recording that I listened to, so I’m thinking that, perhaps the 1989 version is a re-issue of the 1956 one. I’m going to count it, anyway. The key tracks are “My Funny Valentine,” “My Ideal,” “But Not for Me,” “I Remember You,” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is.” This is some very smooth jazz singing. I have to say I felt very, um, mellow, during the entire time I was listening. It certainly made my work day less stressful, that’s for sure. I liked the opening track, “The Thrill Is Gone” (not the same “Thrill” as BB King). He plays trumpet, as well, also very well. Of course, “My Funny Valentine,” is a gorgeous track. Chet Baker died in 1988. Here is a youtube clip of “The Thrill Is Gone.”

That’s it for this issue.

TTFN, y’all!

2011 in review

Jeff — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:52:46 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,300 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Chicago Isn’t “Cleva,” Erykah Is, But Bad Brains Is “Betta.”

Jeff — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:53:46 +0000

Chicago continued their trend of releasing pretty much irrelevant albums with “Chicago 13.”

Departing yet again from their previous naming formats, this one, even though it had a number instead of a name, used Arabic numerals instead of Roman numerals. Sadly, since this record was released in 1979, at the height of the accursed disco era (I was in college then, bemoaning what I thought surely was the end of music as we knew it), the producers apparently saw fit to try to “discotize” Chicago. The first song, “Street Player,” was a 9+ minute disco song. Ugh. Oddly enough, the album managed to reach number 21 on the Billboard charts for pop albums. Its two singles, “Must Have Been Crazy,” and “Street Player,” reached 83 on pop singles and 91 on black singles, respectively. “Black singles?” Really? Chicago? Hmm….

I couldn’t get through ripping this one soon enough. Why do I even have this record?

Here’s a youtube clip of “Must Have Been Crazy.” Notice it sounds nothing like Chicago. Sounds like a mashup of The James Gang and um…um…I don’t know. The song was written and sung by Donnie Dacus, the short time replacement for Terry Kath.

It’s painfully obvious that Chicago is missing Terry Kath very badly.

I’ve listened to two more recordings from 1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die, by Tom Moon.

The next one I was able to hear was a recording by a group called “Bad Brains.” The recording is “I Against I.”

Tom Moon categorizes this as simply “rock.” Rhapsody categorizes it as “alt/punk>emo>hardcore.” Interesting. The caption for the article says “The Refinement of an Unlikely Sound.” Further into the article, he says this: “Bad Brains is thirty-six minutes of full-tilt mayhem, with a few thoughtful down-tempo dub tracks for respite.” I don’t know about “mayhem.” Oddly enough, I like this. I’m not at all sure who I would compare this to. It’s very eighties-sounding, but it was released in 1986, so that stands to reason. The key tracks, according to Moon, are “House of Suffering,” “I Against I,” and “She’s Calling You.” I liked “House of Suffering.” But I think I liked “Re-ignition” better. Actually, I liked all the songs. The lyrics are surprisingly meaningful.
I realized later that I forgot to link a clip of Bad Brains. Here’s a youtube of “House of Suffering.”

Next on the list is “Mama’s Gun,” by Erykah Badu.

Say…isn’t she the one that got in trouble for running around half-naked in downtown Dallas while filming a music video? Anyway..the caption on the article says, “This Gun Is Loaded.” Released in 2000, it’s categorized by Moon as R&B. Rhapsody says it’s “Contemporary R&B>Neo-Soul.” Whatever you say. I categorize it as “No, thank you.” The album has some moments, that is true. But it’s just not my style of music. Moon says this in his article: “…at different times on Mama’s Gun, she sounds like she’s fronting the classic James Brown band, or a torchy jazz group, or a futuristic electronic crew whose stutter-step beats defy drum-programming logic.” Hmm…okay, I will say that the band behind her was pretty good. Very good, in fact. Her voice is a bit thin for me, kind of nasally. At least she sings in tune, though, which is more than a lot of hip-hop artists (*coughkanyewestcough*).

Tom Moon’s key tracks are “Cleva,” “Booty,” “Kiss Me On My Neck,” and “In Love With You.” “Cleva” wasn’t bad. Very nice musical sounds behind the vocals. That’s really the only one of the “key tracks” that I liked. Here’s a youtube clip of that song. What do you think?

That’s my last musical commentary for 2011. I hope everyone has a happy and prosperous (and safe) New Year. Be careful tonight.

TTFN, y’all!

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit

Christmas In February

Swingin’ With Basie

Music from Austria – Parov Stelar

Finally Finished With Chicago

R.I.P. Etta James

11/22/63 ****SPOILER ALERT!!!!*****

Chicago’s Crowning Glory

Chicago Bounces Back; Baez and Two Bakers

2011 in review

Chicago Isn’t “Cleva,” Erykah Is, But Bad Brains Is “Betta.”

11/22/63 SPOILER ALERT!!!!*