The continuing activity of listening to albums on the weekends. (Note: The thread started in 2020. Here is the 2020-2021 thread.)
The continuing activity of listening to albums on the weekends. (Note: The thread started in 2020. Here is the 2020-2021 thread.)
Take the Fall (2018) Bush Tetras
Personnel:
Cynthia Sley – vocals
Pat Place – guitar
Val Opielski – bass
Dee Pop – drums
While looking up podcasts, I came across an interview with Thurstone Moore and two other people who were members of a band called Bush Tetras. I never heard of the band, but the blurb described their music as punk with a groove or something to that effect. Because that description appealed to me, I sought out their music.
The band formed in the late 70s and soon broke up, but they would periodically reunite over the next several decades. Take the Fall is a relatively recent album that I checked out. Originally, I just planned to listen to snippets and listen to another album, but this one captured my attention–specifically, Cynthia Sley’s vocals and Pat Place’s distorted guitar. The music doesn’t groove, or at least that’s not the word I’d use, but I like it nonetheless–primarily because of Sley and Place.
As for the compositions, they seem pretty good–but nothing really exceptional.
Moondance (1970) Van Morrison
Notes
Complete Greatest Hits of Gordon Lightlightfoot (2002)
Notes:
He has such a great voice. Distinct. Nobody sounds like him. His voice sounds like 70s record sleeves. It sounds like those golden era of film 70s flicks with long drives through golden fields with lens flares and David Gates on the car radio.
I know lyrics don’t move you, but Lightfoot’s lyrics really slap me around sometimes. I’m listening right now to my 70s Mellow playlist, and “Carefree Highway” just came up.
Picking up the pieces of my sweet, shattered dream
I wonder how the old folks are tonight?
Her name was Ann
And I’ll be damned if I recall her face
She left me not knowing what to do
Ugh, so good. Her named was Ann and I’ll be damned if I recall her face? Geez.
Turning back the pages to the times I love best
I wonder if she’ll ever do the same?
Now the thing that I call living
Is just being satisfied
With knowing I got no one left to blame
This is like getting punched twice. Once in the gut with “I wonder if she’ll ever do the same,” because — and I’m reluctant to share too personally about this — one thing that’s kept me up some nights is wondering if someone thinks of our time together merely as just one failed relationship that led to her permanent one, or if there’s ever something wistful and pleasant in remembering. Or if (the part that makes it difficult to sleep) she just never thinks of it at all. It’s a great sentiment, boiled down to a few words, one I didn’t think others felt.
The second punch, this one to the head, is “The thing I call living is just being satisfied…” which I think we all wonder once in a while.
Anyway. I’m not trying to convert you. Just expressing my appreciation for an underappreciated musician. Everyone covers “Fire and Rain.” They should all be covering “Carefree Highway,” if you ask me!
That’s a good description!
No, I love your analysis, and I really welcome more of it.
On a related note, it’s not that the lyrics don’t move me so much as hearing and absorbing the meaning or impact of the lyrics pulls me away from the music. If the music isn’t super interesting or moving, this is OK, but the impact of the lyrics isn’t going to be enough…Shoot, I guess it’s fair to say that “lyrics don’t move me,” or at least they don’t sufficiently do it for me.
But that normally applies to my listening experience. If I’m going to talk about music and judge its artistry, the lyrics can matter a great deal, depending on the music.
With Lightfoot, I wasn’t focusing on the lyrics, but I could sense something good there. I’m going to be discussing the album, so I wish I put in more time to focus on the lyrics.
The Carpenters Greatest Hits 35th Anniversary (2004)
Notes
On last comment. I don’t really care for listening to this type of romantic music, which is too treacly, particularly the lyrics and to a lesser extent the music, perhaps. But in spite of this, I think Carpenter’s vocals still sound great. To me, her vocals are the sound of dreamy romantic longings–something I suspect captures the sentiments of millions of suburban teenage girls listening to this in their bedroom–while also having the capacity to melt the hearts of teenage boys, making them fall in love with her. As an adult male, one who has moved away from this type of music, I wasn’t sure how I’d react to her singing, but it still sounds great; I’d put her in the top 5 of all-time great female singers. When one describes a vocal timbre as “buttery,” or “creamy,” her voice would be exhibit A. She’s like a female vocal version of Johnny Hodge’s alto-saxophone.
With regard to this quality, it’s the middle register–almost her speaking voice–that captures this. Actually, it’s the way she moves from the middle to high registers, and vice-versa. Her range here isn’t great, and she doesn’t make these huge and abrupt intervallic leaps (cf. Dennis Pavao), but the movement between the low-middle-high sound so good.
Rags to Riches (1974) Rufus
Personnel
Chaka Khan – lead vocals, background vocals
Dennis Belfield – background vocals, bass
André Fischer – drums, percussion, background vocals
Kevin Murphy – organ, clavinet, background vocals
Al Ciner – electric & acoustic guitars, background vocals
Ron Stockert – lead vocals, keyboards, background vocals
(The album featured a horn and string string, but I couldn’t find the names of the musicians.)
Notes
Minute by Minute (1978) Doobie Brothers
Notes
I like this album, even the lesser songs brought some enjoyment to me. I really love McDonald and the his songs and overall vibe. I also enjoyed the Simmons’s vocals and the songs he sang, but a little less.
Post (1994) Bjork
I was listening to this while doing other things, so without my undivided attention, I can’t really comment much. But here are some brief remarks.
I’ve always been attracted to Bjork’s distinctive voice and singing style, but the oddness and sometimes airiness of her music is also off putting. But the songs that incorporate catchy electronic beats, which I like, counter the latter. In general, Bjork’s voice + electronic beats results in music that appeals to me.
Ultraglide in Black (2001) The Dirtbombs
I’ve read that the group combines soul, funk, rock, with a soul sensibility. The album cover, featuring the lead singer, Mick Collins, creates the impression of Otis Redding singing grungy, rock-punk.
Except for one song, the album features covers from 60s/70s soul/R&B artists.
I liked the raw, noisy and unrefined playing, but I didn’t care for the vocals on this, particularly when Collins’s vocals veers towards Hendrix/Darius Rucker/Phil Lynott territory.
Luxury Liner (1976) Emmylou Harris
Of the few times I’ve heard Harris, I never really cared for Harris’s singing or the songs she sang, based on an admittedly small sample size. But for my music discussion group, I had to listen to her version of Townes Van Zandt’s “Poncho and Lefty,” and I really liked it–so much so that I wanted to check out more of her stuff. Hence, my listening to this album today.
Comments while I listen to each song:
Just looking at the song titles, I didn’t realize several (most?) are well-known country or folk-rock(?) songs. My overall reaction is positive, although I don’t see myself returning to this album over and over again. (I would return to “Poncho and Lefty, though.) But I do want to check out more of Harris’s albums, especially in the 70s.
Kaya (1978) Bob Marley and the Wailers
Personnel:
Bob Marley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion
Aston “Family Man” Barrett – bass, percussion
Carlton Barrett – drums, percussion
Tyrone “Organ D” Downie – keyboards, percussion
Alvin “Seeco” Patterson – percussion
Junior Marvin – lead guitar
Rita Marley – backing vocals
Marcia Griffiths – backing vocals
Judy Mowatt – backing vocals
Vincent Gordon – trombone
Glen Da Costa – trumpet
Winston Grennan – drums
(All songs composed by Bob Marley)
I don’t really have any specific comments on the individual songs, especially since I was mostly listening to this as background music. I will say that this reaffirms how much I like Marley’s vocals. I also like the Wailers.
The casual Bob fan (as I am) will only really know “Is this Love?” from this album, and it’s a good song but I never thought it held up to the albums with Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh, but that’s almost surely personal bias.
A little of this music goes a long way with me, so I never did very deep dives into less familiar tunes or entire albums, except for Peter Tosh’s first two albums, which I like better than probably any other whole reggae albums. I might be set for life with what I already know; as I said, a little goes a long way.
Blind (1992) The Sundays
Personnel
Harriet Wheeler – vocals, production
David Gavurin – guitar, production
Paul Brindley – bass
Patrick Hannan – drums
Lindsay Jamieson – tambourine
All songs written by Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin, except “Wild Horses” (which was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).
Notes
She reminds me much more of Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries; she’s much less squeakier than Bjork, much calmer and dreamier.
Yes, this version of “Wild Horses” seems to show up in pop culture (movie soundtracks, commercials) a lot more than the original, so I think many people are in agreement.
This is a solid album. I didn’t get as much mileage out of it in college as I might have because I was into other things, but I owned it on cassette and it did keep me company on long walks in the rain from campus to my apartment, my first semester in Hilo. It was good walking in the rain music.
I’ll have to check them out.
There are only certain moments which make me think of Bjork. I should have made that clearer.
Yeah, I can see that.
3 Feet High and Rising (1989) De La Soul
Personnel:
De La Soul – arrangers, production assistance
Prince Paul – arranger, mixing, production
Al Watts – mixing, production, engineer, game show host
Trugoy the Dove – arranger
Jungle Brothers – performer
Q-Tip – performer
I’ve heard positive things about this group, but when I’ve explored their music, I came away underwhelmed (although this exploration consisted of hearing one or two albums at a listening station).
On this listening, I found this to be an enjoyable album, and it doesn’t seem very dated, although I don’t really have much to say. I did like the songs that samples “I Can’t Go For That” and “Peg” (“Eye Know”).
Crazy Eyes (1973)–Poco
Personnel:
Paul Cotton – guitar, vocals
Richie Furay – guitar, vocals
Rusty Young – steel guitar, guitar, banjo, slide guitar
Timothy B. Schmit – bass, vocals
George Grantham – drums, vocals
Chris Hillman – mandolin
Bob Ezrin – piano
Bill Graham – violin
Paul Harris – piano
Joe Lala – percussion
“Blue Water”–virtually a bluegrass song; liked.
“Fools Gold”–a bluegrass instrumental coda to the first song; liked.
“Here We Go Again”–Timothy B. Schmidt sang and wrote this 70’s sounding song; liked.
“Brass Buttons”–This Gram Parsons’s song sounds familiar; a cover? A song I could hear Linda Ronstandt singing with the Eagles; it’s OK.
“A Right Along”–a little more rock n’ roll-ish, but except for some guitar riffs (a la “Heartache Tonight”), it’s not (hard) rockin; it’s fine.
“Crazy Eyes”–enjoyed this long piece, with a symphonic instrumental accompaniment.
“Magnolia”–vocals and instrumental effectively create a dreamy, languid love ballad; I really liked the way this follows the previous song;
“Let’s Dance Tonight”–OK
Overall, I really liked this album, including the way the songs flowed together. I like the instrumental accompaniment as much as the vocals and harmonies on this.
Oui (200) The Sea and the Cake
Good Saturday or Sunday morning music for sitting in your living room, or a morning drive along the beach in Montauk
Personnel:
Sam Prekop (vocals, guitar)
Archer Prewitt (guitar, piano, vocals)
Eric Claridge (bass)
John McEntire (percussion, drums, some synthesizer)
Diamond Life (1984) by Sade
Personnel
Sade Adu – vocals
Stuart Matthewman – saxophone, guitar
Andrew Hale – keyboards
Paul S. Denman – bass
Additional musicians:
Dave Early – drums, percussion
Martin Ditcham – percussion
Paul Cooke – drums
Terry Bailey – trumpet
Gordon Matthewman – trumpet
General comments:
Cafe Atlantico (1999) Cesaria Evoro
Someone was nice enough to give me this cd. I recall listening to her in the past, but her music never really grabbed me. On this time around, maybe I was in the right mood, but I enjoyed the music, including the use of strings and some of the support from the rhythm section. The music seems really good for a Saturday or Sunday morning.
Superfly (soundtrack) (1972) by Curtis Mayfield
Personnel (from Wikipedia)
Curtis Mayfield – vocals, guitar, producer
Phil Upchurch – guitar
Joseph Lucky Scott – bass
Master Henry Gibson – percussion
Tyrone McCullen – drums (“Pusherman”)
Morris Jennings – drums (all tracks except “Pusherman”)
Craig McMullen – guitar
Whenever I’ve sampled Mayfield’s music in the past, I came away fairly cold. I’m giving him another chance this morning. So far I’m liking this, particularly the backing band.
Right now I’m listening to “Give Me Your Love,” and apropos of nothing, the groove at the start is very close to Toto’s “Africa.”
I think I initially didn’t care for him because I expected something more funky and hard driving. Mayfield’s falsetto-style went against expectations as well.
Cosmic Thing (1989) by The B-52’s
Personnel:
Kate Pierson – vocals (1–9), keyboards (4–5, 8), backing vocals (10)
Fred Schneider – vocals (1–2, 4–5, 7–9), percussion (5, 7), backing vocals (3)
Keith Strickland – guitars, keyboards (2, 5, 7–10), backing vocals (2–3, 9)
Cindy Wilson – vocals (1–9)
Additional musicians
Tommy Mandel – keyboards (1)
Steve Ferrone – drums (1)
Sara Lee – bass guitar (2–7, 9–10), keyboards (10), backing vocals (10)
Philippe Saisse – keyboards (2–3)
Sonny Emory – drums (2–3)
Charlie Drayton – drums (4–5, 7–8)
The Uptown Horns (4):
Chris Cioe
Paul Litteral
Arno Hecht
Bob Funk
Carl Beatty
LeRoy Clouden – drums (6, 9–10)
Richard Hilton – keyboard (6, 10), programming (1–3, 6, 9–10)
Nile Rodgers – guitar (9)
Notes
Bonus President’s Day edition
Captured Magic (1981) The Brothers Cazimero
Notes
If you’re a fan of the Brothers Caz and you’ve never heard this, I’d recommend it. Don’t let the boring white album cover dissuade you.