What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (VOL V)

Tool - 10,000 Days. As loud as I can without annoying the neighbours.

Tool - Lateralus

A complete change of pace, this is still my album of the year. Totally utterly fabulous.

On the ol' iTunes ...

Beth Orton - Comfort of Strangers; Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds And A Sound

Rusted Root - Rusted Root

Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Revep

record A side 1
Freaks For The Festival-Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Spanish Moon-Little Feet
Hi-Jack-Herbie Mann
I Just Wanna Make Love To You-Cold Blood
Feelin' Alright-Wade Marcus

record A side 2
The Creeper-Young Holt Unlimited
Voodoo Village-Tony Joe White
Pick Up The Pieces-Willis Jackson
15 Degrees-Sam Samudio
It's A Funky Thing To Do-Hank Crawford

record B side 1
Leroy The Magician-Gary Burton
Jungle Eyes-Gene Page
It Ain't Easy-Sweetwater
Prayer-Yusef Lateef
Mr. Man-Air

record B side 2
Hang Loose-Don Randi
Space A La Mode-Herb Geller
Bonus Track ( Vinyl Only ; )
Schirokko-Passport

On record b side 1 Prayer by Yusef Lateef is great, those strange sounds remind me of 'The clangers'! : )

debs

On ECM - Gary Peacock - Tales of Another

This is a superb album of what was the first coming together of what became the Keith Jarrett Standards Trio. This is under Gary's leadership and is just superb. This is the last time Keith Jarrett appeared on an album as sideman, although he really is all over this disc with his playing and singing.

Jonsi & Alex - one of the best albums I have bought so far this year - soundscapes from Sigur Ros frontman.

On ECM - beautiful and to think he makes it up as he goes along.

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:
Jonsi & Alex - one of the best albums I have bought so far this year - soundscapes from Sigur Ros frontman.

My dealer has been pushing this one me but I have been resisting....worth a punt you think?

quote:

Originally posted by Voltaire:

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:
Jonsi & Alex - one of the best albums I have bought so far this year - soundscapes from Sigur Ros frontman.

My dealer has been pushing this one me but I have been resisting....worth a punt you think?

I really like it. I have just bought the vinyl as well as the CD as I can see myself playing this one when I get a turntable. I like this stuff - Eno, Sigur Ros, soundscapes. You know what I am going to say anyway - Spotify!

A review.

Jon Thor Birgisson, aka Jónsi, wins his bread as Sigur Rós's singer, and there is plenty for fans of Iceland's biggest band to enjoy in Riceboy Sleeps, Jónsi's first musical outing with his partner, Alex Somers. Riceboy first awoke as a single track on February's glorious Dark Was the Night charity comp: Happiness, the opening track here, offered a glimpse towards what this LP might offer. It's not a record designed to carry the fans Sigur Rós picked up post-Hoppípolla and its parent album, Takk. Riceboy is, initially, hard work - the first few listens slip by as ethereally as an Enya fart - but deeper investigation reveals reels of lovingly crafted ambience and sounds of the wilderness that are nearly as sparse as an Icelandic bank account. These are blurred with bouts of choral singing that, while not quite John Tavener, are a step away from the falsetto Jónsi wields in his day job. It all combines to make a delicate, sad, little record, but one that ripples with beauty.

Another.

Jónsi & Alex is the performance name for Sigur Rós frontman Jón Thor Birgisson and his partner, Alex Somers. It is not overstatement to say that what they've made together is one of the most beautifully arresting and emotionally redolent albums of 2009. Riceboy Sleeps shimmers with enchantment.
The name Riceboy Sleeps is sponged from an art collaboration project the pair have been working on for the last few years (Somers also does much of the graphic design for Sigur Rós), but this is the first time the duo have unleashed a musical element to their project. The first fruits borne of the collaboration appeared on the Dark Was The Night charity compilation, compiled by The National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner for The Red Hot Organization.

The song featured there was Happiness, and it is with that wonky string-laden heart-tugger that Riceboy Sleeps begins. It sets the tone for the ensuing mesmeric and captivating music that defines an album which is utterly humane, pulsating with a tangible and almost ceremonial poignancy, breathing with a hushed but powerful majesty.

It is largely instrumental. Jónsi's vocal contributions are sparse, but his delicate falsetto is typically heartwarming when it fleetingly appears. Sigur Rós's longtime string players, Amiina, are also employed on Riceboy Sleeps. To this end, reference points include the most introspective moments of Sigur Rós. But this is only half the story.

Merely blotting out the rousing builds and explosive crescendos from Sigur Rós' catalogue does not paint an accurate portrait. Imagine it this way: if Sigur Rós' Takk was The Bends, then Jónsi & Alex's Riceboy Sleeps is Amnesiac. That's not to say it shares the pummelling rhythms of Revolving Doors, or the menacing guitar of I Might Be Wrong. Far from it. But it taps into the same greater sense of introspection, the same sense that not all music has to be delivered as directly as possible.

And perhaps this is one of the central reasons why Riceboy Sleeps is such a powerful listen. It's gloriously pedestrian in its unfurling musical narrative. Its lilting layers and gentle yet rich aural vistas occupy a plane higher than popular musical ideas, and to utterly transcending effect.

Throughout there is a sense of hope, of corporeal rejuvenation, and it's a challenge not to be affected by the record's optimism.

Talk is cheap, however, but listening to the prim yet weepy strings of Indian Summer or the hymnal, heavenly choir of Daníell In The Sea could bring a tear to a glass eye. Put simply, it's a deeply beautiful record.

Judas Priest - British Steel

Why? 'Cos I'm Im a bit tipsy* and fancied some old school metal played loud.

steve

* So much so I can't even post a picture...

The Duke and the King - side project of Simone Felice from the Felice Brothers. Very nice.


Telegraph Review

Like some lost classic from the Seventies, Simone Felice and songwriting partner Robert “Chicken” Burke blend Americana, soul and psychedelia with classic singer-songwriting.
Drummer with the extraordinary Felice Brothers and two-time novelist, Simone has the poetic gifts and fearless aesthetic to rank among the all-time greats, from Cohen to Cave.
Telegraph rating: * * * * *

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:

Sold!!

I'll pick it up from my dealer tommorrow when I collect my Brewsters Rooster....

quote:

Originally posted by Lontano:
On ECM - beautiful and to think he makes it up as he goes along.

I have 2 different masterings of this album Adrian both are gold discs.

Jazz master class by a master musician.

quote:

I'm waiting for my copy to arrive.

Meanwhile ...