What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. X)

And now again on vinyl.

Since it was 50 years ago to the very day that The Beatles conquered America, it seems appropriate to listen to this: The Capitol Albums Vol 1:

Superb arrangements and beautifully engineered.

G

Bavouzet playing Debussy's Preludes Book I, part of his 5 discs of the composer's piano music. Trying to erase from memory a recent very bad performance of the works in Santa Fe New Mexico.

This is an excellent set, I really like it.

Elliott Smith "Either/Or"

(iTunes download)

Ryan Adams "Ashes and Fire"

(iTunes download)

Marion Verbruggen with her magical recorder in a 1992 recording.

The Beatles "1962 - 1966"

(iTunes download) discs 1 & 2

On CD:-

Sonic Youth  "EVOL" on cd.

On Spotify, prompted by a play on Radio Paradise:-

Rachael Yamagata - Elephants....Teeth Sinking Into Heart.

"Impressed" or deemed out & out stupid?? 

I've bought a lot of new (to me) albums recently, and for some reason this one keeps getting a play (so thought I'd better come clean and admit that I was listening to it)!

I like the album, it's very "listenable". Maybe influenced a little by her show that I saw in. Vegas a few years back.

Jennifer Warnes "The Well " (Spotify Premium)

On double cd  "Entangled Scorpio Entrance"  by  Tangle Edge. 

It will require a few more plays I think before I could answer that definitively. I'll listen again over the weekend and let you know. 

2010 release from the British Folk duo consisting of Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies. Produced by the White Stripes, Jack White.

"dark, lustful blues-folk" - MOJO.

"beautifully harmonised, wistful songs ... This is enchanting" - The Guardian

"ethereally enchanting" - The Times.

"Wicker man-worthy blues riffs, equally thrilling and chilling" - NME.

"crystal-clear vocal harmonies" - The Independent.

"Frankly the best thing I have heard in years" - Richard Hawley. V2.

On Vinyl

What better way to spend a wet Saturday afternoon

Peter Frampton "Somethin's Happening"

(Spotify Premium)

Haim,

Thanks for this.  I finally got around to listening to it and enjoyed it.  The Ravel is quite unique.  She has a very clean, deliberate style and I especially like that she is different to most in that she seemingly isn't in a hurry.  This in itself is something that always pleases me.

I did not know who Momo Kodama was until this week.  Strangely enough, one of my Christmas presents to my self this year was the very expensive complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas set played by her sister, Mari Kodama, who shares a four letter given name starting with the letter M.  I had been waiting many years and finally sprung for it.  I have plans soon to have full rooms of recordings each dedicated to one composer.  After the J.S. Bach room, I think it might be time to christen the Beethoven room even just on account of the Piano Sonatas alone.  Music was never meant to framed as a one time postcard anyway and so I need variety and different opinions.

Here is the penultimate disc in the set of complete Piano Sonatas.  With so much music spanning a life of Beethoven one can never expect any one person to hit the mark on all accounts.  Like others, Mari Kodama has some strengths and largely excels in this set.  Recording quality is high although sadly some of them I have to listen to on the computer or in the car as Pentatone is one of the labels that my CDS3 has problems reading and they tend to skip sporadically on many discs.  I knew this going in so you can tell how highly I respect the recordings on PentaTone but I have to listen through a non-Naim player.  The other disc that gives problems often is Sony classical.  My puck is old but I have a very hard time getting those going and they slip causing an ERR and they won't play.

Ludwig van Beethoven:  Mari Kodama (Piano)

iMac/iTunes:-

Santana - Ultimate Collection

Exploding onto the late 1980s rock scene with this energetic, sensual, and shamelessly personal debut, Melissa Etheridge instantly proved herself a skilled singer-songwriter and thunderstorm of a performer.

1st play. No Sinner are one of Classic Rock's Ones To Watch 2014.

Lead singer 25-year-old Colleen Rennison is a force of nature, a post modern blues belter and queen of soul, a hard-singing, hard-loving, hard-drinking, hard-working throwback to those she grew up listening to, including Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Big Mama Thornton, and Bessie Smith.

 

No Sinner’s music is about the clash between the sacred and the profane, the preacher and the devil, the sins of Saturday night at the local watering hole being washed away in the redemption of Sunday morning in church; in short, the very contradiction at the heart of rock ’n’ roll.

Alicia Keys "Girl On Fire" (iTunes download)