What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XII)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 01 January 2016
2016 has arrived today, so time to start this thread afresh.
Last year's thread (and links to previous years) can be found here;
Vinyl. For no reason other than I haven't listened to any BG recently:
Streaming | WAV | CD rip
(2001)
Let it Come Down ~ Spiritualized
1at run, first impression is very good, while I haven't yet heard it completely...
Like BG, here's another underrated singer/songwriter. Much misunderstood, too - written off as an Elvis wannabe in his youth, a lachrymose country crooner in middle age. This is a Sundazed vinyl reissue of a classic 1950s Sun LP:
A very young Swedish trumpeter Hakan Hardenberger in a recording from 1987. His beautiful intonation along a dazzling technique make the disc very special.
What with all this PF reissue excitement thought I would give one of their best a spin..
1st press original vinyl.
Kevin-W posted:Vinyl. For no reason other than I haven't listened to any BG recently:
Suffering withdrawal symptoms Kevin?
I will need to listen to her Kevin as I haven't much of her work only the well known trax.
Where do you recommend to start?
Demo'ed at my local Naim dealer. First time I have visited a dealer in give or take a bob or two 10 years
ewemon posted:Suffering withdrawal symptoms Kevin?
I will need to listen to her Kevin as I haven't much of her work only the well known trax.
Where do you recommend to start?
Difficult question Ewe: she made seven albums during her career, all of which - with the exception of the one she made with Glen Campbell, a commercial monster, but which saw her treading water creatively - I would recommend unreservedly.
The three best albums IMO are Touch 'Em With Love, Fancy (or I'll Never Fall In Love Again, as it was known in the UK) and Patchwork. All three are stone-cold masterpieces. TEWL is a kind of analogue to Dusty in Memphis (it even has a version of Son of A Preacher Man) but is even better IMO. It only has two BG originals (Seasons Come, Seasons Go and Glory Hallelujah, How They'll Sing), but they are two of her very best. It also probably has her best singing and the arrangements and production are superb.
Fancy/INFILA only has the title track written by BG, but has an amazing array of interpretations of songs by people like Bacharach, Laura Nyro, Nilsson, etc and jumps between swamp-rock, pure pop and Sinatra-style urbanity.
Patchwork is a kind of concept album, entirely self-produced, self-arranged and self-composed, and contains some of her very best writing and singing and also contains her most eclectic mix of styles, from country, pop, jazz, blues and musical theatre. These three would be the ones to get first.
After that you have three other near-masterpieces (ie, 95% as opposed to 100% ) - her debut Ode To Billie Joe, follow-up The Delta Sweete (or, as it was known in the UK, Way Down South) and Local Gentry, mostly recorded in London.
BG composed every song but one on OTBJ; the material tends to be overshadowed by the famous title track but for me the hightlights are the swapy Mississippi Delta, gorgeous Sunday Best and the absolutely exquisite Hurry, Tuesday Child. Delta Sweete/WDS contains another BG-penned masterpiece, Morning Glory, which has become a bit of a jazz standard thanks to the enthusiasm of Bill Evans. It also has what is for me her greatest composition - Courtyard; an utterly desolate portrait of a woman imprisoned by the things her younger self had dreamed of. Local Gentry has a jazzier feel and includes three wonderful Beatles covers.
The Gentry-Campbell album (Glen Campbell & Bobbie Gentry in the US; All I Have To Do Is Dream in the UK), is for completists only. It's not terrible, it has too much Campbell and too little Gentry, and only one of her compositions.
None of the albums (apart from OTBJ, which was reissued by Pure Pleasure a few years ago) are currently on vinyl, but all are reasonably easy to get hold of aside from Patchwork. Go for UK Capitols rather than US ones as they sound better. All the albums are really well-recorded, particularly Local Gentry, and all feature the cream of session musos from LA, Muscle Shoals, Memphis and London.
As for compilations, there are lots, but none are especially definitive. There's a 2-CD one called Southern Gothic which is the one I would go for as it contains a decent mix of hits and deep cuts.
On CD, her catalogue is a bit of a mess, and a lot of the compilation CDs have rubbish mastering. None of the albums are available separately on CD, but the Aussie label Raven did them as twofers back in 2000 - pairing OTBJ and TEWL, Fancy and Patchwork, and TDS and Local Gentry. These are readily available but the mastering could be better. If I was to buy just one it would be OTBJ/TEWL.
Does that help?
On vinyl - Vertigo "rocket" label design.
After a day in the garden cutting grass, hedges and anything else that didn't move time to chill with a bottle of Rattler and
On vinyl
Vinyl.
Chillin' with some lovely laid back country blues.
This will ease your mind.
Its on Tidal.
This is absolutely terrific, and just the job after an afternoon of housework.
Serious jamming...
1972 - US original vinyl...
Having enjoyed one old Genesis classic yesterday another caught my eye as I was perusing the CD rack.
Kevin-W posted:ewemon posted:Suffering withdrawal symptoms Kevin?
I will need to listen to her Kevin as I haven't much of her work only the well known trax.
Where do you recommend to start?
Difficult question Ewe: she made seven albums during her career, all of which - with the exception of the one she made with Glen Campbell, a commercial monster, but which saw her treading water creatively - I would recommend unreservedly.
The three best albums IMO are Touch 'Em With Love, Fancy (or I'll Never Fall In Love Again, as it was known in the UK) and Patchwork. All three are stone-cold masterpieces. TEWL is a kind of analogue to Dusty in Memphis (it even has a version of Son of A Preacher Man) but is even better IMO. It only has two BG originals (Seasons Come, Seasons Go and Glory Hallelujah, How They'll Sing), but they are two of her very best. It also probably has her best singing and the arrangements and production are superb.
Fancy/INFILA only has the title track written by BG, but has an amazing array of interpretations of songs by people like Bacharach, Laura Nyro, Nilsson, etc and jumps between swamp-rock, pure pop and Sinatra-style urbanity.
Patchwork is a kind of concept album, entirely self-produced, self-arranged and self-composed, and contains some of her very best writing and singing and also contains her most eclectic mix of styles, from country, pop, jazz, blues and musical theatre. These three would be the ones to get first.
After that you have three other near-masterpieces (ie, 95% as opposed to 100%
BG composed every song but one on OTBJ; the material tends to be overshadowed by the famous title track but for me the hightlights are the swapy Mississippi Delta, gorgeous Sunday Best and the absolutely exquisite Hurry, Tuesday Child. Delta Sweete/WDS contains another BG-penned masterpiece, Morning Glory, which has become a bit of a jazz standard thanks to the enthusiasm of Bill Evans. It also has what is for me her greatest composition - Courtyard; an utterly desolate portrait of a woman imprisoned by the things her younger self had dreamed of. Local Gentry has a jazzier feel and includes three wonderful Beatles covers.
The Gentry-Campbell album (Glen Campbell & Bobbie Gentry in the US; All I Have To Do Is Dream in the UK), is for completists only. It's not terrible, it has too much Campbell and too little Gentry, and only one of her compositions.
None of the albums (apart from OTBJ, which was reissued by Pure Pleasure a few years ago) are currently on vinyl, but all are reasonably easy to get hold of aside from Patchwork. Go for UK Capitols rather than US ones as they sound better. All the albums are really well-recorded, particularly Local Gentry, and all feature the cream of session musos from LA, Muscle Shoals, Memphis and London.
As for compilations, there are lots, but none are especially definitive. There's a 2-CD one called Southern Gothic which is the one I would go for as it contains a decent mix of hits and deep cuts.
On CD, her catalogue is a bit of a mess, and a lot of the compilation CDs have rubbish mastering. None of the albums are available separately on CD, but the Aussie label Raven did them as twofers back in 2000 - pairing OTBJ and TEWL, Fancy and Patchwork, and TDS and Local Gentry. These are readily available but the mastering could be better. If I was to buy just one it would be OTBJ/TEWL.
Does that help?
Thanks Kevin much appreciated.
Blind Faith - 1969 : UK original vinyl...
If you like, mellow, soothing, laid back music, then you should love this. Charlie Haden's bass and Robben Ford's acoustic guitar creates a dreamy framework for an unforgettable recreation of several standards.
1. My One and Only Love
2. Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most
3. Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo
4. Up from the Skies
5. Second Time Around
6. Dat Dere
7. I'll Be Seeing You
8. Bye Bye Blackbird
9. The Ballad of the Sad Young Men
10. I Won't Grow Up
11. Love Junkyard
12. Comin' Back to Me
Superb sounding CD.
1979 - Original vinyl...