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

George Duke - Face The Music

After fishing in the big river for some time now, I have eventually landed this beauty for a reasonable price. This can fetch silly money BTW. Some hot jazz-funk to fend off the winter freeze.

This is a belter and thankfully George surrounds himself with some great musicians and manages to stay true to his roots, avoiding some of the over-commercialised stuff that has afflicted a number of his albums of the past.

If you like your jazz-funk 'right on the money', I recommend you give this a go. Thankfully it is on Tidal so you don't need to splash any cash to sample this great album.

Slim68 posted:

Stevee_S posted:

Slim68 posted:

Oceans Of Slumber, Winter.

Progressive Doom Metal is a Very brief description of this band. If you don't mind some Dirty vocals and love some good strong melodic female vocals this is worth checking out, this album is quite something.

Thanks Simon, this could be right up my strasse.  

Steve, This is out tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to it.

The Burnished Heart.

Thanks again, Simon. I feel quite a number of new (and old) albums heading here this month. Have you stopped getting needles stuck in your eyes yet? 

Cheers Steve 

Slim68 posted:

Oceans Of Slumber, Winter.

Progressive Doom Metal is a Very brief description of this band. If you don't mind some Dirty vocals and love some good strong melodic female vocals this is worth checking out, this album is quite something.

If you like that, then there's at least a slim chance you might enjoy some label mates of mine, Secrets of the Sky.

It's a bit heavier in parts, but not all the way through, and not worlds away in other parts.

Toured with them, and they were nice guys, so it's only fair to take the opportunity for a plug

Stevee_S posted:

Kevin-W posted:

Fabulous-sounding SHM-CD from Japan.

Kevin, I'm tempted with this (and the other one) is it newly remastered or just an existing tape transfer to SHMCD?

Steve, both this (Fancy) and Touch 'Em With Love were transfered at 96/24 from the two-track analogue mastertapes in 2016 by Kenji Yoshino at Universal Mastering Studios. They're by far the best BG digital discs out there. I wish Yoshino-san would revisit the other five albums.

Stevee_S posted:

Slim68 posted:

Oceans Of Slumber, Winter.

Progressive Doom Metal is a Very brief description of this band. If you don't mind some Dirty vocals and love some good strong melodic female vocals this is worth checking out, this album is quite something.

Thanks Simon, this could be right up my strasse.  

same here.....just back in from (gently) defrosting some severely frozen pipes to get my boiler going again (sort of need the heating at the moment) and taking a listen to this - a wonderful mixture of tracks, thanks.

Just in from walking the dog in the snow and freezing wind.

"I said hey, Sister Moonshine, won't you send me a little sun". Seemed an appropriate choice of album in the circumstances.

Clive B posted:

Filipe posted:

Genesis - Wind and Wuthering (1976)

So far I prefer this to Nursery Cryme.

Phil

What!?!? As John McEnroe would say “You cannot be serious!” More listening to Nursery Cryme required, me thinks. 

I agree. 

   Rag 'n' Bone Man - Human.

  I know this is not the most original album to be posting here, since most folks will already be well aware of it .........

  ............ but it ain't half good ................. what a singer Rory is! 

(2013)

Wooden Shjips - Back To Land

A change of tack from Lucinda Williams to some modern Psychedelic rock, luverly stuff 

Clive B posted:

Filipe posted:

Clive B posted:

Filipe posted:

Genesis - Wind and Wuthering (1976)

So far I prefer this to Nursery Cryme.

Phil

What!?!? As John McEnroe would say “You cannot be serious!” More listening to Nursery Cryme required, me thinks. 

Humble apologies, Jedi Clive! Maybe I need a 552 Light Saber to fully appreciate it!

Phil

I think this is the last of the progressive era Genesis. Although ‘And Then There Were Three’ is passable, after that it was more aimed at commercial success. All IMHO, of course. 

Try Foxtrot though. That is a true prog tour de force. 

To which I would add A Trick of the Tail and Selling England By The Pound. 

Stevee_S posted:

Slim68 posted:

Stevee_S posted:

Slim68 posted:

Oceans Of Slumber, Winter.

Progressive Doom Metal is a Very brief description of this band. If you don't mind some Dirty vocals and love some good strong melodic female vocals this is worth checking out, this album is quite something.

 

Thanks Simon, this could be right up my strasse.  

Steve, This is out tomorrow and I am very much looking forward to it.

The Burnished Heart.

 

Thanks again, Simon. I feel quite a number of new (and old) albums heading here this month. Have you stopped getting needles stuck in your eyes yet? 

Cheers Steve 

Hi Steve, Yes fortunately those procedures are now finished, although the sight in my left eye will never be what it was, I'd take them again over the alternative. Thanks for asking.

Kevin-W posted:

Stevee_S posted:

Kevin-W posted:

Fabulous-sounding SHM-CD from Japan.

Kevin, I'm tempted with this (and the other one) is it newly remastered or just an existing tape transfer to SHMCD?

Steve, both this (Fancy) and Touch 'Em With Love were transfered at 96/24 from the two-track analogue mastertapes in 2016 by Kenji Yoshino at Universal Mastering Studios. They're by far the best BG digital discs out there. I wish Yoshino-san would revisit the other five albums.

Many thanks for the info Kevin, March is shaping up to be a month of good acquisitions. Did you get them from CD Japan? 

nigelb posted:

George Duke - Face The Music

After fishing in the big river for some time now, I have eventually landed this beauty for a reasonable price. This can fetch silly money BTW. Some hot jazz-funk to fend off the winter freeze.

This is a belter and thankfully George surrounds himself with some great musicians and manages to stay true to his roots, avoiding some of the over-commercialised stuff that has afflicted a number of his albums of the past.

If you like your jazz-funk 'right on the money', I recommend you give this a go. Thankfully it is on Tidal so you don't need to splash any cash to sample this great album.

It's a great album Nigel, certainly my favourite from George Duke, and one I never tire of hearing, so well done.  

Interesting you mention it being on Tidal.  I was at a show last year and while listening to a big Naim system with I think some active speakers from another company, I was asked to pick a track from Tidal and searched on this album.  I am very familiar with the opening track from this album as it has long been one of my test tracks for me to quickly gauge a system's performance.  So imagine my surprise when it played to hear it sounding rather two dimensional and a bit synthetic, sort of "processed" in a bad way. Not at all what i was used to hearing.  I just don't know whether it was the Tidal source, the system, or the speakers (the speakers were the only unknown to me in the system).  Anyway, if it was the Tidal source, you'll be very pleasantly surprised by improvement from the CD.

Ben Harper & The Blind Boys Of Alabama - There Will Be A Light

I know I posted this recently but the CD plopped onto the doormat today and listening to the rip I am realising what a great album really this is.

This pre-loved belter cost me 62p and has to be my bargain of the year. As long as the Gospel leanings don't put you off, I thoroughly recommend this. Can't even buy an ice cream for 62p!

Slim68 posted:

Stevee_S posted:

Slim68 posted:

Stevee_S posted:

Thanks again, Simon. I feel quite a number of new (and old) albums heading here this month. Have you stopped getting needles stuck in your eyes yet? 

Cheers Steve 

Hi Steve, Yes fortunately those procedures are now finished, although the sight in my left eye will never be what it was, I'd take them again over the alternative. Thanks for asking.

You seem to be in a good place with it all, that's really good to know, so onward and upward with lots of great music . (Smiths free, naturally!)

Men Without Hats - Rhythm Of Youth

I Just dug out my old LP that I bought back in 1982 - mainly on the strength of The Safety Dance which was all the rage at the time.  I haven't listened to this in many years, but really enjoyed this, and took me back to snow bound days in New Hampshire.

Richard Dane posted:

nigelb posted:

George Duke - Face The Music

After fishing in the big river for some time now, I have eventually landed this beauty for a reasonable price. This can fetch silly money BTW. Some hot jazz-funk to fend off the winter freeze.

This is a belter and thankfully George surrounds himself with some great musicians and manages to stay true to his roots, avoiding some of the over-commercialised stuff that has afflicted a number of his albums of the past.

If you like your jazz-funk 'right on the money', I recommend you give this a go. Thankfully it is on Tidal so you don't need to splash any cash to sample this great album.

It's a great album Nigel, certainly my favourite from George Duke, and one I never tire of hearing, so well done.  

Interesting you mention it being on Tidal.  I was at a show last year and while listening to a big Naim system with I think some active speakers from another company, I was asked to pick a track from Tidal and searched on this album.  I am very familiar with the opening track from this album as it has long been one of my test tracks for me to quickly gauge a system's performance.  So imagine my surprise when it played to hear it sounding rather two dimensional and a bit synthetic, sort of "processed" in a bad way. Not at all what i was used to hearing.  I just don't know whether it was the Tidal source, the system, or the speakers (the speakers were the only unknown to me in the system).  Anyway, if it was the Tidal source, you'll be very pleasantly surprised by improvement from the CD.

Richard, the Tidal stream of this sounds half decent here but of course the ripped CD sounds much better. There are many versions/masters of this album and I notice the prices of the different versions vary considerably. It is possible that Tidal have changed the master they use for streaming, or if the show you attended was in another country it is possible I guess Tidal use different masters in different regions. Not sure.

What is for sure, this is one of George Duke's finest IMHO.

Stevee_S posted:

Many thanks for the info Kevin, March is shaping up to be a month of good acquisitions. Did you get them from CD Japan? 

Indeed I did Steve. If you end up getting them, let me know what you think...

2009 - The Portico Quartet - Isla 

Chilled-Electro-Jazz from this London lot on Tidal...

Ozzy Osborne - Blizzard of Ozz

For some reason this seems quite appropriate.

Prestige vinyl

Why? An antidote to the freezing wind blowing outside.

steve

Richard Dane posted:

Men Without Hats - Rhythm Of Youth

I Just dug out my old LP that I bought back in 1982 - mainly on the strength of The Safety Dance which was all the rage at the time.  I haven't listened to this in many years, but really enjoyed this, and took me back to snow bound days in New Hampshire.

Blimey - that's a blast from the past! I had Safety Dance as 12" single - remember them! Must track down the CD.

Whitest Boy Alive: Dreams - 16-bit CD Rip.

This sort of fits with the early evening freezing temperatures here. An interesting, rather understated disc that I should play more often. A pity they only created two albums as I thought they were on to something interesting with this introspective music. The CD also sounds really good too. 

Vanessa Carlton - Be Not Nobody

I have always liked her majestic single 'A Thousand Miles' off this album and the rest of the album ain't too shabby either. Like so many pop albums this CD is rather compressed with a 'music for the masses' feel to the SQ. Shame really, it deserves better production/mastering.