What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XIII)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 01 January 2017
2017 has arrived today, so time to start this thread afresh.
Last year's thread can be found here;
Now switched to something better...
TOBYJUG posted:
An Album dedicated to those feelings that only just make it to words.
The title is quite amusing. For those who aren't familiar with French Canadian (Québécois) profanity the word Câlissé is derived from the word câlice or chalice. Quebecers use the term câlissé(e) (male/female) as a replacement for dropped, dumped, ditched, etc when they're angry. So basically the title is ''I dumped that %"$!''.
If you plan on visiting Québec some day you can study this and use the words randomly in daily conversation like the English (i.e. Gordon Ramsey) use the ''F'' word:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_French_profanity
Edit: After writing this I checked out the album on Discogs and noticed that some Quebecer had given a similar explanation. Goes to show you just how proud we are of our ''culture''
Had her album Dance Floor and listened now to this one as I did before. It requires some courage to listen to this one, but the strange thing is that I also could switch it off as it kept being intriguing .....while every now and then I wanted to switch off...
Awesome comp. Based on an idea and area in Oregon that's volcanic and lush green.
Now playing......
Lizz Wright - Salt
Continuing on with the Lizz Wright album catalogue.....
Saw Fantastic Negrito at last week's Cambridge Folk Festival. He blew just about every other performer out of the water (imho, of course!). Available on Spotify for a preview, but well worth seeking out the album.
Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849): Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń (piano)
24 Preludes, Op. 28
Polonaisen, Op. 26 No. 1 & 2
Whether you agree with her interpretations or not, what I appreciate most about Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń is that she has a clear vision of what Chopin should be played like. I often miss this in other players who might be too afraid to stray from the safety of the pack.
While Popowa-Zydroń message is not one of extremes - either too sugary or too explosive - she seems rather balanced but not in a way where the outcome is one of sameness with all the other middle of roaders. She has a distinctness in her playing that follows her intellect based on what she believes is closest to Chopin's intentions and style. In general, this means beauty comes first and every work has some shape to it followed by a tasteful balance between aristocratic refinement and the emotional turmoil and passion of ones conflicted heart that was brimming over throughout the Romantic period.
While my overall conception for the some of the Preludes may be leaning a little further to the right in Romanticism, her recording here has convinced me for the most part to agree with her vision of them. The one exception is in the tempo of the D-flat major prelude (Raindrop) where I still prefer a slower tempo overall. I guess Ivo Pogorelich and I will stand alone on this.
seakayaker posted:Now playing......
Lizz Wright - Salt
Continuing on with the Lizz Wright album catalogue.....
That's weird, I remembered I had this LW album Tidalised ages ago and am listening to it now, then I saw your posting. It is a bit more jazzy than her later offerings. Rather nice but I think I prefer The Orchard and Freedom and Surrender. The two samplers from Grace suggests that this could be rather wonderful too. One thing is for sure, the girl can sing.
Another act I thoroughly enjoyed at Cambridge FF was She Shanties, an all female variant of Fishermens Friends. Very listenable to, bought the album, and very enjoyable, on an occasional basis, it is.
Now playing......
Continuing to explore Lizz Wright......
......from the liner notes a few gospel tunes on this album, "Wright does include a medley of old spirituals including "Up Above My Head," and she closes the proceedings with "Amazing Grace." But her idea of gospel is highly eclectic, also encompassing the Gladys Knight & the Pips hit "I've Got to Use My Imagination" and Jimi Hendrix's "In from the Storm," neither of which seem particularly religious, as well as Eric Clapton's "Presence of the Lord." Wright also draws material from a clutch of black female contemporaries and influences including Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Joan Wasser, and Angélique Kidjo as she ranges from neo-soul to African-styled folk-rock music."
On CD:-
The Rolling Stones - December's Children (and everybody's)
A good album, hadn't heard her before...
Janine Jansen - Bach concertos
From allmusic.com
A star of Janine Jansen's status and influence could have a major orchestra accompany her in Bach's violin concertos, but she chooses instead to keep her hand-picked ensemble small and intimate, and enjoys the camaraderie of a chamber group. Indeed, the assembly of friends who join Jansen in the Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042; Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041; and Concerto for violin and oboe in C minor, BWV 1060, number no more than 12 players, and includes her brother Maarten Jansen on cello and her father, Jan Jansen, on harpsichord, as well as her touring colleague, oboist Ramón Ortega Quero. Such familiarity yields music of considerable verve and spontaneity, and wherever Jansen leads her musicians, they are quick to follow. Jansen's tempos are brisk and her energy buoys the music in the Allegros, and she keeps the pulse moving forward in the slow movements. She also maintains a propulsive feeling in her performances of the sonatas for harpsichord and violin, BWV 1016 and 1017, and if the intimacy of chamber music was implied in the concertos, the communication between Jansen and her father is open and direct here. Jansen offers a personally expressive and richly colored tone, and though she doesn't attempt to play in period style, the gorgeous sonorities she draws from her Stradivari are well worth the trade-off. Decca's recording is clean and vibrant, with enough background resonance to give the music a sense of space.
Listening a bit to the catalogue of Elvin Jones which I mainly know as the drummer of John Coltrane. This album Merry-Go-Round is quite enjoyable...
dav301 posted:On CD:-
The Rolling Stones - December's Children (and everybody's)
Nice one Dave and very much a lesser spotted 'Stones album around these parts.
A+3 | WAV
(2009)
Some fairly early Wooden Shjips who are always psychedelic, hypnotic, fuzzy and exciting when yer in the mood.
"Six tracks of minimal bass riffage, vaporous vocals and fuzztone mayhem may not sound like the most original night in that you've ever had, but for some reason this band have got something extra. Opening track ''We Ask You To Ride'' initially comes on like a Farfisa 'n' LSD Doors parody, but after one minute and forty seconds the guitar bites and suddenly you're in a MUCH better place. Cleverly, going at a less-than-rushed tempo helps draw you into this mind-melting miasma. Like some kind of dayglo Neu! They turn 3 notes into a universe of sound." - - extracted from a BBC Review
Mindy Smith - One Moment More
Scrolling through some Tidalised stuff and this appeared. Rather nice.
Marco Pandolfi & the Jacknives - Step back baby.
Time for some blues.
Now playing......
Greg Brown - One Night
Listened to a few of Greg's albums a few days ago and I like them and want to continue to explore his catalogue ...... One Night starts at the begining, from Tidal info: "The 1982 concert preserved here marked the first time that Red House Records founder Bob Feldman ever saw Greg Brown. He was so taken by the show that he rented a 1,400-seat theater so the singer could reach a wider audience. Then he formed Red House, reissued Brown's first two albums, and began his long association with the artist. One listen to this recording, which was unavailable for years, and you're bound to hear what excited Feldman. The album finds Brown's talent in full bloom."
Two tracks in and if you like a folk music, a fine voice with acoustic guitar, then you will enjoy this album, I know I am.
A+3 | WAV
(2009)
Because I need some more.
Review
Appropriating primitive rock riffs and then subjecting them to subversive psych-tinged FX-laden ju-ju, Wooden Shjips generate manic, warped pulses of pop-rock that don't just make your ears bleed but get your toes tapping at the same time.
Emanating out of the dissonant fringes of the San Francisco noise scene, their second full length album continues to plough the visceral furrows first heard on 2007's self-titled debut and last year's collection of singles and rarities, Vol.1 -- extracted from a BBC Review by Sid Smith
An album that didn't impress on my first listen but I seem to be liking it the more I play it. A grower.