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;
CD Rip, great album playing for obvious reasons. RIP Walter.
On vinyl. My second fave Steely Dan album, after The Royal Scam. Every Dan head know why I'm playing it (sadly enough):
Kevin-W posted:On vinyl. My second fave Steely Dan album, after Royal Scam. Every Dan head know why I'm playing it (sadly enough):
The fact is there isn't a duff Steely Dan album. They were class all the way. Let's all be thankful for the music.
Now playing......
Bill Frisell - Blues Dream
Bill Frisell (electric and acoustic guitars, loops), Greg Leisz (pedal steel, lap steel, National steel guitar, Scheerhorn resonator guitar, mandolin), Ron Miles (trumpet), Billy Drewes (alto saxophone), David Piltch (bass), Kenny Wolleson (drums, percussion), and Curtis Fowlkes (trombone).
"Sometimes the ensemble achieves a kind of orchestral grandeur, reminiscent of the line-up that had such fun and games with Ives, Copland and Dylan on Frisell's album Have a Little Faith. And at other times they settle down to play the blues, as on "Things Will Never Be the Same." In case things get a little too normal, Frisell can always be relied upon to weird things up again by throwing in a few guitar loops - atonal, asynchronous and completely A-OK." John L Walters, The Guardian (London) April 13, 2001
Love this album!
And now this. What gems he gave us.
And now this...
CBS Vinyl
Why? Been a bit of a full weekend and Miles finishes it off nicely.
steve
On vinyl. It's got "FM" on it, innit.
Great cast of musicians playing great songs, the Dan were great.
Not the best recording, but still musically enjoyable...
Now Playing.....
Bill Frisell - Guitar in the Space Age
The exploration of Bill Frisell has been marvelous, another gorgeous album.
One of the reviews
Jazz Breakfast / Peter Bacon - published October 9th, 2014
I can’t remember if Frisell has ever covered Bob Dylan’s Mr Tambourine Man, but when it comes to the sound of that “jingle-jangle morning” Bill’s the out-and-out guv’nor.
This album of ’60s guitar music includes Turn, Turn, Turn, written by Pete Seeger but made famous in all its Rickenbacker 12-string glory by The Byrds, Brian Wilson’s Beach Boys centrepiece, Surfer Girl, and Ray Davies’ Kinks klassic Tired Of Waiting For You, along with such surf twang guitar lode stones as Pipeline and Telstar. Add Link Wray’s Rumble, Duane Eddy’s Rebel Rouser and Lee Hazlewood’s Baja and a couple of sympathetic Frisell originals and you get the picture.
The band is the simple two guitars, bass and drums format beloved of rock bands since the time when Fender and Gibson first stalked the earth, although having Greg Leisz as second guitarist has the extra-twang bonus of pedal steel guitar as well. Tony Scherr is the bassist and Kenny Wollesen is on drums. Have two guitars, bass and drums ever sounded quite this good?
Before going any further I urge you to do as I did and play this music over a proper hi-fi (yes, I know we’re all adults here so I am preaching to the converted, but even among such as ourselves there can be the modern temptation to download a pissy MP3 and listen to it over computer speakers or on an i-Pod). Resist this life-style chic laziness! Guitar In The Space Age is a fabulous sounding album and it should be played with some decent wattage through some good-sized speakers. And turn it up, too. Let it fill the room! Let the whole street ring to its retro-glories!
Frisell has turned playing the tune into an art form – he never does it the same way twice, and he pulls further riches from an apparently simple chord structure each time around. Right from the opening, resonating chord, Pipeline has never sounded this lush, or this interesting. And there is a point in Turn, Turn, Turn when celebratory is elevated to euphoric, helped in great part by the spirited drumming of Wollesen. There is so much joy in this track I couldn’t quite believe it only lasted two minutes and 40 seconds. Wah-Wah articulation sits against wiry picking in Mel London’s Messin’ With The Kid, and dreamy pedal steel suits Surfer Girl a polka-dot treat.
I won’t go on, because Bill explains perfectly in this video the mix of innocent Space Age optimism and strange Cold War fear that existed when he was growing up and the way in which this music seemed to both embody the former and soothe the latter. Suffice to say Guitar In The Space Age is a joyful triumph.
Southern Avenue- Southern Avenue
Bluesy soul with some edge. Boy this girl can sing!
It is on Tidal but the recording is average.
Vinyl. How about this line from "Show Biz Kids": "Show Business Kids making movies of themselves you know they don't give a fcuk about anybody else". How prescient was that? The Dan were always the smartest of bands...
CD Rip. The first English folk-rock album, it's easy to forget what an innovative band Fairport were in their early days. This is a wonderful album, with fantastic electric versions of traditional songs, and self penned numbers which could easily have been Child ballads. Musicianship of the highest order, Sandy Denny's singing, Richard Thompson's guitar, the great Dave Swarbrick's fiddle, Nicol, Hutchins and Mattacks providing a rock solid rhythm section.
US first press vinyl. Magnificent...
Interesting to see Seakayaker playing Bill Frisell. I'm really enjoying this...
Now Playing.....
Bill Frisell - Nashville
Bill Frisell (guitar), Viktor Krauss (bass), Jerry Douglas (dobro on tracks 1-6,9-10,12)
Ron Block (banjo on tracks 2,6,8,11,13-14 and acoustic guitar on tracks 3, 7), Adam Steffey (mandolin on tracks 2-3, 6-8,11, 13-14), Robin Holcomb (vocals on tracks 3,6,13), and Pat Bergeson (harmonica on tracks 2, 8)
Interesting that the Nashville album was produced by Wayne Horvitz who is a composer, pianist and electronic musician in the jazz world. Bill and Wayne both reside in Seattle and have also worked on other albums as well.
Another album worth spending the time with......
Kevin-W posted:Vinyl. How about this line from "Show Biz Kids": "Show Business Kids making movies of themselves you know they don't give a fcuk about anybody else". How prescient was that? The Dan were always the smartest of bands...
Rickie Lee Jones's version is just as good, if not better than the original. It's well worth a listen if you've not heard it.