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 Playing......
Lucinda Williams - Blessed
It's a Lucinda type of day..... Well worth the time to give a listen
Review from 'The Telegraph' found here by Martin Chilton
Lucinda Williams: Blessed, CD review
Blessed by Lucinda Williams has fine songwriting, sultry vocals and brooding guitars.
Lucinda Williams tackles big, interesting subjects . . . little surprise for the daughter of a renowned American poet (Miller Williams, who read at President Clinton's second inaugural).
Add intriguing, gritty lyrics to a distinctive, haunting voice and you have the makings of a fine album.
Three-times Grammy winner Williams is 58 but she says her voice is getting better as she gets older. She certainly knows how to convey emotion. The mournful Kiss Like Your Kiss is a fine song but equally effective is the gentle Copenhagen, a tribute to her late manager Frank Callari.
Buttercup is rather more on the scathing-heartbreak spectrum and Soldier's Song deals with the emotions of an army far from home.
Production on the album, courtesy of Don Was, is outstanding. Williams admits that Was "made a perfect match . . .even though I was a little shy around him at first."
Elvis Costello is among the guest musicians - playing some scorching electric guitar - but it is Williams's vocals that have such power. If Tennessee Williams had cast someone for slightly slurred sultry songs in a musical, his namesake would have fitted the bill perfectly.
Although she has been performing for 37 years, she is still at the height of the song-writing prowess that prompted Time magazine to call her 'America's finest songwriter'
The sad song I Don't Know How You're Living is about her brother, whom she admits she "hasn't heard from in a long time".
Bleak and haunting too is Seeing Black as she tries to make sense of the mind of a suicidal friend (the late songwriter Vic Chesnutt, who was recently the subject of an album of covers by The Cowboy Junkies called Demon).
Williams said: "Yeah, it was inspired by Vic. I should have said that instead of saying it was about him. It was inspired by his suicide, which happened during the time that I was writing. It was so sudden and shocking and stunning and sad . . . He had a wicked, wild sense of humour. And he had this sweetness about him."
Williams sings . . .
When you made the decision to get off this ride
Did you run out of places to go and hide
. . .as Costello's guitar works its magic.
Still enjoying this 'new' live release from Steve Hillage, Düsseldorf 28.3.79. Great sound (honestly) from a cassette recording from the mixing desk. Maybe it hasn't been messed about with too much thereafter.
Checked in on this before buying...
Not so well known to me, but nice...
Otis Taylor - Hey Joe Opus Red Meat. Otis Taylor - Fantasizing About Being Black.
Been finding these quite soothing, whilst filling in all the holes in the walls & ceilings after last week's "let's run an ethernet cable"
jolly japes ................ seriously though, a couple of most excellent adventures from the estimable Otis Taylor.
(2003)
Their fine debut album and they've making consistently good prog' rock ever since.
ewemon posted:
Some trax off Vol 2 due 1st December.
Seriously looking forward to this. Thanks for the heads up Ewe.
ewemon posted:
Hard to imagine them without Alvin Lee...
Jimmy Reed - Five Classic Albums plus Singles.
Another fine effort from the folks at Real Gone Music ............... a four CD set which contains all the Jimmy Reed you'll ever need. 
Bobo Stenson trio - Underwear
The title represents the style of music, nice quiet...
1970 - vinyl - UK first pressing...
(2013)
This one from them remains my favourite up until now so I'm getting it out for a well deserved stream. That just doesn't sound quite right does it? 
Nick Cave - streaming via Tidal
Recommended by a good friend, so giving it a listen.....
This is becoming a bit of a regular 'go to' album for me at the moment. It's on music cassette and sounds so good that I have no inclination to seek any other format.
Michel Petrucciani & Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen.
Wonderful album with just piano and bass.
Juju - In Trance.
Hypnotic desert trance blues from Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara.
(2003)
Some Arab Strap never goes amiss and this is my favourite.
dave marshall posted:
Juju - In Trance.
Hypnotic desert trance blues from Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara.
Luverly 
Nice and delicate...
