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;

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...e-interested-vol-xii

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Nick Lees

Kevin-W posted:
Original UK double vinyl pressing. Next year this album will be 20 years old, and it sounds unbelievably fresh; the best British record of the 1990s by some margin, I reckon. The tunes are fantastic, of course, but the soundscapes, and the sheer intensity with which they are rendered, are simply breathtaking.

I played this last week, after an unreasonably long time. And yes it struck me as incredibly contemporary, and undoubtedly a modern classic. There just isn’t a track where they aren’t innovating or just delivering ace tunes. 100th Window never stood a chance to live up to this.

That period of the nineties was surely a Silver Age (being old, mid/late 60s is Gold, late 70s/early 80s gets joint silver)

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Stevee_S

(2016)

Sticking with psychedelia and no apologies for playing (posting to the forum) this excellent album yet again.

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by seakayaker

Now Playing.......

Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian

Bill Frisell (guitar), Ron Carter (bass). and Paul Motian (drums)

Streaming from TIDAL...... Opening Track is marvelous!

Note from TIDAL:

It's hard to imagine that Bill Frisell at 55 is the youngster of this group. But he is by a long shot. Not that it matters in terms of musicality; rather, it's that younger modernism and its involvement with different musical genres that make Frisell such a welcome foil for the likes of two heavyweights like Paul Motian and Ron Carter. To say that this album is all over the place is an understatement. Just look at the tunes: from the slippery little grooving blues of "Eighty-One" by Carter and his former boss Miles Davis to the ditty "You Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis, Thelonious Monk's "Raise Four" and "Misterioso," and traditional tunes like "Pretty Polly" and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." These are just a few, but what they prove is everything. These three musicians sound so comfortable, it's like they've been playing together for years. There is great humor in the approach on some of these tunes, such as Carter taking a boogie break near the end of "Eighty-One," or the tight little counterpoint between Motian and Frisell on "Raise Four." The question as to whether the record swings or not is moot -- it does but in a very different and gentle manner. Those who have decried Frisell's move toward country music in the last decade or so needn't be worried; no matter how songs are played (and they are played as songs), this is fully a jazz date with plenty of improvisation and strange asides. Motian's musicality is one more element of the great edge this band has. He's always pushing, however gently, always singing on his kit. The rapport between Motian and Carter is wonderful on Lerner & Loewe's "On the Street Where You Live," and he and Frisell are nearly symbiotic -- check Frisell's "Monroe," or the Williams tune, or better yet the angles and corners on "Misterioso," where they paint themselves into such a tight corner it seems they'll never get out. With Carter's solid time, they weave a tapestry that's as rich and humorous as Monk's, and he's snapping his fingers wherever he is now. This is a solid and unexpected surprise from a brilliantly conceived collaboration. ~ Thom Jurek

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by dave marshall

The Who - Ultimate Collection.

Still stuck in the past, with the 'OO ............... nowt wrong with that.

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Sloop John B

Just bought the Christmas double issue Radio Times, it must be Christmas then.

.sjb

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Stevee_S

(2013)

Heavy rock n' metal, not played for here for a few years (why not ?) and still sounding very good. [growling alert]

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Nigel 66

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by TK421

The Verve - Urban Hymns

Haven't played this for a long time.

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Kevin-W

A random pick from the vinyl shelves. UK first pressing from 1979.

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Kevin-W

Uk first vinyl pressing from May 1981 on Factory Records. Got terrible reviews at the time, but I love it. Brilliant but weird Martin Hannett production.

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by dave marshall

Muddy Waters - Folk Singer.

One of the first blues albums I ever bought, whilst still at school .................. and what an impression it made at the time.

It's lost none of it's power down the decades, and with Willie Dixon on upright bass, Clifton James on drums and a young Buddy Guy

on second guitar, it has remained a consistently recommended album .................. should be in every blues lover's collection, IMHO.

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Erich

Tidal. Zola Moon - Earthquakes, Thunder, and Smiling Lightning

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Clive B

After listening to National Health on YouTube through a mini Bluetooth speaker, I thought I'd play 'The Rotters Club' from Hatfield and the North, which was a predecessor. Very similar, of course, but more familiar. Now listening on the stereo.

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by dav301

On CD:-

Gazpacho - When Earth Lets Go

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by ewemon

seakayaker posted:
Now Playing.......
Guy Clark - Songs and Stories
Guy Clark - (vocals, guitar), Bryn Davies (upright bass), Shawn Camp (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Verlon Thompson (guitar, vocals), and Kenny Malone (percussion)
Streaming from TIDAL....... I have listened to a couple of Guy Clark albums over the past week and enjoy his voice and his music. This is a fun album so far, good songs with some good stories along the way. The exploration of Guy's catalogue continues........
Note from TIDAL: Guy Clark is a superlative songwriter, a fine and thoughtful vocalist, and a compelling live performer, so it's a bit surprising that he hasn't released more live recordings, which would allow him to show off these three talents to their best advantage. Songs and Stories is only the second live album of Clark's career, coming 14 years after 1997's excellent Keepers, and there are some telling similarities between the two albums. Guitarist Verlon Thompson is still the anchor of Clark's acoustic band, Kenny Malone is still playing percussion, and both sets begin with the song "L.A. Freeway" from the earlier live collection. Songs and Stories is dominated by hardy perennials from Clark's songbook such as "Dublin Blues," "The Randall Knife," and "Homegrown Tomatoes." However, while Keepers captured Clark at a near ideal point in his career -- seasoned enough that he had become a top-notch performer but still lively and in strong voice -- Songs and Stories documents him at 70 years of age, and his voice is rougher and his vocals less supple than they once were, though he still has the presence to hold an audience in the palm of his hand and a band that serves the songs beautifully. And along with a paucity of recent material, this album also finds Clark taking an intermission at the set's mid-point, with Thompson and Shawn Camp taking over the show for four songs (a considerable percentage when Clark only sings nine). While Keepers captured Clark on a great night when he sounded fully engaged, Songs and Stories suggests he's coasting just a bit, and though he's still one of the true legends of the Texas songwriting community, this simply doesn't capture him at the top of his game. ~ Mark Deming

If you like Guy then if you haven't heard it try this album above. IMhO his first and best album.

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by ewemon

An older 1996 album from Little Axe which I haven't played in ages.

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by ewemon

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Reginald

Melanie De Biassio - Gold Junkies

Posted on: 14 December 2017 by Bert Schurink

Jeroen20 posted:
Ramon Valle trio - No Escape
Someone mentioned the Ramon Valle trio a couple of days ago (I don't remember who), so I thought I would check it out.
Very nice music indeed!
Allmusic.com:
Although pianist Ramón Valle (who contributed all 11 selections), bassist Omar Rodríguez Calvo, and drummer Liber Torriente were all born originally in Cuba and are masterful with polyrhythms, the music that they perform on No Escape is more post-bop jazz than it is Latin or Afro-Cuban jazz. Valle's style recalls Herbie Hancock of the 1960s at times, although it is fairly original. Working closely with his sidemen, Valle performs pieces that are often dark, complex, and a bit dissonant but not without their lighthearted moments. Of these, "El Vigia" is an inventive jazz waltz, the lengthy "Andar por Dentro" sounds mysterious, and "Brindemos" swings hard in its fashion. None of these originals are destined to become standards, but they certainly do challenge the musicians, who somehow often sound as one, following each other telepathically and creating stirring music.