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;
Haim, you know I am always here to help the fallen.
logical follow up after Ben Monder can only be Paul Motian Band - Garden Of Eden
More s/h black stuff
Why? I couldn't think of anything else suitable to follow,,,
steve
Now Playing.....
Ruthie Foster - Joy Comes Back
Streaming on TIDAL....... Something recommended by a friend, I have not listened to Ruthie previously and enjoying this album released this year. Through three tracks and Ruthie has one sweet voice!
I haven't played this in quite a while. I've particularly enjoyed the effects on Walk on the Wild Side where the backing vocalists step slightly closer to the mic on each repetition of the chorus. The final rendition sounds as if they are just few feet from my face.
seakayaker posted:Now Playing.......
Chely Wright - Lifted Off The Ground
Streaming on TIDAL...... I had put this in the queue recently after seeing it mentioned in this forum. Through a few tracks now and Chely has grabbed my attention, very, very nice!
Note on TIDAL: In the late 1990s, Chely Wright had number one singles and Top Ten albums. After releasing 2005's excellent Metropolitan Hotel on the independent Dualtone, she vanished. In the intervening years, Wright endured a personal crucible that drove her to write in order to remain sane. Songs came furiously, demanding to be written. Wondering where these songs were taking her, she cold-called Rodney Crowell, whom she barely knew. After an initial meeting in which she played him her songs, Wright dropped demos into his mailbox, and insisted he email her comments on them. Eventually, Crowell gently coaxed her to make Lifted Off the Ground for Vanguard, which he produced. This period also resulted in her memoir, Like Me, published on the day of this release. Crowell's production is simple yet elegant. Performer and producer focused on getting this beautifully articulated, brutally poignant, 11-song cycle across as directly as possible. Wright, once regarded as a singer and performer, has become a songwriter of consequence here. The set opens with “Broken,” where her protagonist addresses a lover with the same trust issues she is plagued with: ”Why can't you just believe in me/Not everyone is the enemy…I'm wagin' war up in my head/Last time I loved it nearly left me dead….” Acoustic guitars with a bassline pushing them are accented by a drum kit and a Fender Rhodes, which lilt around her lyrics, letting them reveal themselves airily. “Notes to the Coroner” is an uptempo tune that addresses what might once have been a real possibility. Woven electric and acoustic guitars, popping bass patterns, and subtle drums underscore her lyrics' chilling details of the protagonist's demise as a B-3 paints the tag lines. More sarcastic than morbid, it still comes from an enormous ball of pain. Things get even darker on the haunting “Snow Globe” before they begin to transition. First, there's self-doubt expressed on “Like Me,” before the desire for another state of being asserts itself on the rocking “That Train.” “Damn Liar” moves through anger, as country and rock meet the blues in an infectious melody. That theme is echoed in “Object of Your Rejection,” though the grain of Wright's voice has changed: she's squarely looking at and confronting her offender with acceptance, and this is reflected in the melody and tempo. “Shadows of Doubt” closes the set with a steely resolve that is grounded in humility and an honest vulnerability. Lifted Off the Ground is easily the most harrowing and lovely recording in Wright's catalog. Crowell's ability to guide songs rather than helm them aided her in accomplishing the most difficult task an artist can encounter: complete reinvention. Wright has succeeded in spades. ~ Thom Jurek
I have. a few of her CDs try her CD Let Me in
William Bell - This Is Where I Live.
Final soul album of the evening, this is a quality offering from a soul legend.
Great voice, and composer of many fine choons including this one:
What a debut album this was?! Roxy seemed so fresh when they appeared.
Tunng. And then we saw land.
I’m not keen on a lot of Brad Mehldau’s work, but I do like this one very much.
seakayaker posted:
Very Very Nice. Like that, try this..
Looks like some red neck rubbish but has turn around great production with true depth.
Radio Paradise and some recent downloads on offer from Qobuz:
Youn Sun Nah - She Moves On
Sonny Clark - Cool Struttin'
Lou Reed - The RCA/Arista Album Collection
Neil Young - The Visitor
Cathy Krier - Debussy - Szymanoswki
Happy listening,
Vlad
Katz, Fagen, Becker & Vela...I’ve always loved this and it still sounds fresh today.
G
GraemeH posted:
Katz, Fagen, Becker & Vela...I’ve always loved this and it still sounds fresh today.
G
Yes. Still one of my faves. Turn it up. 
sjust posted:Haim Ronen posted:ECM-less
My therapist could not recognize me lately, finding my disposition so much more relaxed and adventurous, noticing also that I had stopped carrying the large magnifying lens and tweezers. He wasn't able to put his finger on the cause for this major improvement in my state of mind until I mentioned that in the last month I have been taking a complete break from ECM recordings..
Starting the morning with Bottesini's ravishing Grand Duo:
But, but... this (ECM sobriety) is also the last step of a possible therapy ladder. What if also this fails ?
The smart people here will tell you to upgrade your system to the next level to get closer to the music and I say just open a window for some fresh air, that is without letting Motzi out..
Don't you ever get the feeling that everything at the ECM house is micro managed? The meticulous sound, the artful art work, even the music during which the musicians are doing their little intricate things without ever breaking a sweat? Perhaps the label is managed too closely by a single person who definitely creates a particular dominant intellectual mood that you cannot shake off. What I am missing is some spontaneity.
That's me. I have been listening to too many ECMs lately, not unlike eating too much chocolate, so I am opting for just a little break and a glass of water.
Regards,
Haim
I don’t normally like listening to ‘Greatest Hit’ but this is just so damn good...
G
John Lee Hooker - Don't Turn Me From Your Door.
Some late evening blues from the master of cool ...................... if you only ever have one John Lee album ................ make it this one.
Now Playing......
Cara Dillon - Wanderer
I had placed this in the TIDAL queue after seeing a previous mention. Opening track with her voice, piano, fiddle, and lyrics have pulled me right in, looking forward to the then next nine tracks!
Streaming on TIDAL ....... (edit) now through three tracks and Cara has one sweet voice....
seakayaker posted:Now Playing......
Cara Dillon - Wanderer
I had placed this in the TIDAL queue after seeing a previous mention. Opening track with her voice, piano, fiddle, and lyrics have pulled me right in, looking forward to the then next nine tracks!
Streaming on TIDAL ....... (edit) now through three tracks and Cara has one sweet voice....
She's lovely. If you're in the mood for more then i'd recommend lining up 'Sweet Liberty'
Now Playing......
Youn Sun Nah - Voyage
Streaming from TIDAL....... VLADTHEIMPALA had mentioned another album that was not available on TIDAL so I went on a 'Voyage' with Youn Sun Nah and it has been a nice trip through the first three tracks......
