Music & More

Pink Floyd at Pompeii MCMLXXII; Impressions Then and Now

2025-05-06T21:37:00.002-04:00

Image courtesy of Imax

As I was listening to the new release of the soundtrack to the 1972 film by Pink Floyd, Live at Pompeii, the thought occurred to me how much they improved the sound quality. This is knock your socks off stuff. Without going too deep into Floydian fandom, I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that this sounds like the Pink Floyd album that we all have dreamed of. Before we go too crazy, here's what we are dealing with.

The original concert film (and this new soundtrack) thoroughly documents a moment in time; a very fortuitous one at that. The concert at Pompeii took place in the time between Pink Floyd's albums Meddle and Dark Side of the Moon. I've long thought that the song "Echoes" on the Meddle album was a sort of precursor to Dark Side of the Moon. Never mind the latter's sound effect driven commercial success. My interest has always been the essence of the music and I think that the point at which Meddle ends and Dark Side of the Moon begins is a moment of pure magic. This is the moment at which Pink Floyd performed the concert that was memorialized in the film, Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii.

In 1972 when they released the original concert film they interspersed the live footage with scenes of Pink Floyd in the recording studio working on what was to become the Dark Side of the Moon LP. At that moment in time, this music would have been completely unknown to audiences, rather than the ultra familiar music that we know today as Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd had no way to know back in 1972 how popular the Dark Side album would become. At the time they recorded it, they were a fringe band with a good following. Let's back up a little.

When I saw this film back in 1977 at a movie theater on a midnight show, Dark Side of the Moon was already quite familiar. It's a little bit hard to imagine then that this music might have been totally unfamiliar to the viewing audience at the time of the film's release. I only saw it the one time way back then, almost 50 years ago now, so it must have made a big impression.

While I'm putting my cards on the table, this impression is based on one listen to the new mix of Pompeii. Up 'till now, I've been occasionally wowed by Steven Wilson's remixes, but sometimes I'd prefer that the original mix not be messed with, except maybe for reasons of clarity, etc. This time, however, I think that Wilson's production sends this material into the stratosphere, sonically speaking.

At this point, it might be well worth repeating what the Sony label said about this in the press release: "For the rerelease of 'Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII', Steven Wilson created a new theatrical and home entertainment mix in 5.1 and Dolby Atmos. This mix aims to enhance the depth and clarity of the original 1972 sound while preserving its authenticity". I don't know how this might sound on a smartphone, I didn't play it that way. On the other hand, I can vouch for the sound played the old fashioned way, through amplifiers, speakers, and a subwoofer. This is the part where I said that the sound would knock your socks off. I would imagine that any way you play it, it would sound darn good.

This release is longer than would fit on one CD so it comes as a double. If you stream or download there is no such limitation. There is even a vinyl release.

The Best Christmas Music of 2024; Check Out Holiday Gems from Gabby Barrett, Band of Other Brothers, Rick Braun, Chapel Hart, Brett Eldredge, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Grant & Vince Gill, The Philly Specials, Tower Of Power and many more.

2024-12-25T00:00:00.028-05:00

Photo: Lineage Tree Care

Seasons Greetings and thank you for reading about the new Christmas releases that are worth your time this season. The one thing we know is that if you wait 'till after Thanksgiving to play Christmas music, or even if you don't, one thing is true; there isn't hardly enough time to listen to all the good stuff before December 25th rolls around.

If you're anything like me, you don't want to hear Christmas music in the days immediately following the big day, with one exception: I have a playlist to run during the tree takedown day. And, believe me, that playlist is a real humdinger. Let's just say that one of the highlights of that list is an album called Merry Texas Christmas Y'all by Asleep at the Wheel, especially the track "Xmas in Jail." That album also has classics like "Pretty Paper" by Willie Nelson and it strikes just the right tone for such a day whether it be January 1st or 21st.

Back to my original point, you won't have time in the four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas to listen, particularly if you have collected a pile of favorites going back years. Even less if you take time out to listen to the releases of 2024, which I happen to think is essential. That's where an article like this comes in, breaking it all down for you and letting you know what to expect. The breakdown is similar to in past years, new albums first, then collections, reissues and all that sort of thing second. So, Happy Holidays, Y'all!

New goodies for 2024:

Gabrielle Aplin & Hannah Grace - December

Gabrielle Aplin has had so much success in what's left of the record business in the UK that she's now in charge of her own label. On this new Christmas EP, she proudly teams with Hannah Grace in a lovely duet to enhance your holiday. Like an old fashioned single with multiple B-side bonus tracks, this one opens with the original "December," which was written by the pair along with producer Luke Potashnick. While "December" gets the full studio production treatment, the five covers that follow have an intimate sound like you are right there in the room with the two artists. When this finishes, you would be hard pressed to think of a nicer way to start your very own December.

Gabby Barrett - Carols and Candlelight

The fact that musical quality is not equivalent with mainstream success (and visa versa) in country music generally makes me dubious of new music by country's royalty. However, in this case, Gabby Barrett has delivered a perfectly lovely Christmas album, much more listenable than this dubious reporter might have expected. For starters, it actually sounds like the title suggests, mostly acoustic with Barrett's gorgeous voice center stage. Ross Copperman, Barrett's longtime producer, handled the same chores on Carols and Candlelight. The album is a well chosen collection of covers with only one sounding like a new original, which is "A Christmas to Remember," actually a tune from Barrett's childhood written by current labelmate Dolly Parton. "Baby It's Cold Outside" features a vocal duet with husband Cade Foehner, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" offers up The Piano Guys and "Go Tell It on the Mountain" includes the participation of guest For King & Country. Otherwise, it's all Gabby. She dips into gospel for a couple of tunes including "Mary, Do You Know." Along with some of her favorite carols, she also sings songs of a more recent vintage, like "Last Christmas," and "Grown-Up Christmas List," a personal favorite of mine.

Band of Other Brothers - This Year At Christmas

Sometimes I like to skip the credits and the backstory and just listen to a new record at face value. This one offers up a dynamite vocal mix of an original on the opening track, followed by a hot jazz instrumental take on a familiar cover tune on track two. It sounds like they do the same on tracks three and four. Just when you think that you've got a handle on the record, they turn the formula on its ear. They cover Miles Davis' somewhat jarring "Blue Christmas" and it comes out sounding almost like yacht rock. Imagine a jazzier Steely Dan rhythm track under a completely new version of "Blue Christmas," which is not only fun to listen to, but it somehow respects the original at the same time. What this album has that many of the other jazz Christmas albums lack, is that sense of joy; these musicians really love what they are doing.

Rick Braun - It's Christmas

There was a time that I was all about instrumental music from jazz to classical, rock, folk, Celtic, soundtracks. You name it, I was all about it. However, in recent years, not so much. I wouldn't say that I turned away from it exactly, but let's just say that the excitement wasn't there. I don't want to overstate the case, but after listening to this album through, Braun's trumpet technique combined with the material on this record single handedly restored my faith in instrumental music. You can hear it for yourself on any of these fine tracks, but just take "The Christmas Song." We've all heard it a million times and well we should. But on play a million and one you'll hear what I'm talking about. For the record, Braun sings on a couple tracks and he wrote a pair of excellent originals and he's not afraid to funk it up (check out the single on track one). Braun surrounds himself with some dynamite players including Philip Saisse on keyboards. Summing up the project, Braun calls it “a high spirited, genre-transcendent holiday collection that explores an expansive range of styles.” I couldn't agree more.

Chapel Hart - Hartfelt Family Christmas

The main event here, as with previous Chapel Hart albums, is the extraordinary vocals of the two sisters and cousin who are the principles of the group. They have a terrific band and excellent production. Writing a good song is difficult under any circumstance, but writing new originals for a Christmas album is even more so; in an album like this with four new songs it can literally make or break the project. Not to worry; as with the best Christmas albums, the new originals are as good (if not better) to hear than the well chosen covers. For the record, there are four originals, eight covers and guests including Vince Gill, Darius Rucker, Gretchen Wilson, and The Issacs, among others. I would like to tell you about every track, but I'll limit my comments to a few. You have to love the self-referential title track assisted by Gretchen Wilson. "Mary Did You Know" has pretty much made the jump from the gospel repertoire to Christmas albums, and the religiosity of this is just as much of a perfect fit for Chapel Hart as are the seemingly effortless three part harmonies. I want to say that their stellar job on "Oh Holy Night" is a keeper, but they all are. There is such an atmosphere of love in this record that I find it totally infectious and I trust you will, too.

Cochren & Co - The Company Christmas Album

Cochen & Co is a talented rock and soul band, lead by Michael Cohren and his wife Leah, who share the lead vocal duties. Cochren & Co has been at it about 5 years or so and they have achieved an impressive level of success working in the field of contemporary Christian music. This record seems about evenly split between well written originals and some very well chosen covers including "Please Come Home for Christmas." The album opens with "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays," which sets the table quite nicely for a great version of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas," one of the better renditions of this modern Christmas standard that you are likely to hear. Being that the album takes off from there with a spate of originals, it could be me, but the sequencing suggests that this Christmas takes on an added importance based on its placement. Both Michael and Leah sound like they know what they're doing behind the mic, while the band that they've assembled more than does the job. The Company Christmas Album sounds more personal than corporate and it should enhance your very own Christmas.

Brett Eldredge - Merry Christmas (Welcome to the Family)

With a career spanning only 14 years, the super successful Brett Eldredge has just released his eighth album, which is also his third Christmas album. On his first such album Glow (2016) it extended his reach beyond his home turf of country music with a Christmas album that sounds so much like Mr. Frank Sinatra it was almost scary. On his second Christmas album, he sang more in his actual voice and dubbed himself "Mr. Christmas." Now, for his third Christmas album, Merry Christmas (Welcome to the Family) Eldredge bends the tradition to his will with an album of all new material. It's all good too in a move that's akin to making your next album a Christmas record. Talk about confidence; with only eight cuts, one of which being a reprise of the opening track, Eldredge had only seven songs with which to make his point. With the endearing title track it's hard to deny the overwhelming good feeling of joining the Eldredge clan for Christmas. Once you're hooked it's all downhill from there, including a guest appearance by Kelly Clarkson, herself no slouch in the vocal department. It's kind of amazing to listen to a Christmas album that doesn't plumb the depths of the standard Christmas repertoire. If anyone could pull this off it would be the well beloved Brett Eldredge.

Jimmy Fallon - Holiday Seasoning

Let me say from the top that when it comes to music, Jimmy Fallon is a national treasure. This new holiday album, like the Brettt Eldredge album above, features no familiar Christmas classics, but what it does have is a healthy dose of Fallon's cleverness along with a host of guest appearances. Many of the songs also appeared in Fallon's TV special, along with Fallon's explanations. Some of the guests are Meghan Trainor, The Jonas Brothers, Will Ferrell and Arianda Grande, just to name a few. Fallon teams Weird Al Yankovic with The Roots for an old fashioned beer barrel polka new year's celebration with the ultimate chorus lyric borrowed from every New Year's Eve countdown (and, that's not even the most annoying song on the record). In addition to the TV special, Fallon curated a holiday music channel for Sirius XM Satellite Radio as a promotional vehicle for this album, and it's quite good, too. The one thing I haven't mentioned yet is that Fallon was so into this project that he spent the last several years on it, and the end result is more fun than you could ever imagine.

Albert Hammond - Christmas

I should say up front that the only reason this album landed in my listening pile is that I was fond of his 1972 hit "It Never Rains in Southern California." I should also add that I haven't followed his career over the last 52 years, but this album seems like a solo acoustic survey of the Christmas classics. Just as I was thinking that there was nothing particularly special about this set, I heard something that stopped me in my tracks. It was a cover of "Diving Home for Christmas," a song that American audiences are unlikely to know because it was a UK hit by British singer/ songwriter/ musician Chris Rea, someone whose music I have enjoyed for some time. I hadn't realized that Hammond is also British (he is). Some of the songs on Christmas have a little more production on them, namely bass and drums. Although this album doesn't have the sound of that old single, Hammond still sounds good and you have to hand it to the guy that he's still making music after all these years as if to serve notice that he's not ready for the rocking chair just yet. For something a little different this year, spin Christmas by Albert Hammond.

Joy Lapps & Larnell Lewis - The Caribbean Christmas Mixtape, Vol. 1

The tracklist of The Caribbean Christmas Mixtape, Vol. 1 might be misleading. At first glance, it looks like the ultra favorites of the Christmas canon, but when you play them they are revealed to be jam packed by their creators, Joy Lapps & Larnell Lewis, with all the artistry, rhythms, styles and traditions that these folks live and breathe on account of their Antigua and St. Kitts island heritage. The soca influence is right there in the opening track, which in addition to everything else features the familiar melody played by Joy Lapp on steelpan (steel drums); Leroy Anderson never imagined THIS. The Caribbean rhythms mixed with reggae beats pulse through material like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Little Drummer Boy" and "Carol of the Bells" and many more. The combination of "Petite Papa Noël" (Little Father Christmas) and "Old Toy Trains" sets the table quite nicely for "Edelweiss." The emotional vocal provided by Justin Bacchus and Subria Lapps only serves to underline the continuing popularity of The Sound of Music as well as providing this Christmas mixtape with an unexpected treat. On the whole, you'd have to probe the many clubs of the Caribbean islands and you still might not hear music this authentic sounding.

Christina Perri - songs for christmas

I'm impressed. On the majority of this album, the backing music serves only to accent and highlight the songs. Christina Perri has such a soft and powerful voice that she is able to totally carry the melody of these songs with only her vocal ability. I probably shouldn't be so surprised, but I know her more by reputation than her actual music. This album begins with a serious sounding spin of "silent night." What follows is the album's lone original, "christmas dream," which Perri wrote with her band. I should note here that this comes after a run of three lullaby albums that Perri recorded as a result of becoming a mom, and "christmas dream" has the same intention. After that comes a run of ten covers of popular Christmas songs ranging from "the christmas song" to "wonderful christmastime," the relatively recent release by Paul McCartney offering a nice surprise in the program. I was going to comment that "rudolph the red nosed reindeer" and "frosty the snowman" seem to indicate that this thing is aimed at kids, but then I had the pleasure of hearing a recent interview with Perri in which she talks about making this album for her daughters. The good news is that songs for christmas has something for everybody and that her voice makes it even better.

The Philly Specials - A Philly Special Christmas Party

2024 marks the third year in a row that three principle players of the Philadelphia Eagles offense have put together a holiday album for benefit of local charities. Going as The Philly Specials, the name a reference to a key play in their last (and only so far) Super Bowl win, the three players are Jason Kelce (now retired), Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. The cream of local area musicians and technicians makes these albums as much a souvenir of the Philly music scene as it is a keepsake for Eagles fans. The more that these three express their personalities, the more endearing the track. There are a number of times that you can hear this, but I am thinking specifically of "(It's) Christmas Don't Be Late," where the three of them sing the Chipmunks' parts and Kelce portrays the easily distractible Alvin. This record is replete with guests, such as Devon Gilifian, who helps with a great cover of Sam Cook's immortal "Having A Party," which might not initially seem like a Christmas song, but it does reflect the party atmosphere of the holidays. More guests include Stevie Nicks, Boyz II Men, Travis Kelce, Kylie Kelce, Immanuel Wilkins and Mt. Joy. Overall, there are so many good songs on this record that it can easily hold its own with any other holiday album in this list. May it warm your spirits this holiday season.

Lea Salonga - Sounding Joy: The Holiday Album

She had me at "Christmastime is Here." This track from Vince Guaraldi's soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas has been recorded so often in recent years that it was starting to seem like a modern standard. But this is the first time it came up on this list and it was artfully combined here with the classic "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" complete with orchestra crescendos and the whole nine yards. What follows is a good survey of the familiar favorites of Christmas with a slant toward the newer entries along with a couple of songs that are less familiar to keep it interesting. The penultimate tune ramps up the energy level with a resounding performance of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas." In a nice bit of sequencing, the last track, "Angels we Have Heard on High," is a song you wouldn't think has higher energy than "This Christmas." That is, until you hear this version with guest Clay Aiken, and it's no spoiler to say that this performance (which closes the record) also brings down the house. Not for nothing does Solanga have a theater background that includes the stages of Broadway and London and it will surprise no one to learn that she is a major star in her native Philippines. This will be evident upon listening to Sounding Joy: The Holiday Album.

Tower Of Power - It's Christmas

In the interest of full disclosure, transparency and all that, I should mention up front that I have enjoyed this band's music for well over 50 years. Moreover, I have seen them in concert over a dozen times. For whatever reason, in their sixty plus year career they have never released a Christmas album until now. Tower of Power's stock in trade has always been that they are a soul band from Oakland, California, and one that plays hot funk better than most, and they are known for their world renowned horn section. Longtime fans may be surprised to learn that It's Christmas is more of a jazz album. This record may have more in common with Chicago than with James Brown, even though the line between a hot jazz band and a cookin' soul band is remarkably thin. Just take the gorgeous opening track, which is an instrumental version of "The Christmas Song" and it's all you need to know. Over the years Tower of Power has employed a literal dream team succession of lead vocalists, but they have always reserved a few songs for leader and cofounder Emilio Castillo to sing. On this Christmas record, just when you might have been thinking where's Emilo, he comes front and center on "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and on a few songs after that. It is also worth noting that there is a dynamite version of Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas" in which Castillo and company make a few changes and in the process totally make the song their own. But the song that gets me the most after a few spins is the final track which is listed as "Christmas Medley," in which the familiar themes blend into each other as the instruments seem to melt in and out as needed. For example, at one point the other instruments virtually melt away down to a single mellow sounding electric guitar solo playing Vince Guaraldi's "Christmastime is Here," and so on. Need I say more?

Reissues, Remasters, Collections, Expanded Deluxe Editions, etc. (ones you might have missed)

Band Aid - Do They Know It’s Christmas?

In 1984 Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats was horrified by the news reports of famine in Ethiopia and he conceived of an all star charity single. First, he enlisted Midge Ure to help complete the composition of the song. Next, he lined up the cream of musicians from Britain and Ireland and assembled them in a London studio for the recording. The single went on to hit number one on the British chart at Christmas 1984 and it raised millions of dollars for the cause. Geldof also spawned the United States counterpart "We Are the World" and the international charity concert Live Aid. In 2004, for the 20th anniversary of "Do They Know Its Christmas," they recorded a new version with the stars of the day. In 2014, to celebrate the 30th anniversary, they did the same thing again. Now, for the 40th anniversary they have produced a commemorative version which incorporates elements from all three previous versions. This has been released to all streaming platforms. Fun fact: Bono participated in all three recordings of "Do They Know Its Christmas."

Sabrina Carpenter - fruitcake

To be sure, Sabrina Carpenter had quite a good following in 2023 when this Christmas EP was originally released. But this year, her popularity has positively caught fire making her the hottest thing this side of Chappell Roan. On fruitcake, Carpenter gives us five new originals and one cover. On this record, Carpenter pulls off the neat trick of safely threading the needle between the graphic fare that dominates the top ten and the more buttoned up persona of mega star Taylor Swift. For example, check out the song "Santa Doesn't Know You Like I Do." She not only sounds soft and suggestive, some might ever say sexy. When she gets to "White Christmas," the song begins sounding all spacey and light, then when the song kicks in, she's doing the doo-wop arrangement famously used by The Drifters way back when. I wanted to contrast the songwriting then and now, but let it suffice to say that Sabrina Carpenter sounds impossibly cute on her holiday EP fruitcake.

Carpenters - Christmas Once More (2024 Mix)

As a diehard purist, I want to say that the original Carpenters recordings, including their Christmas albums, were just fine as they were and should not be altered at this late date. Without commenting on the 2018 release, which Richard Carpenter produced with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra that was used as the source of some of these tracks, I believe that any time you remix, remaster, or otherwise produce a new master, all such work should be governed by what the track(s) sounded like as originally released. Yes, I know that Richard Carpenter handled the arrangements, orchestration and production in the first place, however having lived with the perfection of "Merry Christmas Darling" for over fifty years, one listen to the version on this album illustrates the problem. Even though the track may be "better," it just strikes me as wrong, and as a result, I must give Christmas Once More thumbs down.

Kelly Clarkson - When Christmas Comes Around… Again

Kelly Clarkson's 2021 album, When Christmas Comes Around has been reissued in a new deluxe edition which adds three additional songs to the program. Two of the three are originals. But you should know that the cover, "All I Want for Christmas is You" is not the Mariah Carey song that you probably know. This track is kind of interesting in that the only thing it has in common with the Carey song is the name. Even though the song writers of this tune apparently borrowed the melody from the oldie "You Belong to Me" (which you might know from Jo Stafford or the Duprees) at least the way Clarkson sings it, they have unsuccessfully sued Carey and they are preparing to do it again. Even though I am against making an artist's fans re-buy something they already have, I would recommend this version of the album to anyone interested in the big voiced singer.

Amy Grant & Vince Gill - When I Think Of Christmas

With the huge favorable response to their joint Christmas concerts every year at the Ryman Auditorium, Amy Grant and Vince Gill, the unofficial first couple of Nashville, figured that it was time for a joint Christmas album. Each of them has their own strong discography of Christmas releases. When I Think of Christmas consists of eleven tracks, the first and last of which are new recordings and the other nine are remastered from previous releases. The album gets under way with a gorgeous new original from Grant, followed by a remastered number from Gill. The tracks alternate in this manner until the final song, a beautiful new duet recording of "'Til The Season Comes Round Again." The songs mostly come from the realm of popular Christmas classics and a few carols. These are all wonderful songs and if you didn't know that some had been previously released, the album sounds remarkably unified in style with most tracks falling on the quiet and relaxing side. This record will surely enhance your evenings by the fire.

Bobby Helms - A Bobby Helms Christmas

Not that anyone needed to hear "Jingle Bell Rock," again, being that it's been with us pretty much continuously since its 1957 release, but this nice slice of Christmas ubiquity leads off a new collection entitled A Bobby Helms Christmas. Just in case you haven't heard "Jingle Bell Rock" enough, this album has not only the 1957 original single version but also a new remix. So many other artists have recorded "Jingle Bell Rock" that it's become a standard at Christmastime, and for good reason. The album includes some real rarities such as the original single B-side, "Captain Santa Claus (And His Reindeer Space Patrol)," "The Bell That Couldn't Ring" and "Those Snowy, Glowy, Blowy Days Of Winter." Let Bobby Helms warm your Christmas party this year with this new collection.

Jethro Tull - The Jethro Tull Christmas Album: Fresh Snow At Christmas (2024 Remix)

In which Jethro Tull remasters The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003) and for this reissue they have expanded it with some new tracks and also rerecorded some older favorites. Jethro Tull has always had a proclivity for Christmas. Way back when they released their very first single, the B-side was "A Christmas Song," which they have nicely rerecorded for this record despite the naysayers who might call this tune preachy. In any case, there is plenty of good Christmas cheer to go around from "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" to "Ring Out Solstice Bells," their (non judgemental) Christmas single from 1976. And, that's not all. There are a number of winter songs as well as a few that have nothing to do with Christmas or winter. There is a new recording of "Bouree," an instrumental that combines the band's penchant for blues and jazz rhythms with a tasty classical melody played on Ian Anderson's flute, something that really makes this band endearing no matter what season it is.

Train - Christmas In Tahoe (Extended Deluxe Edition)

If you're a fan of Pat Monahan and his group Train, you may have heard (if not have a copy) of their one and only Christmas album, Christmas In Tahoe. Depending on when you heard/ bought/ downloaded the album, you may or may not have heard all of the tracks. We will try to sort that out for you. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm not considering the different vinyl versions of this LP that have veen offered over the years. When Christmas In Tahoe was first released in 2015, it had 15 tracks consisting of twelve covers and three originals. Different versions of the record have been offered at various times, including a twenty track Amazon exclusive. This year, they have released a new extended deluxe edition that contains a totals of eighteen tracks. Compared to the original release, they have omitted three tracks, but they have added the five bonus tracks from the Amazon release; and if you are keeping score, that leaves one more track: a remix of "Shake Up Christmas" that they are calling Tahoe Version. This may, or may not, have to do with the Hallmark movie that is based on the album and stars Pat Monahan, who also executive produced. The originals speak for themselves, while the covers offer a nice mix of classic Christmas favorites and more recent holiday hits. If you haven't yet gotten onboard this train, now would be the time.

Various Artists - Melancholy Mistletoe - Warner Music Nashville Holiday, Vol. 2

There used to be an art to doing a Christmas sampler album. It could be artists on a label or family of labels. Or, it could be songs on a particular topic. But, in recent years, releases have gotten away from that ideal. Some of the label samplers I've heard in the last few years offer such a gathering of mainstream material (primarily country) and I just wasn't that interested. But lo and behold, this year brought something completely different from Warner Music Nashville. Let me tell you that the new album Melancholy Mistletoe Vol. 2 is a real pleasure to listen to. With tracks like "Oh, What a Silent Night" (Randy Travis) and "Christmas Always Finds Me" (Ingrid Andress), this album really brings it over twelve tracks. This one is so good it makes me want to go back and look up Volume One. Let this album do for you what such great albums have done since time eternal and, have a cool yule.

Ten Years After - Woodstock 1969 (2024, Chrysalis Records Ltd.); What's Old Is New Again

2024-08-18T18:51:00.001-04:00

Photo: Ten Years After

This week's batch of new releases was interesting, to say the least, but aren't they all. Amongst what came out on Friday, August 16th, I pulled out a few albums to listen to. These included new albums by Devon Allman, Ray LaMontagne and Charly Bliss, among others. But, the album that rose to the top of my list to listen to first was a live album recorded almost exactly 55 years ago in August 1969 by Ten Years After at the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival.

Full Disclosure: I have been all about all things Woodstock ever since missing the festival because (at the time) I was not quite old enough to drive. However, I was right there when the movie opened in 1970. Not only was the Woodstock documentary movie so well made that it was easy to feel like you'd been there, but two of the most amazing performances in the movie were those by The Who and Ten Years After.

The arrangements for the festival have been well documented, but of all the things that the organizers got wrong and got right, if nothing else the best thing they did was to record the entire thing. I'm not talking about running a reel-to-reel tape deck on the PA. They recorded everything in multi-track, the same as was done in recording studios at the time. These recordings have been used over the years for all the soundtracks and other Woodstock releases.

Perhaps the most fortuitous development in the history of these tapes took place a little over five years ago when some really capable and knowledgable producers and sound engineers mixed and mastered the entire tape archive for CD release in a gargantuan box set to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival. Even though the set was super expensive and super limited, this package may have protected the copyright and it may have paved the way for releases like this new one by Ten Years After.

I was a wee lad of about ten when the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan. The world changed and my record collection began when my mom bought me the first Beatles album on Capitol, Meet the Beatles. From there, I picked up every new Beatles album and single upon release. By high school, rock music had found its way to FM radio and my album collection was branching out to include artists like the Doors, Steppenwolf, the Mamas and the Papas, and British blues bands such as John Mayall, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Savoy Brown, and Ten Years After, among others. In the early 1960s, John Mayall had pioneered playing the American blues in an electric band format, especially on electric guitar as played by a succession of amazing talented guitarists in an ensemble called John Mayall's Blues Breakers. As a result, electric guitarists and bands (all playing the blues) proliferated especially in Britain.

Ten Years After was your basic guitar, keyboards, bass and drums band, with vocals by frontman and lead guitarist Alvin Lee. In those days, albums were pressed on 12" wide platters of vinyl and my Ten Years After albums included Stonedhenge, Undead, which was so named because it was a live album and it featured a solarized psychedelic cover, and Cricklewood Green, which had a textured cover and graphics to match the cool original material inside. As good as those early albums were, in my memory they don't hold a candle to what the band laid down at Woodstock.

Their set at Woodstock consisted mostly of the American Blues, played on electric, eschewing the original material that was their stock and trade up to that point (except for one song). They opened with the very familiar "Spoonful," which Eric Clapton had popularized with Cream. What follows is as it happened: The band began "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," they played it for a couple minutes and then Alvin Lee stopped the song, quickly apologizes and they start again. After about a minute they stop again, pausing for what sounds like a quick band discussion. They then play the complete song. The beauty of all this is that we can hear it with impeccable sound quality. It doesn't take much to realize that we are hearing it better than most of the Woodstock audience.

After playing the set's one original song, "The Hobbit," they returned to the classic blues for the duration of the hour long set. They had seemingly struck a nerve with the crowd, which wasn't quite done with them yet. At that point, they came back with their most incendiary encore (as seen in the film), "I'm Going Home," which included a medley of old time rock 'n roll along with Alvin Lee's incredible guitar work and vocals.

The beauty of having an album of straight ahead quality rock music in 2024, somehow cuts through the noise, no offense to the rest of this week's new releases. I, for one, am glad that this recording exists to add to our enjoyment regardless of how much post-Woodstock it is.

Listen to "I'm Going Home"

Band Members

Alvin Lee: guitar, vocals
Chick Churchill: keyboards
Leo Lyons: bass
Ric Lee: drums

Setlist:

Spoonful
Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (including two false starts)
Hobbit
I Can't Keep from Crying Sometimes
Help Me
I'm Going Home

The Police - Synchronicity (1983, A&M Records); A Great Album Deserves and Gets a Great Anniversary Box Set

2024-08-13T20:49:00.001-04:00

Courtesy of The Police

Listening to Synchronicity by The Police from their newly released 40th anniversary box set, I was immediately struck by how excellent this album was, and still is. The first CD in the box contains the original remastered album plus the B-side, "Murder By Numbers," that arguably should have been on the original LP. The great songs come at you one after another and they're almost as familiar to fans as the Beatles catalog. For example, just look at the lineup of songs from Side 2: "Every Breath You Take" is followed by "King Of Pain," "Wrapped Around Your Finger," and "Tea In The Sahara." With all but two songs on Synchronicity credited only to Sting, any consideration of Sting's best work should include this album alongside his solo work.

Synchronicity was the fifth and final album released by The Police before the three principle musicians went their separate ways. For the purpose of this article, I am talking about the 6 CD version of Synchronicity 40 - Super Deluxe Box Set. There are a number of other iterations of the box set either on CD or vinyl. See The Police website or your retailer of choice for the full details.

CDs 2, 3 and 4 offer a veritable treasure trove of rarities including B-sides, unused tracks, alternate takes, outtakes and demos. I used to be all about unreleased bonus tracks, but these days I am of the mind that I only need to hear them once or twice and I'm good. What I consider the main attraction is what's offered on CDs 5 and 6. And that is a live concert recorded on September 10, 1983 at the Alameda Coliseum in Oakland, California. The set list from this show not only includes the great songs from Synchronicity, but also Police favorites from all through their career. The tight nineteen song set plays almost like a live greatest hits, and I would say that it alone is worth the price of admission. If they made an iteration that just contained CDs 1, 5 and 6, I'd buy it in a minute. As it is, this deluxe set comes with an elaborate book and all sorts of Police ephemera.

Synchronicity was a huge success with sales totaling over 15 million copies. The single, "Every Breath You Take," was similarly successful, with Spotify currently showing over 2 billion streams. In 1983, having a hit single with a video running in high rotation on MTV was a very big deal indeed. You can watch that video below, but remember that Sting used to warn audiences that this was not a love song and that people shouldn't play it at their weddings.

Watch the original MTV video of "Every Breath You Take" (1983):

1983 LP Release

40th Anniversary Releases

A 2CD Deluxe reissue will also be available, featuring the same track list as detailed on CD1 and CD2 of the boxset above.

The reissue will also be available as a Digital Box Set, available on all DSPs and will mirror the 6CD track list above.

4LP Super Deluxe Edition (Limited Edition)

2LP Deluxe (Coloured Double Vinyl, D2C Exclusive)

1LP Picture Disc (Alternate Sequence, Limited Edition)

CD Running Order (via The Police Website):

CD1 is the original album including ‘Murder By Numbers’, all remastered directly from the original source tapes

CD2 features 18 tracks containing all original 7” / 12” B-sides plus 11 exclusive non-album bonus tracks, available on CD for the first time

CD3 and CD4 contains previously unreleased alternate takes of all the Synchronicity songs

CD4 also features unreleased Police songs including an early version of Andy Summers’ 1982 track ‘Goodbye Tomorrow’ (later renamed ‘Someone To Talk To’); a demo of a Stewart Copeland penned song ‘I’m Blind’ which later resurfaced as the renamed ‘Brothers on Wheels’ for Copeland’s acclaimed soundtrack to Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Rumblefish’; an unreleased first take of ‘Truth Hits Everybody’ (originally from the 1978 debut Outlandos d’Amour’); and rare covers of the Eddie Cochran song ‘Three Steps To Heaven’ and ‘Rock and Roll Music’ by Chuck Berry

CD5 and CD6 features 19 live recordings – all previously unreleased – captured on 10th September 1983 at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, USA

John Mayall - The Turning Point (1969, Polydor); He Was Ahead of His Time

2024-08-05T18:13:00.005-04:00

John Mayall live at Fillmore East, Jul 12, 1969 (Wolfgang's)

When I first heard news that John Mayall had died at age 90, my first thought was to post a little appreciation of him. When I do a music related post on FaceBook, I like to include a song. I chose "Room to Move" from The Turning Point album since it was his biggest hit. When I brought the song up on YouTube and I played it to check the version, I was initially thrown for a loop because the music started right up without the stage introduction I was accustomed to hearing. The version was right, so I just attributed it to the nuances of transferring a master to YouTube and away we went.

I should mention that I was just a kid in school when I bought this album upon its release. I would love to know where I had heard it back then, but it had to have been on the radio in the early days of rock music on FM.

In any case, a day or two after posting it, I dialed the album up and gave it a listen. My first thought was how good it still sounded. It was a live album, recorded at New York's Fillmore East Auditorium in July of 1969 and the album retained Mayall's stage commentary (just like I remembered it from the vinyl, back in the day). Even better, now on digital the album includes three more songs from the same show that were not on the original album for reasons of time.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the album was the groundbreaking way in which Mayall incorporated jazz, folk and rock into the blues. With Mayall's standout performance on vocals and harmonica, he made it sound easy. It was groundbreaking then, and it's groundbreaking now; at least it still sounds so.

You can read all the details below, but allow me to set the stage. Mayall spent most of the 1960s leading a band called John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. This was a fully electric band with a succession of lead guitarists that a fan could only dream about: Peter Green, Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor. When both Taylor and the drummer left, Mayall elected not to replace them, opting instead to go the acoustic route with no drummer and the fine talents of Jon Mark and Johnny Almond. The degree to which this all jelled was nothing short of amazing. The incredible work of Mark and Almond was not only on full display here, but they continued to work as a duo well into the 70s.

John Mayall released a lot of records during his lifetime and I'll leave it to others to detail the biographical and discographical details. But, I will say that perhaps Mayall's greatest legacy is that ability to blend the genres as he did so effectively on The Turning Point.

John Mayall - The Turning Point - Documentary

Liner Notes

John Mayall - vocals, harmonica, slide guitar, keyboards; Jon Mark - nylon string guitar; Johnny Almond - saxophones, flute; Steve Thompson - bass
Like Eric Clapton and Peter Green before him, it was inevitable that lead guitarist Mick Taylor would eventually conclude his tenure with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. With Mayall's blessing and recommendation, Taylor became a Rolling Stone in June of 1969. Bluesbreaker's drummer, Colin Allen, would also depart the band at this point to join Stone The Crows, leaving Mayall and bass player Steve Thompson as the only remaining members. These events would trigger a major shift in Mayall's music, beginning with the formation of a new group. Although blistering electric guitarists had been a prominent element of Mayall's music for years, he would not pursue trying to replace Taylor or Allen. Instead, Mayall would daringly reinvent his music, forming an acoustic based band that would eliminate drums and electric lead guitar altogether. A distinct departure from the high volume electric blues of his previous outfits, this new group would create rich textural music that would incorporate folk, jazz, and roots-based elements into their blues-based sound. This was a courageous move at the time and Mayall was determined to push his music into new areas. To help him achieve this musical vision, he recruited two new musicians that would prove to be inspired choices.
Mayall brought on board the highly accomplished acoustic finger-style guitarist Jon Mark and one of the most talented multi-instrumentalists in England, Johnny Almond. Both of these musicians had distinguished careers as session musicians. Guitarist Jon Mark had been a member of Sweet Tuesday (a group that also featured Alun Davies, a critical element in Cat Stevens future fame and pianist to the stars, Nicky Hopkins) and had spent the past three years as accompanist to Marianne Faithful. Johnny Almond had been a prominent element in the success of Alan Price and Zoot Money's respective bands and had contributed sax to two of Mayall's most popular albums, the classic Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton and A Hard Road, which firmly established Peter Green's reputation.
This new primarily acoustic quartet, of Mayall, Thompson, Mark, and Almond would immediately hit the road, performing all new material that was quite the departure from previous Mayall projects. The absence of drums and electric lead guitar helped to facilitate the more atmospheric and intimate sound that Mayall was pursuing. One of the most memorable performances by this new lineup occurred on July 12, 1969 at Bill Graham's Fillmore East in New York City, just weeks after the new group's formation. Recorded and released as Mayall's The Turning Point LP, this prophetically titled live recording would capture an outstanding performance that featured a diverse range of sonic textures and moods. Although it was a radical change from the electrified blues that Mayall's reputation had been built upon, the Fillmore East audience would embrace this new direction and help to inspire what has come to be considered one of Mayall's definitive works. The recording would even provide Mayall with the biggest hit of his entire career, with his memorable harmonica workout on "Room To Move."
The recording from this now legendary Fillmore East performance begins with the politically charged "The Laws Must Change." Directly addressing recreational drug use and counter-culture concerns, this song signals a distinct shift in Mayall's writing, which had never previously addressed social issues. Right off the bat, it becomes readily apparent that this is one talented group, capable of deceivingly effortless interaction. With bassist Steve Thompson providing the bottom end and the majority of the rhythm, Mayall has structured this group so that instrumental solos emerge and soar above the intricate backing of bass and acoustic guitar. On "Saw Mill Gulch Road," which follows, Jon Mark's intricate acoustic work thoroughly complements Mayall's haunting slide guitar solos. Throughout this performance, Jon Mark's skillful precision and tasteful improvisations on acoustic finger-style guitar stimulate the other musicians, especially Johnny Almond, whose inspired sax and flute solos take several of these numbers into the realms of pure jazz. It's no wonder that Mark and Almond would team up after their tenure in this band to pursue a similar style that would venture even deeper into jazz textures and instrumentation.
"I'm Gonna Fight For You J.B." is a fine example of Mayall's most personal writing up to that point, while the tight interaction and drifting solos that punctuate "So Hard to Share" approach the type of controlled intensity that often defined Mayall's previous work. The possible peak of this performance comes with "California," where Mayall would soon relocate. Here the use of woodwinds and acoustic guitar, combined with Mayall's harmonica, continue the flirtation with jazz textures and its elegantly flowing groove epitomizes the new approach, free of excess. This song would become an FM radio staple at the beginning of the next decade and along with "Room To Move," help propel the success of The Turning Point LP. Here, all four musicians work to create a crisp, contrasting sound and the acoustic instrumentation works exceedingly well. Almond's sax work is remarkable and his harmonic climb helps to create one of the most beautiful performances of the entire set. "Thoughts About Roxanne" continues to explore Mayall's more introspective and personal writing before the recording closes with the definitive example of his harmonica prowess, "Room To Move."
Throughout this performance, Steve Thompson's unassuming bass playing, Jon Mark's inspired nylon-string guitar improvisations and Johnny Almond's sometimes vigorous, sometimes sultry sax and flute work raise Mayall's compositions to extraordinary heights, while proving that in the right hands, indeed less can be more. Mayall and this group were breaking new ground here and like the best of jazz musicians, they think loose while playing in a remarkably tight manner. In the process, they created a new sort of fusion, combing elements of blues, folk, and jazz that were accessible to a rock audience.
This new music showcased a more introspective side of John Mayall, which few of his fans had ever experienced and represented a turning point in the evolution of all four musicians. In many ways, this recording represents some of the most beautiful and overtly enthusiastic music of Mayall's career. While much of Mayall's previous music now sounds dated and of it's time, much of the music performed here retains a timeless quality and contains a depth that continues to reward repeated listening. Upon their inevitable departure, John Mark and Johnny Almond would team up and further explore this recipe in the critically acclaimed Mark-Almond band. (Wolfgang's)

JOHN MAYALL - THE TURNING POINT

Original 1969 album liner notes

THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR A NEW DIRECTION IN BLUES MUSIC. HAVING DECIDED TO DISPENSE WITH HEAVY LEAD GUITAR AND DRUMS, USUALLY A ‘MUST’ FOR BLUES GROUPS TODAY, I SET ABOUT FORMING A NEW BAND WHICH WOULD BE ABLE TO EXPLORE SELDOM-USED AREAS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF LOW VOLUME MUSIC. THIS ALBUM IS THE RESULT OF THIS EXPERIMENT AND IT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST THEATER, NEW YORK, AFTER ONLY FOUR WEEKS EXPERIENCE OF EACH OTHER’S PLAYING.

John Mayall – July 1969
______________________________________________________________________

THE MUSICIANS
(In order of photographs top to bottom, on the left)

JOHN MAYALL – vocals, harmonica, slide guitar, telecaster 6 string guitar, tambourine, mouth percussion
JON MARK – acoustic finger-style guitar
STEVE THOMPSON – bass guitar
JOHNNY ALMOND – tenor and alto saxophones, flutes, mouth percussion
___________________________________________________

THE MUSIC

Side 1

THE LAWS MUST CHANGE
Composer - Mayall
Key - C
Time - 6.13
A few personal observations of police vs. youth and the drug situation

SAW MILL GULCH ROAD
Composer - Mayall
Key - E
Time - 4.38
The story of an innocent encounter one night in Monterey, California

I’M GONNA FIGHT FOR YOU J.B.
Composer - Mayall
Key - B
Time - 5.11
Fondly dedicated to the late J.B. Lenoir whose talent has yet to be acknowledged

SO HARD TO SHARE
Composer - Mayall
Key - G
Time - 6.43
Patricia and a possessive ‘old man’ who stood in our way
______________________________________________________________________

Side 2

CALIFORNIA
Composer - Thompson/Mayall
Key - D
Time - 9.14
Improvisations and moods on the theme of homesickness

THOUGHTS ABOUT ROXANNE
Composer - Thompson/Mayall
Key - C
Time - 7.50
Memories of my love and friendship for a special girl in Los Angeles

ROOM TO MOVE
Composer - Mayall
Key - D flat
Time - 4.34
A musician’s need for personal freedom to love without entanglement
______________________________________________________________________
THE CREDITS

Producer: John Mayall
Engineer: Eddie Kramer
Location: Bill Graham’s Fillmore East, New York City
Date: 12th July 1969

Photographers: Barrie Wentzell, Mayall, Zill, Larry La Fond, Bob Gordon and Tapani Tapanainen

Design and Artwork: John Mayall
Music Publisher: St. George Music Limited, Copyright 1969

Fan Club Newsletters: 67 Brook Street, London W1, England

Johnny Almond appears by the kind permission of The Decca Record Company Limited, England (to whom I owe much)
______________________________________________________________________

JOURNALIST CHRIS WELCH REVIEWS THE FIRST BRITISH PERFORMANCE

They’re sensational! The new Mayall ‘blues without bashing’ band have suddenly developed into the most original, refreshing and exciting group in Britain, nay the world. Minus a drummer and minus the usual battery of amplifiers, the band, as a result of John’s inspirational change of formula, are creating some of the most subtle and rewarding music I have had the pleasure of hearing in many moons.

At the Cambridge May Ball last week, the band received an ovation from the hippest audience ever to wear full evening dress and gowns. The new group, with finger-style guitarist Jon Mark added at the last moment, made their debut at the Paris Olympia and went on to tour Germany. Cambridge was their first English date. John is playing harmonicas and electric guitar plugged into his PA system, having dropped organ, piano. Multi-instrumentalist and looner-extraordinary Johnny Almond is on flute, tenor and alto.

The range of sounds and moods they obtain is staggering.

It has to be admitted, I was extremely dubious about any band working without drums, which I thought could only lead to hours of boredom. However they played two sets, the second proving more together and intense than the first. Johnny Almond’s playing was brilliant throughout. After years of hard work with many English bands, he is surely destined to be a star. With the low level of volume he can play the sweetest sounds without being overwhelmed. The same holds true for the fine guitar of Jon Mark, who used to accompany Marianne Faithful, before going into session work. Steve Thompson on bass provided the firm pulse to their music and worked in such a way the absence of a drummer was quite unnoticeable after one became accustomed to the sound.

But the most remarkable feature of the new band is their interplay and empathy. Sometimes, perhaps only one member is playing, then the others join in gently, building up to climaxes that sound all the more exciting for the restraint that has gone before.

Talking later over a meal in the library, Mayall said the plan now is to get an LP out of the new band and he wants to record it live at the Fillmore in America. Speaking personally, I can’t wait to see the effect they’re going to have on the rest of the country and of course, the music scene.

– Courtesy of Melody Maker 21st June ‘69
______________________________________________________________________

INCLUDED INSIDE IS A FOLDER CONTAINING PHOTOGRAPHS AND THE LYRICS OF THE SONGS

This year has been something of a rush so far and the changing face of my music has had a lot to do with this. During the tour of the USA that I did between February and May 1969 it became apparent that Mick Taylor was showing signs of following the pattern of his illustrious predecessors and about ready to make his mark in the world as a name and a musical leader. It no longer seemed logical to me that I should find yet another new lead guitarist; since Eric Clapton more or less founded a whole cult of blues guitar stylists, too many people are into that bag for it to mean much anymore. So I have now got a new thing in operation whereby drums are not used on the theory that every instrument is capable of creating its own rhythm. An acoustic finger style guitarist of the finest order, Jon Mark, replaced drummer Colin Allen, Johnny Almond on flutes and saxophones replaces Mick Taylor who made the headlines a week after leaving me when he was asked to join the Rolling Stones. Within the new format Steve Thompson is now heard to much greater advantage and I’d go as far to say he is the best bass player I’ve yet worked with. In addition to his prodigious playing, he is developing a flair for composition which is well illustrated on this album. That is all I have to say except that having bought the album I hope you will enjoy the new sounds and the new songs, the lyrics for which are printed overleaf.

STEREO

Polydor Inc. 1700 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019

24-4004

Khruangbin - A LA SALA (Dead Oceans and Night Time Stories, 2024); Room with a Vibe

2024-04-14T22:12:00.030-04:00

Photo courtesy of the artists

It's already shaping up to be a banner week, what with the release of a new Mark Knopfler album, and I was totally not prepared for a new collaboration between Texas and Spooner Oldham, recorded in the classic Muscle Shoals studios. Moreover, it features mostly the best tunes from the career of the Scottish band reimagined in stripped down versions with Sharleen Spiteri's soulful voice paired with Oldham's pianos. But, this is about that, it's about something that dropped last week. It's an album by Khruangbin called A La Sala. For those of you keeping track, that's pronounced "krung-bin".

Khruangbin has made numerous albums and EPs, they've sold out venues across the country including Red Rocks and Radio City Music Hall. With all that, and considering I've been on a search for new music since I don't know when, it kind of freaks me out that I've never crossed paths with Khruangbin until now when my daughter sent me this excellent NY Times article by Ryan Bradley (fans of audio may wish to know that this article has a player feature that will read to you).

The band Khruangbin are three musicians from Houston, Texas featuring Laura Lee Ochoa on bass, Donald "D.J." Johnson on drums and Mark "Marko" Speer on guitar. On the surface the instrumentation of guitar, bass and drums could not be more basic, but let me assure you that Khruangbin sounds like no power trio that you can think of, much less Cream.

Trying to think of good reference points for Khruangbin, I come up empty. I want to say Dennis Coffey who used to record his guitar excursions in the clubs around Detroit when Motown ruled that city. But no, that's not quite it. I also want to mention the great jams that Isaac Hayes used to record in the Shaft era for Stax, but that's not quite it either. Looking at something more recent, just before the pandemic I saw a group called The Marias in a small club that was packed with adoring fans. Although The Marias make very different music than Khruangbin, the thought occurs that they may be going for a similar vibe.

The bottom line for me is that after many decades of listening to music, I can say that I've listened to many thousands of bands, thousands of albums and thousands of singles and I can't think of a direct comparison to Khruangbin, and that underlines their amazing originality.

I have a friend who likes nothing so much as a great late-night album. There are no hard and fast rules for this, no way to quantify it. It's just one of those things you know when you hear it. Dave could tell you that it doesn't hurt if it's slow paced, deliberate, melodic and intense; call it a vibe. I think Dave might like A La Sala by Khruangbin. I can say without reservation that it does sound good first thing is the morning, and I dare say that it would work at any time of day or night. The only thing left to do is to give it a spin.

Watch “Hold Me Up (Thank You)”

Bela Fleck - Rhapsody in Blue (Thirty Tigers, 2024); It's a Function of Flex Talent and Gershwin's Durability

2024-02-26T19:08:00.001-05:00

Photo: Stevie Connor, The Sound Cafe

Despite the many achievements of Bela Fleck combining bluegrass and jazz, I've got an admission to make. I do remember when Fleck first appeared playing jazz with his banjo. Although I've heard songs here and there, in all these years I have never taken the opportunity to see him play live or even listen to one of his albums. Perhaps it was that I was never all that enthusiastic about the bluegrass part of the equation. That is... until now.

Fleck has just released his latest long player called Rhapsody in Blue to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the piece's debut. I've read that Rhapsody in Blue was first performed on February 12th, 1924 in NYC at Aeolian Hall (believe it or not, that building still exists). I always love the piece. I don't know how far back I go with the Rhapsody, but no, I wasn't there for it's debut. It was already familiar to me when I had the privilege of playing it from the prospective of the third clarinet section of my high school concert band. That was before United Airlines adopted the soundtrack for their advertising starting in the 1980s.

Fleck offers two fully formed versions of Rhapsody in Blue on his new album. The first version on track one is called "Rhapsody in Blue(grass)" and it is essentially a picker's paradise. Fleck and his associates play the piece on all manner of string instruments and I must say that they truly play the heck out of it. This piece was completely arranged by Fleck, which is a complex achievement greater than the ability of any single player.

Track three, which is the more traditional "Rhapsody in Blue" preformed by Eric Jacobson & the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Although that may initially sound more familiar to the listener, it is no less an accomplishment for Fleck as he arranged this version to omit the piano part and replace it with his banjo. He speaks at length on this subject at his website.

The three shorter tracks keep up the Gershwin theme quite nicely. "Unidentified Piece for Banjo" appears on track two, a Gershwin composition discovered in the Library of Congress archives, it has been heretofore unrecorded and unheard.

On "Rhapsody in Blue(s)", which appears as track four, Fleck lifts portions of the Rhapsody and arranges them for a different set of players: Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Victor Wooten.

Fleck takes a lessor known Gershwin composition to end on a high note with "Rialto Ripples", track five.

On his website, Fleck offers a thought on Gershwin and his compositions, which reflects my own reaction to this album:

"I do hope that he would have loved it, that he would have gone,
‘Man, this is not what I expected, but I’m happy that the artist brought something different to it.’ Classical musicians do that all day long. The great ones find a way to inhabit a piece, and the composer would thank them for bringing themselves into it.
That is what I would aspire towards, to head in that direction."

Bela Fleck penned an article in which he has a great many fascinating things to say about the historical significance of this composition, here.

Listen to "Rhapsody in Blue(grass)" from the album:

Nouvelle Vague - Should I Stay or Should I Go? (Kwaidan Records, 2024); Call Me A Fan

2024-02-23T16:50:00.003-05:00

Photo courtesy of Nouvelle Vague Music

I knew I'd run into these guys before, possibly on their first album, which I kind of liked. What I wasn't prepared for was, in reading the press surrounding the release of their new album, Should I Stay or Should I Go?, was the fact that they've been at it now for twenty years and that this is their eighth album.

Nouvelle Vague was formed in France to do cover versions of post-punk and new wave classics (hence the name). They intended to cover these songs in a bossa nova style. This band has no lead singer; they prefer to assign female vocalists on a song by song basis.

I'm no expert in new wave or the British singles chart, but a listen to their new record reveals that it is not a tribute to The Clash or even political bands of that ilk. It is covers of some nicely chosen British and European hits going back to the 1970s. I could name some examples. but I don't want to spoil the opportunity to listen to it as I did, without looking at the tracklist first. Listening to it in this way will put a smile on your face more than a few times, if you let it.

"Doing bossa nova covers" would be an oversimplification of what they do. Nouvelle Vague has refined their art into a well thought out style that includes bossa nova for some tracks. Some of their covers are bossa nova adjacent and some of the songs may even use bossa nova as a jumping off point.

I didn't know that much about Nouvelle Vague going in, but after listening to Should I Stay or Should I Go? you may call me a fan.

Billy Joel - Turn the Lights Back On (2024, Columbia Records), First New Record In Over 30 Years; Check Out His Interviews With Stephen Colbert and Howard Stern

2024-02-18T20:18:00.009-05:00

Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Have you heard the new Billy Joel record, "Turn the Lights Back On"?

"Turn the Lights Back On" is the first new popular recording released by Joel in over thirty years. This blog didn't even exist when the last Billy Joel album, River of Dreams, was released in 1993. Note: River of Dreams was Joel's last album of popular songs, he did release a classical album after that.

I could never understand how someone so amazingly talented as Billy Joel (just consider his discography) could just flip a switch and turn it off and leave it off for over thirty years. Part of what made that possible, performing live concerts, might also have had the opposite effect. Joel begins to answer that question and many more during this week's conversation with Howard Stern; more on that below.

The song starts with just piano and voice and on first listen, it sounds like there is no way that all this time could have passed. When the meaning of the song kicks in, we find that Joel is singing about regret and reconsideration and it's clear that this song's emotions are plainly on its sleeve. The crux of the tune is whether the singer has waited too long. The music amplifies the emotions and the gist of the lyrics is something that can apply to more than one situation. We can think he's talking about his music career or maybe about a relationship. Turning the "lights back on" is such a great metaphor. Like some of his best work, it's non-specific, open to interpretation. I love it and I'm glad to have him back.

In multiple interviews, Joel explained how he came to write after many years of resistance. He explained that he came to like collaboration as compared to his earlier career when he would toil in solitude, which contributed to his dislike of songwriting. The main instigator in all this was songwriter and producer Freddy Wexler, who not only co-wrote the track but also produced the recording.

Joel played the new song live on the Grammy Awards telecast on 11 February 2024. Four days later, he guested on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (one segment was posted to YouTube).

On Valentines Day, Joel sat down with Howard Stern in Miami for a long form interview, complete with a grand piano on which Joel freely illustrated the conversation. I've never seen a rock star so open and honest in an interview as Joel was with Stern. You can hear the entire audio interview on SiriusXM. Several segments of that interview have been posted to YouTube. Click for Clip 1, Clip 2, Clip 3, Clip 4, Clip 5, Clip 6, Clip 7.

Getty Images for The Recording Academy

The Best Music of 2023, Album of the Year: The Who, Who’s Next : Life House (Super Deluxe); Plus My Picks for the Top Thirty Starring (in the Top Ten, alphabetically) Jonathan Butler, Cat Power, Louis Cato, Everything But The Girl, The Hooters, Amos Lee, Stephen Marley, Duke Robillard, The Rolling Stones and Taj Mahal and Much More

2023-12-31T14:08:00.070-05:00

Photo courtesy of the band

Welcome to my year end list. Sifting through the new releases each week, using multiple sources, is a lot of work. Boiling that down to a list of thirty is tougher still. It would be nice if there were a gate keeper with anything like my preferences, but I have not found one yet. This list is likely to be nothing like any other year end list that you will see, not NPR, not the NY Times, not Rolling Stone, not even WXPN. That said, I thank you for reading this list and my comments about each of the entries.

About my list, the artists' age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, all have no bearing on their inclusion. My criteria is pretty simple. As I may have mentioned in the past, I want to hear singers with a strong voice, one that shows a little personality. I'm looking for production that allows every instrument to be heard clearly (instrumental albums are welcome, too). What I don't want to hear are wishy-washy vocals, vocals buried in the mix, etc. A strong melody is good, too. My bottom line, if you will, has not really changed in all these years: I am looking for music that excites me, even the quiet stuff. The real excitement is the urge to write about it; the idea that others will listen to a given record is what keeps me going. If I think about it, that urge has fueled my career since the earliest days of college when I first learned about radio broadcasting. It's why I became a radio disk jockey and why the full-time job I had after college was the best job I think a person could possibly have. So, that's what you're looking at below and why each and every album is on my list.

Above all, please have a great new year and keep it safe, healthy and happy.

The Who - Who’s Next: Life House (Super Deluxe)

In 1969, the Who set popular music on its ear when they released the double LP Tommy. Tommy was not only a concept album, but it was a rock opera, which had never been done before. Within that pair of vinyl LPs were some of Pete Townshend's best writing, some of it even reflected in hit singles like "Pinball Wizard" and others appearing as album tracks.

They went out on the road with a live version of Tommy along with some well chosen blues and some of their crowd favorites from earlier in their career. They played some of the best live rock that had ever been heard, as excerpted at Woodstock and for the single platter Live at Leeds. The Who, at that point, was clearly on a roll.

The hard question was what to do next. Pete Townshend conceived the Life House project, and even wrote and recorded some demos. Pete's only problem regarding Life House was that he envisioned too many applications, and a cohesive musical entity never coalesced. Ultimately, a handful of the Life House tracks got full recording and production becoming the album we know as Who's Next. This is arguably the closest that the Who ever got to pure musical nirvana with no bum track anywhere on Who's Next.

For this super deluxe release, we have a gargantuan box set that includes many things, starting with the Who's Next album remastered. We also get to hear several preliminary recording sessions for the Who's Next album. For the first time ever, all of the Life House demos have been collected in one place. Also included are a couple of live concerts from London and San Francisco from that same year. These shows include some of the songs from Who's Next, as well as some of the Life House tracks.

I'm not going so far as to say that this is a lost album, but I understand the faithful who look at it that way. As unprecedented as the Who's career was in 1971, this release provides the most complete picture yet. I am pleased to make this my album of the year in a most competitive field. See the press release for details on the box set and a background article by Pete Townshend.

I am reluctant to comment further about the significance of the Life House project, but there is ample analysis of it online. That said, a couple of thoughts occurred while listening to the newly remastered Who's Next. Even though I had always considered Keith Moon a good drummer, and even though I've heard this album a million times or so, one thing I noticed this time was truly how important Moon's work was to each and every song. As much as I thought I knew this record, listening to it now was in some ways like hearing it for the first time. I also gained even more respect for what a nearly perfect album it is.

The Top Ten (Alphabetically by Artist)

Jonathan Butler - Ubuntu

With your eyes closed you might think that this is a long lost Stevie Wonder album. It's not, but as Butler recently told NPR's Morning Edition, Wonder did phone him to say how much he loved Butler's version of his song that opens this album. One thing lead to another and Wonder wound up appearing on the track. I was already loving this record before I learned that one of my favorite musician-songwriter-producers, Marcus Miller, made the album with Jonathan Butler. Overall, the album has a wide open acoustic sound, defined by acoustic guitar, bass and drums. Other instruments add gorgeous solos, such as violin, piano, sax, guitar (both electric and acoustic), etc. The melodies are as beautiful as the sentiments expressed in the lyrics. Butler explained the significance of the title, "To show humanity to your brother is what ubuntu in South Africa meant. I am because you are. You know, I am because we are. It's the humanity towards others that matters even in the face of apartheid, even in the face of racism, the wickedness and stuff, the hardships that we've seen." Butler was born into apartheid in Capetown, South Africa. He may be listed as a jazz artist, but this album is truly impossible to categorize. Ubuntu is a record that is so tremendous, you don't want it to end and I can report that it is no overstatement to say that this is one of the best, if not the very best, album on this list.

Cat Power - Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert

Singer, musician and songwriter Chan Marshall, performing as Cat Power, has released a live album in which she lovingly recreates an historic Bob Dylan concert. On the new album, Marshall took to the stage at London's Royal Albert Hall to do a song for song recreation of Dylan's 1966 show at the Manchester Free Trade Hall. This show has immense significance because, halfway through, Dylan switched from solo acoustic to full electric band (it was bootlegged as The Royal Albert Hall Concert). Marshall, who has always had a penchant for covers, calls this a reimagining. The fact is that she sounds terrific doing this material. Marshall doesn't try to imitate the voice, but she does capture the magic of Dylan's compositions. The electric band starts right after "Mr. Tamborine Man" and sounds almost exactly like Bob Dylan's albums from the late 60s. Dylan got a lot of pushback at the time from folk purists, but it's hard to argue with a show that ends with a superb sounding song such as "Like a Rolling Stone." Of Bob Dylan, Marshall says, “More than the work of any other songwriter, Dylan’s songs have spoken to me and inspired me since I first began hearing them at 5 years old.”

Louis Cato - Reflections

Louis Cato is known for being the bandleader on Stephen Colbert's The Late Show. Listening to that talented band on the air, you would have no clue what Cato's album Reflections sounds like. Start with a voice that's somewhere between a Stevie Wonder and a Raul Midon. This record has a lot in common with Jonathan Butler's Ubuntu. It's mostly acoustic and other than a Rolling Stones cover, he wrote or co-wrote the entire record and he co-produced it. Cato's sound is a good deal more soul reminding me of nothing so much as Amos Lee playing acoustic soul music when I first heard him. Cato is delightfully melodic and adept at storytelling. One song is better than the next and you'll be amazed by the way the Stones' "Miss You" translates as a soul song when boiled down to its acoustic essence. This is a record I didn't see coming, but I'm sure glad it did.

Everything But The Girl - Fuse

Fans and listeners of Everything But The Girl (EBTG) were excited to learn, earlier this year, that the group would resume their career after a nearly 24 year hiatus. Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt (who record as EBTG) had plenty to do over that time. In addition to raising their three kids, Thorn released four solo albums, including a well received Christmas album. Watt was busy with his Buzzin' Fly label, disc jockey work, both club and radio, and three solo albums of his own. They also each became published authors. When they decided to record together again in 2021, the decision to revive the name wasn't an easy one, but ultimately proved to be the most appropriate. "It wasn’t like we had a master plan. But it quickly became EBTG – this life seemed to come into it that we didn’t have a lot of control over. Sometimes we’d communicate with a look about whether things were good or bad; we seemed to have an instinctive feeling for the economy we wanted to use, the minimalism of the arrangements, the fact that the lyrics should be emotional, not sentimental. All these things that seemed to be a part of what we do suddenly all seemed to fall into place. Which is quite exciting.” (Ben Watt to Alexis Petridis, The Guardian) The sound of the group doesn't so much seem to pick up where they left off as it does show where they are now. Watt's sonic synth work has only grown to match Thorn's vocals, which are even richer than before. A good part of the audience just wants to luxuriate in the sound of Thorn's voice; I know because I'm one of them.

The Hooters - Rocking & Swing

In the years before The Hooters signed with Columbia Records they developed quite a large and loyal following in the Philadelphia area. In those days, they self-released an album and a couple of singles. The Hooters played the club circuit pretty relentlessly and in many ways I liked that period the best. Back then, they played a great combination of reggae, ska and rock. With this new album, their first in thirteen years, they offer up a significant return to those roots. Rocking & Swing consists of eight new recordings some of which were tracks from their past. In addition, on CD and digitally, they include a bonus track of a live "Man In the Street" from their Keswick Theater encore of November 2022 (longtime fans may remember that they furnished a live tape of this song to local radio in their early days). When I first heard Rocking & Swing, I could not believe my ears as to the way that they had gone back to their reggae/ska roots; it was a thrill. According to the press release, "The result is a bold musical leap into the future with a loving nod to the past!"

Amos Lee - Honeysuckle Switches: The Songs of Lucinda Williams

Amos Lee has always had a way with a soulful song and acoustic guitar. Roughly twenty years ago, I first heard Lee sitting in with one of the WXPN disc jockeys and playing acoustic soul tunes live on the air. This was prior to his first album. In the intervening years, Lee has had tremendous success. Now, in late 2023, Lee has returned to those acoustic soulful roots on his newest release Honeysuckle Switches: The Songs of Lucinda Williams. This album is decidedly not like a best of album; it's better. No, you won't hear stuff like "Passionate Kisses," "Change the Locks" or "Car Wheels On a Gravel Road." etc. Instead, Lee gives us a more thoughtful and emotional set of compositions from the Lucinda Williams songbook. As a long time listener of Williams' music, every track on the Lee record was not only beautifully selected, but astonishingly well rendered in what had to be a very personal project for Lee. Each song is based on his voice and acoustic guitar with other instruments judiciously added as needed. It was a thrill to hear songs like "Are You Alright," "Greenville" and "Little Angel Little Brother," just to name three. I have listened to both Williams and Lee for a very long time and this album works beautifully for both of them.

Stephen Marley - Old Soul

When you listen to Old Soul by Stephen Marley prepare to throw out everything you know about reggae music. Even though Marley is reggae royalty as the second son of Bob Marley, and even though his voice sounds uncannily like that of his father, this album does not sound like any reggae that we've heard before. Sporting an acoustic sound with a variety of other instruments meticulously added to the mix when needed, Old Soul includes some Stephen Marley originals and some well chosen covers from all over the musical map - from Sinatra to the Beatles to Ray Charles, all the better to elude genre classification. Which is just the way perfectionist and singer-songwriter, musician and producer Marley likes it. In addition to wonderful cover versions, there are some guests on the album, such as Damian Marley, Buju Banton, Ziggy Marley, Eric Clapton, Bob Weir, Jack Johnson and Slightly Stoopid. For his part, Clapton adds some tasty guitar leads to a cover of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff." I wish I had more room to tell you all the things I love about the record. Once you get past all the guests and all the cover songs, the track I like the most is the autobiographical title track "Old Soul"; it's really special.

Duke Robillard - A Smooth One

Duke Robillard's extraordinary guitar talent has carried him to back the likes of Robert Gordon and Bob Dylan as well as to co-found Roomful of Blues, all the while making 37 albums of his own, flying somewhat under the radar (household name-wise). When Robillard was in Europe, the opportunity arose to play with an organist named Alberto Marsico and a drummer named Mark Teixeira to work as an organ trio. A Smooth One is the happy result of that live one afternoon recording session in Bruino, Italy. The sound is a tasty combination of Marsico's Hammond organ and Robillard's mellow electric guitar, all anchored by Teixeira's steady beat. The engineering is as amazing as the playing. Sonically, this set is right in my wheelhouse, so to speak. The sound of the Hammond organ along with the electric guitar is something I could listen to all day. The contents of the set make it better still. In addition to two Robillard originals, there are eight covers of jazz standards like "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You" and "Sweet Georgia Brown." If you know your classic jazz and blues, you might recognize some of these instrumentals. According to Robillard, "This album shows what can happen when you bring three like-minded musicians together for a few hours in the studio. I hope the fun we had recording it now carries over to the listeners." It does.

The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds

This will not be about how the Rolling Stones are getting old but don't sound like it or that Mick Jaggar and Keith Richards are celebrating the big 8-0 this year. It also won't be about the fact that Hackney Diamonds is their first original new music in 18 years. What I will say is that I believe that The Stones reached their peak during a ten year period from Beggar's Banquet (1968) through Some Girls (1978). Those albums were magic and nothing can touch them. The records since then have all had their excellent moments, but I am here to say that in the last forty five years they have not made an album better than Hackney Diamonds. That may seem like a radical statement, but there are many great tunes on this new album. I've always liked their slower stuff and no, there's no "Angie" or "Fool to Cry" on here, there is a very nice triplet to close the album. Keith Richards sings lead on the melodic "Tell Me Straight," which includes a dynamite guitar solo. The slow and pleasing "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" (featuring Lady Gaga) makes a perfect lead-in to the Muddy Watters penned track that closes the record. Also appearing with The Stones are guests Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Elton John and original members Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. I don't know how they keep coming up with those iconic sounding riffs, but I can tell you that there's a lot to like on Hackney Diamonds.

Taj Mahal - Savoy

Taj Mahal and producer John Simon have been talking about and planning for this album for many years. Savoy is an album of jazz and blues standards like no other that you've ever heard. It's not like any of those great American Songbook albums by Rat Pack era vocalists. In fact, I was thinking during "One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)" that this version gets down to the blues and jazz of the original composition much more authentically than the well known Frank Sinatra version. All of the songs on here are like that. The production is top notch. Nothing is hurried, the songs are anchored with the dependable rhythm section of Leon Joyce, Jr. on drums and Ruth Davies on bass. The core group also features Danny Caron on guitar, John Simon on piano and Taj Mahal doing lead vocals. His voice sounds like a friendly cross between Dr. John and Louis Armstrong. Add to that dynamite material that we all know, just the right soloists for each song, and some superior backing singers. The album is satisfying on every possible level; I could not love this record any more.

The Top Thirty: Numbers 11 - 30 (Alphabetically by Artist)

Blood, Sweat & Tears - What The Hell Happened To Blood, Sweat & Tears? (Original Soundtrack) (Live)

Following the release and massive success of their self-titled second album, BS&T embarked on a month long State Department sponsored goodwill tour behind the Iron Curtain in eastern Europe providing these previously unreleased concert recordings. This wonderful album may provide a time warp back to 1970, but it does not answer the rather provocative question posed in it's title; for that, you need to see the film documentary of the same name.

Brandy Clark - Brandy Clark

The latest Brandy Clark album (her fourth) features guest performers such as Derek Trucks, Lucius and Brandi Carlisle, who also produced. Clark's songwriting rings so true and the eleven tracks are so well performed and produced that they will knock your socks off. The two Brandys reportedly bonded over the fact that they are both from the Pacific Northwest, and I am pleased to report that the resulting album is a complete joy.

Bruce Cockburn - O Sun O Moon

Bruce Cockburn is primarily known as a folk artist, but he can rock with more intensity than other bands and has proven over his fifty + year career that he can do most anything. On his most recent album (his 38th), Cockburn hits many styles and the acuity of his lyrics combines subjects as diverse as environment and spirituality with the everyday. On top of all that, Coburn's voice and guitar don't miss a step making O Sun O Moon one of his best.

Count Basie Orchestra - Basie Swings The Blues

The Count may be gone but his band continues, and on this amazing album we hear classic blues laced with soul and jazz and backed by that swinging big Basie band. The high powered guests include Buddy Guy, Bobby Rush, Keb’ Mo’, Robert Cray, George Benson, Shemekia Copeland, Ledesi, Mr. Sipp, Lauren Mitchell, Bettye LaVette and Charlie Musselwhite all working in the service of making one of the best records of this, or any other, year.

Iris DeMent - Workin' On A World

Those who earmark Iris DeMent as a folk artist with country leanings (a la Emmylou) may be in for a surprise on Workin' On a World, her seventh album and first since 2015. Tackling heavy political and social issues laced with an optimism that is underlined by the nature of the backing band, DeMent has made an album that I want to listen to in 2023. I've always loved the combination of piano and organ that is all over this well produced record.

Djabe & Steve Hackett - Live In Győr

As if to counter the potential "living in the past" impression of his Genesis Revisited tours, for the last twenty years (or so) guitarist Steve Hackett has been sitting in with Hungarian fusion band Djabe. This 2+ hour live concert is a complete delight and it is amazing to hear how well Hackett's guitar is integrated into Djabe and similarlarly, how well his own material has been reimagined to include the fusion band.

Peter Gabriel - i/o

The one time Genesis frontman has a solo career, now in its sixth decade, and yet we haven't had a new Peter Gabriel album in about twenty years, so this is a welcome return, indeed. Thankfully, there is no apparent attempt to duplicate past successes, but i/o does offer twelve tracks of exquisite melodies and examples of Gabriel's brilliant songcraft.

Steve Hackett - Foxtrot at Fifty + Hackett Highlights: Live in Brighton

Like Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett was an original member of Genesis, now into the sixth decade of his solo career. Among his many guitar pursuits, Hackett periodically releases new albums and he (and his terrific band) play the old stuff in tours that he calls "Genesis Revisited." This album offers the best of both worlds in a complete live concert that has an excellent selection of his solo tracks along with the fantastic execution of Genesis' classic Foxtrot album to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Weathervanes

Recently Jason Isbell has been the beneficiary of some very high voltage praise; I've heard things like "greatest living songwriter." I don't know about all that, but what I do know is that Isbell's excellent songwriting is only the beginning of what makes his latest album Weathervanes so great.

Coco Montoya - Writing On The Wall

Coco Montoya can stop you in your tracks with his strong and soulful vocals or his fabulous blues guitar along with a crackerjack backing band that includes some amazing keyboard work by Jeff Paris. Montoya spent about twenty five years learning from the best including Albert King, B.B. King, Buddy Guy and stints with Albert Collins (over ten years) and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (the 2nd generation) before starting a solo career that is now in its fourth decade. His latest album, Writing On The Wall, can take its place right alongside his heroes.

Jenni Muldaur & Teddy Thompson - Once More: Jenni Muldaur &Teddy Thompson Sing The Great Country Duets

This album offers up Jenni Muldaur, daughter of Maria, and Teddy Thompson, son of Richard and Linda, singing classic country duets originally recorded by George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, and Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. Both Muldaur and Thompson are singers, songwriters, musicians and producers in their own right, but they sound like naturals at this and none of the tunes sound anything like what's been on the country chart in recent times; you might call this old school with music dominated by a weepy pedal steel or violin.

Willie Nelson - I Don't Know A Thing About Love: The Songs of Harlan Howard

For his umpteenth album, Willie Nelson dips into the songs of Harland Howard with his longtime producer Buddy Cannon and an electric band, to come out with an album that is truly the best of the best. Nelson's voice sounds more youthful than ever, the steel guitar work is extraordinary, and the songwriting is superb with such songs as "I Don't Know A Thing About Love," "She Called Me Baby," and "Busted" (which you may know by Ray Charles). Willie Nelson has done a great many things in his long career, but it doesn't get any better than this.

Dolly Parton - Rockstar

With so many layers of phoniness so often seen in showbiz, you really have to respect someone like Dolly Parton. In 2022, when the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame informed her that she would be inducted, Parton tried to politely decline saying that she was country, not rock & roll; the Hall inducted her anyway. Parton concluded that she better make a rock & roll album. Starting with a list of her favorite songs, she invited all of those artists to participate in the recording (they all said yes), and on top of that, she wrote a batch of her own songs which all populate this packed double album.

Scary Goldings: LIVE feat. John Scofield

I think what initially attracted me to this record was the sound of Larry Goldings' Hammond B-3. Ultimately, I wouldn't know how to compare a supergroup of session musicians playing a live, all instrumental jazz/funk workout, which this is, with an album of songs with lyrics. I just know that I like it.

Jake Shimabukuro - Grateful

Performing mostly on the traditional instrument of Hawaii (the ukulele), this is that rare album in which the originals are as excellent as the covers, songs like "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?", "Love Will Keep Us Alive" and more including (how could you not love) an instrumental version of "Hallelujah." In these fast times, there is something to be said for a quiet, gentle and melodic album like Grateful, by Jake Shimabukuro.

Strawbs - The Magic Of It All

With classic folk-rock like Grave New World and their progressive triumph Hero & Heroine, the Strawbs owned the 1970s. Those albums still sound good, and with vocalist and chief songwriter Dave Cousins at the helm, they spent a couple of decades exploring the possibilities of an acoustic Strawbs. Recently, they have rediscovered the electronics and their latest album, The Magic Of It All, has a myriad of styles and is exciting and enjoyable in every possible respect.

Teddy Thompson - My Love of Country

Although the son of famous parents, Teddy Thompson is an accomplished singer, songwriter, musician and producer in his own right. Thompson has always had country leanings in his recording career (this is his eighth release) and with this album and his duets album, this year he is all in. Together with producer David Mansfield, he whittled his list of favorite songs down to ten, which include more and less well known country classics and standards such as "Cryin' Time" and “I Fall To Pieces,” all well done.

Robin Trower - Joyful Sky

Robin Trower hit the mark he could never repeat on his first solo album, Bridge of Sighs, and it's amazing title track. He spent the next 50 years making reliably good blues/rock albums, but he could not combat that they had a certain sameness. This year, Trower found the solution with the voice of vocalist Sari Schorr and a delicious array of slowed down tempos to make the album we always knew he had in him.

Billy Valentine & The Universal Truth

Recorded in the charged environment of Covid and George Floyd, vocalist Billy Valentine and his team chose message songs to record. With an all star jazz band, Valentine made this a reality and a very solid jazz album at that. But, what really put the album over the top for me were four excellent covers starting with a wonderful version of "You Haven't Done Nothin'" (Stevie Wonder), a jazzy “Sign Of The Times” (Prince), a superb “Wade In The Water” (Traditional/Ramsey Lewis), and closing with the perfect "The World Is A Ghetto" (War).

The War and Treaty - Lover's Game

War and Treaty is the group name used by husband and wife principles Tanya and Michael Trotter who sing all the songs and wrote most of them, too. I was going to say how much I love the soulfulness of the slow stuff, but I like their rock 'n roll, also. They clearly have it both ways on Lover's Game, and we're all the richer for it.

The Best Christmas Music of 2023; Check Out Holiday Gems from The Gothard Sisters, Samara Joy, The Philly Specials, Seth MacFarlane, Johnny Mathis, Gregory Porter, Kate Rusby, Straight No Chaser, Chet Atkins, Linda Ronstadt and many more.

2023-12-21T19:06:00.004-05:00

Garret Roberts, Beaver County Times

Greetings! It's that time of year again. It's probably no revelation if I point out that it comes around faster each year.

If you think about it, most of the albums are recorded in the middle of the summer in order to come out now. Years ago, I used to be fairly strict about not listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, that is until I began writing about it. In order to keep up, some years I would begin listening to Christmas music as early as right after Labor Day. When people would hear me listening to Christmas music in September, October, even November, they usually comment (sometimes derisively) something to the effect of, "You must really like Christmas music." Mostly, it wasn't worth the true explanation, so I'd say something like, "Guilty as charged." My main reasoning there is that it's all true. I found that I really do love Christmas music.

I was going to go into my pet peeves about Christmas music, but in what follows is a Christmas music horror story by guest columnist Sara Clancy.

Have a Cup of THIS!

There are two kinds of people who work retail during the Christmas season; those who can block out the piped in music and blithely go about their tasks and those who go quietly insane. (I'm told there is a third type who enjoys the whole thing, but I've never met such a person.) I belonged to the group that required medication before punching in.

Imagine for a moment, say, 35 chirpy songs in a random order that repeats throughout the work day. Multiply it by a 40 hour week times the number of weeks between Halloween and New Year's. Now plug in such masterpieces as "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" and that winter #MeToo song everybody hates and try to maintain your yuletide equanimity enough to get through your 8 hour shift without doing yourself a harm.

You can have strategies, like confronting the late, great John Lennon with a "thanks so much for reminding me that another year is over, and no, I haven't done anything of note! Nothing whatsoever. Now, piss off!" (while the customer looks for someone else to help him find an "I Can Haz Cheeseburger" calendar for his wife). Or you can shut down Judy Garland's plaintive hope for your tiny little Christmas by gently asserting that though you appreciate her wish, your whole family is 3000 miles away, you're stuck at a Barnes & Noble and, in your experience, the fates generally ~~don't allow shi~~ aren't known for being kind.

These are songs I theoretically, possibly, just maybe might have even liked had I not heard them 625 times a season. It can warp your appreciation for the genre permanently, I'm afraid, as even now, some 25 years later, I still get an unpleasant shudder of dread should Burl Ives assault my carefully arranged good cheer in the cheese section at Trader Joe's.

Never mind the truly awful; the chipmunks, barking dogs, children's choirs, Mariah and the melisma maidens and the 160 celebrity versions of "Santa, Baby." The only holiday music untouched by this retail blight are actual carols, preferably on acoustic guitars, harpsichords or symphony orchestras, without vocal accompaniment. As these are generally tasteful and religious in nature, they are absent from most retail establishments and remain safe.

So, if you want me between now and New Year's Eve, I'll be holed up in front of the fireplace with my hot chocolate, my dog, ...and John Fahey, George Winston, maybe Joan Baez or even the Monkees singing "Ríu Chíu."

Happy Holidays!

Guest columnist Sara Clancy is a published poet who lives in the Arizona desert with her husband and her dog & cats. Sara is a former retail worker and repetitive Christmas music survivor.

New goodies for 2023:

Jessie James Decker - Decker The Halls
With many irons in the fire so to speak, Jessie James Decker is among other things a social media influencer, a book author, and a recording artist whose latest EP is the holiday themed Decker the Halls. The six tracks include two well written originals (one is a Decker co-write), one carol, and three old favorites. "Sleigh Ride" takes the Phil Spector style and includes a dynamite guitar solo that might make you think that this EP comes direct from Christmas party central. I enjoyed this one.

The Gothard Sisters - A Celtic Christmas

A Celtic Christmas is the Gothard Sisters' third Christmas album. I was first introduced to this delightful Celtic band about thirteen years ago when they released their first Christmas record, Christmas. What makes the Gothards unusual is that no matter how much they sound like a Celtic band from the Emerald Isle, the fact is that they hail from the Pacific Northwest. It’s no accident that they play beautifully and that the violins are a highlight of their sound; the three sisters were classically trained on the violin and they surround themselves with similarly talented players. Along with one original tune, "Winterberrry Set," the program is mostly traditional Christmas carols with gorgeous familiar melodies that you can get lost in. I have enjoyed listening to the Gothard Sisters over the years (even saw them play live), and to think that it all started with a beautiful Celtic Christmas album like this one…

Adam Hawley - What Christmas Means to Me

We really have a wealth of great jazz records this year. What Christmas Means to Me features a workout on Adam Hawley's electric guitar. The chunky /funky jazz guitar not only leads the all-star ensemble, but it also plays the very familiar melodies at the same time, and that's quite a feat. The mostly instrumental record features a couple of great sounding vocals: Kat Hawley on the gospel tune "Mary Did You Know" and Matt Cusson on Kenny Loggins' "Celebrate Me Home." Someone who heard this album the last time I played it remarked, "This makes me want to go home and take down my tree, so I can put it up again." I can't make any testimonial better than that!

Samara Joy - A Joyful Holiday
In 2021, Samara Joy won the hearts of everyone who heard her debut album, not to mention the awards and accolades, too numerous to list here. For only her third release, this holiday EP offers six tracks of wonderful Christmas jazz. Of the five studio recordings, Joy sings one new original song along with covers of some Christmas classics. Whether on piano or electric guitar, Joy's gorgeous voice is matched with some delightfully jazzy backing. I have to mention that the version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" has the original unmodified lyric (I wouldn't expect anything less). She sings Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song" jazzier than the original. The EP closes with a live version of same in which she sings a duet with her father Antonio McLendon. The aptly named, A Joyful Holiday, has good vibes to spare.

Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson - A Philly Special Christmas Special
Flush with the success of last year's charity Christmas album, the stalwarts of the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line, Kelce, Mailata and Johnson, have decided to do it again. Along with producer Charlie Hall (of Philadelphia's own War On Drugs), they have come up with a real gem. Backed by an all star band of Philadelphia musicians, they turned their attention to a superb set of holiday favorites plus one original. In addition, they have a guest list that includes Amos Lee, Patti LaBelle, Waxahatchee, Travis Kelce, Jordan Davis, and Howie Roseman. What makes this all work is that Kelce, Johnson and Mailata really can sing. Kelce even wrote and sings the album's only original song, "Santa's Night." Opening with perhaps the greatest Christmas song of all (Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song") and running through songs first famous by the likes of Judy Garland to Mariah Carey, the Philly Specials (as they now call themselves) play it straight for the most part and like last year they save the ad-libbing for the end of the record. If you're an Eagles fan, you'll love all of the holiday greetings integrated into the last track, "Auld Lang Syne." I didn't even mention that the album includes Jason's version of an Italian novelty song, "Dominick the Donkey," or the Eagles' Howie Roseman taking a turn at singing "The Dreidel Song." There's a lot to love on this album, but for me none so much as the brothers Jason and Travis Kelce covering The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York." Not only have the lyrics been reworked for Philly and the brothers, but these guys sing the heck out of this song. By the end of it's transformation to "Fairytale of Philadelphia," you too will be charmed.

Seth MacFarlane and Liz Gillies - We Wish You The Merriest
People who know Seth MacFarlane from the Ted movies or The Family Guy animated tv show, are always surprised by his music career. The man can really sing, plus he has a healthy fixation on the Sinatra style singers whose stock and trade is The Great American Songbook. MacFarlane pays attention to every detail; he even has a collection of the actual sheet music that arrangers wrote specifically for Sinatra recording sessions. Now, MacFarlane turns his attention to Christmas, and he has joined forces with Liz Gillies to help sing their way through the holiday season. We Wish You The Merriest sticks to popular song and offers mostly familiar favorites. Among thirteen tracks are several gems that you don't hear all that often, such as "Happy Holiday," "That Holiday Feeling" and the title track.

Johnny Mathis - Christmas Time Is Here
No, Johnny Mathis is not dead. And yes, he has been recording for a really long time. Christmas Time Is Here is his seventh Christmas album, his first in ten years, and it's surprising in several different ways. First, I would have to say that the quality of his voice is amazing. I'm not saying that it's good for age 88, but it's good without qualification. If you are at all familiar with Johnny Mathis, you would instantly know that it's him. Furthermore, his style and his range is a treat for the ear. The second thing that I find surprising is how intimate it is. Most tracks consist of voice and a very talented piano with a reserved rhythm section and some judicious use of orchestra. The net result is an album I want to listen to. I'll admit that I'm too young to know when Mathis was huge in the pre-Beatles era, but the truth is that he has been recording all these years and now has attained a sort of pop royalty. This set is mostly popular songs along with a carol or two. On one song, Mathis duets with Kristen Chenoweth of Broadway fame. All told, Christmas Time Is Here is a nice gift from Mathis to both old and new fans.

Pinot Noir Brass - Pinot Noir Brass Christmas

I have always liked the combination of Christmas music and brass. There is actually a long tradition of that, but we haven't heard from such an ensemble for a very long time, until now. Trumpet and flugelhorn player Rick Braun brought together a group of L.A.'s finest horn players to form a brass quintet. When it was time to record, it was a unanimous decision to make it a Christmas album; the sessions also included some serious wine tastings, thus the group's name. In order to make the fifteen tracks dazzle the listener, more than great playing is involved. With a mix of originals, medleys and old favorites, Pinot Noir Brass Christmas offers a touch of tradition along with arrangements of the cool classics of Christmas that are constantly rewarding.

Gregory Porter - Christmas Wish

The first thing that strikes me about Gregory Porter's Christmas Wish is that his voice reminds me a little of Nat King Cole. Not that he's a sound-alike, but he makes me think of what Cole might have sounded like without the cigarettes. Cole reportedly liked the texture that smoking gave his voice (nevermind that Cole left us way too soon because of lung cancer). The bottom line is that Porter has an extraordinary instrument in his voice. Christmas Wish a mix of more and less well known carols, some well written originals and a couple of nice covers. The pace is on the relaxed side with an uncluttered production style: just voice, piano, some gentle rhythm plus orchestra. I have many favorites on this album, but I want to mention one of them. The penultimate track is a wonderful version of Stevie Wonder's "Someday At Christmas." This song seems more timely with every passing year and the sentiment that resonates the most is the wish for a future filled with peace, love, and freedom. Christmas Wish by Gregory Porter has everything that I could want in a Christmas album.

Kate Rusby - Light Years

Kate Rusby's name is synonymous with quality traditional British folk music, and she also writes her own music in a similar style. Rusby describes it as "joyful memories of music, family, community, warmth and happiness - and a little wine!" I consider myself fortunate to have heard Rusby in the early days of her career and to have been so impressed by her voice and her approach to this material that I take notice whenever I see her name. I've read that Light Years is Rusby's seventh Christmas album. On it she combines traditional carols, both unfamiliar and very familiar, some cover tunes and some original music that she wrote. On her last Christmas album, I found Rusby's humorous cover of "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" to be strikingly ironic in light of her more serious image. On Light Years, she does it again, not once but twice, with "Nothin' For Christmas" and the more traditional sounding parody "Arrest These Merry Gentlemen." Otherwise, I 'd like to point out that on this record, Rusby has largely replaced the expected backing of violins, mandolin and pennywhistles in favor of a brass section. I also love her take on "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas." I will also note that the song "Nowell, Nowell" is an old English carol that modern audiences will instantly recognize, albeit with some lyrical differences. There is a lot to love on Light Years by Kate Rusby; it's one not to miss.

Adam Shulman - We Wish You a Funky Christmas

This is another great Christmas jazz album, this time being an all instrumental affair. The familiar melodies are played alternately on saxes, keyboards and synths. The familiar part is just a jumping off point for a keyboard driven jazz session. Listening to Shulman's work on the Fender Rhodes electric piano, I stopped to look up whether Deodato ("Also A Sprach Zarathustra") had ever made a Christmas album. He did not, but the fact that these tasty jams made me even think of Deodato should tell you something (in a good way). These sessions always come back to the familiar melody to finish. We Wish You a Funky Christmas by Adam Shulman is surely one of the joys of Christmas this year.

Straight No Chaser - Stocking Stuffer

Stocking Stuffer is the new Christmas EP by Straight No Chaser, consisting of well known cover tunes, some less known cover tunes, and a few well written originals. The originals are so well done in fact that it's hard to tell them from the less known cover tunes. Furthermore, there is so much going on in the under twenty two minute running time that this EP is not only hard to categorize, it's also hard to characterize. There are so many lyrics contained in these eight songs that they could almost be rap songs. And, that doesn't even include the familiar fare, like "The Little Drummer Boy," "Feliz Navidad," or "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." The best way I can describe this record is to imagine this uber-talented a cappella group standing on a street corner somewhere, maybe around a fire burning in a trash can. It's not exactly doo-wop, but it's close. At this point we've come to expect that the sound of the instruments is coming from the mouth and we aren't supposed to be wowed by this, but the sharp sound of a drumstick hitting the rim of a drum still amazes me. Stocking Stuffer is a well named addition to the Straight No Chaser holiday repertoire.

Isaiah J. Thompson - A Guaraldi Holiday

Isaiah J. Thompson is a gifted pianist who recently studied at the Julliard School of Music where he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees. His list of accomplishments and awards is already too long to list. On his latest release, he tributes jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, who wrote and performed original music for the Peanuts' holiday specials including A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and most importantly, A Charlie Brown Christmas. The thought occurred to me that even though the Christmas music doesn't start until track five, and even if you've never heard of Peanuts or Vince Guaraldi, that this is one of the best jazz records that you could want to hear. All the better if you are familiar with Guaraldi's groundbreaking music for those Peanuts' specials. Thompson's amazing piano work is matched by the level of the musicianship of his band, the soloists, and the vocalists. Only a handful of tracks have vocals, most of the tracks are instrumental. The album's set is particularly well chosen and sequenced. There have been other tributes to Guaraldi over the years, but I am enjoying this one quite a lot; considering my affection for the Guaraldi music, that's really saying something.

Mads Tolling - Cool Yule

When the album opens, my first thought was... we haven't had one of these for a while, a very mellow instrumental album of the classics of Christmas. What we have here is some very jazzy violin and piano. After some delightful playing on some very familiar tunes, we find out that this album is much, much more. Mads Tolling is an accomplished jazz violinist who hails from Copenhagen, Denmark and here features The Mads Men (Colin Hogan on piano, keyboards and accordion, Gary Brown on upright and electric basses, and Eric Garland on drums). In addition to the American favorites, Tolling also includes some seasonal songs from his native Scandinavia. The Nordic tunes include a nod to Danish favorite Hans Christian Anderson, whose fairy tales have been an inspiration for generations. Otherwise instrumental, Cool Yule features a guest vocal by Sonny Fredic-Pedersen on the title track. Surprisingly, this is a lesser known composition from comedian Steve Allen, who co-created and hosted the Tonight Show; he was also known for writing hundreds of songs, including "Cool Yule." Tolling has played for the Turtle Island Quartet, the Stanley Clarke Band, solo albums, session work, and extensive touring both here and abroad. His violin together with Hogan's piano creates music that is just as delightful as can be. The listening pleasure derived from this album could only make it a Cool Yule.

Reissues, Remasters, Collections, Expanded Deluxe Editions and etc.

Chet Atkins - The Complete RCA Victor & Columbia Christmas Recordings

In 2019, Real Gone Music, in association with Second Disc Records, curated and released a collection of all of Atkins' Christmas recordings from both labels. Ordinarily, when Real Gone releases a compilation, they don't make a huge number of copies, so their titles often sell out. Such was the case with this Atkins' collection. Fortunately, in September of this year, the Legacy label authorized a digital-only reissue of this record. With 46 tracks, originally spanning two CDs, this set includes a number of rare singles and other one-offs as well as three LPs in their entirety. The first two are two different versions of Christmas with Chet Atkins, originally released in 1961 and rerecorded in 1976. The third album East Tennessee Christmas was released in 1983. Better than half of the tracks in this set are totally instrumental, and some have background singers. We can forgive the few tracks with kid singers because the producers probably meant well. Over the years, no matter what the production style, there is one thing that runs through every track, and that is Atkins' beautiful guitar work.

Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli, Virginia Bocelli - A Family Christmas (Deluxe Edition)

This album first came out last year and everything I said about it then still stands. The new tracks included on the deluxe edition are "Let It Snow," "Silver Bells," "E' Natale!" and "Winter Wonderland" plus there are six bonus tracks. Ordinarily, I have an issue with next year deluxe editions. But Bocelli's team has stated that the four tracks are newly recorded and they are a glorious addition to an already excellent album. In fact, "Do You Hear What I Hear" sounds like a tour de force for the generations of the Bocelli family represented here. On top of that, the six bonus tracks are bonefied collector's items, such as a track that they recorded with Pentatonix and one where they sing "Feliz Navadad" with The Simpsons. Virginia Bocelli (11) is featured prominently on the new recordings and not only does she sound terrific, but she sounds much older than her age. All things considered, the ten new tracks make this album well worth buying. I would like a label such as this to offer a replacement procedure, but we have yet to see that happen. So, the question is, would you buy this again if you already had it? The answer is, I would.

Tamar Braxton - Winter Loversland (Deluxe Version)

Winter Loversland is the 2013 Christmas album by Tamar Braxton, Toni's little sister. Legacy has authorized this digital-only release of the deluxe version. Previously a Target exclusive, the special edition adds two tracks to the ten track original. Familiar favorites are the order of the day and Tamar is quite a vocal talent in her own right. This album even includes the rarely covered Carpenters' Christmas classic "Merry Christmas Darling."

Chicago - Greatest Christmas Hits

Although the world may not need to hear every group's version of the Christmas classics, as someone who has been listening to Chicago since their first album, there is something comforting about hearing those classic songs in the familiar voices and horn section of Chicago. That said, I should also point out that none of their productions are what I would call relaxing, even their slow take on "The Christmas Song." Still, it's nice to have these guys around at this time of year. This album, Greatest Christmas Hits, has songs drawn from all their previous Christmas releases. This reissue comes in either digital, CD or color vinyl including original songs, as well as the beloved favorites that they do so well. It's good to have a serving of their prodigious Christmas output on one platter. For all you super fans, Rhino.com has a three disc package of Chicago's original Christmas albums and they've also made a playlist of all the tracks for your streaming pleasure.

Bing Crosby - Bing Crosby's Christmas Gems

To listeners of a certain age, Christmas music begins and ends with Bing Crosby. There have been numerous Crosby Christmas albums over the years, but this one includes some lessor known and rare tracks from the Crosby archive. The Crosby voice is deep, strong and smooth on these fourteen tracks that comprise Bing Crosby's Christmas Gems. In addition to two songs with Kathryn Crosby, this album also features duets with Ella Fitzgerald on "Marshmallow World" and the medley he sang with David Bowie on "Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth." The latter came from a British TV special, and it's good to have this on a Bing Crosby Christmas record.

Elton John - Step Into Christmas

Elton John never made a proper Christmas album, but he did release a killer Christmas single back in the 1970s. Back then "Step Into Christmas" was all over the radio and if you bought the single, "Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who'd Be A Turkey at Christmas?)" was the B-side. This digital-only reissue puts those two tracks together with five odds and ends from the vault, which includes some nice live tracks. Download or stream this little Christmas gift from Elton John and party like it's 1973.

Brenda Lee - A Rockin’ Christmas With Brenda Lee
If you've been anywhere near a radio at Christmastime during the last 60+ years, you've undoubtedly heard Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." Now with this digital only reissue, you can hear this and three other tunes of the season by Lee (you may disregard the remix that closes this EP). This recording starts with the original 1958 version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," recorded when Lee was a young teenager. Lee was a major cross over star in the pre-Beatles era and her life story is a good read. Meanwhile, see your favorite platform to stream or download and you can rock around the Christmas tree to your heart's content.

Teddy Pendergrass - This Christmas (I'd Rather Have Love)
In the last few decades of the 20th century, Philadelphia International Records was to the City of Brotherly Love what Motown was to Detriot. Philadelphia International had no shortage of hitmakers, but one stood out in particular. Having made his name singing lead with Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Teddy Pendergrass struck out on his own and became the lurvemeister of Philly soul. It's easy to see why he had such appeal. Pendergrass' fourteenth and last studio album, This Christmas (I'd Rather Have Love), was his first and only holiday release. Long out of print, this digital-only reissue celebrates 25 years since this album came out in 1998. There are three originals here “Christmas and You,” “Having a Christmas Party,” and “Happy Kwanzaa.” Other than these new songs, Penndergrass sings some covers and carols including a wonderful version of "The Christmas Song." I also have to mention that I realized that no one else this year has covered John & Yoko's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)," and Pendergrass closes his album with a superb rendition of this timeless classic.

Linda Ronstadt - A Merry Little Christmas

This album was so out of print that I had almost forgotten it. Good that the powers that be reissued this on CD in a new digipack. A Merry Little Christmas seems like two albums in one. On the first five tracks, Ronstadt has made a rather old fashioned sounding record of the popular classics of Christmas. I'll just mention that "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" includes the jollier Frank Sinatraized "hang a shining star" lyric that was also written by the song's author. After the first five, it's a very different album, mostly Christmas carols with a church-like vibe. On some songs, it's hard to discern Ronstadt's voice from the church choir-like backing vocals she's using. The is definitely not your basic Christmas album from a rock star. The bottom line is that Linda Ronstadt may be more devout than we might have thought.

The Smithereens - Christmas With The Smithereens
The legendary Smithereens Christmas album was out of print, but it has just been reissued by Hollywood Records. I would be hard pressed to think of a better rock Christmas album. The Smithereens cover a track I've never seen on a Christmas album and that is the Who's "Christmas" from Tommy. They present "Twas the Night Before Christmas" as a rap song leading into a blistering version of Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run." Christmas With The Smithereens is a complete joy from start to finish.

Soundtrack - The Complete Christmas On The Ponderosa
If you are into music from the sixties, more specifically TV shows from the sixties, and even more specifically if you liked a certain western that played every Sunday night at 9 PM on the NBC network, you are in for a Bonanza of a treat. A few years ago, Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records put together The Complete Christmas On The Ponderosa. The good news is that they have reissued this collection digitally. When the set opens, it sounds like either a Christmas special or a Christmas episode. It doesn't matter which, we get some holiday dialogue from co-stars Dan Blocker (Hoss) and Michael Landon (Little Joe) and from Lorne Greene, the star of the show (Ben "Pa" Cartwright). The rest of the way, Greene does all of the heavy lifting. He is a strong voiced singer in the classic Hollywood mode. The Christmas tunes are primarily carols and it gets more and more religious as you listen. The set concludes with a soliloquy that I've only ever heard one other time; it was decades later in the Rockefeller Center Christmas Spectacular.

Liz Story - Songs of Christmas

Liz Story was signed by the Windham Hill label in their first generation and before New Age became a marketing concept. At that time, she released an album titled The Gift, which was a lovely solo piano rendering of Christmas music. That album has been with me all these years and it's included in a digital only reissue called Songs of Christmas. This release collects all of her Christmas and holiday themed recordings, including one offs like single tracks that appeared on various artist compilations over the years. It's still very relaxing to listen to this music, and it's better still to have it all together in one place.

Various Artists - Stax Christmas

A good Stax collection for me works a lot like a good Motown collection, except that the artists are not so much overplayed. Not that I don't love them both, but I'm pleased to tell you about the new Stax Christmas compilation. The set opens with a heretofore unheard alternate mix of the Otis Redding classic “Merry Christmas Baby.” This song is one of the cornerstones of Christmas. Listening to this, I was thinking that although I've heard this single many times (many ways), I have never heard it sound as clean as this. There are many excellent versions of this Johnny Moore/ Lou Baxter composition, but this one by Otis may be worth the price of admission all by itself. But wait; there are eleven more great tracks on this record, not the least of which is a superb recording of “Blue Christmas.” The Elvis hit sung by Carla Thomas is a newly unearthed take. There are ten more holiday tunes from classic Stax artists like The Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas, Isaac Hayes, and many more. Let's just say that there are many reasons to be joyful on a Stax Christmas.

Peter Jackson's "Get Back" Documentary Film Rises From the Ashes of "Let It Be" and Beatles' Fans Are Loving It

2023-08-21T18:06:00.018-04:00

Screenshot via YouTube

Get Back, the three part documentary film, was made by world class director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings trilogy) from the same film and tape elements that were used in the making of The Beatles last movie Let It Be and the Let It Be album. Even though the Let It Be movie played in theaters over fifty years ago, and even though it has disappeared from circulation, memories of that movie remain strong. The 80 minute run time was divided between The Beatles working in the cavernous Twickenham studio, the basement studio at Apple Headquarters, and the triumphant rooftop concert at the Apple HQ. Despite the good feeling of the final sequence with no narration, the overall effect of the movie was depressing, especially the first part. If you wanted a portrait of a band breaking up, this was it. It's no surprise then that this film did not receive home video distribution. For a short time, Let It Be was available as a rental only VHS title, but by the mid-80s it was completely off the market.

The two films, Peter Jackson's Get Back and Michael Lindsay-Hogg's Let It Be couldn't have been more different, even though they were made from the same source material. Before we get into the Jackson film, there are some things worth knowing. Based on public reporting at the time (which was nicely fleshed out in Jackson's film), the project consisted of about two weeks of rehearsals, which took place in January 1969. The project was intended to culminate in two live concerts that were to be broadcast on TV and accompanied by a documentary film of the rehearsals directed by Lindsay-Hogg. The trick was that within the two weeks of rehearsals, the Beatles planned to write fourteen new songs. The short time frame was due to Ringo's start date for filming the movie The Magic Christian. At some point, the live TV concerts got scratched, but the Beatles soldiered on, continuing to write, record, and film.

Ultimately, the live shows were replaced with plans for a live concert on the roof of the Apple HQ building. That conclusion of the plan took place on January 30, 1969 as nicely depicted in Part Three of the Jackson film.

Engineer Glynn Johns (Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, among others) had been brought in to helm the live project. Johns pieced together audio from the month long project in accordance with the original concept presenting all new songs recorded live with an intentional "warts and all" sound (this meant leaving in mistakes and such). During an interview, that was part of a recent Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, Johns explained that they were going for an audio vérité documentary style. The proposed Get Back album was put together by Johns and an acetate was created. All four Beatles rejected it. If I might add, I've heard the acetate (it was widely bootlegged on CD) and the group made a wise decision. At that point, the Get Back project was shelved.

Later in 1969, the Beatles came together to record and release Abbey Road. Even though it was not the last album to be released, Abbey Road was, in fact, the last album they recorded together. Meanwhile, at the behest of John Lennon (according to Johns), the Get Back tapes were given to Phil Spector, who produced the album we know as Let It Be, released in 1970. The Spector production raised a bit of controversy, especially amongst purists. Even though it took some time, it was that controversy that prompted the release of Let It Be... Naked in 2003, a version that removed all of Spector's production. But, that's a story for another day.

Getting back to the Peter Jackson documentary film, Jackson explains in interviews that he found himself in London on another matter, and in a meeting with the current Apple Corp. brass he decided to ask about Let It Be outtakes. His timing couldn't have been better, as the executives wanted to know if there was another documentary film to be made from the never-before-seen outtakes. Jackson then spent a week reviewing the films; he volunteered on the spot.

"...They just left me alone, and I watched [the footage]. And I was laughing, and I thought it was unbelievable—I can’t believe I’m seeing Paul compose ‘Get Back’! This is incredible… The guys were so funny, and it was so great; it was not what I had in my head for 30, 40 years… ” (Courtney Potter, D3, November 23, 2021)

Back in New Zealand, Jackson and his team went to work with over 60 hours of film that was shot under the direction of Lindsay-Hogg. Additionally, they listened to over 150 hours of audio tape recorded during the project. After watching and listening to all of this material, they carefully catalogued it in order to recreate the sessions chronologically. Jackson and his team meticulously edited it down into a new film. At that point, the decisions of what to leave in and what to leave out must have been brutal. The resulting 7 hour and 48 minute film (complete running time), divided over three parts, is a master work deserving all of the accolades it has received.

There is no voice-over narration, just a text overlay that delivers the necessary facts. Part One opens with a nice history of the group using archival photos, films and recordings to set the stage for what's coming next. From there the film takes you day by day through the project in chronological order. At the start of each day's session, they show a calendar with the previous day marked off and they note which day of the project this is. As the sessions progress, they play many songs. You see them writing the songs that are now very familiar from the Let It Be album, as well as songs that wound up on Abbey Road, solo albums, and there are even a couple of unreleased songs in there.

If you've ever wished that you could be fly on the wall during a Beatles' session (and who hasn't), this film is a dream come true. The familiar tunes fly fast and furious; you see all the visitors to the sessions, plus there is lots of conversation between the lads. In the first few days, being that it's early January, there are some New Year's greetings. Everyone is very polite to each other saying "Good Morning" and such.

Without getting into a blow by blow description, we do indeed see (as Jackson observed) Paul McCartney writing "Get Back," literally from scratch. At other times, Paul is a veritable font of melody, playing piano on "Let It Be" and later on "The Long and Winding Road." Both songs are fully realized musically even though half the lyrics remain to be written. In the case of the latter, he rolls on with the piano melody to "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight," which we know from the second side of Abbey Road.

There is some nice dramatic tension created (near the end of Part One) when George Harrison, rather matter of factly, states that he's leaving the Beatles now. This gets resolved in Part Two, but not before some hidden microphones capture a very revealing conversation between Paul and John.

Part Three includes the famous rooftop concert in its entirety. I just love the way Jackson cut it to include street interviews and every step of the police attempt to shut it down. Even though we all know how it ends, even though they knew it would end that way (with the police station merely yards away), and even if you've seen this film before, you'll still get nervous about whether they'll get to perform all of the songs that we know they do.

For Beatles fans, this new film is a wonderful gift.

The Best Music of 2022, Album of the Year: Joan Osborne, Radio Waves; Plus My Picks for the Top Thirty Starring (in the Top Ten, alphabetically) Dr John, Buddy Guy, Marc Jordan /Amy Sky, Brennen Leigh, Alex Malheiros, Keb' Mo', Catherine Russell, Bruce Springsteen, Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. and Many More

2022-12-31T22:28:00.220-05:00

Photo courtesy of the artist

Welcome to my happily old fashioned list of the best albums of 2022. I'm old fashioned in the sense that I'm a holdout for the idea that the full length album is still an art form. For me, the album is still the thing, as you'll see on my list (below).

The music industry was altered by Covid in so many ways that in 2022 it seemed as if the forces were retooling to resume some kind of new normalcy going forward. A lot of good music was recorded and released. My cut down picks for the thirty best albums of the year was as fraught as any prior year with so many records wanting to be on that list. So, go to the streaming service of your choice and spin these albums while you read a few remarks about why, in my estimation, they are the best releases of the year.

Album of the Year: Joan Osborne - Radio Waves

Nevermind that she hit it out of the park on her first try with the album Relish in 1995. Joan Osborne's reputation as a songwriter was cemented (for me) with the release of Pretty Little Stranger (2006) and Breakfast In Bed (2007). On the former, she set out to make a country album and on the latter, it was a soul album that she created. For each of these two albums, Osborne picked the best classic tracks of the genre, filling about half of each with covers and the rest new, original material. The thing of it was that each of these albums had original songs that were as good as the cover songs, which were the cream of the genre. I have gone up and down with her other albums, but from that point on it seems as if Joan Osborne really has something special. I have to add that, when it comes to live performance, Osborne holds the remarkable qualities of being both adventurous and fearless at the same time.

After Jerry Garcia died, Osborne signed on to be a vocalist on a summer tour with "The Dead" (comprised of the remaining members of The Grateful Dead with Warren Haynes of Govt. Mule filling in for Garcia). In addition, I had the good fortune to hear a tribute live recording of the double LP Eat A Peach (The Allman Brothers Band), in which Osborne sang lead along with the Hillside Singers. So, it was with great excitement when I heard that Osborne was taking advantage of the Covid lockdown to go through her 25 year collection of recorded live radio performances.

On Radio Waves, we have live versions of many of your favorite songs from her career. For example, you hear songs such as “Saint Teresa” and “One Of Us” from Relish, “Little Wild One” along with two previously unissued demos, and a handful of superb Osborne covers of pop, rock and soul classics like “Dream A Little Dream”, Bob Dylan's “Make You Feel My Love”, Dave Mason's “Only You Know and I Know” and the magnificent set closing version of Sly and the Family Stone's “Everybody Is A Star”. Osborne is so good at material like this that there was no question in my mind that this had to be elevated to my Album of the Year. Truth be told, she had me at Stevie Wonder's “Love’s In Need of Love Today”.

The Top Ten: (Alphabetically by Artist)

Dr John - Things Happen That Way

Dr. John has been quoted as saying that he always wanted to make a country album. As someone who has been listening to the good doctor (his real name was Mac Rebennack) since the '70s, I'm here to say that this record, completed just before his 2019 death, is country only to the extent that it includes many country standards in the set and the sound is more intimate than you might expect. He burst onto the scene as Dr. John The Night Tripper, performing in costume a heady brew of rock, soul, gospel, jazz, and a big slab of New Orleans funk. Things Happen That Way has a beautiful sound that is a function of Rebennack's co-production with arranger and multi-instrumentalist Shane Theriot. Helping Rebannack complete the album sessions were guest appearances by artists such as Willie Nelson and Aaron Neville. The album consists of three new Dr. John originals, co-written with Theriot, as well as numerous covers that include his own composition "Walk On Guilded Splinters." In the production, every instrument can be clearly heard. Things Happen That Way is a fitting conclusion to a career well lived.

Buddy Guy - The Blues Don't Lie

Buddy Guy turned 86 this year, but you'd never know it listening to his latest release, The Blues Don't Lie, a sixteen track blues extravaganza that finds Guy at the top of his usual form. The program features mostly new originals, penned either by Guy or his producer /drummer Tom Hambridge. Among the sixteen tracks, there are three covers of songs by the likes of B.B. King, The Beatles, and Slim Harpo. On the album are numerous high power guest appearances, such as Mavis Staples, James Taylor, Jason Isbell, Elvis Costello and more. Buddy Guy is going strong on The Blues Don't Lie; it's one not to miss.

Marc Jordan, Amy Sky - He Sang She Sang

Marc Jordan and Amy Sky are two Canadian singer-songwriters who are more well known north of the border than they are in the US, which is something of a crime. Married to each other, He Sang She Sang represents their first full length duet collaboration. The album is artfully curated and consists of five new original songs and eight covers, mostly classics from the seventies. With excellent arrangements, performances and production, the only thing better than the gorgeous sound of this record is the quality of the material. Referred to by Sky & Jordan as the second Great American Songbook, these covers offer some of the best songwriting of the 60s and 70s and the new originals fit right in. After opening with the universally known, but still disarming, "Free Fallin'" (Tom Petty), they sang a particularly beautiful take on Smokey Robinson's "Ooh Baby Baby." As a longtime fan of Richard and Linda Thompson, I just love that they chose to sing Richard's "Dimming of the Day." There have been many covers of the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows," but none come close to this one for expressing all the emotion in the Brian Wilson original from Pet Sounds. If you are unfamiliar with these two incredible artists, or even if you've listened to them for years, there's no time like the present to avail yourself of He Sang She Sang.

Brennen Leigh feat. Asleep at the Wheel - Obsessed With The West

Brennen Leigh is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who joined forces with Texas western swing experts Asleep at the Wheel to make her 7th album, Obsessed With the West. The title refers to Leigh's obsession that she's had since childhood. If you have ever listened to The Wheel (as they're called), they have never sounded better than they do here. They have been popularizing western swing music for better than 50 years. Leigh, who wrote all the songs on the album, sounds like a perfect fit. Ray Benson, who normally leads Asleep at the Wheel, can be briefly heard on track 2, but otherwise he hands over the wheel to Leigh, and the results are just outstanding. I could direct you to listen to "Comin' In Hot", but all the others are just as good.

Alex Malheiros - Tempos Futuros

I have been a fan of Brazilian jazz, pop, and bossa nova for as long as I can remember. Although I haven't personally had the pleasure, Alex Malheiros has been one third of the popular Brazilian band Azymuth (who "pioneered a one of a kind fusion of space-funk, samba and jazz since the early seventies"). Malheiros plays the bass and Tempos Futuros is his latest solo album. It starts with the electric bass and encompasses all of the Brazilian rhythms and funk that you might expect. On top of that, synthesizers turn this into a rather spacey sounding jazz romp. About halfway through, Malheiros unleashes the bassa nova style background singers and the result sounds like something you might hear in the clubs of Sao Paulo, if not all of South America. There is a warm melodic nature to these tracks that will keep you coming back for more.

Keb' Mo' - Good To Be...

Mo', who currently resides in Nashville, recently went back to

California and purchased the childhood home he grew up in. This album was written in both Nashville and in that Compton home. The album, especially the title track "Good To Be (Home Again)," is about finding out who you are, how you got to be that way, and learning that you can go home again after all. Mo's strong, distinctive voice and guitar skill, as well as his effervescent personality and songwriting expertise are all evident on Good To Be... Most of the songs are new originals, either written or co-written by Mo' or his drummer and co-producer Tom Hambridge (who performed a similar role for Buddy Guy, above). There is also one song co-written by Mo's son Kevin R. Moore. The album's sole cover is an evocative version of Bill Wither's "Lean on Me." As with all Keb' Mo' albums, this one provides a complete listening experience that will leave you feeling good.

Catherine Russell - Send For Me

When I saw Steely Dan in the fall of 2019, I knew that the female vocalists in the touring version of Donald Fagen's band were quite extraordinary, especially on songs like "Dirty Work." I must have missed the introductions because I had no idea that I was seeing someone with the storied experience of Catherine Russell; yes, that was her. The first thing that struck me about Russell's latest release, Send For Me, was the excellent swinging vocals. After that, you notice that the backing music is dominated by horns, woodwinds, and piano with the occasional mellow jazz guitar, a sound that is timeless by nature yet easily evokes the 1940s and 50s. Russell is a vocalist who carefully selects her material and, in this case, it's romantic songs most often associated with the icons of that period such as Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Louis Armstrong, just to name a few. The songs are so well selected that you won't mistake this for any other album of covers. This album is so delightful that I was happy to find more such music in the following release, which is a Top Ten Bonus Disc.

Steven Bernstein Millennial Territory Orchestra feat. Catherine Russell - Good Time Music (Community Music, Vol. 2)

Steven Bernstein is a talented trumpet player, arranger, and band leader. Bernstein endeavored to work with various groups of musicians, with whom he has a lengthy relationship, to record four albums within a twelve month period. The second volume of this series, Good Time Music (Community Music, Vol. 2), also features the vocals of Catherine Russell. Even though Bernstein's scope of material may be wider than on the Russell record (above), the results are no less spectacular.

Bruce Springsteen - Only the Strong Survive

Bruce Springsteen's latest is a covers record. In his own words, “I wanted to make an album where I just sang. And what better music to work with than the great American songbook of the Sixties and Seventies? I’ve taken my inspiration from Levi Stubbs, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, the Iceman Jerry Butler, Diana Ross, Dobie Gray, and Scott Walker, among many others. I’ve tried to do justice to them all — and to the fabulous writers of this glorious music. My goal is for the modern audience to experience its beauty and joy, just as I have since I first heard it. I hope you love listening to it as much as I loved making it.” Anyone who has seen or heard a Springsteen concert in the last nearly fifty years knows that he is no stranger to covering the soul classics that he grew up with. On Only the Strong Survive, Springsteen took it a great deal further, carefully crafting the 15 soul singles that made the cut. The end result here has more in common with his recent solo album than his work with the E-Street Band. I especially love his version of the Temptations "I Wish It Would Rain," but all 15 of these tracks are winners.

V/A - Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Live at the Harlem Cultural Festival, 1969]

As a fan of the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in 1969, I can't help but think that as many things as the planners got wrong, the one thing they got right was that the whole thing was filmed and recorded. That same summer there was a Harlem Cultural Festival. Known unofficially as Black Woodstock, the festival included a series of six free concerts held in Mount Morris Park. Although they also filmed and recorded all of it, for a number of reasons, nothing conclusive was done with this footage. Sure, they made a couple of one hour television specials, but otherwise these films were locked away in a basement for over fifty years. Fortunately,

Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson (The Roots) secured permission to use these materials and he directed an excellent documentary movie called Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021) that won the Oscar for Best Documentary. Which brings us to the soundtrack, a Grammy winning double album consisting of performances drawn from the film. Highlights are too numerous to list, however I was thrilled to see The 5th Dimension, B.B. King, and Herbie Mann to name a few, plus (the only band to perform at both festivals) Sly & The Family Stone. Their performance was stunning.

Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros: Live In Colorado Volumes 1 & 2)

I won't say that I was burned out on The Dead, but when I first spied this new band featuring Bob Weir in the new release list, I must admit that my initial reaction was less than enthusiastic. But, I still needed to listen. And the more I did, the more the quality of these performances knocked my socks off. These recordings were released as Volume 1 and Volume 2, but I'm counting them together for the sake of this list. The actual performances spanned four days in June 2021 at Red Rocks (Morrison, CO) and the Ford Amphitheater (Vail, CO).

The thing about these albums is that while they both feature the familiar lead vocals of Bob Weir, it sounds to me like every song was taken back to square one and arranged so that this new ensemble's versions are the most thoughtful and unhurried that I've ever heard. There are way too many great moments to list, but I will mention that Volume 2 contains a gorgeous "Eyes of the World" that segues seamlessly into Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and back out again. I think that most every track equals or exceeds the originals by The Grateful Dead. The amazing fact is that although we've heard all these songs hundreds (if not thousands) of times before, they now seem new again.

The Top Thirty: Numbers 11 - 30 (Alphabetically by Artist)

The Bros. Landreth - Come Morning
The Bros. Landreth really write a good song and they have a knack for making excellent albums, of which this is the latest. On Come Morning, it seems like the emphasis is more on melody and harmony. This album (like their live show if these Canadians should come to your town) should not be missed.

The Cactus Blossoms - One Day

The Cactus Blossoms set themselves apart from other country rock bands with their next level songwriting, swinging sensibility, excellent vocals, and irresistible sound that's based on superior musicianship. Their sound includes electric piano, bass and drums seemingly joined at the hip, and a choice of guitars: excellently played pedal steel, standard style solos, and electric guitar with just enough vibrato to give it that retro twang. As I listened to this release I didn't know that the principles were brothers, even though some of the vocals reminded me of The Everly Brothers.

Cowboy Junkies - Songs of the Recollection

During Covid, the Cowboy Junkies entertained themselves, and ultimately us, with an album of cover songs as they are often wont to do. Their full sound, with singer Margo Timmins and all the musicians working at the top of their game, is why they sound so good on fare like "Five Years" (David Bowie), "No Expectations" (Rolling Stones), "Marathon" (Vic Chesnutt), and six more.

Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters - Mercy Me

Ronnie Earl is the consummate guitar playing bluesman. His 28th album includes twelve tracks, divided between originals and covers. Well chosen material is by the likes of John Coltrane, Ruthie Foster, and two more that I have to single out. Earl closes the album with a version of Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher" that I can only describe as ebullient. He also chose a song that appeared for the second time on this list, Dave Mason's "Only You Know and I Know," with a superb version (see also Joan Osborne, above). Mercy Me may be the equivalent of a double LP in length, but it will leave you wanting more.

Jackie Evancho - Carousel of Time

Carousel of Time is a remarkable tribute to the songwriting of Joni Mitchell sung in the beautiful voice of Jackie Evancho. The song selection covers Mitchell's first five albums and includes favorites, deep cuts and even a B-side ("Urge for Going"). The sure-handed production creates a fitting tribute that will please any Joni Mitchell fan.

Steve Forbert - Moving Through America

One of the things I like best about Steve Forbert is that although his singer-songwriter career is now in its fifth decade, his voice doesn't sound that much different than it did on his 1979 debut Jackrabbit Slim. Another big reason that Moving Through America succeeds is that Forbert has a knack for turning the everyday slice of life into a story song.

George Is Lord - My Sweet George

At the risk of restating the obvious, both this album and this band are a tribute to the music of George Harrison. Unlike other tribute bands, this one is not a soundalike. What makes this work for me is that the sweet sounding vocals of Anna Pomerantz are accompanied by music that can stand comparison to the originals. One of the real strengths of this album is that it includes Beatles and solo songs written by George, most so utterly familiar that the fact that they pull it off is quite an achievement for this young band from the L.A. music scene.

Ashley McBryde - Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville

In 2020, Ashley McBryde's last album splashed quite successfully over the country charts, so it was a nice surprise to find that her follow-up is a concept album that I would call rootsy Americana. The back story is that she woodshedded with a handful of her musician friends and they wrote and recorded this album in about a week. The concept is that all the songs come from a fictitious town, and McBryde shares the lead vocals with her co-writers who perform as the various characters in the songs. With the masterful production of John Osbourne it all works beautifully, and the end product is as satisfying as it is unexpected.

Raul Midon - Eclectic Adventurist

The last time I saw Raul Midon play live (a few years ago), he said that he was working real hard on his guitar playing. So, it's not really a surprise to find that Midon's latest album (his 8th) should be an album of guitar instrumentals; and what instrumentals they are. Midon invited guest guitarists, such as Stephane Wrembel and Dean Parks, to duet with him and then wrote tracks with each guest in mind. The resulting album, Eclectic Adventurist, is gorgeous and exhilarating beyond imagination.

Rae Morris - Rachel@Fairyland
What I like best about Rae Morris' latest album is the degree to which it doesn't sound like what populates the top of the singles chart. After two major label records, in which Morris was supposed to be the next big thing, she has changed labels and her songs now reflect her personal vision. Rachel@Fairyland has all the charm of those singles and EPs that Morris used to make before her big label signing.

Willie Nelson - A Beautiful Time

Willie Nelson's new album for 2022, A Beautiful Time, is notable for several reasons. The album may have been released on Willie's 89th birthday, but his voice sounds as if he has not aged at all. The program this time focuses on country songcraft with about a dozen new originals penned by Willie, his longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon, or some of Nashville's top songwriters such as Rodney Crowell. Although there are a good number of songs about getting old, it's good to know that Willie has not lost his sense of humor: "I don't go to funerals, and I won't be at mine." On top of all that, we have two dynamite covers: Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song" and the Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends." Good stuff.

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Dirt Does Dylan

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has seemingly been around forever, or at least since the 1960s. They were responsible for the iconic triple LP, Will The Circle Be Unbroken, still a touchstone for country, bluegrass, and Americana music. Now in 2022, with some new members, this band has never sounded better than they do on these ten tunes selected from Bob Dylan's fertile first ten years or so. Although it only scratches the surface of Dylan's songwriting talent, it goes without saying that Dirt Does Dylan is a fitting tribute.

North Mississippi All Stars - Set Sail

The AllMusic guide called the latest album by North Mississippi All Stars the best blues album of 2022. What you need to know to have some perspective is that Luther Dickinson and his colleagues have perfected a style of rootsy rural blues that you are more likely to find on a backroads back porch played by musicians who care deeply about this music. My first reaction to Set Sail was that the first half of the record sounded like a continuation of Luther's recent string of excellent solo albums. Only after that does it sound like a follow-up to the last NMAS record. Sporting a great new batch of original compositions, Set Sail is also replete with many guest musicians including Stax stalwart William Bell, whose vocals are still amazing at age 83.

Oz Noy, Ugonna Okegwo, Ray Marchica - Riverside

Locked out of the normal New York venues during the pandemic, guitar wizard Oz Noy joined forces with two musicians living nearby (bass & drums) to play a series of free concerts in Riverside Park, NYC. Noy's fans, who have seen his device-laden performance rack, may be surprised to learn that for these shows Noy plugged directly into a battery powered amplifier and played with an incredibly light touch. All three musicians had a background in jazz and, as such, they immediately had a set of standards that they all knew; over time they wrote some new tunes. Ultimately, they took this project into the recording studio and this album is the happy result. Read my complete article.

Flora Purim - If You Will

If you are old enough to remember Chick Corea and Return to Forever, you may already know Brazilian jazz vocalist Flora Purim. She was the one singing "500 Miles High," which brought her worldwide acclaim in the 1970s. Often working with her husband, percussionist Airto Moreira, her expressive voice has graced countless jazz albums over the years, not to mention her own successful solo career. If You Will is both her new album and a newly recorded retrospective; it even includes a gorgeous new version of "500 Miles High" along with other career milestones and some new material.

Bonnie Raitt - Just Like That...

There are a few things you have to love about Bonnie Raitt. One is that she's a hold out for the old way of recording a new album and taking it out on tour. For another, she still can write and sing like no one else. Plus, she plays a mean slide guitar. Just Like That... is Raitt's eighteenth studio album and features the Grammy winning title track. The album offers a slate of new originals alongside well chosen covers of songs by The Bros. Landreth, NRBQ, and Toots & the Maytals. Bonnie Raitt is a total pro at this. Read my recent concert review.

Sophie & The Broken Things - Delusions of Grandeur

It's been many a year since I've been quite so knocked out by a debut album like Delusions of Grandeur by Sophie & The Broken Things. Recorded in Nashville, this is alt-country or Americana as a general category; it reminds me sometimes of Lucinda Williams. Sophie Gault is a powerhouse singer, songwriter (she wrote or co-wrote most of this record) and multi-instrumentalist. When you listen to this it's hard to know which to be more impressed with, the strong vocals, the extraordinary compositions, or the perfect sounding performances and production. Ordinarily, I would like my readers to hear all of the albums I've listed, but if you only check out one item from this year's list, let it be Delusions of Grandeur by Sophie & The Broken Things. It's that good.

Cole Swindell - Stereotype

I must admit up front that I was drawn to this album by a really clever remake of the 1996 Jo Dee Messina hit "Heads Carolina, Tails California." The entirely new set of lyrics casts the song as an episode in a Karaoke bar that references the original song. I should also point out that Cole Swindell is a bona fide multi-platinum country superstar. Stereotype is Swindell's fourth album and it contains a duet with Lainey Wilson among a number of mega selling #1 country hits. It wasn't necessarily the above that muscled this release onto my list, it was the fact that most every song on the album has the potential to do likewise.

Rosie Thomas - Lullabies for Parents, Vol. 1

After ten years away from recording to tend to her family, Rosie Thomas is back with a five track EP called

Lullabies for Parents, Vol. 1. Conceived as the centerpiece of a multi-media resource for new parents of all ages, the EP consists of three new originals and covers of Mariah Carey and Bjork. Thomas, always one who likes working with her friends, offers up a ton of guests on this release including Sufjan Stevens, The Shins, Iron & Wine, The Head & The Heart, and many others. When you listen, one message comes through. No matter who wrote or who sang, the fact is that every track shows Thomas' unique ability to put across a delicate melody. These songs seem like they have a direct line on your heart and you don't want them to end.

Leah Weller - Freedom

Leah Weller's debut album shows off her vocal talents in the realm of neo-soul and pop in a set of tracks that is a triumph of production. Singer-songwriter Weller develops a finely honed vibe in collaboration with producer Steve Cradock. Sounding both brand new and retro is a good trick, but Weller comes by the ability naturally considering that her parents are Paul Weller (founder Jam, Style Council) and Dee C. Lee (former singer Wham!, Style Council). The nice thing is that you don't even need to know the Style Council to totally enjoy Freedom by Leah Weller.

The Best Christmas Music of 2022; Unwrap Holiday Gifts from Andrea Bocelli, Joyce Cooling, Andrea Corr, Gloria Estefan, Chris Isaak, Dave Koz, Loreena McKennitt, Jane Monheit, Pentatonix, Joss Stone, and Many More

2022-12-01T17:23:00.038-05:00

Welcome to the new Christmas releases for 2022. There are some really good ones this year. I am always amazed by the resiliency of the Christmas repertoire. Even though we may have heard the same songs hundreds of times, they still have the capacity to delight us. The artists who go out on a limb to write new music occasionally come up big.

I was in the viewing audience when CBS debuted their first animated special featuring Charlie Brown and his friends, A Charlie Brown Christmas. At the age of twelve, I was more interested in the characters and the groundbreaking story than the conjunction of Christmas music and jazz. I knew right away that this special truly was, and that it knocked it out of the park in every possible way. In those days, there was no cable tv, no streaming, and no such thing as home video. Specials were only shown once a year, at most.

I still remember hearing the actual soundtrack LP for the first time. The album by the Vince Guaraldi Trio blew me away then, and every time I've played it since. The good news is that Blue Note has opened up the vaults and prepared a special edition with almost four hours of recordings from the original sessions.

So, come on and check it all out; there's lots of great listening here to sweeten your holidays.

We extend to all our best wishes for a safe, happy, and peaceful holiday season.

New music is listed first, followed by reissues and various additions.

New goodies for 2022:

Backstreet Boys - A Very Backstreet Christmas

As they approach their 30th anniversary as a band, Backstreet Boys, who have always considered themselves more of a vocal group than a boy band, have just released their first Christmas album. With mostly familiar favorites, it's easy to imagine these guys standing on a street corner somewhere singing these songs. Along with their voices, the most prominent part of the mix is usually the rhythm, which you'll know by the ubiquitous finger snapping. Older songs like "Winter Wonderland" and newer songs like "This Christmas" and "Next Christmas" all lend themselves to this approach. The 'Boys also add a couple of originals for good measure. Note: Target has an exclusive deluxe edition with two additional tracks.

Andrea, Matteo & Virginia Bocelli - A Family Christmas

Andrea Bocelli has been a world-renowned singer of classical, opera and pops for almost the last thirty years. On this album, he shares the vocal duties with two of his children, son Matteo (25) and daughter Virginia (10). The program is warm and inviting with selections that include superb sounding carols like "Do You Hear What I Hear" amidst popular songs like José Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" and John and Yoko's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." The instrumental backing is applied sparingly, and one thing I find refreshing about this record is that there are about five tracks that aren't generally heard on Christmas albums. Andrea Bocelli seems to have passed his musical gift to the next generation. A Family Christmas is one of the most enjoyable releases this year.

Davis Causey & Jay Smith - Pickin' On Christmas

Pickin' On Christmas is a delightful and relaxing instrumental record that pairs Davis Causey and Jay Smith playing their guitars on a set of mostly popular favorites plus one original tune. "Following A Star," an original penned by Causey, is also notable for the participation of guest Randall Bramblett. Originally recorded in 1998, it was given to friends and relatives that year. Smith passed away shortly after the recording and Causey dedicates the album to his memory. Maybe it's me, but I tried this record in spite of the title. There is a series of bluegrass albums entitled Pickin' On... and I was happily surprised to hear that this was not one of them. It is truly a gift that this year sees a general release on Strolling Bones Records, as this is one of my favorite holiday releases of 2022.

Sarah Connor - Not So Silent Night

According to her bio, Sarah Connor is a singer-songwriter in her native Germany. Listening to her latest release, Not So Silent Night, I take away a couple of things. First, the album is in english and I can pick up no trace of an accent. The second thing you need to know is that of the thirteen tracks on this record, twelve of them are new originals. I should add that Connor is a really talented songwriter in addition to being a first-rate vocalist. Writing new original Christmas songs is really hard, but Connor comes up with material that is constantly inventive and clever and this goes way beyond the title track. As for whether listeners will want to hear these songs five, ten, or twenty years down the road, that's anyone's guess. But, just to put a point on her accomplishment, Connor closes the album with what may be the best written Christmas tune of all time, at least the version sung by Nat King Cole may be the most beloved. When Sarah Connor sings "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts Roasting), her version compares favorably to Cole's. I haven't heard a version this nice in many a year.

Joyce Cooling - The Holiday's On!

Joyce Cooling is a musician, singer, and songwriter. Cooling's specialty is jazz and with seven albums plus an EP to her credit, The Holiday's On! is her first holiday album. The album offers seven originals written by Cooling and Jay Wagner. Cooling favors the electric guitar and I've enjoyed her work since the late 90s. This set is perfect for fans who may be tired of hearing the same holiday repertoire repeated over and over again. Cooling recalls writing the title track quickly. The song came together easily and it was previously released as a digital single for charity NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

Andrea Corr - The Christmas Album

When Andrea Corr recorded The Christmas Album it seemed like the producer wanted it to sound different from the rest. You can hear it right on the opening cut, a glorious take on "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas." At one point, the song shifts gears into a very New Orleans style "Jingle Bells" and back again. Corr's very appealing voice is well suited for quieter fare like "The Christmas Song," which features her voice, piano and some light strings. She is also very good at capturing the mixed emotions of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (complete with the original lyric). Corr is a natural on songs like "Blue Christmas" too, which is a duet with Ronnie Wood. At the outset of her career, Corr was in a Irish family band called The Coors, which included a brother and three sisters, all with extraordinary voices. When they released their first album, their label sent them to the U.S. to tour retail locations. I was fortunate to catch one of these in-store appearances. After an acoustic set, they stayed to meet the audience. I was so totally bowled over by them that I've been a fan ever since. These days there are solo records and Andrea has even branched out to movies. So, to receive a solo album such as this, is truly a gift to us all.

Kat Edmonson - Holiday Swingin'! (A Kat Edmonson Christmas Vol. 1)

Kat Edmonson is a musician, singer, and songwriter who specializes in jazz, pop, and the place where jazz and pop meet on Broadway. Holiday Swingin'! is her first Christmas album, her sixth overall, and sounds like nothing else you'll hear this year. The tracklist may look like other Christmas albums, but these have a swinging style that belongs only to Edmonson. There are a number of things that make this album special. The song line-up has some selections you wouldn't expect. Sometimes she riffs on the song, and sometimes she'll make a song completely her own. You've never heard "The Christmas Blues" like this one. It may remind you of the Dean Martin classic before it veers into uncharted territory, and the "O Christmas Tree" that follows puts a perfect point on it. I must mention that listening to the new Jane Monheit (below) and then following it with Edmonson's Holiday Swingin'! definitely enhances the listening pleasure of both. However, I would recommend this album unconditionally.

Gloria Estefan - Estefan Family Christmas

Three generations of Estefans appear on Gloria's second Christmas album, Estefan Family Christmas. It's pretty much warmth and good vibes as they sing their way through a seventeen song set, consisting of mostly holiday hits like Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime" and Alvin and the Chipmunks' classic "Christmas Don't Be Late." There are snippets of dialogue that sound like they might have been part of a holiday TV special. Performers, in addition to Gloria, include daughter Emily, son Nayib and his wife Lara, and grandson Sasha. Her musician husband Emilio even makes his vocal debut on Estefan Family Christmas.

Jessy J - California Christmas, Vol. 2

Jessy J, a jazz saxophone player, follows her California Christmas (2016) with a second volume. Like her first one, this album immediately separates itself from the crowd just because it sounds so good. Other than the appealing tone she gets on her sax, and the magnificent choice of material, this is the result of excellent production by J and Jeff Lorber. All of the instruments can be heard clearly, especially the sax. That quality may seem simple, but it requires meticulous attention to engineering, mixing, and mastering the recording. J draws from an array of handpicked musicians including her normal players along with some invited guests. Among the three vocal tracks, "O Holy Night" takes a nice soulful turn with guest singer Maurice Smith, who also appeared on California Christmas, Vol 1. The vocal arrangement of "Go Tell It on the Mountain" explores the hymn's gospel side. California Christmas, Vol 2 includes arrangements that you are not likely to hear any place else.

Chris Isaak - Everybody Knows It's Christmas

For Chris Isaak's second Christmas album he has written eight new originals to record along with five familiar favorites on Everybody Knows It's Christmas. Isaak, who is no stranger to the top of the charts, still sounds like something of a cross between Roy Orbison and Ricky Nelson, heavy on the Roy Orbison. Interesting that he's on Sun Records now; he always seemed the embodiment of the rockabilly elements that defined the label when Sam Phillips founded it. With his smooth delivery, good looks, and talented band, Isaac has made one of the more enjoyable holiday albums this year.

Dave Koz - Dave Koz & Friends: Christmas Ballads (25th Anniversary Collection)

Smooth jazz saxophonist Dave Koz celebrates the 25th anniversary of what he calls the longest continually running Christmas tour. On his new album, Christmas Ballads, Koz chose to record songs that he had not recorded on his previous Christmas albums. It's a gem of a lineup that includes songs like "The Christmas Waltz" and the Carpenters' classic "Merry Christmas Darling." Accompanying Koz is a veritable jazz super group of David Benoit, Rick Braun, and Peter White. The record is mostly instrumental but for a nice John Lennon medley of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Imagine," sung by Rebecca Jade. I've always felt that there is a special relationship between Christmas music and jazz and "Dave Koz & Friends: Christmas Ballads (25th Anniversary Collection)" is a perfect example.

Loreena McKennitt - Under A Winter's Moon (Live At Knox Church, Stratford, Ontario / 2021)

In the 1980s, American radio (of the AAA or AOR persuasion) began playing Canadian musician, singer and songwriter Loreena McKennitt. McKennitt's strong and clear voice, combined with a penchant for incorporating other cultures' music into her compositions, quickly caught the ear of anyone listening. Those in search of a Christmas album zeroed in on her second release To Drive the Cold Winter Away with its splendid version of "In the Bleak Midwinter," which has become a standard. All that is to explain that even though that album dealt with winter, it was not a proper Christmas album and that (with the exception of her Winter Garden EP) the McKennitt faithful have waited until now, on her 16th album, for this double CD. I am happy to report that Under A Winter's Moon, A Concert of Carols and Tales was well worth the wait. Beautifully recorded in Knox Church in Stratford, Ontario, that location may have just as easily been Stratford, England. Spoken word readings, such as A Child's Christmas in Wales, are interspersed throughout the program. For those who want the whole live Christmas experience, McKennitt brought the requisite musicians and produced an album for the ages.

Jane Monheit - The Merriest

Jane Monheit, who has honed a career at the top of what I like to call the supper club jazz-pop portion of the music business, gets jazzier than you'd think on her latest Christmas album, The Merriest. The program is familiar tunes, the older the better (with one notable exception). There is one song, "(Christmas) Stay With Me," that was written by Cy Coleman (Broadway) that makes its recording debut here. "The Christmas Song," as sung by Nat King Cole, was already jazz-pop to start with and when you do a song that's so utterly familiar, you can't stray too far from the original. The other material on here is much friendlier to an little swingin'. As her publicist explains, "When classic Christmas songs are dipped in the sweet, luscious swing of jazz music, the results are always as warm and soothing as hot cocoa and chestnuts." The combination of the quality of her voice with that of the performances, the arrangements, and the production makes this record feel both new and old at the same time. I should also point out that Monheit's take on the standard "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve" easily surpasses neatly every other version I've heard, and makes this album indispensable.

Allison Moorer - Five Holiday Favorites - EP

With four Christmas carols plus "Jingle Bells," it's just Allison Moorer's voice and guitar. The vocals are strong and the backing is acoustic except for a glorious "Oh Holy Night," which is played on electric with a tasty guitar solo in the middle. This EP is about as Americana as it gets.

Jamie O'Neal - Spirit & Joy

One of the hardest things to do is to write or sing new, original Christmas music and have it be memorable. Nashville singer-songwriter Jamie O'Neal does just that on her first Christmas album, Spirit & Joy. There are four such songs here, three of which O'Neal co-wrote, and not only do they feel like Christmas but one of them, "Gulf of Mexico," is one I'd like to hear a lot. O'Neal's distinctive voice and the relaxed sound of her backing musicians, make the familiar favorites sparkle. Several generations of her family join her on "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Collin Raye duets with O'Neal on "Silver Bells." Although everybody and their brother has done "White Christmas," this is one version that you'll want to hear. The real standout on Spirit & Joy for me is "Please Come Home for Christmas" (which also has vocals by Rodney Good); in fact I would place this rendition on par with the Charles Brown original and the Eagles cover version.

Pentatonix - Holidays Around the World

And now for something completely different... from Pentatonix. Just when you thought they had recorded every Christmas song in the known universe, here comes Holidays Around the World complete with songs and guest recording artists representing ten different countries spread over four continents. The Grammy winning vocal quintet offers up, as they put it, seven holiday staples and five originals. We're not really used to hearing Pentatonix in a backing role, as they are with Meghan Trainor on the original "Kid On Christmas." She sounds good, but you may be forgiven if, like me, you mistake this for some other album being that this is only track one. And the new sounds don't stop there. Chinese sensation Lang Lang lets his remarkable piano do the singing on "Jingle Bells," truly a family friendly production. Of the less familiar artists, I love the version of "Feliz Navidad" turned in by La Santa Cecilia and Pentatonix. "Last Christmas" does double duty representing both Japan, with the artists Hikakin & Seikin, and Great Britain from where the composition comes. If any of the tracks sound like grand production numbers, know that there is an accompanying TV special. Ho ho ho!

Joss Stone - Merry Christmas, Love

It's a nice touch that Joss Stone opens her first ever Christmas album with a reading of the first verse of "Twas The Night Before Christmas." I don't think her British audience would necessarily find her English accent to be cute, but here in America (and in the rest of the world), it may be another story... For Stone, who started out singing vintage R&B and soul, the soulfulness of her voice seems simply effortless on this set of holiday tunes. It almost seems like a contradiction that Stone's band has turned into a full orchestra, complete with backing singers and the whole nine yards. You can hear it immediately after the recitation when the album launches into "Let It Snow." The production is impeccable rendering this a timeless Christmas classic. All of the tracks on this album receive, more or less, the same treatment. I must point out that on her version of Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts Roasting...) the backing has been stripped down to just piano and strings, and Stone sounds like she totally gets it, even the nuances of Nat King Cole's iconic recording. Merry Christmas, Love consists of sixteen tracks, most of them familiar favorites, along with a couple of Christmas carols and two new originals “If You Believe” and “Bring On Christmas Day.” The combination of soulful voice and ultra traditional arrangements brings to mind the Diana Ross Christmas albums.

Also of note...

Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata & Lane Johnson - A Philly Special Christmas

There used to be a tradition of novelty records in pop music. Christmas novelty records used to be plentiful, but now it's become a lost art. There used to be sports novelty records, too. Does anyone remember "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" for the World Series winning 1980 Philadelphia Phillies or "The Super Bowl Shuffle" by the 1985 Chicago Bears (Jim McMahon and Co.)? Now, the (hopefully) Super Bowl bound Philadelphia Eagles have produced a seven track Christmas album A Philly Special Christmas. All of the money raised by this record is destined for charity. It is worth noting that all of the physical records (CDs and vinyl) were sold out before the release date, so the only way to obtain this is by digital download or by streaming. It's also worth noting that this does not sound like a novelty record; these guy can really sing. By that I mean, the primary protagonists from the Eagles' O Line: Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson. Right from the top, Mailata has a wicked falsetto on "White Christmas," which might remind you of the Temptations' version. They pretty much play it straight with the basically good time Christmas tunes, backed up by the cream of Philadelphia musicians. They even have play-by-play announcer Merrill Reece reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas." This set doesn't even mention The Eagles until the last two tracks. The last cut is a very Bruce Springsteen inspired version of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" with lots of fun ad-libbing that you will love. Whether or not you follow the Philadelphia Eagles, you cannot go wrong with A Philly Special Christmas.

Reissues, Remasters, Collections, Expanded Deluxe Editions, and etc.

Louis Armstrong - Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule

Over the years the great Louis Armstrong recorded any number of Christmas songs, but he never made a proper Christmas album. Now, all of those songs have been collected on the new Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule. Even though most tracks have been heard before, the last track, a Louis Armstrong reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas," is previously unreleased. All told, this is one of the best Christmas albums that you are likely to hear.

Ray Charles - The Spirit Of Christmas (Remastered)

During his career, Ray Charles only released two Christmas albums. They are both excellent and essential. The Spirit of Christmas was recorded in 1985 and is the only studio album Ray made for the holidays (the other is a live concert recording). The good news is that The Spirit of Christmas, which was out of print for the last decade, has been remastered and is once again available. This album is every bit as good as you might hope. It has his usual backing band including the Raelettes. The program consists of familiar favorites (carols and popular songs) and some very well written originals. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and saxophonist Rudy Johnson also guest. The title track was used in the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. It's fair to say that this album sounds like no other Christmas album.

Judy Collins - Christmas with Judy Collins

One of this year's real treats is the reissue of Christmas with Judy Collins. Collins is possessed of a voice that is strong, clear, and perfect for a Christmas album; she's made four of them. Christmas with Judy Collins is the fourth and was released in 2013. There's nothing new in this release, but it's good to have this record back in print and available. Not many singers could pull off an a cappella "I'll Be Home For Christmas," but it sounds beautiful sans instruments. The album is extraordinarily well performed and produced. That girl sure knows how to make a Christmas album.

Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas (Super Deluxe Edition)

On December 9, 1965, when the special A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted on the CBS television network, the twelve year old me knew it was something special, but at that age I was not focused on the music or on how brilliant it was on any number of levels. That message didn't sink in until some years later when I first heard the soundtrack LP. The mixture of jazz and Christmas music was just the start of it. The way in which Vince Guaraldi captured in music the many emotions we all have during the holidays at one time or another, so accurately parallels the plot of the program that it's a wonder unto itself. Full disclosure: This has been my #1 Christmas album for over 50 years. I am happy to report that for the deluxe edition, they have not only remixed and remastered the album, but they have also released the recording sessions that were used in the making of it all. This box set is not for everyone, but if you want to hear the artistry of the Vince Guaraldi Trio, then you might wish to hear numerous versions of the each song. When I listen to these sessions, my appreciation for this music only grows.

Norah Jones - I Dream Of Christmas (Deluxe)

By virtue of the hit "Don't Know Why" the world recognized Norah Jones' talent right off the bat with her first album Come Away With Me (2002). For nearly twenty years, Jones' participation in Christmas music has been limited to just one song, "Peace." In 2021, she released her first full length Christmas album, I Dream Of Christmas. This record consisted of thirteen tracks: new original songs, popular Christmas standards, and recent holiday hits, all of which shared Jones' unique musical style. This was easily heard on favorites like "White Christmas" or Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas." The only thing that this album lacked... was... more of it. Now expanded to 24 tracks, I Dream Of Christmas, the deluxe edition, includes all of that and more. There are five new tracks recorded live at the Empire State Building in NYC, a studio version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and the four bonus tracks only available previously on special editions. While there is something to be said for the original album reflecting the artist's vision, the bonus tracks that this deluxe edition carries have their charms as well. You can't go wrong either way.

Reba McEntire - The Ultimate Christmas Collection

If Reba McEntire is not the original country artist, she might be the first such to substantially cross over to the pop market. This year, for your listening pleasure, The Ultimate Christmas Collection brings together the best tracks from her three Christmas albums (1987, 1999 and 2017). In addition, this release also includes last year's single, "I Needed Christmas." Ho! Ho! Ho! It's Christmas in Reba-land.

The Miracles - A Soulful Christmas

One of the best reissue gifts this year is A Soulful Christmas by The Miracles. What's so special about this record is not even hinted at on the cover or in the name. Back in the 1960s, this group used to be billed as Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. Smokey may have chosen to bill this as The Miracles in deference to the other Miracles. They may be a good vocal group, but hey, there is only one Smokey Robinson and I am happy to report that he's singing lead on every one of these excellent tracks. The program here is a friendly selection of favorite carols, popular songs, recent hits, and even a couple originals. A Soulful Christmas was first released in 2001, and with this reissue comes for the first time a vinyl edition. Everything you need to know about this album is right there in the opening track, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose..."

Dolly Parton - A Holly Dolly Christmas (Ultimate Deluxe Edition)

A Holly Dolly Christmas was first released in 2021 with twelve tracks, sounding a lot like a Christmas party hosted by Dolly Parton. She sang on every track, often accompanied by guest artists. This year, for the super ultimate deluxe edition, eight bonus tracks have been added. Two of them came from exclusive retail versions of last year's release. The other six are new to A Holly Dolly Christmas and includes a guest turn from Rod Stewart duetting with Dolly on "Baby, It's Cold Outside." There are also some originals penned by Parton. And, the party continues...

V.A. - Country Christmas Greatest Hits

I don't generally follow the mainstream country artists, but this album does knock it out of the proverbial park on every track. The material sticks to the popular song repertoire of Christmas. Superstars abound such as Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, and Darius Rucker to name a few. They pretty much all do new or recent recordings and they do throw in a classic, Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" for good measure. Various artists' Christmas albums like this used to abound, with albums devoted to a theme, label samplers, etc. Now they are more sporadic. The trick is to look at the tracklist and if you are interested in the artists then Country Christmas Greatest Hits might be just the thing for under your tree.

V. A. - Holidays Rule

This is exactly what I was referring to above. Holidays Rule was first released in 2012 and featured mostly alternative rock artists with a few ringers thrown in to keep you guessing. The overall approach here is pretty reverent to the material, which is drawn from a wide swath of the holiday repertoire. The artists represented include The Shins, Rufus Wainwright, Paul McCartney, and The Civil Wars just to name a few. Even if you don't know all of the artists, give this one a shot and you may find that in fact holidays do rule.

One from the Heart (Zoetrope, 1982) Is a Better Movie Than You Think; A Stellar Soundtrack Composed By Tom Waits and Sung By Waits and Crystal Gayle Is a Big Reason Why

2022-11-25T21:21:00.008-05:00

Images courtesy of Zoetrope Studio

Gem from the Record Room and from the Movie Shelf: Francis Ford Coppola wanted One from the Heart to be a simple romantic comedy, ostensibly the antidote for his then latest film Apocalypse Now; antidote in the sense that it was intended to be everything that Apocalypse Now was not.

No one would ever accuse Coppola of not thinking big, so perhaps it was impossible for him to make a small picture. For starters, he tried to make One from the Heart at the same time he transformed the then vacant Hollywood General Studios, that he had just bought, into the Hollywood home of Zoetrope.

Even though the story of One from the Heart all takes place in one night in Las Vegas, every scene required the construction of a set there on the lot. As if that weren't enough, Coppola conceived a new kind of electronic filmmaking in which storyboards for each scene were recorded on videotape. The video could be reviewed and revised in real time. These dreams of Coppola's conspired to make a "small movie" into a major production.

The highly stylized movie that resulted was more visual and more musical than the average love story. And although this is a musical, the characters don't break into song as they do in a traditional musical. There are numerous ways in which one could interpret the music; I prefer to subscribe to the theory that the songs are inspired by the thoughts of the two main characters.

I don't need to detail the many business difficulties that Coppola encountered during the making of the movie, but it's safe to think that the negative advance publicity played a part in the lackluster reviews that met the initial release. The first week's box office was low, according to the Making of- documentary; Coppola reportedly pulled the film from theaters effectively cancelling its run.

One from the Heart has a simple story. Taking place on Independence Day, Frannie (Teri Garr) and Hank (Frederic Forrest) complete their fifth anniversary dinner by breaking up. The movie follows each of them as they look for love in their home town of Las Vegas.

One can say that over the course of the night, the city where nothing is exactly as it seems, provides the perfect setting for Frannie and Hank to each live out their dreams, at least for a little while. It's no spoiler to report that these two find their way back to each other before the night is out.

The dialogue between Frannie and Hank sounds either ultra realistic or partly improvised, or maybe both. What makes this movie really work is the music. When you hear the voice of composer Tom Waits, you are somehow in connection with the mind of the Hank character. Similarly, when you hear the voice of Crystal Gayle, you know that it's inspired somehow by the Frannie character.

Reviewers watching the movie cold at preview screenings can be forgiven for not getting it. The 2003 revival release on DVD brought a pristine transfer of the film, plus a second disc full of bonus material that included several behind-the-scenes documentaries, as well as previously unreleased demos and alternate takes from the soundtrack and much, much more. Viewers at home have the advantage of repeat viewing and can now more fully appreciate the beauty of One from the Heart.

When it comes to the soundtrack album, I don't think I could love it more. Although I feel that way about far too much music to ever narrow it down, One from the Heart by Tom Waits with Crystal Gayle solidly falls in my all time top ten albums list. It shares the list with albums by The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Bruce Springsteen, just to name a few.

Why exactly is that? Well, every album has a number of essential variables that must come together to create greatness. There is the songwriting, the vocals, the instrumental performances, the arrangements, and the production. For my money, the most important ingredient is the songwriting; if all the other elements were at the top of their game, but the songwriting was subpar, you would definitely not have a great album. But, if the songwriting excels and any of the other variables is questionable, you could still have a great album.

With all of the music beautifully written by Waits, One from the Heart, in my opinion, goes way over the top in every one of those categories I specified above. Longtime Waits fans probably know that his writing can far exceed the gruff exterior he offers on most of his work. But, for these he goes way beyond any other record he's ever made in terms of the smoothness of his voice and the way he carries a melody. There are songs that sound like he is almost crooning; I think he's expressing his inner Louis Armstrong.

I'm hearing almost the same effect coming from (then country star) Crystal Gayle. I recently took a close listen to her signature hit song, "Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue," which also crossed over to the pop chart (the Billboard Hot 100) where it peaked at #2 for three weeks in 1977. That vocal was superb of course, but Gayle's vocals in One from the Heart are filled with nuance and emotion and they transcend her country career in ways that the earlier hits only hinted at.

Much has been written about this film soundtrack. I especially loved the writing on Edward Allan Faine's blog/podcast, "Tom got a huge assist from two unlikely sources—film director Francis Ford Coppola and the serendipitous, genre-busting addition of country singer Crystal Gayle, who, with her pure country voice, limned Waits melodies better than he could himself and, in duets with Tom, wedded that tear in her throat with the gravel in his."

When I watch the movie now, I notice a slight difference between the music in the movie as compared to the music on the soundtrack album. The songs are the same, but in the movie it might be that the music was recorded in a separate session for the filming. It's almost like hearing a live performance. Some casual viewers /listeners might not even notice, but I found this small thing exciting.

Yes, I am trying to entice you watch or listen. This is how the film opens.

Tracklist:

1. Opening Montage: Tom's Piano Intro/ Once Upon A Town/ The Wages Of Love (instrumental)

2. Is There Anyway Out Of This Dream?

3. Picking Up After You

4. Old Boyfriends

5. Broken Bicycles

6. I Beg Your Pardon

7. Little Boy Blue

8. Instrumental Montage: The Tango/ Circus Girl

9. You Can't Unring A Bell

10. This One's From The Heart

11. Take Me Home

12. Presents (instrumental).

Credits:

All songs written by Tom Waits.

Bones Howe: engineer, re-mixing, production and sound.

Geoff Howe: engineer. Tim Boyle: second engineer.

Dave Demore: second engineer.

Bob Winder: second engineer.

David Alexander: front cover photography.

Tom Waits: vocals, piano, orchestra arranger ("Circus Girl").

Crystal Gayle: vocals.

Bob Alcivar: piano ("Once Upon A Town", "Is There Any Way Out Of This Dream?"), orchestra arranger and conductor ("Once Upon A Town", "The Wages Of Love", "I Beg Your Pardon", "Circus Girl", "This One's from The Heart", "Presents").

Greg Cohen: bass ("Once Upon A Town", "The Wages Of Love", "Is There Any Way Out Of This Dream?", "Picking Up After You", "Old Boyfriends", "Broken Bicycles", "I Beg Your Pardon", "Little Boy Blue", "The Tango", "Circus Girl", "You Can't Unring A Bell", "This One's from The Heart", "Presents").

Teddy Edwards: tenor sax ("The Wages Of Love", "Is There Any Way Out Of This Dream?", "I Beg Your Pardon", "Circus Girl", "This One's From The Heart").

Pete Jolly: piano ( "The Wages Of Love", "Picking Up After You", "Broken Bicycles", "I Beg Your Pardon", This One's From The Heart"), accordion ("Circus Girl"), celeste ( "Presents"). - Dennis Budimir: guitar ( "The Wages Of Love", Old Boyfriends").

Shelly Manne: drums ("The Wages Of Love", "Is There Any Way Out Of This Dream?", "Old Boyfriends").

Jack Sheldon: trumpet ("Picking Up After You", "I Beg Your Pardon", "The Tango", "Circus Girl", "This One's From The Heart").

Gayle Levant: harp ("I Beg Your Pardon", "This One's From The Heart", "Presents").

Emil Richards: vibes ("I Beg Your Pardon").

Ronnie Barron: organ ("Little Boy Blue").

John Thomassie: percussion ("Little Boy Blue").

Gene Cipriano: tenor sax ("The Tango").

Larry Bunker: drums ("The Tango").

Chuck Findley: trumpet ("Circus Girl").

Dick Hyde: trombone ("Circus Girl").

Don Waldrop: tuba ("Circus Girl").

Lonny Morgan: woodwinds ("Circus Girl").

John Lowe: woodwinds ("Circus Girl").

Leslie Thompson: harmonica ("Circus Girl").

Victor Feldman: tymps ("You Can't Unring A Bell").

Joe Porcaro: Glockenspiel ("Presents").

Richard Harris - MacArthur Park (1968); Irish Actor Harris Takes the Song You Loved To Hate To # 2, Inspiring Tons of Cover Versions Including One By Will Lee Who Crushes It Live On Letterman

2022-08-07T19:05:00.002-04:00

Photo: Tourism Media. MacArthur Park, L.A., California

Gems From the Singles Box

"MacArthur Park" by Richard Harris reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June of 1968. Harris has been know to say that although he was not a singer, he approached the song as an actor and he gave it his all. The songwriter Jimmy Webb, who also played harpsichord on the Harris track, had a long and successful career penning hits for the likes of The 5th Dimension ("Up, Up and Away"), The Brooklyn Bridge ("Worst That Could Happen"), and many hits for Glen Campbell (including "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", and "Galveston"), just to name a few. But Webb really outdid himself when he wrote "MacArthur Park".

Photo: Larry Ellis/Daily Express

When "MacArthur Park" was released as a single, it was one of the longest songs ever to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. For comparison, "Hey Jude" by The Beatles was a long one, too, clocking in at 7:11 while most hit singles fell around 3 minutes, plus or minus. When "MacArthur Park" was played in rotation at most Top 40 stations in May and June of 1968, the reaction was huge. Webb has explained that he wrote the song about a failed relationship, in which they had spent a good deal of time in the actual MacArthur Park in LA.

Listen to Richard Harris' version of "MacArthur Park"

Listeners fell into several camps regarding the lyrics, either good, bad, or laughable. The metaphoric lyrics were certainly open to interpretation, but something about the record piqued the interest of musicians, record collectors, basically the entire music community. Once ignited, that passion has continued for over 50 years to this day.

Second Hand Songs lists nearly 200 versions of "MacArthur Park" including well over 100 vocal covers; the remaining are instrumentals. Chartwise, only Donna Summer's disco version did better than the Harris original, scoring a #1 in 1978. Interestingly, when Richard Harris peaked at #2, the record that kept him out of the #1 spot was "This Guy's In Love With You" by Herb Alpert.

Fun Fact: In Alpert's long career (he's still going), "This Guy's In Love With You" was his only vocal performance and he had to be talked into it by the song's composer, Burt Bacharach. But, I digress.

Sampling some of the many covers is both fun and informative. Many of them are over-wrought as you might expect. On the other hand, Dionne Warwick sounds a little too relaxed, never letting down that veneer of cool sophistication. Diana Ross, who cut a version with The Supremes, sounds positively supreme. In the Motor City, the Four Tops scored a Top 40 single with their live version. I'm a fan of Levi Stubbs and his group, but I would rather hear them go even heavier on the soul and less reverential to the original.

One of the most surprisingly excellent versions was done by Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins as an instrumental guitar duet. Longtime fans of Atkins would expect such from a guitar master, but while Reed had guitar prowess of his own, he was known more for his singing on hit country songs like "Amos Moses."

Of the many covers of "MacArthur Park," a few others stand out. Glen Campbell's version contained a somewhat unexpected treat; Campbell himself plays an electric guitar solo during the instrumental break.

One of the best cover versions comes from a live performance by Will Lee with Letterman's studio band. As detailed below, Letterman gave the guest musician slot to a special performance of "MacArthur Park" and augmented the usual studio band with so many additional players that the assembled musicians began to look like an actual orchestra, lending credence to the name The CBS Orchestra. The studio band adopted the name when they moved over to CBS from NBC.

This version is such a tribute to the Harris original that Lee even sings "MacArthur's Park" as Harris (mistakenly) did. Lee would be the first to tell you that he's no Richard Harris, but man 'o man he does the song proud. Plus, he has a tremendous falsetto.

Lee is like a music super hero. It starts with playing bass and other instruments as a session musician with credits on literally hundreds of albums; he also produces many more. In that same vein, Lee is the music director for multiple artists' concerts, the kind with a house band (such as the Love Rocks NYC annual benefit concert). He has also played in David Letterman's studio band dating back to Letterman's daytime show (1980). Lee co-founded the world's premier Beatles tribute band, The Fab Faux, in which his participation continues to this day. Somehow, with all that, he found time to write and record three solo albums.

Many thanks to Will Lee for this description from his YouTube page:

My version of how it went down: This great and controversial song penned by Jimmy Webb, was something David Letterman originally had in mind for us, The CBS Orchestra, to do as a “bumper” song (going in and out of commercials). We tried it out at rehearsal one night and I think Paul went back to Dave and reported that it was sounding pretty good. At that point, Dave said “Let’s do it as a feature”.

A little history: This song has been in my life for decades. I was nervous and humbled to be asked to sing it, even though, unlike the seasoned pros that have handled it in the past who had multiple takes, or at least lots of rehearsals, before presenting it to the public, we had one chance to get it right.

In my opinion, Richard Harris defined MacArthur Park, with his flawless performance on the huge hit version and nobody will ever come close. There have been outstanding cover versions by, among others, Glen Campbell, Wayne Newton, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Donna Summer, Waylon Jennings, Sammy Davis Jr., Maynard Ferguson, even Weird Al Yankovik. In fact I sang it way back in 1971 in college, as a duet with Mike Gerber in a performance with the University Of Miami Jazz Band, under the direction of Jerry Coker. In 2006 Jimmy Webb and I, with full orchestra, backed Will Farrell at Carnegie Hall doing a comedic version for Trudy Styler and Sting’s Rainforest Benefit. More recently, I was performing MacArthur Park with a trio I was doing with drummer Chad Smith and GE Smith! I knew I had to do my homework for this. It’s The Late Show with David Letterman!! You get one attempt. There are no “do overs”. I tried everything possible not to have to use the headset “Britney Spears” microphone and asked the sound sound crew to try every other alternative, but nothing was smooth enough for me to sing from that first position in the orchestra and then later over at the big cake.... Probably the thing that calmed me down the most was the fact that I had come up with the idea to invite Jimmy Webb himself to be there to perform the song with us. He was more nervous than I was! He hadn’t played that harpsichord intro since the original recording session- he felt so pressured, I ended up trying to comfort him! Dig Felicia Collins' burnin' guitar solo! Paul Shaffer sez: I think Dave had always pictured it as a feature, but initially he just mentioned it to me as a title he’d like to hear. I brought it in as a bumper first, then it became a feature the way you said. Once it did, Dave became adamant about wanting the entire 6 1/2 minutes of the original arrangement. Again I wasn’t sure if he was joking, but 33 years of television training caused me to look for a cut. With your approval, we took out one repeat of the instrumental, maybe 40 seconds. Should have done the whole thing. I am reminded that Vivino did the chart for the sweet soul medley. Can you post that somehow? Anyway, Malone did this chart, And it was one of his best. We booked enough musicians to represent all the sections of Jimmy Webb’s orchestra, just a little smaller, and using string synth to augment the strings. When you asked me to get Jimmy to play, I was able to tell you I had already booked him. You could leave that out if you want. Jimmy suggested that he play harpsichord, as he had on the original, with Larry Knechtel on piano. Jimmy also asked if Felicia could wail over the instrumental, citing a Glen Campbell live video in which he did so. Felicia loved what Glen had played and use the dish as her template. I came up with the cake idea, as if you didn’t have enough to worry about. You kept referring to it as “the comedy”, but I was sure that, while it brought a smile, it was inspiring. Jimmy's wife agreed. Afterwards, when Jimmy and I were talking about your performance, and I said, “And how about that last note?” He said, “it took three women on the record to sing that last note!” How was it to do this? SCARY! But I had to go for it.......!

One measure of a song's success is when someone records a parody version, and "MacArthur Park" got one of the best. Weird Al Yankovich, who began his career with schtick like converting "My Sharona" into "My Bologna" over many years, developed the song parody into an art form on his own. His "MacArthur Park" parody, "Jurassic Park," works on several levels; he carefully duplicates the music and even the phrasing of the Richard Harris original while writing all new lyrics that tell the story of the movie Jurassic Park. The music video uses claymation to send up the movie.

Bonus Video: Watch the video of Al Yankovic's claymation version of "MacArthur Park"

ChimyTina - Constellations: Martina DaSilva and Dan “Chimy” Chmielinski Have Released a Superb Second Album Featuring Guest Stars Galore

2022-07-19T18:39:00.003-04:00

Photos courtesy of the artists

Having gotten their start in 2014 posting DIY videos that went viral due to their artistic excellence, Martina DaSilva and Dan “Chimy” Chmielinski performing as ChimyTina, released their debut full length album in 2019. The album, which featured their take on a number of Christmas classics, knocked me out with its groundbreaking arrangements and the sound of their performance, especially the voice of Martina DaSilva. I enjoyed it so much in fact, I sought out DaSilva's earlier work with The Ladybugs. The jazz repertoire of Christmas music has been done so many times in so many ways that to break through you really need to do something different and do it quite well. That they did.

For their second album Constellations, ChimyTina applies their innovative arrangements to some jazz standards, as well as a pair of new originals penned by DaSilva. The originals are "Twin Flame" (watch the video, below) and "My Universe". The basic composition of ChimyTina is Dan Chmielinski (Chimy) on upright bass and Martina DaSilva (Tina) on vocals. The amazing part is that their combined sound is so complete that you won't even miss the players that aren't there.

Even still, most of the tracks on Constellations

feature special guests whose solos beautifully add to what Chimy and Tina are laying down.

The original, "Twin Flame", has no special guest on the album version, but it does have Chmielinski playing triple-bass by multi-tracking. The other original, "My Universe", features a superb vibraphone accompaniment by Joel Ross.

Marquis Hill adds his distinctive trumpet to two tracks, starting with the jazz standard "I Want to Be Happy," which opens the album. Hill also plays on "Smile," the Charlie Chaplin standard (written by Charlie Chaplin, John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons), which rarely sounds as good as it does in ChimyTina's capable hands.

Regarding the second song, the press release refers to DaSilva's background, "A common thread throughout the ChimyTina discography is the nod to Martina’s Brazilian heritage. Here, this is realized on “As Praias Desertas,” a lesser known Antônio Carlos Jobim composition. Augmenting this entrancingly beautiful arrangement is Ken Kubota whose versatility as both a classical cellist and accompanist, with his guitar-like strumming mastery, shaped the arrangement into a full-fledged spectacle that paints a vivid image of 'deserted beaches'. "

"Deep Night" (Charles E. Henderson, Rudy Vallee) features special guest Andrew Renfroe on a very mellow guitar. Renfroe similarly brings his tasteful touch to "It's All In Your Mind", written by Charles LaVere.

Most listeners will recognize the George and Ira Gershwin tune, "Nice Work If You Can Get It", which features the tenor saxophone of Lucas Pino in a splendid arrangement. Pino's sax is also key to the arrangement of "I'll Never Be The Same". The song, another jazz standard, was written by Matty Malneck, Frank Signorelli and Gus Kahn.

Special guest Grace Kelly's alto saxophone helps give "Trouble In Mind" a decidedly noir-ish feel. Kelly is a gifted young phenom; a singer, songwriter, and musician with an enormous list of accomplishments. "Trouble In Mind" was composed by Richard M. Jones.

I feel like Norah Jones paved the way for the type of arrangement that ChimyTina gives to the Hank Williams' composition "Cold, Cold Heart". You have to love the way that with just a bass backing, DaSilva's vocal makes all other instruments unnecessary.

For the last song: "The album finale features a triple-bass arrangement of a song near and dear to both Chmielinski and DaSilva: Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life”. Here, Chmielinski aims to invoke awe, reflection and elegance in a fresh take on a classic recorded so many times. Inspired by his upbringing around bass ensembles, the bassist demonstrates both accompaniment, lyrical bowing and a virtuosic solo aiming for nothing short of an authentic relationship that he has to this song" (from the press release).

So, I would say that ChimyTina is two for two in long players released, and we can enjoy this one while we see what this dynamic duo does next. Below the tracklist for Constellations, watch the complete album release show at Joe's Pub for a taste of what they sound like live.

Twin Flame (original) // ChimyTina feat. Gabe Schnider

"I wrote this song specifically for our new album, "Constellations". We recorded it a few months after the other songs were finished, and we unfortunately didn't get any of that session on film. I still really wanted to make a video for this song, so we decided to do a live version in my living room! Chimy wrote & played a gorgeous, triple-bass accompaniment for this one, which can't be done live (he's only one person lol) so we enlisted our dear friend, guitarist Gabe Schnider, to help us bring it to life at home. Hope you enjoy :)" - Martina DaSilva

Tracklist:

I Want to Be Happy feat. Marquis Hill (Vincent Youmans, Irving Caesar) 2:25
As Praias Desertas feat. Ken Kubota (Antônio Carlos Jobim) 3:43
Deep Night feat. Andrew Renfroe (Charles E. Henderson, Rudy Vallee) 4:09
Smile feat. Marquis Hill (Charlie Chaplin, John Turner, Geoffrey Parsons) 4:25
Nice Work If You Can Get It feat. Lucas Pino (George and Ira Gershwin) 2:45
Twin Flame (Martina DaSilva) 1:35
I’ll Never Be The Same feat. Lucas Pino (Matty Malneck, Frank Signorelli, Gus Kahn) 4:25
It’s All In Your Mind feat. Andrew Renfroe (Charles La Vere) 4:21
Cold Cold Heart (Hank Williams) 2:28
My Universe feat. Joel Ross (Martina DaSilva) 4:35
Trouble in Mind feat. Grace Kelly (Richard M. Jones) 3:53
Lush Life (Billy Strayhorn) 4:47

Bonus video: Watch the complete Album Release Show at Joe's Pub, June 14, 2022 (Performance starts at 15:00).

Many thanks to Joe's Pub for the video.

Joel Whitburn, RIP; We Say Goodbye to Joel Whitburn, The Father of Music Chart Analysis

2022-07-05T21:10:00.000-04:00

Photo: Tom Lynn, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In February 1964, when The Beatles played on Ed Sullivan, my world changed forever. Even though I was only ten at the time and my mom bought Meet The Beatles for me, somehow it took until 1965 for me to discover record stores and then it was all over (I've written about these events previously in this blog). Record stores, for me, started with Gimbels' record department. In those days, most department stores had a record department. Some were even good; I'm thinking not only of Gimbels, but EJ Korvettes and Sears, which had record departments that could compete with record stores. In the 60s, whatever the record store, they all had survey sheets from the local Top 40 stations. In Philadelphia, we had WIBG (990am) with a weekly survey of the Top 99 records of the week. Later, WFIL (560am) joined the fray with their Famous 56 survey. Both of the surveys reflected sales and airplay. Ultimately, data such as this contributed to the Billboard Hot 100. There were other weekly publications with record charts, such as Cashbox and Record World, and later Radio and Records; all of the publications had their place, but for the radio industry Billboard was the behemoth.

When I wasn't haunting record stores, the next best thing was a good bookstore. The bookstore in question was the Bradd Alan Bookstore, which was located in the Cheltenham Shopping Center, an open air mall that was apparently ahead of its time, in suburban Philadelphia. Some of my classmates may have gone there for their wide array of Cliff Notes, while I was primarily interested in their science fiction section and the newly released paperbacks. Bradd Alan also had a great magazine section. It was where I discovered the early issues of Rolling Stone Magazine when they first started publishing in late 1967. It was also around then that I first discovered Billboard Magazine. Everything about Billboard seemed interesting, especially the charts.

In researching this piece, we ran across the information that one song was #1 for four consecutive weeks in December '67. When Bev asked me to name that record, I knocked us both over with the correct answer, and not just the artist, but the song as well. I didn't actually know it, but I did make an educated guess. If you'd like to play, the answer is at the end of this article.

Although it might seem cheap now, the .$75 cover price was a dealbreaker for this thirteen year old nascent record collector, more or less at the beginning of his obsession. That price rose quickly to $1.00 per weekly issue, which seems pretty minuscule now that the cover price is $16.99. Of course, today there are better deals to be had subscribing with numerous options. Fortunately, I became a radio disc jockey in the 1970s with ample access to Billboard.

One other interesting fact that we noticed while writing this piece was that Billboard Magazine actually started in 1894. In its early days, it tracked things like actual billboards, hence the name. They began covering music in the 1930s.

I feel like I've always known the name of Joel Whitburn, primarily from his advertising. I never had the pleasure of perusing one of his books.

Richard Sandomir's piece in The New York Times is loaded with good information. I didn't know, for example, that the Hot 100 started in 1958 and that on that first chart that Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool" was #1. As Sandomir points out, all the data that Whitburn derived from the charts tells some incredible stories. To me, it is remarkable that Whitburn tracked six different charts manually and compiled his early books without the assistance of a computer. Even more impressive to me is the fact that Whitburn maintained a collection of every record to hit the Hot 100 and that he kept that collection in a vault. Please read Sandomir's article, and for safe-keeping and convenience, I am reprinting the article below as well as linking to the original on the NYTimes site.

Joel Whitburn, Tireless Researcher of Music Charts, Dies at 82

His numerous books delved deeply into the Billboard charts, developing what an admirer called “the de facto history of recorded music.”

Credit...Adam Ryan Morris, for Milwaukee Magazine

By Richard Sandomir, New York Times, June 17, 2022

Joel Whitburn, who relentlessly mined Billboard’s music charts to fill reference books that tell the statistical stories of pop, rock, country, R&B, hip-hop and dance hits since 1940, died on Tuesday at his home in Menomonee Falls, Wis. He was 82.

His death was confirmed by Paul Haney, a longtime researcher and editor at Record Research, Mr. Whitburn’s publishing company. He did not specify a cause.
Mr. Whitburn was a music lover whose personal collection — meticulously curated in his basement and, later, in a vault — totals more than 200,000 records, including every single ever to make a Billboard chart.

“I go in that library alone — all these records — and it’s like they’re all my old friends,” he said in an interview with The Minneapolis Star Tribune in 1986.

Mr. Whitburn published nearly 300 books (counting updated editions), most of them highly detailed chart histories of hit records and albums. He started cataloging records on index cards and turned that project into his first volume, “Top Pop Singles,” published in 1970. Computers came much later.

Disc jockeys and record collectors were among his first customers. But his books also became important additions to other music fans’ libraries. Nearly all used Billboard charts, but Mr. Whitburn also dug into those that were published by the trade magazines Cash Box, Record World and Radio & Records.

“He had a profound impact on the music industry as a whole,” Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard’s senior vice president of charts and data development, said in a phone interview. “He was the first person to catalog the history of charted music, and by doing so it became the de facto history of recorded music.”

He added, “Joel’s chronicling of the Hot 100 gave it a significant stamp of approval nationally.”

His books, with generic titles and alphabetical listings by artist or group, covered vast musical territory: “Top R&B Singles, 1942-2016,” “Hit Country Records, 1954-1982,” “Across the Charts: The Sixties.”

The ninth edition of “The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits” (2010) listed 52 Beatles songs, with the dates each song entered the Top 40, from the first (“I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There” on Jan. 25, 1964) to the last (“Real Love,” made by the surviving Beatles from demos cut by John Lennon, on March 23, 1996); their peak chart positions; how long the songs stayed on the chart; how long they remained in the No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 spot; informational nuggets (like the fact that “Please Please Me,” the band’s fourth Top 40 hit, was recorded in 1962); and the record label (usually Capitol, later Apple, but also a few others in the early days).

He also published books containing a given decade’s worth of charts.

In his review of “Top Pop Singles, 1955-2006” (2007), the Los Angeles Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn noted that Mr. Whitburn augmented his updates to the book with new elements. “This time,” he wrote, “he borrows a page from baseball batting averages and assigns a ‘hit average’ to recording artists.”

Mr. Whitburn explained his fascination with Billboard’s charts — and the reason for his venture’s success — in an interview with that magazine in 2014.

“I’m just a huge music fan, and I love the charts,” he said. “I enjoy following artists’ success. There’s just a joy in that. It’s a weekly thrill. And there are millions more like me all over the world.”

Adam Ryan Morris, for Milwaukee Magazine

Joel Carver Whitburn was born on Nov. 29, 1939, in Wauwatosa, Wis. His father, Russell, worked for a local electrical company. His mother, Ruth (Bird) Whitburn, was a homemaker.

Joel was already a music lover when, at age 12, he saw copies of Billboard for sale at a bus station in Milwaukee. His mother gave him a quarter to buy it, and while reading it at home he was gobsmacked by the information it offered.

“All of a sudden, I knew what the No. 1 song in the nation was,” he said in an interview in 2009 with the music journalist Larry LeBlanc for the entertainment website CelebrityAccess. “I had no idea that there was a chart that told you that information.”
He later became a subscriber, and he held on to every issue.

Mr. Whitburn attended Elmhurst College (now University) in Illinois and the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, but did not graduate. He worked at several jobs before he was hired to represent RCA Records, having told a company distributor in Milwaukee how much he loved music. He was told of a new venture featuring eight-track tapes and got a job setting up eight-track departments at stores in Wisconsin and Illinois. While working for RCA, he met artists like Chet Atkins and Charley Pride.

By then he was deep into his Billboard research as a hobby, using stacks of the magazines that he had collected since 1954. He focused his work on the Hot 100 chart, which began in 1958, jotting down artists’ names and record information on index cards.

“The first card I wrote up,” he told Mr. LeBlanc, was ‘Nelson, Ricky, “Poor Little Fool.”’ That was the first No. 1 song on the first Hot 100.”

He quit his job at RCA in 1970 to devote himself full time to his books.

When the first edition of “Top Pop Singles” was completed in 1970, he took out a tiny advertisement in Billboard that promised buyers a history of the Hot 100. Hal Cook, the magazine’s publisher, spotted the ad and called Mr. Whitburn.

“You can’t be using the Hot 100 in an ad,” Mr. Whitburn, in the 2014 interview, recalled Mr. Cook telling him. “Not without our permission.” Rather than threaten Mr. Whitburn with a lawsuit, Mr. Cook asked to see the book.

Adam Ryan Morris, for Milwaukee Magazine

Two weeks later, Mr. Whitburn said, Mr. Cook called. “He said: ‘Joel, we got the book. It’s amazing. We love it.’” And he conceded that Billboard’s attempts to develop a similar book had failed. He paid for Mr. Whitburn and his wife, Fran, to come to Los Angeles.

After three days, Mr. Whitburn returned home with a 26-page licensing agreement that gave him the exclusive right to use the Billboard charts in his books, in return for royalties he would pay Billboard.

With that permission, Mr. Whitburn built an empire of music research unlike any other.

He is survived by his wife, Frances (Mudgett) Whitburn; his daughter, Kim Bloxdorf, a vice president at Record Research; his sisters, Joyce Riehl and Julie Rae Niermeyer; his brothers, Charles and David; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

The veteran disc jockey Scott Shannon, currently heard on WCBS-FM in New York, said he bought his first copy of “Top Pop Singles” when he was working at a radio station in Mobile, Ala., in the early 1970s. He has bought some of the updated editions since, keeping one copy at the station and one at home.

“There was no other place to go for information about artists, and I wanted to be the authority on the music we were playing at the time,” Mr. Shannon said in a phone interview. “If you use it properly, you sound smarter than you are to the listener and sharper than the next jock.”

A version of this article appears in print on June 19, 2022, Section A, Page 23 of the New York edition with the headline: Joel Whitburn, 82, A Tireless Researcher Of Music Charts, Dies.

[In December 1967, the song that was #1 for four consecutive weeks was the Monkees' "Daydream Believer."]

Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, PA, 6/15/2022; Let's Give 'Em Something to Celebrate

2022-06-28T19:17:00.001-04:00

Photo Courtesy of the Artist

Bonnie Raitt played The Mann Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday night, June 15th armed with her 18th album, Just Like That, her slide guitar, and her crackerjack touring band. One of Raitt's strengths, in addition to her music, is the way that she speaks to the audience. Opening the show, she said that she was very glad to be back on the road following a two year Covid layoff. Raitt thanked the crowd for coming to the show and the thunderous applause that she got throughout sounded more like a sold out large arena or stadium (if you closed your eyes) rather than The Mann, which wasn't quite full.

I was glad too, being that this was my first time back seeing live music since December 2019. Despite several excellent live streams, there is nothing like seeing a live show in the flesh. During the song "Something to Talk About," I kept thinking that this was something to celebrate.

The sound at The Mann that night was outstanding. Raitt's touring band sounded terrific at every position. The band included longtime cohorts drummer Ricky Fataar and bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson. The band sound was phenomenal for Raitt's voice and her slide guitar, too. When she played "Blame It On Me," she mentioned playing it on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert the night before and also how cold it was in the studio. It's no secret that Colbert keeps the temperature in the studio even lower than David Letterman did; Letterman kept it cold to keep everyone awake and alert. The song, from her latest album, sounded amazing and you can watch the televised performance below.

Raitt did numerous selections from her new album, including one that she said was written in the style of John Prine. Prine's name elicited a big cheer from the crowd. Raitt got a similar reaction when she mentioned John Hiatt, who wrote her hit "Thing Called Love." Hiatt has been known for crediting Raitt for putting his kids through college from her version of that song. Raitt called Hiatt a genius for his songwriting. I was reflecting on the concert the next morning as I listened to WXPN, which also got a big cheer when Raitt thanked them for their support over the years. As XPN played Hiatt's "Drive South," I had the thought that Bonnie could have followed her Hiatt rap with "Drive South" or any of his many compositions. Not that I didn't love hearing "Thing Called Love," but I figured that's been played a lot and sometime I like a live set to surprise.

Photo: Elizabeth Robertson, Staff Photographer, Philadelphia Inquirer

At one point Raitt mentioned the good work they do at the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. She co-founded the organization and I would suggest that you follow the link to read all about their story.

Raitt also talked about feeling at home here in Philadelphia. She mentioned that her first gig here was in Pennypack Park; I had forgotten that they used to hold concerts there. In the late '60s, I do remember going there to see Sweet Stavin Chain. Raitt reminisced about playing the Second Fret and the Philadelphia Folk Festival, saying that those afternoon workshops were some of the most fun she's ever had.

Unusually receptive to audience shout-outs, Bonnie answered a request for "Angel From Montgomery" by saying something like we couldn't not play that but you have to have some vegetables first. When she did play John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery" she followed it with The Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" to close the set.

Euphoria reigned at the Mann until Bonnie came back for an encore. She sang a gut-wrenching "I Can't Make You Love Me" followed by the Paul Brady composition "Not the Only One," both songs from Luck of the Draw (1991). During the encore, Raitt said that she wished she could play another two hours and I'd bet that most of the crowd did, too.

The Late Show performance of "Blame It On Me" from "Just Like That," June 14, 2022

Bonnie Raitt Setlist

Made Up Mind
Waitin' for You to Blow
No Business
Blame It on Me
Nick of Time
Thing Called Love
Back Around
Just Like That
Something to Talk About
Livin' for the Ones
Have a Heart
Need You Tonight
Angel From Montgomery
Burning Down the House

ENCORE

I Can't Make You Love Me
Not the Only One

Setlist info via setlist.fm.

Photo: Elizabeth Robertson, Staff Photographer, Philadelphia Inquirer

The show began right on time at 7:35pm. Although Lucinda Williams is a headliner on her own, this show offered both artists on one bill. I'd seen both of them a few times before, but it had been too long since the last time for either one, so this show was a must. Considering all the hassle of going out to see live music, as soon as Williams started to play, I was glad we came.

Maybe it was because there was two headliners tonight, there were none of the sound system shenanigans that happen to opening acts. The sound was phenomenal right from the start. One of the many things I love about Lucinda's career is that she always, always, always has a superb guitarist in her band. When I say guitarist, I'm talking primarily about electric guitar and the guitarist in question at this show was Stuart Mathis. Her current touring band also includes Jim Oblon on guitar and keys, Butch Norton on drums and David Sutton on bass.

Right out of the box you could hear every instrument clear as a bell, yet the band sounded just as muscular as you could want. Williams' voice was in great shape, too. In fact, it showed no effect from her recent stroke. She explained, from the stage, that's the reason why she wasn't playing guitar.

You can see her setlist below. Her tight 60 minute set included some songs from her recent catalogue, as well as some earlier chestnuts. "Drunken Angel" followed by "Lake Charles were both good to hear and still resonate. The crowd really dug "Changed the Locks" and she closed with a fiery take on "Joy." There was no encore. Even though the set was shorter than usual, it was superb to see Lucinda and hear the music sounding so good.

We honored the tour's request for no cameras, but found this video of Lucinda performing "Are You Down" earlier this spring. Enjoy!

Lucinda Williams, Buskirk – Chumley Theater, Bloomington, Indiana, 4/14/2022

Posted by Blythe Spirit

Lucinda Williams Setlist

Steal Your Love
Crescent City
Drunken Angel
Lake Charles
Fruits of My Labor
Are You Down
You Can't Rule Me
Changed the Locks
Honey Bee
Righteously
Joy

Setlist info via setlist.fm

Adventures in Babysitting (Touchstone Pictures, 1987 ) ...And the Award for Best Use Of Music in a Conventional Motion Picture Goes to a Movie of Most Unconventional Quality

2022-06-19T20:47:00.001-04:00

Photos and Video Courtesy of Touchstone Pictures

Gems From the Movie Shelf:

One measure of a good movie is how it holds up over time. The first time I saw Adventures in Babysitting was in 1988 when I rented the VHS tape to play with my kids in a Jersey beach motel. At the time, we knew nothing about the movie except for the premise of its title. We not only thoroughly enjoyed it, but I'm here to say that it is one movie that gets better with repeat viewing, and still looks and sounds great on DVD, now 35 years later.

Like many ostensibly similar night in the city mishap movies (Into the Night) the premise is simple. Elisabeth Shue plays high school senior Chris Parker who, as the movie opens, is preparing for a big date. When her boyfriend shows up, he cancels the date with the excuse that he has to take care of his sick little sister. Suddenly without plans for the evening, Chris reluctantly accepts a babysitting job.

At the job, the parents had not been gone a half hour when Chris gets a call from her best friend who is stranded in downtown Chicago. So Chris loads the kids into her mom's station wagon and they set out. At this point, I will resist the urge to recount the entire plot, but suffice it to say that the movie more than lives up to its title.

Why do I love this movie? For starters, it has an imaginative plot together with a well written screenplay. Adventures in Babysitting is extremely well cast, acted, and directed. In addition to all that, what really sets this movie apart is the way it uses music.

Tons of movies have good soundtracks but the music may only tangentially relate to the story. In Adventures in Babysitting, the music selections are exceedingly well chosen. Plus, they fit perfectly with the scene(s) in which they appear. In fact, if you didn't know that "25 Miles" was a 60's hit for Edwin Starr ("War") you might think the song was written and recorded specifically for this movie. Beyond the soundtrack song selections, the movie has a great score by Michael Kamen.

On top of all that, there are two live performances that make this movie extra special. When Shue and her charges are on the run from some bad guys, they find a back alley door and duck into it. They immediately find themselves on stage with Albert Collins (playing himself) and his band performing in one of Chicago's famous blues clubs. "Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues," Collins announces. As Chris starts to explain, each sentence is punctuated by those familiar blues chords until they're all singing "Babysitting Blues." When the song ends, the four hustle off of the stage and the bad guys come in through that same stage door. Collins greets them by announcing, "Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues." It's a sweet and memorable scene.

The other live music performance is one that might slip by most of the audience, but sharp eyed viewers, music obsessives and the like, won't miss this one. When our heroes stop in to a college frat party (to use the restroom), there is a band playing there. That band is Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. The two songs they play are rarities, in the sense that they don't appear on any of their regular albums. They cover The Soul Survivors 6os hit "Expressway To Your Heart," which is followed by the original song "Future In Your Eyes." When Adventures in Babysitting came out, this pair of live Southside Johnny tracks were unique to the movie. They were recorded as demos for the pre-production of the movie. The demos were subsequently made available on the extremely limited release, Found In A Closet. The two demos later appear on Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes' JukeBox, a five CD set that collects a mess of their rare tracks. I've heard it and you get the complete songs without any film dialogue. In any case, it's a moment worth savoring and it only adds to the coolness of this movie.

The songs used in the soundtrack make a great selection of 60s R&B. Those songs, along with the live music that is unique to the film, would have made a great OST album. For whatever reason, no soundtrack album that would include these songs has ever been issued.

Regarding the cast, there are several actors that were relative unknowns when this movie was released, but ten years later it was another story. This movie starred Elisabeth Shue in one of her earlier roles. She went on to make Cocktail, two of the Back to the Future sequels, among many others, including an Oscar nomination for best actress in Leaving Los Vegas (1995).

The next two totally blew my mind when I came back to this movie years later. Chris and the kids were on the Chicago subway when all of a sudden two rival gangs approach from opposite ends of the car. The leader of one of the gangs, played by Clark Johnson, has a let's say, meaningful interaction with them that includes his knife, you will recognize him immediately if you ever watched "Homicide: Life On The Street" (NBC) or "The Wire" (HBO). When our group goes to pick up their repaired car, the proprietor of the garage is a guy named Dawson, played by a young Vincent D'Onofrio. Although I was quite familiar with D'Onofrio from his work in the series "Law and Order Criminal Intent" (NBC), I never would have recognized him except by his voice, which is a dead giveaway. As Dawson, he is young, muscular, and has long blonde hair.

I would have no problem making a list of favorite moments in this movie. One of the moments I truly loved comes when Dawson refuses to return their car because they are $5 short on the price of a new tire. The little sister character, Sara, hands something to Dawson. He then tosses the keys to Chris and tells them to get out of here. Then Dawson turns to Sara and gives the item back saying "I've got one of these at home."

One last thing. You might want to know that I am a compulsive credit watcher. When I am at a movie theater, the crowd starts exiting at the first sign of credits. Watching home video is similar in that someone usually turns it off when the credits roll. I love it when movies reward the credit watcher beyond the nuggets that you might find right there in the credits, like in School of Rock when the credits roll right on top of the last scene. Folks don't know what to do. Adventures in Babysitting places a little scene at the end of the credits. That's all I'm going to say.

Watch the theatrical trailer for Adventures in Babysitting

Siskel & Ebert "At the Movies"

Review of Adventures In Babysitting (1987)

Dave Brubeck Trio: Live From Vienna 1967; Brubeck And His Rhythm Section Wow The Vienna Audience As A Three Piece

2022-04-22T21:29:00.009-04:00

Photo courtesy of the artist

Previously unreleased in the USA, Brubeck Editions has released Dave Brubeck Trio: Live From Vienna 1967. Beyond the excellent sound quality, this concert was a true rarity in that this lineup of personnel usually performed in a quartet. For this show at the Konzerthaus, saxophonist Paul Desmond missed the group's flight from Hamburg to Vienna. In light of the situation, Brubeck decided to go on with the show as a three piece with Joe Morello on drums and Eugene Wright on bass. The recording that night was all set, and it was fortuitous that this show was captured, as this may be the only recording of these musicians performing together as a trio.
As much as I love Desmond's composition "Take 5" along with his sax work, the trio makes good use of his space for their solos, improvisations, and such. The music is spectacular as well.

The following excerpt from the press release details the performance, track by track.

The trio sizzles with a ferocious energy right out of the gate with a spirited take on “St. Louis Blues”. For chorus after chorus, Brubeck offers up some of the finest examples of his signature chordal and rhythmic performing, while interspersing soulful, lyrical melodies in his right hand. About five minutes into the track during his bass solo, Gene quotes “I’m Going to Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair”, likely a joke for Brubeck and Morello referring to their missing bandmate, Desmond. The band continues with “One Moment Worth Years”, on which Brubeck and Wright’s touch can be described as charming, inventive and elegant.
“Swanee River” features an up-tempo syncopated groove that sets up a very polyrhythmic and high-spirited interpretation of the Stephen Foster composition that the trio had previously recorded alongside Desmond on the 1959 album Gone With the Wind. Notably, Brubeck engages in some very spirited trades with drummer Joe Morello. The trio calms things down with a sweet and tender version of “La Paloma Azul”, a Mexican folk tune rearranged with an ingenious polyphonic twist that appears during the closing melodic statement.
The crowd immediately recognizes “Someday My Prince Will Come”, and the piano leads the group on an intense romp that challenges the underlying time from the rhythm section with an elastic piano solo superimposing 3 against 2. As Chris Brubeck indicates “Dave bends the time to the near breaking point, a musical drama that an audience can really feel and follow.” The album concludes with a tune known throughout the world – “Take the A Train”.
As Chris Brubeck espouses, “I think if our dad were alive to hear this Brubeck Trio recording now, he’d be flashing his famous big smile. He would be extremely proud to hear how, more than half a century ago, he, Gene and Joe got thrown a curve ball and knocked it out of the park!”

This recording reminds me of a Ray Charles concert that was also recorded under unusual circumstances. It also took place on a November night in Europe, in this case at the Olympia in Paris on the occasion of Charles' 70th birthday. When he performed, it was normally with his big band including backup singers. When his group tried to fly from Lisbon to Paris, an air traffic controller strike interfered with the travel plans. So, like Brubeck, Charles went on with the show backed only by his core band of guitar, bass, and drums. The wonderfully rare result was captured on audio and video (released on DVD as Ray Charles At The Olympia on November 22, 2000).

CD/Digital Track Listing:

1. St. Louis Blues (W. C. Handy, Arr. by Dave Brubeck) 8:55
2. One Moment Worth Years (Dave Brubeck) 10:10
3. Swanee River (S. Foster, Arr. by Dave Brubeck) 7:37
4. La Paloma Azul (Traditional, Arr. by Dave Brubeck) 6:09
5. Someday My Prince Will Come (F. Churchill & L. Morey) 5:28
6. Take the A Train (B. Strayhorn) 4:16

Listen to "St. Louis Blues" from the concert:

Melissa Manchester - Live '77; Released Just In Time for Its 45th Anniversary

2022-04-19T17:59:00.000-04:00

Photo: North Dakota State University Archives (October 22, 1977)

Back in the 1970s, I was aware of Melissa Manchester, quite liked her music, and I would dip into her albums from time to time when I was on the radio. If I had known that her live shows sounded like this, I would have made more of a point not to miss her.

On October 30, 1977, her show at Great Southern Music Hall in Gainesville, Florida was recorded for a live album, which never was released until now. Arista Records, her label at the time, inexplicably decided to leave the tapes on the shelf rather than release them. Just released now to celebrate the 45th anniversary of this recording, the folks at Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records have released this excellent album on two CDs.

Earlier that year, Manchester had toured opening for Leo Sayer. That fall, she undertook a headlining tour from whence this show originated. Manchester had a superb band with her and they excelled at every position. It was a dynamite set. I don't know that it was the complete show, but it does sound like it.

Of all her hits, the live version of "Midnight Blue" stands out on CD 1. Likewise for a super soulful version of the 1965 Fontella Bass hit, ""Rescue Me," which compares favorably to the original. Which is an excellent set up for the very funky version of "Hi-Heel Sneakers" that follows. It's also worth noting that this album represents the only appearance of this song on a Melissa Manchester record.

The set continues on CD 2 with almost too many highlights to mention. That said, the song in this set that blew me away is her cover of AWB's "A Love of Your Own." I've seen The Average White Band do that song many times and I have to say that this is one of the best cover versions yet.

Being that this show has not been heard in 45 years, it feels like a privilege to hear it now. In addition, the liner notes by Joe Marchese are new, plus there are new interviews with Melissa Manchester and with Clive Davis, who ran Arista back in the day. Many thanks to Real Gone and to Second Disc for this release.

Watch "Midnight Blue" on this live clip (circa 1980), location unknown.

Listen to the studio version of "A Love Of Your Own" (Singin' 1977)

CD One
1. Let Me Serenade You
2. Party Music
3. Happy Endings
4. Midnight Blue
5. Be Somebody
6. This Lady’s Not Home
7. We’ve Got Time
8. Good News
9. I Wanna Be Where You Are
10. Monkey See, Monkey Do
11. Rescue Me
12. Hi-Heel Sneakers

CD Two
1. Caravan
2. Be Happy Now
3. Better Days/Come In from the Rain
4. O Heaven (How You’ve Changed Me)
5. A Love of Your Own
6. If It Feels Good (Let It Ride)
7. Just You and I
8. Easy
9. No One’s Ever Seen This Side of Me

Bonus Video:

Read the story first before you watch the video/commercial (recorded in 1977, the same year as the concert on this new album). Both courtesy of the artist.

Sleepless In Seattle Soundtrack (1993) & You've Got Mail Soundtrack (1998); Two Classic Romantic Comedies From Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks & Nora Ephron With Soundtracks Just ReIssued In Special Colored Vinyl Editions

2022-03-26T17:39:00.004-04:00

Gems From the Record Room

You might think of Nora Ephron as an author, but she wrote film screenplays so well that when she had the opportunity to direct her own work, the result was a string of romantic comedies such as Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail. These movies were as successful at the box office as they were beloved by film audiences everywhere. In addition to (co-)writing and directing, Ephron was known to help with the song selection for the soundtracks. One of my favorite reissue labels, Real Gone Music, now offers the two LPs in special colored vinyl editions. These two soundtrack albums are perfect examples of Ephron's sensibility.

Sleepless In Seattle

There are many ways to summarize the plot of this movie, but I will share a bit of the Real Gone press release for the soundtrack album.

Indeed, the film re-introduced a whole new generation to the unique charms of Jimmy Durante with his renditions of “As Time Goes By” and “Make Someone Happy” over the opening and closing credits, respectively, resulting in a boomlet of enthusiasm for the work of the ol’ Schnozzola. The music was so powerful, in fact, and so integrated with the screenplay that it helped gloss over the incredibility of the film’s premise, which, as you might recall, had Meg Ryan falling in love with Tom Hanks, a stranger she had never met, merely from hearing him being interviewed on a radio talk show on Christmas Eve.

But such fantasies are what movies are made for, especially romantic comedies...

The songs on the soundtrack work whether you've seen the movie or not; the music is so good that it can stand on its own. If, however, you've seen it, the film and the soundtrack amplify each other.

After the Jimmy Durante opener, Louis Armstrong offers one of the strongest versions of a song from the Great American Songbook that you're likely to hear, "A Kiss to Build a Dream On." Listening to Nat King Cole do "Stardust," the only words that come to mind are pure delight. Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) sounds so natural singing with Rickie Lee Jones that the resulting "Makin' Whoopie" sounds timeless. The soundtrack then takes a turn for the sublime with a letter perfect version of the Sinatra classic "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" sung by Carly Simon. Gene Autry takes us "Back in the Saddle Again" to complete a nearly perfect album side.

Side two offers artists of a more recent vintage like Joe Cocker ("Bye Bye Blackbird"), Harry Connick, Jr. ("A Wink and a Smile"), Tammy Wynette ("Stand by Your Man"), and Céline Dion & Clive Griffin ("When I Fall in Love"). There is also an instrumental track "An Affair to Remember." Music on this track is actually film score from the 1957 movie of the same name, which is referenced multiple times during Sleepless In Seattle; sort of a soundtrack within a soundtrack.

Regarding the aforementioned opening and closing songs by Jimmy Durante, before I heard this album, I thought of Durante more as a personality and comedian. But, in terms of tone and nature for this movie, you could not do better than these two songs. The opener, “As Time Goes By,” is not only a great love song, but Durante does a nice job with it. The original song comes from the movie Cassablanca, considered by some to be one off the greatest movies of all time, and if you haven't seen it you are in for a real treat. Durante similarly shines on the closer “Make Someone Happy.” And don't, I repeat, don't turn it off when the credits start to roll (if you are watching Sleepless in Seattle).

You've Got Mail

In 1998, You've Got Mail offered Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as the romantic leads in a movie based on an older movie The Shop Around the Corner (1940), which itself was based on the Hungarian stage play Parfumerie by Miklós László (1937). In The Shop Around the Corner the stage play's parfumerie becomes a leather shop, which turns into a book shop in You've Got Mail. All three stories have the plot device in common that the leads fall in love anonymously through their correspondence.

The soundtrack album for You've Got Mail is a little quirkier than the one for Sleepless In Seattle, in a good way. There is not the dependence on the real old songs. There are mostly songs from the 1960s and later and they vary between well known hits and some more esoteric selections.

With songs falling into both categories, we have Harry Nilsson representing four songs on this record. We open with "The Puppy Song," a tune that Nilsson wrote and recorded for his album Harry in 1969. "Remember" is another beautiful Nilsson composition and was featured on his Son of Schmilsson album (1972). Nilsson's rendition of "Over the Rainbow" was unique to the OST until it was later collected and released on Nilsson: Sessions 1967-1975, an album of rarities released in 2006.

The fourth song, "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City," has an interesting story. Nilsson wrote and recorded the song in 1969 for the movie Midnight Cowboy. Ultimately, the song wasn't used and it came out on his album Harry that same year. "I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City" was also released as a single, which became the second biggest hit in Nilsson's career. Sinéad O'Connor recorded a cover version for You've Got Mail and it appears on the soundtrack album. When they made the movie, they wound up using Nilsson's original version within the movie while the O'Connor version plays during the credits.

The well known songs work nicely in the scenes in which they appear and sound even better in the full versions included on the soundtrack album. You have The Cranberries sounding really good on "Dreams" along with top hits from the sixties that include Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash" and Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin." Less well known songs like Louis Armstrong's "Dummy Song," Roy Orbison's "Dream" and Randy Newman's "Lonely at the Top" round out side one.

Everyone knows "Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours" the Stevie Wonder classic. Even though I already went over the Harry Nilsson contributions to You've Got Mail, I'll mention that his version of "Over The Rainbow" is not only beautiful, but (and this is no spoiler) when it appears at the climax of the movie, it might just be the second best use of that song in the movies, after The Wizard of Oz. Forming the other half of the final scene, is "Anyone At All" written by Carole King with Carole Bayer Sager for this movie, which ends the story on a perfect note. As the scene ends and the closing credits roll, you hear Billy Williams' "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" followed by Sinead O'Connor and "You Made Me Love You" by Jimmy Durante. Side two also contains a suite of music from the film score by George Fenton.

Fun fact about You've Got Mail: Although her music does not appear in the movie, Joni Mitchell's lyrics are quoted twice in the movie dialogue.

Sasha Dobson - Girl Talk (2021); Dobson's Vocals and Compositions Join Peter Bernstein's Incredible Guitar To Set the Sixties On It's Ear to Make a Must Hear Jazz Album

2022-03-13T21:57:00.000-04:00

Photos: Courtesy of the artist

They say that the best music towns are Nashville, Austin and New Orleans. I wouldn't argue the point except to add Los Angelos, Chicago and New York City to the list. A case could be made for NYC as the best music town of all. I've never had the pleasure of visiting The Big Easy, but I've been to all the others and I'm here to say that New York's volume of venues, of all stripes and sizes, has a lot going for it.

Back in the mid 1990s, I fell for a little group known as Once Blue and saw them play live a couple of times. Once Blue was composed of Jesse Harris and Rebecca Martin. You may know Harris from his work with Norah Jones and his Grammy winning composition "Don't Know Why." Once Blue only released one wonderful album before breaking up, but at the time I would have gone anywhere to see singer Rebecca Martin.

I think it was 1997 when I trekked up to NYC to see her at The Living Room's original Lower East Side location. Martin had gone on to a career as a jazz singer. The room was small, maybe 100 people, with a bar and a stage of sorts. Small venues in that neighborhood had a free admission policy that required only one drink per set and tipping the artist as you saw fit. Bands changed every hour making it conducive to seeing someone before and after the person you came to see. On that first visit, we got there early and just happened to catch a fine set by Richard Julian.

Fast forward a few years and The Living Room had moved and the Rockwood Music Hall had opened nearby. Both venues featured the same operating policy and it was easy to patronize both venues on the same night depending on each one's schedule. For more on this, check out my complete article L.E.S. Is More. The long and the short of it is that going back up to see Julian led me to Sasha Dobson who I then saw many times in the years that have followed.

Singer-songwriters were a dime a dozen at these venues, but there was always something a little different about Dobson's live performances. She was a singer-songwriter, to be sure, but there were threads of jazz and sometimes a little bossa nova in her mix. As such, it was no surprise to see Dobson gravitate to Norah Jones. In addition to being one-third of Norah's side project, Puss 'n Boots (sort of an all female version of Norah's other side project The Little Willies, which included Richard Julian), Dobson has also toured with Jones being both opening act and a member of her band.

Girl Talk is a delightful mix of new original songs and some extremely well chosen covers. Dobson is in fine voice throughout. Her excellent band includes a very jazzy electric guitar played by Peter Bernstein. He artfully backs her when she's singing, and then deftly goes to town with wondrous solos when she's not. On the Dobson penned original "Better Days" the superb rhythm section, lead by drummer Kenny Wollesen, is in perfect lockstep with the guitar.

The title track is one of the well chosen covers, featuring a backing vocal by Norah Jones, that works so well you might think it was an original.

I love the deliberately slow pace of another ingeniously chosen cover, "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps." The song was written by Osvaldo Farres and was recorded by Doris Day for an album that came out in 1965. Incidentally, the Day recording appeared recently in the Disney film Cruella (2021). Dobson's take sounds phenomenal, comparing favorably to the version by British pop vocalist Mari Wilson, which was used on the BBC television comedy Coupling (PBS showed it here in The States). No matter who does it, the song has that '60s sheen to it, just ripe for a jazz rendition.

The cool covers on this album are all standards of pop and jazz. I don't know if there's a rule about what makes a standard, but if it has anything to do with cover versions, these songs have tons. Dobson produced the album herself and she rightly deserves credit for the excellent song selection and sequencing. What's more, her two original compositions fit right in. "Better Days" opens the album quite nicely.

"You're the Death of Me" feels right at home between "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps" and "The Great City." The latter was written by Curtis Lewis and first appeared in 1961 on a recording by Nancy Wilson. It's one of those songs that when you hear it you know that you've heard it before, you just don't know when. It's another song that just smacks of the '60s.

"Softly as in a Morning Sunrise," the song that Oscar Hammerstein II and Sigmund Romberg wrote that dates from 1928, has something in common with "Time On My Hands" by Adamson, Gordon and Youmans, and it's not just that the later is from the same timeframe (1930). Both tracks feature the vibraphone of Sasha's brother, Smith Dobson. This first collaboration of these siblings pays off in a big way.

The classic "Autumn Nocturne" begins with a bass solo that becomes the solo bass opening to the song. The album ends on another '60s high note with Nancy Sinatra's #1 hit "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'". There have been a plethora of covers of this Lee Hazelwood tune, but I don't think I've ever heard one like this. The Dobson version suggests that this tune was made for jazz treatment, sounding perfect in all the right places.

The last thing I'll add is that the quality of Bernstein's musicianship cannot be overestimated, he is not just amazingly talented, but his guitar work is amazingly tasteful as well. If you're going to record jazz guitar, you really can't go wrong with Bernstein. His guitar and Dobson's overall artistry really set this album apart.

Tracklist:

Better Days