What Are You Listening To?

[Jerome]

This morning it's Steely Dan's Greatest Hits. Some real gems on this one!

[Jerome]

Camel - Harbour of Tears - right up my alley. Both figuratively and literally.

[Jerome]

Eva Cassidy - Songbird. This girl could sing!

[Jerome]

Tracy Chapman - her debut album - stunning piece of work. Those songs still sound fresh to me. I have a few others of hers but nothing beats the first one.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

THE BEATLES  "sgt peppers lonely hearts club band"  vinyl/cd  1967

revisiting this one today...
the first cd I ever bought back in '87...
regardless of what anyone says about music, these guys and this album in particular,
revolutionised popular music with its inventive recording techniques...
even its gatefold  sleeve with printed lyrics and cover art turned album covers into an art form...
I read somewhere once "these guys didn't use every trick in the book, they wrote the book!"...
and that sums it, and the Beatles up perfectly IMO....
to the songs...
to me, its the one Beatle album that sounds dated, like it belongs in 1967, on the other hand it sounds as fresh
as it probably did the day it was released...
this one does contain their magnum-opus...A Day In The Life...
I don't think its their best album by a long way but it was unique...

---

from the album:

[Ruby]

Big Harvest, by Indio (aka Gordon Peterson). The album was released by this Canadian artist in 1989 and sank into relative obscurity at the time – so much so that it is now a rare and highly collectible item with a hefty price tag. Despite having had a small but loyal following, by all accounts, the real reason for its resurgence and popularity is that Eddie Vedder covered the song “Hard Sun” on his 2007 soundtrack for Sean Penn’s movie of Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild.
 
Peterson’s album, I feel, is in all likelihood, his carefully crafted work of art, his magnum opus and his crowning jewel, so that when Vedder changed the lyrics to his song (slightly, it must be said) without having first obtained his express permission to do so (although having obtained the right to use the song from the publishing company - allegedly, lol!), he reappeared in litigious mode and instituted a lawsuit, which he lost. The judge ruled that Vedder had not committed copyright infringement and that there are allowances made, in law, for alterations to lyrics when songs are covered by other artists. Any thoughts? I don’t know all the ins and outs of the case as it’s all a bit obscure, but on the one hand I know I’d be more than a little put out if someone came along and changed what I perceived to be critical lyrics to a song from my heart, even if it was just a few words, and on the other, I may be grateful for the royalties which may not otherwise have been forthcoming – one never knows when ones circumstances might change. I guess if I really wanted to protect the integrity of my work, I’d tie it up as tight as possible from the get go, but hey – I’m quite sure there is plenty of sketchiness, skulduggery, and teeny tiny fine print about the music industry.  
 
This is a good album – I’m sure it was made directly from the soul and obviously expresses subject matter close to Peterson’s heart; he deals with our treatment of the earth and the fragility of our environment and in its less spiritual moments, it is reminiscent of U2 or a hybrid of U2 and Hunters & Collectors, both of which are far more gung-ho, but still – there are similarities. It’s littered with a few well-known names, Joni Mitchell and Vinnie Colaiuta, for example, and incidentally, I prefer Indio’s original “Hard Sun” for the actual music, as much as anything else. For interest, Eddie’s version here … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFequU2oycs
 
The original ...

[Ruby]

Bits and pieces from the catalogue of singer/songwriter/piano player/record producer Phillip Goodhand-Tait, whose “ability to avoid the big time is one of those odd little mysteries with which rock history abounds” to quote directly from an AllMusic review by Dave Thompson. Mystifying indeed! Not to say he hasn’t had a successful career – he’s done very well as a songwriter and producer which didn’t leave much time for him to record for himself, although he still managed to put out around eight or nine albums (way back in the 70’s). 

My interest was piqued by his 1971 debut album, I think I’ll Write a Song, on which three of his band members are Andy Ward, Andrew Latimer and Doug Ferguson. That would be Camel then, before the addition of Pete Bardens - it was PGT who inspired them to appoint someone on keys and the only album of his on which they appear.
 
“Silverwing” from I Think I’ll Write a Song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paC3kTyZzUs
 
And this is from his self-titled album … “You Are” –





He also wrote and recorded “Oceans Away”, made much more famous by Roger Daltrey. I’ll put in the 'Originals, not covers' thread … 
 

[Jerome]

Pink Floyd - A Momentary Lapse of Reason - love the opening track........

[Jerome]

Pink Floyd - Obscured by Clouds - amazing how many Floyd fans I meet who don't even know this album exists. Go figure.....

[Jerome]

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - the ultimate album. Listening to the 2011 remastered version.