What Are You Listening To?

[Ruby]

ELTON JOHN - The Big Picture. What is it with some of Reggie's cover art? I dunno - it's just weird. Got the CD in a bargain bin somewhere, and it's quite listenable but not outstanding. I did notice Davey Johnstone's guitar work and the songs are well made but not particularly memorable - feels as though there's no focus, per se (which when you're Elton John, still works out ok). 

The opener - 

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ive never heard that album Ruby but I love the single "something about the way you look tonight"...
unfortunately, the abysmal b-side "candle in the wind 97" overshadowed the A-side IMO

[CRAZY-HORSE]

RINGO STARR "goodnight vienna" vinyl, 1974:

Ringo's fourth of nineteen....
album contained his last top10 hits anywhere...
was his last album to hit the top10 in the US,
he'd have to wait for his next album to achieve the same thing in the UK...
as usual, all star cast in the writing department, Nilsson, Lennon, Roger Miller, Toussaint, Elton...
no Paul or Goerge on this one, they were working on their own material...
worst track by far is his cover of the Platters classic "only you", admittedly, he does rework it
but sorry, no one and I mean no one should ever try to cover it as the original was pure perfection...
and its pretty sad when the best track on an album is a reggae influenced novelty track sung by a white dude...
at least in the live clip of my favourite track he does look like he is enjoying himself on stage...
surprised this one makes the pass mark for me as his albums rarely come close...

I LIKE THIS ALBUM:

worst track: only you
best track: no no song






tracks:

1....goodnight Vienna **
2....occapella **
3....do we **
4....husbands and wives *
5....snookeroo **
6....all by myself **
7....call me *
8....no no song **
9....only you *
10..easy for me **
….goodnight vienna (reprise)

3s - 0
2s - 7
1s - 3

rating: 1.7

[CRAZY-HORSE]

CHER  "greatest hits" vinyl, 1974:

very little to say except there may be a handful of Sonny & Cher songs I like,
and only three of her solo songs that I like...
so,
ten tracks, like the one Neil Sedaka wrote and love two others which also appear on here...
picked this vinyl up years ago on the strength of the two I love and basically nothing has changed..

I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track:  seven of them!
favourite track: Gypsy's, Tramps and thieves





tracks:

1....dark lady *
2....the way of love *
3....don't hide your love **
4....half breed ***
5....train of thought *
6....gypsy's, tramps and thieves ***
7....I saw a man and he danced with his wife *
8....carousel man *
9....living in a home divided *
10..melody *

3s - 2
2s - 1
1s - 7

rating: 1.5

[CRAZY-HORSE]

CHRISTINA AGUILERA "liberation"

release date:  June 15th 2018

chart highs:  US #6,  AU #9,  CAN #5,  UK #17

Chrissie's eighth studio set, I own six....
six years since her previous effort...I was sure being a 'stay home mum'
was where she wanted to be....
typical album, some pop, a dance track or two, a rap tune and a few ballads...
not as good as I remembered it when listening as a new release, but them's the breaks...

I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: like I do
best track: unless its with you





tracks:

…...liberation (intro)
…...searching for Maria (link)
1....Maria *
2....sick of sittin' **
…...dreams (link)
3....fall in line **
4....right moves *
5....like I do *
6....deserve *
7....twice **
……I don't need it anymore (interlude)
8....accelerate **
9....pipe **
10..masochist **
11..unless its with you ***

3s - 1
2s - 5
1s - 5

rating: 1.6

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SHAKIRA "laundry service"  cd,  2007

fifth album from Columbian Shakira....
first album predominantly in English and it was Gloria Estevan who convinced
her to record English language albums, Estevan even wrote a couple of tunes
on the album including the mega-hit "whenever, wherever"...
a good solid album, has a couple of tunes sung in Latin but that's okay...
album sold a whopping thirteen million copies worldwide...
Shakira is known for her 'belly dancing' also, and its by coincidence that during the time
of listening to the album I read somewhere that a newly discovered species of wasp has been
named after her (Aliedes Shakira) because it 'shakes and wiggles' like Shakira...



I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst song: power to a horse
favourite song: underneath your clothes





tracks:

1....Suerte (whenever, wherever) ***
2....underneath your clothes ***
3....Te Aviso Te Anuncio ***
4....Que Me Quedes Tu *
5....rules **
6....the one ***
7....ready for the good times **
8....fool **
9....Te Dejo Madrid **
10..power to a horse *
11..eyes like yours **
12..whenever, wherever ***
13..objection (tango) ***

3s - 6
2s - 5
1s - 2
 
rating: 2.3

[CRAZY-HORSE]

KEITH URBAN "graffiti u" cd,  2018

album number eleven of Keith's career...
my fifth of six I borrowed to listen to...
so far, his albums have been posted in easy listening, alternative and country...
this one is a pop album, no bones about it...
not one country tune on the horizon yet it still topped the Billboard Country albums chart???...
Keith himself only wrote/co-wrote seven of the fifteen tracks. he usually writes all bar two or 
three songs on his albums...
very little on this one I can say I remotely like, best of the bad bunch happens to be one written
by Ed Sheeran, and yes, its typical of Sheeran's sound, an acoustic love song...
apart from maybe two or three others...
I DO  NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

favourite, live on Aussie morning tv....

[CRAZY-HORSE]

CYNDI LAUPER "she's so unusual"  vinyl, cd, 1983

her debut...
nothing she ever released after came close in sales...
I don't like to say this because this used to be a favourite of mine but...
this has started to age really bad, its definitely stuck in the mid 1980s IMO...
very little I actually like on here anymore, even "girls..." sounds tired and weary
but the video for it is still pretty cool...
only two tracks I really love on here, "all through the years" and "time after time"...
I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

fave:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

MERRIL BAINBRIDGE "the garden" cd, 1995

Aussie pop singer...
debut album of two releases...
only one I own...
light simple pop on here...
very good stuff, way better than most of the music released nowadays...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

[Ruby]

VARIOUS - Brel - Ces Gens-Là



I was alerted to this album (which was released this year) by stumbling upon Marianne Faithfull's startling rendition of "Port of Amsterdam", so I'm listening to it all; a homage to Jacques Brel by various artists, including Ms Faithfull, Melody Gardot and Madeleine Peyroux. Lovely stuff so far ... those singers with whom I am familiar - Melody Gardot - "La chanson des vieux amants" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndp3TT48hfE, and Madeleine Peyroux with "Voir un ami pleurer" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM8Q-hMr3ZE. Plenty I've never heard before, Françoise Hardy's son, Thomas Dutronc for one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PeAK2JPZfk.  

And ... there have been quite a few covers of "Port of Amsterdam" - not least Bowie's - he was a great fan of Monsieur Brel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=logGmozHfG4). This one is powerful, IMHO ...