What Are You Listening To?

[JeromeD]

Today's pick - musically speaking, the best thing to come out of Scotland - and this just happens to be one of my favourite tracks of all time - https://youtu.be/YzSXSo3dTHU

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
great artist IMO

[CRAZY-HORSE]

PAUL McCARTNEY  "driving rain" cd, 2001

i decided i needed a couple of days away from listening to and posting Rod Stewart, not that i got bored, just needed a change of sound...
so i went back to one of my go-to artists (have another album to post later by Macca also..)....
this time, one of my faves by him, but one slagged off and put down by fans and critics alike since its release...
Driving Rain, 
it was written int he weeks leading up to and just after Linda's death, recorded not long after to ensure the feeling was there but shelved for a couple of years because he thought it was too raw for him to promote it at the time...
it became his lowest UK charting album to date and worst sales of his career to that point also...
it is a sombre, sad, sorrowful album at best, theres no "obla-di" happy go lucky tunes on here at all and you may ask why...
well go on, ask?....
the song themes revolve around the loss of Linda and the pain he was feeling at the time but that said, there are a few more positive sounding songs that deal with meeting future wife Heather Mills and how she got him through the grief process, theres also a gorgeous song about the first time he met Linda.
there are times his voice cracks with emotion and sincerity with that pain he is feeling and it is a heartbreaking album for sure...
the lyrics are emotive, intelligent and thoughtful, something that lacks in his songs for the most part...
so as previously said, it is not your typical album by him musically, lyrically or even vocally.
think of it as his "plastic ono band" or "tonights the night"/"time fades away" album, and like those albums you either love or loathe it.
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

1:   lonely road  **
2:   from a lover to a friend  ***
3:   shes given up talking  **
4:   driving rain  ***
5:   i do  ***
6:   tiny bubble  ***
7:   magic  ***
8:   your way  ***
9:   spinning on an axis  ***
10: about you  **
11: heather  **
12: back in the sunshine ***
13: your loving flame  ***
14: riding to jaipur  *
15: rinse the raindrops  ***
16 freedom  *

3s -  10
2s -  4
1s -  2

rating:  2.5

favourite is a heartfelt song for Linda:





There must have been magic
The night that we met
If I hadn't stopped you
I'd always regret.
A few minutes later
You'd have been out that door
I'd have been lonely
Forever more, forever more

Oh, what made us do it?
Under what holy spell?
Nature's mother knew it
Only too well

She reached out her fingers
To point at the sky
Leaving me helpless
Not knowing why.
And this is the hour
That they turn out the light
Nothing but memories
Burning so bright, burning so bright

Oh, what made us do it?
Under what holy spell?
Nature's mother knew it
Only too well

There must have been magic
The night that we met
If I hadn't stopped you
I'd always regret, always regret

There must have been magic
There must have been magic
There must have been magic
The night that we met

[JeromeD]

No surprise it did not do well commercially - the man was in a very unhappy place at the time.

---

Today's pick - was watching a movie - London Boulevard - last night. Crap movie but it had some good music. Here's one

https://youtu.be/BQaUs5J2wdI

---

And here's another gem for today then I must get on with things - https://youtu.be/6sCEbFRQaIc

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
first track, an absolute classic

second track, never heard it previously, a different vibe to the original by Prince

BTW do you have an opinion/thoughts on Prince as a writer/musician and are you a fan Jerome?

[JeromeD]

To be honest I did not even know it was by Prince until a woman at work mentioned it to me. I don't really know his music at all Crazy Man. Just love this version of the track. I had a look at the original lyrics and there are quite a few differences between them.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
fair enough mate

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROD STEWART  "time"  cd,  2013

his 29th studio album...
before i start i'd like to say that i really like the cover art on this one, so simple yet effective for what lies within....
the songs all deal with growing older, looking back on life and looking forward to the world his grandchildren will grow up in,
that said, it is not political nor does it have a social message its just all things we think as the years go by.
theres songs about trimming the waistline, ones about coming home to a hot bath and a glass of wine, ones about the woman in his life being there for him when he feels down and obviously the ones about children and grandchildren and giving them a moral compass to guide them.
its not a spectacular album by any means but it shows Rod contemplating things he rarely expresses on his albums.
he co-wrote all but one of the tracks here, the other was written by Tom Waits (picture in a frame), im not a fan of Mr Waits so i dont know if this was written for the album or a cover.
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

1:   she makes me happy  **
2:   cant stop me now  **
3:   its over  **
4:   brighton beach  **
5:   beautiful morning  **
6:   live the life  **
7:   finest woman  **
8:   time  **
9:   picture in a frame  **
10: sexual religion  **
11: make love to me tonight  **
12: pure love  **

3s -  0
2s -  12
1s -  0

rating:  2.0

the lead off single: (track has a slight Mellencamp feel to it IMO)

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROD STEWART  "the tears of hercules" cd, 2021

his thirty-first and most recent offering....
ten of the twelve were co-written by Stewart with two covers...
starts off pretty poor with two disco 'doof-doof' songs,
these are then followed by a bosa-nova/rhumba which is cringeworthy par to the Presley tracks in the "fun in acapulco" movie...
thankfully, it does get better from there though with likable tracks for the most part....
theres songs about love, sex and relationships plus one social commentary song and a tribute to Marc Bolan (allbeit with corny lyrics, but the sentiment is there)....
overall, i cant really knock a guy who has been around the best part of sixty years.
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

1:   one more time  *
2:   gabriella  *
3:   all my days  *
4:   some kind of wonderful  **
5:   born to boogie  **
6:   kookoaramabama  **
7:   i cant imagine  **
8:   the tears of hercules  **
9:   hold on  **
10: precious memories  **
11: these are my people  *
12: touchline  ***

3s -  1
2s -  7
1s -  4

rating:  1.7

Born To Boogie (a tribute to Marc Bolan):   Born To Boogie (A Tribute To Marc Bolan) - YouTube  has some cool 'glam rock' sounds

favourite, the tribute to his father:

[JeromeD]

Today's pick - https://youtu.be/gw7rd0GqK1M