What Are You Listening To?

[Jerome]

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - All The Roadrunning. One of my favourite guitarists & one of the most beautiful women in the history of the music business together on a magnificently crafted album. What more could you ask for?

[SteveO]

Carole King and James Taylor - Live at the Troubadour...great solos and duets from the masters of American music !

[Jerome]

ROGER WATERS "amused to death" cd,1992...#21 US, #8 UK

concept album from Waters, but arent they all???
this one is all about "western society and the influence of tv and the mass media to control people and information"...are you listneing Mr.Murdoch?
nothing on here that stands up against his best works, but still okay IMO....
its a bit confusing in places, a bit annoying also with all the sound-bytes and samples which constantly pop up throughout...
not keen on the female backing vocals neither, they just dont fit the project IMO...
i think Waters started believing the myth that he is "mr.concept" with this one and was trying to be too clever for his own good.
maybe Jerome could confirm or deny this but....i read somewhere that the bassline on "what god wants pt.I" is actually the bassline from "another brick in the wall" played backwards?????

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: the ballad of bill hubbard
best track: late home tonight pt.I
song that sums up the album: what God wants pt.I

tracks:

1. the ballad of bill hubbard *
2. what god wants pt.I **
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1qmOGAaI7c video
3. perfect sense pt.I *
4. perfect sense pt.II **
5. the bravery of being out of range **
6. late home tonight pt.I **
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5at_009TDg audio
7. late home tonight pt.II **
8. too much rope **
9. what god wants pt.II **
10.what god wants pt.III **
11.watching tv **
12.three wishes **
13.its a miracle **
14.amused to death **

3s=0
2s=12
1s=2

rating: 1.8 or 6/10

Sorry CH - I just don't know the answer to that one. As far as the whole concept thing is concerned, I do think he is a 'concept' type composer. 'Radio Kaos' is a good example of him taking the whole concept thing too far. Having said that, both 'The Wall' and 'The Final Cut' are brilliant (just my opinion). But the one album everyone cites as being THE concept album 'DSOTM' to me is not a concept at all. Its just a collection of very good songs that flow into each other and deal with unusual subjects (for the time that they were composed in), but there is in fact no story line to it at all. I think a lot of people interpreted this as a concept album purely because of the fact that the tracks flowed together seamlessly and people took this to mean that there was some kind of 'idea' behind it. I think they were trying to put a concept together but the thread of the so-called theme is very vague at best. But who the hell cares - it turned out to be a fantastic album anyway - concept or not.

[Jerome]

Talk Talk - Laughing Stock - strange album but I kind of like it.

[Jerome]

And following that up with Spirit of Eden. A blissful blend of chaotic sounds and minimalist meanderings. Very hard to describe this album or even what genre it slots into. Someone on the creative edge, so to speak.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROBERT JOHNSON "king of the delta blues:the complete recordings" cd, 1997

Robert lived a mere 27 years, but in that time influenced every other blues guy that came after and rock and rollers like Keith Richards and Eric Clapton so that makes him the 'godfather of the blues" IMO...
little is known about his life, no-one can pinpoint his exact birthdate,his schooling or his life in general, it is believed that he actually 'sold his soul' to the Devil in the mid 1930s in order to get fame...and once he got that fame he died, which bviously added fuel to the sold his soul myth...
anyway, this album contains twenty-four tracks recorded between 1936-37, the sound has not been remastered here but obviously been recorded straight from the original masters, leaving it authentic, the problem with that is that the music sounds distant,hollow,without equalization and 'old'...
look, im not a fan of the blues, but this guy isnt too bad IMO,
i am not scoring each song on their individual merit as i feel this would do incredible injustice to the album, but as a retrospective look back at what the blues was and should be this is a great example of that genre...

from the album:

crossroad blues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A audio

malted milk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH_O7LnSghE audio

hellhound on my trail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8TA32FKdhk audio

[Jerome]

Spent the morning listening to Enigma's 'A Posteriori'. Not a whole pile to this but it grabs me for some or other reason. Pure chillout stuff.

[SteveO]

I listen to the blues from time to time for its' sheer power and feeling. I have this recording also Crazy mate. As you know so many guitarists have been fanatics with Johnson. One for sure is Clapton as you have cited below. Love in Vain covered by the Stones is great with Mick Taylor on guitar !

ROBERT JOHNSON "king of the delta blues:the complete recordings" cd, 1997

Robert lived a mere 27 years, but in that time influenced every other blues guy that came after and rock and rollers like Keith Richards and Eric Clapton so that makes him the 'godfather of the blues" IMO...
little is known about his life, no-one can pinpoint his exact birthdate,his schooling or his life in general, it is believed that he actually 'sold his soul' to the Devil in the mid 1930s in order to get fame...and once he got that fame he died, which bviously added fuel to the sold his soul myth...
anyway, this album contains twenty-four tracks recorded between 1936-37, the sound has not been remastered here but obviously been recorded straight from the original masters, leaving it authentic, the problem with that is that the music sounds distant,hollow,without equalization and 'old'...
look, im not a fan of the blues, but this guy isnt too bad IMO,
i am not scoring each song on their individual merit as i feel this would do incredible injustice to the album, but as a retrospective look back at what the blues was and should be this is a great example of that genre...

from the album:

crossroad blues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A audio

malted milk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH_O7LnSghE audio

hellhound on my trail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8TA32FKdhk audio

[CRAZY-HORSE]

DADDY COOL "the essential daddy cool" cd, 2007

double cd from these Aussie blues rock guys from the late 60s and early 70s...
disc one is predominantly their singles and presumably the guys favourite non single tracks...disc two(which im not posting) is mainly live recordings and lost tracks from the period...
the disc im posting contains blues rock/blues/doo-wop/r+r and even a country tinged track...
their biggest hit and signature tune is track one,"eagle rock",...i never liked that one but it is a radio staple out this way to this day,
and not being a huge fan of these guys i wasnt expecting a high score, but it did come out better than i thought it would just the same...

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: eagle rock
best track: come back again

tracks:

1. eagle rock *
2. bom bom **
3. daddy cool **
4. at the rockhouse **
5. zoop bop gold cadillac **
6. cherry pie **
7. come back again ***
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T696c4Y5dt0 live
8. just as long as we're together ***
9. lollipop **
10.flip **
11.hi honey ho **
12.daddy rocks off *
13.sixty minute man **
14.baby let me bang your box **
15.please,please america *
16.teenage blues **
17.i'll never smile again **

3s=2
2s=12
1s=3

rating: 1.9

[CRAZY-HORSE]

THE KINKS "the ultimate collection" cd,2002

im always dubious when cds are titled "the ultimate collection", but this one sure is what it states...
withoput a doubt the best,most complete double cd of The Kinks singles ever...
this one spans their entire career and manages to still squeeze in the three Dave Davies solo singles from the 1960s also(disc one:tracks12,14, disc two:track12)
included here also is the original version of the Herman's Hermit's cover "dandy"...
seriously, this set contains everything of importance from the singles catalogue of these guys and worth getting...
its also impossible to pick a best track off this one, and rightly so, with so many to choose from so here's the lowdown on it:

3s=26
2s=14
1s=4

rating: 2.5

i defy anyone to release a best of set containing 44 tracks and still get a score like this one...sublime stuff, and it reminded my just how good these guys actually were back in the day!thought i'd pick several of the lesser known ones to link here as we all know the standard radio hits...

from the album:

dandy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Mii2GOwMA audio
do it again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEw0ZYlpYXE video
God's children
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ_wuawusf8 audio
celluloid heroes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTJVclgwS5g audio

plus as a special bonus, one of my favourite tracks:

[video=youtube;Cyh__QQD2js]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyh__QQD2js[/video]