Now Playing! With Cover Art & Reviews if Possible.

[kp-j3]

Toby Hitchcock - Mercury Down - 2011



Pride of Lions singer's first crack at a solo outing, and it's a corker. It's fairly close to the Pride's formula, maybe a little harder. Sonically this one is a blast, lots of layers and crystalline production makes it a great listen.

[eboyer93]

Daryl Hall - Sacred Songs (1980)
My Rating: 5/5



From allmusic.com

In what must be the most bizarre coupling ever, Hall is accompanied by none other than King Crimson figurehead Robert Fripp on production and, of course, on guitar. This record suffered at the hands of record company mismanagement. Originally recorded in 1977, Sacred Songs wasn't granted a release until 1980. RCA worried about Hall's lack of commercial vision. However Hall and Fripp's creativity strangely works. Sure, there are pieces that wouldn't do as singles, but for an album regarded as being so uncommercial, there are plenty that could have been: the wacky title song, "Something in 4/4 Time," "Farther Away," and "Why Was It So Easy" (the latter being one of Hall's best ballads). Most bonkers of all is "Babs and Babs," a straight-ahead Daryl Hall track until a Fripp soundscape kicks in from nowhere! Fripp's own "Urban Landscape" shows him having withdrawal symptoms from Bowie's infamous Heroes sessions. The onward march of studio technology means that the sound here is slightly dated. Still, it's a must-have purchase, ending with another killer ballad "Without Tears" -- Earth magic indeed.

[McDougal]

Ok does anyone know how to deal with various artists in foobar2000? Amazon decided to put each artist for each song in the "artist name" box, and Various in the Album Artist box. In foobar2000, I have it set to view by artist. Unfortunately the album is all over the place with the different artist names. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Good movie and music though .

[Marvin the Martian]

By C. MICHAEL BAILEY, Published: June 18, 2009
Diana Krall
Live In Rio
Eagle Eye Productions
2009

There are some music critics who will fault a successful artist for "selling out," for appealing to the lowest common denominator with music that is either highly processed or mediocre for the sake of not being offensive (read that, misunderstood). Such criticism has been leveled at Canadian pianist and singer Diana Krall, who by any standards of success is a rock star in the world of jazz—and it's true, Krall takes absolutely no artistic chances, choosing rather to perform mainstream jazz vocal music superbly well. But that is her charm. Krall's conservative approach has led her to wide crossover appeal and matching commercial success since her debut in 1993.

Live In Rio is Krall's DVD companion to her recently released bossa nova recording, Quiet Nights (Verve, 2009). It captures Krall and her long time band of bassist John Clayton, guitarist Anthony Wilson and drummer Jeff Hamilton, augmented by percussionist Paulinho DaCosta, performing at the Vivo Rio in Rio De Janeiro in November 2008. The performance was also supported by the Rio De Janeiro Orchestra under the direction of Ruria Duprat.

Apparent from the start of the show is the affectionate rapport between Krall and her Brazilian audience. It is obvious that Krall and company enjoy performing for the Rio crowd and that the Rio crowd enjoy being performed for. Also apparent is Krall's rapport with her band, all members smiling at one another. Krall's performance betrays her preparations for Quiet Nights with the performance of several songs from the then unreleased album. These are sprinkled among her typical repertoire of ballads and upbeats.

Krall opens with a frisky "I Love Being Here With You" and remains in this vein until bossa-ing it up with the Hal David/Burt Bacharach classic "Walk On By." This introduces the scaffolding performances of the show, Krall's oft-performed "Frim Fram Sauce," taken at a quick clip, and her newly arranged reading of Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek." On these two pieces Krall earns her living playing, singing and soloing with that creative efficiency she has become known for. So urgent is her performance that the humid Rio night glows on her, indicating just how special this pairing was.

For the Brazilian audience, the performance peaks with the trilogy of "Quiet Nights," "Este Seu Olhar" and "The Boy from Ipanema," all delivered with Krall's relaxed and breathy sexiness. Here she is one with the audience, who she encourages to sing along. Wilson's piquant guitar playing is here best realized, his sensitive soloing and accompaniment well suited for this swaying material. Clayton and Hamilton are impeccable, as always.

One writer in the blogosphere takes Krall and company to task for having aged since the mid-1990s. While it is sad that youth is not a continuing state of affairs, it is nice to see the beautiful and talented Krall in full maturity. Krall is not the be all and end all. Dena DeRose is a better singer and Patti Wicks a better pianist. But, while she may not blaze any creative jazz trails, Krall's intelligent and informed piano playing and her unique timing and delivery will have her remaining the star she is in her proper place in the musical heavens.

[The DarkSide]

You Tube

You Tube

[dfkt]

New Om album leaked yesterday, one month in advance, whee!

I like it a lot - even the new drummer, which I didn't like so much on their previous 2009 album. I saw them live two months ago, and already heard some of the new tunes. They had a 3rd guy on stage, playing guitar, synth, percussion - it did fit quite well with the default 'purist' drum'n'bass duo that Om is - and it fits nicely on the new album as well, in my opinion.

[McDougal]

So much better than the dubstep in their album trailer . I hope there's more of this.

You Tube

You Tube

[kp-j3]

Beyond the Bridge - Old Man & The Spirit - 2012




A hard puzzle to decipher. There's the requisite Dream Theater comparisons which instrumentally may be moderately fair, but there's two singers, one male and one female. And he doesn't sound anything like LaBrie, so the comparison ends there for me.

This rambles through different themes across the course of the album, and there's not much song structure to it. But there's some absolutely brilliant moments in this, and you can tell everyone involved is extremely talented. Just needs some slight tweaking to the formula and these guys could be stunning.

[kp-j3]

Black Sabbath - The Eternal Idol - 1987 (Deluxe edition 2010)



Already loved the Tony Martin version, but wanted to finally get the Ray Gillen version (Disc 2). From what I've heard the album was complete with Ray, and then Tony came in and rerecorded the vocals. This is not that disc (unfortunately), as it has much more of a demo feel, so the whole rest of the band doesn't sound much like the real release, and they messed with the order for some incomprehensible reason.

A bit disappointed, but I wanted to hear Ray (rip) do his thing. Saw Badlands back in the day as the opener for Tesla & Great White, and despite having 0 stage room, they kicked total ass.

[kp-j3]

Rush - Clockwork Angels - 2012




So another Rush album. I've loved these guys since 2112, but recently their output just doesn't do anything for me. There's nothing bad here, but there's nothing that grabs me and makes me want to listen to it repeatedly. Actually surprised that no one else had posted about it already.

[Tapeworm]

Originally Posted by kp-j3

Rush - Clockwork Angels - 2012

So another Rush album. I've loved these guys since 2112, but recently their output just doesn't do anything for me. There's nothing bad here, but there's nothing that grabs me and makes me want to listen to it repeatedly. Actually surprised that no one else had posted about it already.

We were all waiting for you before we spent our money.

I too, am a big fan of their earlier work. In fact, I can still remember the day I saw (and instantly bought) their 1st (self-titled) album back in '74. Neil Peart, of course wasn't on that album, but he seems to have found a home since.

[kp-j3]

Originally Posted by Tapeworm

We were all waiting for you before we spent our money.

It's an addiction. My mailman hates me.

I'm going to be crushed when they kill Saturday delivery.

[sideways]

You Tube

You Tube

[Marvin the Martian]

Where I will be this afternoon.....http://www.spac.org/jazzfest/

[Tapeworm]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

Where I will be this afternoon.....http://www.spac.org/jazzfest/

I'd hate to be in the Brian Mitchell Band playing on a different stage at the same time as Diana Krall. Seems to me, the area around that stage would be a ghost town.

I hate it when festivals force me to make a decision like that. Hmmm . . . I'd like to see/hear them both; which one do I give up in order to see the other???

Still . . . I'm jealous, Marvin.

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by Tapeworm

I'd hate to be in the Brian Mitchell Band playing on a different stage at the same time as Diana Krall. Seems to me, the area around that stage would be a ghost town.

I hate it when festivals force me to make a decision like that. Hmmm . . . I'd like to see/hear them both; which one do I give up in order to see the other???

Still . . . I'm jealous, Marvin.

I don't know how it was for the Brian Mitchell Band crowd-wise. I hadn't ever heard of him, so I sat and listened to Diana and watched the antics of the other people in the crowd....lol.

I played it smart and packed a cooler full of my own food and drinks also...no $4 bottled water or $5 pizza slices for me!

[dgb52]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

I don't know how it was for the Brian Mitchell Band crowd-wise. I hadn't ever heard of him, so I sat and listened to Diana and watched the antics of the other people in the crowd....lol.

I played it smart and packed a cooler full of my own food and drinks also...no $4 bottled water or $5 pizza slices for me!

So how was the festival?

[Marvin the Martian]

Originally Posted by dgb52

So how was the festival?

It was a good day. Borderline too hot for my taste, but every once in a while the breeze would pick up. With lawn seats, that meant that for good portion of the day you couldn't really see the main stage...so along with listening I divided my time between reading (love that E-ink display on the Nook) and observing the other people, which is always a fascinating thing in itself.

The sound was at a good volume, where it was loud but you could still hold a conversation. The last two acts of the day seemed to get the most crowd reaction, although that may have been because more people had come over from the rest of the grounds after the gazebo acts had concluded.

First was Diana Krall......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usH4nVyy9A4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usH4nVyy9A4&feature=related

and her set alternated between lively and laid-back songs. Then, the final act of the evening was Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W8VP8o1jyY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W8VP8o1jyY&feature=related

They brought the funk and a lot of energy.....even some of the larger people in the audience, that hadn't moved all day except to mix themselves drinks, were up and dancing.

So yes, a good day overall. However, I feel a sunburn coming on....lol.

[kp-j3]

Kamelot - One Cold Winter's Night - 2006





Just found out today that Roy Khan quit Kamelot & the biz in generale (2 years ago). First got turned on to him in Conception which started out as a thrashy band with a guy that could *sing* and been on his bandwagon ever since.

I'm gutted.

Hope he changes his mind.

[Tapeworm]

Originally Posted by Marvin the Martian

I don't know how it was for the Brian Mitchell Band crowd-wise. I hadn't ever heard of him, so I sat and listened to Diana and watched the antics of the other people in the crowd....lol.

I played it smart and packed a cooler full of my own food and drinks also...no $4 bottled water or $5 pizza slices for me!

That's cool that they let you bring outside food and drink in. Many places won't anymore. Besides saving money, you can eat and drink what you want, not only the crap they sell.

People-watching is fun, isn't it?