What Are You Listening To? December 2017

[Ojai Sam]

My wife despises this album, especially early in the morning. I play it loud when I work out and it leaks through to the part of the house that she inhabits.

I have this problem occasionally too, especially with avant garde jazz.

Bobby Helms - I'm The Man (1966)

Vinyl Rip Of The Day. My scan too, courtesy of last.fm.

With "Jingle Bell Rock" and "The Bell That Couldn't Jingle" behind us for another year, it's time to explore some deep catalog for Bobby Helms. His post-Decca albums didn't sell a lot but were fine mainstream country all the same. Bobby's voice had lost a bit of the nasal whine that propelled "Fraulein" but in return he gained the ability to really get inside a song.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - ...Sounds Like... (1967)

Herb's eighth long player presents his usual artful blend of pop and mariachi influences. The best known track here is the title song to the aberrant James Bond film "Casino Royale". My personal fave is "Wade In The Water" which sets up a rocking beat that continues with "Town Without Pity".

As usual, I recommend the Shout Factory "Herb Alpert Signature Series" release with its beautiful gatefold, colorful booklet and impeccable remastering.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Joan Shelley - Joan Shelley (2017)

Here is simply the finest folk album I’ve heard this year. No Depression sez:

The opening track to Kentucky folk singer-songwriter Joan Shelley's self-titled sixth album, "We'd Be Home," is both a welcome return for long-time fans and a fitting greeting for anyone unfamiliar with her work. Shelley's lullaby — with a lilting chorus of, "If you were made for me, we'd be home" — sets the tone for the entire work. Plus, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer add gentle shading across the 11 songs, crafting shadows where Shelley casts spells and honing light when she rejoices.

Highest recommendation.

 

[axolotl]

DeJohnette / Grenadier / Medeski / Scofield ~ Hudson (2017)




Freddie Hubbard ~ Straight Life (1971)



What do the two albums above, released 46 years apart, have in common?

Spoiler

Jack DeJohnette, of course.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Green Day - Dookie (1994)

 

[Ojai Sam]

Richard "Groove" Holmes - X-77 (1969)

Vinyl Rip Of The Day.

With this album, I'm starting a listening project for live recordings from The Lighthouse, Howard Rumsey's famed jazz club in Hermosa Beach, California. Funky organist Richard "Groove" Holmes turned in some solid performances here despite the occasionally tame song selection ("By The Time I Get To Phoenix"? Really?) The album title comes from the Hammond X-77, a complex and temperamental replacement for the famed B-3.

 

[Pops]

Morast - Ancestral Void

 

[axolotl]

Robin Nolan Trio ~ Live at Samois (2003)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits (2016)

 

[lpfreak1170]

Sonic Youth - Dirty (1992)

That was my first taste of SY.

 

[lpfreak1170]

Joan Shelley - Joan Shelley (2017)

Here is simply the finest folk album I’ve heard this year. No Depression sez:

The opening track to Kentucky folk singer-songwriter Joan Shelley's self-titled sixth album, "We'd Be Home," is both a welcome return for long-time fans and a fitting greeting for anyone unfamiliar with her work. Shelley's lullaby — with a lilting chorus of, "If you were made for me, we'd be home" — sets the tone for the entire work. Plus, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer add gentle shading across the 11 songs, crafting shadows where Shelley casts spells and honing light when she rejoices.

Highest recommendation.

Saved to listen to later.

 

[lpfreak1170]

Stereophonics - Scream Above The Sounds

 

[JazzyRandy]

Alex Sipiagin - Destination Unknown (2011)

 

[Mattafett]

Yob - The Great Cessation

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[Pops]

Steve Howe - Steve Howe With Bodast

 

[Pops]

Arkhtinn - IIIIII

 

[Ojai Sam]

Tim Weisberg - Tim Weisberg (A&M 1971)

Vinyl Rip Of The Day.

My A&M jazz listening project continues with Tim's debut. It seems very long ago that a jazz flautist could cover The Moody Blues and Savoy Brown with a straight face. If you accept it on its own terms, however, this is a fine record for its time.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

The Rain Parade - Emergency Third Rail Power Trip (1983)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

YOB - Catharsis (2003)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Baba Scholae - 69 (2012, recorded 1969)