What Are You Listening To? February 2018

[Unsomnambulist]

Spacemen 3 - Playing With Fire (1989)

 

[Ojai Sam]

Various Artists - The Rough Guide To The Music of Venezuela (2003)

 

[Pops]

Portal - Ion

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Sleater-Kinney - The Hot Rock (1999)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - Globe Of Frogs (1988)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Jefferson Airplane - Crown of Creation (1968)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove (1978)

 

[Old Uncle Toe]

I feel downright non-eclectic among this latest batch of entries.

Traveling Wilburys - Vol. 1

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - Perspex Island (1991)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Gomez - Bring It On (1998)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Dancer with Bruised Knees (1977)

I have always loved their debut but, for no real reason, have never listened to this, their sophomore effort.

 

[Gasoline Daydreams]

NSYNC- No Strings Attached

 

[Ojai Sam]

Hugh Masekela - Trumpet Africaine (1962)

Vinyl Rip Of The Day.

Hugh's debut album was recorded shortly after he migrated to the United States. Its catchy, poppish sound owes more to Bert Kaempfert than to Miles Davis, much less Miriam Makeba.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Cricket Tell The Weather - Tell The Story Right (2016)

I heard this group on Del McCoury's "Handpicked" this morning while driving to court and damn near drove off the road. This group based in NYC offers a unique take on Appalachian music filtered through contemporary folk. The key is the voice and fiddle of Andrea Asprelli. Their website sez:

Growing up a classical musician in Colorado, Asprelli began playing bluegrass after she moved to the east coast, and was shaped by New England’s small but fiery local bluegrass communities. Moving from Northampton, MA to Syracuse, NY to New Haven, CT, she met many bluegrass, folk, and old-time musicians who inspired her along the way before forming Cricket Tell the Weather and setting up shop in Brooklyn, NY. Cricket performs mostly as a quartet, whose collective cast of NYC musicians includes Doug Goldstein and Hilary Hawke on banjo, Dave Speranza and Sam Weber on bass, and Mike Robinson, Jason Borisoff, and Jeff Picker on guitar.

This one is going to get a LOT of play around here.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)

 

[Nickyboy]

Michael Penn- March (1989)



As far as straight head pop music goes, this is really spectacularly done.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Bobby Womack - The Poet II (1984)

Whoo! Look at that cover! Go, Bobby!
Like the cover, there are definitely parts of this that are definitely 80s for good or bad (e.g. those synths in "Who's Foolin' Who") but Womack's gritty, funky vocals are too good to let those trappings drag him down. Plus, on several duets, Bobby and Patti Labelle work well together.

 

[Old Uncle Toe]

Cricket Tell The Weather - Tell The Story Right (2016)

This one is going to get a LOT of play around here.

Loved the video. Listening to the album now.

Edit: I'm kind of enamored with this woman's voice. She can sing in a comfortable, low register but handles the Regina Spektor high notes without any effort at all.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate (1971)

 

[Ojai Sam]

Lost & Found - The First Time Around (1975)