What Are You Listening To? February 2021

[Ojai Sam]

Louis Bellson - Skin Deep (rec. 1953-54, Verve Elite Edition 1999)

Another indispensable entry in the Verve Elite Edition Series. This reissue of an old Norgran LP includes songs from two separate sessions:

In August 1953, Louis went into Radio Recorders, Hollywood with an all star large band, including "Sweets" Edison, Maynard Ferguson, Benny Carter, Willie Smith, Wardell Gray and Barney Kessel. Big band legend Don Redman provided the arrangements. Six months later, Bellson used a quartet anchored by the versatile Don Elliott on trumpet, mellophone, vibraphone and even bongos.

The different lineups give a strong sense of variety, avoiding the monotony that can occasionally mar sessions led by drummers. This enabled producer Norman Granz to give Louis a lot of solo space, which he exploits to the maximum.

on the Sam-O-Meter. Grab it while you can.

 

[lpfreak1170]

Visage - Visage (1980/2018)


Amazing sounding remaster from Rubellan.

 

[axolotl]

Paul McCartney ~ Back in the U. S. Live 2002



The title sez it all.

 

[Nickyboy]

Visage - Visage (1980/2018)


Amazing sounding remaster from Rubellan.

Wow! I haven't listened to "Fade to Grey" since the 80s. I think I will check out the remaster.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Beck - Mutations (1998)

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Motels - Atomic Cafe: Greatest Songs Live (rec. 1979-80, rel. 2009)

Surprisingly brisk live collection from shows in Boston. Martha is tireless as well as timeless.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Various Artists - Alive and Kickin': Big Band Sounds At M-G-M (rec. 1939-48, Rhino/Turner comp. 1997)

During the Swing Era, the big bands dominated film just as they did pop music in general. MGM was the acknowledged leader in movie musicals at the time, so lots of orchestras made the trip to their Culver City studios. This collection includes most of the big names of the day other than Glenn Miller, who was contracted to 20th Century Fox. So we get to enjoy crystal clear recordings from Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, Kay Kyser, Harry James and others, many in stereo. Often the film's star would venture in front of the mic, resulting in rare vocals by Virginia O'Brien, June Allyson, Gloria De Haven, even the sadly overlooked dance team of Buck and Bubbles.



For licensing reasons, this essential collection will probably never be available for download or streaming, so grab the CD while you can.

on the Sam-O-Meter.

 

[Nickyboy]

Blancmange- Mindset (2020)



They still have it. If you like it.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - L.W. (2021)

 

[Nickyboy]

Underworld- Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future (2016)

 

[axolotl]

Van Morrison ~ Enlightenment (1990)

 

[axolotl]

Ola Gjeilo ~ Ola Gjeilo (2016)



Modern Classical

Gjeilo rhymes with J-Lo, so I now know where to place it in my music collection.

 

[axolotl]

Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman - Jin Jin/Firefly (2001)

American Slide guitar maven Bob Brozman made a uniformly excellent series of albums with similarly rootsy musicians from all over the world. This collaboration with Okinawan Takashi Hirayasu on the sanshin (a 3 string snakeskin banjo) may be the best of the bunch. It was recorded in a small wooden house on Taketomi, an unspoiled island with 200 inhabitants and no paved roads. The mostly traditional songs are played with primitive intensity. As usual, Brozman steeped himself in these unfamiliar cultural waters so thoroughly that he and Hirayasu seem to share a single soul.

This, as it arrived in the mail today.

Aces all around!

Thanks, @Ojai Sam!

 

[Ojai Sam]

Sandy Denny - Complete Studio Recordings (comp 2010)

This OOP 19 CD box is one of the holy grails of record collecting. You can snag a mint copy on Discogs from the UK for 1,299.99 pounds (plus shipping). Or for the gamblers among us, you can try a brand new seller in Russia for the bargain price of $758.68 and free shipping. Suffice it to say I didn't find either of these options attractive.

CD #1 contains Sandy's earliest recordings, made for the Saga label in 1967. Her first appearance was on an odds and sods various artists comp of standard acoustic folk marketed under the name of veteran Scottish singer Alex Campbell. Next came a two artist collection with Johnny Silvio. Sandy's voice was stunning from the get go. She was able to make the most familiar old chestnuts sound vibrant and new. Contemporary songs like Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing On My Mind" gain a new urgency from her emotional reading. I can't think of another set of debut recordings as promising as this one, and she did not disappoint.

 

[axolotl]

This OOP 19 CD box is one of the holy grails of record collecting. You can snag a mint copy on Discogs from the UK for 1,299.99 pounds (plus shipping). Or for the gamblers among us, you can try a brand new seller in Russia for the bargain price of $758.68 and free shipping. Suffice it to say I didn't find either of these options attractive.

Looks like ima gunna hafta shell out the $6.99 $7.99 [SAP] to find out how you acquired this series, then.

SAP = special price

 

[axolotl]

Ultra Dolphins ~ Mar (2006)



Post-Hardcore

 

[axolotl]

We Are Wolves ~ Non-stop je te plie en deux (2005)



Dance-Punk

 

[axolotl]

The Elevator Drops ~ People Mover (1997)

 

[axolotl]

Junk Drawer ~ Ready for the House (2020)



Indie Rock, Post-Hardcore, Slowcore

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Shonen Knife - Osaka Ramones: A Tribute To The Ramones (2011)