What are you listening to? January 2025

[Ojai Sam]

Various Artists - The Executioner's Last Songs, Vol. 1 (2002)

Bloodshot Records and Jon Langford assembled an all star cast for this project in support of the Illinois Death Penalty Moratorium Project. 18 artists from Rosie Flores to Steve Earle to Janet Bean of Freakwater to Neko Case to Paul Burch selected a batch of songs with death-related lyrics. What unifies and elevates this project from the run-of-the-mill celebrity sing-off is the sympathetic rootsy musical support from "The Pine Valley Cosmonauts", including Gail Davies' son Chris Scruggs on bass.

on the Sam-O-Meter. In the year of my birth, Hank wrote "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive". Come to think of it, none of us will.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Richard Thompson - Semi-Detached Mock Tudor (rec. 1999, Beeswing 2002)

The first release on Richard's own label amounts to an official bootleg. Great stuff.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Railroad Jerk - One Track Mind (1995)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

The Weather Station - Humanhood (2025)

 

[axolotl]

lots of hands ~ into a pretty room (2025)

into a pretty room, by lots of hands

14 track album

lotsofhands.bandcamp.com

 

[Ojai Sam]

Sam Cooke - At The Copa (1964)

Mary Hopkin - Earth Song/Ocean Song (1971)

Here are two albums that popped up together in the listening queue quite at random. Interestingly enough, both proved to be far better than I remembered them.

Sam Cooke fell out of favor at the peak of his popularity in 1964 as a result of the British Invasion. This live album was seen as a rather lame relic of his pop leanings. When RCA dug Live At The Harlem Square Club out of the vault in 1985, it was hailed as a vast improvement because it revealed a harder, more soulful side that Cooke supposedly reserved for audiences of color. All these years later, it turns out that he put on a fine show for the tonier uptown crowd at a club which had barred Blacks until the 50's. Sure, "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home" is a hoary chestnut best left behind, but the rest of the set deftly mixes his hits with pop and Broadway tunes. Cooke's charm is well supported by a brassy ensemble.

As for Mary Hopkin, I fell into the trap of seeing her as a breathy-voiced one hit wonder. But hearing this record as a part of the stupendous "Fresh From Apple Records" box shows her to be an articulate post-folkie pop singer with contemporary political sensibilities. She addresses the environment, international relations and homelessness in a thoroughly mature voice. The addition of insightful songs of lost love written by the likes of Cat Stevens keep the tone from sinking into unrelenting global angst. British folk stalwarts Dave Cousins and Danny Thompson along with blues legend Ralph McTell give her music the credibility that it deserves.

My enjoyment of both records was greatly enhanced by their superb remastering for CD. Abkco and Apple both went back to the original tapes, with the latter finding three excellent unissued bonus tracks to complete the package.

 

[Ojai Sam]

Van Morrison - Saint Dominic's Preview (1972)

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, this is my favorite Van Morrison record. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, it's His Band and The Street Choir.

What about Sundays, you ask? It's Too Late To Stop Now.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today (2020)

 

[Ojai Sam]

The Ames Brothers - Home On The Range (1952)

 

[Ojai Sam]

Various Artists - Eccentric Soul: The Bandit Label (Numero comp. 2003)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Various Artists - Eccentric Soul: The Bandit Label (Numero comp. 2003)

Gary Coleman?

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Playlist of music from 2010 today

Everything from Rihanna and Adele to Eminem and B.O.B to Caribou and The National

 

[axolotl]

Playlist of music from 2010 today

Everything from Rihanna and Adele to Eminem and B.O.B to Caribou and The National

That's quite a range. Enjoy.

One needs at least one conspiracy theorist in the lot. Thank goodness for B.o.B

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Siena Root - A New Day Dawning (2004)



Retro psych rock band from Sweden. Excellent. Like a cross between Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

DITZ - Never Exhale (2025)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Delivery - Force Majeure (2025)

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Ale Hop & Titi Barkorta - Mapambazuko

 

[Ojai Sam]

Pierre Cochereau - Improvisations Aux Grandes Orgues de Notre-Dame de Paris Vol. 2 (1973)

Astonishing avant garde organ. Anyone who can improvise convincingly on "Frere Jacques" deserves the sobriquet "extraordinaire".

on the Sam-O-Meter.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Les Savy Fav - Oui, LSF (2024)



Completely missed this one last year.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Mogwai - The Bad Fire (2025)