What Are You Listening To? July 2024
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Ojai Sam
Staff member
Here’s what left from the “Lost In The Vault” box. Largely as a result of this project, I have started trading again on MusicBoomerang after a hiatus that began with the pandemic.
Any of these discs that don’t make the grade will be traded. If no one requests a disc, I’ll throw it in as a bonus. One way or another, someone will soon get to enjoy all of these sounds that were slumbering deep in the vault just a few days ago.
Ojai Sam
Staff member
Marianne Faithfull - Easy Come, Easy Go (2008)
Easy Come, Easy Go is a highly entertaining double CD of well-chosen covers delivered by Marianne with her characteristic insight and enthusiasm.
According to Marianne's official website:
Easy Come Easy Go is the third album of Marianne’s to be produced by Hal Willner (the others being Strange Weather and Blazing Away). Marianne and Hal have been close friends since they met, back in 1982, and have worked together on many, many different projects over the years, (including three songs from Marianne’s previous album Before the Poison) but Easy Come Easy Go was their first complete studio album since Strange Weather. Like that earlier album, Easy Come Easy Go is a collection of songs written by others and interpreted by Marianne.
Easy Come Easy Go also includes some interesting guest vocalists; Keith Richards appears on ‘Sing Me Back Home’, Antony Hegarty on ‘Ooh Baby Baby’ and Jarvis Cocker on Sondheim’s ‘Somewhere’. Other guest appearances on the album come from Rufus Wainwright who contributes vocals to the powerful ‘Children Of Stone’ while his aunt and mother Kate and Anna McGarrigle appear on the ‘The Flandyke Shore’. Warren Ellis plays his magic violin on 3 songs and Nick Cave lends some vocals to ‘The Crane Wife’. Sean Lennon and Teddy Thompson play guitar on a couple of the tracks and Cat Power harmonizes on ‘Hold On, Hold On’.
Easy Come, Easy Go is a highly entertaining double CD of well-chosen covers delivered by Marianne with her characteristic insight and enthusiasm.
According to Marianne's official website:
Easy Come Easy Go is the third album of Marianne’s to be produced by Hal Willner (the others being Strange Weather and Blazing Away). Marianne and Hal have been close friends since they met, back in 1982, and have worked together on many, many different projects over the years, (including three songs from Marianne’s previous album Before the Poison) but Easy Come Easy Go was their first complete studio album since Strange Weather. Like that earlier album, Easy Come Easy Go is a collection of songs written by others and interpreted by Marianne.
Easy Come Easy Go also includes some interesting guest vocalists; Keith Richards appears on ‘Sing Me Back Home’, Antony Hegarty on ‘Ooh Baby Baby’ and Jarvis Cocker on Sondheim’s ‘Somewhere’. Other guest appearances on the album come from Rufus Wainwright who contributes vocals to the powerful ‘Children Of Stone’ while his aunt and mother Kate and Anna McGarrigle appear on the ‘The Flandyke Shore’. Warren Ellis plays his magic violin on 3 songs and Nick Cave lends some vocals to ‘The Crane Wife’. Sean Lennon and Teddy Thompson play guitar on a couple of the tracks and Cat Power harmonizes on ‘Hold On, Hold On’.
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Jack White - No Name (2024)
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Forest Swords - Bolted (2023)
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
John Dwyer, Ryan Sawyer & Andres Renteria - Posh Swat (2023)
Ojai Sam
Staff member
Jane Bunnett & Hilario Duran - Cuban Rhapsody (2011)
Lost In The Vault
I haven't a clue where this one came from but it is a magical album of piano-flute duets, with the occasional soprano sax for variety.
IAA tells us:
"Canadian flautist/saxophonist Jane Bunnett joins forces with Cuban-born pianist Hilario Durán for a special duet recording, exploring the Cuban equivalent of The Great American Songbook on Cuban Rhapsody. Containing a full range of Cuban music from Ignacio Cervantes to Jose Maria Vitier, the classically-trained duo breathes new life into much of this classical-rooted music. As the perceptive liner notes state, "This is jazz in its broadest sense, a question of attitude and intent rather than harmony and improvisation per se."
Lost In The Vault I haven't a clue where this one came from but it is a magical album of piano-flute duets, with the occasional soprano sax for variety.
IAA tells us:
"Canadian flautist/saxophonist Jane Bunnett joins forces with Cuban-born pianist Hilario Durán for a special duet recording, exploring the Cuban equivalent of The Great American Songbook on Cuban Rhapsody. Containing a full range of Cuban music from Ignacio Cervantes to Jose Maria Vitier, the classically-trained duo breathes new life into much of this classical-rooted music. As the perceptive liner notes state, "This is jazz in its broadest sense, a question of attitude and intent rather than harmony and improvisation per se."
Ojai Sam
Staff member
Nation Beat - Legends Of The Preacher (2008)
Lost In The Vault
This album was sitting in a box next to my last post, leading me to recall that back about 10 years or so I was listening a lot to the Slacker Radio World Station.
Remember Slacker? Before it was gobbled up by Live One, it had the best curated programming on the web. I learned about loads of great music there, from Bob Brozman to Varttina to my last two posts. This album by Nation Beat somehow manages to cover a lot of territory and yet remain cohesive. Three tasty collaborations with The Klezmatics are the cherry on top. AMG sez:
Nation Beat may hail from Brooklyn, but the music that emanates from their sophomore release, LEGENDS OF THE PREACHER, is never determined by geographical boundaries. In fact, the band bases its sound on world fusion, drawing largely from Brazilian forms such as forro and marracatu, but throwing in equal measures of African rhythm, funk, rock, and New Orleans-flavored R&B. The appearance of the Klezmatics on several tracks adds a Middle Eastern flavor as well. Evocative, cosmopolitan, and groovy as all get out, LEGENDS OF THE PREACHER is the face of the new world music: fusing sounds from everywhere to make music for everyone.
Lost In The Vault This album was sitting in a box next to my last post, leading me to recall that back about 10 years or so I was listening a lot to the Slacker Radio World Station.
Remember Slacker? Before it was gobbled up by Live One, it had the best curated programming on the web. I learned about loads of great music there, from Bob Brozman to Varttina to my last two posts. This album by Nation Beat somehow manages to cover a lot of territory and yet remain cohesive. Three tasty collaborations with The Klezmatics are the cherry on top. AMG sez:
Nation Beat may hail from Brooklyn, but the music that emanates from their sophomore release, LEGENDS OF THE PREACHER, is never determined by geographical boundaries. In fact, the band bases its sound on world fusion, drawing largely from Brazilian forms such as forro and marracatu, but throwing in equal measures of African rhythm, funk, rock, and New Orleans-flavored R&B. The appearance of the Klezmatics on several tracks adds a Middle Eastern flavor as well. Evocative, cosmopolitan, and groovy as all get out, LEGENDS OF THE PREACHER is the face of the new world music: fusing sounds from everywhere to make music for everyone.
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Unsomnambulist
Staff member
Stef Kamil Carlens - Be Who You Wanna Be (2024)
Ojai Sam
Staff member
Michael Feinstein (With Jule Styne, Piano) - Sings The Jule Styne Songbook (1991)
Lost In The Vault
Why this classic album got buried in a box I have no idea. The interview with Styne, who passed away just three years later, makes the accompanying booklet priceless in itself.
on the Sam-O-Meter. I've Heard That Song Before. 
Lost In The Vault Why this classic album got buried in a box I have no idea. The interview with Styne, who passed away just three years later, makes the accompanying booklet priceless in itself.
on the Sam-O-Meter. I've Heard That Song Before.
Unsomnambulist
Staff member
John Dwyer - Ritual / Habit / Ceremony (2023)
Luther's one of those artists that is a mega super star among his primary fan base, and seemingly barely an afterthought to other music fans. He was a mega super star to my peers. A few months after its release, this album was the Prom album for my senior year. One of the best shows I've ever seen was a Luther show about a decade after this album.Luther Vandross - Busy Body (1983)
Vinyl Spin of the Day.
Though I was not in a relationship, I bought two tickets because I was an eternal optimist. The concert date neared but I remained dateless. Eventually, a few days before the show, I asked a female friend (whom I had a huge hopeless crush on) to go with me, and she said yes. I'd known her for a long time and had a couple of awkward moments with her, but hey, what's one more embarrassing moment, right?
The evening arrived and I picked her up. She looked so stunning I was speechless. It was an hour's drive to the concert so we had our longest ever one-on-one conversation together. Before, we were always in the company of mutual friends and rarely had more than five or ten minutes where it was just us. The conversation was enlightening. At the concert, she shrieked, bounced in her seat, and stood and danced, causing me to miss a lot of the show because I was mesmerized by her. She pulled me up and made me dance with her.
The ride back was more enlightening and enjoyable conversation. I dropped her off, and of course I fumbled the ball at the one yard line. There was no happily ever after with her. Not even a one-night stand, which I would have gleefully pre-accepted as the totality of our relationship. It was just me saying something stupid like "Well, I guess I better get home and get a good night's sleep for work tomorrow."
It really was the set-up to a romantic comedy, but without the boy-gets-girl ending.But man, what a memorable night it was anyway!
I'm your Missed Connections tour guide, and I got a lot more for you.
David Binney - Aerial 2 (2021)
I don't know what happened to Aeriel 1, but I never heard it. I'm sort of a Binney completist, so I assume it was a initially a digital-only release. Because I'm almost exclusively a physical music buyer, I would not gotten a digital-only release. Now it seems to be out on CD, but I don't feel compelled to order it.
Back to this one, I like it a lot. It's kind of like Binney playing in the studio with a bass and drum duo (Tim Lefebvre & Mark Guiliana) and a guitar here and there, a couple of synths (courtesy again of Lefebvre&Guiliana), creating some cool atmospheric tracks for him to play saxophone to. I always enjoy this and I've listened to it a lot. But it's not one of my favorite Binney albums, which is probably part of the reason I haven't felt compelled to get its companion volume.
I have a few other albums where Lefebvre and/or Guiliana appear. Even on albums where they're not headlined, their respective (or if appearing together, collective) sound sort of dominates the work. That's not a bad thing per se, but it's not always a sound I'm in the mood for. And sometimes, I get the feeling I'm listening to a album where the feature artist is a guest.
Despite how wishy washy that may sound, I really do enjoy this album.
EDIT: I just looked up the supporting cast on Aerial 1 and discovered Lefebvre and Guiliana do not appear. I assume Binney made this "2" because both albums follow a similar approach. But now I want to hear it and see how they differ. Why do I do this to myself?
I don't know what happened to Aeriel 1, but I never heard it. I'm sort of a Binney completist, so I assume it was a initially a digital-only release. Because I'm almost exclusively a physical music buyer, I would not gotten a digital-only release. Now it seems to be out on CD, but I don't feel compelled to order it.
Back to this one, I like it a lot. It's kind of like Binney playing in the studio with a bass and drum duo (Tim Lefebvre & Mark Guiliana) and a guitar here and there, a couple of synths (courtesy again of Lefebvre&Guiliana), creating some cool atmospheric tracks for him to play saxophone to. I always enjoy this and I've listened to it a lot. But it's not one of my favorite Binney albums, which is probably part of the reason I haven't felt compelled to get its companion volume.
I have a few other albums where Lefebvre and/or Guiliana appear. Even on albums where they're not headlined, their respective (or if appearing together, collective) sound sort of dominates the work. That's not a bad thing per se, but it's not always a sound I'm in the mood for. And sometimes, I get the feeling I'm listening to a album where the feature artist is a guest.
Despite how wishy washy that may sound, I really do enjoy this album.
EDIT: I just looked up the supporting cast on Aerial 1 and discovered Lefebvre and Guiliana do not appear. I assume Binney made this "2" because both albums follow a similar approach. But now I want to hear it and see how they differ. Why do I do this to myself?
Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah - Ancestral Recall (2019)
No reviews on RYM but it did rank #5 on the list on RYM of best Bandcamp albums of 2019
It's hard for me to describe this. It's not really Jazz. It's a musician indulging in himself and delivering music that often rewards attentive listening but doesn't really fit any box.
No reviews on RYM but it did rank #5 on the list on RYM of best Bandcamp albums of 2019
AllMusic said:
It's hard for me to describe this. It's not really Jazz. It's a musician indulging in himself and delivering music that often rewards attentive listening but doesn't really fit any box.
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Ojai Sam
Staff member
Recently I posted Chicago's Carnegie Hall box with my first hand observations on the band's 1972 live show in Los Angeles. My experience was literally identical to yours: I took a long time hopeless crush from college the summer after we graduated, we had a great time at the show and during the long rides to and from Orange County but...that was it. I never saw or heard from her again. To be honest, I don't even recall a fumble but I made so many back then. And now.Luther's one of those artists that is a mega super star among his primary fan base, and seemingly barely an afterthought to other music fans. He was a mega super star to my peers. A few months after its release, this album was the Prom album for my senior year. One of the best shows I've ever seen was a Luther show about a decade after this album.
Though I was not in a relationship, I bought two tickets because I was an eternal optimist. The concert date neared but I remained dateless. Eventually, a few days before the show, I asked a female friend (whom I had a huge hopeless crush on) to go with me, and she said yes. I'd known her for a long time and had a couple of awkward moments with her, but hey, what's one more embarrassing moment, right?
The evening arrived and I picked her up. She looked so stunning I was speechless. It was an hour's drive to the concert so we had our longest ever one-on-one conversation together. Before, we were always in the company of mutual friends and rarely had more than five or ten minutes where it was just us. The conversation was enlightening. At the concert, she shrieked, bounced in her seat, and stood and danced, causing me to miss a lot of the show because I was mesmerized by her. She pulled me up and made me dance with her.
The ride back was more enlightening and enjoyable conversation. I dropped her off, and of course I fumbled the ball at the one yard line. There was no happily ever after with her. Not even a one-night stand, which I would have gleefully pre-accepted as the totality of our relationship. It was just me saying something stupid like "Well, I guess I better get home and get a good night's sleep for work tomorrow."
But man, what a memorable night it was anyway!
I'm your Missed Connections tour guide, and I got a lot more for you.
She is (was?) so totally different from Mrs. Ojai that I'm very skeptical we could ever have developed anything long term. About all we had in common was that we both drove Opel Kadetts. But it's still a great memory.
Julie's car back left (hers was red), mine front right (white without the vinyl top). No elephants were harmed in the making of this memory.
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