What Are You Listening To? June 2024

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Larkin Poe - Blood Harmony (2022)

Larkin Poe - Blood Harmony - album cover
 
Chicago - At Carnegie Hall (Volumes I, II, III And IV) (1971)

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Vinyl Spin of the Day.

With so much music easily available digitally, I have been repurchasing vintage vinyl from back in the day only for top drawer albums that I now regret trading out for CD's. This one is an exception to that rule. I loved Chicago's first three studio albums but was very disappointed in this massive live package. At the time, I thought it was bloated and unfocused. The sound quality disappointed me, too. Apparently the group members felt much the same way.

However, I found a beautiful copy online and from the first needle drop was mesmerized. Columbia recorded all six shows from April 5-10, 1971 and stitched the best performances together complete with tuning and talk. The introductions give the impression of a first set and second set plus encores. The group were in fine form and the audience wildly appreciative, far more so than for any other artist I've heard at that venue. As for the sound, after suffering through the dreadful digital destruction of Chicago's albums on CD, this one sounds terrific by comparison.

If you're looking for a hot live album from the prime Terry Kath era, Live In Japan is a better choice. Its June 1972 performances and sound quality are both superior. I happened to see Chicago at the Greek Theatre in LA three months later (to be exact, on Saturday, September 2, 1972). Trust me, they were at their absolute peak. But the Carnegie Hall package has a charm all its own, complete with two posters, full size picture book and voting information pamphlet. As a lavish package, it faithfully captures the excitement and joy experienced by the first rock group to sell out a week at the fabled venue.
 
Eddie Chamblee - The Rockin' and Walkin' Rhythm Of Eddie Chamblee (rec. 1947-57, Official comp. 1988)

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Vinyl Spin of the Day.

Rockin', Walkin', Honkin', Wailin'...lots of participles to use for the fine tenor work on this collection of rare singles waxed in Chicago. Eddie was Mr. Dinah Washington, ya know.

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Original London Cast - Jack Hylton Presents King Kong (1961)

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Vinyl Rip of the Day.


This groundbreaking musical was the first all Black production in South Africa. It launched the careers of Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, although neither of them appear on this recording of the London cast. The high energy songs tell the dramatic story of boxer Ezekiel "King Kong" Dhlamini.

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Cant' find a full-sounding, good audio version on line, but when we where in England in 1994 this was a Mercury Prize winner. Loved it then, love it today. As someone says in the comments, "the best song Neil Young never wrote".
 
José James - 1978 (2024)

This album is the epitome of Truth In Advertising/Billing/Titling. 1978 is the year he was born, but it's also the era of music whose sound he's shooting for with this album. Various songs here could be inserted into a Soul/R&B/YachtRock/SoftRock album from 1978-ish and fit in seamlessly. Right now I'm listening to something that could drop right into a Minnie Riperton album and we'd never know (as long as she was singing the lyrics.) And just like albums from the era, he keeps this to a tight nine songs and a 49-minute run time.

José glides between genres and melds them naturally. I love when it's just him, a guitar and some percussion ... or add some piano and we get something like "Place Of Worship" which features Xênia França and is a great mix of his sound and that of her Brazilian home. Then comes "Trayvon" with just Jose's voice, a piano and strings (2violins, cello, viola), sounding so sad and powerful.

He's done some straight up Jazz stuff, some EDM stuff, some alternative Soul stuff, and a couple of tribute albums (Billie Holiday, Bill Withers, Erykah Badu). He's recorded songs by Nirvana, Frank Ocean, Radiohead and many other artists. He's recorded with way too many musicians to list. At this point, each new album by him is kind of a auto-buy for me.

He's been busy, with at least 14 albums to his credit. What's cool is he only had one or two songs hit it big, which means when he tours he tours smaller venues. Not so cool for him I guess, but cool for fans who get an up close experience when seeing him live.

Here's a song featuring Emily King from his 2013 album. This is just their voices and her guitar, which gives a good chance to hear his rich baritone. There is also version of this without Emily singing and with more instrumentation.
 
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