Soul style falsetto spiced with memories of Curtis Mayfield and Al Green, with a hint of Smokey Robinson thrown in for good measure. Throw on a dance track, repeat "this love is here to stay" and the meal is complete. Easy Tiger has deeper poetic symbols: "Some days get dated by a bitter taste. It ain't easy if it's faced." The mirror of the soul is not always pretty. Soulsister has the narrator "sometimes" dreaming in wonder - an almost optimistic acceptance, with a small amount of "sugar on your mind". Man On A Wire is the most heavily produced cut - "I keep hearing whispers in the distance" above the tasty din of drums and synthesizers. Shout outs for scenes in City Lights, and the intense stillness of But We Did as the poet digs deeper and deeper. Thomas Dybdahl - What's Left Is Forever
Sleeping Horses teaches us of the inner life of the writer: "These stars are forever in my heart. A million stars, a million in my heart". Poetry emblazoned with music - the best combination for a full eartaste of forever. A Spadeful of Ground is an amazing folk trip through 2013. The instrumentation is thouroughly folk, yet has only the slightest spices we could label as traditional. Exquisite. "For a pocket of dirt you will lie, you will hurt. For a piece of this land you’ll have blood on your hands." Special shoutout to the poem/song Letters: "We fled towns on fire with stomachs empty. Crossed borderlines, swam the rivers dry."Emily Barker - Dear River
I love the way Mazzy Star blasts into a new century as if it were yesterday. The noodling guitar of "In The Kingdom" introduces us to the 1990's as if they were still alive. As a whole, the album reminds me of a dessert I've had before; but certainly do not mind having again. It brings back memories of the distant past while at the same time tastes great right now. Some of these songs have been sitting around and having everything that she sang of for a few years teasing us with expectations of a fine dinner. Mazzy Star decided to simply treat us to dessert. Interestingly "Lay Myself Down", the most electric cut on the CD, is the final plate, and Hope's voice is the instrument which keeps the Mazzy shining in the Star. Thanks!Mazzy Star - Seasons of Your Day
The best of all parties. Get together write eleven great songs that you know 10 years from now will become a tribute album. Then decide to go ahead and make the tribute album now! Put some icing on the cake and give away the tribute album for free. Some great dessert! The first album, the one with all the great tunes is outstanding - the whole CD will be a dinner treat for weeks to come. Many music styles - all played perfectly. I love the bass and drum, and the guitar supplies some real sweet dances. The 2nd CD feels so much like major artists performing to a karaoke track at a backyard party that I wonder why Gov't Mule didn't go one step further and provide a 3rd CD that all my Texas friends can blast in their backyard on their Karoake machines & try to out-sing the best singers in the world. Why not? Too drunk to Karaoke? On first hearing Grace Potter gives a stand-out performance, so you'll find a video with her performing with Gov't Mule a few years back below.
In short, the first CD is a must-have. The second offers nothing new except for the lead singer. But that's okay, because it's free, and it's easy to party on free! Best performances on CD 2 are by Grace Potter & Toots Hibbert.
The most interesting performance on CD 2 is by Elvis Costello - Funny Little Tragedy is a high energy performance, in full rock voice. "Life has finally shown you it's a mean old world. The killer little soldier is now a scared little girl. Always had everything just handed to you always had it your way." The song would fit perfect on one of Costello's more rockin' CDs. Gov't Mule - Shout!
Zundokobushi is the happy ear pleasing tune on "Get Happy". A complete banana split Sundae to make this day one of danceful delights. The original song, seen in it's glory below on TV in 1969 is the original dance that inspired Gangnam Style.You Tube will lead you to other performances by the same group with even better gangnam steps; but lesser sound quality. A fun song, a fun dance, and a fun life. The rest of the CD is not as happy, but let's dwell on the positive! Pink Martini - Get Happy
The energy breathing in the first few Elvis Costello albums returns 40 years later with the opening cut flavors of Walk Us Uptown. Interestingly the melodic lines on the rest of the rest of the album drag the energy of the Roots down to a thick gruel-like consistency. The ears long for the dub version because below the dirge melody is some grooving funk. There is one other shoutout: Tripwire matches melody to both lyrical content ("just because I don't read the language doesn't mean that I'm blind to the threat") and musical sequencing. Wise Up Ghost and Other Songs
Spending a whole day listening to Elvis is great fun. It set my mind to wondering what albums we would have experienced if he had remained with us. There would have been a Costello-Presley collaboration at some point. And a 5 CD series called "The Great American Songbook" a la Rod Stewart & Willie Nelson. Of course the Willie Nelson & Tony Bennett collaborations. In the early 80's Bob Dylan would have tried to join his band as a guitar player - would Elvis had let it happen? There would have been a great year in the late 80's when he made a great rock'n'soul duet album with Tina Turner. The 90's would have given us a James Taylor duet album, with Carole King on harmonies. The King of Rock & Roll sings Carole King. My favorite album from 2002 would have been Elvis sings 12 Mazzy Star hits. 2006's favorite is when Darius Rucker joins Elvis for a hot 50th anniversary recreation of all of Elvis' 1956 sides.
36 missing years. They sure went by fast.
Soul style falsetto spiced with memories of Curtis Mayfield and Al Green, with a hint of Smokey Robinson thrown in for good measure. Throw on a dance track, repeat "this love is here to stay" and the meal is complete. Easy Tiger has deeper poetic symbols: "Some days get dated by a bitter taste. It ain't easy if it's faced." The mirror of the soul is not always pretty. Soulsister has the narrator "sometimes" dreaming in wonder - an almost optimistic acceptance, with a small amount of "sugar on your mind". Man On A Wire is the most heavily produced cut - "I keep hearing whispers in the distance" above the tasty din of drums and synthesizers. Shout outs for scenes in City Lights, and the intense stillness of But We Did as the poet digs deeper and deeper. Thomas Dybdahl - What's Left Is Forever
