What are you listening to right now?

[Mr. Average]

John Coltrane "Crescent"

[Jack of All Parades]

Picked the reissue of this CD up recently and have enjoyed it like you-stand out cuts for me are "Bessie's Blues", "Lonnie's Lament" and "The Drum Thing".

[Jackson Monk]

Just received a Japanese Import of the new Trashcan Sinatras album......really liking it. Very mellow and full of irresistable melodies.

[Who Shot Sam?]

A little bit of Horace Silver. Nothing better for a Friday afternoon...

[Jack of All Parades]

Ah! have that one-enjoyable- but I am currently listening to "doin' the thing- The Horace Silver Quintet at the Village Gate" with Blue Mitchell on trumpet from 1961 enjoying "Kiss Me Right" with Cassandra Wilson's "thunderbird" to follow- nothing like those old Blue Note covers they are an art form in themselves.

[Jackson Monk]

Don't know Horace Silver but will definitely follow it up. The great thing about this website is how it introduces you to stuff you would normally never buy....but that's one for another thread!

Currently playing the sublime new Prefab Sprout Album. Music is a Princess is the current favourite. It sounds strangely dated, yet fresh at the same time. Home very odd

[Jackson Monk]

All hail Spotify....what a resource. Playing Horace Silver right now. So cool I need a sweater.

[Who Shot Sam?]

All hail Spotify....what a resource. Playing Horace Silver right now. So cool I need a sweater.

Haha. I told you! Song for My Father is probably my favorite album of his, but all of the records he did for Blue Note in the '60s are excellent.

BTW I am almost 100% certain that Steely Dan stole that riff from "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" from Silver's "Song for My Father".

[Jack of All Parades]

Jackson- when you need it he can 'warm' you up with a trip down south as in "The gringo/Cool eyes" or "Que Pasa"- recommend his sui generis work "Song for my Father" you will no doubt recall having heard this theme before[they did and Fagin has copped to it]- turn about is fair play and I will own up to having never heard Prefab Sprout until I encountered this site- this week at Rhino picked up a copy of "two wheels good" what I think in your neighborhood is called "Steve McQueen" first few listens have given me an appetite for more- never was a big fan of synthized 80's music but this is quite different as it provides a strange aura of wind, air and sky in the background and the 'quotes' I hear throughout the songs keeps my ears perked-will be on the lookout for more. The Sandy Denny you bought is a treat-she so rarely gets played now-and yet her importance and talent cannot be denied- so hard to even find her records even in the second hand stores.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Was it for legal reasons that they didn't call it 'Steve McQueen' in the US? Love that album, and as Jackson and I were observing elsewhere, the recentish reissue with the bonus CD containing acoustic reworkings of most of the songs off the LP is a stroke of brilliance. Simple settings, mostly voice + acoustic guitar, some overdubs, some special effects, Thomas DOlby again producing, Paddy's voice deeper and more worn. Several of the songs are more enduring in this setting, and it shakes off some of the ofitstimeness of the original.


Wasn't too struck by this at the time, other than the mighty 'Geraldine', but we played it in the car driving through Glasgow on the M8 and my wife totally fell for his voice, which is hugely Scottish ad powerful, and we've been playing it ever since. Huge tunes, a big old noise, Jesus & Mary Chain meets Phil Spector and the Ronettes, or someone else from that era with classic tunes. Love the overwrought emotions of it all, especially the heartbreaking 'Daddy's Gone'. The stand up drummer is amazing, itself a ref to Jesus and Mary Chain, just a booming floor tom for a kick drum, one cymbal, snare and tambourine, she bashes away fiercely for all she's worth. Would love to see them live. Every song is great in its own way. It ca be handy having access to your teenager's CD collection at times.

[Jack of All Parades]

I can only speculate that the McQueen estate objected to the use of the name in the title in the US[like Joe Dimaggio threatened trouble for Paul Simon when he used his name in "Mrs. Robinson"] the copy I picked up is the original Epic release from 1985 with a few additional tracks- "The Yearning Loins", a cover "He'll Have to Go" and a different mix of the song "Faron"-this is intelligent pop with great atmospherics- the Dolby production with the synth is erie- I love the sound of space behind the songs- will have to look for this reissue- there are so few record stores these days and even my favorite second hand shops are shuttering-the loss of Virgin in NYC this year has left a great gap for me as I could at least count on a decent selection of English and Japan issued cds at a reasonable price- no more- as you say thank god for the kid's collection- would not have been introduced to acts like Regina Spector or Belle & Sebastion or Cat Power without them.

[Jackson Monk]

As I recall, it wasn't so much that the McQueen Estate objected, it was just that the process of getting agreement was so complex that they thought 'bugger it' and went for a different title.

[mood swung]

[Jack of All Parades]

Purchased Marshall Crenshaw's "Jaggedland" several months ago and have been slowly digesting it-as of now I like it and rank it along with his debut and "Mystery of Science" as my favorite albums by him-it is a mature work which foregoes his past insouciant manner exchanging it for a more reflective tone-the songs are filled with images of weather and the change of seasons, of time passing and the stress that can cause the mind-ill wind, clouds, lightening, 'stormy rivers' , thunder, these images of nature in action populate the songs-Marshall seems to be taking stock of his life, to date, as he contemplates decisions he made or did not make, actions he took or did not take-there are several love songs["Stormy River" and "Passing Through"] that show a maturity in their more complex ttreatment of the subject matter, he is ably assisted by Jim Keltner and Greig Leisz amongst other musicians- I think my favorite song on the album is "Live and Learn" which presents a person coming to peace with the life he has lived-the refrain of 'live and learn' has been resonating with me.

[Otis Westinghouse]

So I bought some hifi - budget end compared to what's out there, but pretty amazing to my ears. £600 al in, inc phono pre-amp. All Cambridge Audio - nice to buy something named after my home town, even if they are a London outfit, and they do have a very god reputation for quality per £. Spent £100 just on cables - silver-plated biwire speaker cables, total nightmare having to strip and connct 8 x strands into the amp. Got it all set up, and then found that sound was only on one channel, due to cables being in wrong way round (left/right white/red on cable red/black on amp scenario deeply confusing, with no indication on cable of which was which). Got that sorted, so then, what do you select to welcome your new machine love to the world? I chose this:

The gentle start building to a huge beat of 'Station Approach' had to be the right place. Needless to say, I sat and played it through without moving, transfixed by how good and detailed it all sounded. Shame there have to be other people asleep in the house at night! The subtle ones and the anthemic ones all sounded equally wonderful, and although I know this gorgeous LP backwards, I felt like I was discovering it properly this way. SO here goes with the rest of my collection, not to mention the stacks of untouched for years vinyl.

Happily delusional again!

[mood swung]

Rancid's Life Won't Wait demos. Candy Girl is the BEST THING EVER.

[Jack of All Parades]

One of many nice things about this Board is the chance to be introduced to something you were ignorant of previously- for me that is Prefab Sprout- I am appreciative of members who have talked this band up and who inadvertantly exposed me to their music-since purchasing a copy of "Two Wheels Good" recently I have listened to little else-there is a spaciousness in this music, an aural world of clouds, sky and air, that fills my living room when I put the album on-Paddy McAloon has an 'angelic voice' and when accompanied by Wendy Smith I swear I hear the outdoors-that he can quote from so many musical sources is impressive-the syntheziser work is understated, just right-I am particularly fond of "Faron", "Bonny". "Appetite"[a strong love song], 'Moving the River", "Blueberry Pies" and the best song on the record for me "Desire As"['I have sixteen reasons and you're not one'] I even like the remake of "He'll Have to Go"- I have found myself spontaneously breaking into choruses and singing random lines, that is how I know I have been bitten-I take the album's admonition to heart and do play it "Loud" when it is in the stereo player.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Nice one. 'Desire As' was always a fave of mine ('I've got 6 things on my mind, you're no loner one of them'), along with 'Bonny' and 'Appetite' too. You must have a version with bonus songs. Don't know if you can get access to the acoustic bonus issues online (you can if you use Spotify, but that won't help you. I guess). Fascinating contrast to the originals.

[Jack of All Parades]

In a year of anniversary landmarks for pop records I have been spending time with many-this week in particular with "Bob Dylan Live 1966" Bootleg Vol 4- it has been time well spent- this is perhaps my favorite live lp -that legendary concert in Manchester, England complete with the awesome 'Judas" shoutout-what keeps me coming back to this record is the way Dylan has emotionally invested himself in the performance of the songs- his singing is passionate, vivid and full of twists and tweeks-the material is fresh and has been road tested and you can tell he is having the time of his life singing and playing with his back-up band- I love the devil may care attitude he takes with each song as if he is telling his audience you can be damned this is what I am going to do and if you do not like it so what-I am always attracted to the band behind him- Robbie Robertson's guitar cuts through the speaker like a knife and Garth Hudson's organ swirls around and through the songs- it is how I imagine Dylan must have heard that "wild, mercurial sound' he always kept saying he heard in his head-the energy level is high and the songs are punctuated with growls and angry guitar riffs and some of the best harmonica playing I have ever heard from Dylan-when I combine it with the visuals-skinny leg pants, beatle boots, the polka dot or hounds tooth suit and the magnificent 'fro and the ever present cigarette- I almost think I am seated in the Manchester Free Trade Hall that evening of May 17, 1966- at least I have this tremendous, vibrant aural record.

[bambooneedle]

Ever present cigarette? Dylan never smokes onstage.

Painful cliches, not getting facts straight, reducing him by second-guessing his attitute... Sorry, but you need to do better to do justice to one of the most legendary concert recordings, and performers, in the history of humanity.

[faithfull]

Marianne Faithfull's wonderful DREAMING MY DREAMS, which was No 1 in Ireland for 6 weeks, by the way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTk4V4EX918

[mood swung]

[Who Shot Sam?]

Nice. I've been delving into Richard Hawley's Truelove's Gutter. Really enjoying this one. Less grand than Coles Corner or Lady's Bridge and a bit darker perhaps.

[Jackson Monk]

Yes, I'm enjoyingg the Hawley album as well, although it is likely to be a bit of a grower as it is less immediate than Coles Corner in particular.
I agree that it seems very dark - a late night kind of album.

[Otis Westinghouse]

I really like 'Remorse Code', somehow doesn't outstay its welcome, and 'For Your Lover Give Some TIme' is a true classic. I didn't get 'Lady's Bridge', seemed to be veering towards self-parody, though I know WSS won''t agree. 'Cole's' is genius, not sure anything of his can top the title track. I really like his voice on TG.