Stones Live Licks
Saturday, November 13, 2004
CLEARMOUNTAIN thread - complete...
Posted by: R (IP Logged)
Date: november 9, 2004 17:21
...for those wishing reference thereto:
My letter to Mr. Clearmountain, sent Friday, November 5, late afternoon EDT:
Dear Mr. Clearmountain:
I have, like many, many people been a longtime, albeit indirect fan of your work. You have produced and more often mixed and mastered a slew of very popular albums and there is no doubt your name graces the liner notes of millions of CDs in hundreds of thousands of home worldwide. Enough of my pandering however. On to my comments and questions about the new Stones live release.
I am writing on behalf of concerned members of the 'It's Only Rock And Roll' unofficial Stones fan web-site. We have hundreds of members worldwide and we've been pondering these questions for a week now:
You, and whomever else that were involved in creating the sound and feel of the new Rolling Stones live CD, have finally nailed it! You've captured what many of us longtime obsessive fans have always wanted in a live album from the modern day Stones. The guitars are grungy, dirty and wonderful! Clearly audible in the right and left channel. The full spectrum of Charlies drums are there for the percussion fascists among us and Jagger's vocals (while apparently overdubbed to some extent) are in perfect balance to the overall aural window. The ancillary players have been relegated to the background (a pet peeve of us Stones lovers who lack no other life and concern themselves with such things). The song selection could be better but that's not your department as I understand it. All in all "Live Licks" is terrific EXCEPT:
Please forgive me for asking, but why is the editing so horrific?
Brown Sugar: the guitars sound cut and pasted. A sax note from another source seems to step on the end of Bobby Keys solo which sounds flat. The "yeah, yeah, yeah woooh!" call and response simply appears out of nowhere.
Rocks Off: the most memorable verse in the song, the one that follows the bridge, has been cut and the song moves straight to the chorus. The transistion is not a smooth one to say the least.
Satisfaction: Seems to have had much of Keith and Ronnie's inspired guitar interplay excised when compared to the original, which appears to be the version found on the Four Flicks DVD (as too were most of the songs on this release).
You Can't Always Get What You Want: At 6:45 the jump from the midtempo singalong to the fast guitar solo is a blatant edit, poorly executed, and throws the whole feel of the song off. It's as though a minute was just lopped out. No crossfade. Nada.
Honky Tonk Women: It sounds as though the live guitar solos were excised and a Keith solo was dubbed over Chuck Leavell's piano solo.
Every song on "Live Licks" has been shortened and it seems inexplicable as each disc runs only an hour leaving room for longer versions and perhaps two or three more songs each. We don't get out much and we'd really been looking forward to this album. Could you, if you can, please tell us all at IORR how the wonderful SOUND of this album was compromised by the apparently amateurish editing (which I trust was not your department). I'll be please to forward your response to the site.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
R-------IORR member since 1997.
----------
Mr. Clearmountains response to the above letter received Monday, November 8 in early afternoon, EDT. His responses are in quotes:
"Hmmmm... you have some fascinating observations there. First of all I'd like to thank you for being so complimentary about the sound of the new Stones live album, and about my work in general. I used "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" as a reference as I believe it to be probably the best live rock album ever released (ED: Must not have heard Live at Leeds by The Who) . If I got anywhere near that ballpark with this one I think I can feel I've accomplished something."
"You're correct in your observation that there was quite a bit of editing involved, (as there is in most live album productions) and in your assumption that I had nothing to do with that part of the production. The thing is, all the edit decisions were made by Don Was and the Stones themselves. As far as the guitars go, as anyone who has ever worked on a Stones album (studio or live) knows, for every five licks those guys play, only one or two are actually usable - and those are generally amazing. When you see them live they get away with it because there's a lot going on on stage to look at, so you don't really notice. Stones freaks like you guys may not mind hearing licks that have very little to do with the the song they're playing, but the general public, and the Stones themselves don't really want to know.*
"As for specifics, see below for answers. I can't remember all the details (I don't yet have a copy of the album for reference) and actually don't know what edits were done before it got to me, but here's what I know:
... Jagger's vocals (while apparently overdubbed to some extent) are in perfect balance to the overall aural window.
"Only one lead vocal was overdubbed, and unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to say which one. All other vocals were live. (Can you guess which one?)"
Brown Sugar: the guitars sound cut and pasted. A sax note from another source seems to step on the end of Bobby Keys solo which sounds flat. The "yeah, yeah, yeah woooh!" call and response simply appears out of nowhere.
"The BK sax solo is the original solo (as far as I know) and if you were as much of a Stones fan as you claim you'd know that Bobby Keys has rarely, if ever played a solo that wasn't flat. It's kinda part of what makes him so unique. I was momentarily tempted to tune him up (would have been simple and only taken a few minutes) but didn't for fear that it would no longer sound like Bobby Keys.
"The "yeah, yeah, yeah woooh!" is totally real, the audience mics are goosed a bit on the "wooh" as it would have sounded quite anticlimactic if you couldn't hear that."
Rocks Off: the most memorable verse in the song, the one that follows the bridge, has been cut and the song moves straight to the chorus. The transistion is not a smooth one to say the least.
"*A decision made by the band, I think because the they sort of fell apart during that verse, but I'm not really sure."
Satisfaction: Seems to have had much of Keith and Ronnie's inspired guitar interplay excised when compared to the original, which appears to be the version found on the Four Flicks DVD (as too were most of the songs on this release).
"*Band/producer decision."
You Can't Always Get What You Want: At 6:45 the jump from the midtempo singalong to the fast guitar solo is a blatant edit, poorly executed, and throws the whole feel of the song off. It's as though a minute was just lopped out. No crossfade. Nada.
"*Band/producer decision, if that's true. I think it was because it got a bit boring during that section."
Honky Tonk Women: It sounds as though the live guitar solos were excised and a Keith solo was dubbed over Chuck Leavell's piano solo.
"*Band/producer decision, if in fact, true."
Every song on "Live Licks" has been shortened and it seems inexplicable as each disc runs only an hour leaving room for longer versions and perhaps two or three more songs each. We don't get out much and we'd really been looking forward to this album. Could you, if you can, please tell us all at IORR how the wonderful SOUND of this album was compromised by the apparently amateurish editing (which I trust was not your department). I'll be please to forward your response to the site.
"I don't believe the sound was compromised at all. I'd like to add that, as I've mixed one studio album, various singles, two live Pay-Per-View cable broadcasts, a feature-length film and two previous live albums for them, I believe this ranks as one of their best pieces of work since the mid 70's. I don't think this album would have been nearly as listenable and enjoyable without the hard work and, as you've put it, "horrific editing". But of course, as an avid Stones fan myself since the early 60's, that's just my opinion."
Cheers, Bob Clearmountain [www.mixthis.com]
----------
My response to HIS reply sent mid afternoon EDT, November 8. Not published in its entirety in previous threads. Mr. Clearmountain's comments are in quotes.:
In a message dated 11/8/04 4:11:30 PM, bob@mixthis.com writes:
Could you, if you can, please tell us all at IORR how the wonderful SOUND of this album was compromised by the apparently amateurish editing (which I trust was not your department). I'll be please to forward your response to the site.
"I don't believe the sound was compromised at all."
I stand corrected. What I meant to say was the overall enjoyment of the album is compromised by the poor edits. As I said earlier, it's the BEST SOUNDING live Stones album since Ya Yas - which makes the edits all the more obvious - and irksome.
"and if you were as much of a Stones fan as you claim you'd know that Bobby Keys has rarely, if ever played a solo that wasn't flat. It's kinda part of what makes him so unique."
Mea culpa. Actually the "flat" observation was someone elses. The thing that bugged me was there seems to be another horn (or horns) stepping on Billy's last note as though edited from the stadium show wherein the horn section followed Billy's solo.
" The "yeah, yeah, yeah woooh!" is totally real, the audience mics are goosed a bit on the "wooh" as it would have sounded quite anticlimactic if you couldn't hear that."
It's not how they come in but rather when. Perhaps a bit of hair-splitting on the part of us Stonesiophiles who've been listening to roughly the same arrangement of the live "Brown Sugar" for thirty or so years.
Thank you very much for your prompt, professional and detailed to response to my (admittedly somewhat snarky but we do take these things seriously) letter. I've forwarded your reply 'round the world and hundreds of people are already arguing about which Jagger vocal was overdubbed as you read this. My guess is "Street Fighting Man."
You live and work in Portland as I recall? My sister lives outside of Kennebunkport and we are fond of Gritty McDuffs for lunch. I just can't get used to the sun going down at 3:30 in the afternoon however.
Thanks again.
Sincerely,R------- ------------
Mr. Clearmountain's reply to the above letter, received 5:45pm EDT, November 8:
Dear R-----,
I've really got to get myself a copy of the record to check out your observations because, to be quite honest, I just don't remember these details. As I said, I do feel whatever editing might have been done improved the-well at least-my overall enjoyment of the album. You guys might wanna just relax and enjoy it for what it is as well. The album is the Rolling Stones vision of how they want to be presented on disk at this point in time. If you really are Stones fans, you'd respect them for that and get over it. They're also quite spontaneous, and don't play the exact same arrangements every night, so some of the tunes may sound a bit different than what you've been used to for the last "...thirty or so years".
The one song that Mick had to overdub was only because there was a problem with the mic, and it was only in a few places.
I live and work in Los Angeles. My manager and close friend, Dan Crewe lives near Portland.
Cheers,
Clearmountain
Friday, January 18, 2008
Album Review: ‘Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queen The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans.’
New Orleans boxset
Monday, November 08, 2004
Title: ‘The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans Rating: Great
Various Artists
You may still be mulling over election results but retailers are gearing up for the Christmas sales season. This is the time of year when the major labels release their “superstar” albums for the year and, of course, big beautiful boxsets with equally big price points.
Usually boxsets do not sell in the numbers that single disc albums do but are thrown at for serious fans. This year there have been two “great” boxset releases; ‘Five Guys Walk Into a Bar’ by one of rock’s best bands The Faces, and, ‘Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queen The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans.’
The New Orleans boxset is probably the coolest gift one could give to a serious music fan. Four discs, a great box, and a terrific book inside, this boxset gives the listener a comprehensive over-view of America’s premier music city. While other communities have an impressive history of great music, for me, New Orleans of the bedrock of “American” music. The so-called Big Easy is the home of jazz, a heavy contender for rhythm & soul base, and certainly the town that birthed funk. By mixing music & culture, food & entertainment, and a sense of the mystical New Orleans music has given the town a swagger that other communities can’t mimic.
Each disc takes the listeners down a unique route. There will be well known names such as Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, Louis Armstrong & Pete Fountain. There are also less known but equally brilliant tracks by acts that deserve to be known like; Walter Wolfman Washington, Sonny Landreth, Henry Butler, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The book, 84 pages long, includes sensational photographs, excellent sidebar graphics, and well written narratives that help the reader understand the history of this city and how it’s inhabitants blended together numerous cultures to create a bizarre but beautiful community. This boxset is an absolutely brilliant introductory to some of America’s best music and the listener’s interest will be warmly rewarded.
This is the perfect Holiday gift whether its for you or someone you know that loves great music. So yes, we're talking about Christmas here but don't let that slow you down, this is great music in a great package that you can listen to all year around.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Title: ‘The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans Rating: Great
Various Artists
You may still be mulling over election results but retailers are gearing up for the Christmas sales season. This is the time of year when the major labels release their “superstar” albums for the year and, of course, big beautiful boxsets with equally big price points.
Usually boxsets do not sell in the numbers that single disc albums do but are thrown at for serious fans. This year there have been two “great” boxset releases; ‘Five Guys Walk Into a Bar’ by one of rock’s best bands The Faces, and, ‘Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queen The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans.’
The New Orleans boxset is probably the coolest gift one could give to a serious music fan. Four discs, a great box, and a terrific book inside, this boxset gives the listener a comprehensive over-view of America’s premier music city. While other communities have an impressive history of great music, for me, New Orleans of the bedrock of “American” music. The so-called Big Easy is the home of jazz, a heavy contender for rhythm & soul base, and certainly the town that birthed funk. By mixing music & culture, food & entertainment, and a sense of the mystical New Orleans music has given the town a swagger that other communities can’t mimic.
Each disc takes the listeners down a unique route. There will be well known names such as Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, Louis Armstrong & Pete Fountain. There are also less known but equally brilliant tracks by acts that deserve to be known like; Walter Wolfman Washington, Sonny Landreth, Henry Butler, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The book, 84 pages long, includes sensational photographs, excellent sidebar graphics, and well written narratives that help the reader understand the history of this city and how it’s inhabitants blended together numerous cultures to create a bizarre but beautiful community. This boxset is an absolutely brilliant introductory to some of America’s best music and the listener’s interest will be warmly rewarded.
This is the perfect Holiday gift whether its for you or someone you know that loves great music. So yes, we're talking about Christmas here but don't let that slow you down, this is great music in a great package that you can listen to all year around.
Album Review: Doctor's, Professors, Kings & Queen, The Big Ol' Box of New Orleans
New Orleans boxset
Monday, November 08, 2004
Title: ‘The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans
Various Artists
You may still be mulling over election results but retailers are gearing up for the Christmas sales season. This is the time of year when the major labels release their “superstar” albums for the year and, of course, big beautiful boxsets with equally big price points.
Usually boxsets do not sell in the numbers that single disc albums do but are thrown at for serious fans. This year there have been two “great” boxset releases; ‘Five Guys Walk Into a Bar’ by one of rock’s best bands The Faces, and, ‘Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queen The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans.’
The New Orleans boxset is probably the coolest gift one could give to a serious music fan. Four discs, a great box, and a terrific book inside, this boxset gives the listener a comprehensive over-view of America’s premier music city. While other communities have an impressive history of great music, for me, New Orleans of the bedrock of “American” music. The so-called Big Easy is the home of jazz, a heavy contender for rhythm & soul base, and certainly the town that birthed funk. By mixing music & culture, food & entertainment, and a sense of the mystical New Orleans music has given the town a swagger that other communities can’t mimic.
Each disc takes the listeners down a unique route. There will be well known names such as Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, Louis Armstrong & Pete Fountain. There are also less known but equally brilliant tracks by acts that deserve to be known like; Walter Wolfman Washington, Sonny Landreth, Henry Butler, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The book, 84 pages long, includes sensational photographs, excellent sidebar graphics, and well written narratives that help the reader understand the history of this city and how it’s inhabitants blended together numerous cultures to create a bizarre but beautiful community. This boxset is an absolutely brilliant introductory to some of America’s best music and the listener’s interest will be warmly rewarded.
This is the perfect Holiday gift whether its for you or someone you know that loves great music. So yes, we're talking about Christmas here but don't let that slow you down, this is great music in a great package that you can listen to all year around.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Title: ‘The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans
Various Artists
You may still be mulling over election results but retailers are gearing up for the Christmas sales season. This is the time of year when the major labels release their “superstar” albums for the year and, of course, big beautiful boxsets with equally big price points.
Usually boxsets do not sell in the numbers that single disc albums do but are thrown at for serious fans. This year there have been two “great” boxset releases; ‘Five Guys Walk Into a Bar’ by one of rock’s best bands The Faces, and, ‘Doctors, Professors, Kings & Queen The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans.’
The New Orleans boxset is probably the coolest gift one could give to a serious music fan. Four discs, a great box, and a terrific book inside, this boxset gives the listener a comprehensive over-view of America’s premier music city. While other communities have an impressive history of great music, for me, New Orleans of the bedrock of “American” music. The so-called Big Easy is the home of jazz, a heavy contender for rhythm & soul base, and certainly the town that birthed funk. By mixing music & culture, food & entertainment, and a sense of the mystical New Orleans music has given the town a swagger that other communities can’t mimic.
Each disc takes the listeners down a unique route. There will be well known names such as Dr. John, The Neville Brothers, Louis Armstrong & Pete Fountain. There are also less known but equally brilliant tracks by acts that deserve to be known like; Walter Wolfman Washington, Sonny Landreth, Henry Butler, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The book, 84 pages long, includes sensational photographs, excellent sidebar graphics, and well written narratives that help the reader understand the history of this city and how it’s inhabitants blended together numerous cultures to create a bizarre but beautiful community. This boxset is an absolutely brilliant introductory to some of America’s best music and the listener’s interest will be warmly rewarded.
This is the perfect Holiday gift whether its for you or someone you know that loves great music. So yes, we're talking about Christmas here but don't let that slow you down, this is great music in a great package that you can listen to all year around.
Album Review: Johnny Winter, Second Winter (deluxe edition)
Johnny Winter
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Artist: Johnny Winter
Album: Second Winter (Deluxe Edition)
First things first, I love Johnny Winter. For me there’s nothing like a well played guitar and few have the catalogue of licks that Johnny Winter seems to be able to throw down endlessly. This album, Second Winter, was originally released back in 1969 when “rock” music’s golden age was peaking. Winter’s band, which included brother Edgar and bass player Tommy Shannon (who would later back Stevie Ray Vaughan as a member of Double Trouble) had just played Woodstock before recording this album. With his anointed status as one of rock’s upcoming superstar Winter had recently signed on as music’s largest solo contract artist with Columbia Records for more than a million dollars: which in 1969 was still a lot of money. So the band was hot and the world was listening.
Record companies mining the vaults for product is nothing new. Historically few labels have done it well. One of a couple of exceptions is Sony (CBS, Columbia, Epic, Okeh). Using the original recorded album, the label restore’s the original album artwork and then remixes and remasters, adds in additional tracks and then, dig this, give you ANOTHER disc of new music. So the packaging is excellent and you get some really great tunes. Now that’s smart marketing!
The second disc in this package is a nine track live concert from the Royal Albert Hall in 1970 and includes the most excellent SLOW electric blues track, “It’s My Own Fault.” While Winter may have been young he exhibits a litany of finesse and taste with his twelve minute cover this B. B. King track. The second disc also features the debut of brother Edgar’s instrumental track, ‘Frankenstein’ (which would become a hit five years later).
The original album includes two additional studio tracks; ‘Early in the Morning’ and ‘Tell the Truth.’ Already known as one of the great blues albums, the newly reissued Second Winter is a MUST OWN disc for any true fan of the electric blues. It’s only a minor leap to suggest that without this record and the success it brought to Winter there would never have been a scene to incubate a Lil’ Stevie Vaughan. This album will be heavily featured for the next month or so on KIWR’s Pacific Street Blues, Sundays from 9:00 a.m. – Noon.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Artist: Johnny Winter
Album: Second Winter (Deluxe Edition)
First things first, I love Johnny Winter. For me there’s nothing like a well played guitar and few have the catalogue of licks that Johnny Winter seems to be able to throw down endlessly. This album, Second Winter, was originally released back in 1969 when “rock” music’s golden age was peaking. Winter’s band, which included brother Edgar and bass player Tommy Shannon (who would later back Stevie Ray Vaughan as a member of Double Trouble) had just played Woodstock before recording this album. With his anointed status as one of rock’s upcoming superstar Winter had recently signed on as music’s largest solo contract artist with Columbia Records for more than a million dollars: which in 1969 was still a lot of money. So the band was hot and the world was listening.
Record companies mining the vaults for product is nothing new. Historically few labels have done it well. One of a couple of exceptions is Sony (CBS, Columbia, Epic, Okeh). Using the original recorded album, the label restore’s the original album artwork and then remixes and remasters, adds in additional tracks and then, dig this, give you ANOTHER disc of new music. So the packaging is excellent and you get some really great tunes. Now that’s smart marketing!
The second disc in this package is a nine track live concert from the Royal Albert Hall in 1970 and includes the most excellent SLOW electric blues track, “It’s My Own Fault.” While Winter may have been young he exhibits a litany of finesse and taste with his twelve minute cover this B. B. King track. The second disc also features the debut of brother Edgar’s instrumental track, ‘Frankenstein’ (which would become a hit five years later).
The original album includes two additional studio tracks; ‘Early in the Morning’ and ‘Tell the Truth.’ Already known as one of the great blues albums, the newly reissued Second Winter is a MUST OWN disc for any true fan of the electric blues. It’s only a minor leap to suggest that without this record and the success it brought to Winter there would never have been a scene to incubate a Lil’ Stevie Vaughan. This album will be heavily featured for the next month or so on KIWR’s Pacific Street Blues, Sundays from 9:00 a.m. – Noon.
Album Review: Heart, Jupiter's Darling
Monday, October 11, 2004
Heart
Jupiters Darling
My earliest memory of Heart was when their song Barracuda came on the radio in the summer of 1978 (I think) and Jim Shirley, the neighbor kid, said, “This is a cool song.” Jim was never into music too much so it really stood out. He was right and all summer Heart was on the radio. Mike Abendroth and I went to see Heart play the Music Hall and they were exciting and energized. We left the show pumped up! By the early ‘80’s, thanks to over-exposure on the radio, I had heard enough of the band Heart and thought I could live without hearing them again... until now.
After an extended hiatus, and an exceptional acoustic duet album that snuck past most folks in the late ‘90’s, Ann and Nancy Wilson are back with their hybrid Led Zeppelin vein of rock. This album is six songs too long but it is a damn good record. Traditional “rock” fans could very easily forget that this is a band that was well past its prime: this record is fresh and brings back everything that made Heart interesting back in the late ‘70’s without sounding like a Nostalgia Act.
Don’t let my rating fool you, a good record is, well, good. And if we are honest with ourselves, when was the last time you actually heard a “good album?” By that I mean, from start to finish it’s good: what it isn’t is three good songs surrounded by filler tracks. The packaging is especially good and the band is back doing what they go best, rock.
Heart
Jupiters Darling
My earliest memory of Heart was when their song Barracuda came on the radio in the summer of 1978 (I think) and Jim Shirley, the neighbor kid, said, “This is a cool song.” Jim was never into music too much so it really stood out. He was right and all summer Heart was on the radio. Mike Abendroth and I went to see Heart play the Music Hall and they were exciting and energized. We left the show pumped up! By the early ‘80’s, thanks to over-exposure on the radio, I had heard enough of the band Heart and thought I could live without hearing them again... until now.
After an extended hiatus, and an exceptional acoustic duet album that snuck past most folks in the late ‘90’s, Ann and Nancy Wilson are back with their hybrid Led Zeppelin vein of rock. This album is six songs too long but it is a damn good record. Traditional “rock” fans could very easily forget that this is a band that was well past its prime: this record is fresh and brings back everything that made Heart interesting back in the late ‘70’s without sounding like a Nostalgia Act.
Don’t let my rating fool you, a good record is, well, good. And if we are honest with ourselves, when was the last time you actually heard a “good album?” By that I mean, from start to finish it’s good: what it isn’t is three good songs surrounded by filler tracks. The packaging is especially good and the band is back doing what they go best, rock.
Album Review: Heart, Jupiter's Darling
Monday, October 11, 2004
Heart
Jupiters Darling
My earliest memory of Heart was when their song Barracuda came on the radio in the summer of 1978 (I think) and Jim Shirley, the neighbor kid, said, “This is a cool song.” Jim was never into music too much so it really stood out. He was right and all summer Heart was on the radio. Mike Abendroth and I went to see Heart play the Music Hall and they were exciting and energized. We left the show pumped up! By the early ‘80’s, thanks to over-exposure on the radio, I had heard enough of the band Heart and thought I could live without hearing them again... until now.
After an extended hiatus, and an exceptional acoustic duet album that snuck past most folks in the late ‘90’s, Ann and Nancy Wilson are back with their hybrid Led Zeppelin vein of rock. This album is six songs too long but it is a damn good record. Traditional “rock” fans could very easily forget that this is a band that was well past its prime: this record is fresh and brings back everything that made Heart interesting back in the late ‘70’s without sounding like a Nostalgia Act.
Don’t let my rating fool you, a good record is, well, good. And if we are honest with ourselves, when was the last time you actually heard a “good album?” By that I mean, from start to finish it’s good: what it isn’t is three good songs surrounded by filler tracks. The packaging is especially good and the band is back doing what they go best, rock.
Heart
Jupiters Darling
My earliest memory of Heart was when their song Barracuda came on the radio in the summer of 1978 (I think) and Jim Shirley, the neighbor kid, said, “This is a cool song.” Jim was never into music too much so it really stood out. He was right and all summer Heart was on the radio. Mike Abendroth and I went to see Heart play the Music Hall and they were exciting and energized. We left the show pumped up! By the early ‘80’s, thanks to over-exposure on the radio, I had heard enough of the band Heart and thought I could live without hearing them again... until now.
After an extended hiatus, and an exceptional acoustic duet album that snuck past most folks in the late ‘90’s, Ann and Nancy Wilson are back with their hybrid Led Zeppelin vein of rock. This album is six songs too long but it is a damn good record. Traditional “rock” fans could very easily forget that this is a band that was well past its prime: this record is fresh and brings back everything that made Heart interesting back in the late ‘70’s without sounding like a Nostalgia Act.
Don’t let my rating fool you, a good record is, well, good. And if we are honest with ourselves, when was the last time you actually heard a “good album?” By that I mean, from start to finish it’s good: what it isn’t is three good songs surrounded by filler tracks. The packaging is especially good and the band is back doing what they go best, rock.
Album Review: Putumayo's Blue Lounge
Putumayo's Blues Lounge
Monday, October 04, 2004
The Putumayo Recording Label
As the sheer number of album releases each year balloons over 30,000 titles the music listener finds it harder and harder to wade through this avalanche to find music they want to hear.
One of the surefire methods to find success is to find a trusted label where the label’s integrity for releasing good music is such that the listener is willing to try an unknown artist simply because of the recording label their music appears one. Some of the well-known examples of this include; Windham Hill, Subpop, Stiff, American Gramophone and in a very modern sense, Saddle Creek Records.
Well it’s time to add another label to this distinguished list. The Putumayo Label was started when it’s founder fell in love with World Music. In addition to have exceptionally high musical standards for their compilations Putumayo’s albums also feature distinctive, attractive album artwork.
While I cannot recommend every title from this label, simply because I haven’t developed an appreciation for music from all corners of the world, their latest release, Blues Lounge, is yet another fine example of melding modern blues with cutting edge music sure to fire the interest of even the most casual blues fan. Admittedly this is not for purists as the title indicates it is a combination of blues and pseudo-lounge music. Relaxing yet stimulating.
Probably the most high profile act on this sampler is modern hipster Moby. Like so many bands in the ‘60’s Moby’s spent some time mining the American Blues genre for inspiration. This track, Run On, is very hip gospel tinged track that shows where the blues can be taken.
The track by Gare Du Nord relies heavily on the Robert Johnson song, Come On In My Kitchen. After a brief intro Du Nord takes the track in a new direction that is at once wonderful and true to the roots.
Often times modern blues recordings add nothing to the body of the art form but are merely archeological in their pursuit. This disc, ten tracks in all, breathes a modern sensibility into the blues and show a path that could capture the ears of old fans and bring in new fans to the fold. Very interesting and like EVERYTHING on the Putumayo label, exceptionally well done.
Monday, October 04, 2004
The Putumayo Recording Label
As the sheer number of album releases each year balloons over 30,000 titles the music listener finds it harder and harder to wade through this avalanche to find music they want to hear.
One of the surefire methods to find success is to find a trusted label where the label’s integrity for releasing good music is such that the listener is willing to try an unknown artist simply because of the recording label their music appears one. Some of the well-known examples of this include; Windham Hill, Subpop, Stiff, American Gramophone and in a very modern sense, Saddle Creek Records.
Well it’s time to add another label to this distinguished list. The Putumayo Label was started when it’s founder fell in love with World Music. In addition to have exceptionally high musical standards for their compilations Putumayo’s albums also feature distinctive, attractive album artwork.
While I cannot recommend every title from this label, simply because I haven’t developed an appreciation for music from all corners of the world, their latest release, Blues Lounge, is yet another fine example of melding modern blues with cutting edge music sure to fire the interest of even the most casual blues fan. Admittedly this is not for purists as the title indicates it is a combination of blues and pseudo-lounge music. Relaxing yet stimulating.
Probably the most high profile act on this sampler is modern hipster Moby. Like so many bands in the ‘60’s Moby’s spent some time mining the American Blues genre for inspiration. This track, Run On, is very hip gospel tinged track that shows where the blues can be taken.
The track by Gare Du Nord relies heavily on the Robert Johnson song, Come On In My Kitchen. After a brief intro Du Nord takes the track in a new direction that is at once wonderful and true to the roots.
Often times modern blues recordings add nothing to the body of the art form but are merely archeological in their pursuit. This disc, ten tracks in all, breathes a modern sensibility into the blues and show a path that could capture the ears of old fans and bring in new fans to the fold. Very interesting and like EVERYTHING on the Putumayo label, exceptionally well done.
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