What CD are you listening to right now?

[bigburner]

Herbie Hancock - "River: The Joni Letters" (2007)

This CD was given to me by a friend a few days ago. What a lovely album it is. I'm so glad because I would probably never have bought it myself.

The album features star jazz pianist Herbie Hancock who performs Joni Mitchell songs with some excellent musicians including legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Here are the songs with the guest vocalists shown:

1. Court and Spark featuring Norah Jones
2. Edith and the Kingpin featuring Tina Turner
3. Both Sides Now
4. River featuring Corinne Bailey Rae
5. Sweet Bird
6. Tea Leaf Prophecy featuring Joni Mitchell
7. Solitude
8. Amelia featuring Luciana Souza
9. Nefertiti
10. The Jungle Line featuring Leonard Cohen

Nigel.

[David Meek]

Hubert is ably assisted by musicians including Eric Clapton, James Cotton, Bob Margolin, Levon Helm and Keith Richards.

Yes, I can see that Eric Clapton could be an able assistant. :rofl:

[Russ L]

The Who- "Quadrophenia" (1996)
Remaster of 1973 album by Bob Ludwig to CD. Their best IMO.

[Glen B]

Calle 54, soundtrack CD from the motion picture of the same title about latin jazz. Recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York where Steely Dan's Two Against Nature was also done.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1659727

[ShadowZA]

Brian Culbertson - "Bringing Back the Funk" (2008 )



Kudo's to RebelMan for this awesome recommendation. We arrived back from vacation in France & felt a little blue (The gettin' back blues). Put this on & eased back as some well-recorded funk kicked them blues right outta the door.

Followed up with:

Brian Culbertson - "Nice & Slow" (2001)



Soooo good. :T

[impala454]

Listening to my new favorite disc


I bought it mainly just for some the old stuff and the Everlast song "Put Your Lights On" but wow the entire disc is awesome.

[chrisn]

The Essential Clash (Disc One, already played Disc Two). Tommy Gun is the track playing. I feel left out not having included a picture of the album

[bigburner]

The Essential Clash (Disc One, already played Disc Two). Tommy Gun is the track playing. I feel left out not having included a picture of the album

This one?

[bigburner]

Listening to my new favorite disc


I bought it mainly just for some the old stuff and the Everlast song "Put Your Lights On" but wow the entire disc is awesome.

I can understand why that's your new favourite disc impala454.

If anyone out there wants to hear Samba Pa Ti off that disc - one of the most beautiful tracks of all time - just PM me with an email address and I'll send it to you in glorious mp3 format.

Nigel.

[Hdale85]

Blue man group - How To Be A Megastar Live!

Awesome CD, it is live though for people that don't like that sort of thing but it was recorded quite well. There is an awesome version of the Pink Floyd song One of These Days on it. If you can spring for it get the DVD as it makes it even better

[impala454]

I can understand why that's your new favourite disc impala454.

If anyone out there wants to hear Samba Pa Ti off that disc - one of the most beautiful tracks of all time - just PM me with an email address and I'll send it to you in glorious mp3 format.

Nigel.

I really like it, having both his classic instrumentals, plus the combos with the popular vocalists. I was particularly surprised with "Into the Night" with Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, and as mentioned earlier I really like the Everlast feature "Put Your Lights On".

[Chris D]

Good stuff, guys. I'm a fan of the Blue-Man Group and Santana, have some albums, but not those particular ones.

[Alloroc]

I've been listeniing to these a lot these days....

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive



And...

Daniel Lanois - Here Is What Is.

[bigburner]

Buddy Guy - Stone Crazy! (1981)

I've just finished listening to this CD for the first time and I'm bowled over. I just had to tell someone and everyone else in my house is asleep (I listened on headphones), so it's you guys I'm afraid.

This is an outstanding electric blues album - raw and intense. I've never heard Buddy Guy play better. There's no mucking about. He's totally focused on the music.

I can't sleep after this. Sheesh.

Nigel.

[mayhem13]

Classic Yes- Close to the Edge. Amazing early Wakeman and Squire. Now it's on to A Farewell to Kings, an early Rush LP on vinyl !!

[wettou]

Mozart: Violin Concertos [Hybrid SACD], Trondheim Soloists (Performer), Marianne Thorsen (Performer) :T

and

DIVERTIMENTI - TrondheimSolistene (Blu Ray)

http://www.2l.no/2L.htm

[Burke Strickland]

This must be Mozart on SACD Day!

Mozart: 4 Horn Concertos; Rondo in E Flat / Alan Civil, Neville Marriner Academy of St Martin in the Fields Super-Audio CD

[bigburner]

Emmylou Harris - "All I Intended To Be" (2008 )

I've just finished listening to this CD for the first time and my initial reaction is very positive. There's something about Emmylou that's very appealing...

Now it's on to a bit of electric blues with this one, which I've heard a few times now.

Joe Bonamassa - "Blues Deluxe" (2003)

It sounds much better this time. I must be in a receptive mood or perhaps it's the recent tweaks to my subwoofer or perhaps it's just the blues phase I'm going through...

Nigel.

[Chris D]

Just did a big music order with Amazon, in part with some great suggestions here. Listening to some old staples, now:

[wettou]

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART SACDs

This must be Mozart on SACD Day! Mozart: 4 Horn Concertos; Rondo in E Flat / Alan Civil, Neville Marriner Academy of St Martin in the Fields Super-Audio CD

Yes very good, here are a few other SACD fans of Classical music and especially WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 9 & 25 - Brendel

Mozart, Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos - Eschkenazy/Boni

Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante, Concerto Violin & Piano - Midori

Mozart: Piano Sonatas - Andreas Staier

Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, Quintet - Martin Fröst

Mozart: Complete sonatas for keyboard and violin Vol. 1 - Cooper/Podger

Amadeus - Soundtrack

[Alloroc]

Here are my most recent purchases and have been listening to them in rotation

First the new one from Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid



Second we have The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

Note : for those who are in to that garage country rock sound from Wilco or Cracker, you'll like this.

[bigburner]

Second we have The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

Note : for those who are in to that garage country rock sound from Wilco or Cracker, you'll like this.

I can hear someone calling my name...

[Alloroc]

You know it!

They're definitly worth checking out.

[wettou]

More Classical SACD.

Scottish Chamber Orchestra Mozart Symphonies 38 - 41 Linn

Mozart Serenades

http://www.linnrecords.com/artist-sc...tra--sco-.aspx :T

[bigburner]

Junior Wells – "Come On In This House" (1996)

My music purchasing history is littered with failures – albums that I’ve listened to once and then ignored. So it’s great to come across an album that has the wow factor. It’s even better to come across an album that you think is the best album you’ve heard all year.

Last week this CD arrived in the mail from an old friend in Sydney. I've now listened to it three times and I think it’s a candidate for the best album I’ve listened to in 2008, even if it is 12 years old.

I'm too lazy to write a review so I’ll give you this one by M. Bernocchi from Old Windsor, Berkshire, in the United Kingdom, which describes the album better than I ever could.

Junior Wells hardly needs any introduction. He is one of the best blues harp players of all time and one of the main figures in blues history, full stop. He played in the legendary band "The Ace", he has been member for years of the "Muddy Waters Band" during the period of its maximum splendour, he has had a long partnership with the great Buddy Guy, as well as a brilliant solo career. In two words a living legend. On this album, a true masterpiece, one of the album that you would certainly take with you on a desert island, he is accompanied by some of the best "young" blues guitarists around: Corey Harris, Alvin "Youngblood" Hart, Sonny Landreth, John Mooney, Derek Trucks, Tab Benoit and the "Muddy Waters Band" veteran Bob Margolin. Every guest plays at his best, and Junior Wells let them one by one take the centre of the scene. All of them are playing rigorously acoustic, national steel or, occasionally, electric slide guitar. 14 songs one better than the other. From the amazing cover of Tracy Chapman's hit "Give me one reason" with the fantastic performance of Sonny Landreth on national steel and electric slide guitars (it really sounds like another song!) to the stunning "Mystery Train" in which Corey Harris and Bob Margolin play the lead. However it is really difficult to point out a particular song, this is the classic CD that you will never get tired to listening from start to finish. This CD is the perfect fusion between the acoustic sound of the Delta and the modern blues, without any doubt one of the best traditional blues album of the last 10 years. Don't miss it!

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis – “Two Men with the Blues” (2008 )

What do you do if you are a musical living legend with a large catalogue of great songs and you still have the urge to perform?

One option is to do the same old material in the same old way because you will always find an audience that appreciates predictability.

The other option is to team up with another great musician and breathe new life into the old songs.

Well that’s exactly what Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis have done in this excellent album.

Willie Nelson is an icon on the country music scene. He is known for his prolific song writing and regular performing as well as his well-publicized activism for causes such as cannabis legalization. When this concert was recorded (in front of a live audience) in The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center on the 12th and 13th of January 2007 Willie was just short of his 74th birthday. He has 94 albums to his credit, including this one, plus numerous collaboration albums.

Wynton Marsalis is one of the most prominent jazz musicians on the world stage today. He is a trumpeter as well as a composer and is known in the field of classical music too. He was 45 when this album was recorded. He has 71 albums to his credit, including this one.

The thing that Willie and Wynton have in common is their love of jazz and the blues, and that’s one of the reasons why their collaboration on this album works so well. It was obvious to me that they are both having a great time.

The backing musicians for the dynamic duo come mainly from Wynton's band. They comprise saxophonist Walter Blanding, pianist Dan Nimmer, bassist Carlos Henríquez and drummer Ali Jackson. Willie adds his harmonica player Mickey Raphael to the band, which adds some spice to an otherwise jazz lineup.

The songs on this album are basically blues and country standards that are given a jazz treatment. I’m pretty ignorant about jazz and can get out of my comfort zone quite easily. The beauty of this album is that as soon as I approached my discomfort zone Willie reeled me in to familiar territory. In the process I was extended.

I read some reviews that criticised Willie’s singing, saying that he can’t sing any longer because he’s too old. I call this “doing a Bob Dylan” (sorry Bob) but it’s quite untrue in this case. Willie may not be a vocal giant on this album but he can still sing and his jazz phrasing is good, which is probably why he cuts the mustard with Wynton.

To sum up this album, I would describe it as interesting and clever. These are worthy attributes in a world of sameness and predictability. It will get plenty of play in my house.

I dithered about buying this CD, disbelieving that the combination of Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis would work. Thank goodness my wife has more sense and just went out and bought it.

Nigel.

[r100gs]

Jay Soto, "Stay Awhile". Nice smooth jazz guitar. :T

[r100gs]

Bonafide, "royal function", well recorded cd. Keyboard and sax meet with a funky smooth jazz sound. I'll have to check out more of their stuff. :T

[dknightd]

I've got to stop visiting this thread - great suggestions, but getting a little expensive. . .

Currently listening to Fela Kuti - Live! With Ginger Baker

Afrobeat meets rock'n'roll drummer. Good stuff

[Alloroc]

Right now....



The soundtrack from the film adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel 'About a Boy'

Scored by Badly Drawn Boy, it's well able to stand on it's own as an album. An old favourite of mine.

[jackmcmanus21]

Johnny Cash: American IV: The Man Comes Around

[bigburner]

Buddy Guy - "Skin Deep" (2008 )

I like it.

Nigel.

[Gump]

Matt Bachrach

Matt is a local musician who was tragically killed here in Arizona last week in a traffic accident. A semi-tractor/trailer jackknifed on the freeway and he was unable to stop in time and ran into the back of the rig causing his death. He is survived by is wife, who is due to give birth in several weeks, as well as a 6yr old and 3yr old sons. The full story is at azfamily.com.

Matt was an excellent pianist. If you're in the mood for light jazz I highly recommend his "Along For The Ride" cd. He has several other good cd's out as well including a Christmas one, "Joy To The World".

Neil

[PewterTA]

Metallica - Death Magnetic:
By far, Metallica is back! This albums goes back in the direction that they were "trying" to go with St. Anger (which was AWEFUL). I would say this album falls into place right between Master of Puppets and ...And Justice for All. This is in terms of artistic-ness of course.

Now... unfortunately, the sound quality on this is AWEFUL. You can easily hear the clipping and limiting and... ugh. Just terrible!!! This whole loudiness war with the recording industry needs to stop. Seriously.

If anyone is a fan of Metallica, please sign this petition (that I found) and even if you aren't and are a fan of QUALITY in your CDs... please sign it as well! Maybe then we can get the recording to start realizing that we aren't F'ing stupid about this and like to enjoy the quality of what we are hearing!!!

Metallica Petition to remake the album

[Hdale85]

I've heard that the Vinyl is awesome.

[Russ L]

I've heard that the Vinyl is awesome.

Good to hear. Most of their albums including Master of Puppets and And Justice For All are remastered(or soon will be) on to vinyl. :T Buy them now, they should sell out quickly!

[Russ L]

Metallica - Death Magnetic:

Now... unfortunately, the sound quality on this is AWEFUL. You can easily hear the clipping and limiting and... ugh. Just terrible!!! This whole loudiness war with the recording industry needs to stop. Seriously.

If anyone is a fan of Metallica, please sign this petition (that I found) and even if you aren't and are a fan of QUALITY in your CDs... please sign it as well! Maybe then we can get the recording to start realizing that we aren't F'ing stupid about this and like to enjoy the quality of what we are hearing!!!

Thanks for the warning. Looks like alot of people are buying the CD and suffering with poor sound quality. An excerpt from a story this week:

2008-09-18
Metallica Grab US No. 1 Spot

As well as being No. 1 in the UK album chart, rock heavyweights Metallica have this week also claimed the No. 1 spot in the US Billboard chart with their ninth studio album 'Death Magnetic'. The band were in the UK earlier this week to play a special one off fan show at London’s massive 02 arena as well as performing live on BBC 2 for Jools Holland’s ‘Later’ show.

Its weird because I just saw at Acoustic Sounds that the new and re-released Metallica LPs are getting the complete audiophile treatment- 1/2 speed mastering, 180g discs etc. and the CDs are the exact opposite...? :roll:

[Hdale85]

Yeah thats basically exactly what I've heard about the latest album of theirs. The vinyl was extremely good the CD was poorer then average.

[bigburner]

Rodney Crowell - "Sex & Gasoline" (2008 )

A seriously good new album. I kid you not.

Nigel.

[Chris D]

Ah, good to hear the Metallica album is good, at least. :wtf: about the CD quality, though? They do LP's right, and do the black album on DVD-A, and now this?

[wettou]

Pete Gabriel So in SACD a bit pricey but great music:T

[impala454]

The actual music they did for Death Magnetic is awesome IMHO. Definitely nice to see them return to the style that made them great back in the day. Although even to my somewhat virgin audiophile ears, I'd have to agree the CD quality was not good at all. Maybe we'll get a higher quality option though who knows. Is there some way for someone with the LP to convert it to a digital format? I'd surely provide some kind of proof to that person that I purchased the CD, if they'd be willing to send em over

[impala454]

So I uh... ahem... "obtained" a version of Death Magnetic which was used for Guitar Hero III, and it does definitely sound a little less harsh, but still not enough to matter. They really need to redo the album.

[bigburner]

Bo Ramsey - "Fragile" (2008 )

Delicious!

Nigel.

[bigburner]

Shannon McNally - "Geronimo" (2005)

This is fairly delicious too, and I'm referring to the music in case you're wondering...

Nigel.