1. I Want To Tell You (Jeff Lynne)
2. If I Needed Someone (Eric Clapton)
3. Old Brown Shoe (Gary Brooker)
4. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (Jeff Lynne)
5. Beware Of Darkness (Eric Clapton)
6. Here Comes The Sun (Joe Brown)
7. That’s The Way It Goes (Joe Brown)
8. Taxman (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
9. I Need You (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
10. Handle With Care (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with Jeff Lynne & Dhani Harrison)
11. Isn’t It A Pity (Billy Preston)
12. Photograph (Ringo Starr)
13. Honey Don’t (Ringo Starr)
14. For You Blue (Paul McCartney)
15. Something (Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton)
16. All Things Must Pass (Paul McCartney)
17. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton)
18. My Sweet Lord (Billy Preston)
19. Wah Wah (Eric Clapton & Band)
20. I’ll See You In My Dreams (Joe Brown)
One year after the death of George Harrison, his musical friends got together to celebrate his life in concert. The result is the beautiful Concert For George video and this two disc collection. It was released a year after the concert. The list of players paying homage to Harrison is staggering: Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Billy Preston, and the daughter of sitar legend Ravi Shankar. The songs are chosen from both Harrison’s time with The Beatles and his solo career. And although the CD version is excellent, it’s even better on DVD where you can see the performances.
Monty Python performed two tracks that are left off here, and a song by Jools Holland (Horse To The Water) also didn’t make the cut. Otherwise, you get pretty much the whole show here. But again…you should opt for the DVD, if for no other reason than to see George’s son Dhani (a complete look alike) basking in the joy of his father’s friends and his father’s music.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
1. Down to The Wire
2. Burned
3. Mr. Soul
4. Broken Arrow
5. Expecting To Fly
6. Sugar Mountain
7. I Am A Child
8. The Loner
9. The Old Laughing Lady
10. Cinnamon Girl
11. Down By The River
12. Cowgirl In The Sand
13. I Believe In You
14. After The Gold Rush
15. Southern Man
16. Helpless
1. Ohio
2. Soldier
3. Old Man
4. A Man Needs A Maid
5. Harvest
6. Heart Of Gold
7. Star Of Bethlehem
8. The Needle And The Damage Done
9. Tonight’s The Night (Part 1)
10. Tired Eyes
11. Walk On
12. For The Turnstiles
13. Winterlong
14. Deep Forbidden Lake
15. Like A Hurricane
16. Love Is A Rose
17. Cortez The Killer
18. Campaigner
19. Long May You Run
Decade is, very simply, perfection. Maybe the best compilation album of all time, this 3 record (2 CD) set contains all the best of Neil Young from Buffalo Springfield, through Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and his solo career through 1977. And it could have been longer…such is the career of Neil. And to this day, outside of owning his entire discography, this is the best introduction to one of the most important artists of the rock era. They simply don’t get better than this.
It would have been interesting if Young had stayed with the Decade concept: what would Decades 2, 3 and 4 sounded like? What would be set for inclusion on Decade 5? We’ll never know, I guess. But we still have this…an amazing document that show just how amazing the beginning of Neil’s career really was. Essential.
MICHAEL JACKSON
OFF THE WALL
1979-EPIC
Produced By QUINCY JONES
1. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
2. Rock With You
3. Working Day And Night
4. Get On The Floor
5. Off The Wall
6. Girlfriend
7. She’s Out Of My Life
8. I Can’t Help It
9. It’s The Falling In Love
10. Burn This Disco Out
Hard to believe that Off The Wall was Michael Jackson’s fifth solo album. And his first in four years following 1975’s Forever, Michael. Easy to forget that Off The Wall still stands just as strong alongside the ridiculously massively successful follow up, Thriller. But it does. Off The Wall is to disco what Appetitie For Destruction is to hair metal: it was so good that no one was going to be able to make a better disco album, and it was all downhill for the genre afterward.
Wait…just as good as Thriller? Yep. Off The Wall is loaded with everything Jackson did best: great dance floor numbers with high solid vocals, a good time vibe that rivals he best of Funkadelic, and yes…songs by both Stevie Wonder (“I Can’t Help It”) and Paul McCartney (“Girlfriend”), along with a breathy and over emotional ballad (“She’s Out Of My Life”). But it’s tracks like “Working Day And Night”, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”, and “Off The Wall” that make this album great. This is pre-lost his mind Michael, and may be his best work.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
NIRVANA
MTV UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
1994-GEFFEN
Produced By NIRVANA & SCOTT LITT
1. About A Girl
2. Come As You Are
3. Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam
4. The Man Who Sold The World
5. Pennyroyal Tea
6. Dumb
7. Polly
8. On A Plain
9. Something In The Way
10. Plateau
11. Oh Me
12. Lake Of Fire
13. All Apologies
14. Where Did You Sleep Last Night
In November of 1993, Nirvana performed their entry into MTV’s Unplugged series. 5 months later, Kurt Cobain was dead. This was the first posthumous release by the band, and is the most successful one to date. Nirvana didn’t go the traditional route with their Unplugged set: with the exception of “Come As You Are”, they avoided their biggest hits. The entire performance was done in one take, which was unheard of in the series. The performances are mostly perfect, with the band showing that even in an acoustic setting, they could still bring the raw power and emotion.
The biggest highlights are “About A Girl”, the only single from the album: “The Man Who Sold The World”, an exceptional David Bowie cover, and the memorable “All Apologies”. Cobain is in excellent and uncomfortable form throughout, and the performance, even without the DVD, shines all the way through. By far the best of the Unplugged series, and an important and necessary part of the short Nirvana discography.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
NANCI GRIFFITH
LATE NIGHT GRANDE HOTEL
1991-MCA
Produced By PETER VAN-HOOKE & ROD ARGENT
1. It’s Just Another Morning Here
2. Late Night Grande Hotel
3. It’s Too Late
4. Fields Of Summer
5. Heaven
6. The Power Lines
7. Hometown Streets
8. Down ‘N’ Outer
9. One Blade Shy Of A Sharp Edge
10. The Sun, Moon And Stars
11. San Diego Serenade
Not quite the best album by Nanci Griffith, Late Night Grande Hotel is more on the pop side than most of her other efforts. Eaturing backup vocakls by Phil Everly and Tanita Ticeram, and production from former Zombie Rod Argent, Griffith’s songs are mature to the point of hanging on the line of adult contemporary. In other words, don’t expect much rock. Or country. This is Griffith’s journey to what amounts to pretty much the dead center of the road.
There are some truly fine moments here: “It’s Just Another Morning Here” is one of her best songs: “The Power Lines” is a high point, and her reading of Tom Waits’ “San Diego Serenade” is excellent. As is “Fields Of Summer”. This album is not what Nanci does best, but she still does it better than a lot of people.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
NANCI GRIFFITH
LATE NIGHT GRANDE HOTEL
1991-MCA
Produced By PETER VAN-HOOKE & ROD ARGENT
1. It’s Just Another Morning Here
2. Late Night Grande Hotel
3. It’s Too Late
4. Fields Of Summer
5. Heaven
6. The Power Lines
7. Hometown Streets
8. Down ‘N’ Outer
9. One Blade Shy Of A Sharp Edge
10. The Sun, Moon And Stars
11. San Diego Serenade
Not quite the best album by Nanci Griffith, Late Night Grande Hotel is more on the pop side than most of her other efforts. Eaturing backup vocakls by Phil Everly and Tanita Ticeram, and production from former Zombie Rod Argent, Griffith’s songs are mature to the point of hanging on the line of adult contemporary. In other words, don’t expect much rock. Or country. This is Griffith’s journey to what amounts to pretty much the dead center of the road.
There are some truly fine moments here: “It’s Just Another Morning Here” is one of her best songs: “The Power Lines” is a high point, and her reading of Tom Waits’ “San Diego Serenade” is excellent. As is “Fields Of Summer”. This album is not what Nanci does best, but she still does it better than a lot of people.
Was just listening to this yesterday & completely agree. I typically hate this kind of stuff though, yet I quite like this for the most part especially that single you mention - It’s Just Another Morning Here”.
This might even make the backend of my year chart for 1991. 😁
TOM T HALL
THE ESSENTIAL TOM T HALL: THE STORY SONGS
1988-MERCURY
Produced By JERRY KENNEDY
1. The Year That Clayton Delaney Died
2. It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines
3. Ravishing Ruby
4. The Little lady Preacher
5. A Week In A Country Jail
6. Ballad Of Forty Dollars
7. The Hitchhiker
8. Who’s Gonna Feed Them Hogs
9. Salute To A Switchblade
10. Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On
11. Old Dogs, Children And Watermelon Wine
12. Coot Marseilles Blues
13. Don’t Forget The Coffee Billy Joe
14. Homecoming
15. Trip To Hyden
16. The Ballad Of Bill Crump
17. Second Handed Flowers
18. She Gave Her Heart To Jethro
19. Pay No Attention To Alice
20. Before Jessie Died
Country music has had its share of hard times, that’s for sure. Particularly during the 1970’s and 80’s when things seemed to only get cornier and cornier. But in the midst of the tripe were exceptional songwriters like Tom T. Hall. Hall came into the spotlight after his song “Harper Valley PTA” was a hit for Jeannie C. Riley in 1968, and from there he recorded many great songs. His best work was in the storytelling mode, and not a lot of people did it better than Hall.
The real standouts here are “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died”, “Old Dogs, Children And Watermelon Wine”, and “A Week In A Country Jail”, but everything else is strong (although an inclusion of “I Like Beer” would have made this collection absolutely perfect). Tom T. Hall is a shining light from the dark ages of country, and his songs deserve to be heard. This collection also has testimonials from everyone from Kurt Vonnegut to Jimmy Carter to Johnny Bench. Long live Tom T.!
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
By far the best of the Unplugged series, and an important and necessary part of the short Nirvana discography.
Totally agree. Most of the Unplugged performances are neat, in that you're seeing/hearing a stripped down version of songs. But they don't often offer much beyond that novelty factor. This one, however, is amazing. Playing less well known songs and so many covers was a smart move.
MercuryTurn your back on the pay-you-back last callProfile St. Louis
Hey romanelli, just reading over this diary. LOVED your write up on Off The Wall. I adore that record, and I am always vacillating 'tween it and Thriller as to best MJ and best Pop album ever. I'll just cop out and say its a tie.
As for Tom T. Hall, yeah he's such a brilliant songwriter. One of the greatest of all time in my opinion. Recently started digging up some of his albums and they are consitently great.
Anyway, keep up the great work. _________________ -Ryan
WARREN ZEVON
LIFE’LL KILL YA
2000-ARTEMIS
Produced By PAUL Q KOLDERIE & SEAN SLADE
1. I Was In The House When The House Burned Down
2. Life’ll Kill Ya
3. Porcelain Monkey
4. For My Next Trick I’ll Need A Volunteer
5. I’ll Slow You Down
6. Hostage-O
7. Dirty Little Religion
8. Back In The High Life Again
9. My Shit’s Fucked Up
10. Fistful Of Rain
11. Ourselves To Know
12. Don’t Let Us Get Sick
This could only happen to Warren Zevon: he released Life’ll Kill Ya, an album loaded with songs about death just two years before he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, and three years before his death. And in true Zevon fashion, he pulls no punches. The album is an acoustic effort, which adds a little more darkness to songs like “Life’ll Kill Ya”, “My Shit’s Fucked Up”, “Don’t Let Us Get Sick”, and the great opener “I Was In The House When The House Burned Down”. And despite the subject matter, Zevon manages to keep his sense of humor at the center of everything, which makes it all the more great.
The most serious moment is on the cover of Steve Winwood’s “Back In The High Life Again”, which he manages to make sound almost like a dirge. But only Zevon could do that…only Zevon could make an album about death sound like a good time. Only Zevon could write songs like “Hostage-O” and “My Shit’s Fucked Up”. This album makes me wish that there was more music from him coming out soon. It ain’t gonna happen, so treasure what you have from him.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Romanelli
Graeme2
Repo
zdwyatt
Mercury
