DOVES
LOST SOULS
2000 – HEAVENLY / ASTRALWERKS
Produced By DOVES & STEVE OSBORNE
1. Firesuite
2. Here It Comes
3. Break Me Gently
4. Sea Song
5. Rise
6. Lost Souls
7. Melody Calls
8. Catch The Sun
9. The Man Who Told Everything
10. The Cedar Room
11. Reprise
12. A House
13. Darker
14. Valley
15. Zither
A full decade before they released their debut album in 2000, the members of Doves had been making music as Sub Sub, a dance group that had a #3 single with “Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use)”. They were thinking of changing their musical direction when, in 1996, their studio burned down, destroying all of their equipment and recorded material. Talk about a fresh start. The band renamed themselves Doves, then spent nearly four years locked in a studio creating new music and discovering the band they wanted to be. The result is Lost Souls, one of the finest debut albums to come out of England in a long time. Doves had transformed themselves into a wall of beautiful dream pop shoegaze goodness, with haunting vocals and hooks as far as the eye could see.
A couple of songs here came out as singles in 1999, and were minor hits: “Sea Song” and “Here It Comes” gave a taste of what was to come. But it’s at track eight where this really comes to life. The three song run of “Catch The Sun”, “The Man Who Told Everything” and “The Cedar Room” is extraordinary. They had plenty of time to get this right, and they did just that. They were still growing…the second album, The Last Broadcast, was even better. Doves went on an eight year hiatus in 2009, and came back with an album in 2020. They have slowed since, citing the health of front man Jimi Goodwin. Lost Souls is a great place to start with Doves, a truly interesting and engaging band that is always worth listening to. Any of their five discs are a good bet.
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SANTANA
SUPERNATURAL
1999 – ARISTA
Produced By CARLOS SANTANA, CLIVE DAVIS, JERRY “WONDER” DUPLESSIS, THE DUST BROTHERS, ALEX GONZALEZ, CHARLES GOODAN, LAURYN HILL, ART HODGE, WYCLEF JEAN, FHER OLVERA, K.C. PORTER, DANTE ROSS, MATT SERLETIC & STEPHEN HARRIS
1. (Da Le) Yaleo
2. Love Of My Life (Feat. Dave Matthews & Carter Beauford)
3. Put Your Lights On (Feat. Everlast)
4. Africa Bamba
5. Smooth (Feat. Rob Thomas)
6. Do You Like The Way (Feat. Lauryn Hill & Cee Lo Green)
7. Maria Maria (Feat. The Product G&B)
8. Migra
9. Corazon Espinado (Feat. Mana)
10. Wishing It Was (Feat. Eagle-Eye Cherry)
11. El Farol
12. Primavera
13. The Calling (Feat. Eric Clapton)
As far as comebacks go, this one has to rate near the top. Santana was thought to have been over by 1999. They hadn’t had a top ten album or single since 1982, and hadn’t even released an album since 1992. They were without a label, and it took some time before they found someone who would take a chance on them. That someone was Clive Davis, who gave them a shot with his Arista label. The album Supernatural became the biggest thing of 1999, hitting number one worldwide. This happened mainly on the wings of “Smooth”, sung by Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas. “Smooth” was a perfect hit, with Carlos Santana’s stinging solo licks swirling around Thomas’ cool vocals and the bands’ Latin rhythms creating an irresistible smash. Santana was back.
But Supernatural wasn’t just “Smooth”. Having guest vocalists was a smart move for the most part, with “Put Your Lights Out” (Everlast), “Corazon Espinado (Mana), and “Maria Maria” (The Product G&B) working exceptionally well. It wasn’t all great, though…Lauryn Hill & Cee Lo Green on “Do You Like The Way” seem out of place, and the number of guests gets dizzying after a while, and keeps the album from being as good as it could have been as a whole. There are a few Santana instrumentals without guests, but more of those would have been nice. Still, the man and the band showed here that they still had it, setting a record for longest stretch between number one albums at 28 years. If that’s not the definition of an epic comeback, I don’t know what is.
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Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
ROBIN & LINDA WILLIAMS
SUGAR FOR SUGAR
1996 – SUGAR HILL RECORDS
Produced By KEVIN MCNOLDY & ROBIN & LINDA WILLIAMS
1. Sugar For Sugar
2. Together All Alone
3. Border Bound
4. The Cheapest Kind
5. The Brimming Glass
6. Traffic Light
7. High Atmosphere
8. Talking Too Much
9. Honky Tonk Nation
10. Streets Of Gold
11. Old Wyatt
12. The Edge Of The World
They’ve never been at the top of country music, but I doubt that Robin & Linda Williams care for that much. But what they do sure does work. The comedian Robin Williams didn’t come on the scene until 1976…so this guy came first. Robin and Linda met in 1971, got married, and have been performing together since 1973. Still at it, 24 albums later. They’ve had glimpses of the big time, but what they ultimately have is a fanbase that knows just how good and solid they are. Sugar For Sugar is their 13th release, and it’s as fine as anything they’ve done over the years. Their songwriting is sweet, and their close vocal harmonies are as good as you could ask for. There’s not a hit here, but that’s okay. With acts like this one, hits are overrated, anyway.
Both Robin and Linda play guitar. Linda also adds some banjo when needed. Mary Chapin Carpenter lends some harmonies on a pair of tracks as well. “Sugar For Sugar” could have been a hit but wasn’t, and songs like “The Brimming Glass” and “Streets Of Gold” are more than worthwhile. Nothing here really jumps out at you, but by the end, it’s been really nice getting to know the Williams’. It’s a fine enough album to have spent time as a top 15 Americana album in 1996. Quite the feel good story, Robin & Linda are still together, still touring, still making new music. And wearing smiles through it all. They may not be big stars, but if you are as fortunate as these two, getting to do what you love for an entire lifetime, then you’ve lived a good life indeed.
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Of dying history
DWIGHT YOAKAM
BUENAS NOCHES FROM A LONELY ROOM
1988 – CAPITOL
Produced By PETE ANDERSON
1. I Got You
2. One More Name
3. What I Don’t Know
4. Home Of The Blues
5. Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses)
6. I Hear You Knockin’
7. I Sang Dixie
8. Streets Of Bakersfield
9. Floyd Country
10. Send Me The Pillow
11. Hold On To God
If you were to come to me and ask what would be a great album to get into country music with, this might just be the one you get. Dwight Yoakam was, in the eighties, making California country really cool. His first two albums were great…and then there’s Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room. A complete throwback to the glory days of country, with just enough of a rock and roll touch to make this a complete joy from start to finish. Nashville disliked Yoakam a lot, and for good reason. This is the best kind of country music. It’s sad, it’s danceable, and the playing is impeccable. Not to mention Yoakam’s perfect twangy vocals. Buenas Noches is kind of forgotten these days, but it’s notice that Dwight Yoakam had fully arrived. In all of the best ways.
The title track is the perfect sad country song, complete with accordion great Flaco Jimenez. The biggest highlight is the classic “Streets Of Bakersfield”, a duet with Buck Owens. Yoakam’s own “I Sang Dixie” and “I Got You” are amazing as well. And he treats the Johnny Cash classic “Home Of The Blues” with the perfect reverence. Buenas Noches is a perfect country album, with zero pop fluff and just the right amount of…everything else. After 17 studio albums, Yoakam hasn’t released one since 2016’s Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars. He’s still touring and is a busy radio show host. Hopefully, we’ll hear more from Dwight Yoakam soon. One of the all time greatest. Don’t pass on one of his very best in Buenas Noches. A perfect country album.
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Of dying history
SARAH MCLACHLAN
LAWS OF ILLUSION
2010 – ARISTA
Produced By PIERRE MARCHAND
1. Awakenings
2. Illusions Of Bliss
3. Loving You Is Easy
4. Changes
5. Forgiveness
6. Rivers Of Love
7. Love Come
8. Out Of Tune
9. Heartbreak
10. Don’t Give Up On Us
11. U Want Me 2
12. Bring On The Wonder
13. Love Come (Piano Version)
High charting albums for Sarah McLachlan are pretty much automatic. And for the decade between 1993 and 2003, it was all justified. McLachlan made smart and interesting music that sounded great on radio, and even better from the crowd at a Lilith Fair show. But after her 2003 release, Afterglow, McLachlan started running low on ideas. Her 2006 album, Wintersong, was still a top ten hit, but outside of “River”, there wasn’t much to hang your hat on. Four years later, her seventh album, Laws Of Illusion, also charted high, but it also fell far short of what had come before it. The album followed McLachlan’s divorce, but instead of being biting and angry, it simply falls flat. Sarah sounds whimsical and mellow, ultimately ending up just a nick above the pulse of an Enya record.
“Loving You Is Easy” has a heartbeat, but unfortunately, that makes it seem out of place here. The rest of Laws Of Illusion is music to fall asleep to…if that’s what you’re looking for, then this will work nicely. McLachlan sounds bored and tired. One reviewer got it just right, saying the album sounds both effortless and effortless. “U Want Me 2” had already appeared on her best of compilation from two years earlier. The album was supposed to have marked the return of her Lilith Fair, which also died with barely a whimper. Laws Of Illusion sounds mostly pretty, but your love of it will depend on just how much mellow you can stand. She’s made two records since, and none in the last eight years. Has Sarah McLachlan run out of gas? Laws Of Illusion suggests that she was already down to fumes.
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Of dying history
BILLIE HOLIDAY
BILLIE HOLIDAY - FOREVER GOLD
1999 – FOREVER GOLD
No Production Credit
1. Ain’t Nobody’s Business
2. It’s Easy To Remember
3. My Man
4. No Detour Ahead
5. Lover Man
6. Crazy He Calls Me
7. Nice Work If You Can Get It
8. What A Little Moonlight Can Do
9. He’s Funny That Way
10. When Your Lover Has Gone
11. Don’t Explain
12. I Got It Bad And It Ain’t Good
13. Night And Day
14. God Bless The Child
So many compilations that seem to have come from nowhere. This is one of those. Forever Gold was a subsidiary of St. Clair Entertainment from Canada that appears to have been in business between 1999 and 2007. St. Clair’s last releases were a year later. Part of the Forever Gold label was a long series of compilations with the same name. Billie Holiday had one of these come out in 1999. They are discount releases, and because of St. Clair’s history, the possibility of copyright violations is possible with the label. Outside of this, there is very little information available about this album. There are no liner notes, so no production or musician credits. All you get is a single photo and a 14 song tracklist…and of course, you get some pretty fine music.
One of the more interesting tracks is Holiday’s 1948 version of “My Man” (originally “Mon Homme”), in which Holiday literally sings matter about how her man beats her, but she still loves him. The recordings on Forever Gold seem to have a strange echo which makes them sound even older than they are. Of course, there are dozens of different Holiday compilations out there, and she recorded so much great music, that it’s hard to go wrong with her. So, I guess it comes down to how much you want. 14 songs is a bit light…you can get albums that are much more complete. And not having any liner notes of any kind is a minus as well. The music here? It's all golden. Your mileage may vary depending on how much information you want to go along with it.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
SANTANA
SUPERNATURAL
1999 – ARISTA
Produced By CARLOS SANTANA, CLIVE DAVIS, JERRY “WONDER” DUPLESSIS, THE DUST BROTHERS, ALEX GONZALEZ, CHARLES GOODAN, LAURYN HILL, ART HODGE, WYCLEF JEAN, FHER OLVERA, K.C. PORTER, DANTE ROSS, MATT SERLETIC & STEPHEN HARRIS
1. (Da Le) Yaleo
2. Love Of My Life (Feat. Dave Matthews & Carter Beauford)
3. Put Your Lights On (Feat. Everlast)
4. Africa Bamba
5. Smooth (Feat. Rob Thomas)
6. Do You Like The Way (Feat. Lauryn Hill & Cee Lo Green)
7. Maria Maria (Feat. The Product G&B)
8. Migra
9. Corazon Espinado (Feat. Mana)
10. Wishing It Was (Feat. Eagle-Eye Cherry)
11. El Farol
12. Primavera
13. The Calling (Feat. Eric Clapton)
As far as comebacks go, this one has to rate near the top. Santana was thought to have been over by 1999. They hadn’t had a top ten album or single since 1982, and hadn’t even released an album since 1992. They were without a label, and it took some time before they found someone who would take a chance on them. That someone was Clive Davis, who gave them a shot with his Arista label. The album Supernatural became the biggest thing of 1999, hitting number one worldwide. This happened mainly on the wings of “Smooth”, sung by Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas. “Smooth” was a perfect hit, with Carlos Santana’s stinging solo licks swirling around Thomas’ cool vocals and the bands’ Latin rhythms creating an irresistible smash. Santana was back.
But Supernatural wasn’t just “Smooth”. Having guest vocalists was a smart move for the most part, with “Put Your Lights Out” (Everlast), “Corazon Espinado (Mana), and “Maria Maria” (The Product G&B) working exceptionally well. It wasn’t all great, though…Lauryn Hill & Cee Lo Green on “Do You Like The Way” seem out of place, and the number of guests gets dizzying after a while, and keeps the album from being as good as it could have been as a whole. There are a few Santana instrumentals without guests, but more of those would have been nice. Still, the man and the band showed here that they still had it, setting a record for longest stretch between number one albums at 28 years. If that’s not the definition of an epic comeback, I don’t know what is.
SANTANA
SUPERNATURAL
1999 – ARISTA
Produced By CARLOS SANTANA, CLIVE DAVIS, JERRY “WONDER” DUPLESSIS, THE DUST BROTHERS, ALEX GONZALEZ, CHARLES GOODAN, LAURYN HILL, ART HODGE, WYCLEF JEAN, FHER OLVERA, K.C. PORTER, DANTE ROSS, MATT SERLETIC & STEPHEN HARRIS
1. (Da Le) Yaleo
2. Love Of My Life (Feat. Dave Matthews & Carter Beauford)
3. Put Your Lights On (Feat. Everlast)
4. Africa Bamba
5. Smooth (Feat. Rob Thomas)
6. Do You Like The Way (Feat. Lauryn Hill & Cee Lo Green)
7. Maria Maria (Feat. The Product G&B)
8. Migra
9. Corazon Espinado (Feat. Mana)
10. Wishing It Was (Feat. Eagle-Eye Cherry)
11. El Farol
12. Primavera
13. The Calling (Feat. Eric Clapton)
As far as comebacks go, this one has to rate near the top. Santana was thought to have been over by 1999. They hadn’t had a top ten album or single since 1982, and hadn’t even released an album since 1992. They were without a label, and it took some time before they found someone who would take a chance on them. That someone was Clive Davis, who gave them a shot with his Arista label. The album Supernatural became the biggest thing of 1999, hitting number one worldwide. This happened mainly on the wings of “Smooth”, sung by Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas. “Smooth” was a perfect hit, with Carlos Santana’s stinging solo licks swirling around Thomas’ cool vocals and the bands’ Latin rhythms creating an irresistible smash. Santana was back.
But Supernatural wasn’t just “Smooth”. Having guest vocalists was a smart move for the most part, with “Put Your Lights Out” (Everlast), “Corazon Espinado (Mana), and “Maria Maria” (The Product G&B) working exceptionally well. It wasn’t all great, though…Lauryn Hill & Cee Lo Green on “Do You Like The Way” seem out of place, and the number of guests gets dizzying after a while, and keeps the album from being as good as it could have been as a whole. There are a few Santana instrumentals without guests, but more of those would have been nice. Still, the man and the band showed here that they still had it, setting a record for longest stretch between number one albums at 28 years. If that’s not the definition of an epic comeback, I don’t know what is.
DAVID WILCOX
HOW DID YOU FIND ME HERE
1989 – A&M
Produced By PAT MCCARTHY
1. Eye Of The Hurricane
2. Language Of The Heart
3. Rusty Old American Dream
4. How Did You Find Me Here
5. Leave It Like It Is
6. Saturday They’ll All Be Back Again
7. Jamie’s Secret
8. It’s Almost Time
9. Just A Vehicle
10. Common As The Rain
11. The Kid
The first thing that comes to mind when hearing David Wilcox (the US musician) is James Taylor. Similar voice, similar guitar style. But unlike Taylor, who was discovered in England in the sixties by The Beatles, Wilcox began paying his dues in the south in the late eighties. He made four albums with A&M, the first of which was his second record, How Did You Find Me Here. The story is that despite minimal airplay and distribution, this album sold over 100,000 copies simply through word of mouth. This album was critically loved, and never made a dent in the charts. Part of the reason may have been that 1989 was NOT the time for a new James Taylor. And it never has been since…David Wilcox has had a full almost forty year career without so much as a one hit wonder.
There are some nice moments here. Wilcox is no slouch on the guitar, he sings really well, and his songwriting is fine. But 1989 fans of new wave, hair metal, and pop country weren’t biting. “Rusty Old American Dream” is a fine track, as are “Eye Of The Hurricane” and “Common As The Rain”. But Wilcox also has a very snoozy side that doesn’t get much help from a band…much of this album is Wilcox by himself. It’s good, but it’s also forever out of time. His A&M contract ran out in 1994, and since then, he’s been releasing his work either by himself or on small labels. He’s well loved in folk circles, and unknown everywhere else, despite a discography of more than twenty releases. The lesson here is do what you love, and don’t worry about if it sells or not.
My Rating: ****
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
DAVID WILCOX
HOW DID YOU FIND ME HERE
1989 – A&M
Produced By PAT MCCARTHY
1. Eye Of The Hurricane
2. Language Of The Heart
3. Rusty Old American Dream
4. How Did You Find Me Here
5. Leave It Like It Is
6. Saturday They’ll All Be Back Again
7. Jamie’s Secret
8. It’s Almost Time
9. Just A Vehicle
10. Common As The Rain
11. The Kid
The first thing that comes to mind when hearing David Wilcox (the US musician) is James Taylor. Similar voice, similar guitar style. But unlike Taylor, who was discovered in England in the sixties by The Beatles, Wilcox began paying his dues in the south in the late eighties. He made four albums with A&M, the first of which was his second record, How Did You Find Me Here. The story is that despite minimal airplay and distribution, this album sold over 100,000 copies simply through word of mouth. This album was critically loved, and never made a dent in the charts. Part of the reason may have been that 1989 was NOT the time for a new James Taylor. And it never has been since…David Wilcox has had a full almost forty year career without so much as a one hit wonder.
There are some nice moments here. Wilcox is no slouch on the guitar, he sings really well, and his songwriting is fine. But 1989 fans of new wave, hair metal, and pop country weren’t biting. “Rusty Old American Dream” is a fine track, as are “Eye Of The Hurricane” and “Common As The Rain”. But Wilcox also has a very snoozy side that doesn’t get much help from a band…much of this album is Wilcox by himself. It’s good, but it’s also forever out of time. His A&M contract ran out in 1994, and since then, he’s been releasing his work either by himself or on small labels. He’s well loved in folk circles, and unknown everywhere else, despite a discography of more than twenty releases. The lesson here is do what you love, and don’t worry about if it sells or not.
Wow... it's not just the voice that's Tayloresque, but even the phrasing and intonation. Yeah, great guitar recording too.
I doubt I would ever have heard of ths artist if not for your post. Thanks.
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