DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES
VOICES
1980 – RCA
Produced By DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES
1. How Does It Feel To Be Back
2. Big Kids
3. United State
4. Hard To Be In Love With You
5. Kiss On My List
6. Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)
7. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’
8. You Make My Dreams
9. Everytime You Go Away
10. Africa
11. Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear The Voices)
Daryl Hall and John Oates (the name is NOT Hall & Oates) struggled through the entire decade of the seventies. They had a small handful of hits (“Rich Girl”, “Sara Smile”, She’s Gone”), but they never quite became a big thing. That all changed at the dawn of the eighties. For their ninth album, Voices, the pair decided to produce their own albums. They started using their touring band in the studio, and they refined their songwriting approach. They also came to terms with disco, which they felt had been holding them back for some time. The results were immediate. Voices changed everything for them. They quickly became one of the most successful acts of the decade with a string of five albums and thirteen top ten singles. There was simply no escaping these guys in the eighties.
“How Does It Feel To Be Back” was a minor hit. What got people’s attention was their cover of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”. After that, they exploded with “Kiss On My List” and “You Make My Dreams”. The machine was in full motion, and there was no stopping them. The album also contains “Everytime You Go Away”, a fine song that became a #1 hit for Paul Young. Not everything here works, though. Songs like “United State” and “Gotta Lotta Nerve (Perfect Perfect)” try hard, but are more irritating than they are catchy. And “Africa” is simply too much Oates and not enough Hall. “You Make My Dreams” was still on the charts when their next disc, Private Eyes, came out, and they were well on the way. A decent effort, and the beginning of a very strong run of success for them.
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Of dying history
HERBIE HANCOCK
HEAD HUNTERS
1973 – COLUMBIA
Produced By HERBIE HANCOCK & DAVID RUBINSON
1. Chameleon
2. Watermelon Man
3. Sly
4. Vein Melter
One of the greatest keyboardists of all time. Herbie Hancock’s twelfth album, Head Hunters, was a departure from his previous three, the last of which had been the exceptional Sextant. His new band was called The Headhunters, and the new name of the game was funk fusion. Although fusion is not a type of music that is generally commercially successful, this turned out to be his biggest selling album…and his best work. And that’s saying something, considering he has released about 40 studio albums, not counting the ones he played on with Miles Davis. Hancock makes advances with synthesizers, and while the album is notable for being a fusion record with no guitars, Hancock along with woodwind player Bennie Maupin handle the lead instruments just fine.
“Chameleon” is the longest piece here at over fifteen minutes, and it has become a jazz standard. It’s a jazz-funk masterpiece. “Watermelon Man” is a remake from Hancock’s first solo album in 1962, Takin’ Off, and features heavy percussion. “Sly” is dedicated to the very funky Sly Stone. After so much heavy stuff, the finale, “Vein Melter”, is surprisingly calm, but it burns in its own way. Head Hunters ends up a nearly perfect record, made by some of the greatest musicians of its time. Hancock continued with the Headhunters band and theme through most of the seventies, and would bring it back from time to time. The real trick to fusion music is to make it listenable while keeping it technically right…Hancock makes that happen here. This is the best from a true master.
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Of dying history
EMMYLOU HARRIS
STUMBLE INTO GRACE
2003 – NONESUCH
Produced By MALCOLM BURN
1. Here I Am
2. I Will Dream
3. Little Bird
4. Time In Babylon
5. Can You Hear Me Now
6. Strong Hand (For June)
7. Jupiter Rising
8. O Evangeline
9. Plaisir d’Amour
10. Lost Unto This World
11. Cup Of Kindness
In the early 70’s, she was a backup singer for Gram Parsons. In 2003, she released her twentieth album, Stumble Into Grace. Emmylou Harris has been consistently excellent, and one of the hardest workers in show business. She was known for many years as an interpreter of other people’s songs. But in 2000, with Red Dirt Girl, she was suddenly a songwriter to be reckoned with. That continued here, as she wrote or co-wrote ten of the eleven songs, with the other one (“Plaisir d’Amour”) being a traditional song from the 1700’s. There’s not a hit to be found here, but this is really a very good album, and she is proving, pretty suddenly, to be a valid writer. Her voice has never been in question, and she continues to prove that here.
Emmylou is helped out by some pretty great names here, not the least of which is Linda Ronstadt. Other backup singers include Gillian Welch, Julie Miller and the McGarrigle sisters. Bernie Leadon and Daniel Lanois are among the several guitarists here. “Here I Am” is the best track, but almost everything else is very good, making this a fine companion to Red Dirt Girl. Emmylou made only two solo albums after this, but she made a trio of collaboration discs, one with Mark Knopfler and two with Rodney Crowell. For the last ten years, she’s been working on her memoir and playing live shows, but is no longer writing songs. Her albums are always worth hearing, and Stumble Into Grace is certainly no exception. A very good effort from a musical treasure.
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Of dying history
SAM COOKE
NIGHT BEAT
1963 – RCA VICTOR
Produced By HUGO & LUIGI
1. Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen
2. Lost And Lookin’
3. Mean Old World
4. Please Don’t Drive Me Away
5. I Lost Everything
6. Get Yourself Another Fool
7. Little Red Rooster
8. Laughin’ And Clownin’
9. Trouble Blues
10. You Gotta Move
11. Fool’s Paradise
12. Shake, Rattle And Roll
Sam Cooke was one of the greatest voices in American music history. His career began in 1950 with the gospel group The Soul Stirrers, after which he went solo and secular in 1956. He released many singles, with four of them reaching the top ten between 1957 and 1963. His albums were kind of afterthoughts, with most of them laden with filler. He also had a lot of his music buried in strings and background singers. But in 1963, Cooke entered the studio for a series of late night sessions with a small band to make a record of R&B and blues favorites. The results were Night Beat, which ended up being Cooke’s greatest solo album. Cooke, a fine songwriter, penned only two of the twelve songs here, and the song choices are not the best. But it’s his voice that saves this day.
The band is pretty great, and includes a 16 year old Billy Preston on organ. The songs are mostly not great, and while Cooke himself is on fire, the overall performances suffer under the weight of the material. But, hey. This IS Sam Cooke, one of the few vocalists who can rise above these things. And that’s what he does. “Mean Old World” is a Cooke original, not to be confused with the T-Bone Walker song from the 40’s. “Little Red Rooster” was the failed single, a Willie Dixon song that’s been beaten to death over the years. “You Gotta Move” was later very well done by The Rolling Stones. But despite the songs, it’s Sam Cooke, baby. That voice is one of a kind, and he was rarely in better form than he was here. Cook died just over a year and one album later. This is the best studio album from him to have.
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Of dying history
PJ HARVEY
UH HUH HER
2004 – ISLAND
Produced By PJ HARVEY
1. The Life And Death Of Mr. Badmouth
2. Shame
3. Who The Fuck?
4. Pocket Knife
5. The Letter
6. The Slow Drug
7. No Child Of Mine
8. Cat On The Wall
9. You Come Through
10. It’s You
11. The End
12. The Desperate Kingdom Of Love
13. Seagulls
14. The Darker Days Of Me And Him
Of the ten studio albums by the English alt rock artist PJ Harvey, Uh Huh Her (her sixth) is viewed by many to be her weakest effort. It’s also important to note that Harvey has never made a bad record. One of the great things about Harvey is that she seems incapable of making the same album twice, so each one is a different experience. For Uh Huh Her, she jettisoned her use of a band. Harvey not only produced this herself, she also plays all of the instruments except for the drums. Coming on the heels of Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, this album charted higher, but didn’t remain there as long. It simply didn’t grab listeners in the same was as her previous work had done. Which is okay…because every album is different.
“You Come Through”, “Shame” and “The Letter” are the brightest spots on this one. The biggest criticism of Uh Huh Her has always been Harvey’s production, the first and only one of her ten albums on which she handled the job by herself. It’s a very dynamic record, with down tuned guitars and a feeling that it’s a very personal journey. Her previous work was more accessible, and truthfully, a bit more fun. Not to worry…Harvey was two albums away from the excellent Let England Shake in 2011. This isn’t her strongest moment, but it’s important to remember that PJ Harvey in her lowest recorded moments is better than a whole lot of people at their very best.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
EMMYLOU HARRIS
STUMBLE INTO GRACE
2003 – NONESUCH
Produced By MALCOLM BURN
1. Here I Am
2. I Will Dream
3. Little Bird
4. Time In Babylon
5. Can You Hear Me Now
6. Strong Hand (For June)
7. Jupiter Rising
8. O Evangeline
9. Plaisir d’Amour
10. Lost Unto This World
11. Cup Of Kindness
In the early 70’s, she was a backup singer for Gram Parsons. In 2003, she released her twentieth album, Stumble Into Grace. Emmylou Harris has been consistently excellent, and one of the hardest workers in show business. She was known for many years as an interpreter of other people’s songs. But in 2000, with Red Dirt Girl, she was suddenly a songwriter to be reckoned with. That continued here, as she wrote or co-wrote ten of the eleven songs, with the other one (“Plaisir d’Amour”) being a traditional song from the 1700’s. There’s not a hit to be found here, but this is really a very good album, and she is proving, pretty suddenly, to be a valid writer. Her voice has never been in question, and she continues to prove that here.
Emmylou is helped out by some pretty great names here, not the least of which is Linda Ronstadt. Other backup singers include Gillian Welch, Julie Miller and the McGarrigle sisters. Bernie Leadon and Daniel Lanois are among the several guitarists here. “Here I Am” is the best track, but almost everything else is very good, making this a fine companion to Red Dirt Girl. Emmylou made only two solo albums after this, but she made a trio of collaboration discs, one with Mark Knopfler and two with Rodney Crowell. For the last ten years, she’s been working on her memoir and playing live shows, but is no longer writing songs. Her albums are always worth hearing, and Stumble Into Grace is certainly no exception. A very good effort from a musical treasure.
On paper, Emmylou is 100% not for me. Between the country association and that slight warbling affect to her vocals, I should be completely turned off.
But yeah, this is a great album from a rare artist who can transcend my inherent dislikes. It helps that this is mostly not overtly country.
Oh, and yeah, I like her singing her own material better as well. Time in Babylon is a fave.
EMMYLOU HARRIS
STUMBLE INTO GRACE
2003 – NONESUCH
Produced By MALCOLM BURN
1. Here I Am
2. I Will Dream
3. Little Bird
4. Time In Babylon
5. Can You Hear Me Now
6. Strong Hand (For June)
7. Jupiter Rising
8. O Evangeline
9. Plaisir d’Amour
10. Lost Unto This World
11. Cup Of Kindness
In the early 70’s, she was a backup singer for Gram Parsons. In 2003, she released her twentieth album, Stumble Into Grace. Emmylou Harris has been consistently excellent, and one of the hardest workers in show business. She was known for many years as an interpreter of other people’s songs. But in 2000, with Red Dirt Girl, she was suddenly a songwriter to be reckoned with. That continued here, as she wrote or co-wrote ten of the eleven songs, with the other one (“Plaisir d’Amour”) being a traditional song from the 1700’s. There’s not a hit to be found here, but this is really a very good album, and she is proving, pretty suddenly, to be a valid writer. Her voice has never been in question, and she continues to prove that here.
Emmylou is helped out by some pretty great names here, not the least of which is Linda Ronstadt. Other backup singers include Gillian Welch, Julie Miller and the McGarrigle sisters. Bernie Leadon and Daniel Lanois are among the several guitarists here. “Here I Am” is the best track, but almost everything else is very good, making this a fine companion to Red Dirt Girl. Emmylou made only two solo albums after this, but she made a trio of collaboration discs, one with Mark Knopfler and two with Rodney Crowell. For the last ten years, she’s been working on her memoir and playing live shows, but is no longer writing songs. Her albums are always worth hearing, and Stumble Into Grace is certainly no exception. A very good effort from a musical treasure.
On paper, Emmylou is 100% not for me. Between the country association and that slight warbling affect to her vocals, I should be completely turned off.
But yeah, this is a great album from a rare artist who can transcend my inherent dislikes. It helps that this is mostly not overtly country.
Oh, and yeah, I like her singing her own material better as well. Time in Babylon is a fave.
Yeah. Her vocals are not for everyone. She is a fine backup singer. I like her voice, but I know not everyone does.
She wasn't always a country artist, and she moves away from that from time to time. I like that she steps across that line. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
VINCE GILL
I STILL BELIEVE IN YOU
1992 – MCA NASHVILLE
Produced By TONY BROWN
1. Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away
2. No Future In The Past
3. Nothing Like A Woman
4. Tryin’ To Get Over You
5. Say Hello
6. One More Last Chance
7. Under These Conditions
8. Pretty Words
9. Love Never Broke Anyone’s Heart
10. I Still Believe In You
Vince Gill is known as “the nicest guy in Nashville”. I say he’s also the luckiest. From singing with Pure Prairie League in the 70’s and 80’s, to playing in Rodney Crowell’s band, to a massively successful solo career, to his current gig with the Eagles, where he replaced Glenn Frey when he passed away in 2016. He’s a great singer, a fine guitarist, and a more than capable songwriter. Not to mention that he gets to be married to the lovely Amy Grant. Not a bad life, my friend. His career hit its peak in early nineties. When I Call Your Name, his third solo album, got the ball rolling. And he was never bigger than with his fifth effort, 1992’s I Still Believe In You. This remains his biggest seller, and brought home the CMA Album Of The Year prize.
Four of the five singles released from this album hit number one. The fifth one got to number three. Oddly enough, he never had any other US country number ones, although he hit the top ten 25 times. Phew! It really is those five hits that make this a worthwhile disc. The other half of the album, while still strong, is nowhere as immediate as the hits are. They are fortunately spread out across the disc. Gill co-wrote all of these songs, and plays acoustic and electric lead. He’s joined by the likes of Randy Scruggs, Alison Krauss and Delbert McClinton…even Lou Reed makes a vocal appearance on “Under These Conditions”. Gill is unfortunately overlooked as far as his albums go. This and his other 90’s output is worth checking out.
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Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
LAURYN HILL
THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL
1998 – RUFFHOUSE / COLUMBIA
Produced By LAURYN HILL, CHE POPE & VADA NOBLES
1. Intro
2. Lost Ones
3. Ex-Factor
4. To Zion (Feat. Carlos Santana)
5. Doo Wop (That Thing)
6. Superstar
7. Final Hour
8. When It Hurts So Bad
9. I Used To Love Him (Feat. Mary J. Blige)
10. Forgive Them Father
11. Every Ghetto, Every City
12. Nothing Even Matters (Feat. D’Angelo)
13. Everything Is Everything
14. The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
15. Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
16. Tell Him
Well, I suppose if you’re only going to make one album, you should make sure you make it a good one. And that’s exactly what Lauryn Hill did. After a pair of albums with The Fugees, Hill went solo and did this, one of the absolute greatest albums in hip hop. And one of the greatest albums ever. Hill is an incredibly talented woman, and with this one disc, she redirected a whole genre, showed that women can indeed be a force in this kind of music, made melting multiple genres together into one look easy, and showed that she could sing, rap, write and produce as well as anyone else. The Miseducation is a concept album about learning the important things in life, and she did it on her first try. Flat out impressive.
Blending hip-hop, soul and reggae, this album simply cooks, and it’s really perfect. Her lyrics are top notch, and it’s musically amazing from start to finish. She used plenty of live instruments, and her vision is flawless. This is a dream album, and Hill did it on her first try. Unfortunately for us, there are two Lauren Hills: the one before this album, and the one after. She became reclusive, raised six children, became highly unreliable and controversial, and has released only an unplugged live album (and a few singles) in the twenty eight years since. But the one time she DID stand still for long enough to make a studio album…she sure did not waste the opportunity.
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Of dying history
THE DUSTBOWL REVIVAL
WITH A LAMPSHADE ON
2015 – SIGNATURE SOUNDS
Produced By THE DUSTBOWL REVIVAL
1. Lampshade On
2. Hey Baby
3. Old Joe Clark
4. Feels Good
5. Standing Next To Me
6. The Ballad Of The Bellhop
7. Never Had To Go
8. Bright Lights
9. Cherokee Shuffle
10. Doubling Down On You
11. Ain’t My Fault
12. Drop In The Bucket
13. Wrapped In My Heart
14. Whiskey In The Well
The Dustbowl Revival has been around since 2008. What kind of a band is this? Well, they are a country, old timey, jazzy jump blues and swing bluegrass thing with horns that sounds like New Orleans. From Venice, California. A band that has to be heard to be believed. Obviously not the description of a mainstream act, they have remained mostly independent for their entire career, with most of their music being self-released. With A Lampshade On is their fifth album, and their first live effort. Having about ten people on stage doesn’t hurt this band, as they stroll flawlessly through this 14 song set. Tight horn solos, full and perfect vocals, backed by a rock solid rhythm section.
They change styles just about every song, with multiple lead singers. It’s almost as if this isn’t by one band, but a compilation of 14 different groups. “Standing Next To Me” is smooth soul. “Old Joe Clark” is a fiddle driven Irish sounding blast. These dizzying costume changes do make it a bit hard to get into a real groove with them, but they play well enough to forgive that. This record does make you want to get the full live experience with the band…this kind of band simply has to be fun to watch on stage. Well, you’re in luck. Even though there hasn’t been a new album in almost four years, they are still very much active and touring. Keep your eyes peeled!
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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