THE ROLLING STONES
AFTERMATH
1966 – LONDON
Produced By ANDREW LOOG OLDHAM
1. Paint It Black
2. Stupid Girl
3. Lady Jane
4. Under My Thumb
5. Doncha Bother Me
6. Think
7. Flight 505
8. High And Dry
9. It’s Not Easy
10. I Am Waiting
11. Goin’ Home
The Rolling Stones were starting to change in 1966. Aftermath was their first album to consist of all original material. Brian Jones had his best album as a member of the band. They were starting to move away from straight blues to incorporating elements of other styles into their music. And the songs that were hits still rank among their best works. There are two different versions of this album. The British version has two more tracks, and has the following songs that are not on the American version: “Mother’s Little Helper”, “High And Dry”, “Out Of Time”, “Take It Or Leave It”, and “What To Do”. The only song the American version has that’s not on the British release is “Paint It Black”. This is the American track list above.
Aftermath would lead into their brief 1967 journey into psychedelic music, after which they would hit their peak and start the process of replacing Jones. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are starting to really find themselves as songwriters, and the energy of this then young band makes everything here work. “Paint It Black”, “Under My Thumb” and “Lady Jane” are not only excellent, but they also point towards the band’s future, all in good ways. But it’s ultimately the Brian Jones album. His guitar work with Richards is perfect, and he adds dulcimer, sitar, marimba…he could play just about everything, and he shows it off here. Aftermath is easily the best of the early period Stones albums. Either version works just fine. An essential volume in the history of one of our greatest bands.
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RANDY NEWMAN
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG: ORIGINAL SONGS AND SCORE
2009 – WALT DISNEY
Produced By RANDY NEWMAN
1. Never Knew I Needed - Ne-Yo
2. Down In New Orleans (Prologue)
3. Down In New Orleans – Dr. John
4. Almost There
5. Friends On The Other Side
6. When We’re Human
7. Gonna Take You There
8. Ma Belle Evangeline
9. Dig A Little Deeper
10. Down In New Orleans (Finale)
11. Fairy Tale / Going Home
12. I Know This Story
13. The Frog Hunters / Gator Down
14. Tiana’s Bad Dream
15. Ray Laid Low
16. Ray / Mama Odie
17. This Is Gonna Be Good
The Princess And The Frog is a Disney animated film based on a 19th century Grimm fairy tale. It made about a gazillion dollars. This is the soundtrack album for that film. Although there are several artists involved, the album is credited to Randy Newman, who wrote all of the music except for the opening track (“Never Knew I Needed), which was written and performed by Ne-Yo. Most of the first ten tracks are sung by cast members, most notably Anika Noni Rose, Jim Cummings and Terence Blanchard. The final seven songs are orchestrated instrumental score pieces by Newman. The Ne-Yo song was a minor hit, and was played in heavy rotation during the film’s run on Disney Radio. The album received a pair of Academy Award nominations, as well as one for a Grammy Award.
You can tell from the music here that the movie takes place in Louisiana. If you haven’t seen the film, this album won’t make much sense to you, and for the most part, the music doesn’t really stand up well on its own. It is what it is…mostly instrumental background noise. Newman is more than capable scoring motion pictures, just know that it’s not music that one will seek out, especially without the film for reference. Still, it is nice to hear Dr. John on “Down In New Orleans”, and the Ne-Yo track is Disney pleasant enough. But in the end, this is not anything more than well crafted soundtrack music that’s ultimately not very interesting at all. Unless you’re a fan of this movie, there’s really no reason to spend time on this one. And most of the New Orleans sound is campy, at best.
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PATSY CLINE
THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION
1998 – CRIMSON PRODUCTIONS
No Production Credit
1. Walkin’ After Midnight
2. A Church, A Courtroom, And Then Goodbye
3. Lovesick Blues
4. Honky Tonk Merry Go Round
5. Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray
6. The Heart You Break May Be Your Own
7. Cry Not For Me
8. In Care Of The Blues
9. Don’t Ever Leave Me Again
10. A Stranger In My Arms
11. Too Many Secrets
12. Today, Tomorrow And Forever
13. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
14. Gotta Lot Of Rhythm In My Soul
15. Just Out Of Reach
16. I Can See An Angel
17. A Poor Man’s Roses (Or A Rich Man’s Gold)
18. I’m Blue Again
19. Just A Closer Wlak With Thee
20. Hungry In Love
21. Ain’t No Wheels On This Ship
22. Never No More
23. Let The Teardrops Fall
24. Love, Love, Love Me Honey Do
25. There He Goes
26. I Don’t Wanna
27. I Cried All The Way To The Altar
28. How Can I Face Tomorrow
29. I’ve Loved And Lost Again
30. Stop, Look And Listen
The Ultimate Collection by Patsy Cline is listed as #229 on the Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. This is not that album. That one was released by Universal in 2000. This one comes from the British label Crimson Productions, which specializes in budget releases. And this is most definitely a budget release…it’s also quite the bargain. A robust thirty songs from an artist the caliber of Patsy Cline is a pretty good deal, even with the flaws that this carries with it. She had a recording career that lasted eight years before her death in a plane crash at the age of 30. She recorded a total of 104 songs, 30 of which are included here. So, all in all, if you have this, it’s not such a bad deal. Most of these thirty are terrific, and it makes for a fine listen.
What you won’t get from this set, though, is kind of important. She had several hits, but she had seven big hits. Of those seven, only one is represented here…”Walkin’ After Midnight”. This means that what you do not get here are “Crazy”, “I Fall To Pieces”, She’s Got You”, “Leavin’ On Your Mind”, "When I Get Thru With You”, and “So Wrong”. Also absent is “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone”, which was not only the last song she recorded, but also the last song she performed live. The album contains very brief liner notes and songwriting credits…and nothing else. There’s just the cover photo of Cline, and that’s it. So…a budget compilation? You bet. But even with its shortcomings, on the plus side, you’re getting a full thirty songs from this country legend. Which makes this, ultimately, a winner.
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RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
WANT ONE
2003 – DREAMWORKS
Produced By MARIUS DE VRIES
1. Oh What A World
2. I Don’t Know What It Is
3. Vicious World
4. Movies Of Myself
5. Pretty Things
6. Go Or Go Ahead
7. Vibrate
8. 14th Street
9. Natasha
10. Harvester Of Hearts
11. Beautiful Child
12. Want
13. 11:11
14. Dinner At Eight
Rufus Wainwright is the son of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle…that’s quite a bit to live up to. He’s also the older brother of Martha Wainwright. Want One is his third album, (his next record was called Want Two) and it is quite the production. His piano is the dominant instrument, but you’ll find layers upon layers of music here. Sometimes on the verge of being overdone, this is actually at its best when everything falls to the side and it’s just Wainwright and his piano. Maybe the best description of Want One is that it’s one massive lush pop album. Rufus is joined by plenty of musicians here, including his mother and sister, along with the likes of Joan Wasser, Linda Thompson and Levon Helm. It’s one of four of his releases to reach the American top 100.
“I Don’t Know What It Is” and “Oh What A World” are the best tracks here. Neither was a hit…but Wainwright isn’t one for those (his biggest was a cover of “Hallelujah” from Shrek). This is well played and interesting. But it’s held back, for me, by Wainwright’s voice. When he reaches up high, he sounds great. But anything in the lower range (which is a lot of what’s here)…he sounds uninspired and somewhat bored. A lot of the time, his singing fails to reach the level of excitement being brought by the music. Which is a shame, because this is an otherwise terrific sounding set of songs. Wainwright continues to record, having released eight more albums with the latest coming in June of 2023. His music is always interesting. His singing is not always.
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BLONDIE
PARALLEL LINES
1978 – CHRYSALIS
Produced By MIKE CHAPMAN
1. Hanging On The Telephone
2. One Way Or Another
3. Picture This
4. Fade Away And Rotate
5. Pretty Baby
6. I Know But I Don’t Know
7. 11:59
8. Will Anything Happen?
9. Sunday Girl
10. Heart Of Glass
11. I’m Gonna Love You Too
12. Just Go Away
13. Once I Had A Love (aka The Disco Song) (1978 Version)
14. Bang A Gong (Get It On) (Live)
15. I Know But I Don’t Know (Live)
16. Hanging On The Telephone (Live)
Blondie was always more than just a pretty face. Sure, they always did have that going for them, but they were also leaders of the early American punk scene. Between 1976 and 1982, Blondie released six important albums that helped the US stay alongside Britain in shaping the new wave of music that became the eighties. Parallel Lines is their third album, and it’s the one that made everybody notice. Their self titled debut was good but ignored, and Plastic Letters had people buzzing about the band. Parallel Lines made them stars, and gave them their first two really big hits. It was also their peak, although they would have continued success until their 1982 breakup. This is the one where you’ll really find out what all the fun was about.
The song that changed everything for Blondie was “Heart Of Glass”, which was a worldwide number one hit. Hard to believe that in 1978, Deborah Harry singing the words “pain in the ass” was controversial. Parallel Lines is also home to the excellent “One Way Or Another” and “Hanging On The Telephone”, which was originally done by The Nerves. There’s also the #1 UK hit “Sunday Girl”, the excellent “Picture This”, and the strange and quirky Buddy Holly cover “I’m Gonna Love You Too”. The 2001 bonus track “Once I Had A Love” is an early version of “Heart Of Glass”. Blondie was one of the bands that made the transition from what is now classic rock to what became the new wave a lot of fun. Parallel Lines is a perfect time capsule from the late seventies. This one is a must have.
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MAURIZIO POLLINI
CHOPIN: ETUDES OP. 10 & OP. 25
1972 – DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
Produced By RAINER BROCK
1. 12 Etudes Op. 10
2. 12 Etudes Op. 25
Polish composer and pianist Frederic Chopin lived from 1810-1849. He spent his entire life in poor health, and he died at the age of 39. And he could play the piano. Most of what Chopin composed was exclusively for piano, and most of it is highly challenging to play. Renowned Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini is one of not very many who can successfully take on the works of Chopin. Pollini signed with Deutsche Grammophon in 1971, and has been recording for that label ever since. His second release with Grammophon was the Chopin Etudes in 1972. These are two of the three he composed. Each etude is in twelve pieces, so actually there are 24 tracks on the album. Pollini plays the entire album himself, unaccompanied on the piano, as Chopin intended.
Pollini proves here why his playing is regarded so highly. He’s recorded works by Bach and Beethoven, but it’s his playing of Stravinsky, Prokoviev and Chopin that really stands out as exceptional. Etudes is a remarkable and flawless album. Pollini has been criticized for being a less than emotional player, but he has stated that he strives more for the emotion of the composer than of his own. All of the 24 tracks here are beautiful and amazing. Pollini passed away a couple of weeks ago. But his many recordings, especially those with Deutsche Grammophon, are easily available and are very much worth hearing. If you love piano, this Pollini release will be like heaven to your ears. One of the greatest players paired with one of the legends of classical compositions.
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MAURIZIO POLLINI
CHOPIN: ETUDES OP. 10 & OP. 25
1972 – DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
Produced By RAINER BROCK
1. 12 Etudes Op. 10
2. 12 Etudes Op. 25
Polish composer and pianist Frederic Chopin lived from 1810-1849. He spent his entire life in poor health, and he died at the age of 39. And he could play the piano. Most of what Chopin composed was exclusively for piano, and most of it is highly challenging to play. Renowned Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini is one of not very many who can successfully take on the works of Chopin. Pollini signed with Deutsche Grammophon in 1971, and has been recording for that label ever since. His second release with Grammophon was the Chopin Etudes in 1972. These are two of the three he composed. Each etude is in twelve pieces, so actually there are 24 tracks on the album. Pollini plays the entire album himself, unaccompanied on the piano, as Chopin intended.
Pollini proves here why his playing is regarded so highly. He’s recorded works by Bach and Beethoven, but it’s his playing of Stravinsky, Prokoviev and Chopin that really stands out as exceptional. Etudes is a remarkable and flawless album. Pollini has been criticized for being a less than emotional player, but he has stated that he strives more for the emotion of the composer than of his own. All of the 24 tracks here are beautiful and amazing. Pollini passed away a couple of weeks ago. But his many recordings, especially those with Deutsche Grammophon, are easily available and are very much worth hearing. If you love piano, this Pollini release will be like heaven to your ears. One of the greatest players paired with one of the legends of classical compositions.
ALAN JACKSON
FREIGHT TRAIN
2010 – ARISTA NASHVILLE
Produced By KEITH STEGALL
1. Hard Hat And A Hammer
2. Every Now And Then
3. After 17
4. It’s Just That Way
5. Freight Train
6. Taillights Blue
7. I Could Get Used To This Lovin’ Thing
8. Till The End (Feat. Lee Ann Womack)
9. That’s Where I Belong
10. Big Green Eyes
11. True Love Is A Golden Ring
12. The Best Keeps Getting Better
Alan Jackson has been a mainstay of country music since the late eighties, helping to keep Nashville as honest as he can by staying true to his neotraditional roots. Freight Train is album number fourteen for Jackson, falling just short of being his sixth consecutive number one. What you get from Jackson on Freight Train is what you always get. Well played real country music that stays away from the Nashville pop formulas. Jackson wrote just over half of the songs here, and the musicianship is outstanding. His voice is solid and strong and reassuring. This is one of those great country singers that you simply can’t go wrong with, because he releases albums that are always very good. And as a bonus, that train on the cover is pretty darn neat.
The high points here are, as is always the case with Jackson, what you want his albums for. “It’s Just That Way” and “Hard Hat And A Hammer” are not the number one hits he used to have, but they are really fine. Where this album really shines is in the upbeat material. “I Could Get Used To This Lovin’ Thing” has a great bouncy and catchy chorus, while the fiery playing on the title track is worth having the album for alone. And the duet with Lee Ann Womack, “Till The End”, recalls the days of George and Tammy. Alan Jackson’s devotion to the traditional roots of Nashville is more than admirable…it’s something we should be thankful for. Thanks for keeping this brand of country music alive and thriving. Jackson’s albums are all worth at least a listen or two.
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LINDA RONSTADT
GREATEST HITS
1976 – ASYLUM
Produced By PETER ASHER, JOHN DAVID SOUTHER, JOHN BOYLAN, ELLIOTT E. MAZER & NIKOLAS VENET
1. You’re No Good
2. Silver Threads And Golden Needles
3. Desperado
4. Love Is A Rose
5. That’ll Be The Day
6. Long Long Time
7. Different Drum
8. When Will I Be Loved
9. Love Has No Pride
10. Heat Wave
11. It Doesn’t Matter Anymore
12. Tracks Of My Tears
I’ll just go ahead and say “you’re welcome” right here. In the seventies, Linda Ronstadt ruled in a musical world dominated by men, and she did it with the ultimate in class and taste. Much the same as was done with her labelmates (and former backing band) the Eagles, Asylum, which was THE record label of the seventies, released what was seen as a premature greatest hits package in 1976. Both Ronstadt and the Eagles were not done making hits, but both packages sold a gazillion copies. This album (not in chronological order) features her beginning with the trio The Stone Ponys and “Different Drum”, written by Michael Nesmith, and goes to 1976. Ronstadt’s strengths are in full display here…her exceptional voice, her trademark expert taste in songwriters and perfect arrangements.
But unlike the Eagles hits album, this one feels incomplete. The best way to experience this is to buy the 2007 reissue, which also includes the 1980 album Greatest Hits Volume 2. It’s every bit as powerful as this is…but that way, you get all of her best of that decade in one shot. She is such an important part of the music of that time. As a young man, she was my first musical crush, and she turned me on to so many great songs and writers, and showed me early on that it was cool to play music that wasn’t heavy metal…I’m thankful for all of those things to this day. She doesn’t write songs, but her choices in what to cover seemed to never be wrong. Her studio albums are all worthwhile, but if you want the hits, you can’t go wrong with this. Love you always, Linda!
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GHOST BUFFALO
2006 – SUBURBAN HOME
Produced By MATT VANLEUVEN & GHOST BUFFALO
1. Crawl
2. Your World
3. Stay
4. Ruin Everything
5. Pick me Up
6. Crows Feet
7. Hell Here
8. Ice Queen
9. Blinding Sky
10. Hollow
11. Under Suspicion
12. Bones
Ghost Buffalo is an alt-country band from my hometown of Denver, Colorado…whom I had never heard of. Because their debut album from 2006 landed in my collection, here’s what I have been able to find out. Ghost Buffalo formed around 2004, built around singer Marie Litton. Litton had moved to Denver from Pueblo in 2000, and played in a handful of bands before and after Ghost Buffalo. The band was signed to local label Suburban Home Records, for whom they released a pair of albums: this self titled debut from 2006, and The Magician in 2008. They broke up in 2009, and that’s about all there is. Other members have moved on to play in various bands, and Litton is now with the southern California band Spyderland.
Ghost Buffalo wasn’t successful. And they had a lot of member turnover. They call themselves alt-country, but there’s almost no hint of twang here. The music is heavy, and Litton has a sweet voice that spends most of this album on the verge of not quite fitting the sound of the band. This band could play…what they seemed to be in need of were songs. There’s really nothing on this debut album that jumps out and grabs you. The best track is “Hell Here”, which sports a fancy guitar hook, but the rest falls in line with the rest of the album…it’s almost heavy, but not quite. The contrast between the vocal and instrumental tracks falls short. And the songwriting just fails to save the day. Ghost Buffalo was a good idea that unfortunately just didn’t have what it took to take off.
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