Ten Bucks and a Bottle of Beer II

July 6th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Reviews, iPod playlists | No Comments »

Last year, Father’s Day.  This year, the Fourth of July.  Another holiday weekend, another ten bucks left on an iTunes card, and a cold beer in my hand.  What’s a guy to do?

There’s only one choice.  Go shopping.  Choose wisely, grasshopper.

Stevie Holland - How Deep Is The Ocean
From - Before Love Has Gone (150 Music)
Released - June 24, 2008

I liked Ms. Holland’s 2006 release, “More Than Words Can Say,” so much, I was sort of surprised that I wasn’t on the pre-release list for this one.  Ah, but no mind.  With my trusty iTunes card, I can cherry-pick what I know I’ll like from this apparent gem.  That would be a familiar tune that sounds good in the 30-second clip.  This is the one.  I wasn’t disappointed…it’s sublime.

Dianne Reeves - Loving You
From - When You Know (Blue Note)
Released - March 31, 2008

Not nearly as sweet as Minnie Ripperton, Ms. Reeves makes the meaning deeper.  Superb work with the lyrics.  I need more of Ms. Reeves in my collection, I think.

Kelli O’Hara - Make Someone Happy
From - Wonder In The World (Sh-K-Boom)
Released - May 6, 2008

An iTunes choice for me - apparently one of those, “If you like that, you’ll like this” kind of things.  Most of ‘em a little over the top, theatrically - but that’s okay.  I passed over the title track, written by and performed with Harry Connick, Junior, for this one, which always makes the codependency top five.

Any nominees for the other four?

Judith Owen - Let’s Hear It For Love
From - Mopping Up Karma (Courgette)
Released - June 3, 2008

I think Judith Owen is a Judy Collins for the new millenium.  Like Judy Collins, I’m not sure I like all of her stuff, but I sure do think she’s got a great voice.  This one is a pleasant tune, coupled with Ms. Owen’s outstanding voice and gift for interpreting lyrics.

ADELE - Crazy For You
From - 19 (XL)
Released - January 28, 2008

Caught this young woman on the television during my last trip through London.  Oh, my.  What Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, or Madeleine Peyroux should aspire to.  Smart, often heartbreaking, lyrics.  This young woman is the whole package, and from all appearances, the real deal.  Come back in a year, and you won’t need people like me to mention her to you. 

Marlena Shaw - Califorinia Soul
From - The Spice Of Life (Verve)
Released - 1969

This overlooked tune (also covered by the 5th Dimension) is all over the TV, especially in sporting events, in commercials for Levis’ “Dockers” brand.  Took a nanosecond to track it down.  “I must have that!” I exclaimed.  Ten seconds later, I owned it.  He scores!

Sheryl Crow - Doctor My Eyes
From - Detours (A & M)
Released - February 5, 2008

Truth is, I downloaded the whole album.  Truth is, I was disappointed.  Angry, mediocre stuff.  This is the only track that was worth a hoot.  Just like the bad old days…buy the album, but play a single track.  Discovered this track is only available if you buy the whole album.  What a ripoff.  Don’t buy the album.  It’s not worth it.

Jewel - Till It Feels Like Cheating
From - Perfectly Clear (Valory)
Released - June 3, 2008

I don’t know who’s going to play this on the radio…it’s too country for alternative, and my guess is that real country folks won’t like it much.  But I surely do.  Best-sounding album in a while, and as soon as I can afford it, I’ll pick up the whole thing.  In the meantime, this track sounded plenty country, and doesn’t disappoint.  Pedal steel and lyrics like, “Got a bottle of wine|some stolen time|a key to a room where you can be all mine|till it feels like cheating.”

Operator, get me Loretta Lynn!  This is good stuff.

Colbie Caillat - Dreams Collide
From - Single iTunes Release (Universal)
Released - April 22, 2008

99-cents for the latest from the new queen of three chords and a hook?  A bargain at half the price.

I’m sold!  Good stuff, this, without even trying.

Champian Fulton - I Didn’t Mean A Word I Said
From - Champian (Such Sweet Thunder)
Released - August 17, 2007

Heard this on XM-73 - one of the Jonathan Schwartz programs.  Hell, they’re all Jonathan Schwartz programs.  Anyway, she’s the 23-year-old daughter of trumpeter Stephen Fulton.  I’ll be buying the whole album as soon as I can afford it.  You’ll want this one, too - so you can say you discovered her, as well.

Hope your Fourth was glorious!  We’re headed to Maryland for some crabs this afternoon, and back to work tomorrow.

Keep listening.

 

Bookmark this article:

A Rainy Day (in London Town)

July 4th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

I was a stranger in the city - out of town were the people I knew. 

Oh, wait.  That was a foggy day.

Seriously, I did have a rainy Saturday to wander in London as last month’s trip wound down, and that wandering took me to the “Exhibition Road Music Festival.”  It also took me to some used record and book bins (more about that some other time), and looking for ways to entertain myself on a shoestring, or at least within my budget - in a very expensive city.  Even a subway ticket can cost eight bucks.

One of the things I like most about the UK is BBC’s Radio Two.  It’s free, you can enjoy it whenever you like, online, even here in the colonies.  If you’re a Brit, you pay dearly for the Beeb; but I think you get what you pay for.   I gave up on radio in the US years ago.  Would I rather pay a couple hundred bucks for quality radio?  I do…it’s called satellite radio.

Anyway, for me, there’s something about being in London that gives me the feeling that something good is about to happen, and that’s a feeling I don’t get anywhere else, except maybe at home.

You can turn on the radio, and hear the presenter saying, “Joining us in the studio tonight is Sir Paul McCartney,” and heck, that’s happening live, right up the street.

But.  It’s always good to be home, and some very good music was waiting in the mailbox after this trip. 

Robin McKelle - Modern Antique (Cheap Lullaby)
Release Dates: April, 2008 (EMI/France), August 19, 2008 (US)

Thank goodness for digital music.

If my copy of Ms. McKelle’s first disc, “Introducing Robin McKelle,” was vinyl, it would be worn out by now.  The fact that this young woman has to go to France to be a star is a doggone crime. 

This disc was waiting for me (along with the bills) after my last long trip.  I stuffed it into the CD player in the big room even before I unpacked, just ahead of building a drink and collapsing on the couch.

Now, I made no secret about what a pleasant surprise I had in “finding” her first disc.

This one’s better.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark this article:

A Little Time Travel in Africa

June 22nd, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

This has been an unusual trip.  From Senegal, where we celebrated the launch of a new radio affiliate, to Accra, Ghana - where we met with partners and friends, both old and new.  There was some downtime, waiting for the car to take me to the airport for the overnight flight to London.  Freshly showered and shaved, I sat on the balcony of my room with a cold beer, and listened to the stuttering metronome (and muttered curses) of the two fellows playing tennis down below.  And from the laptop inside the room, through those tinny little speakers, Dawn Lambeth took her turn in the rotation.

I closed my eyes, and for few minutes, it was sixty or seventy years ago.

Dawn Lambeth - Let’s Get Lost (Spanish Shawl)
Released: November, 2007

Some discs beg for the big speakers in the big room.  Those are the ones with the big bands, the lush strings, the full-throttle singers.  Dawn Lambeth and her band are smaller than that.  Smaller in size perhaps, but certainly not in quality.

There’s a relaxed simplicity that I find appealing, a swingy style that’s hard to resist.  I took a second trip through the tracks, and paid more attention to the backing band.  It’s larger than I first thought.  The band actually numbers eight members; and while there are a number of notable solo performances (including a whistler), there’s no doubt about who’s up front here.

It’s the girl singer, and she’s doggone good.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark this article:

New ears, and some surprises.

June 9th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

Refueled.  That’s how I feel after a couple of days in Boise, Idaho, pursuing that other passion of mine.  Really - no one got hurt, we were only writing about murder.

A few hours inside crowded jets, missed connections and all (Denver has a really nice airport with free Internet, if you know where to look - upstairs), and the chance to sip some cold local brew while looking out at the foothills north of Boise…oh, my.  It beats two days at work any time, even on days when I like my day job.

Besides, when I wasn’t learning how to kill someone without a trace, or how it really doesn’t work like you see it on “CSI,” I was plugged into the ‘pod, on cruise control, with the brain switched off, and the ears switched on.

Listening to some good stuff.  Because I think my ears got recharged, too.

Allison Adams Tucker - Come With Me (Allegato)
Release Date: June 15, 2008

San Diego’s Allison Adams Tucker came to my attention one day while trolling through jazz singers at MySpace.  I wrote about it then.  She found what I wrote, and we’ve exchanged an e-mail or two.  In the note that accompanied this disc, she describes her music as an “eclectic global mix…spanning generations, cultures, languages and rhythms…”

I would think so.   Ms. Tucker sings in six languages besides English, and swings nicely in nearly all of them.  (I didn’t hear Latin on this offering.)  Her voice is a crisp, versatile soprano that never gets lost in the mix.  The backing band frames her fine voice well - and includes Peter Sprague on guitar, Kamau Kenyatta on piano, Derek Cannon on trumpet - and Reiko Obata on Japanese koto harp!

I found the disc, and Ms. Tucker’s voice, to be mesmerizing, whether in English, Japanese, French…well, you get the idea.

Read the rest of this entry »

Bookmark this article: