What are you listening to right now?

[bradm]

http://www.archive.org/details/bnb2005-01-29.shnf

Aloha,

Brad

[Harry]

Dangermuffin - Moonscapes

[Kanada Kev]

http://bit.ly/asY7Hy

Jimi Hendrix – Valleys Of Neptune

This brand-new, completely unreleased studio album features 12 previously unreleased studio recordings totalling over 60 minutes of unheard Jimi Hendrix. Ten of these recordings were made between February and May, 1969, as the Jimi Hendrix Experience set out to create the sequel to their groundbreaking 1968 double-album Electric Ladyland. The album features “Valleys Of Neptune,†one of the most sought after of all of Hendrix’s commercially unavailable recordings, and includes exciting 1969 arrangements of the classic signature songs “Red House,†“Fire,†and “Stone Free.†Also includes unheard studio versions of Hendrix’s inspired interpretations of “Bleeding Heart†(Elmore James) and Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love.†Mixed by Eddie Kramer, the engineer for all of Hendrix’s albums throughout the guitarist’s lifetime. Produced by Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer, and John McDermott, the team behind all of the acclaimed Jimi Hendrix CD and DVD releases since 1996.

VALLEYS OF NEPTUNE: Track by Track

All of the 12 recordings featured on the album have never before been released on a CD/LP. The songs document the pivotal time period after Electric Ladyland and before Electric Lady Studios and the recordings made there that would later take form as Cry of Love and First Rays.

Valleys of Neptune documents both the final studio recordings Jimi made in 1969 with the original Jimi Hendrix Experience and the first efforts with new bassist Billy Cox. As a number of the song titles will be familiar to fans and buyers alike, the following details the key characteristics of each of the tracks on Valleys of Neptune.

“Stone Freeâ€: The original 1966 recording by the original Jimi Hendrix Experience is best known as one of Jimi’s signature songs. The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set (2000) featured a new remake by the original group. Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, and Billy Cox recorded this version in May 1969. It is a different recording entirely.

“Valleys of Neptuneâ€: This track was recorded in September, 1969, and May, 1970. This full-band version has never been released. An extract of a demo Hendrix made of this song — featuring just Mitchell on drums and percussionist Juma Sultan — was part of the short-lived Reprise/Polydor album Lifelines, which was in the marketplace between 1990 to 1992.

“Bleeding Heartâ€: This cover of the classic blues song by Elmore James is different entirely from the versions featured on South Saturn Delta and (originally) on War Heroes. This recording has never been issued and features Jimi, Billy Cox, and drummer Rocky Isaac. It was recorded in April, 1969.

“Hear My Train A Comin’â€: This electric, full-band version is different from the famous 12-string acoustic version that was featured in the 1973 documentary Jimi Hendrix and subsequently on the album Jimi Hendrix: Blues.

“Mr. Bad Luckâ€: Like “Valleys of Neptuneâ€, a different version of this song was part of Lifelines in (1990). Jimi would later develop this song as “Look Over Yonder,†issued as part of South Saturn Delta.

“Sunshine of Your Loveâ€: A stage favorite for the group during the 1969 period which has never been released.

“Lover Manâ€: Jimi recorded many different arrangements of this song, including the versions on both the Jimi Hendrix Experience box set (2000) and South Saturn Delta. This is an entirely different recording made in February, 1969.

“Ships Passing Through the Nightâ€: A never-before-released track taken from the last recording session by the original Jimi Hendrix Experience on 4/14/69.

“Fire/Red Houseâ€: Both of these songs by the original Jimi Hendrix Experience were recorded at the same February, 1969, session. They feature the expanded stage arrangements Jimi had developed and are not alternate takes of the original 1967 recordings.

“Lullaby for the Summer/Crying Blue Rainâ€: These April, 1969, recordings by the original Jimi Hendrix Experience have never been released. - amazon.com

mp3@320CBR

Track List

01. Stone Free

02. Valleys Of Neptune

03. Bleeding Heart

04. Hear My Train A Comin

05. Mr. Bad Luck

06. Sunshine Of Your Love

07. Lover Man

08. Ships Passing In The Night

09. Fire

10. Red House

11. Lullaby For The Summer

12. Crying Blue Rain

http://bit.ly/asY7Hy

[Kanada Kev]

http://bit.ly/9zUEHI

The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

After the symphonic majesty of The Soft Bulletin, the Flaming Lips return with Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, a sublime fusion of Bulletin’s newfound emotional directness, the old-school playfulness of Transmissions From the Satellite Heart, and, more importantly, exciting new expressions of the group’s sentimental, experimental sound. While the album isn’t as immediately impressive as the equally brilliant and unfocused Soft Bulletin, it’s more consistent, using a palette of rounded, surprisingly emotive basslines; squelchy analog synths; and manicured acoustic guitars to craft songs like “One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21,†a sleekly melancholy tale of robots developing emotions, and “In the Morning of the Magicians,†an aptly named electronic art rock epic that sounds like a collaboration between the Moody Blues and Wendy Carlos. Paradoxically, the Lips use simpler arrangements to create more diverse sounds on Yoshimi, spanning the lush, psychedelic reveries of “It’s Summertimeâ€; the instrumental “Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloonâ€; the dubby “Are You a Hypnotist?â€; and the barely organized chaos of “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2,†which defeats the evil metal ones with ferocious drums, buzzing synths, and the razor sharp howl of the Boredoms’ Yoshimi. Few bands can craft life-affirming songs about potentially depressing subjects (the passage of time, fighting for what you care about, good vs. evil) as the Flaming Lips, and on Yoshimi, they’re at the top of their game. “Do You Realize??†is the standout, so immediately gorgeous that it’s obvious that it’s the single. It’s also the most obviously influenced by The Soft Bulletin, but it’s even catchier and sadder, sweetening such unavoidable truths like “Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die?†with chimes, clouds of strings, and angelic backing vocals. Yoshimi features some of the sharpest emotional peaks and valleys of any Lips album — the superficially playful “Fight Test†is surprisingly bittersweet, while sad songs like “All We Have Is Now†and “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell†are leavened by witty lyrics and production tricks. Funny, beautiful, and moving, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots finds the Flaming Lips continuing to grow and challenge themselves in not-so-obvious ways after delivering their obvious masterpiece. – allmusic.com

mp3@320CBR

Track List

1. “Fight Test†(The Flaming Lips, Dave Fridmann, Cat Stevens) 4:14

2. “One More Robot / Sympathy 3000-21″ 4:59

3. “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1″ 4:45

4. “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 2″ 2:57

5. “In the Morning of the Magicians†6:18

6. “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell†4:34

7. “Are You a Hypnotist??†4:44

8. “It’s Summertime (Throbbing Orange Pallbearers)†4:20

9. “Do You Realize??†(The Flaming Lips, Dave Fridmann) 3:33

10. “All We Have Is Now†3:53

11. “Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)†3:09

http://bit.ly/9zUEHI

[bradm]

Prepwork for Friday.

Aloha,

Brad

[hamilton]

Rufus Wainwright, All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu.

[Kanada Kev]

Treme: Music from the HBO Original Series, Season 1 by Interscope Records

Edited September 29, 2010 by Guest

[Kanada Kev]

http://bit.ly/cEyb8Q

Wille Nelson – Willie and the Wheel

At the grand old milestone of 77, Willie Nelson should be moseying around on some Austin homestead, kicking back those old dusty spurred cowboy boots and taking life easy. But oh no, not Nelson, he’d rather continue travelling the parries on tour and recording albums like they’re going out of fashion.

For a man who’s had more comebacks then it seems humanly plausible – from the rhythm and blues faze of the early 60s to the outlaw country of the 70s – it seems fitting that even today he can still manage to captivate Glastonbury. There ‘ain’t a damn’ sub-genre or theme that Nelson hasn’t invented or ripped his way through, from the more staunch tradition of Nashville to the counter culture rebellion, he’s rubbed shoulders or sung with every iconic figure in country music, including Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson.

Nelson is in fact an American institution, who could easily fill up at least ten of my review spaces with his achievements, but I have to instead talk about his latest album Willie And The Wheel, which sees him take a fond look back towards the roots of country music, to the rediscovery of classic western swing.

Originally a project conceived by the late Jerry Wexler more then thirty years ago, when Nelson was signed to his Atlantic label, this catalogue of old tunes was never recorded until recently – Nelson moved to CBS records and didn’t get the chance. Grammy award winning country musician and producer Ray Benson, a close friend of Wexler, took up the challenge to finally make this album, with the help of his much-lauded posse of accomplished players Asleep At The Wheel.

Most of these standard western and Texas swing tunes have been subtly re-arranged by Benson with, until his untimely death, the helpful assistance of Wexler, who insisted that they included a horn section alongside the more traditional fiddles and lap steel guitar, favoured by this music. This catalogue of twelve songs is made up of good ol’ tales of heartbreak and broken promises, set to the well greased elbow work of the enthusiastic fiddles, the gentle pleasing twangs of the lap steel and the shuffling rolling brushed accompanying drums. Nelson sings these do-si-do songs like he’s putting on a comfortable pair of faithful slippers, all cosy and warm, emitting a deep sense of satisfaction, face beaming.

There are plenty of waxed lyrical laments to certain tumultuous head-turners in ‘Sweet Jennie Lee’, lyrics about falling for a dirty stop-out in ‘Corrine Corrina’, and double-entendre metaphors relating to mammas finest baked cake on ‘I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None Of This Jellyroll’. A large proportion of these tunes follow a more quick-fire response joviality, which bounces along, but there are one or two exceptions, one of these is the slower paced bawdry comedy balled of ‘I’m Sitting On Top Of The World’, which has Nelson duet with Elizabeth McQueen in a sardonic fuelled exchanged back and forth series of put-downs and bravado. Each of our protagonists pretends to not give a damn about the other, but its obvious they’re made for one another.

Allusions to the old radio city music hall of yesteryear are made apparent on the opener ‘Hesitation Blues’, a up-tempo joint of descriptive honky tonk piano and breezy waning guitar with a chorus of blushing antiquated voices straight from a Bakelite radio set.

A most gratifying and pleasurable experience, this collection of 20s and 30s classics will warm even the most callous of souls and cold hearts, prompting uncontrollable bouts of foot tapping and slapping of the thigh. – Dominic Valvona

mp3@VBR

Track List

01 – Hesitation Blues

02 – Sweet Jennie Lee

03 – Fan It

04 – I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None O’ This Jelly Roll

05 – Oh! You Pretty Woman

06 – Bring It On Down To My House

07 – Right Or Wrong

08 – Corrine Corrina

09 – I’m Sittin’ On Top Of The World

10 – Shame On You

11 – South (Ft. Paul Shaffer And Vince Gill)

12 – Won’t You Ride In My Little Red Wagon

http://bit.ly/cEyb8Q

[bradm]

http://www.archive.org/details/dd2005-02-05.shnf

Aloha,

Brad

[NewRider]

No Age - Everything In Between

[hamilton]

The Monkees, The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees.

[Kanada Kev]

http://bit.ly/bYWmoN

Anoushka Shankar – Rise

Rise, Anoushka Shankar’s fourth album for Angel Records, marks a defining moment in the career of the young woman whose surname is synonymous with Indian music. Having previously recorded strictly in the classical tradition of her father, the legendary Ravi Shankar, Anoushka truly emerges as a potent creative force with her newest release.

“It’s very much my own music and my journey and who I am right now,†says Anoushka, who turns 24 in June. “I felt like I was rising into that. On a personal level, Riseâ€â€”which was composed, produced and arranged by Anoushka— “signifies growth. It was a step up for me. Not even up, just more into my own.â€

For Rise, Anoushka collaborated with a select crew of virtuoso Eastern and Western musicians wielding a variety of both acoustic and electronic instruments, often engaging in unexpected ways to create tantalizing new sounds. And while Anoushka’s own sitar playing has evolved measurably—she learned at the feet of the master, after all—there are a couple of tracks on Rise on which she eschews the sitar all together in favor of her first love, the piano. The result is a stunning and evocative work that will surely catapult Anoushka Shankar into the vanguard of the world music scene.

Anoushka was born in London and lived there until age 11, then split her time between southern California and India. She showed interest as a young girl in learning her father’s craft, but it was her mother, Sukanya, who most strongly encouraged her to pursue her musical dreams. “My dad was reluctant at first,†says Anoushka. “My mom was the one who said, ‘You may as well teach her and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.’â€

It worked. By her early teens, Anoushka had joined her father on the international touring circuit, and she recorded her first album for Angel, simply titled Anoushka, in 1998. Anourag followed in 2000, the same year that she recorded the acclaimed Live At Carnegie Hall, released the following year.

Having toured almost non-stop throughout her adolescence, in addition to attending school, Anoushka felt that she needed a break and elected to take 2004 off. But her vacation swiftly became a working one as concepts were planted for the album that ultimately became Rise.

“I was going to go disappear for a while but wouldn’t you know it, I made an album,†she says. “The sabbatical gave me the space to take risks. It was really an organic, natural experience. I was traveling from India to the States and meeting friends and adding people along the way. It was really beautiful.â€

From the first notes of “Prayer In Passing,†which opens Rise, it becomes instantly clear that Anoushka is on to something inspiring and uncommon here. The track features Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, a renowned Indian slide guitarist, providing melodic direction alongside the flamenco-style piano of Ricardo Miño, Pedro Eustache’s bansuri flute and duduk (a Middle Eastern wind instrument) and Anoushka’s sitar. “This one’s very languid,†says Anoushka. “It’s just nice and dreamy—it’s set in a morning raga that’s very moody and simple. It was lovely to have so many different things that shouldn’t go together but seemed to flow really nicely.â€

“Red Sun,†the second track, features Anoushka on keyboards and is highlighted by the percussive Indian “bol†vocalizing of Bikram Ghosh and Tanmoy Bose, her longtime tabla players. “We’ve always incorporated that into my shows when they play with me, and I definitely wanted to feature that—they’re improvising on that,†says Anoushka.

“Mahadeva†is based on a melody by Ravi Shankar, but the composition was re-composed and arranged by Anoushka. “He never developed it into a piece of music,†Anoushka explains. “It was just something that I sang as a kid and it came into my head while we were in Calcutta recording. It started developing into a really strong rhythmic, dark-feeling track, which I was really excited about. Mahadeva is another name for Shiva, and one aspect of Shiva is that he’s the destroyer. This sort of brings out that feeling of anger and insanity.â€

“Naked†turns the mood around completely—Anoushka, all alone, on sitar and keyboards. “It was a very conscious decision to add a little pretty track with sitar being the focus,†she says. “We’d gone very mysterious and heavy and it seemed nice to have something light.â€

“Solea†was co-written by Anoushka and pianist Ricardo Miño. The luminous background sounds, Anoushka explains, were all created on keyboards. “I’m holding the piano strings muted while he’s playing one of the other background synth sounds. It was really creative and fun for me, and very physical, too, because of the rhythm, the flamenco approach.â€

The album’s other sitar-less track, “’Beloved,’†says Anoushka, “was my first experience writing lyrics from scratch and fitting it to a melody. It was flute-focused and I thought it would be nice to have it be about Krishna because he’s always with the flute. The lyrics are from the point of Radha, who’s his eternal lover. She’s searching for him everywhere and then she understands that the reason she hasn’t been able to find him is because she’s not looking within herself.â€

The intriguingly titled “Sinister Grains†was “just a funky little mysterious track,†Anoushka says. “The song is in a Sufi mood where he’s talking about the pain of living, so happy lyrics didn’t really seem appropriate.â€

Anoushka compares “Voice Of The Moon,†which matches the Western cello and violin to the Eastern sitar, tabla and santoor, to her father’s collaborations with the late violinist Yehudi Menuhin. “It’s very much composed within an Indian raga yet the fact that the cello is there gives it a smoothness,†she says. The Indian percussion is amended with an electronic HandSonic drum pad as well, “to give it a little more depth,†Anoushka explains.

Finally, “Ancient Love,†the longest track on Rise, is “my favorite one by far,†says Anoushka. “This is the one closest to my heart. It was also the easiest track because it constantly flowed. Every time someone added to this track, it would get more beautiful. We ended up taking out a lot, too, to retain a bit of simplicity. It’s got a nice mix of the electronics and several flavors.â€

The sequencing of the tracks on Rise, adds Anoushka, is hardly random. “Each one is in a certain raga, and it flows from morning to evening through the course of the album, which is a pretty unique feature. It’s not something that happens very often or that can be made to work, but if you do believe that ragas have moods and have significance it does enhance the overall flow.â€

Although Rise is a bold departure for Anoushka and she is cognizant of her expanding horizons as an artist since embarking on the project, she ensures that, like her previous work, it is a “very Indian album. Coming into my own in this way musically has made me a better sitar player, but Rise is something that can connect to a lot more people.â€

Ravi Shankar once commented to an interviewer, “I’m waiting for the day when people call me ‘Anoushka’s father.’†Anoushka blushes humbly at the thought. “You can’t compare me to a master of any kind,†she says. “I’m not my father by any means. But this album does feel much closer to me than anything I’ve done before.†– Jeff Tamarkin

mp3@320CBR

Track List

01.Prayer in Passing

02.Red Sun

03.Mahadeva

04.Naked

05.Solea

06.Beloved

07.Sinister Grains

08.Voice of the Moon

09.Ancient Love

Bonus Tracks:

10.Beloved(Remix)

11.Naked (Remix)

http://bit.ly/bYWmoN

[hamilton]

Little Feat, Sailin' Shoes.

[bradm]

Aloha,

Brad

[hamilton]

Grateful Dead, Road Trips, Vol. 3 No. 4: Penn State & Cornell 1980.

[Kanada Kev]

^^^^^^

What do you think of that release?? I have listened a couple of times and find there's a fair bit of sub-par performances of many tracks. However, some of the more stretched-out stuff with the transitional sound is pretty damn cool

A little Zappa on a rainy afternoon

http://bit.ly/cfxchm

Frank Zappa – Roxy & Elsewhere

After his affair with jazz fusion (Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo, both released in 1972), Frank Zappa came back in late 1973 with an album of simple rock songs, Over-Nite Sensation. But the temptation for more challenging material was not long to resurface and, after a transitional LP (Apostrophe, early 1974), he unleashed a double LP (reissued on one CD) of his most complex music, creating a bridge between his comedy rock stylings and Canterbury-style progressive rock. Three-quarters of the album was recorded live at the Roxy in Hollywood and extensively overdubbed in the studio later. Only three tracks (“Dummy Up,†“Son of Orange County,†and “More Trouble Every Dayâ€), taken from other concerts, are 100 percent live. The band is comprised of George Duke (keyboards), Tom Fowler (bass), Ruth Underwood (percussion), Bruce Fowler (trombone), Walt Fowler (trumpet), Napoleon Murphy Brock (vocals), and Chester Thompson (drums) — drummer Ralph Humphrey, keyboardist Don Preston, and guitarist Jeff Simmons appear on the non-Roxy material. The sequence “Echidna’s Arf (Of You)â€/â€Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?†stands as Zappa’s most difficult rock music and provides quite a showcase for Underwood. Other highlights include “Penguin in Bondage†and “Cheepnis,†a horror movie tribute. All the pieces were premiere recordings, except for “More Trouble Every Day†and “Son of Orange County,†a revamped, slowed down “Orange County Lumber Truckâ€/â€Oh No.†Compared to the man’s previous live recordings (Fillmore East, June 1971, Just Another Band From L.A.), this one sounds fantastic, finally providing an accurate image of the musicians’ virtuosity. For fans of Zappa’s intricate material like “RDNZL,†“The Black Page,†or “Inca Roads,†this album is a must-have. – allmusic.com

mp3@320CBR

Track List

1. Penguin in Bondage (6:48)

2. Pygmy Twylyte (2:13)

3. Dummy Up (6:02)

4. Village of the Sun (4:17)

5. Echidna’s Arf (Of You) (3:52)

6. Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing? (9:40)

7. Cheepnis (6:33)

8. Son of Orange County (5:53)

9. More Trouble Every Day (6:00)

10. Be-Bop Tango (Of the Old Jazzmen’s Church) (16:41)

http://bit.ly/cfxchm

[hamilton]

^^^^^^

What do you think of that release?? I have listened a couple of times and find there's a fair bit of sub-par performances of many tracks. However, some of the more stretched-out stuff with the transitional sound is pretty damn cool

I haven't listened to the whole thing yet, but so far it sounds pretty good to these ears. I quite like 1980 and 1981 despite (or perhaps because of) the outdated keyboard sounds.

[SaggyBalls]

A Mermen Concert

[Esau.]

[hamilton]

AC/DC, High Voltage.

[Kanada Kev]

http://bit.ly/bC2Hqe

Rick Danko – Times Like These

Times Like These was Band bassist Rick Danko’s final album, a posthumous release featuring tracks from a variety of sources dating from an aborted solo project in 1993 to Danko’s final live performance in Ann Arbor, Michigan just days before his death.

Those tracks recorded specifically for the project were the title track (a song Danko had written in the 1970s but had yet to find a place for), “Ripple†(suggested by the President of Breeze Hill Records, who issued the album), “All Our Past Times†(in keeping with Danko’s revisiting of a song from his younger days), “This Wheel’s on Fire†(a second, unfinished, revisit, it features an entirely redone arrangement by The Crowmatix and Garth Hudson), “You Can Go Home†and “People of Conscience†(both written by Tom Pacheco, the former co-written by Danko, and focusing on human rights). Of the remaining four, “Book Faded Brown†and “Let the Four Winds Blowâ€- the latter sung by Danko cohort Aaron Hurwitz- date from Danko’s last live show on December 6, 1999, both featuring posthumous overdubbing by Hurwitz and others. “Chain Gang†dated from the sessions for The Band’s High On The Hog album and featured all of the late-period members of The Band except Levon Helm and “Change is Good†featuring Joe Walsh dated from an aborted 1993 solo project for Elektra Records.

mp3@320CBR

Track List

1. “All Our Past Times†(Rick Danko and Eric Clapton) – 3:46

2. “Ripple†(Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter) – 5:41

3. “Times Like These†(Rick Danko) – 4:19

4. “Book Faded Brown†(Paul Jost) – 3:12

5. “Chain Gang†(Sam Cooke) – 4:10

6. “Change is Good†(Rick Danko, Jim Tullio and Ed Kaercher) – 4:10

7. “Sip the wine†(Rick Danko, Tim Drummond) – 5:19

8. “This Wheel’s on Fire†(Rick Danko and Bob Dylan) – 5:06

9. “You Can Go Home†(Rick Danko and Tom Pacheco) – 5:34

10. “Let the Four Winds Blow†(Dave Bartholomew and Antoine “Fats†Domino) – 3:22

11. “People of Conscience†(Tom Pacheco) – 4:10

http://bit.ly/bC2Hqe

[Esau.]

After the Waltz is a 6-CD monster compilation spanning 15 years, concentrating on the period from 1982 to 1996, during which members of The Band performed solo, in various combinations with others, and as The Band. Many songs rarely performed are included as well as some very interesting versions of the great standards. The sound quality is average to excellent, with most of it being very good

It's not a "proper" bootleg, but a collection of CD-Rs meant for trading. The back covers say "In Memory of Richard Manuel and Rick Danko -- not for sale/ trade freely."

http://theband.hiof.no/albums/boot_after_the_waltz.html

[Schwa.]

**Coming Soon: What You've Been Listening Too**

[bradm]

Kevin Breit - Folkalarm

Aloha,

Brad

[hamilton]

The Rolling Stones, The Rolling Stones, Now!