Zappadan 2020 Orchestral Favorites 40th Anniversary 2019

Happy Zappadan one and all. The celebration on the blogosphere seems a bit subdued this year, but Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr all have some news of the holiday. And of course you can explore my Zappadan posts from the past right here.

This new 3 CD version of Orchestral Favorites, recorded in 1975 and originally released in 1979, is a real treat. The original release included five excellent tracks, all recorded in the afternoons before live performances in the evening. Those five tracks are here, plus a "keyboard overdose" version of Strictly Genteel with Tommy Mars' keyboard overdubs recorded in 1978. Frank was always upset about the sound of the original release because the master tone reel was not used to align the tape heads for mastering the original release. That's been fixed here, so the sound is quite good, and better than the original.

But even more exciting is that the concerts performed in the evening included twelve songs, not just five, and this set includes (on CDs 2 and 3), the entire performance with the orchestra live on the evening of September 18, 1975. Well, almost the entire show, as the tape ran out near the end of the last song, which is faded out. The additional material has mostly never been released, and lots of it is great. For fans of Zappa's contemporary classical music (see here and here), this is very exciting news. There is even a 13 minute version of The Adventures of Greggery Peccary that is outstanding, and a fine rendition of Lumpy Gravy that is decidedly out there.

I'm not certain that everything the Zappa Family Trust has released posthumously has been worth dropping your coin on, but if you liked the original Orchestral Favorites, this is an easy recommendation.

Shannon McNally Black Irish 2017

There are plenty of reasons that you should own this record.

The first is Shannon McNally's voice, which is just about perfect. A little Sheryl Crow, a little Kelly Willis, a little Bonnie Raitt. She can pour her heart out and still sound grounded. Her feeling creeps into every song, and yet she's never melodramatic. I can't really tell you, but when you hear her, you'll know.

The next reason is the song selection. McNally pens three songs, and they are top-notch. The bluesy I Went To The Well, the rocking Roll Away The Stone, and the quiet ballad Banshee Moan. Then there's the rest, all written by a-list songsmiths Robbie Robertson (a magnificent It Makes No Difference), Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Beth Nielson Chapman, JJ Cale (the slinky Low Rider), Muddy Waters (a smokin' hot The Stuff You Gotta' Watch), Stevie Wonder (an amazing, swinging reading of I Ain't Gonna Stand For It), and Guy and Susanna Clark.

Then there's the production by Rodney Crowell. Crowell is a veteran of the Nashville scene with a long list of credits as both star, sideman, writer and producer. Like the excellent records he produced for Rosanne Cash and others, he brings real skill to the producer's chair. Nothing out of place, nothing overdone, everything just right. Crowell also attracts great session players that all supply the perfect building blocks for these sturdy songs.

Along with great songs played and sung as well as possible, the recording is pristine. Now a great recording means nothing without the performance, but when the performance is there, great sound can add to your enjoyment. The vinyl version will make your stereo a star.

Shannon McNally should be a huge star. But even if that doesn't happen, it's no reason for you to miss out.

Brian Auger and Julie Tippetts Encore 1978

Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll Tippetts made some great music together in the late sixties on two records by Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger and the Trinity, Open in 1967 and Streetnoise in 1969. Much of the best of those records (and a bunch of fine Auger singles from the sixties) can be had on Get Auger-Nized (The Mod Years) released in 2004 on vinyl. A two-CD set of Get-Auger-Nized The Mod Years/The Jazz Years includes The Mod Years on one CD and a second CD with Auger's Trinity and Oblivion Express bands featured. 

In 1978, they got back together for this delightful one-off. Some of the quirky-ness of their earlier work is smoothed out on this one, but they sound great together again. A fine reading of Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood showcases Tippett's stellar vocals, as do Jack Bruce's Rope Ladder To The Moon, Steve Winwood's No Time To Live, and two Al Jarreau penned tunes, Spirit and Lock All The Gates.Auger's own Git Up and Future Pilot are strong, and Julie gets soulful with the Staples' Freedom Highway.

No one sounds quite like Julie Driscoll Tippetts. I read a description of her as mid-way between Annie Lennox and Nina Simone, and that's probably as close as I could come. Her idiosyncratic styling reminds of Simone, and her clear, forceful voice rivals Lennox. But comparisons inevitably fail, because Julie is such a unique, soulful talent.

Brian Auger's Hammond B3 work is as hot as anyone's and his penchant for jazz-rock fusion makes him a singular force. I reviewed the Oblivion Express classic Closer To It! here.

Encore is one of those great finds in a used record bin.

David Bowie Blackstar 2016

David Bowie left us this swansong just days before he passed away in 2016. It is a brilliant record, with Bowie presenting us with something truly new. There's a million reviews, and they are generally quite positive. I find it extremely difficult to write about, as it really is like nothing before it. Many writers have compared it to Low, or the more recent The Next Day, and while I can hear some similarities, Blackstar sounds different to me from everything else Bowie. 

It took me four years to getting around to hearing it. I always liked Bowie's work in the seventies, but I was less thrilled with what came after, and 1983's Let's Dance was my last purchase, and that one got purged from the stacks a long time ago. I recently read The Age of Bowie by Paul Morley (I can't recommend the book), and that got me into going back to the music I was less familiar with from the 90s and 2000s, and brought me to Blackstar. I was pleasantly surprised by some of his more recent music, but Blackstar just blew me away.

It is not jazz, but it is played by a talented jazz band. It doesn't rock very much, but there are some rock moments. The band deserve extra credit. The songs are unusually strong. It has a unified sound, more so to my ears than anything he'd done in 20 years. If you have any interest in Bowie, you really should hear it. And maybe especially if, like me, you wouldn't be expecting anything great from David Bowie. I would put this in my list of the top 5 best David Bowie records. It's that good.

It is no surprise that David Bowie had one more trick up his sleeve, but one so magnificent is just remarkable.

Bob Dylan Rough And Rowdy Ways 2020

After almost eight years, we get a new Dylan album with all original songs. After three releases covering the American songbook, I was ready. Would we get another Tempest? Modern Times? Well, no. But there is some fine music to be heard.

I love Bob Dylan's music, and he's made some truly great records. I don't know that this is the classic that other reviewers have raved up, but it has some great moments, and has an overall tone that is quietly powerful. Dylan's voice is the same ragged mess it has been for 20 some years, and he sings with it beautifully. If singing is notes, well, you know, Bob's in trouble. But if singing is getting feeling across to the listener, that ragged voice works as well as any. And the lyrics are clear above a frequently soft, delicate instrumental backing. Bob still has stuff to say, and you don't need to analyze and parse the lyrics to get his meaning. He's quite direct on this one.

The writing is sly, funny, dramatic and dark. I Contain Multitudes opens as a tongue-in-cheek boast. The stomping blues of False Prophet accommodates Dylan's dark rasp as well as one of the few instances of hot guitars. The other, Goodbye Jimmy Reed, rocks steady. But much of this record is very laid back, slow, quiet music with Dylan's voice and words. I could go for a few more up-tempo songs. There's a love song (I've Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You), an ode to poetry (Mother Of Muses), cautionary tales (Black Rider, Key West), and slow blues (Crossing The Rubicon). The writing is direct and understandable, and the phrasing that is embedded in Dylan's lyrical skill is as evident as ever.

Then there's the 17 minutes of Murder Most Foul. It's good. It follows from JFK's assassination to stories and visions and snapshots of a world mostly in decline. It is a moving song, and a fine display from a songwriter that keeps in forward motion despite the odds. 

If you gave up on Dylan during the eighties or nineties, you really should check out 2001's Love and Theft and 2006's Modern Times. If you've been following Dylan's recent work, you'll probably find this one to your liking also.

Robin McKelle 2006-2019

Robin McKelle has an interesting story, and has recorded in a variety of styles that makes her difficult to pin down. She is a fine singer of jazz, soul, blues and pop. She writes some great songs, and has had some excellent writing partners. Although she hails from upstate New York, her first success came singing big band jazz in Europe. Her first release, Introducing 2006, is an excellent big band jazz record that swings. Confident, assured vocals, fine arrangements, and a stellar big band led by producer/trumpeter Willie Murillo featuring many great soloists. Highlights include Something's Gotta Give, For All We Know, Deep In A Dream, I've Got The World On A String, and a slow, sultry Come Rain Or Come Shine.

Next up, Modern Antique 2008, is another big band outing, and McKelle's vocals are just a bit more confident sounding, and a bit stronger. Willie Murillo produces again, this time with McKelle's assistance. Song selection is great, and includes Steve Miller's Abracadabra done big band style. Other highlights include Comes Love, Cheek To Cheek, Save Your Love For Me, Make Someone happy, and McKelle's first songwriting credit, the lovely closer Remember.

Mess Around 2010 finds McKelle fronting a smaller jazz combo of keyboards, bass and drums (and occasional guitar) augmented by three or four horns on all but two songs. McKelle produces herself, and wrote four of the songs. The rest are written by a wide array of songsmiths including Bee Gees, Leonard Cohen, Doc Pompus, Lennon/McCartney, and Willie Dixon. Her own Mess Around kicks things off in fine soul-jazz style. Several of the best songs are blues, including Never Make A Move Too Soon, Lonely Avenue, and I Just Want To Make Love To You. The record closes with another fine McKelle original, Since I Looked In Your Eyes.

So 2012 rolls around and Robin takes another musical turn, this time to soul music, with her Soul Flower release. There is a completely revamped band, The Flytones, featuring bassist/co-producer/songwriting partner Derek Nievergelt, Ben Stivers on keys, Adrian Harpham on drums, Al Street on guitar, and a three-man horn section. Robin writes or co-writes eight of the twelve songs. If you liked seventies soul music, it is hard to believe this came out in 2012. Highlights include her own Tell You One Thing, a sexy come-on, Fairytale Ending, a classic Philly/Memphis soul hybrid that has hit single written all over it, and the funky Don't Give Up. Two excellent duets, the Bee Gees' To Love Somebody with Lee Fields and Love's Work with Gregory Porter, and an unusually fast take on Bacharach's Walk On By are all great.

For 2014's Heart Of Memphis, McKelle stays with soul, this time emulating those fine Hi Records Memphis soul gems from the seventies. The Flytones return with a new two-man horn section, McKelle writes or co-writes 10 of the 12 songs, and everything works. The rocking soul of Good Time, the slow longing loss of Forgetting You, the walking blues of the title track. A very fine, quick-tempo Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood shines bright. Good & Plenty and Down With The Ship are great songs. Played to perfection by the Flytones, sung with panache by McKelle, it is a killer old soul outing. Produced in Memphis by Scott Bomar, the sound is excellent.

On The Looking Glass 2014, McKelle makes another musical style change, and creates a mature pop record not far removed from Adele, but with lingering soul overtones. McKelle wrote or cowrote all the songs. Steve Greenwell recorded and produced the record, and there is a new band in place on piano, bass, and drums, with Al Street back on guitar, and Greenwell adding keyboard touches throughout. It's her first record without any horns. The record kicks off with the funky modern soul of Gravity, the great hooks of Stand Up (a call to action), and the Adele-like slow build of I'm The One, with its killer chorus of Robins. Forgive Me's soul-pop harmonies follows, then Stay sounds like a good track from a Lauren Hill album, and the jazzy cautionary tale that is Brave Love keeps the quality high. The last three songs tread mid-tempo water, but it is overall a very strong outing.

After two soul albums and a pop one, Robin turns again and returns to jazz on Melodic Canvas 2018. A small combo with Shedrick Mitchell on piano and organ, Vincente Archer on bass, Daniel Sadownick on drums, and Al Street on guitar. McKelle produces, and makes another good one. Do You Believe has a gospel-like sound, Come To Me is sexy smooth jazz, You're No Good sounds like a jazz version of a Dusty Springfield song. Swing Low Sweet Chariot has a jazzy syncopated gospel feel, and Allen Toussaint's Yes We Can Can receives a slow build that takes the song to a new place, and a good place. There's a few moody jazz pieces that slow things down, but the singing is always fine. It might be less consistent than her best, but she's stretching out on this one, and you have to admire her moxie even if not everything works.

Which brings us to Alterations 2019. Shedrick Mitchell returns on keys and produced with McKelle. Richie Goods plays bass, Charles Haynes plays drums, and Nir Felder plays guitar. Guest horns appear on two tracks. This time (because she does like to change things up) it is a covers record with one McKelle original. The covers are all over the map, but feature mostly pop songs from Amy Winehouse, Joni Mitchell, Adele, Dolly Parton, Sade, Ella Fitzgerald, and Janis Joplin. The jazz version of Back In Black is super, and Adele's Rolling In The Deep is an interesting arrangement. Mercedes Benz is taken as a blues-rock, and Don't Explain gets a remarkable vocal from Robin. Her own Head High is another highlight, and features a smoking sax solo. Like most covers records, there are some questionable choices, including Sade's No Ordinary Love (it's ordinary), Joni Mitchell's River (not an easy song to interpret), and Parton's Jolene (hard to turn into jazz). Similarly to The Looking Glass, the first half is the strong half. But the good stuff is good enough you don't want to miss it.

The real heartbreak is that she has gone mostly unnoticed in her homeland. She is a much better known artist in France and Germany than here in the U.S., and that's just a shame. If you like big band vocals, get Modern Antique. For small combo jazz, I still like Mess Around, which is a great set of songs, and features three blues that Robin sings beautifully, but the newer ones are solid too. Both of her soul records are great, and I can't really choose between Heart Of Memphis and Soul Flower. The pop-soul of The Looking Glass is better than most new music. You may have never heard of her, but that has nothing to do with her prodigious talent.

Norah Jones Pick Me Up Off The Floor 2020

Norah Jones is a beguiling artist at her best. A lovely singer, a talented piano and guitar player, and a skilled songwriter, she has crafted some of the best jazz, jazz-pop and pop of the last twenty years. But not everything is equal to her best work, and her records have vacillated from greatness to downright disappointing. Her best records, like the debut Come Away With Me, have been followed by lesser product. Both Feels Like Home and Not Too Late, while certainly not bad records, couldn't touch the debut. Then The Fall was a revelation, with her moving to guitar on some songs and with a production that took some of the sleepy out of her songs. That was followed by the mismatch with Danger Mouse on Little Broken Hearts, which showed that there was a way to make a less than great Norah Jones record without making it boring. Then 2016's "return" to jazz, Day Breaks, was a monumental work, proving she had the goods still, and that maybe the pool of her talents was deeper than we knew. Last year's Begin Again was a collection of writing collaborations that sounded less cohesive than her better efforts. Which brings us to Pick Me Up Off The Floor.

Jones has always specialized in soft, gentle compositions. Some of her work is a bit too sleepy sometimes, but there are generally a few songs that pick things up a bit. Not so much this time around. This one starts off slow, never speeds up, and then peters out all together. Not that tempos ruin the record, but don't come looking for much in the energy category.

How I Weep, softly, minimally played on piano and strings, sets the tone. Flame Twin has a nice organ part and interesting lyric. Background singers and Pete Remm's Hammond B3 keep Hurts To Be Alone interesting. Heartbroken, Day After is a slow sad breakup song. It is a good one, but four songs in and barely a rhythm in sight. Say No More has a nice rhythm and some melody, and you might think it's the beginning of getting this work moving. But not so much really. The chorus of Norah's vocals shines on This Life, with its appropriate lyric for the pandemic we are living through.

Side Two has to pick things up, right? To Live is a beautiful song, urging the singer to live in the now, again with lovely harmonies she sings herself. A collaboration with Jeff Tweedy, I'm Alive, is next, and it is good. The lyrics seem to focus on pandemic-me too-politics, and the tempo is at least moving forward. Tweedy's guitars are a nice change of pace. Then it's over. Were You Watching? (a too long, too sad dirge), Stumble On My Way (just slow), and Heaven Above (beautiful, and oh yeah, slow) try to out-slow each other, and they all win.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Jones' work has never been exactly upbeat, but this is just too far down the lack of tempo road. It is a beautiful record, full of sad, melancholy songs perhaps best described as art songs. It is well-written and performed. The musicians (usually just piano, bass and drums with one or two helpers along for the ride) do a fine job. As theme music for our current state of pandemic depression, it might be perfect. 

Maybe I'm being too critical. Several of these songs are strikingly beautiful. Jones' voice is lovely. Lyrics are mostly strong. There isn't a note out of place. Shouldn't that be enough?

The Rubinoos 1970 - 2019

There is a new Rubinoos LP out, From Home 2019. Produced by Chuck Prophet, with new songs by Tommy Dunbar and Prophet, it is chock full of classic Rubinoos delights. The straight-ahead power-pop Rubinoos sound, like the Archies or The 1910 Fruitgum Company, delivered without a trace of irony. Prophet wisely leaves their sound alone, letting all we love about the Rubinoos come shining through. The nostalgia of Do You Remember, the mid-tempo magic of January, the pristine vocals and syncopation of Do I Love You?, and the ancient Greek goddess Phaedra done up all Beach Boys/Raspberries style. Honey From The Honeycombs idolizes the great female drummer. Masochist Davey takes a different look at not-quite-sweet love. The record closes with Watching The Sun Go Down, a lovely ballad that Jon Rubin sings beautifully, and the band adds great harmony. It is another fine outing from this band that has been doing this sweetly perfect pop for fifty years.

Although the band formed as early as 1970, their recorded debut was on the Beserkly Chartbusters compilation in 1975. They performed a cover of Gorilla by the DeFranco Family. Then, in 1977, came their debut, The Rubinoos. A more perfect pop record is hard to imagine. While the cover of I Think We're Alone Now was a modest hit as a single, the record is rife with gems. Leave My Heart Alone, Rock And Roll Is Dead, Nothing A Little Love Won't Cure, Make It Easy, and I Never Thought It Would Happen are all chart-worthy. Catchy melodies, great hook-filled choruses, remarkable harmonies, and the crystal clear pipes of Jon Rubin, along with fine ensemble playing and singing throughout, it would almost be legacy enough. 

If it is hard to imagine a better record than the debut, Back To The Drawing Board 1979 comes mighty close. More great songs from Tommy Dunbar, and more of everything on offer on the debut. Fallin' In Love, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend, Drivin' Music, Operator, Arcade Queen, Lightning Love Affair, and 1, 2, 3 Forever maintain the quality, and a tour opening for Elvis Costello should have made them famous. But Beserkley Records was never able to support them as well as a larger label, and let's face it, although this music is charmingly perfect, in the late 1970s, it is decidedly not contemporary. It is an interesting exercise to contemplate what might have been if this music had been released in the mid-sixties. Because it is certainly of that time, but also better than most of the competition even then.

Party Of Two 1983, produced by Todd Rundgren with instrumental support from Utopia, yielded If I Had You Back, the video for which got some MTV air time. It was a decent EP, but didn't capture their sound (or their best songs) as well as the first two. Around the same time they recorded the theme song for The Revenge Of The Nerds movie. And that would have seemed to be the end of the Rubinoos.

They recorded another record in the mid 80s that never got released at the time, but in 1993 and 1994 those recordings were released as The Basement Tapes and Garage Sale. Rather than sound like demos, the material on Basement Tapes just sounded like the next Rubinoos release. The interest in those recordings confirmed that the band still had fans, and successful tours in Japan and Europe led to new recordings in the new century.

Paleophonic 2000 picked up where they had left off, and had a fuller sound, with great production from Kevin Gilbert. Amnesia, Early Winter, Pursuit Of Happiness, and the Raspberries' Beach Boys tribute Cruisin' Music jump with pop thrills and harmonies galore. Perfect Stranger is a glorious ballad, and a surf instrumental version of the Star Trek theme complete the mix.

2003's Crimes Against Music is their covers record. It is a wild mix of songs and styles, and it all comes out Rubinoos. Pop greats by The America Breed (Bend Me, Shape Me), Looking Glass (Brandy), Lou Christie (If Only My Car Could Talk), and the Beach Boys (Heroes And Villains) are mixed with less likely choices like Eurythmics, Todd Rundgren, Elvis Costello, and Yardbirds. It works really well, but it is a covers record, and that means that we miss out on Tommy Dunbar's unique songcraft. The thing that is so consistently fun about Rubinoos is their original songs that sound like you heard them 30 years ago but can't remember where.

Twist Pop Sin 2005 continued their more recent successes. You Hit The Nerve is classic Rubinoos pop, and there's plenty to go around with The Other Side Of The Rain, In The Worst Way, She Won't Let Me, Nobody Said Life Was Fair, and the sweet ballad Someday. Maybe not their strongest effort, but not a disappointment by any measure.

2010 saw Biff-Boff-Boing. A children's record, I haven't heard it. I listened to the samples, and there is no reason not to like their sound as a vehicle to entertain children. Their sound has always been for kids. In 2011, no one expected Automatic Toaster. Released to coincide with a European tour, the record appeared on the scene without fanfare. And it is a pretty darn good Rubinoos record. Great songs keep coming with Two Guitars, Bass And Drums, I Pity The Fool, Mak Schau, Black Is Black (Los Bravos cover), and Past, Present And Future.

They just won't go away. And we are all the better for it. 2015 saw 45. As in 45 rpm of course, but also marking 45 years since the band formed in 1970. And guess what? It is their best effort since the first two, hands down. Donn Spindt is back on drums (missing since Paleophonic), and Dunbar managed to write his best set of songs in a long while. Run Mascara Run, Graveyard Shift, I Love Louie Louie, Countdown To Love, You Are Here, That Thing You Do, All It Takes, She Drives Me Crazy, and This Is Good all rock like crazy, and the ballad What More Could You Ask Of A Friend is as good a sweet ballad as they have ever done.

Who would have thought that the Rubinoos would still be with us in 2020? It is amazing really that they have managed to keep doing their uniquely Rubinoos thing all this time. You can't go wrong with the first two records. Get them on vinyl if you have that capability. None of their records suck. The new one, From Home is excellent, as is 45, and Paleophonic. Do you miss the Raspberries? Tommy James? Simple pop for grown-ups? Rubinoos are the answer to your dilemma.

Elephant's Memory 1972

Elephant's Memory are one of those many strange stories in rock history. A New York City band that featured horns, eclectic songwriting, multiple line-up changes, and several record labels, they are best known for being the backing band on Some Time In New York City by John Lennon, easily arguable as Lennon's worst release, although that isn't due to Elephant's Memory as the backing band. John and Yoko produced this 1971 Apple records outing, which has never been released on CD.

Side one opens with Liberation Special, a fast-driving, hard rocking song with a solid riff, vague lyrics about freedom, and good drive. Baddest Of The Mean follows, and it is a big plodding boogie with Stan Bronstein's gravely baritone delivery that verges on the Wolfman Jack sound, and not in a good way. The Johnny B Goode riff of Cryin' Blacksheep Blues follows, with similarly bad vocals, but a nice sax solo. Chuck 'N' Bo is a hard driving boogie that tells the story of John and Yoko attending a Chuck Berry and Bo Diddly concert.

Side two is a bit more varied. We get a few sung by members other than Bronstein, which helps, but the lyrical content is consistently weak, and they play off their celebrity producers again with the closing Local Plastic Ono Band. The country-ish Wind Ridge, the big loud Power Boogie (with more Wolfman vocals), and the hard rock of Madness and Gypsy Wolf keep things moving.

The band is tight. The lead guitar is generally interesting. The horn solos are highlights when they appear. The recording has a thick sound that could be tightened up a bit, but that doesn't wreck it.

I've said it before- All you really need is a singer, a songwriter, and a solid drummer. I can't say anything bad about the drumming. Songwriting is musically simple but effective, but lyrically banal. And vocals are a big problem for the band. They had other singers in their earlier iterations, but Bronstein just isn't up to the job, vacillating between his gravelly baritone and a high scream, it is a hard voice to see as an effective instrument. Maybe in a metal band, but not here.

Better lyrics and vocals would have made this a better record. But not better enough to make it great. There are millions of lesser artists that managed to put out a few records. Some of them made famous friends, but that doesn't mean they made memorable music.

Great Sounding Recordings

I don't really think of myself as an audiophile, but by some definition I must be one. I think of myself these days as a guy that loves music and has a much better than average stereo system. But how I got that system was by being an audiophile. Maybe I should define what I mean by an audiophile. To me, an audiophile is someone who is expressly interested in the sound that an audio system produces, and who more than likely wants that system to achieve something important to them. Using that definition, I was an audiophile back some twenty years ago when I started to put the system together that I now own. The system I have now was assembled between 2002 and 2009 for the most part, with vinyl playback gear upgraded in 2015 (although what I had in 2009 played vinyl just fine, but not as just fine as now). You can check out the kit at this post and you can read all of my equipment-related posts by using the Stereo Equipment label.

When I went shopping for speakers, which I contend is the most important buying choice when it comes to your stereo system, I recorded (on my Marantz CD recorder- which I miss dearly, but it died) a disc of songs that I felt would help me evaluate speaker systems. Naturally, I choose material I was familiar with, but also material that I thought would help me evaluate a speaker system by challenging that system to make the songs sound great. An exceptional recording was usually involved, but not really all the time. Some of the material challenged systems to provide what the late great Art Dudley would call rhythm and pacing. This is a highly underrated quality, and it is nebulous to some degree, but there are systems that can make big loud beautiful sound and yet they do not swing or rock.

I recorded the Instrumental Introduction To Don't Look Down, a track from Lindsey Buckingham's Out Of The Cradle at eight different dB levels so that I could be assured of listening to the music at similar volumes. This is important, because louder music will inevitably sound more impressive than less loud presentations. These tracks allowed me to get the overall volume of the system similar from audition to audition of speakers. Other than that technical issue, the tracks on my original "Audition Disc" included the following, with the reason for their being included:

Boats To Build by Guy Clark from Boats To Build- beautiful acoustic guitar, open space in the presentation, excellent vocals with a chesty vocal presentation that some speakers will overemphasize.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters by Eva Cassidy from Live At Blues Alley - amazing female vocals, great bass with definition, very dynamic recording that goes from soft to quite forceful.

Rock My Soul by Elvin Bishop, recorded from Rock My Soul vinyl - this songs rocks and swings, and not every system can make it happen. There's great bass, and there's an organ trill late in the song that can reveal irritating treble in some systems.

The Song Remembers When by Trisha Yearwood from The Song Remembers When - more female vocals (audiophiles love female vocals), and again, a dynamic presentation that swells in the crescendos. Delicate instruments in the early part of the song, and emotional content that can be "too sterile" with some systems.

Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey by the Beatles from The Beatles - I'm not sure if this was a great choice, but the cowbell and the drive of this song revealed some systems as too dry. If the system couldn't do rhythm, it showed on this track.

Song Of The Wind by Santana, recorded from Caravanserai vinyl - maybe the most important track on the disc. The searing guitar showed some speakers as strident, or harsh, in the treble. The percussion and organ trills in the early part of the track showed just how much inner detail could be revealed by a speaker system. And it rocks.

I Don't Want To Lose You Yet by Steve Earle from Transcendental Blues - not a great choice for the audition. Too much compression in the recording. Great song though.

I Got You (I Feel Good) by James Brown from Star Time - Rhythm and pacing. If you can't do this song, you got no soul, no swing.

Don't Look Down by Lindsey Buckingham from Out Of The Cradle - nicely recorded acoustic guitar, good overall sonics.

Corner Pocket and Lara's Theme from The Harry James Big Band King James Version direct-to-disc vinyl recording - hot, dynamic, horns in your face presentation. Any speaker worth owning should make this sound alive and super-hot. An amazing recording.

Hayden Quartet in G major, first movement, by The Emerson String Quartet from Hayden String Quartets - breathtaking quartet reveals any flaws with perfect acoustic instrumental recording.

Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor, fourth movement, by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (not sure of the source, maybe a Stereophile test CD?) - just a pristine classical recording, you should feel like your in the hall.

And that is the music I listened to when I decided to buy the Reference 3A MM deCapo-i speakers that I enjoy to this day.

I have amassed a long list since then of other worthy contenders that I might use to evaluate systems if I were back in the market. I listened to a revised Audition Disc when I visited Paragon back in 2014 and heard over $200,000 worth of stereo system.

Here's more exceptionally recorded music that will sound great on a good system and will test the abilities of any music reproduction. And they are also great performances.
Comes Love by The John Cocuzzi Quintet from Swingin' And Burnin'.
Paz by Tom Harrel from Wise Children.
Besame Mucho by The Frank And Joe Show featuring Jane Monheit from 331/3.
For Joy by The Sons Of Champlin from Hip Li'l Dreams.
First We Take Manhattan by Jennifer Warnes (with Stevie Ray Vaughn) from Famous Blue Raincoat - This may be the single best track to hear if you want to evaluate a system. Audiophiles have praised it forever, and for good reason. The rest of the first side is equally perfect, and Warnes' The Well from 2001 is also a magnificent recording. The Nightingale and the title track are perfect. You should get to know Jennifer Warnes' work if you haven't already.
Under The Boardwalk by Rickie Lee Jones from Girl At Her Volcano. I have the original 10-inch vinyl, and the dynamics and the vocals on this track are awe-inspiring.
Gloria's Step by Bill Evans from Sunday At The Village Vangard. The perfect piano trio.
Statesboro Blues by The Allman Brothers from At Fillmore East.
This Will Be Our Year by Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis from Our Year.
I wanted to include some of that "Eighties sheen", because some of it was good, but also, it presents a big sound from an in-your-face perspective.
Swallowed By The Cracks by David + David from Boomtown.
Every Time You Go Away by Paul Young from Secrets Of Association.

I rarely listen critically any more. I'd rather listen to music than pay attention to the recording or how well the system sounds. But I still catch myself when the music is so wonderfully recorded and presented.

Favorite Live Shows

I've seen plenty of great shows, and I am going to fail to remember them all here. But these have left a lasting enough impression that, well, I still remember. There are many that didn't make this list, and I want to give kudos to Sal over at Burning Wood for bringing the topic up. One of my friends is going to call me and say "What?! You didn't include ________!"  Trust me, I just can't remember them all. I saw NRBQ, but it was after Big Al left. I saw Van Morrison and the Kinks put on weak shows that I wanted so much to love. Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson, Eric Clapton, Boz Scaggs (2 or 3 times), Trisha Yearwood, Robert Palmer, Dwight Yoakam, and many others, all entertained me. But when it comes to that mix of great performance, great vibe, and great timing, these might be my favorite shows:

The Band 1970 Cleveland Music Hall
I was 15 years old. I already loved The Band. My father drove my girlfriend and I to downtown Cleveland to see the show. They were between The Band and Stage Fright albums. They were incredible. No warm-up act. They came out and played two sets, about two hours total. The only time they said much other than "Thank You" at all was when Robbie introduced Lookout Cleveland and said he was thinking of us. I think he meant Cleveland, Tennessee all along, but that didn't matter.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band 1973 John Carrol University Fieldhouse
The John Carrol Fieldhouse was a pretty big basketball arena by Jesuit college standards. Bruce was about to release The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, and the band on the back of that record jacket was the band I saw. Vinnie Lopez might not have been what Bruce wanted, but this band kicked butt that night for sure. And Springsteen was the only guitar player, he was super-hot, and they played for three hours, and totally rocked the crap out of the place. They got tighter, and maybe more professional, as a band, but they never got wilder.

Sons of Champlin, The Tubes, 1975 Some small outdoor amphitheater, San Diego, CA
So back in 1969 my older brother sent me and my middle brother seven albums for Christmas. Go ahead, divide seven by two. And do it with adolescent males. Anyway, one of those records was the Sons of Champlin debut, Loosen Up Naturally. I've loved the Sons ever since. In 1975, after finishing school, I road-tripped to California and while visiting a high school buddy in San Diego, I visited a record store. I found the recently self-released Sons of Champlin album (on Gold Mine records, which would later be reissued by Areola) and when I bought the album, the guy behind the register said, "Hey, dude, are you going to see them tonight?" Right then I bought tickets even though the guy I was staying with had to work that night. He went to work. I went and saw the Sons. Champlin, Haggerty, and Palmer were all spectacular. I was surprised, but I liked the Tubes, too.

It really seems like there should be something else between 1975 and 1979. How odd.

Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Rubinoos, 1979, The Agora Ballroom
Costello was doing This Year's Model and some of Armed Forces and the debut. Oh My God. 75 minutes of full steam ahead Costello and the Attractions. Not more than 30 seconds between songs, and no talk at all. The Rubinoos were playful and charming in the opening slot. They did I Think Were Alone Now and Sugar, Sugar.

Talking Heads 1983 Blossom Music Center
It was the big suit tour, which was made into the movie and album Stop Making Sense. It was very much worth seeing live. The concept was very cool, with David Byrne doing Psycho Killer solo with a beat box, then Tina Weymouth came on for Heaven, and it kept building until there were 10-12 people on stage. Burning down the house indeed.

Ahmad Jamal, 1990? The Purple Onion, Toronto
I went to Toronto to take my wife to see The Phantom of the Opera. The night before (or after?) we went to see Ahmad Jamal at the Purple Onion jazz club. I was mesmerized by Ahmad Jamal's trio. Such an amazing piano player. We sat at the bar about fifteen feet from Jamal, and we could see his hands on the keyboard. Breathtaking.

The Subdudes, 1986? Peabody's Down Under
If you ever have a chance to see the Subdudes, they put on a great show. Peabody's was relatively small, and they rocked it. Their soulful Louisiana funk was a unique. Tommy Malone was a triple-threat singer, songwriter and guitarist. Steve Amedée's tambourine replaced a drum kit way better than it should have.

Don Dixon and Marti Jones, 1986-88?, The Empire
The Empire was a less than great venue in Cleveland, but this was when they were trying pretty hard to break Marti Jones. The band included Jim Brock and Jaime Hoover, and they were so incredibly tight. One of my favorite live recordings of all time is Marti's Live From Spirit Square, and this show was all of that, albeit on an considerably earlier tour.

Lucinda Williams, 2001 The Odeon
There is no need to exclude sentimental favorites. My soon-to-be-wife and I saw Lucinda touring behind Essence. Lucinda and the band were smokin' hot. The definition of sultry. I'm sure there were people that went home talking about the way we danced.

Proclaimers, 2008 Beechland Ballroom
They had the full band with them, and they are just such great songwriters and singers and so much good fun. Rock that doesn't mind the pop. And delivered with verve. My friend Bob was aghast that not everyone was dancing! I've seen several other fine shows at the Beechland. It's a great room when the sound is right.

Ahmad Jamal Ballades 2019

Ahmad Jamal will turn 90 this year, and his late career work has been consistently strong. 2007's It's Magic, 2011's Blue Moon, 2013's Saturday Morning, and 2016's Marseille are all fine outings. Playing in a quartet of piano, bass, drums and percussion, the extra percussionist seems to play perfectly with Jamal's innate sense of rhythm.

This time it is different. This time it is solo piano (with bass on three tracks). And from what I know and can research of Jamal's discography, this is a first. These ballades (a term used by Chopin to describe his short single movement piano pieces) are beautiful, and recorded beautifully. Pressed on heavy vinyl at 45 rpm, the sound is stunning.

The tracks were recorded in 2016 while Jamal was in France recording Marseille. There is actually a fourth version of the song Marseille on this set (there were three versions- two with vocals- on the Marseille release). There's a new solo version of the Jamal favorite Poinciana. There are only three Jamal originals in the ten song set (one is the composed-while-recorded Because I Love You), and lots of classics from Rogers and Hart, Cahn, and Mandel. All done in these pristine solo piano versions by the master of rhythm, subtlety, nuance and expression.

Jamal takes a melody apart like no one else. Sometimes he stretches things far from the root, while other times he plays so very close to the lyric. In fact, lyrical might be an excellent description of his playing. This is a really beautiful record, both a new expression and one consistent with Jamal's lovely body of work. Ahmad Jamal has been known to call jazz "American classical music". I don't know if it is classical, but it is classic all the way.

Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures Vol. 5

Dave Godin was a very interesting guy. Godin owned and operated a record shop in Great Britain that developed into a record label that licensed and released hundreds of obscure American soul songs that were unknown outside of southern America. He coined the term "Deep Soul" for these gritty, often gospel influenced soul classics. You know the stuff- great, deeply felt soul from below the Mason-Dixon line.

Godin was also a music journalist and spread his love of soul music through his writings.

And between 1997 and 2004, Ace Records in the UK released four stellar compilations curated by Godin and titled Dave Godin's Deep Soul Treasures from the Vault Volumes 1-4. I highly recommend them all, and covered them a long time ago in a post about soul box sets.

So now, some 15 years after Godin's too early demise, comes Volume 5. And of course the question is "Is it a worthy successor to the four volumes Dave curated?".

According to the liner notes, that are on par with the original series, quite a few of these chestnuts were chosen by Godin himself and Ace couldn't get licensing permission for them at the time of the original series. Others were known to be Godin favorites, and maybe a few are "inspired by" Godin's love of deep soul.

So the answer is yes. The soulful vocal and big organ of Ronnie Taylor's Without Love, the early Emotion's Somebody New, the pre-Motown Gladys Knight and the Pips Lovers Always Forgive, Judy White's Satisfaction Guaranteed, with hot guitar, horns and background vocals that all vie for best element, and Dee Dee Warwick's desperate vocal on Foolish Fool are all great moments in soul. Z. Z. Hill sings the crap out of Sam Cooke's Nothing Can Change The Love I Have For You, Kenny Carter's magnificent, pleading I'm Not The One is a scorcher, and Esther Phillip's take on Gil Scott Heron's Home Is Where The Hatred Is includes fine sax and horns on top of Phillips' capivating vocal.

And I could go on. There's 25 tracks, and there aren't any that bomb. If you like gritty soul (think Memphis or Muscle Shoals, and then go even deeper), this is an easy sell. Outsized soul, big, dramatic soul, and you've probably never heard a one. Deep Soul Treasures indeed.

Savoy Brown 1968-1970

There are magical times when forces come together and stars align. When the parts fit together like no other fit. When a band does it's thing so well, it defines itself. For about two years, Savoy Brown had the mojo workin'.  Kim Simmonds guitar, Chris Youlden vocals, Dave Preverett guitar, Bob Hall piano, Roger Earl drums, and Rivers Jobe and later Tony Stevens bass were that blend that made blues magic happen. The combination of Kim Simmonds and Chris Youlden made for a band that benefited from two strong songwriters, Simmonds super-hot guitar, and Youlden's unique vocals.

The first evidence is 1968's Getting To The Point, a crazy good blues-rock record by any standard. The slow blues of Flood In Houston, the fast walking Stay With Me Baby,  the pious Honey Bee, the perfection of Kim Simmonds' The Incredible Gnome Meets Jaxman, and Mr Downchild, hot guitar and fine blues vocals come to the surface at every turn. 

The title track is an incendiary swinging blues-boogie that cooks! Quality dips a bit on the last few songs. But overall an album well worth your exploration. 

 

Next up in 1969 comes Blue Matter, a consistently strong outing, featuring their biggest hit single, the classic Train To Nowhere, with a fine Chris Youlden vocal, hot Kim Simmonds guitar, and nicely arranged horns. The scary Tolling Bells and Youlden's great lyric for She's Got A Ring In His Nose And A Ring On Her Hand both impress, with Youlden's vocal, fine piano and guitar, and great songs. Vicksburg Blues features only Bob Hall's piano and Youlden, and it's good for that sort of thing. Don't Turn Me From Your Door ends the side with fine ensemble playing on only an OK song.

Side two was recorded live on a night when Youlden was ill and couldn't sing, so Lonsome Dave Preverett took lead vocals, and while he's no slouch, he's no Youlden either. The three songs are all good, and we get lots of Kim Simmonds blazing blues guitar, and a great band cookin' the bluesy boogie on Louisiana Blues. The version of It Hurts Me Too is great.

A Step Further, also 1969, repeats the studio side/live side idea behind Blue Matter almost as successfully, but the live side is somewhat less fine. The four songs on the studio side are consistently great. Made Up My Mind, Life's One Act Play, and I'm Tired are some of Youlden's best songs, both lyrically and vocally. Add Simmonds smokin' guitar and strong arrangements, and they are classics. Simmonds own instrumental Waiting In The Bamboo Grove is fun, fast, and features horns and Simmonds hot guitar.

The live side is either a lot of fun, or a waste of time, depending on your mood and tolerance for screwing around. The side is one 22 minute medley called Savoy Brown Boogie, and a fair amount of it is blazing blues-boogie and Kim Simmonds guitar. But an equally fair amount is unfocused meandering and party pandering. A mixed bag at best, but a huge live hit for the band for several years.

 

Finally, in 1970 comes Raw Sienna, another strong if imperfect record. Youlden's A Hard Way To Go kicks things off in fine form, just a great song. Simmonds' That Same Feeling shows off a great band, nice piano, hot guitar and strong vocal, all cylinders firing at once. Master Hare is another good Simmonds instrumental, and Needle and Spoon and A Little More Wine show that Youlden didn't write only great songs, he also wrote these. They're not terrible, but they are not his strongest outings, especially lyrically.

Side two features three great Youlden songs, I'm Crying (piano driven blues strut, great vocal), Stay While The Night Is Young (mellow blues), and When I Was A Young Boy (killer song with prominent strings and piano) and one solid Simmonds instrumental in Is That So.

Of these four fine outings, Blue Matter is the strongest, with Raw Sienna coming mighty close.

After Raw Sienna,  Chris Youlden left the band, and Kim Simmonds lost a fine songwriter and singer that helped elevate this band above the fairly crowded English blues band genre. Simmonds continued, and still continues, under the Savoy Brown banner, and has released records and toured consistently for 50 years. There have been many permutations of the band, and while I have not heard those records, Kim Simmonds is a solid blues songwriter and an exceptional guitarist. I have no doubt there is value to be had seeing him live, and several of the recordings have been quite successful.