1)SPECTOR (2002) showtime
with Rob Fraboni https://youtu.be/iRA-uVTCQFw
2)Jimi Hendrix Live at the L.A. Forum Number of Discs
3)HIGHWAY CHAPEL
9 tracks of music, eight titles (the wonderful "Meet Your Maker" has an exquisite Dink Pinkerman DubMix to conclude the CD) Greg Walsh's New Ghosts offer 25 minutes of music. The drummer for Huck2 and Pop Gun is one of the finest tunesmiths in New England, and evidence of that is here. "The New Ghosts (In Requiem) opens with one minute and twenty-four seconds followed quickly by the radio nugget "Counting Down to
https://www.mixcloud.com/joe-viglione/greg-walsh-going-track-by-track-with-new-ghosts-on-joe-vigliones-pop-explosion-radio-show-radio/
5)The Holler Band, U.K. Song:See Straight Through
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0jcEgJZvCkBiRYnXGit0qT
Really love this sophisticated gliding pop nugget, "See Straight Through" from The Holler Band (Brighton, United Kingdom.) Coming in at 3:36 time-wise, it is simply terrific. Imagine a modern Buzzcocks with Dwight Twilley sensibilities and creative sci-fi sounds all the way around, from guitar, bass and drums. Hard-hitting but poppy, and very well produced. Great stuff.
6)I Am Yours Written by Harriet Schock
Born in early 2021, Holler connected and bonded immediately over their shared love for indie pop/rock. Nine months later and they were putting on their first sell out Brighton Headline. Alongside this, the band recorded their debut single, ‘See Straight Through’, which now has over 30,000 streams on Spotify and has featured on UK and US radio. Combining their separate influences they write energetic indie-pop/rock accompanied with personal and catchy lyrics. 2022 saw two more releases, ‘For The Night’ and ‘Tell Me (What I Want To hear)’ which have a combined total of over 45’000 streams. This year has also seen the band play multiple sold out shows alongside Dutch Criminal Record, The Motive and The Covasettes.
48 years after the gay friendly release of "Let 'Em Love" (found on 1974's Hollywood Town) Harriet Schock composes another LGBTQ anthem, "I Am Yours" (The Harvey Brownstone Story.) What is intriguing is that this essay is a different aspect of the hardships of homosexual life, revealing "the love that shall not be named." * If "Let 'em Love" was an admonition to the world that "as long as you're loving" (a statement from a groundbreaking book on such things from the 1970s,) what's the issue?, "I Am Yours" is about family reaction to a member of that family being homosexual. One fellow from Arlington, Massachusetts was violently beat up by a family member (my photographer, a woman, was in love with him,) while this writer's own siblings walked away (thankfully, my parents did not, actually embracing my late life partner as another son,) - each individual facing their own situation. There are many, many stories that could fill multiple books. Where "Let 'em Love" is a declaration that becomes a chant, a march...empowerment, "I Am Yours" could be a moment in a Broadway play (both titles could fit nicely in such a story,) of the evolution of a gay person in the 50's, 60's, 70's dealing with bringing the subject up to those who are supposed to love them unconditionally. Gary Lynn Floyd's beautiful voice moves from warm and pondering to authoritative, emerging from the cocoon in triumphant fashion. As the YouTube notes: "An intensely personal and emotional song, that speaks to the parents of any child who felt unloved, rejected or disapproved of. Its message is universal."
*The love that dare not speak its name is a phrase from the last line of the poem "Two Loves" by Lord Alfred Douglas , written in September 1892 and published in the Oxford magazine The Chameleon in December 1894. It was mentioned at Oscar Wilde 's gross indecency trial and is usually interpreted as a euphemism for homosexuality (Wikipedia.)
LET 'EM LOVE
On Harriet Schock's amazing 1974 Hollywood Town album there's an LGBTQ song, "Let 'em Love," before such things were in vogue. Sure, there were David Bowie Glam-rock musings, "All the Young Dudes" a hit for Mott the Hoople, but certainly not in the pop mainstream. Hollywood Town, of course, contained the Helen Reddy hit "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" (a former roommate freaking out as I was playing the tune on the piano in 1997 with the window open...because he wanted to hit on the cute cable guy as I was singing...loudly....but I digress....) ...and for Middle of the Road and Top 40 at the time, it may not have been appropriate, even for Bette Midler and Cher, all supportive of the homosexual community. That straight fellows like my friends Buzzy Linhart and Moogy Klingman wrote Midler's signature song, (You Got to Have) "Friends" was lost on Top 40 listeners...it was a "closet" LGBTQ masterpiece...though anyone seeing Barry Manilow (who also recorded it) backing up Midler on piano performing on national television, well, in the day it came off as a friendly song for Pride Day but certainly not a GAY song to the general public. Elton John had evangelists burning his discs when he said that sexually he drew the line at goats. Elton, of course, got the last laugh.
The four minute track on Hollywood Town is elegant pop that fits in perfectly with the album that spawned Reddy's huge hit. Schock's voice is wonderful, warm and friendly, in the era of Karla Bonoff and Laura Nyro, while Tapestry ushered in Carole King's majesty, Bonoff, Schock and even the much-covered Nyro all deserved a higher profile during a time that embraced these master craftsman. Had our old pal Russ Regan had more support from 20th Century perhaps this great Gospel chorus that concludes the song could have been part of a Harriet / Bette Midler tour. Lost opportunities. Yet Hollywood Town remains a desert island disc that has yet to peak and find it's worldwide audience. All good things to those who wait.
__________________________________________
LET 'EM LOVE - HARRIET SCHOCK
https://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/t437
8)Lucy Morningstar "Butterflies"
"Butterflies" from Lucy Morningstar is cosmic/tropical music for the soul.
The eerie background vocals, the reggae beat, the butterfly mantra seeming
like trance-pop, and clocking in at a very cool 2:27. Like Milli Small's
60's smash, "My Boy Lollipop," "Butterflies" swoops in and out quickly
leaving you craving for more. Perfect for repeated spins
9)Tommy Roe "My Little Josette"
|
JOHN
INMON |
||
This is the kind of album people used to buy just because the cover art looks so great. Austin based John Inmon is getting rave reviews in the guitar world for his instrumental classic from 2008. Featuring Inmon backed up in the studio by a top band, Songs For Heavy Traffic straddles the borders between Americana, smooth jazz and instrumental pop. Inmon’s originals fit tastefully between a Pat Metheny and Steve Morse guitar sound, but where Inmon really really shines is on his choice of covers. There aren’t many guitarists who could disagree on covering time proven classics like “Cast Your Fate To The Wind” and “In My Life” and Inmon does both Vince Guaraldi and The Beatles proud with his instrumental versions. Inmon’s cover of “Sukiyaki” tastefully enshrines this melodic jewel. The musical antidote after being pummeled on the freeways of life, Songs For Heavy Traffic is a select late night set of tasty guitar tracks. www.MusicRoadRecords.com |
11)venus the shocking blue
12)AVATAR: WAY OF THE WATER
JOE V REVIEW
Review by Joe Viglione
Do you remember that TV episode of Ozzie and Harriet guest-starring on Lloyd Bridge’s Sea Hunt? Of course you don’t. No one would be crazy enough to film it.
When James Cameron came out with an instant classic, the Terminator, he followed it up with an even better film: Terminator 2: Judgment Day. However the Terminator series has not been able to continue catch the magic, just as the new Matrix IV was redundant beyond redundant. With a budget of $350–400 million – adding in promotion and other necessities – nearly half a billion dollars, possibly – one would expect more than a re-hashing of the previous, groundbreaking film. But, alas, we have the Na’v version of the Swiss Family Robinson – Jake Sully’s tribe, Lost in Space meets Waterworld, two big screen pictures that lost a lot of money (1995’s Waterworld produced by and starring Kevin Kostner, cost nearly 175 million – a massive sum almost 30 years ago, bringing in 264.2 million; 1998’s Lost in Space brought in 136.24 mill, on a budget of 80 million) Let’s do the math: 255 million for both films a quarter of a century ago, return on investment 398 million is tough for a film company to take.
https://thesomervillenewsweekly.blog/2022/12/13/avatar-2-the-way-of-the-water/
13)TVT Greatest Hits
https://www.allmusic.com/album/televisions-greatest-hits-vol-1-mw0000196020
14)Diplomat Records, TV Themes
I picked up this vinyl disc from 1962 yesterday afternoon, Christmas eve 2022, in perfect condition, 60 years young. Remember TV Tunes from the 1980s/90s, themes from TV songs ...well, someone had the bright idea 20 years earlier... Alfred Hitchcock theme etc. https://www.discogs.com/release/6306448-Various-The-Themes-From-Ben-Casey-Dr-Kildare-And-Other-Great-TV-Shows
15) Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
https://www.allmusic.com/album/transition-mw0000862572
Transition Review
by Joe Viglione
And a big Transition it is from the psychedelic near hard rock of "Just Dropped In," produced by Mike Post in 1968, to mellow tunes by Mac Davis, Kris Kristofferson, Carole King, and Alex Harvey, among others, just three years later. Ex-New Christy Minstrels bandmate Kim Carnes contributes "Where Does Rosie Go," and the Jimmy Bowen and Kenny Rogers production is crystal clear, allowing the singer to develop the sound that would hit big six years after this release. In fact, it was six and a half years between the last hit from the First Edition, 1970's "Heed the Call," and Rogers' number one country smash, "Lucille," which opened the floodgates to 19 subsequent chart songs. What is amazing about Transition is that it is so good, yet its sound took more than half a decade to get established, more than a lifetime in the record industry. Not only was co-producer Jimmy Bowen responsible for Delaney Bramlett's Class Reunion and a Kim Carnes album, he worked with Frank Sinatra and Glen Campbell, and was the guy who oversaw many a Kenny Rogers & the First Edition hit.
Side one is gospel pop, beginning with a Kenny Rogers original, "Take My Hand," with heavy religious overtones, a strong chorus, and big keyboards. It is Rogers going to church, but it's a great original, and had Aretha Franklin performed a duet with Rogers, "Take My Hand" would've been a smash. The Carole King/Toni Stern number "What Am I Going to Do" has another very strong hook, a bit more subdued, but the chorus kicks in almost as powerfully as on the first song. The one-two punch of these tunes is amazing. Alex Harvey's "All God's Lonely Children" continues this adult contemporary and gospel-oriented slant, gearing the listener up for the country-pop of side two. Rogers is in great voice for the most part, and the book he wrote, Making It in Music, published in 1978, would help explain to those interested what happened to him in between the hits. Gene Thomas' "Lay It Down" sounds like a sequel to "Tell It All," the 1970 Top 20 hit by the First Edition, but lines like "self-made hell" and Rogers' voice showing signs of wear and tear on the high notes are cause for concern. Despite that, Transition is an album of immense depth, and is the bridge between the First Edition and his solo career. It is the album that displays Kenny Rogers as a serious artist, and is worthy of a special place. If Rogers were Lou Reed, this would be the great lost album fans would go bonkers over. The country-pop that Rogers would become so famous for is totally revealed on the second side, with Kristofferson's "For the Good Times" and Mac Davis' "Poem for My Little Lady." The album is well named, and the singer gives his audience a taste of things to come. Classic stuff.
16) Tell It All Brother Review by Joe Viglione [-]
Appearing on their sixth album, Tell It All Brother, are the last two hits from Kenny Rogers & the First Edition, their sixth and seventh Top 40 chart-climbing 45-rpm records. Deep vocals with a bass-heavy rock sound employing just a touch of country leanings are what resonate through the title track. Alex Harvey's "Tell It All Brother," a political song that went Top 20 in the summer of 1970, is followed by Kin Vassey's "Heed the Call," one of the three weakest of Rogers' 27 Top 40 hits released between 1968 and 1984 (it lingered in the Top 35 in November of 1970). But "Heed the Call" is a great song, more uptempo than "Ruby," "Reuben James," and "Tell It All Brother," and with undeniable charm. "Heed the Call" begins with tambourine and has gospel-inflected vocals over handclaps, marching drumbeats, and a campfire feel. It is, along with being the band's final hit, one that displays individual talents working in unison perhaps better than any of their previous commercial efforts. It contrasts with the title song chant, which is all Rogers, his big voice over the bass drum and tambourine, with piano and bass taking a back seat and the guitars invisible. "Shine on Ruby Mountain" is a Kenny Young song, and it has the uptempo square dance drive that is present on many of the non-hit album tracks. Rogers' adaptation of the traditional "Camptown Ladies" continues the party atmosphere with a hootenanny vibe. Mike Settle gets only one composition here, a far cry from the nine songs Settle wrote on the first album and the four he composed on First Edition '69, perhaps indicating how settled in Rogers and producer Jimmy Bowen were at this point in time. "I'm Gonna Sing You a Sad Song Susie" isn't a bad song -- it just sounds like the singer/songwriter was listening to Glen Campbell's 1969 hit "Where's the Playground Susie" a little too much. Rogers' sole original, "Love Woman," co-written with Douglas Legrand, is an uptempo country-rocker, with the direction of the group more defined -- it is no longer just a band but a vehicle for an emerging major star. After "Heed the Call," things come down a bit on side two with Harvey's third composition on the album, the beautiful ballad "Molly." It should have been a hit, for it is Harvey's "Delta Dawn" slowed down and ready to become a part of Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection album. "After All (I Live My Life)" is a perfect showcase for new addition to the group Mary Arnold, and why she didn't climb the charts with this group is a mystery -- she arguably has the best and most distinctive voice. The two hits on this album did not get on Rogers' 1977 Ten Years of Gold retrospective, and though they aren't his best-known songs, they show that this crew had no aversion to experimenting with the formula. Both tunes add an interesting dimension to the band's classic 1971 release, Kenny Rogers & the First Edition's Greatest Hits. https://www.allmusic.com/album/tell-it-all-brother-mw000086419717) Eyes That See in the Dark
https://www.allmusic.com/album/eyes-that-see-in-the-dark-mw0000650696
Review
by Joe Viglione
This is a masterpiece of a pop recording from Kenny Rogers. It is clear that Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and co-producers Karl Richardson and Albhy Galuten remembered Rogers' pop roots with the First Edition and, despite the country twang of "Buried Treasure," the slick musicianship and modulation are not your typical country & western. There are four tracks written by Barry and Maurice and five more by Barry, Maurice, and brother Robin Gibb, including the stunning number one hit from September 1983, "Islands in the Stream." It hit number one across the board on adult contemporary, country, and the Top 40, and deservedly so -- the melody is infectious, impeccable, and perfectly recorded. Keep in mind this was five years after they created Frankie Valli's biggest-selling solo record, "Grease" -- the pairing of Dolly Parton with Rogers makes for an amazing vocal sound to carry the melody. "Living With You" features the Bee Gees -- it is Rogers fronting the Bee Gees, and why they didn't seek out more artists, new as well as established, to work their magic on is a pity. It's a lush setting for the country superstar, and as Barbara Streisand and Dionne Warwick enjoyed success thanks to this creative team, Eyes That See in the Dark stands as an important piece of the Rogers catalog and a really timeless recording. The Gatlin Brothers add their magic to "Evening Star" and "Buried Treasure," and these elements bring the Barry Gibb/Richardson/Galuten thousand-tracks production down to earth. "Evening Star" doesn't have the complexities of Samantha Sang's "Emotion," the producers being very careful to keep it simple, something they just weren't doing on all their other records. There are only ten tracks on Eyes That See in the Dark, Jimmie Haskell's strings the major instrument next to Rogers' sympathetic vocal performance. "Midsummer Nights" is co-authored by Barry Gibb and Galuten, making Barry the catalyst and driving force, as he is the only person with a hand in every tune. "Midsummer Nights" brings things back up after "Hold Me," and it is more adult contemporary than country. It would have made a great single but, as it was, the opening track, "This Woman," went Top 25 in early 1984, and by the end of that year Rogers would post his 27th Top 40 hit, ending a string started 16 years earlier in 1968. It isn't clear why they didn't, but the pretty Barry and Maurice Gibb tune "I Will Always Love You" (not to be confused with Parton's hit of the same name) and the title track certainly should have found some chart action as well. Eyes That See in the Dark is not the definitive Kenny Rogers album but, outside of greatest-hits packages, it is absolutely one of his most consistent and one of his best.
18)
Kenny Rogers
Review
by Joe Viglione
"Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got)" and "I Wasn't Man Enough" start off this 1976 self-titled album from the star of the First Edition gone solo. As chronicled in his book, Making It With Music, Rogers figured out how to capitalize on his many years in the recording industry, and these vignettes helped bring country-style story songs to the mainstream Top 40 and adult contemporary radio. While country fans might have had an issue with Aussie lass Olivia Newton-John infiltrating their world back in the day, Rogers' tenure in New Christy Minstrels certainly gave him credibility, as did the earthiness of these performances. Songs like "Mother Country Music" and "While I Play the Fiddle" have an authenticity no alleged carpetbagger could bring to the format. "Why Don't We Go Somewhere and Love" lifts note for note the intro to Harriet Schock's "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady," the big number one adult contemporary hit for Helen Reddy from the year before. While letting the melody veer off, the songwriters keep the flavor of the Schock masterpiece intact, and it's a good study in songwriters rewriting in a style they admire while giving a tip of the hat (or the hand) in the process. Tom Jones' 1967 hit "The Green Green Grass of Home" gets a more-mellow reading with a less-sweeping arrangement. The formula stretches Count Basie singer O.C. Smith's first hit, "The Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp," almost beyond recognition. Rogers' voice is at the peak of its powers, stronger than before and on par with the superb musicianship behind him. "Till I Get It Right," with its lush strings, becomes almost a theme song for the ups and downs of his previous musical endeavors. All this leads up to "Lucille," that breakthrough hit six and a half years after he charted seven popular songs with his group First Edition. "Lucille" has all the elements of greatness -- a potential one-night stand evaporates and the singer trades sex for heart, becoming a hero in the process. The premise and its hook are unforgettable; simple music dresses up the melody and story by not getting in the way. "Son of Hickory Holler's Tramp" is the reverse of "Lucille," the guy leaving the girl with 14 kids rather than the girl leaving the guy with four. Interesting song order, smart enough to cross genres and open the door to Rogers' impending superstardom. "Lay Down Beside Me," "Puttin' in Overtime at Home," and "While I Play the Fiddle" may not have the genius of "Lucille," but they are consistent with stellar arrangements and can't be called filler. Kenny Rogers worked hard for all he achieved as an entertainer and this album provides any proof that might be needed to silence the skeptics.
19) I am binging on the Michael Landon Highway to Heaven. This appears to be a new one. Interesting Season 3 Ep 8 and 9, an instrumental version of "Just Like Me" (Paul Revere and the Raiders) keeps popping up.
20)AL BOULTON BAND
BOSSANOVA NUMBER ONE
https://music.apple.com/us/album/dancing-in-the-sunshine/1563407098
21)Rain (the film) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFd4zozNl9I
Promo outtakes from YouTube: https://youtu.be/cFd4zozNl9I
The next day The Beatles went to Chiswick House in London to film two more videos.
Today's outside shoot was all in colour and on film not video."Rain" was filmed next and a quite a bit of footage was shot which was all edited down into one version that was also screened on "Top of The Pops" albeit in black & white.
In November 1995 a re-edited "Rain" (incorporating footage from the previous days indoor filming) was shown during "The Beatles Anthology" TV specials.
In 2003 this promo was remastered and re-edited using previously unseen outtakes then distributed around the World to promote "The Beatles Anthology" DVD release.
Outtakes from three takes of "Rain" are available on bootleg DVD.
Most people will tell you Revolver was the turning point for The Beatles. I’ve written an entire article about it’s conception on this very site (you can read that article here ) but if you really want to break it down, that turning point came much sooner than that particular album. The Beatles themselves will argue that Rubber Soul was their first big departure. While you can’t argue with the people who created these beloved albums, to me Rubber Soul is more about maturing than departing from the proven formula. I feel that turning point was during the single Paperback Writer and even more so with it’s B-side Rain. https://www.50thirdand3rd.com/rain-closer-look-beatles-important-b-side/
22)Mikey Wax "Love You Forever"
Mikey Wax - one of our favorite pop songwriters releases an intriguing, smart three minute and thirty-five second song - "Love You Forever" - which dramatically reminisces in a slowly building explosion of sound. Wax's voice follows a subtle piano and works its way through dimensions of layered instrumentation. The story stays front and center as the percussion and keys swirl, buoying the singer's unique and effective vocal. Worthy of repeated spins.
https://open.spotify.com/track/7hTQrtsYlfeigsAnG8KbOg?si=eb2b84ea8da14d0f&nd=1
______________________________________
23)
24) https://www.allmusic.com/album/tell-it-all-brother-mw0000864197 Tell It All Brother Review by Joe Viglione [-]
Appearing on their sixth album, Tell It All Brother, are the last two hits from Kenny Rogers & the First Edition, their sixth and seventh Top 40 chart-climbing 45-rpm records. Deep vocals with a bass-heavy rock sound employing just a touch of country leanings are what resonate through the title track. Alex Harvey's "Tell It All Brother," a political song that went Top 20 in the summer of 1970, is followed by Kin Vassey's "Heed the Call," one of the three weakest of Rogers' 27 Top 40 hits released between 1968 and 1984 (it lingered in the Top 35 in November of 1970). But "Heed the Call" is a great song, more uptempo than "Ruby," "Reuben James," and "Tell It All Brother," and with undeniable charm. "Heed the Call" begins with tambourine and has gospel-inflected vocals over handclaps, marching drumbeats, and a campfire feel. It is, along with being the band's final hit, one that displays individual talents working in unison perhaps better than any of their previous commercial efforts. It contrasts with the title song chant, which is all Rogers, his big voice over the bass drum and tambourine, with piano and bass taking a back seat and the guitars invisible. "Shine on Ruby Mountain" is a Kenny Young song, and it has the uptempo square dance drive that is present on many of the non-hit album tracks. Rogers' adaptation of the traditional "Camptown Ladies" continues the party atmosphere with a hootenanny vibe. Mike Settle gets only one composition here, a far cry from the nine songs Settle wrote on the first album and the four he composed on First Edition '69, perhaps indicating how settled in Rogers and producer Jimmy Bowen were at this point in time. "I'm Gonna Sing You a Sad Song Susie" isn't a bad song -- it just sounds like the singer/songwriter was listening to Glen Campbell's 1969 hit "Where's the Playground Susie" a little too much. Rogers' sole original, "Love Woman," co-written with Douglas Legrand, is an uptempo country-rocker, with the direction of the group more defined -- it is no longer just a band but a vehicle for an emerging major star. After "Heed the Call," things come down a bit on side two with Harvey's third composition on the album, the beautiful ballad "Molly." It should have been a hit, for it is Harvey's "Delta Dawn" slowed down and ready to become a part of Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection album. "After All (I Live My Life)" is a perfect showcase for new addition to the group Mary Arnold, and why she didn't climb the charts with this group is a mystery -- she arguably has the best and most distinctive voice. The two hits on this album did not get on Rogers' 1977 Ten Years of Gold retrospective, and though they aren't his best-known songs, they show that this crew had no aversion to experimenting with the formula. Both tunes add an interesting dimension to the band's classic 1971 release, Kenny Rogers & the First Edition's Greatest Hits.25)I Was a Teenage Werewolf
26)Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines
Review by Joe Viglione
https://www.pmpnetwork.com/ReviewsData/movies.htm
27)Brainbox
Review by Joe Viglione [-] https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/brainbox-mr0005321976
Holland's Brainbox were founded by Jan Akkerman in the mid-'60s. While H.P. Lovecraft kept changing members around the drummer, this band would release a record with totally new people in 1972, entitled Parts. Yet the original Brainbox do have qualities somewhat resembling the earlier H.P. Lovecraft, and their eponymous album is a worthwhile collection of musically diverse and eclectic performances. The decent liner notes call this "progressive pop," and in some respects it is, though they shift gears from the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" to the 17-minute plus original "Sea of Delight," and take lots of other directions in between. The Damned had a song called "New Rose," which is where the French record label got its name, and there was the aforementioned Savage Rose, but Brainbox start the album with "Dark Rose," a blend of Jethro Tull meets the Mothers of Invention. Brainbox ups the ante by sliding into Tim Hardin and a very credible cover of "Reason to Believe" a full two years before Rod Stewart would get a B-side hit with it (the original A-side of the "Maggie Mae" single), they pull off a chameleon-like change on this to become folk rockers. Casimirz Lux has a very appealing voice with a bit of Stewart's rasp, making "Reason to Believe" a highlight of the album. The liner notes credit Jimmy Smith for writing "Baby, What You Want Me to Do," but the tracking properly gives it to Jimmy Reed, and his Top 40 1960 hit is as bluesy as you can get here, the band changing styles yet again and showing their grasp and appreciation of American music. From progressive rock to folk-rock to blues-rock to the folk-pop of Simon & Garfunkel, who is to say they weren't rewriting Blind Faith's lengthy "Do What You Like" by way of "Sea of Joy" for their epic "Sea of Delight"? The album is a dense amalgam of sounds and themes from England and America, but is reverent in its borrowing and presentation. Brainbox's rendition of "Summertime" sounds like Deep Purple adding heavy keyboard sounds and slowing up the Billy Stewart 1966 hit reinvention of the Gershwin tune from Porgy & Bess. Of course, Janis Joplin did it two years earlier than Brainbox and psychedelicized it with an immortal performance -- but a good song is a good song, and this is Jan Akkerman before he would give us "Hocus Pocus" from Focus, and that fact makes the album more than just a curiosity. Since these gents were so enamoured of American music, it seems credible that they took the Vanilla Fudge sound -- famous in Europe a year before it hit in America -- and put it on a Janis Joplin favorite. Released with five bonus tracks on CD, including additional versions of "Sea of Delight," this is much more than the "bargain bin" item many American record buyers passed it off as. It's a real diamond in the rough.
28) Joe Viglione allmusic reviews on eBay
29)Sings Songs from the Valley of the Dolls and Other Selections Review by Joe Viglione [-] https://www.allmusic.com/.../sings-songs-from-the-valley...
30)Carole Bayer Sager
Sometimes Late at Night Review
by Joe Viglione [-]
"I Won't Break" opens the third solo album from Carole Bayer Sager. It is an amazing song by Sager, her former husband Burt Bacharach, and the late Peter Allen. The lyrics are perfect and direct, while they take this pop tune through twists and clever passages making it something very special. This album yielded Carole Bayer Sager her first Top 30 hit on her own, "Stronger Than Before," and it is a nice slice from this concept album which flows from song to song with no breaks in between. "Just Friends" picks up where "I Won't Break" left off, so much so that if you're not paying attention, you don't realize it's the next song. That isn't to say this material is redundant -- unlike the Ramones, Carole Bayer Sager will take her same formula and reinvent it. Michael Jackson shows up to co-produce and sing backing vocals on this song, and he doesn't get in the way. It's all very tasteful. "Tell Her" is different enough to change the mood a bit, while on "Somebody's Been Lying" the acoustic guitars of Tim May, Fred Tackett, and Lee Ritenour bring the album to a whole other place in the days prior to AAA radio. Credit is given to Joyce Bogart and her late husband Neil for the concept, and while fans would love to have an album with more of the songs Sager wrote for other artists from the Mindbenders to Carly Simon to Melissa Manchester and Neil Diamond, at least the latter two artists show up on this epic to perform, Diamond playing guitar on the beautiful song he co-wrote with the singer, "On the Way to the Sky," and Manchester on the title track. Side one ends with the stunning "You and Me (We Wanted It All," arranged by Marvin Hamlisch with the ending by Burt Bacharach. One has to marvel at Carole Bayer Sager's ex-husband Hamlisch working with her current-at-the-time husband Bacharach. Guess they don't take the sentiment of "Just Friends" seriously, the tune which states plainly "I don't think that you and me can just be friends." This album is really the Sgt. Pepper of singer/songwriter recordings. It is exhilarating from track to track -- "Sometimes Late at Night," the title track, is simply gorgeous and majestic. "You Don't Know Me" -- not the Ray Charles classic -- a new title by Bacharach and Sager, concludes the album along with a reprise of the title song. Why Barry Manilow, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Helen Reddy, Peter Lemongello, or even older middle-of-the-road stars Tony Bennett and Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme didn't have hits from this fountain of songs is a real question mark. While Carole King and Neil Sedaka enjoyed their own hits while others covered significant songs from their current albums simultaneously, it didn't happen for Sometimes Late at Night. This is a perfect vehicle for Dionne Warwick to recover and re-discover. "Wild Again," "Easy to Love Again" -- these are vital soft rock tunes that should have captured the charts, the epitome of '70s and '80s adult contemporary. "Sometimes Late at Night" is a classic of the genre and deserves a special place on the mantelpiece.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/sometimes-late-at-night-mw0000854509
31) P.J. Colt
Happy Birthday Jeff Baxter Dec 14, 2022:
P.J. Colt Review by Joe Viglione This self-titled album from singer P.J. Colt gets into the history books as the first album recorded at Electric Lady Studio, and the participation of Jeff Baxter, who performed with Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and many others. Some reference guides list this album's year of release as 1970, others as 1976. There is no copyright on the disc, making 1970 seem like the release date; it certainly looks and sounds like a project from the early '70s. There are two standout tracks, "Grave Down by the River" and "Growing Old," although the record is pretty consistent and listenable all the way through. Colt originally released the song "Growing Old" on a single and an album by Boston band Dirty John's Hot Dog Stand on Amsterdam Records in 1970. The track has a spacy opening, while Colt's vocal sounds hauntingly like early Michael McDonald. "Growing Old" follows "Blues Train," a competent cross between Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally" and the Velvet Underground's "Train Comin' Round the Bend." The musicianship shines throughout; guitarist Baxter emerged a star after his involvement with "the Bosstown Sound" of producer Alan Lorber on the third Ultimate Spinach album, which is a testament to talent winning out. Ray Paret did the production here, listed in the smallest of type. He certainly did not get in the way of the band, musicians who cook on Bonnie Bramlett's "Someday," "Black Jesus" -- actually, on every track. Ed Costa's keyboards and the plethora of backing vocalists are all tastefully combined in the straightforward production and mix. There's a significant cover of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love," a song suited to Colt's vocal style, while the rendition of "Honky Tonk Women" -- try though it may -- does not achieve what it seeks: the drunken barroom Leon Russell atmosphere and attitude. Colt's originals are listenable blues-rock, from the funky opening track "Once in the Morning" to the blues-drenched "I'm Tired Now." Drummer Jim Wilkins, pianist Costa, and guitarist Baxter collaborated to pen the tune "Leave Me Alone," one of the album's more rocking and commercial numbers.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/pj-colt-mw0000881896
32)Cut and Paste - Linnea's Garden
Linnea's Garden
https://clubbohemianews.blogspot.com/2021/05/may-band-of-month-linneas.html
Cut and Paste
https://youtu.be/fUFqhkRcYFY
33)Kat Quinn Evergreen
Hi Friends,
And Happy Holidays to you!! My gift to you is a BRAND NEW HOLIDAY SONG CALLED EVERGREEN. It's more like a winter song. But I think it will fit right in with your holiday playlists this season. You can stream it on Spotify, Apple Music, etc. And while you're at it, give it a save and a share if it feels good!
34)White Room John Hardman
35)Age of Tomorrow Film Review
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2022/75740/film-review-age-of-tomorrow
36)David Hudson with Irene Cara
Love You Forever
https://open.spotify.com/album/6115JxxKF6MeI7yvvfQ8G7?highlight=spotify:track:0Riy7pWIbd5uvgEurAqTpl
Features a totally new side of talents of David Hudson. Known around the world for his didgeridoo recordings using his vocal prowess David has turned his love of roots and country music into an exciting album of original songs penned in collaboration with award winning songwriter Mark mannock and produced by world renowned producer Nigel Pegrum. Highlights inlcude a stunning duet between David and Shane Howard performing Shane's Australian classic 'Solid Rock' and guest appearance by Fame legend Irene Cara from the USA.
37)PHIL SPECTOR
Al Pacino
38)Jimi Hendrix Live at L.A. Forum 1970 (boot) https://youtu.be/x6HL9ZMmGyI
https://www.discogs.com/release/4431744-Jimi-Hendrix-Live-At-The-LA-Forum-4-25-70
A1 | Spanish Castle Magic | |
A2 | Foxy Lady | |
A3 | Gettin' Your Brother's Shoes Together | |
A4 | Gettin' My Heart Back Together Again | |
B1 | Message To Love | |
B2 | Easy Rider | |
B3 | Machine Gun | |
C | Room Full Of Mirrors | |
D1 | The Starbangled Banner And Purple Haze | |
D2 | Voodoo Child |
39)Genya Ravan
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/24650/music-review-genya-ravan-undercover
Music Review: Genya Ravan – Undercover
It’s been 9 years since Genya Ravan’s For Fans Only compilation and Undercover, a collection of fourteen new renditions of classic songs as well as a reworking of Genya’s own 202 Riving Street is an absolute delight.
Give a listen to “Drunken Angel” if you want to hear authentic production work a la the great Jimmy Miller during the “Exile On Main St.” era. Genya worked with Miller on her 1973 ABC release They Love Me, They Love Me Not. In 1986 Miller and Ravan performed at a Rhode Island nightclub singing back-up to Buddy Guy as we were all involved in the Buddy Guy sessions at a Rhode Island recording studio at the time…a reunion of sorts.
In a telephone interview on May 6, 2011 Genya talked about her newest production, an album of cover tunes. “Body Song” has that dreamy appeal of “Tops” and the elegance of “Heaven” from The Stones Tattoo You. Tom Petty could get a listen in soulful singing as the G.R. instruction manual gives his “You Got Lucky” a new twist. Petty would do well to bring Ravan onboard for his next outing. And then check out the most outrageous reinvention of the classic Tom Jones made a pop hit out of, “I (Who Have Nothing)”. It’s a quasi-reggae excursion into heartache that rips away the veil that has been covering this standard for decades bringing it into a wonderful new dimension. “For Your Precious Love” has Genya’s precious pipes.
This is a remarkable artist who refused to step into Janis Joplin’s shoes for CBS at the time of Joplin’s passing, but who is giving the world the soulful insight that Janis brought to the forefront. It’s all Genya, a unique and rare talent, but it is the style that Joplin popularized and it is really time for Ms. Ravan to get the worldwide recognition she deserves. There are lots of musical adventures here, the singer using her production and arrangement skills to bring something new to the table. The result is sublime. “202 Rivington St” is an original, biographical song that first appeared in a live version on the For Fans Only release from 2002 (with material culled from 1978 – 1989). The studio version here is about a minute and 20 seconds shorter, but still manages a nice 6:17 of the Ravan’s tale. A new album is being recorded as you read this…something to look forward to.
Joe Viglione is the Chief Film Critic at TMRZoo.com. He was a film critic for Al Aronowitz’s The Blacklisted Journal, has written thousands of reviews and biographies for AllMovie.com, Allmusic.com and produces and hosts Visual Radio. Visual Radio is a fifteen year old variety show on cable TV which has interviewed John Lennon’s Uncle Charlie, Margaret Cho, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Felix Cavaliere, Marty Balin, Bill Press and hundreds of other personalities.
40)New Quantum Leap 2022
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