What's Playing Now

[voice of theatr]

Sometimes it seems like groups put max effort/talent into their debut offerings and then it's a slow decline from there

I agree--unfortunately that happens with a lot of bands. They have years before they're in the spotlight to write, arrange, and record their first album and then are either pressured (by their record label, manager, etc.) or feel the need to crank out subsequent albums at a relatively quick pace.....

[SpeakerLabFan]

Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns - Synapse Gap (Mundo Total)
(1982, MCA) Promo foil cover stamp

[SpeakerLabFan]

The Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin'
(1967, United Artists) UAL 3578; Monarch symbol in the deadwax

[SEAWOLF97]

for many years, one of the faves that always gets loaded to the POD is
The Temptations "Papa was a rolling stone" ... they made lots of hits but
I considered it their best. Every time I grab one of their albums (GH, Masterpiece , etc.) it's never on there.

reviews:
http://www.allmusic.com/song/papa-wa...e-mt0014048022
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_Was_a_Rollin'_Stone
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/li...stone-20110526

It's #169 on Rolling Stone mags 500 all time greatest.

Today I ran across a GORDY labeled Temps "One Direction" and I'll be darned it was there, all 12m05s* of it. To my consternation , it had set in a wet basement somewhere and the jacket was waterlogged/moldy. The vinyl looked OK under the powdered mold.
Gave it a try ... then cleaned off at home and it plays perfectly . I of course have a digi version, but the vinyl lets me hear things that I can't on my MP3 copies.

I tossed the jacket and will find another to hold it. Sometimes a gamble pays off.

*label says 11m45s , but I timed it in at 12:05

colors were hard to photo, but here's a poor one.

EXTRA BITS: The song was parodied by comedian Bob Rivers in 1994 on Twisted Tunes: 1994 The Year in Review as "Grandpa Loved the Rolling Stones".
The song, the anchor of the 1972 Temptations album All Directions, won three 1973 Grammys:
"Possibly the greatest Temptations record of all time, "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" combined so many musical elements so well that it could be described as the group's own "Good Vibrations." A brilliant, dark bass and drum pattern sets the menacing tone to the rhythm, and is spiced elegantly by a jazzy trumpet, giving the song a slightly free-form air. On top of this, some steely orchestration adds yet another layer of darkness, making this one of the "blackest" Top Ten records of its time." (Allmusic link)

[Ducatista47]

A John Parrish & P. J. Harvey two-fer. Dance Hall At Louse Point and A Woman A Man Walked By.​ Harvey is at her bleeding edge of popular music when she works with her old band mate. I can rarely stop after just one of these CDs.

[Ducatista47]

Sam Rivers, Purple Violets. ​One of the later dates from his long, illustrious career. He composed very well and played first class tenor and soprano sax, flute, piano and other instruments as well. Here, saxes in a quartet with vibes, bass and traps. Like Coltrane he was most accomplished ultimately with free jazz, but could play anything. Certainly one of the most accomplished musicians in the modern era.

This CD contains nine of the thirty-one million sides Rhapsody now offers unlimited, commercial-free access to. I wish I could live a few hundred years to have time to listen to all the music I am finding there that interests me.

[Ducatista47]

Radiohead, In Rainbows. ​I really like some of this band's work. A fan of Cowboy Junkies recommended them to me last year as another outfit that has been together for as long and keeps getting better. As a soon to be sixty-seven year old music lover I highly encourage my fellow babyboomers to check out more music of the last twenty years. There is a lot to love and for me the best of it buries most classic rock six feet under. Your mileage may vary, I seem to have a mind more open than most. I am transported by almost every genre from free jazz to English Electric Folk to electropop to Gaelic, as long as the perpetrators are talented.

Perhaps the way I differ from most music fans of my generation is searching for music I like while ingnoring what I don't end up enjoying. (I notice that a lot of Boomers have the reputation as a group of bitching about culture. I call it the "You kids get off my lawn" syndrom. Are we turning into our parents, or what? ) I refuse to paint a genre with a broad brush as I explore it. If I find an electropop artist from Scandanavia that I consider a waste of my time, I look for others who do it better instead of branding the entire community as something that holds no interest for me. That would be like giving up on headphones because I heard Beats. Talent trumps prejudiced opinion, given the chance.

[Ducatista47]

for many years, one of the faves that always gets loaded to the POD is
The Temptations "Papa was a rolling stone" ... they made lots of hits but
I considered it their best. Every time I grab one of their albums (GH, Masterpiece , etc.) it's never on there.

Today I ran across a GORDY labeled Temps "One Direction" and I'll be darned it was there, all 12m05s* of it. To my consternation , it had set in a wet basement somewhere and the jacket was waterlogged/moldy. The vinyl looked OK under the powdered mold.
Gave it a try ... then cleaned off at home and it plays perfectly . I of course have a digi version, but the vinyl lets me hear things that I can't on my MP3 copies.

I tossed the jacket and will find another to hold it. Sometimes a gamble pays off.

*label says 11m45s , but I timed it in at 12:05

colors were hard to photo, but here's a poor one.

For those of bits and bytes persuasion, All Directions is available on Rhapsody. As with everything there, streaming and download at no additional charge above the no contract subscription. 192 AAC, not mp3.

[Ducatista47]

Helen Watson, doffing. ​Female singer, mostly acoustic music, probably undercategorized as folk. Richard Thompson is often considered folk. These categories are way too limited and compartmentalized!

[Ducatista47]

Mary Lou Williams, Nite Life.​ Vintage jazz piano, definitely not strictly a men's club. Unlike a lot of the more challenging/fringe stuff I like, I think most of you would enjoy this two CD set. Solo piano, no vocals. She was a brilliant, evocative player, and this collection is relaxed in pace and flow.

[SEAWOLF97]

For those of bits and bytes persuasion, All Directions is available on Rhapsody. As with everything there, streaming and download at no additional charge above the no contract subscription. 192 AAC, not mp3.

I'm sure that 192 AAC will give better detail than mp3 , yes , but I'm hearing backing/undertones from the vinyl that I didn't know were in the cut on MP3. And weirdly
(I'm going to start another thread on this..) it improved even more when dubbed to MD.

[SpeakerLabFan]

Lyle Mays - s/t
(1986, Geffen) MASTERDISK in the deadwax, mastering credits: Bob Ludwig

[SpeakerLabFan]

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Natty Dread
(1974, Island) STERLING in the deadwax

[Ducatista47]

She, A Chinese​, a soundtrack composed by John Parrish. Download.

[SpeakerLabFan]

Jean-Luc Ponty - King Kong / Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa
(1970, World Pacific)




Music for electric violin and low budget orchestra composed and arranged by Frank Zappa.