Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Buddy DeFranco Meets Martin Taylor
Buddy DeFranco Meets Martin Taylor
Buddy DeFranco/Martin Taylor / CD / 1984
Wines of Northern Italy
Wines of Northern Italy
Wines of Northern Italy offers a tour of various vineyards and wineries, offering information as well on the history of wine making in these areas. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The Nashville Sessions
The Nashville Sessions (770867)
Those who don't pay attention to the jam band underground may be excused for wondering why such luminaries as Del and Ronnie McCoury, Taj Mahal, B? la Fleck, Sam Bush, Jo-El Sonnier, Jerry Douglas, Lucinda Williams, and Waylon Jennings appear on an album by Leftover Salmon, but those in the know will be aware of the Colorado act's burgeoning reputation. Throughout the '90s, the group quietly built up a following with a series of solid records and constant touring. By the end of the decade, they had become a popular cult band and were on a major label, which gave them the opportunity to record the star-studded Nashville Sessions. Every song on the album features a duet of some sort, and producer Randy Scruggs was able to secure the big names, which certainly gives the album character. Still, the set wouldn't be much more than glorified stunt casting if it didn't give Leftover Salmon an opportunity to flex their muscles, to illustrate how far they've come over the years. Not only are they working with strong material (something that hasn't always happened on their previous albums), but Scruggs keeps things clean and simple, putting the spotlight on the music itself. Throughout it all, Leftover Salmon successfully keep pace with their heavyweight guests and, in the process, they turn in the most charming album of their career to date. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
Those who don't pay attention to the jam band underground may be excused for wondering why such luminaries as Del and Ronnie McCoury, Taj Mahal, B? la Fleck, Sam Bush, Jo-El Sonnier, Jerry Douglas, Lucinda Williams, and Waylon Jennings appear on an album by Leftover Salmon, but those in the know will be aware of the Colorado act's burgeoning reputation. Throughout the '90s, the group quietly built up a following with a series of solid records and constant touring. By the end of the decade, they had become a popular cult band and were on a major label, which gave them the opportunity to record the star-studded Nashville Sessions. Every song on the album features a duet of some sort, and producer Randy Scruggs was able to secure the big names, which certainly gives the album character. Still, the set wouldn't be much more than glorified stunt casting if it didn't give Leftover Salmon an opportunity to flex their muscles, to illustrate how far they've come over the years. Not only are they working with strong material (something that hasn't always happened on their previous albums), but Scruggs keeps things clean and simple, putting the spotlight on the music itself. Throughout it all, Leftover Salmon successfully keep pace with their heavyweight guests and, in the process, they turn in the most charming album of their career to date. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
James Dean: The First American Teenager
James Dean: The First American Teenager (71785287)
In this documentary, narrated by Stacy Keach, the tragic screen-icon James Dean is remembered. Footage from early television appearances, stills from his life, and clips from his three Warner Brothers films are interwoven with interviews with his co-workers. The soundtrack includes music from Elton John, David Bowie, and the Eagles. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
In this documentary, narrated by Stacy Keach, the tragic screen-icon James Dean is remembered. Footage from early television appearances, stills from his life, and clips from his three Warner Brothers films are interwoven with interviews with his co-workers. The soundtrack includes music from Elton John, David Bowie, and the Eagles. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
Girls Gone Wild: Hottest Texas Coeds [Blu-ray]
Girls Gone Wild: Hottest Texas [Blu-ray] (69304459)
This installment in the Girls Gone Wild franchise features several female attendees of various Texas area universities and technical colleges, performing nude and semi-nude antics at a number of parties and bar events. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi
This installment in the Girls Gone Wild franchise features several female attendees of various Texas area universities and technical colleges, performing nude and semi-nude antics at a number of parties and bar events. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi
It's Bad for You But Buy It
It's Bad for You But Buy It (2834303)
The Ace of Cups never released a record, but this 73-minute CD was compiled from late-'60s "rehearsals, demos, TV soundstages, and in-concert tapes," according to the liner notes. (Unfortunately no dates are given for any of the tracks, except the 1966 Denise & Company single "Boy, What'll You Do Then," a garage rock rarity with future Ace of Cups member Denise Kaufman on lead vocals.) It might not be fair to judge a band on recordings that were not originally intended for wide circulation, and did not benefit from truly professional studio production (though the fidelity's fine). However, simply to judge the music that's here, it's frankly pretty erratic, and not a convincing argument that they might have developed into a first-rate band had they gotten a real record deal. Rawness is not always a bad thing, but at its most raw -- particularly on the bluesy garage rockers -- the group often teeter on the line of sloppy amateurism. There's some promise here in some of the unusual song construction -- "Glue" detours into a commercial satirizing consumerism mid-song, and other tunes unpredictably change tempo and stretch out into long instrumental sections -- and in some of the eerie harmonies and melodies, particularly on the fragile tunes like "Music," "Simplicity," and "Taste of One." There's also some plain-speaking toughness reflective of a middle-class generation starting to truly express what was on their mind in popular music, somewhat reminiscent of the most straightforward blues-rockers by a San Francisco band that slightly preceded them, the Great Society. There's also a cool if not quite totally polished rock vocal cover of Mongo Santamaria's jazz classic "Afro Blue," and some interesting gospel-rock fusion of sorts in the most mature-sounding compositions; it's easy to imagine that the group might have headed in that direction had they started to record around 1970. But much of this is interesting, with off-kilter ideas in search of some h...
The Ace of Cups never released a record, but this 73-minute CD was compiled from late-'60s "rehearsals, demos, TV soundstages, and in-concert tapes," according to the liner notes. (Unfortunately no dates are given for any of the tracks, except the 1966 Denise & Company single "Boy, What'll You Do Then," a garage rock rarity with future Ace of Cups member Denise Kaufman on lead vocals.) It might not be fair to judge a band on recordings that were not originally intended for wide circulation, and did not benefit from truly professional studio production (though the fidelity's fine). However, simply to judge the music that's here, it's frankly pretty erratic, and not a convincing argument that they might have developed into a first-rate band had they gotten a real record deal. Rawness is not always a bad thing, but at its most raw -- particularly on the bluesy garage rockers -- the group often teeter on the line of sloppy amateurism. There's some promise here in some of the unusual song construction -- "Glue" detours into a commercial satirizing consumerism mid-song, and other tunes unpredictably change tempo and stretch out into long instrumental sections -- and in some of the eerie harmonies and melodies, particularly on the fragile tunes like "Music," "Simplicity," and "Taste of One." There's also some plain-speaking toughness reflective of a middle-class generation starting to truly express what was on their mind in popular music, somewhat reminiscent of the most straightforward blues-rockers by a San Francisco band that slightly preceded them, the Great Society. There's also a cool if not quite totally polished rock vocal cover of Mongo Santamaria's jazz classic "Afro Blue," and some interesting gospel-rock fusion of sorts in the most mature-sounding compositions; it's easy to imagine that the group might have headed in that direction had they started to record around 1970. But much of this is interesting, with off-kilter ideas in search of some h...
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