Another year of downloads, mostly singles. So my album collection, due to formatting, is becoming quite limited. Who needs five great tunes and four fillers when you can pick and choose for 99 cents a selection. Best single title- “ME,YOU, AND MY MEDICATION: Boys Like Girls.’
Lots of RIP’s (not just ripped but the dead variety). Too numerous to mention, so I’ll just go on with my selections...and the first one will be an RIP probably way too soon….
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AMY WINEHOUSE - Back To Black
Not just The Rehab song, but this collection does it all. Yea, I know it didn’t come out this year. Stop being soooo pompous. Back to Amy, The retro stuff works for me. Her voice, phrasing, etc are excellent. Her drinking and drugging -legendary already. Oh well.
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SON VOLT - The Search
This should really be called Jay Farrar And His New Son Volt’s Second Album . Since he is the only original member. Cool toe tapping, head bobbing stuff.
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WILCO - Sky Blue Sky
Hey, did ya hear Dickey Betts joined KID ROCK’s band??!!! Not that that item has anything to do with this collection. Just wondering why he did it. Maybe sometimes you can’t musically survive on your own. Or the whole is more important than the parts??? Wilco, Son Volt, yea, okay.
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NEIL YOUNG - CHROME DREAMS II
Geez, this is so good. I actually have 3 copies of it and one ripped to my iPod. Ordinary People, Dirty Old Man, No Hidden Path…Neil doing what he does and at his best. Saw him a few weeks ago at The United Palace in NYC. The boy played for hours. Mesmerized and amazed the crowd. I was in the last row, next to last seat, and just so happy I was there for closing night.
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JOSS STONE - Introducing
Just too sexy for words. Isley Brothers riffs, Motown backups, scratching records, horns, “feel my heels while I’m walkin’ over you”, The feeling is real, so let’s seal the deal.
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BRAD PAISLEY - 5th Gear
So for you guys who snub country music but love alt-country there is Brad. Funny dude. TICKS, ON-LINE, BETTER THAN THIS, give it a listen, and stop taking yourself so seriously. I’ll bet you wish you wrote these tunes.
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ROBERT PLANT/ALISON KRAUSS - Raising Sand
I am quite familiar with Alison and her work with Union Station but who is this guy Bob Plant. Gone, Gone, Gone is cool and so is Allison. This guy Bobby Plant may do some more work with her but I heard a prior commitment may halt it for now.
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LEVON HELM - Dirt Farmer
After listening to TO KINGDOM COME (The Band Anthology) endlessly, this collection is a seamless transition to what was their legacy. Well worth the price just to hear his voice so strong.
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HERBIE HANCOCK - The Joni Letters
Some of it takes me far away from the originals, but isn’t that what it was meant to do, Jazz.. The vocal collaborations are wonderful, the instrumentation superb. If you love your Joni pure (she probably was about 12 then) avoid this like a bad cold. If you have an open mind, rip it .
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THE HIVES - The Black and White Album
One of the funniest bands to see live, decked out in black and white, impeccable moves and gestures, chords loud and raw, a singer who is the illegitimate child of Mick and Iggy, a rhythm section pounding away, beers, cigarettes, and 3000 screaming girls…I was in my glory. The album is good too
So that’s 2007 for me. As Roy used to say, “until we meet again….”