January 16, 2025

Clarence Clemons - Peacemaker (1995)

Saxophonist best known for his work with Bruce Springsteen who had previously done some pop soul albums here tries a out and out jazz instrumental record.
You are likely to find this instrumental album in either the Jazz or New Age sections of the record store. 
Tenor saxophonist Clarence Clemons creates attractive mood music that matches an unusually smooth sax sound (especially for him) with a variety of percussion instruments so broad that the list of them in the album's booklet concludes "... and some other stuff we can't pronounce or spell." 
It makes for an eclectic selection of music appropriate for the all usual new age functions, from meditation to cooking.
His 1995 album, Peacemaker, is a slow, peaceful, meditative offering. 
At its base, Clemons is merely soloing over soft percussion, mostly non-western in origin. 
This is night music, the kind free from worry and other noises, the kind that can mingle in the shadows of your house or apartment and breathe life into the mysterious places in your soul. 
In the spirit of John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, this album is Clemons’s thank you to God for bestowing upon him the talent to play sax.


Tracklist

1.  Peace Prayer - 6:00 
     Bass Guitar – Kai Eckhardt
2.  Into The Blue Forest - 5:52 
3.  Abraxas - 7:14 
4.  Miracle - 10:00 
5.  Serenity - 5:30 
     Grand Piano, Synthesizer – John Schreiner
6.  Spirit Dance - 5:49 
      Bass Guitar – Abraham Laboriel
      Drums – Gary Ferguson
      Saxophone [Alto Sax] – Dave Koz


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Released: 1995 
Genre:  Electronic, Jazz 
Style:  Acid Jazz, Downtempo, Ambient 
Length: 40:47

Luther Ingram - Luther Ingram (1986)

Luther Thomas Ingram (November 30, 1937 – March 19, 2007) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. His most successful record, "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right", reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 1972.
Luther Ingram made a brief return to the R&B charts with this 1986 LP issued on a predominantly dance-oriented label, which mixed his classic soul voice with urban contemporary production. 
It wasn't an early new jack swing number, as there were no hip-hop or rap elements, but it did contain drum machine tracks and synthesizer-dominated arrangements. 
Otherwise, Ingram was still singing heartache ballads, doing confessional country-soul, and sounding raw and urgent on "Baby Don't Go Too Far" and "Don't Turn Around." 
The album also contained an interesting, although flawed, remake of Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody."

A one-producer singer from the beginning of his rise to fame to almost the end, Luther Ingram was seemingly connected at the hip to Johnny Baylor. The intimidating boss of KoKo Records put virtually all of his resources behind making Ingram a star. It ultimately worked, though some of Baylor's tough-guy methods were unsettling (his shenanigans eventually helped bring down the Stax Records empire).

Born in Jackson, Tennessee on November 30, 1937 and raised in the southern Illinois town of Alton from age 10, Ingram started out singing gospel in The Midwest Crusaders before veering into doo-wop with The Gardenias, who hooked up with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm for a 1956 Federal single. Visiting New York nearly a decade later, he ran into some friends that told him A&R man Milt Gabler was looking for fresh talent. That led to Ingram's '65 solo Decca debut, and he also waxed the clever workout I Spy (For The F.B.I.) for Smash the same year as well as a 1966 platter for Detroit's tiny HIB logo. Then Baylor came ramrodding into his life.

KoKo was the Alabama native's childhood nickname, and his new label's inaugural release was Luther's You Got To Give Love To Get Love, done in Memphis with Willie Mitchell's band. Ingram co-wrote his KoKo encore Missing You before Al Bell invited Baylor to cast his lot with Stax in 1968. Luther made his first KoKo appearances on the R&B hit parade the next year with Pity For The Lonely and My Honey And Me, but it was his delicious treatment of Homer Banks and Allen Jones' tender ballad Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)-–originally done in '67 by Johnnie Taylor on Stax—that put him on the map, rising to #6 R&B and #45 pop.

After that, Luther regularly visited the R&B charts with To The Other Man later in '70, Be Good To Me Baby and I'll Love You Until The Endthe next year, and a revival of Sam Cooke's You Were Made For Me that underscored his stylistic debt to the late singer in '72. Then came Ingram's career song, the steamy cheating ode (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right, done in Muscle Shoals with its resident rhythm section spiced by Pete Carr's crying lead guitar. It was an across-the-board smash, and I'll Be Your Shelter (In Time Of Storm) did very well right behind it. Ingram's streak ended in 1973 after Always and Love Ain't Gonna Run Me Away, but Baylor somehow revived KoKo for another run of 1976-78 Ingram hits.

Other than a brief 1986-87 comeback with three minor R&B hits on the Profile label, that brought Ingram's time in the spotlight to a close. Years of battling kidney disease and diabetes preceded his March 19, 2007 death in Belleville, Illinois. 


Tracklist

A1.  Baby Don’t Go Too Far - 4:49
        Written-By – D. Loggins, R. Smith
A2.  Don’t Turn Around - 3:49
          Guitar – Mo Mosele
          Written-By – A. Hammond, D. Warren
A3.  Rain, Rain, Rain (Stormy Weather) - 4:52
        Written-By – H. Arlen, T. Koehler
A4.  Make You Feel Loved Again - 2:59
          Musician – Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
          Written-By – G Jackson, T. Jones III
A5.  Gotta Serve Somebody - 4:37
          Horns – The Memphis Horns, Wayne Jackson
          Written-By – B. Dylan

B1.  Right Away - 4:38
          Written-By – R. Berry, J. Kipnis, M. Day, R. Maffit
B2.  Golden Girl - 4:02
          Written-By – J. Felber
B3.  All In The Name Of Love - 4:24
          Musician – Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
          Written-By – D. IngramJ. IngramL. IngramR. IngramT. Ingram
B4   How Sweet It Would Be - 4:27
          Musician – Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
          Written-By – H. Washington, T. Tate
B5.  You Don’t Know Me - 3:27
          Written-By – C. Walker, E. Arnold


 Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Released: 1986 
Design:  Janet Perr
Photography:  Beverly Parker
Recorded At:  Private Studios
Recorded At:  Muscle Shoals Sound Studios
Phonographic Copyright Profile Records Inc
Copyright Profile Records Inc
Genre: Soul 
Length: 

January 15, 2025

DB Cooper - Dangerous Curves (1981)

“Breakin' Out” starts out with a keyboard and Journey-like guitar. The vocals are theatrically anxious. 
There is a youthful jitteriness that makes much of this power new wave rock stuff great, The A’s had more of it, but this is still not bad. “Bad Guy's Winnin'” continues with the same formula, but they bring in a good pause and launch effect that introduces the chorus. 
It is a form of the anticipation / delivery that I like so much. But the energy in the vocals is much more subdued here, as is the music. It feels like it is just going through the motions. 
It is not bad, and has that great keyboard/organ sound in it, but it just doesn’t hold the water that less smooth bands do. There is a great harmonized chorus of voices singing the title in the background. “Dangerous Curves” is an instrumental of Devo proportions at least in the beginning, with the only lyrics the track title. 
It is a fun, nicely flowing song, with catchy guitar work and driving bass/drums. It loses the computerized rhythm and totally rocks out at the end. “When This Day Is Over” is a bouncy sing-song anthem to getting out of work. It is very empty in its production, as the piano and bass are the only things in the forefront. Drums are light in the background, as is the organ. Even the lead guitar is toned down when it squeals. 
It features the famous power pop harmonizing as background. The song naturally flows into “Tonight,” which sounds just like a Cars song. It is a juvenile-who thinks he’s an adult themed story teller song. I like this type of call and instrumental response song very much.

“Small Town Talking” starts side two, with guitars bursting through what sounded like a thunder storm. It is a little watching the detectives/reggae in its guitar/bass/drums composition. 
The guitar solo fades out, which seems like a lazy idea. “Modeling School” sounds a bit like “Urgent” in its vocal performance. But it started off with a dark female chorus singing the title. There is a cool keyboard solo that sounds like it is being performed in an echoing church. 
This is immediately answered by a short guitar solo in parallel structure. Again the lazy guitar solo fade is used. Bass leads off “Bad Seed” and it is a rushed, driving song. It is jittery with all its instruments and a quick drum beat. I’m not too fond of the metal effect put upon the guitar, or I’m sure this would be the best song on the record. 
After a minute the pace is sucked out of the song, and replaced with an attempt to be bluesy with guitar and organ solos. The song constantly feels like it is building to something, but it is not that great. The delivery is not as strong as it could be. The breakdowns detract from the overall song’s momentum. 
“I've Gotta Gun” is a groovy slinky song with dual layered vocals, and some Graham Parker-like effects on the vocals. This song sounds like it would be a lot of fun to hear live, but it is not that great on the record. The organ and keyboard style make the song feel a little creepy, like a downward spiral of decisions, which might be the desired effect for a song that proclaims having a fire arm. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” ends the record with a standard rock song. 
It feels like chilling prog in its production, from the harmonized guitars and funky bass set low in the background.
The songs are good, they just lack that umph and over all jitteriness that makes albums of this time shine. Perhaps the youthful energy is lacking, and this album feels slightly forced. 
This is their third album, so that could be true. I can hear where they have potential to be a good band; it just feels like a half-assed effort at recording some descent songs.

 
Tracklist

1.  Breakin' Out - 2:21
2.  Bad Guy's Winnin' - 2:51
3.  Dangerous Curves - 4:03
4.  When This Day Is Over - 1:50
5.  Tonight - 3:18
6.  Small Town Talking - 3:55
7.  Modeling School - 3:13
8.  Bad Seed - 3:23
9.  I've Gotta Gun - 2:55
10.  For Whom The Bell Tolls - 3:00


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Released: 1981 
Genre:  Rock 
Style:  Power Pop 
Length: 30:35

PRESENCE - Inside (1993)

Presence were a British rock band formed in 1990, best known for its associations with the Cure. They released the album Inside in 1992 and split the following year.
Presence was formed by keyboardist Lol Tolhurst, a founding member of the Cure who had left that band in 1989; and singer Gary Biddles, a former member of Fools Dance who had also served as a member of the Cure's road crew in the early 1980s. 
Two other former members of the Cure, bassist Michael Dempsey and guitarist Porl Thompson, contributed to Presence's early demo recordings, with Dempsey receiving some songwriting credits.
The band's lineup was eventually completed with bassist Roberto Soave, guitarist Rob Steen, keyboardist Chris Youdell (formerly of Then Jericho), and drummer Alan Burgess. 
This lineup first released the single "In Wonder", followed by the album Inside in 1992, which despite some favorable reviews was not successful

Inside is the debut studio album released by British rock band Presence, released in the UK through Reality Records in 1992, and in the US and Canada through Smash Records, a subsidiary of Island Records, in 1993. Although Inside was well received by critics, it was a commercial failure, and the band dissolved shortly afterwards. Nevertheless, this band does spark interest among some Cure fans because of the involvement of Lol Tolhurst.

Tolhurst believes that Presence would may had a better chance of achieving commercial success had his reputation not been tied to that of The Cure. In his autobiography, Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys. Tolhurst writes:

"I believe the biggest impediment to us succeeding was the baggage that came with me. If it had been a new band that nobody knew, I think we might have got a different reaction. We were either too much like The Cure (surprise, surprise) or not enough. We couldn’t win.”


North American version

1.  Never - 4:24 
2.  Fragments - 3:40
     Biddles, Dempsey, Tolhurst, Youdell 
3.  Act of Faith - 4:02 
4.  On Ocean Hill - 5:05
     Biddles, Burgess, Tolhurst, Youdell 
5.  Revolve - 4:29 
6.  Highest Peak - 5:30 
     Biddles, Dempsey, Tolhurst, Youdell 
7.  Pause - 5:00 
8.  Raindown - 3:38 
9.  Missing - 4:17 
10.  In Wonder - 4:16 
11.  All I See - 4:56 
12.  Inside - 5:43 

All tracks written by Biddles, Tolhurst, and Youdell, except where noted. 

 
Presence
  • Gary Biddles - vocals
  • Alan Burgess - drums
  • Roberto Soave - bass guitar
  • Rob Steen - guitar
  • Laurence Tolhurst - keyboard
  • Chris Youdell - keyboard

Production
  • Produced by Presence
  • Engineered by Jim Russell, assisted by Alex Byrd
  • Mixed by Ingmar Kiang, assisted by Anthony Fisher
  • Mastered by Greg Calbi
  • Art direction – Deborah Melian
  • Design and Logo – Rob Steen
  • Artwork and Photography – Jeremy Baile and Darryl Schiff

Notes
Released: 1992/1993 
Genre : Pop rock 
Length: 55:45 (original release)
Producer:  Presence 

January 01, 2025

Barry Gibb - In The Now (2016)

In the Now is the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, released on 7 October 2016 by Columbia Records
Although his second solo album (since 1984's Now Voyager), it is the first of all new material since the Bee Gees' final studio album This Is Where I Came In (2001). Gibb said of the album: "This is a dream come true for me. 
It's a new chapter in my life. I always hoped one day that the Bee Gees would be with Columbia or indeed Sony so, it's a great joy for me to start again this way with such great people."
Following the deaths of his brothers Andy Gibb in 1988, Maurice Gibb in 2003 and Robin Gibb in 2012, respectively, Barry Gibb thought his music career was over: "I was ready to quit. I was done. 
There was no point in going on any further. I’ve done solo work my whole life but never felt like a solo artist." Gibb said he "gave up for a long time" until he became interested in writing songs again. The album was written with his sons Stephen and Ashley Gibb, which according to Barry Gibb meant "there was this huge personal thing going on between the three of us for the whole of this album" and "that you could say whatever it is you’ve got to say and be as honest as you can".
Barry Gibb initially planned on recording a country album citing bluegrass music as an inspiration, but he was told by his record company that "they’d have a lot of trouble getting me on country radio". Instead, the album evolved into "classic pop" inspired by Carole King and Bruce Springsteen. Gibb has said of In the Now: "The album is my opinion of life, my feelings and my journey with my brothers, and without my brothers, with my parents and without my parents, and with my own family, seeing my kids have their own kids."


Tracklist

1.   In The Now - 4:52
2.   Grand Illusion - 4:42
3.   Star Crossed Lovers - 3:19
4.   Blowin' A Fuse - 4:44
5.   Home Truth Song - 5:08
6.   Meaning Of The Word - 4:34
7.   Cross To Bear - 6:01
8.   Shadows - 4:35
9.   Amy In Colour - 4:26
10.  The Long Goodbye - 2:40
        French Horn – Eric Kerley
11.   Diamonds 5:18
12.   End Of The Rainbow - 4:06
          Pedal Steel Guitar – Greg Leisz
          Recorded By [Pedal Steel @ Megawatt] – John Paterno

Bonus Tracks  
13.   Grey Ghost - 4:23
          Programmed By – Doug Emery
          Vocals [Additional] – Stephen Gibb
14.   Daddy's Little Girl - 3:17
          Pedal Steel Guitar – Alan Kendall
          Programmed By – Doug Emery
15.   Soldier's Son - 2:59
          Programmed By – Doug Emery


Companies, etc.

Credits

Recorded at Hit Factory Studios (Miami, FL), Pedal Steel recorded at Megawatt Recording (Los Angeles, CA)
Mastered at Gateway Mastering (Portland, ME)
Mixed at Barking Doctor Studio (Los Angeles, CA)
Published By – Wb Music Corp.


Notes
Released:  Oct 7, 2016
Genre:  Pop
Length: 1:04:56

December 31, 2024

Hubert Kah - Best Of Dance Hits (Us 12” Vinyl LP Compilation) (1990)

Tracklist

1.  So Many People  (Extended Dance Mix) - 6:27
2.  It’s Me Cathy (Follow My Heart)  (Club Version) - 6:24
3.  Machine Gun  (Extended Dance Mix) - 5:39
4.  Angel 07  (Extended Version) - 6:09
5.  Military Drums  (Dance Edit) - 6:51
6.  Limousine  (Extended Version) - 5:42
7.  Carrousel - 3:50
8. Midnight Sun - 4:25


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Released: 1990
Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Country: US
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Runtime: 45:27

Bellamy Brothers - Live At Gilley's (1999)

Tracklist

1.   Sugar Daddy - 3:38
2.   You Ain't Just Whistlin' Dixie - 4:54
3.   We Can Handle It - 2:43
4.   Goin' Sane - 3:39
5.   For All The Wrong Reasons - 3:50
6.   Foolin' Around - 4:26
7.   Lovers Live Longer - 3:12
8.   You're My Favorite Star - 3:18
9.   Get Into Reggae Cowboy - 3:13
10.   Do You Love As Good As You Look? - 3:04
11.   If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me - 4:21
12.   Let Your Love Flow - 2:29


Companies, etc.


Notes
Released: 1999
Genre:  Folk, World, & Country
Style:  Country
Length:  43:21

December 30, 2024

Acuario - Acuario (1977)


Tracklist

A1.  Rema, Rema Marinero - 3:45
A2.  Besame Mucho - 3:45
A3.  Nada Mas De Amor - 3:25
A4.  ¡Oh, Latin Boy! - 2:58
A5.  O Me Quieres O No Me Quieres - 3:28

B1.  Flor De Viento - 3:47
B2.  Mimame, Amame - 2:44
B3.  Claro De Luna - 3:57
B4.  Eso Es El Amor - 3:19
B5.  Fuego - 3:57


Credits 
Arranged - Ramón Arcusa,Rafael Pérez Botija
Technician [Sonido] – Carlos Martos,J. Raso,Jose Antonio Lavarez Alija, Recuero
Vocals - Mayra Gomez Kemp, María Durán, Beatriz Escudero
Producer – Ramón Arcusa

Notes
Released: 1977
Genre:  Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style:  Disco
Length:  34:45