John Mayer - Battle Studies (2009)

Battle Studies is the fourth studio album by American recording artist John Mayer, released November 17, 2009 on Columbia Records in the United States.
It's no secret that John Mayer is a 21st Century Fox, wining and dining women all through the tabloid headlines, so it's about time he delivered an album that traded upon his loverman persona and Battle Studies is that record in spades. Retaining more than a modicum of the slick soul-blues undertones of Continuum, Mayer fashions a modern groove album, a record that maintains a smooth seductive vibe so thoroughly it spills into a weird one-man band cover of "Crossroads," turning Clapton's contained Cream masterwork into something about vibe, not virtuosity. Mayer remains a disciple of Slowhand, but he shows an unusual interest in the big AOR stylings of Journeyman, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan's In Step, creating a coolly clean blend of synths and Strats, one that's as much about texture as it is song something perfectly appropriate for a make-out album like this.
Sometimes, Mayer dips too heavily toward the texture not just in the sound sculptures in the bedding of "Heartbreak Warfare," but even the strum-n-croon of "All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye" and his love-as-war metaphors land with the thud of a dud bomb, but he can't resist a good, tight melody and builds the bulk of Battle Studies upon them: the elegant "Half of My Heart," the stoned self-deprecating wit of "Who Says," the softly soulful "Perfectly Lonely." Here, Mayer is effortlessly seductive and somewhat irresistible, and it's easy to see why the ladies love cool John.

Track listing

01.  "Heartbreak Warfare"  - 4:30
02.  "All We Ever Do is Say Goodbye"  - 4:35
03.  "Half of My Heart"  (featuring Taylor Swift)  - 4:10
04.  "Who Says"  - 2:56
05.  "Perfectly Lonely"  - 4:28
06.  "Assassin"  - 5:14
07.  "Crossroads" (Robert Johnson)  - 2:29
08.  "War of My Life"  - 4:15
09.  "Edge of Desire"  - 5:32
10.  "Do You Know Me"  - 2:30
11.  "Friends, Lovers or Nothing"  - 5:59

iTunes bonus track version
12.  "I'm on Fire" (Bruce Springsteen)  - 2:52

All songs written by John Mayer, except where noted.

Credits
John Mayer – vocals; guitars; keyboards; sound effects; percussion; art direction; graphic design
Steve Jordan – drums, percussion
Pino Palladino – bass
Ian McLagan – Hammond organ, Wurlitzer electric piano, piano, pump organ, celeste
Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
Robbie McIntosh – guitar
Waddy Wachtel – acoustic guitars
Bob Reynolds – saxophone
Bryan Lipps – trumpet
Taylor Swift – vocals

Production
Chad Franscoviak – engineering
Charlie Paakari – engineering assistance (Capitol Studios)
Justin Gerrish – engineering assistance (Avatar Studios); mixing assistance
Ghian Wright – engineering assistance (The Village Studios)
Martin Pradler – digital editing
Michael Brauer, Manny Marroquin, Joe Ferla – mixing
Erik Madrid, Christian Plata, Ryan Gilligan – mixing assistance
Greg Calbi – mastering
Producer - John Mayer, Steve Jordan

Additional personnel
Jeri Heiden – art direction; graphic design
Albert Watson – photography
Gari Askew – photography
Carlos Hurtado – tracking

Notes
Release dat: November 17, 2009
Recorded: February–August 2009 Battle Studies (Calabasas, California), Capitol Studios (Hollywood) The Village, (West Los Angeles, California)
Genre: Pop, Rock
Length: 46:36
© 2009

Label - Columbia

Rage Against The Machine - The Battle Of Los Angeles (1999)

The Battle of Los Angeles is the third studio album by American rap metal band Rage Against the Machine. It was released on November 2, 1999, over three years after their second studio album, Evil Empire. Between Evil Empire and Los Angeles, the band released a live album, titled Live & Rare. This album is Rage Against the Machine's most recent album consisting of original material. The Battle of Los Angeles was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.
Rage Against the Machine isn't really the only metal band that matters, but their aggressive social and political activism is refreshing, especially in an age of blind (or usually self-directed) rage due to groups like Limp Bizkit, Bush, or Nine Inch Nails. Recorded in less than a month, The Battle of Los Angeles is the most focused album of the band's career, exploding from the gate and rarely letting go the whole way through. Like a few other famous revolution-in-the-head bands (most notably Minor Threat), Rage Against the Machine has always been blessed by the fact that the band is spewing just as much vitriol as its frontman.
Any potential problems created here by Zack de la Rocha's one-note delivery and extremist polemics are smoothed over by songs and grooves that make it sound like the revolution really is here, from the single "Guerrilla Radio" to album highlights like "Mic Check," "Calm Like a Bomb," and "Born of a Broken Man." As on the previous two Rage Against the Machine albums, Tom Morello's roster of guitar effects and vicious riffs are nigh overpowering, and are as contagious as the band has ever been since their debut.
De la Rocha is best when he has specific targets (like the government or the case against Mumia Abu Jamal), but when he attempts to cover more general societal problems, he falters. If anything less than one of the most talented and fiery bands in the music world were backing him, The Battle of Los Angeles wouldn't be nearly as high-rated as it is.
In 2003, The Battle of Los Angeles was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2005, the album was ranked number 369 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Track listing

01.  "Testify"  - 3:30
02.  "Guerrilla Radio"  - 3:26
03.  "Calm Like a Bomb"  - 4:58
04.  "Mic Check"  - 3:33
05.  "Sleep Now in the Fire"  - 3:25
06.  "Born of a Broken Man"  - 4:40
07.  "Born as Ghosts"  - 3:22
08.  "Maria"  - 3:48
09.  "Voice of the Voiceless"  - 2:31
10.  "New Millennium Homes"  - 3:44
11.  "Ashes in the Fall"  - 4:37
12.  "War Within a Breath"  - 3:36

All lyrics written by Zack de la Rocha, all music composed by Rage Against the Machine.

Rage Against The Machine
Zack de la Rocha – vocals
Tom Morello – guitars
Tim Commerford – bass
Brad Wilk – drums

Technical
Brendan O'Brien – production, mixing
Rage Against the Machine – co-production
Nick DiDia – engineering, recording
Russ Fowler – additional engineering
Sugar D – additional engineering
German Villacorta – assistant engineering (at A&M Studios)
Roger Sommers – assistant engineering (at Royaltone Studios)
Kevin Lively – assistant engineering (at Silent Sound Studios)
Ryan Williams – engineering (at Southern Tracks)
Karl Egsieker – assistant engineering (at Southern Tracks)
Monique Mitzrahl – assistant engineering (at Sunset Sound)
Kevin Dean – assistant engineering (at Sunset Sound)
Michael Parnin – assistant engineering (at Westlake Audio)
"Atom" – assistant engineering (at Westlake Audio)
Stephen Marcussen – mastering
Andrew Garver – digital editing
Cheryl Mondello – production coordination
Erin Haley – production coordination
Artwork and design
Rage Against the Machine – art direction
Aimee Macauley – art direction
Joey Krebs – artwork
Danny Clinch – photography
Matt DeMello (eye cue); photography
Steven Tirona – additional photography

Studios
A&M Studios, Los Angeles, CA – recording, mixing
Royaltone Studios, Los Angeles, CA – recording, mixing
Silent Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA – recording, mixing
Southern Tracks, Atlanta, GA – recording, mixing
Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, CA – recording, mixing
Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, CA – recording, mixing
A&M Mastering Studios, Los Angeles, CA – mastering

Notes
Release date: November 2, 1999
Recorded: September - October, 1998
Genre:  Rap Metal, Alternative Metal, Funk Metal
Length: 45:10
© 1999

Label - Epic Records

Manfred Mann´s Earth Band - Chance (1980)

Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann. The band's hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit In The Night". After forming in 1971 and despite a short hiatus in the late 1980s/early 1990s, the Earth Band has continued to perform and tour through the present.
Manfred Mann's 1980 album is a strange mix of topical songwriting, progressive rock, and power pop from its opening seconds, the Earth Band is pressing serious messages and social commentary on their listenership amid swirling prog rock keyboards and catchy guitar hooks and choruses.
The whole package is challenging in ways that should have put them on the cutting edge of rock music at the outset of that decade, but one suspects that Mann and company were too musically adept and sophisticated for their own good a little dumbing down and maybe a little less musicianship on display would have made them more accessible to the coming MTV generation. As it is, the album has held up remarkably well across a quarter century, however, even if it now seems an uncomfortably accurate warning of the way the world would go, in terms of politics and society, in the decades to come. It would also be three years before another Earth Band album was forthcoming, and that one would be steeped in world music sounds.

Track listing

01.  "Lies (Through the 80s)"   (Denny Newman)  - 4:37
02.  "On the Run"   (Manfred Mann, Tony Ashton, Florrie Palmer)  - 3:53
03.  "For You"   (Bruce Springsteen)  - 5:41
04.  "Adolescent Dream"   (Mann)  - 2:42
05.  "Fritz the Blank"   (Mann)  - 2:52
06.  "Stranded"   (Mike Heron, Mann)  - 5:49
07.  "Hello, I Am Your Heart"   (Dennis Linde)  - 5:19
08.  "No Guarantee"   (Mann)  - 3:50
09.  "Heart on the Street"   (Tom Gray)  - 4:56

Bonus Tracks (1999 re-issue)
10.  "A Fool I Am"  (single B side)   (Mann, Pat King, John Lingwood, Steve Waller)  - 4:16
11.  "Adolescent Dream"  (single version)   (Mann)  - 2:24
12.  "Lies (Through the 80s)"  (single version)   (Newman)  - 4:15
13.  "For You"  (single version)   (Springsteen)  - 3:53

Credits
Manfred Mann - keyboards, vocals ("Adolescent Dream")
John Lingwood - drums
Pat King - bass, bass pedals
Mick Rogers - guitars
Steve Waller - guitars, vocals ("This Is Your Heart")
Chris Thompson - vocals ("Lies Through The 80s", "On The Run", "For You")

with
Trevor Rabin - guitars
Robbie McIntosh - guitars
Geoff Whitehorn - guitars
Dyan Birch - vocals ("Guarantee" and others)
Willy Finlayson - vocals ("Heart On The Street")
Peter Marsh - vocals ("Stranded")
Carol Stocker - backing vocals
Barbara Thompson - saxophone
Producer - Manfred Mann, Trevor Rabin

Notes
Release date: 10 October 1980
Recorded at: Workhouse Studios, London Casa das Flores, Albufeira, Portugal, 1979-1980
Genre:  Progressive rock
Length: 54:28
© 1980

Label - Bronze (UK original release) Cohesion (UK 1999 reissue)

Daft Punk - Alive 2007 (2007)

Timed to perfection, Daft Punk's second live album landed exactly ten years after the first, and provides a fitting complement to Alive 1997, easily the best live non-DJ electronica record ever released. While the original featured only a handful of tracks (but found them transformed and tweaked ad infinitum), Alive 2007 is packed with productions, most of them short and many of them getting a big crowd response (all recorded at one show in Paris in June of 2007). As on their first two classic full-lengths, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo display excellent crowd control, pacing the record well, spacing the hits, and building the mood like the good crowd-pleasers they are.
(The visuals included in the regular and deluxe editions reveal quite the stage show as well.) It has the feel of a greatest-hits-live concert, but energized by Daft Punk's talents at weaving songs in and out of each other. Even songs from the comparatively desultory Human After All sound rejuvenated in context, with "Robot Rock" getting the show off to a rousing start. It may not be better or stronger than the original Alive 1997, but it's definitely harder and faster.
The Alive 2007 set used Ableton Live software on "custom made super-computers" for the show. Daft Punk accessed the hardware remotely with Behringer BCR2000 MIDI controllers and JazzMutant Lemur touchscreen pads within the central pyramid. Minimoog Voyager RME units were also implemented for the live performances.
The four Voyager units and two Behringer mixers allowed Daft Punk to "mix, shuffle, trigger loops, filter, distort samples, EQ in and out, transpose or destroy and deconstruct synth lines." The majority of the equipment was stored away during the live sets within offstage towers.
The album includes elements of the Busta Rhymes song "Touch It", the original version of which was produced by Swizz Beatz featuring a sample of "Technologic". Also featured are elements of Gabrielle's "Forget About the World", the original version of which was remixed by Daft Punk for her single. The encore of the Alive 2007 set features Bangalter's side projects: Stardust's "Music Sounds Better with You" and Together's self-titled track "Together".

Track listing

01.  "Robot Rock / Oh Yeah"  - 6:28
02.  "Touch It / Technologic"  - 5:30
03.  "Television Rules the Nation / Crescendolls"  - 4:51
04.  "Too Long / Steam Machine"  - 7:02
05.  "Around the World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"  - 5:43
06.  "Burnin' / Too Long"  - 7:12
07.  "Face to Face / Short Circuit"  - 4:55
08.  "One More Time / Aerodynamic"  - 6:11
09.  "Aerodynamic Beats / Forget About the World"  - 3:32
10.  "The Prime Time of Your Life / The Brainwasher / Rollin' & Scratchin' / Alive"  - 10:22
11.  "Da Funk / Daftendirekt" -  6:37
12.  "Superheroes / Human After All / Rock'n Roll"  - 5:41

Bonus Track
13 .Encore: "Human After All" / "Together" / "One More Time (reprise)" / "Music Sounds Better with You"  – 9:59

All songs written and composed by Daft Punk.

Credits
Engineer [Sound] – Peter Franco
Mastered By – Howie Weinberg
Music By, Lyrics By – Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Thomas Bangalter

Notes
Released: 19 November 2007, 4 December 2007 (North America), 25 February 2008 (United Kingdom)
Recorded: 14 June 2007, Studio Bercy Arena(Paris, France)
Genre:  House
Length: 84:03
© 2007

Label - Virgin

Chris Rea - Blue Guitars [11 CD Packaged] (2005)

Blue Guitars is the twenty-first studio album by English singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released on October 14, 2005, by his independent record label Jazzee Blue. The Blue Guitars album, packaged in the style of an earbook, consists of eleven CDs, one DVD and a full colour book, including paintings by the artist, liner notes and song lyrics. It is an ambitious project about Blues music with the 137 songs recorded over the course of 18 months with a work schedule - according to Chris Rea himself - of twelve hours a day, seven days a week. In 2007 was released a 2 CD "best of" compilation Blue Guitars: A Collection Of Songs.
Initially the project was inspired by Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey and can be called an "odyssey" in its own right, for depicting a journey through the various epochs of Blues music, starting at its African origins and finishing with modern-time Blues from the 60s and 70s. There were held several live exhibitions of the album's artwork paintings, like in October 2005 at The Cork Streeet Gallery, Central London, England, and Spazio Oikos, Milan, Italy. The earbook album sold over 150,000 copies in Europe.
The eleven separate records which comprise "Blue Guitars" could as well stand on their own; in combination, however, they provide a journey through the different epochs of the Blues, showing the various components that have been added to the original African Blues over time, the changes in instrumentation, style, lyrical expression and thematic implications.
Thereby Chris Rea and his band imitate the various styles and lyrical topics, creating an instantly recognisable atmosphere on each record, with the first few songs usually setting up the direction in which the record is going and then developing to various styles within the field of each record.
Initially were planned 16 CDs, but Rea noted his initial idea was too intellectual and did not intend for the work to be seen as an academic work, yet as a story.
He noted that it's not meant to be played in one day, neither songs separately, as far the thread can be followed, but nevertheless it should be enjoyed in the prolonged period of time. He also expressed concern about the digitalization of modern generations whose musical perception lacks the attitude for making the record listening a specific enjoyable experience.
For each of the albums were studied their history and characteristics, and for the recording process and sessions in the studio were procured and used equipments which was used at the specific time, and the studio itself was set up in the way to best-possibly convey the sound of rooms of the previous times.

Album One: Beginnings

01.  "West Africa" - 4.14
02.  "Cry for Home" - 4.58
03.  "The King Who Sold his Own" - 5.18
04.  "White Man Coming" - 4.01
05.  "Where The Blues Come From" - 6.18
06.  "Lord Tell Me It Won't Be Long" - 4.58
07.  "Work Gang" - 4.32
08.  "Praise The Lord" - 4.41
09.  "Sweet Sunday" - 5.38
10.  "Sing Out The Devil" - 6.08
11.  "Boss Man Cut My Chains" - 3.21

The first album of this set deals with the very beginnings of the Blues, tracing its ways back to its African roots. Living conditions were hard, many African natives were taken captives and transported across the ocean to be sold as slaves, sometimes even betrayed by their own people, which is vividly depicted in the song "The King Who Sold His Own". All in all it was an environment, where it was only natural for the Blues to develop, and even though the instrumentation and the construction of the songs was still very different from what we now know as Blues, the basics were already there: the sadness, the strain, the burdens, the depression, the feeling of "blue" and - of course - the underlying musical structure.

Album Two: Country Blues

01.  "Walkin' Country Blues" - 3.40
02.  "Man Gone Missing" - 4.40
03.  "Can't Stay Blues" - 4.58
04.  "KKK Blues" - 4.56
05.  "Too Much Drinkin'" - 4.52
06.  "Catwalk Woman" - 4.32
07.  "If You've Got A Friend in Jesus" - 4.24
08.  "Head Out On The Highway" - 4.32
09.  "Wild Pony" - 4.10
10.  "Steam Train Blues" - 3.50
11.  "Going Up To Memphis" - 4.20
12.  "Somewhere Between Highway 61 & 49" - 6.06
13.  "Ticket For Chicago" - 5.16
14.  "Dance All Night Long" - 4.31

Country Blues was the natural development, the original Blues would go, once it had arrived in the American South: it was a dark time, a time of fear, people had to work hard during slavery, even harder after they had been released, wandering around unemployed, aimlessly. Racism and KKK made the situation even worse, which reflected in the music, instrumentation gradually changed and the lyrics told stories of fear (KKK Blues), aimless wandering (Walkin' Country Blues), alcoholism (Too Much Drinkin'), but also the flight from prevailing conditions, maybe with another perspective for life and the future in the big cities (Ticket for Chicago). But also themes of movement (Steam Train Blues) and the faith in God and Religion (If You've Got A Friend In Jesus) were made topics in the songs, as well as the occasional search for some recreation and a good time (Dance All Night Long). The social and personal problems found their way into the music and started to change the Blues on a profound level.

Album Three: Louisiana & New Orléans

01.  "Two Days Missing Down The Viper Room" - 2.56
02.  "Who Cares If I Do" - 4.23
03.  "What Made Me Love You" - 3.16
04.  "You Got Dixie" - 4.41
05.  "One Night With You" - 5.29
06.  "Talking 'bout New Orleans" - 5.27
07.  "Le Fleur De La Vie" - 3.13
08.  "Catfish Girl" - 3.50
09.  "Only A Fool Plays By The Rules" - 4.00
10.  "Baby Come Home" - 3.30
11.  "Dance Avec Moi" - 3.15
12.  "L'ete Eternal" - 3.31

When the originally African and South-influenced Blues were brought to Louisiana, New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, new instruments were added— clarinet, brass, piano, mandolins, accordions - and along with the banjo mingled into an interesting mix, which would be known as New Orleans, Swamp, Cajun or Riverboat Blues. The basics for directions like Jazz, Swing and even Rock & Roll were laid during this time and a distinctive, instantly recognizable sound was created, which would imminently be associated with the Blues.

Album Four: Electric Memphis Blues

01.  "Electric Guitar" - 4.42
02.  "Electric Memphis Blues" - 4.15
03.  "All Night Long" - 4.11
04.  "Born Bad" - 3.46
05.  "Let's Start Again" - 3.52
06.  "What I'm Looking For" - 4.26
07.  "Rules Of Love" - 3.12
08.  "What You Done To Me" - 3.28
09.  "Hobo Love Blues" - 3.38
10.  "Pass Me By" - 3.06
11.  "The Soul Of My Father's Shadow" - 3.52
12.  "My Blue World Says Hello" - 4.06

The Blues and Blues Musicians finally could make themselves heard among the loud crowds and stuffed places, they usually used to play. It was a tremendous change in the way, the Blues could be approached, fine and subtle figures and fine chord structures could suddenly be played, the Blues was rising to previously unbeknown heights: "Now I can play above the bar noise, Man I'm bigger than a crowd" as Rea states in the opener "Electric Guitar", which paraphrases what musicians must have felt after this milestone revolution. Nor did "electric" stop at the guitars - organs, pianos, keyboards, all was going electric, studios started to play around with the new electric sound, the possibilities seemed endless.

Album Five: Texas Blues

01.  "Lone Rider" - 4.44
02.  "Texas Blue" - 5.10
03.  "No Wheels Blues" - 5.02
04.  "Lone Star Boogie" - 5.16
05.  "Blind Willie" - 6.48
06.  "The American Way" - 4.07
07.  "Angellina" - 4.47
08.  "Truck Stop" - 4.49
09.  "Weekend Down Mexico" - 4.20
10.  "Texas Line Boogie" - 4.41
11.  "Too Big City" - 5.02
12.  "Houston Angel" - 3.59

And yet another direction, the Blues was morphing into. Take the basic concept, move it into the "modern wild west" and what you get out of it is straightforward Texas Blues. It's all in there, endless highways, run-down trucker bars, oil, dirt, cowboy boots, stories about life on the move, all down in Texas, all just as sad as the original Blues (Lone Star Boogie, No Wheels Blues). The mixture of the basic Blues concept with more country and western styled instruments (slide guitars, harmonica) gave the Blues a rawer, yet again still instantly recognizable sound, which has played a major role in music ever since (up to Stevie Vaughan and ZZ Top).
"I still remember, the place we used to go, dreaming dreams of Texas, as we pushed hard through the snow" - Chris Rea

Album Six: Chicago Blues

01.  "I'm Moving Up" - 4.30
02.  "Maxwell Street" - 4.39
03.  "Bob Taylor" - 5.15
04.  "She's A Whole Heap Of Trouble" - 2.30
05.  "Jazzy Blue" - 3.24
06.  "Hip-Sway" - 3.39
07.  "That's The Way It Goes" - 3.32
08.  "To Get Your Love" - 5.07
09.  "Chicago Morning" - 4.56
10.  "Catwalk Woman" - 3.35
11.  "Since You've Been Gone" - 4.09
12.  "All Night Long" - 5.27
13.  "Here She Come Now" - 4.14

Again it was movement that was pushing the Blues into a new direction, movement upwards North to Chicago in the pursuit of jobs and a new life. People suddenly found themselves in a completely different situation and this instantly influenced the Blues, the electric style, developed earlier on in Electric Memphis and Texas Blues, remained, however became harder and edgier, instruments like the saxophone were incorporated into the music and gave this new hybrid a sometimes jazzy feel. Once again, the lyric themes shifted away from known territory and began to reflect the changed situation, drugs, alcohol, sex, women, money gained major importance, life in wintry ghettos and anonymous housing schemes contributed its share.

Album Seven: Blues Ballads

01.  "Last Call" - 3.41
02.  "Maybe That's All I Need To Know" - 4.28
03.  "Deep Winter Blues" - 5.09
04.  "If I Ever Get Over You" - 5.08
05.  "I Love The Rain" - 4.35
06.  "My Soul Crying Out For You" - 3.38
07.  "If That's What You Want" - 4.18
08.  "There's No One Looking" - 5.34
09.  "What Became Of You" - 4.54
10.  "My Deep Blue Ways" - 4.25

With the incorporation of the piano and other new elements, such as swing and jazz, according to Chris Rea a somehow "sleepy morphine-induced style" came to be Blues Ballads. The original, primitive influences are no longer recognizable, replaced by a calmer, smoother, more polished, yet nonetheless still recognizable, style of Blues. All that constituted the Blues in the past is still there.

Album Eight: Gospel Soul Blues & Motown

01.  "Sweet Love" - 4.25
02.  "Break Another Piece Of My Heart" - 4.39
03.  "Ball & Chain" - 5.08
04.  "Gospel Trail" - 5.05
05.  "Shy Boy" - 3.52
06.  "Come Change My World" - 4.15
07.  "Call On Me" - 4.10
08.  "Just In Case You Never Knew" - 4.29
09.  "Let Me In" - 5.52
10.  "I’ll Be There For You" - 4.18
11.  "The Pain Of Loving You" - 3.57
12.  "Are You Ready" - 6.08

While the basic structures and rhythms of the Blues remained true to the original, still a new generation moved the Blues onwards, banjo style played on electric guitar became the electric "sitar", the sound hit the nerve of the Indy/Hippie generation, instantly recognizable - Tamla Motown. Softer and easier accessible than previous hybrids of the Blues.

Album Nine: Celtic & Irish Blues

01.  "Celtic Blue" - 8.11
02.  "Too Far From Home" - 7.28
03.  "'Til The Morning Sun Shines On My Love And Me" - 5.39
04.  "Lucky Day" - 5.16
05.  "What She Really Is" - 5.03
06.  "Wishing Well" - 4.11
07.  "Irish Blues" - 4.14
08.  "No More Sorrow" - 6.05
09.  "While I Remain" - 5.30
10.  "Last Drink" - 5.17
11.  "'Til I Find My True Love's Name" - 3.42
12.  "Big White Door" - 5.36

The Blues went in yet another direction, when it started to mingle with Celtic and Scottish/Irish influences, forming still another hybrid. The general feeling of sadness, loss and blues, which is inherent in the Scottish, Irish and Celtic roots anyway, together with an all new instrumentation could lay the basis for a different kind of approach, giving the Blues the typical Celtic feel.

Album Ten: Latin Blues

01.  "Hey Gringo" - 6.04
02.  "Immigration Blues" - 5.19
03.  "Still Trying To Clear My Name" - 4.26
04.  "Sun Is Hot" - 4.28
05.  "Screw You And Your Deep Blue Sea" - 4.43
06.  "Nothing Seems To Matter No More" - 3.55
07.  "Sometimes" - 5.00
08.  "Lampiou" - 5.46
09.  "Keep On Dancing" - 3.56
10.  "Lucifer's Angel" - 5.08
11.  "How I Know It's You" - 4.17
12 . "Forever" - 5.03
13.  "You Got Soul" - 5.27
14.  "Bajan Blue" - 4.57

Latin Music may not be the most obvious direction to look for the Blues, still there were great influences from the African culture with slaves landing in Brazil, who influenced the Caribbeans from their own direction, Cuban guitar and some kind of trademark piano were added, creating a mix so different from Mississippi Blues, and yet, Bossa Nova Blues was a direction in its own right. The Blues was even swapping over into Reggae, but in spite of its "sunshine feeling" the themes and topics were just as sad.

Album Eleven: 60s & 70s

01.  "My Baby Told Me" - 2.55
02.  "Got To Be Moving" - 4.03
03.  "My Baby Told Me (Gospel)" - 3.19
04.  "Heartbreaker" - 2.58
05.  "Yes I Do (Instrumental)" - 3.28
06.  "Wasted Love" - 4.44
07.  "Cool Cool Blue" - 4.15
08.  "Clarkson Blues" - 5.09
09.  "Who Killed Love" - 4.27
10.  "Never Tie Me Down" - 4.13
11.  "Mindless" - 3.55
12.  "Ain't That Just The Prettiest Thing" - 5.20
13.  "Nobody But You" - 3.55
14.  "Waiting For Love" - 4.57
15.  "Blue Morning In The Rain" - 4.50

A new time, a new generation, a new variation of the Blues. Things had started changing once again and once again, the whole 200-year-history of the Blues was thrown over in the split of a second, when Blues suddenly started to sound old again, respect was paid to the ancestors of modern Blues music, but there was also Woodstock, the Flower Power Movement, all those kinds of currencies that were interpreting the Blues in their own way and gave it a new face.

Personnel
Chris Rea - electric guitar, piano, harmonica, dobro, mandolin, banjo, slide guitar, bass, calimba, balafon, vibraphone, hammond organ, percussion, drums
Robert Ahwai - guitar
Sylvin Marc - bass
Gerry O'Connor - banjo
Ed Hession - accordion
Martin Ditcham - drums
Producer - Chris Rea, Andy Wilman

Notes
Release date: October 17, 2005
Recorded: 2004–2005
Genre: Country Blues, Louisiana Blues, Chicago Blues, Electric Blues
Lenght: 10:13:30
© 2005

Label - Jazzee Blue/EarBooks

John Lee Hooker - The Best Of Friends (1998)

John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Mississippi, the son of a sharecropper, and rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often incorporated other elements, including talking blues and early North Mississippi Hill country blues. He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, distinct from the 1930s–1940s piano-derived boogie-woogie style.
When John Lee Hooker recorded 1989's THE HEALER, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of his career. In the ensuing years, the Hook made a number of commercially and critically acclaimed records that found him playing alongside a host of legendary friends and admirers. THE BEST OF FRIENDS gathers together the cream of these collaborations in one place
John Lee Hooker's recordings for Virgin/Point Blank may have varied in quality, but never in formula. Once The Healer earned reams of praise and, more importantly, solid sales upon its 1989 release, it was pretty much set in stone that every future Hooker album would be painstakingly constructed and boast a plethora of superstar cameos.
The guest stars were designed to bring in a larger audience, who would hopefully be impressed enough to stick around for Hooker's solid stuff, which was usually better than the attention-grabbing, star-studded tracks. Of course, the names are what sold, and Virgin did not overlook that fact, choosing to assemble a collection of highlights titled The Best of Friends in 1998. The title refers to the superstar duets, and while this very well may be the best of those cuts well, almost all of the duets are here, including both the sublime ("I Cover the Waterfront," with Van Morrison) and the mediocre this stuff still isn't as good as Hooker's solo recordings from this era. Which means this disc is primarily for listeners who like to think they like Hooker, but they really just want to hear Eric Clapton wail away.

Track listing

01. "Boogie Chillen"  (John Lee Hooker) - 4:35 
        Featuring - Eric Clapton
02. "This Is Hip"  (Bernard Besman) - 3:23 
        Featuring - Ry Cooder
03. "The Healer"  (Carlos Santana, Chester Thompson, John Lee Hooker, Roy Rogers) - 5:37 
        Featuring - Carlos Santana
04. "I Cover The Waterfront"  (John Lee Hooker) - 6:39 
        Featuring - Van Morrison
05. "Boom Boom"  (John Lee Hooker) - 4:16 
        Featuring - Jimmy Vaughan
06. "I'm In The Mood"  (Bernard Besman) - 4:28 
        Featuring - Bonnie Raitt
07. "Burnin' Hell"  (Bernard Besman) - 4:59 
        Featuring - Ben Harper, Charlie Musselwhite
08. "Tupelo"  (John Lee Hooker) - 3:54 
09. "Baby Lee"  (James Bracken) - 3:43 
        Featuring - Robert  Cray
10. "Dimples"  (James Bracken) - 3:59 
        Featuring - Los Lobos
11. "Chill Out  (Things Gonna Change)"  (Carlos Santana, Chester Thompson) - 4:54 
        Featuring - Carlos Santana
12. "Big Legs Tight Skirt"  (John Lee Hooker) - 5:59 
        Featuring - Ike Turner, Ry Cooder
13. "Don't Look Back"  (John Lee Hooker) - 6:41 
        Featuring - Van Morrison

Credits
John Lee Hooker, Van Morrison - vocals, guitar
Bonnie Raitt - vocals, slide guitar
Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Carlos Santana, Jimmie Vaughan, Roy Rogers, Ben Harper, Robert Cray, David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, Danny Caron - guitar
Charlie Musselwhite, John "Juke" Logan - harmonica
Gil Bernal - tenor saxophone, background vocals
Steve Berlin - baritone saxophone
Eric Barber - bass saxophone
Johnnie Johnson, Ike Turner - piano
Booker T. Jones - organ
Chester Thompson - keyboards, synthesizer
Bill Payne, Jim Pugh, Charles Brown - keyboards
Reggie McBride, Nick Lowe, Maurice Cridlin, Richard Cousins, Juan Nelson, Conrad Lozano, Benny Rietveld, Samuel Taylor - bass
Jim Keltner, Scott Mathews, Kevin Hayes - drums
Engineers - Samuel Lehmer, Alan Sides, Jim Gaines.
Producers - John Porter, Roy Rogers, Ry Cooder, Carlos Santana, Van Morrison.
Art Direction, Design – Bruce Licher
Executive-Producer – Mike Kappus
Management [Representation] – Mike Kappus
Mastered By – David Bard, Hank Waring
Photography By – Herman Leonard

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Virgin Records America, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Virgin Records America, Inc.
Manufactured By – Virgin Records America, Inc.
Glass Mastered At – EMI MFG.
Edited At – Cherokee Studios
Mixed At – One On One Studios, Ocean Way Recording, The Plant Recording Studios, Sunset Sound Factory, Livingston Studios, Bernie Grundman Mastering
Mastered At – Quad Teck

Notes
Release Date: October 20, 1998
Recorded At – Ocean Way Recording, Russian Hill Recording, The Plant Recording Studios, Sunset Sound Factory
Length:  1:02:58
Genre:  Blues
© 1998

Label - Blue Label

B.B. King - Deuces Wild (1997)

Deuces Wild is the thirty fifth studio album by B. B. King released on November 4, 1997. Every song on the album features a second famous musician.
B.B. King, probably the most celebrated living blues player, has come a long way from Itta Bena, Mississippi, and this CD illustrates just how far. A series of guest shots by such artists as Van Morrison, Tracy Chapman, Eric Clapton, Mick Hucknall, Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, Joe Cocker, Marty Stuart, the Rolling Stones, and Willie Nelson, Deuces Wild is far removed from the blues King played in the '40s and '50s. It's more like psychodrama, especially in the case of the Cocker track, "Dangerous Mood." Nobody here, celebrity notwithstanding, is just going through the motions. The album's crass concept is redeemed by, among others, drummers Steve Jordan, Jim Keltner, and Charlie Watts. Although it's an overblown international project with no affinity for the meaning of the blues, the players and their love for the music triumph.
This is B.B.'s celebrity duet album, and a straight-ahead blues album this is not.
But longtime fans who are aware of King's genre-stretching capabilities will find much to savor here. Kicking off with B.B. playing some beautiful fills and solo work behind Van Morrison on "If You Love Me," the superstars start lining up to jam with the King, with Tracy Chapman ("The Thrill Is Gone"), Eric Clapton (a funkified "Rock Me Baby"), the Rolling Stones ("Paying the Cost to Be the Boss," with a fine harp solo from Mick Jagger), Willie Nelson (his "Nightlife," long a standard in B.B.'s set list), Bonnie Raitt ("Baby I Love You"), and Marty Stuart ("Confessin' the Blues") all turning in fine efforts. The only clinker aboard here is an ill-advised attempt to make a rap record with Heavy D, the execrable "Keep It Coming."

Track listing

01.  "If You Love Me"  (with Van Morrison)  - 5:48
02.  "The Thrill Is Gone"  (with Tracy Chapman) -  5:00
03.  "Rock Me Baby"  (with Eric Clapton)  - 6:38
04.  "Please Send Me Someone to Love"  (with Mick Hucknall)  - 4:16
05.  "Baby I Love You"  (with Bonnie Raitt)  - 4:00
06.  "Ain't Nobody Home"  (with D'Angelo)  - 5:18
07.  "Pauly's Birthday Boogie"  (with Jools Holland) (Bonus Track)  - 3:39
08.  "There Must Be a Better World Somewhere"  (with Dr. John)  - 4:50
09.  "Confessin' the Blues"  (with Marty Stuart)  - 4:32
10.  "Hummingbird"  (with Dionne Warwick) (Bonus Track)  - 4:20
11.  "Bring It Home to Me"  (with Paul Carrack) (Bonus Track)  - 3:10
12.  "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss"  (with The Rolling Stones)  - 3:35
13.  "Let the Good Times Roll"  (with Zucchero) (Bonus Track)  - 4:00
14.  "Dangerous Mood"  (with Joe Cocker)  - 4:55
15.  "Keep It Coming"  (with Heavy D)  - 3:57
16.  "Cryin' Won't Help You Babe"  (with David Gilmour & Paul Carrack)  - 4:12
17.  "Night Life"  (with Willie Nelson)  - 4:30

Tracks 7, 10, 11, 13: bonus tracks on the import edition (UK/Japan)

Credits
B.B. King - guitar
Paul Carrack - vocals, keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ
Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton, Marty Stuart, David Gilmour  - guitar, vocals
Bruce Dukov, Armen Garabedian, Berj Garabedian, Norman Hughes, Tamara Hatwan, Kenneth Yerke, Andrea Byers - violins
Robert Becker - viola
Larry Colbert, Marston Smith, Dane Little, Martin Tillman, Miles Tackett - cello
Joe Sublett - tenor saxophone
Brian Murray - trumpet
Jools Holland - piano
Leon Pendarvis - keyboards
Tommy Eyre - keyboards
Pino Palladino - bass
Andy Newmark, Charlie Watts - drums
Van Morrison, Tracy Chapman, Mick Hucknall, Dr. John, D'Angelo, Joe Cocker, Heavy D, Mick Jagger, Willie Nelson - vocals
Keith Richards, Ron Wood - guitar
Produced-by:  John Porter, Chris Lord-Alge

Notes
Release date:   November 4, 1997
Recorded at:  Cherokee Recording St; Conway Studio, Hollywood, CA; Sound Castle Studios, Silverlake, CA; Westside Studios, London, England
Genre:   Blues
Length:  61:31
© 1997

Label - MCA Records

Supertramp - Is Everybody Listening? (2001)

Is Everybody Listening? is a live album by progressive rock band Supertramp, released in 2001.
Is Everybody Listening? is credited as being the 1976 recording of a concert that took place in Cleveland, Ohio. In fact, the actual concert took place on 9 March 1975 at London's Hammersmith Odeon during the Crime of the Century tour (as John Helliwell confirmed on his website).
Is Everybody Listening? features the entire Crime of the Century album and some tracks from the then still-to-be-recorded Crisis? What Crisis? album making up the middle third of the concert.
This recording was previously released as a bootleg prior to this release.
That was when Burning Airlines arranged to release this, and a good idea it was at that. This album finally shows what all the fuss was about this band. Their other "official" live albums were recorded far too late in their career all of their excitement sounds gone and the releases are over-produced (including Paris).
Those live albums simply do not demonstrate just how talented and creative these guys were. Here, in front of a crowd of about 5,000, the classic lineup of this band tears through then-current songs from Crisis? What Crisis? and Crime of the Century, and the songs sound every bit as good as they do in their studio form in some cases better. "Dreamer has an edge to it not found in the studio recording, as does the classic "Bloody Well Right." This album also shows that they had a great stage presence live, with a witty sense of humor (the introduction to "Dreamer is brilliant and hilarious). Burning Airlines has put together yet another great package: intelligent liner notes, great photos, and a wonderful-sounding album. This album will not disappoint hardcore or casual fans.
The mastering engineer Ray Staff has remastered this album as a part of the Crime of the Century Deluxe Edition 2CD-format reissue on 9 December 2014.

Track listing

01. "School" - 6:17 
       (Lead vocals by Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies)
02. "Bloody Well Right" - 6:50 
       (Lead vocals by Rick Davies)
03. "Hide in Your Shell" - 6:52 
       (Lead vocals by Roger Hodgson)
04. "Asylum" - 7:05 
       (Lead vocals by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson)
05. "Sister Moonshine" - 5:21 
       (Lead vocals by Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies)
06. "Just a Normal Day" - 4:09 
       (Lead vocals by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson)
07. "Another Man's Woman" - 7:47 
       (Lead vocals by Rick Davies)
08. "Lady" - 8:58 
       (Lead vocals by Roger Hodgson)
09. "Dreamer" - 3:30 
       (Lead vocals by Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies)
10. "Rudy" - 7:25 
       (Lead vocals by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson)
11. "If Everyone Was Listening" - 4:35 
       (Lead vocals by Roger Hodgson)
12. "Crime of the Century" - 6:08 
       (Lead vocals by Rick Davies)

All songs written by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson.

Credits
Rick Davies – keyboards, vocals
John Helliwell – saxophone, clarinet, keyboards, vocals
Roger Hodgson – guitar, keyboards, vocals
Bob Siebenberg (also known as Bob C. Benberg) – percussion, drums
Dougie Thomson – bass, additional backing vocals

Production
Project coordinator: Carlton P. Sandercock
Design: Christian Thompson
Photography: Christian Thompson, Rick Walton
Illustrations: Christian Thompson
Liner notes: John Kirkman

Notes
Release date: 6 November 2001
Recorded: 9 March 1975 Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK
Genre:  Progressive rock, art rock
Length: 74:57
© 2001

Label - Pilot/Big Daddy

Prince - The Black Album (1994)

The Black Album is the sixteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on November 22, 1994 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was originally planned for release on December 7, 1987 as the follow-up to Sign o' the Times and was to appear in an entirely black sleeve with no title or even a credit to Prince; hence it was referred to as The Black Album. Dubbed The Funk Bible by preceding press releases, and in a hidden message within the album itself, the work seemed to be a reaction to criticism that Prince had become too pop-oriented. It was his attempt to regain his African-American audience.
Urban legends spread like wildfire: Prince believed it was too bleak to release; Warner Bros. balked at its explicit lyrics; no CDs were ever pressed, and all the LPs were destroyed. That final rumor was certainly untrue, since bootlegs immediately appeared, and when it finally received official release in the fall of 1994, nearly every die-hard fan already had the record. That limited-edition release of The Black Album turned out to be a bit anti-climatic, since the album itself isn't a lost masterwork it's fun, but not much more.
If anything, it's a little labored, as Prince works hard to win back the black audience he willfully abandoned after Purple Rain. So, he serves up "When 2 R in Love," an urban ballad every bit as nondescript as the genre, and offers "Dead on It," trying to one-up rappers with a mocking attack that winds up as one of the lamest things he ever waxed. The rest of the eight-song album is brilliant, pure funk, ranging from the unrelenting "Le Grind," a deliriously lustful plea to supermodel Cindy Crawford; the hyper-tense James Brown workout "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton"; to "Bob George," a perverse tale of a macho lunkhead (Prince, electronically affecting a deep, idiotic drawl) who discovers his lady just slept with Prince or "that skinny motherf*cker with a high voice," as Bob calls him. All this may not add up to a lost classic, but it is a terrific little record that still delights, even after its mystique has faded.

Track listing

01.  "Le Grind"  - 6:44
02.  "Cindy C."  - 6:15
03.  "Dead on It"  - 4:37
04.  "When 2 R in Love"  - 3:59
05.  "Bob George"  - 5:36
06.  "Superfunkycalifragisexy"  - 5:55
07.  "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton"  - 7:01
08.  "Rockhard in a Funky Place"  (Prince and Eric Leeds) - 4:31

All songs written by Prince, except when notice

Credits
Prince - all other vocals and instruments, producer
Sheila E. - backing vocals, drums
Eric Leeds - saxophone
Atlanta Bliss - trumpet
Cat Glover - backing vocals, backing vocals and rap, spoken vocals
Boni Boyer - backing vocals
Susannah Melvoin - backing vocals
Joe Blaney - mixing

Notes
Released:  November 22, 1994
Genre:  Funk, Soul
Length:  44:43
© 1994

Label - Warner Bros. Records

The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over (1994)

Hell Freezes Over is the second live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. It contains four new studio tracks and eleven tracks recorded live in April 1994 for an MTV special. The album went to No. 1 on the Billboard album chart upon its release where it stayed for two weeks. It is the band's second live album behind their live album in 1980. The Eagles had reformed after a fourteen-year-long break up. The album proved to be as successful as the tour, selling over six million copies and releasing two Top 40 singles in "Get Over It" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive". The band's lineup consisted of the Long Run era: Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder, and Timothy B. Schmit. The tour would last from 1994–96 and became one of the most successful tours in music history.
The Eagles' first newly recorded album in 14 years gets off to a good start with the rocker "Get Over It," a timely piece of advice about accepting responsibility, followed by the tender ballad "Love Will Keep Us Alive," the country-styled "The Girl from Yesterday," and "Learn to Be Still," one of Don Henley's more thoughtful statements.
Unfortunately, that's the extent of the album's new material. Essentially, Hell Freezes Over contains an EP's worth of new material followed by a live album. The Eagles, known for meticulously re-creating their studio recordings in concert, nevertheless released an earlier concert recording, Eagles Live, in 1980. Six songs from that set reappear here, and only one is in a noticeably different arrangement, with "Hotel California" receiving the acoustic treatment.
As was true on Eagles Live, the group remains most interested in their later material, redoing five songs from the Hotel California LP and two from its follow-up, The Long Run, but finding space for only three songs from their early days: "Tequila Sunrise," "Take It Easy," and "Desperado," the last two of which were also on Eagles Live. As such, Hell Freezes Over is hard to justify as anything other than a souvenir for The Eagles' reunion tour. That, however, did not keep it from topping the charts and selling in the millions.

Track listing

01.  "Get Over It"  (Don Henley, Glenn Frey)  - 3:31 (studio recording)
02.  "Love Will Keep Us Alive"  (Pete Vale, Jim Capaldi, Paul Carrack)  - 4:03 (studio recording)
03.  "The Girl from Yesterday"  (Frey, Jack Tempchin)  - 3:23 (studio recording)
04.  "Learn to Be Still"dagger  (Henley, Stan Lynch)  - 4:28 (studio recording)
05.  "Tequila Sunrise"  (Henley, Frey)  - 3:28
06.  "Hotel California"  (Don Felder, Henley, Frey)  - 7:12
07.  "Wasted Time"  (Henley, Frey)  - 5:19
08.  "Pretty Maids All in a Row"  (Joe Walsh, Joe Vitale)  - 4:26
09.  "I Can't Tell You Why"  (Henley, Frey, Timothy B. Schmit)  - 5:11
10.  "New York Minute"  (Henley, Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, Jai Winding)  - 6:37
11.  "The Last Resort"  (Henley, Frey)  - 7:24
12.  "Take It Easy"  (Jackson Browne, Frey)  - 4:36
13.  "In the City"  (Walsh, Barry De Vorzon)  - 4:07
14.  "Life in the Fast Lane"  (Henley, Frey, Walsh)  - 6:01
15.  "Desperado"  (Henley, Frey)  - 4:17

Credits
Don Felder – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, mandolin, vocals
Glenn Frey – electric and acoustic guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals
Don Henley – drums, acoustic guitar, percussion, vocals
Timothy B. Schmit – bass guitar, vocals
Joe Walsh – electric and acoustic guitar, slide guitar, organ, vocals

Additional personnel
John Corey – piano
Scott Crago – percussion, drums
Timothy Drury – keyboards, vocals
Stan Lynch – percussion
Jay Oliver – organ, keyboards, piano
Paulinho Da Costa – percussion
Gary Grimm – percussion
Brian Matthews – electro-theremin
Al Garth – trumpet on "New York Minute"
Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra – backup on "New York Minute"

Production
Eagles, Elliot Scheiner, Rob Jacobs, Stan Lynch – producers
Joel Stillerman – executive producer
Carol Donovan – program producer
Beth McCarthy – program director
Audrey Johns – program line producer
Rob Jacobs, Elliot Scheiner – engineers
Charlie Bouis, Carl Glanville, Barry Goldberg, Andy Grassi, Tom Trafalski, Tom Winslow – second engineers
Todd Bowie and Chris Buttleman – guitar technician
Ted Jensen – mastering
Rob Jacobs, Dave Kob, Dave Reynolds, Elliot Scheiner – mixing
Adam Armstrong – vocal technician
Ted Jensen – editing
Don Davis, The Eagles, Jay Oliver – horn and string arrangements
David Hewitt – live recording coordinator
John Halpern, David Skernick – photography
Keith Raywood – production design
Robin Sloane, Janet Wolsborn – art direction
Dwaine "The Peachin' Trucker" Wise – road manager
Andrew Lopez – head driver

Notes
Release date: November 8, 1994
Recorded at: The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, Sound Interchange, Toronto (Studio tracks) Warner Burbank Studios, Burbank, California (Live tracks)
Genre: Country Rock
Length: 72:36
© 1994

Label - Geffen Records

David A. Stewart - Lily Was Here (OST) (1989)

The soundtrack to a fairly unknown film, Lily Was Here was Dave Stewart's first solo effort. It's an atmospheric, subdued effort, highlighted by a revamped "Here Comes the Rain Again," with Annie Lennox on lead vocals, and a handful of tracks featuring saxophonist Candy Dulfer.
The musical soundtrack contains the smash hit saxophone instrumental "Lily Was Here" as performed by female premiere sax player Candy Dulfer.
David A. Stewart invited Candy Dulfer, who had not previously released any of her material, to play the saxophone on this instrumental. The single became a major hit and stayed at the #1 position for five weeks in The Netherlands. Because of this success, the single was also released in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.
There is also a soulful and moving bare bones acoustical version of the Eurythmics'1984 hit Here Comes the Rain Again as sung by Annie Lennox. It is a VERY rare version, probably not to be found anywhere else.
It has a very live yet intimate and atmospheric sound ! The entire album score was written and performed by the other half of the Eurythmics duo Dave Stewart. To hear him produce and perform this soundtrack is surely a departure from anything he did while with the Eurythmics; this soundtrack contains no cold synthesized electronic sounds.
The overall tone of the project is close to even resembling the French soundtrack La Femme Nikita as performed by Eric Serra. Yet, Lily has a very distinct and rich ambient moody sound all to itself. It is a very gripping and compelling musical score !...

Track listing

01. "Lily Was Here"  - 4:19
        Vocals, Keyboards – Virginia Astley
02. "The Pink Building"  (C. Dulfer, C. Merchan, David A. Stewart, O. Romo, P. Seymour)  - 2:52 
03. "Lily Robs The Bank"  (C. Dulfer, C. Merchan, David A. Stewart, O. Romo, P. Seymour)  - 2:33 
04. "Toyshop Robbery"  (C. Dulfer, C. Merchan, David A. Stewart, O. Romo, P. Seymour)  - 4:01 
05. "Toys On The Sidewalk"  (C. Merchan, David A. Stewart, O. Romo, P. Seymour)  - 1:06 
06. "The Good Hotel"  (P. Seymour)  - 2:04 
07. "Second Chance"  (Virginia Astley)  - 4:14
        Vocals – Virginia Astley  
08. "Here Comes The Rain Again"  (A. Lennox)  - 6:00
        Vocals – Annie Lennox
09. "Alone In The City"  (P. Seymour)  - 1:23 
10. "Toyshop (Part One)"  (P. Seymour)  - 1:09 
11. "The Coffin"  (P. Seymour)  - 4:27 
12. "Teletype" - 1:39 
13. "Inside The Pink Building"  (P. Seymour)  - 3:53 
14. "Percussion Jam"  (David A. Stewart, O. Romo)  - 1:10 
15. "Peaches"  (P. Seymour)  - 3:21 
16. "Lily Was Here  (Reprise)" - 1:43 

Credits
Producer, Guitar – David A. Stewart
Saxophone – Candy Dulfer
Bass – Chucho Merchan
Drums – Olle Romo
Arranged By [Additional String Arrangement] – Ed Shearmur
Arranged By [String Arrangement], Keyboards – Pat Seymour
Mixed By – Gary Bradshaw
Producer [Assistant] – Tony Quinn
Recorded By, Mixed By – Steve McLaughlin

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Eligible Music Ltd.
Copyright (c) – BMG Arista / Ariola Limited
Licensed Through – BMG Records (UK) Ltd.
Distributed By – BMG Records
Distributed By – BMG Ariola
Printed By – TOPAC
Manufactured By – Sonopress – C-9467

Notes
Soundtrack to the Dutch movie De Kassière (English version entitled Lily Was Here).
©1989 Eligible Music Ltd.
Genre:  Electronic, Ambient
Length: 44:45

Label -  RCA, Anxious Records

Bob Dylan - Good As I Been To You (1992)

Good as I Been to You is the twenty-eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on November 3, 1992, by Columbia Records.
It is composed entirely of traditional folk songs and covers, and is Dylan's first entirely solo, acoustic album since Another Side of Bob Dylan in 1964. It is also his first collection not to feature any original compositions since Dylan in 1973.
Since launching the Never Ending Tour in June 1988, traditional covers became a feature at virtually every concert, often as part of an acoustic set. After recording Under the Red Sky in 1990, Dylan would not release an original song until 1997, and during that time, he would increasingly rely on his stockpile of covers for 'fresh' material. Dylan called these covers "the music that's true for me."
According to Dylan's friend Susan Ross, Good as I Been to You began life as a contractual filler. Dylan had scheduled two weeks at Chicago's Acme Recording Studio sometime in 1992, hiring long-time associate David Bromberg as his producer. An album's worth of songs, including the contemporary Christian ballad "Rise Again," were recorded at those sessions with the accompaniment of a full band. Bromberg was left to mix the recordings while Dylan completed a brief, 11-show tour in mainland Europe. There are several songs known to have been recorded during these sessions, including "I'll Rise Again" (trad.), "Nobody's Fault but Mine" (Blind Willie Johnson), "Lady From Baltimore" (Tim Hardin), "Polly Vaughan" (trad.), "Casey Jones" (trad.), "Duncan and Brady" (trad.), "Kaatskill Serenade" (David Bromberg), "World Of Fools" (David Bromberg), "Sloppy Drunk", and "Miss the Mississippi."
Prior to the release of Volume 8 of Dylan's Bootleg Series, Tell Tale Signs, the only songs known to be circulating from these sessions are "Kaatskill Serenade", "Sloppy Drunk", "Polly Vaughan", and "Miss the Mississippi". "Duncan and Brady" was included in that set.
When he returned to Malibu in mid-July, Dylan decided to record some solo acoustic material in his garage studio. The intention was to break up the Bromberg recordings with a few solo performances in between. As those garage sessions progressed, plans were changed, and the Bromberg recordings were pulled from the album.
Neither Dylan nor Bromberg have explained why the Bromberg recordings were rejected and put away—they have never been released—and whether Dylan actually disliked them is unknown. It was made clear that Dylan was pleased with the results he was getting in his garage studio, particularly in the minimal production work given to the recordings. Producer credit was given to Debbie Gold, a friend of Dylan's who took a hands-off approach to the entire proceedings.
Without the use of notes or lyrics, Dylan recorded a wide range of traditional songs. "Froggy Went A-Courtin'," "Blackjack Davey," and the anti-recruiting "Arthur McBride" were part of the British and Irish tradition of folk songs. "Little Maggie" was a popular bluegrass standard. "Diamond Joe" was well-known thanks to fellow folk revivalist Ramblin' Jack Elliott. "Frankie and Albert" and "Sittin' on Top of the World" both had long, deep roots in folk-blues.
Dylan also covered songs that weren't authentically traditional, such as "Tomorrow Night" (best known for Lonnie Johnson's hit version in 1947 and a version by Elvis Presley released in 1965) and Stephen Foster's "Hard Times."
Though Dylan is credited with all of the arrangements, several arrangements clearly belong to other artists, including the Texas songster Mance Lipscomb. A number of publications, including Folk Roots, criticized the album for making this error. Lipscomb's posthumous oral biography, "I Say Me for a Parable," edited by Glen Alyn, notes that Dylan listened to Mance play backstage at Newport in the early 1960s and then later took the stage and sang Mance's songs as his own.

Track listing

01.  "Frankie & Albert"  (arranged by Mississippi John Hurt) - 3:50
02.  "Jim Jones"  (arranged by Mick Slocum) - 3:52
03.  "Blackjack Davey"  - 5:47
04.  "Canadee-i-o"  - 4:20
05.  "Sittin' on Top of the World"  - 4:27
06.  "Little Maggie"  - 2:52
07.  "Hard Times"  (Stephen Foster) - 4:31
08.  "Step It Up and Go"  - 2:54
09.  "Tomorrow Night"  (Sam Coslow and Will Grosz) - 3:42
10.  "Arthur McBride"  (arranged by Paul Brady) - 6:20
11.  "You're Gonna Quit Me"  - 2:46
12.  "Diamond Joe"  - 3:14
13.  "Froggie Went A-Courtin'"  - 6:26

All songs are traditional, arranged by Bob Dylan, except where noted.

Credits
Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar, harmonica
Stephen Marcussen – mastering
Micajah Ryan – mixing
Jimmy Wachtel – front cover photography
Producer - Debbie Gold

Notes
Release date:  November 3, 1992
Recorded:  Mid-1992
Genre:  Folk, blues
Length:  55:31
© 1992

Label - Columbia Records

Linkin Park - Live In Texas (2003)

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album Hybrid Theory (2000).
Live in Texas is the first live album and third DVD of American Nu Metal band Linkin Park, originally released on November 18, 2003.
Live in Texas features material recorded during Linkin Park's Summer Sanitarium jaunt in 2003. It draws equally from the band's two studio albums, including past hits from Hybrid Theory and some soon-to-be's from the 2003 follow-up, Meteora. This makes it essential for any LP completist, but the casual listener might do well to steer toward the studio material. Vocalist Chester Bennington and MC Mike Shinoda play off of each other well enough, and their supporting players deftly re-create the layered, processed sound that has come to define Linkin Park. But this also works against the band, because its cool professionalism makes Live in Texas sound somewhat sterile. Sure, there's the usual stage chatter like "I wanna see your hands!" and "Alright, let's do this people!" there's even an encouraging pep talk before "Pushing Me Away," dedicating the track to "all the musicians in the house." But besides some impressive harmonies on that cut, as well as the undeniable closing trio "Crawling" (in lean and mean stripped-down form), "In the End," and "One Step Closer" Linkin Park don't generate very much energy on Live. Bennington seems to struggle with the melody to "Somewhere I Belong," and at times the band seems lost inside its own sound.
The buzzing, processed guitars separate from the percussion while the samples and vague turntablist scratches seem like a studio loop on reset. This kind of nit-picking shouldn't matter to LP fanatics; Live in Texas will likely serve as a their memento of the tour. But it's clear that top-shelf production and mixing plays a significant role in making Linkin Park's albums so powerful. [Limited versions of the album came with a bonus DVD of additional music and video footage.]

Track listing

01. "Somewhere I Belong"  - 3:37
02. "Lying from You"  - 3:07
03. "Papercut"  - 3:06
04. "Points of Authority" - 3:25
05. "Runaway"  - 3:06
06. "Faint" -  2:47
07. "From the Inside"  - 3:00
08. "P5hng Me A*wy" -  5:05
09. "Numb"  - 3:06
10. "Crawling"  - 3:33
11. "In the End"  - 3:31
12. "One Step Closer" (contains verses from "1stp Klosr") - 4:13

All songs written and composed by Linkin Park, except "Runaway", written by Linkin Park and Mark Wakefield, "A Place For My Head", written by Linkin Park, Mark Wakefield and Dave Farrell and "With You", written by Linkin Park and The Dust Brothers.

Linkin Park
Chester Bennington – vocals
Rob Bourdon – drums
Brad Delson – lead guitar
Joe Hahn – turntables, sampling, programming
Dave "Phoenix" Farrell – bass
Mike Shinoda – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboard,

CD production
Produced and mixed by - Matt Caltabiano, Josh Abraham, David May
Engineered by - Ryan Williams
ProTools engineer - Brandon Belsky
Mixed at Pulse Recordings, Los Angeles, California

Notes
Release date: November 18, 2003
Recorded: August 2, 2003 at Reliant Stadium (Houston, Texas), August 3, 2003 at Texas Stadium (Irving, Texas)
Genre: Nu metal, rap metal, alternative metal
Length: 42:17
© 2003

Label - Warner Bros.