Bryan Ferry Orchestra - The Jazz Age (2012

The Jazz Age, is the fourteenth studio album, is a rerecording of some of Bryan Ferry's compositions, as played in jazz style of the 1920s, by The Bryan Ferry Orchestra. The 13 songs have been chosen from 11 albums, from his very first release Roxy Music (1972) to his at that time recent solo record Olympia (2010). The album was co-produced by Ferry and Rhett Davies, with arrangements by Colin Good.
Over the last 40 years, singer Bryan Ferry has established himself not only as the frontman of one of rock's most iconic bands, but also as a unique interpreter covering the songs of others. The songwriters he's covered have been transformed into something wholly other by him. Ferry's ability to find and reveal what is hidden in a lyric, a musical phrase, or even a key signature is uncanny. The Jazz Age finds Ferry covering himself in radical fashion: he doesn't sing. He is credited as co-producer (with Rhett Davies) and "director." The Jazz Age celebrates Ferry's 40th anniversary in music by re-recording some of his classic tunes -- from the 1972 Roxy Music album to 2010's Olympia -- inspired by the sounds of '20s jazz. Ferry's looked deeply into the past before -- 1999's As Time Goes By paid tribute to the music of the '30s, an album of sung standards from the era -- but not his own. This set was performed by many of the same British jazz musicians who performed on that record under the musical direction of Colin Good. Musically, Ferry and these musicians drew on the influences of Louis Armstrong's Hot Sevens, Duke Ellington's Orchestra, Bix Beiderbecke's Wolverines, and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. But they also found inspiration in the heady historical era before 1929 detailed so intensely in the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Michael Arlen, and Ernest Hemingway.
All 13 of these tunes have been wildly revamped and offer interesting textures: a bass clarinet and baritone saxophone are used instead of a double bass to carry the bottom end, but the music here is played so well, it doesn't feel gimmicky. All of the original melodies have been left intact, though tempos are often completely reset.
The sprightly "Do the Strand" features piano, brass, reeds, banjo, and drums all competing for dominance (they were recorded live in the studio), and swings hard. "Love Is the Drug" is played as a moaning, bluesy dirge, while "Avalon" retains its sense of melancholy even as clarinets, trumpets, and piano commingle in a midtempo dialogue on different aspects of the melody. "Virginia Plain" is a fingerpopping dancefloor jaunt that recalls flappers doing the Lindy Hop. Given that Ferry doesn't sing on The Jazz Age, the appeal for casual fans is debatable. But for the faithful, trad-jazz heads, and open-minded listeners, the musical quality -- from expert arrangements, virtuosic playing, and the brilliant concept -- offer something wholly different and rewarding.

Tracklist

1. "Do The Strand" – 2:10
2. "Love Is the Drug" – 3:14 (Ferry, Andy Mackay)
3. "Don’t Stop The Dance" – 2:51 (Ferry, Rhett Davies)
4. "Just Like You" – 3:24
5. "Avalon" – 2:23
6. "The Bogus Man" – 2:07
7. "Slave to Love" – 2:38
8. "This Is Tomorrow" – 2:27
9. "The Only Face" – 2:57
10. "I Thought" – 2:36 (Ferry, Brian Eno)
11. "Reason Or Rhyme" – 4:15
12. "Virginia Plain" – 2:14
13. "This Island Earth" – 4:24

All songs written by Bryan Ferry except where noted.

Personnel

• Bryan Ferry - bandleader, composer, producer
• Martin Wheatley - guitar, banjo
• Chris Laurence - double bass
• Colin Good - piano, arrangements
• John Sutton - drums
• Frank Ricotti - percussion
• Robert Fowler - tenor saxophone, clarinet
• Alan Barnes - baritone saxophone, clarinet
• Richard White - bass saxophone, bass clarinet
• Katy Cox - cello
• Enrico Tomasso - trumpet, cornet
• Malcolm Earle Smith - trombone
• Emma Parker, Victoria Sutherland - violin
• Emma Owens, Sarah Chapman - viola

Notes

Released: November 26, 2012 

Recorded: 2012 Studio One, Olympia, London 

Genre: Orchestral jazz, retro swing, trad jazz 

Length: 37:46 

Label - BMG Rights Management 

London Grammar - If You Wait (iTunes Deluxe Version) (2013)

London Grammar are a British trio formed by Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic 'Dot' Major. London Grammar's music has been described as "a blend of ambient, ethereal and classical sounds" with melancholy guitar, soaring vocals, and plaintive lyrics. Hannah Reid's powerful, brooding vocals, prominent on all of London Grammar's tracks released to date, are often compared to those of Judie Tzuke and Florence Welch.

If You Wait is the debut studio album by English indie pop band London Grammar, released on 6 September 2013 by Metal & Dust Recordings and Ministry of Sound.
Partnered with an appearance on Disclosure's Mercury-nominated album Settle, the Nottingham University alumni had set the internet hype machine in motion, less than a year after forming. With obvious nods to the unfussy, reverbed guitar motifs of the xx, alongside Hannah Reid's beautiful, emotive vocal ability -- which rises and falls with an alarmingly disarming effect -- the album is a practice in refrain, where each song is pushed to the brink of an inevitable climax and achingly, no further.
The percussive production, synths, and basslines provided by multi-instrumentalist Dot Major, build on this sense of drama and urgency and are displayed perfectly in one of the highlights of the record, "Wasting My Young Years." Its throbbing chorus is chastened by the slow-burning synths and guitars that come together with stunning results when coupled with Reid's vocal delivery.
The obvious confidence Reid has in her own voice belies the apparent vulnerability in the words she sings throughout, and the piano ballad "Strong" is testament to the loneliness and heartbreak that encapsulates the brooding feel of the album, which conflicts with the almost upbeat, danceable moments scattered amongst "Flickers" and "Stay Awake."
They pay homage to their electronic influences mid-album with a rework of Kavinsky's "Nightcall" that unfolds gently into one of the most boisterous cuts on the record. It's no surprise that Reid's strong vocals are at the forefront of London Grammar's sound, and her voice dominates their music in much the same way as Florence Welch's does in Florence + the Machine. However, although at times they come close to overshadowing the subtle instrumentation provided by Major and Dan Rothman, it’s actually the intrinsic balance between the contributions of all three that defines their sound.

Tracklist

1. "Hey Now"   (Hannah Reid)  - 3:27
2. "Stay Awake"   (Reid) - 3:05
3. "Shyer"   (Reid)  - 3:07
4. "Wasting My Young Years"   (Reid) - 3:24
5. "Sights"   (Reid)  - 4:13
6. "Strong"   (Reid)  - 4:35
7. "Nightcall"   (Vincent Belorgey, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo) - 4:30
8. "Metal & Dust"   (Reid)  - 3:28
9. "Interlude" (Live)  (Reid) - 4:04
10. "Flickers"   (Reid, Rothman) - 4:45
11. "If You Wait"  (Reid) - 4:44

Deluxe edition 
1. "Help"   (Reid)  - 3:53
2. "Darling Are You Gonna Leave Me"   (Reid)  - 3:02
3. "Help Me Lose My Mind" (Disclosure featuring London Grammar)  (Reid) - 4:06
4. "High Life"   (Reid)  - 4:03
5. "Maybe"   (Reid) - 4:23
6. "When We Were Young"   (Reid) - 3:06

All songs produced by Tim Bran, Roy Kerr and London Grammar, except where noted.

• London Grammar – production
• Tim Bran – additional programming, production (all tracks); additional keyboards (tracks 4, 7)
• City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra – strings
• Tom Coyne – mastering
• Kevin 'KD' Davis – mixing
• James Fitzpatrick – orchestra contracting
• Manon Grandjean – engineering
• Jan Holzner – string recording
• Markus Karlsson – art direction
• Roy Kerr – additional programming, production
• Lee Kirby – photography
• Mat Maitland – art direction
• Wil Malone – string arrangements, string conducting (tracks 4, 5, 8, 11)
• Dipesh Parmar – A&R
• Ben Siegal – engineering (tracks 3, 8, 10, 11); piano recording, vocal recording (track 11)
• Tony Stanton – strings preparation

Notes

Released: 6 September 2013
State Of The Ark Studios (Richmond, London), Sofa Sound Studios (London), Smecky Music Studios (Prague)
Genre: Electronica, downtemp, pop
Length: 65:55

Label - Metal & Dust/Ministry of Sound

Jellybean - Just Visiting This Planet (1987)

John Benitez (born November 7, 1957), also known as Jellybean, is an American drummer, guitarist, songwriter, DJ, remixer and music producer of Puerto Rican descent. He has produced and remixed artists such as Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and the Pointer Sisters.

John "Jellybean" Benitez, now better known as Jellybean goes quite ways back into dance music history. His DJing days at the Fun House in NYC, his dating and producing/remixing of Madonna (who wrote "Sidewalk Talk")" and and numerous upon numerous remixes for small and big named artists alike all mark Benitez's career path in the dance music industry.
He was a prolific remixer in the 80s, providing remixes for many 80's hits.
Benitez started to remix singles, such as Jimmy Spicer's "The Bubble Bunch," Rocker's Revenge's "Walking on Sunshine," Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" and Stephen Bray of the group Breakfast Club. Benitez met Bray's band mate at the time, Madonna. A two-year romance developed. Benitez became involved with remixing Madonna's self-titled debut album in 1983, including the singles "Everybody", "Borderline", and "Lucky Star." He also produced "Holiday."
In 1987 he released "Just Visiting This Planet". This collaboration album featured the vocal talents of Elisa Fiorillo, Steven Dante and Adele Bertei. Four singles were released from the album, "The Real Thing", "Who Found Who", "Just A Mirage" and "Jingo".
Just Visiting This Planet is the second album by Jellybean, the nickname for American producer, remixer and songwriter John Benitez. The album was released in 1987 and features the singles "Who Found Who", "The Real Thing", "Jingo" and "Just a Mirage".

Tracklist

1. "Little Too Good to Me"  (Vocals – Elisa Fiorillo) - 4:20
2. "Who Found Who"  (Vocals – Elisa Fiorillo) - 4:47
3. "Just a Mirage" "  (Vocals – Adele Bertei) - 4:44
4. "Am I Dreaming"  (Vocals – Adele Bertei) - 4:58
5. "The Real Thing"  (Vocals – Steven Dante) - 5:40
6. "Walking In My Sleep"  (Vocals – Steven Dante) - 4:44
7. "Hypnotized (By Your Touch)"  (Vocals – Adele Bertei)  - 4:30
8. "Jingo" - 7:43

Credits

• Artwork By [Direction, Design] – Norman Moore
• Engineer – Doc Dougherty
• Engineer [Additional, Assistant] – Mark Roule
• Engineer [Additional] – Ed Thacker, Gordon Fordyce, Jay Mark, Joe Chiccarelli, J C Convertino
• Engineer [Assistant] – Craig Vogel, Don Feinberg, Jeff Lorezen*, John Hedeges, Mark McKenna, Nick Delre
• Engineer, Mixed By – Michael Hutchinson
• Photography – Phillip Dixon
• Producer – Jellybean
• Producer [Coordinator] – Doreen Dorian

Notes

Release: 1987

Genre: Pop, Dance

Length: 41:24 

Label - Chrysalis Records

Alan Parsons - The Best Of... (Live) (1995)

Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician, and record producer.

For the longest time, studio wizard Alan Parsons said that he would never tour because he didn't think the technology was there to bring his studio-perfected, progressive pop/rock to the live concert stage. Of course, this was back in the 70's & 80's, when Alan fronted his studio group, the Alan Parsons Project. But come 1993, with the release of Alan's first solo album, "Try Anything Once" (his first album without the "Project" name), and Alan finally felt that he had the necessary equipment to take his music out on the road. "The Very Best Live" documents Alan's very first live concert tour, recorded in Europe in 1994. In his live band are longtime Project veterans Ian Bairnson on guitar, Stuart Elliott on drums and Andrew Powell on keyboards, as well as singers Gary Howard and Chris Thompson of Manfred Mann. Parsons & company deliver brilliant live renditions of such Project favorites as "Eye In The Sky," "Psychobabble," "Time," "Prime Time" and "Don't Answer Me." The band also go back to the very first Project album, "Tales Of Mystery And Imagination," for a burnburning double-header of "A Dream Within A Dream" and "The Raven." There's even a marvelous melding of the Project instrumentals, "Lucifer" and "Mammagamma," called "Luciferama."
Alan & the band sound SO good live in concert: crisp, lean, and sharp, with the fantastic musicianship that Parsons' albums are known for, and singers Howard & Thompson both do an excellent job at the microphone. Only gripe: no live version of "Games People Play"! Oh well, I guess there just wasn't room for it.And as an added bonus, "The Very Best Live" concludes with three exclusive studio tracks, and they're all winners: "When" and "You're The Voice," both sung by Thompson, and "Take The Money And Run," featuring drummer Stuart Elliott's debut lead vocal on a Parsons album, and he does a great job. Quite simply,
"The Very Best Live" is a terrific document of Alan Parsons and his superb live band, plus you get a wonderful trio of studio songs, t'boot. As a longtime fan, I'm thrilled that Alan is performing his outstanding music live for his fans at long last. May he play gigs for many years to come!

Tracklist

1. Sirius (2:26)
    Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson  
2. Eye In The Sky  (5:05)
    Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson
3. Psychobabble  (5:31)
    Written-By – Parson, Woolfson 
4. The Raven  (5:59)
    Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson   
5. Time  (5:19)
    Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson   
6. Luciferama  (5:04)
    Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson  
7. Old And Wise  (4:52)
    Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson 
8. You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned  (4:27)
    Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson  
9. Prime Time  (5:28)
    Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson  
10. Limeligh t (4:49)
     Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson  
11. Don't Answer Me  (4:29)
     Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson  
12. Standing On Higher Ground  (5:17)
     Written-By – Parsons, Woolfson  
13. When  (4:16)
     Written-By – Bairnson  
14. Take The Money And Run  (6:18)
     Written-By – Powell, Elliott  
15. You're The Voice  (5:07)
     Written-By – A Qunta, C Thompson, K Reid, M Ryder   

Companies, etc.

• Phonographic Copyright (p) – BMG Music
• Copyright (c) – BMG Music
• Manufactured By – BMG Music
• Distributed By – BMG Music

Credits

• Artwork – Julien Mills
• Backing Vocals – Alan Parsons, Felix Krish (tracks: 13 to 15)
• Bass – Felix Krish (tracks: 13 to 15), Jeremy Meek (tracks: 1 to 12)
• Cover, Design [Cover Design] – Jon Crossland, Peter Curzon, Storm Thorgerson
• Drums – Stuart Elliott
• Keyboards – Alan Parsons, Andrew Powell, Richard Cottle
• Lead Guitar – Ian Bairnson
• Lead Vocals – Chris Thompson (tracks: 13, 15), Gary Howard (tracks: 1 to 12), Stuart Elliott (tracks: 14)
• Mastered By – Simon Heyworth
• Mixed By – Alan Parsons
• Photography By [Location Photography] – Paul Maxon, Storm Thorgerson
• Producer – Alan Parsons
• Producer [Production Assistance] – Ian Bairnson (tracks: 1 to 12)
• Rhythm Guitar – Alan Parsons
• Saxophone [Sax] – Richard Cottle

Notes

Tracks 1 to 12: Recorded on tour in Europe May 1994. Post Production at Parsonics, Sussex, England. 

Track 13, 14 and 15: Previously unreleased studio recordings. Recorded and mixed at Parsonics, February 1995. 

Released: 1995  

Genre: Prog Rock 

Length: 1:14:27

Label - BMG ‎Records

AIR - Talkie Walkie (2004)

AIR is a music duo from Versailles, France, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel.

Talkie Walkie is the third full-length album by French music duo AIR, released on 27 January 2004. "Alone in Kyoto" was included on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Lost in Translation and "Run" was used in the Veronica Mars episode "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner", as well as the 2004 French film Lila Says. "Talkie-walkie" means walkie-talkie in French.
Artistic development doesn't always improve an artist's work, as the members of Air discovered when their second album, 2001's 10,000 Hz Legend, disappointed fans and critics expecting another pop masterpiece to rank with their debut, Moon Safari. 10,000 Hz Legend buried the duo's clear melodic sense underneath an avalanche of rigid performances, claustrophobic productions, and a restless experimentalism that rarely allowed listeners to enjoy what they were hearing. Gone was the freshness evident on Moon Safari: the alien made familiar, the concept that electronic dance could be turned into a user-friendly medium, the illustration of simplicity and space as assets, not liabilities. Fortunately, Air learned from their mistakes -- or, at least, their limitations -- leading up to the recording of third album Talkie Walkie, and the happy result is a solid middle ground between both of their previous records.
The features are kept to a minimum and the tracks are constructed to sound no more complex than they need to be, even though Air risk the assumption that Talkie Walkie is a simple album. While there's nothing present to compete with the plodding glory of "Sexy Boy," Talkie Walkie ultimately succeeds because of Dunckel and Godin's renewed contentment to produce the tracks they do better than any other -- ones with a surface prettiness but no great depth. (It's no mystery why they've been tapped for several scores.) Ironically, the one track here that shrugs off the simplicity of electronic pop is a track first heard in a film, "Alone in Kyoto," an impressionistic string piece originally composed for the Sofia Coppola film Lost in Translation.

Tracklist

1. "Venus"   (4:04)
2. "Cherry Blossom Girl"   (3:39)
3. "Run"   (4:12)
4. "Universal Traveler"   (4:22)
5. "Mike Mills" (named after music video director Mike Mills) (4:26)
6. "Surfing on a Rocket"   (3:43)
7. "Another Day"   (3:20)
8. "Alpha Beta Gaga"   (4:39)
9. "Biological"   (6:04)
10. "Alone in Kyoto"   (4:51)
11. "Easy Going Woman" (bonus track for Japan) (4:34)

All tracks written by Air.

Companies, etc.

• Published By – Revolvair
• Recorded At – Revolvair Studio
• Recorded At – Ocean Way Recording
• Mixed At – Ocean Way Recording
• Mastered At – Gateway Mastering

Personnel

Vocals [Additional] – Lisa Papineau

Vocals [Additional] – Jessica Banks

Bass – Jason Falkner

Cymbal – Brian Reitzell

Percussion – Joey Waronker

Recorded By [Street Sounds] – Darrel Thorpe

Piano – Michel Colombier

Flute – Malik Mezzadri

Credits

• A&R, Management – Marc Teissier Du Cros, Stephane Elfassi
• Arranged By [Strings] – Michel Colombier
• Artwork – Richard Prince
• Artwork [Technical Assistance] – Aaron Klein
• Design – Roger Gorman
• Engineer – Yann Arnaud
• Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
• Mixed By [Assistant] – Darrel Thorpe
• Mixed By, Recorded By [Additional Recordings] – Nigel Godrich
• Performer – AIR
• Photography By [Cover] – Claude Gassian
• Photography By [Interior] – Jenna Felling
• Photography By [Polaroids] – Marc Teissier Du Cros
• Producer – AIR, Nigel Godrich

Notes

Released: 21 January 2004 

Performed and produced by Air at Revolvair studio, Paris. 

Additional recordings & production by Nigel Godrich at Ocean Way, Hollywood. 

Mixed by Nigel Godrich at Ocean Way, assisted by Darrel Thorpe. 

Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering studios. 

Genre: Electronic 

Style: Downtempo, Ambient

Length: 43:27 

Label - Virgin Records

The Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers Live (1977)

The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks with drummer David Robinson (later of the Cars) and keyboardist Jerry Harrison (later of Talking Heads).

 The sound of the band owed a great deal to the influence of the Velvet Underground, and is now sometimes classed as "protopunk". It pointed the way towards much of the punk rock, new wave, alternative and indie rock music of later decades. Their only album, the eponymous The Modern Lovers, contained idiosyncratic songs about dating awkwardness, growing up in Massachusetts, and love of life and the USA.
Later, between 1976 and 1988, Richman used the name Modern Lovers for a variety of backing bands, always billed as "Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers". These bands were quieter and featured more low-key, often near-childlike songs as Richman drew on folk-rock and other genres. Of Richman's original bandmates, only Robinson was part of any of the other Modern Lovers incarnations.
Modern Lovers Live catches Jonathan Richman at the height of his candy-floss novelty period. The music is warm and mild, almost all of it derived from '50s and early-'60s models such as surf idioms and guitar instrumentals.
The lyrics are sweet and charming, sure to appeal to fanciful youngsters with visions of ice cream men and little dinosaurs in their heads. The only bothersome misstep here is the repeated encore reprise of the chorus to "Ice Cream Man," which extends well past the point of honest enjoyment. Sound quality and instrumental balances are excellent, and performances are low-key and winsome. While not an essential album in the Modern Lovers' canon, this sunny little platter is a fetching listen.

Tracklist

1.  I'm A Little Airplane  (2:43)  
2.  Hey There Little Insect  (2:40)
3.  Egyptian Reggae  (2:40)
     Written-By - Earl Johnson / Jonathan Richman
4.  Ice Cream Man  (8:11)
5.  I'm A Little Dinosaur  (1:47)  
6.  My Little Kookenhaken  (3:23)
7.  South American Folk Song  (2:36)
8.  New England  (1:53)
9.  The Morning Of Our Lives  (4:53)

all songs written by Jonathan Richman except were noted.

Companies, etc.

• Recorded At – Island Mobile
• Mixed At – Ramport Studios
• Mastered At – Master Room
• Manufactured By – Beserkley Records Ltd.
• Distributed By – Beserkley Records Ltd.

Credits

• Art Direction – J. Blodgett
• Bass, Vocals – Asa Brebner
• Concept By [Lp Concept] – F. Neon
• Drums, Percussion, Vocals – D. Sharpe
• Engineer – H. Kilgour
• Engineer [Assistent] – R. Ash
• Guitar, Vocals – Leroy Radcliffe
• Mastered By – T. Bridge
• Mixed By – Mark Dodson
• Photography By – A. Boot
• Producer – Kenny Laguna, Matthew King Kaufman
• Tape Op – Butch Yates
• Typography [Lettering] – N. Port
• Vocals, Guitar – Jonathan Richman

Notes
Release Date: 1978
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Garage Rock, New Wave
Duration: 30:46

Label - Beserkley Records