Kris Kristofferson - Jesus Was A Capricorn (1972)

Jesus Was a Capricorn is the fourth album by Kris Kristofferson, released in 1972 on Monument Records. The album cover pictures Kristofferson and his soon-to-be wife Rita Coolidge. "Why Me" reached #1 on the Country singles charts.

Jesus Was a Capricorn was produced by Fred Foster and, like his previous album Border Lord, features more elaborate instrumentation than his first two LPs. Biographer Stephen Miller notes in his book Kristofferson: The Wild American, “A common criticism directed at Jesus Was a Capricorn was that it was overproduced and moved Kristofferson’s songs too far away from the rough-hewn charm of his earlier work. The title track, with its chorus containing the line “Cos everybody’s got to have somebody to look down on…” was interpreted by some as Kristofferson’s reply to critics who disparaged his previous album Border Lord. The song, and Kristofferson’s phrasing, is very reminiscent of John Prine, who Kristofferson was an early champion of, with the singer telling Graeme Thomson of Uncut in 2016, "I wrote 'Jesus Was A Capricorn (Owed To John Prine)' because I was so influenced by John. When I heard his songs I felt like his writing had kicked me into doing it. You take things from all over the place, though you don’t always admit it! I was really influenced by Roger Miller, Shel Silverstein and Mickey Newbury. Everybody you admire influences you somehow in your art."

Another song from the album with a religious theme would become the biggest hit of Kristofferson’s career: “Why Me.” According to country music historian Bill Malone, Kristofferson wrote the song during an emotionally low period of his life after having attended a religious service conducted by the Rev. Jimmie Rogers Snow. Malone wrote, "'Why Me, Lord'" - as the song is sometimes known - "may seem greatly out of character for Kristofferson, but it can be interpreted as his own personal religious rephrasing of 'Sunday Morning Coming Down.' In this case, he is 'coming down' not from drugs, but from the whole hedonistic euphoria of the (1960s)." Malone described Kristofferson's gruff vocal styling as "perfect" for the song, since "he sounds like a man who has lived a lot but is now humbling himself before God." Kristofferson said he went with friends to the church service where he was moved by Larry Gatlin's song "Help Me (Lord)". He said that he had never thought of needing help, but he was at a low point in his life. When the pastor asked the congregation, "Is anybody feeling lost?" "Up goes my hand," Kristofferson says. The Pastor then asked, "Are you ready to accept Christ? Kneel down there." "I'm kneeling there," Kristofferson continues, "and I carry a big load of guilt around...and I was just out of control, crying. It was a release. It really shook me up." Kristofferson later said, "It was just a personal thing I was going through at the time. I had some kind of experience that I can't even explain." Kristofferson met June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash in a hotel room in 1972 to play them two songs he had written. Kristofferson had just attended a rough screening of a movie Johnny and June were heavily involved in, entitled The Gospel Road. Johnny Cash's memoir Man in Black, reiterated the story that Larry Gatlin sang "Help Me" at the Evangel Temple, which inspired Kristofferson to write the song. Kristofferson also played Cash the song "Burden of Freedom," which was used in The Gospel Road.

“Why Me” became an immediate country gospel standard. Elvis Presley incorporated the song, retitled "Why Me Lord", into his live shows beginning in January 1974 up until his last concert tour. It was first released on the live album, Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis in June 1974. The recording is from his March 20, 1974 concert in Memphis, Tennessee. He often introduced the song for J.D. Sumner to sing "one of his favorite songs." Sumner would sing the verses and Elvis would join on the chorus along with the back-up singers. The would also be recorded by George Jones, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Willie Nelson, Connie Smith, and David Allan Coe.

Although “Why Me” revealed another side of Kristofferson’s songwriting, the subject matter in his songs remained rooted in the grim realities of life, exploring broken relationships, lost family, drug addiction, and prostitution. As Michael Striessguth put it in his book Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville, “By 1972, singer-songwriter meant James Taylor and Carole King, whose soft sounds and safe lyrics appealed to radio, while Kristofferson’s music continued to mine the oil-stained streets for inspiration, producing ruminations on prostitution, dissipation, and getting high that proved too thorny for the broadcast airwaves.” This uncompromising artistic stance might be most apparent in the song “Sugar Man,” “a noirish study of a woman prowling the streets, selling her body, and injecting heroin.” Kristofferson, who fell out with his parents after rejecting a career at West Point to pursue a career as a songwriter, addresses his lost family in “Jesse Younger,” his anger evident in the performance, which contains much of the sarcastic aggressiveness found in “Blame It on the Stones” from his debut album.

Some critics felt Kristofferson’s burgeoning film career was a distraction and his songwriting was slipping. The singer later reflected, “It was as if I were spending so much creative energy on the wrong thing, performing and movies that my songwriting was suffering. I don’t think it was.” Kristofferson’s albums were still being mined by other recording artists within and outside country music. Frank Sinatra covered “Nobody Wins” for his 1973 comeback album Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back, while Brenda Lee took the song to the country Top 5 the same year. As on his previous album, girlfriend and soon-to-be wife Rita Coolidge sings on the album, contributing vocals to “Give It Time to Be Tender” and “It Sure Was (Love),” and Kristofferson also duets with Larry Gatlin on the Gatlin's composition “Help Me.”

Track listing

1. "Jesus Was a Capricorn  (Owed to John Prine)" – 2:28
2. "Nobody Wins" – 3:06
3. "It Sure Was (Love)" – 2:51
4. "Enough for You" – 3:05
5. "Help Me"  (Larry Gatlin) – 3:22
6. "Jesse Younger" – 2:40
7. "Give It Time to Be Tender"  (Kristofferson, Donnie Fritts) – 3:26
8. "Out of Mind, Out of Sight"  (Kristofferson, Stephen Bruton) – 2:58
9. "Sugar Man" – 3:59
10. "Why Me" – 3:26

All songs by Kris Kristofferson except as noted

Personnel

• Kris Kristofferson - vocals, guitar
• Rita Coolidge - backing vocals on "It Sure Was (Love)", "Help Me", "Give It Time to Be Tender" and "Why Me"
• Andrew Newmark, Kenny Buttrey - drums
• Chip Young, Dennis Linde, Fred Carter Jr., Grady Martin, Jerry Shook, Jimmy Colvard, John Buck Wilkin, Johnny Christopher, Mac Gayden, Stephen Bruton - guitar
• Norbert Putnam, Tommy Cogbill - bass guitar
• "Uncle Josh" Graves - slide dobro
• Weldon Myrick - steel guitar
• Bobby Emmons, Bobby Wood, David Briggs, John Harris, Mike Utley - piano, electic piano, organ
• Alan Rush, Benny Whitehead, Billy Swan, Larry Gatlin, Randy Cullers, The Bergenaires, The Joint Venture, The Jordanaires - backing vocals
• Brenton Banks, Byron Bach, Carl Gorodetzky, David Darling, George Binkley, Lillian Hunt, Sheldon Kurland, Steven Smith - strings
• Bill Justis - string arrangements

Companies, etc.

• Produced At – Quadraphonic Sound Studios
• Produced At – Monument Recording Studio
• Copyright (c) – CBS Inc.
• Phonographic Copyright (p) – Monument Record Corp.
• Distributed By – Columbia Records
• Distributed By – CBS Records
• Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman

Notes

Released: November 1972 

Recorded at: Studio Quadraphonic Sound Studios, Monument Recording Studios, Nashville, Tennessee 

Genre: Country 

Length: 31:21 

Label - Monument Records

Quincy Jones - Q´s Jook Joint (1995)

Q’s Jook Joint is an album by Quincy Jones that was released by Qwest Records. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard jazz albums chart on December 30, 1995. Q’s Jook Joint won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in 1997.

The multi-talented Quincy Jones has excelled at idiomatic combinations in his albums since the ’60s, when his mix-and-match soundtracks for television and films alerted everyone that he’d switched from a pure jazz mode to a populist trend.
Q’s Jook Joint blends the latest in hip-hop-flavored productions with sleek urban ballads, vintage standards, and derivative pieces; everything’s superbly crafted, though few songs are as exciting in their performance or daring in their conception as past Jones epics like Gula Matari or the score from Roots. Still, you can’t fault Jones for his choice of musical collaborators: everyone from newcomer Tamia to longtime stars like Ray Charles, rappers, instrumentalists, male and female vocalists, percussionists, and toasters.
The CD really conveys the seamless quality one gets from attending a juke joint, though it lacks the dirt-floor grit or blues fervor of traditional Southern and chitlin circuit hangouts. But no one’s more knowledgeable about the spectrum of African-American music, nor better able to communicate it via disc, than Quincy Jones.

A lot of the songs on this album had been recorded by Q before, some more than once. All the tracks are produced as usual with care, almost to the point of over-production; one wouldn’t expect anything less than that on a Quincy Jones album.
For anybody else, Q’s Jook Joint would have been a smash. Not for Q, though, not at all. The idea to reload old hits from the glamor days with old friends and survivors of the biz was already successfully carried out on Back On The Block – and then Q was right on time as a lot of those stars passed away soon after the recording (Miles, Ella, Sarah).
And now, at a time when the man starts to retreat from active participation in show biz, he decides to record – Rock with You –  he recorded it with Michael Jackson, why would he expect to top that? He doesn’t. Is It Love That We’re Missing? from his Mellow Madness album already appeared on compilations, and it’s really not such a great song. So it goes on with almost the entire set. It would have been so much more creative for Q to reconsider his Jazz roots…

One song, however, has that old Quincy Jones magic, At The End Of The Day: casually loaded with heavies like Barry White and Take 6, it features Toots Thielemans at the top of his powers. His harmonica is not from this world.

Looking back to this release, the song At The End Of The Day sounds like an aptly titled swan song for Q’s true gifts. The R&B releases that followed were totally superfluous, as far as creativity is concerned. (There was a release, the labor of love, Basie & Beyond, from the year 2000, that was worth the effort, but that’s another story).

 

Track listing

1   “Jook Joint” (Intro)  (feat. Kid Capri, James Moody, Stevie Wonder, Lester Young, Brandy, Funkmaster Flex) - 1:32 
2   “Let the Good Times Roll”  (feat. Stevie Wonder, Bono, Ray Charles) - 2:55 
3   “Cool Joe, Mean Joe (Killer Joe)”  (feat. Queen Latifah, Tone Loc) - 7:32 
4   “You Put a Move on My Heart”  (feat. Tamia) - 6:13 
5   “Rock with You”  (feat. Brandy, Heavy D) - 4:08 
6   “Moody’s Mood for Love”  (feat. Brian McKnight, Rachelle Ferrell, Take 6, James Moody) - 4:18 
7   “Stomp”  (feat. Luke Cresswell, Everett Bradley, Melle Mel, Coolio, Fiona Wilkes) - 6:16 
8   “Jook Joint” (Reprise)  (feat. Ray Charles, Funkmaster Flex) - 0:56 
9   “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me”  (feat. Phil Collins) - 3:57 
10   “Is It Love That We’re Missing”  (feat. Gloria Estefan, Warren Wiebe) - 4:45 
11   “Heaven’s Girl”  (feat. R. Kelly, Ron Isley, Aaron Hall, Charlie Wilson) - 5:26 
12   “Stuff Like That”  (feat. Charlie Wilson, Ray Charles, Brandy, Chaka Khan, Ashford & Simpson) - 5:45 
13   “Slow Jams”  (feat. Babyface, SWV, Tamia, Barry White) - 7:30 
14   “At the End of the Day (Grace)”  (feat. Toots Thielemans, Barry White) - 7:42 
15   “Jook Joint” (Outro)  (feat. Barry White, Tamia, Toots Thielemans) - 0:49

 

Companies, etc.

• Phonographic Copyright (p) – Qwest Records
• Copyright (c) – Qwest Records
• Licensed To – UMG Recordings, Inc.
• Distributed By – Universal Music & Video Distribution, Corp.

 

Credits

• Art Direction, Design – Greg Ross
• Edited By [Song descriptions] – Arnold Robinson
• Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Brian Carrigan, Chris Fogel, Chris Tergesen, Eric Schilling, Henk Korff, Jess Sutcliffe, Jon Wolfson, Louis McCormick*, Nigel Crowley, Paul Barrett, Rich Rauh, Rob “Phydeaux” Hoffman, Stephanie Gylden, Ted Blaisdell, Victor Giordano
• Engineer [Assistant] – Bill Smith, Brandon Harris, Brooks Larson, Chad Fredirici, Charlie Paakari, Chris Brooke, David Nottingham, Dave Schiffman, Dylan Carter, Gerardo Lopez, Ghery Fimbres, Gus Garces, Kyle Bess, Leslie Ann Jones, Mike Stock, Mike Scotella, Rich Hureda, Ross Hogarth, Stephen George, Terri Wong, Victor McCoy
• Illustration – Nate Giorgio
• Liner Notes – Graeme Boone, James Clyde Sellman
• Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
• Mixed By – Bruce Swedien, Tommy Vicari (tracks: 1, 5, 8, 10, 15)
• Mixed By [Assistant] – Rob Hoffman
• Photography By – Annie Leibovitz
• Producer – QDIII* (tracks: 5), Quincy Jones, R. Kelly (tracks: 11)
• Recorded By – Francis Buckley
• Recorded By [Assistant] – Stephanie Gylden
• Recorded By [Big Band] – Al Schmitt
• Technician [Technical Director] – Stephanie Gylden

 

Notes
Released:  November 7, 1995
Genre:  R&B
Length:  73:01

Label - Qwest, Warner Bros.

The Kane Gang ‎- Miracle (1987)

The Kane Gang were a pop trio from North East England that scored several UK and US hits in the 1980s. Named alluding to the movie Citizen Kane, the trio recorded for the record label Kitchenware, which was also home to Prefab Sprout.

The band’s second album, Miracle, was released in 1987 and spawned two US hit singles: “Motortown” (No. 36 US / No. 45 UK) and another cover – this time of Dennis Edwards‘ “Don’t Look Any Further“^[4] (No. 64 US / No. 52 UK). The latter hit No. 1 on the US Dance Charts.

The Kane Gang really came into their own on “Miracle”, a classic soul-pop album which has been sadly overlooked. It sounds a bit Steely Dan-ish, but so do Prefab Sprout, and hey presto!, they were on Kitchenware too! A pointless cover of Dennis Edwards’ “Don’t Look Any Further” excepted, it’s all first-rate material, slickly and beautifully recorded by Pete Wingfield, that, despite having been conceived in the grim north of England, somehow manages to conjure images of sun-drenched Californian highways.
The heartstoppingly poignant, Al Green styled plea “Take Me To The World” virtually reeks of freshly steaming tarmac. Frustrating they weren’t able to stick it out as their record company pulled the plug on an unreleased third album, from which several tracks were added to a recent, very badly remastered twofer edition. Unfortunately, none of these extra tracks holds a candle to their brief but sparkling peak period.

Track listing

1.  Motortown – 4:44 
2.  What Time Is It – 3:50 
3.  Looking For Gold – 4:49 
4.  Take Me To The World – 5:20 
5.  King Street Rain – 4:21 
6.  Don’t Look Any Further – 4:39 
7.  A Finer Place – 4:25 
8.  Let’s Get Wet – 2:35 
9.  Strictly Love (It Ain’t) – 5:12

 

Companies, etc.

• Phonographic Copyright (p) – FFRR Records Ltd.
• Copyright (c) – FFRR Records Ltd.
• Made By – PDO, Germany
• Printed By – Gerhard Kaiser GmbH

 

Credits

• Artwork – Roy Kohara
• Design – Barry Shereshevsky
• Drums – Paul Robinson (6) (tracks: 3)
• Engineer – Barry Hammond
• Guitar, Bass, Written-By – David Brewis
• Percussion – Luis Jardim (tracks: 4, 5)
• Photography By – Chris Cuffaro
• Producer – The Kane Gang
• Producer, Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Pete Wingfield
• Sleeve – Mark Farrow
• Vocals, Backing Vocals – Paul Woods
• Vocals, Backing Vocals, Drums [Programming], Percussion [Programming], Written-By – Martin Brammer
• Written-By – Paul Woods (tracks: 1, 4, 5, 8), Pete Wingfield (tracks: 8)

 

Notes
Release Date: 1987
Genre: Sophisti-Pop
Duration: 40:46

Label - Kitchenware Records

Aerosmith - Music From Another Dimension! (2012)

Music from Another Dimension! is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 6, 2012 by Columbia Records. 

This is their first studio album since 2004's Honkin' on Bobo and the first to feature all-new material since 2001's Just Push Play, marking the longest gap between Aerosmith's studio albums. The album was released in a single CD edition, along with a deluxe version. 

It is the last album in Aerosmith's recording contract with Sony/Columbia Records and was produced by Jack Douglas, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Marti Frederiksen (three tracks). It is also their longest studio album with total track time of nearly 68 minutes.

The album includes the singles "Legendary Child", "Lover Alot", "What Could Have Been Love", and "Can't Stop Lovin' You". Music From Another Dimension debuted at number five on the Billboard 200.

"How can we miss you when you won't go away?" It's a question that sounds as if it could be the title of an Aerosmith power ballad co-written by Diane Warren, but it's a sentiment that also applies to the Boston quintet themselves. 2012's Music from Another Dimension! may be their first album in eight years -- and their first record of original material in over a decade! -- but the band has never been far from the headlines during those missing years, and not just because Steven Tyler screeched his way into America's homes as Simon Cowell's replacement on American Idol. 

Joe Perry, the Keith Richards to Tyler's Mick Jagger, never was happy about Tyler's leap to the small screen but it was just one of many interpersonal squabbles that bled their way into the public. 

That schism can be heard on Music from Another Dimension!, particularly toward its conclusion when Perry muscles his way to the mike for a pair of bracing rockers reminiscent of the band at full flight, but more than anything, this big-budget blockbuster telegraphs that Aerosmith is indeed broadcasting from another dimension, a dimension where splashy kitchen-sink albums from rock bands could sell millions of copies on sheer momentum alone. 

Carrie Underwood may pop up for a duet on "Can't Stop Loving You," but that's the only nod to the present on an album that's living every day like it's 1997. 

Both the rockers and ballads are big, big, big, dressed in countless overdubs, so much clatter that it can be hard to hear hooks initially. This bright blare conveniently camouflages the raggedness of Tyler's voice as well, but Aerosmith truly show their age by the very nature of the album itself. Simply put, nobody makes albums like this any more. 

Nobody breaks the bank attempting to make a rock album that's everything to everyone, and Aerosmith sound entirely oblivious to this state of affairs, carrying on like it was 1997. And, in a sense, as an overall piece of product, Music from Another Dimension! is no worse than Nine Lives. It may lack a single as immediate as "Fallin' in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" -- or the subsequent "Jaded" from 2001's Just Push Play -- but it faithfully follows Aerosmith's '90s blueprint, getting nothing wrong but never quite feeling right.

Track listing 

 

1. "Luv XXX" - 5:17 

2. "Oh Yeah" - 3:41 

3. "Beautiful" - 3:05 

4. "Tell Me" - 3:45 

5. "Out Go the Lights" - 6:55 

6. "Legendary Child" - 4:15 

7. "What Could Have Been Love" - 3:44 

8. "Street Jesus" - 6:43 

9. "Can't Stop Lovin' You" (featuring Carrie Underwood) - 4:04

10. "Lover Alot" - 3:35 

11. "We All Fall Down" - 5:14 

12 ."Freedom Fighter" - 3:19 

13 ."Closer" - 4:04 

14 ."Something" - 4:37 

15 ."Another Last Goodbye" - 5:47 

Wal-Mart (U.S.) bonus track

16. "Shakey Ground"  (The Temptations cover) - 4:39 

Aerosmith

• Steven Tyler – lead vocals, drums on "Something", arrangement, backing vocals on "Up on The Mountain", production
• Joe Perry – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Freedom Fighter" and "Something" and "Oasis in the Night" production
• Brad Whitford – rhythm guitar & backing vocals
• Tom Hamilton – bass guitar, lead vocals on "Up on The Mountain"
• Joey Kramer – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

Julian Lennon – background vocals on "Luv XXX" Melanie Taylor – background vocals on "Oh Yeah" and "Out Go The Lights" Sharlotte Gibson – background vocals on "Oh Yeah" Laura Jones – background vocals on "Oh Yeah" Tom Scott – saxophone tenor on "Oh Yeah" and "Out Go The Lights" Jessy J – saxophone tenor on "Oh Yeah" John Mitchell – saxophone baritone on "Oh Yeah" and "Out Go The Lights" Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone on "Oh Yeah" and "Out Go The Lights" Gary Grant – trumpet on "Oh Yeah" and "Out Go The Lights" Larry Hall – trumpet on "Oh Yeah" and "Out Go The Lights" Mia Tyler – backing vocals on "Beautiful" Russ Irwin – piano and backing vocals on "What Could Have Been Love" Carrie Underwood – featured vocals on "Can't Stop Loving You" Johnny Depp – background vocals on "Freedom Fighter" Bruce Witkin – background vocals on "Freedom Fighter" Paul Santo – Hammond organ on "Something" and "Tell Me", keyboards on "Closer" and "Freedom Fighter", mellotron on "Closer" Dr. Rudy Tanzi – Hammond organ on "Something" and "Freedom Fighter" The Section Quartet: Daphne Chen – violin, Eric Gorfain – violin, Lauren Chipman – viola and Richard Dodd – cello on "We All Fall Down" and "Another Last Goodbye" Jesse Sky Kramer – additional drums on "We All Fall Down" Zac Rae – piano and synthesizer on "We All Fall Down", electric piano on "Freedom Fighter" Desmond Child – piano on "Another Last Goodbye" Jesse Kotansky – violin solo on "Another Last Goodbye" Daniel J. Coe – synthesizer on "Closer" and "Oasis in The Night", synthesizer and programming on "Another Last Goodbye", arrangement Rick Dufay – rhythm guitar on "Shakey Ground" Production Jack Douglas – production, mixing, arrangement, and percussion on "Luv XXX", "Oh Yeah", "Tell Me", "Lover Alot", "Closer", "Freedom Fighter" and "Up on the Mountain"; keyboards and backing vocals on "Freedom Fighter"; organ on "Can't Stop Loving You"; synthesizer and backing vocals on "Legendary Child"; outro piano on "Street Jesus" Marti Frederiksen – production on "Beautiful", "What Could Have Been Love" and "Can't Stop Loving You"; Pro Tools, backing vocals on "What Could Have Been Love"; keyboards and guitar Roland synthesizer on "Closer" introduction  Warren Huart – engineering, mixing, and backing vocals on "Legendary Child" Paul Santo – engineer, pre-production engineer, drum recording, vocal recording, drum engineering, vocal engineer Al Schmidt – mixing Chris Lord-Alge – mixing Neal Avron – mixing Anthony Focx – Pro Tools editing Daphne Chen – arrangement Tom Scott – arrangement Casey Tebo – artwork Slash – inside artwork

Notes

Released:  November 6, 2012 

Recorded:  July 5, 2011 – April 2012

Recording Location:

   Boneyard Studios 

   Briar Patch Studio 

   Hensen Studios 

   Mad Dog Studios 

   Pandora's Box Studio 

   Poppy Studios 

   Retro Activ Studios 

   Sunset Marquis Villa 41 

   Swing House Studios 

Genre:  Hard rock 

Length:  72:32 

Label - Columbia Records

Linda Ronstadt - We Ran (1998)

We Ran is a 1998 rock album by American singer, songwriter, and producer Linda Ronstadt. The disc featured back-up from Tom Petty's band, The Heartbreakers. It spent two weeks on the Billboard albums chart, peaking at #160.

On this album, Ronstadt interprets a mixture of rock material by various songwriters, including Bruce Springsteen, John Hiatt, and Bob Dylan. 

For much of the '90s, it seemed as if Linda Ronstadt was avoiding pop music. She recorded only two pop albums, 1994's Winter Light and 1995's Feels Like Home, which seemed like diversions from the Latin and children's records that were occupying her time. 

In 1998, she returned with We Ran, a full-fledged pop comeback produced by Glyn Johns (George Massenberg, Peter Asher, and Waddy Wachtel also produced a handful of songs) and featuring support from such '70s soft rock stalwarts as Waddy Wachtel and Bernie Leadon, as well as Heartbreakers Mike Campbell, Howie Epstein, and Benmont Tench. The pedigree is in place, leaving it up to Ronstadt and her songs to deliver the goods, which, more often than not, she does. Her voice remains strong and surprisingly robust, and her choice of songs, while not surprising, is quite satisfying. 

There are a couple of cuts that are a little bland and others, such as Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," aren't suited for her polished delivery, but most of the album is quite enjoyable. It's nice to hear Ronstadt tackle classics like "Ruler of My Heart," but the moments of We Ran that truly capture the spirit of Heart Like a Wheel are when she tries contemporary songs like John Hiatt's "Icy Blue Heart"and Bruce Springsteen's "If I Should Fall Behind." 

Granted, Hiatt and Springsteen are predictable choices -- she could have been more adventurous and sought out songs by such '90s songwriters as Ron Sexsmith or Aimee Mann -- but they are just contemporary enough to help make We Ran a successful update of her classic '70s sound. 

Track listing

1."When We Ran" - 5:08

     Written-By - John Hiatt 

2."If I Should Fall Behind" - 4:06

     Written-By - Bruce Springsteen 

3."Give Me a Reason" - 3:59

     Written-By - Marion Hall  

4."Ruler of My Heart" - 3:37

     Written-By - Naomi Neville 

5."Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" - 7:48

     Written-By - Bob Dylan 

6."Cry 'Til My Tears Run Dry" - 4:01

     Written-By - Scott Fagan, Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman 

7."I Go to Pieces" - 3:47

     Written-By - Troy Newman, Waddy Wachtel 

8."Heartbreak Kind" - 3:31

     Written-By - Paul Kennerley, Marty Stuart 

9."Damage" - 3:19

     Written-By - Waddy Wachtel  

10."Icy Blue Heart" - 4:57

       Written-By - John Hiatt 

11."Dreams of the San Joaquin" - 5:15

       Written-By - Jack Wesley Routh, Randy Sharp  

Personnel

• Linda Ronstadt – lead and backing vocals
• Ethan Johns – acoustic, electric and slide guitars; mandolin, ukulele, drums
• Bernie Leadon – acoustic and electric guitars, mandocello, backing vocals
• Andy Fairweather Low – acoustic, electric and electric baritone guitars
• Mike Campbell – electric six and twelve string guitars
• Waddy Wachtel – electric guitar
• Benmont Tench – acoustic piano, Hammond organ
• James "Hutch" Hutchinson – electric bass
• Bob Glaub – electric bass
• Leland Sklar – electric bass
• Russ Kunkel – drums, percussion
• Plas Johnson – saxophone

Production

• Glyn Johns – producer (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10 & 11), mixing (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5 & 7-11)
• Peter Asher – producer (Tracks 4 & 6)
• George Massenburg – producer (Tracks 4 & 6), mixing (Tracks 4 & 6)
• Linda Ronstadt – producer (Track 6)
• Waddy Wachtel – producer (Tracks 7 & 9)
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Ivy Skoff – project coordinator
• John Kosh – art direction, design
• Ira Koslow – management

Companies, etc.

• Made By – WEA Manufacturing Inc.
• Phonographic Copyright (p) – Elektra Entertainment Group
• Copyright (c) – Elektra Entertainment Group
• Recorded At – The Site
• Recorded At – Ocean Way Recording
• Recorded At – Jim Brady Recording Studios
• Mixed At – Ocean Way Recording
• Mastered At – Gateway Mastering
• Glass Mastered At – WEA Mfg. Olyphant – W3051
• Pressed By – WEA Mfg. Olyphant

Notes

Released:  June 23, 1998 

Recorded:  1998 Studio The Site, San Rafael, California; Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles, California; Jim Brady Recording, Tucson, Arizona. 

Genre:  Roots Rock 

Length:  49:28 

Label - Elektra Records

King Crimson - Red (1974)

Red is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band King Crimson. It was released on 6 October 1974 through Island Records in the United Kingdom and Atlantic Records in North America and Japan. The album was recorded and self-produced during July and August 1974 at Olympic Studios in London, with the track “Providence” being a free improvisation piece recorded at their 30 June 1974 concert at the Palace Theater in Providence, Rhode Island. Parts of the album were inspired by previous improv pieces performed by the band during concerts. They also recorded a full version of “Starless” for the album, which was originally considered for their previous album, Starless and Bible Black (1974), but never fully written, and performed during concerts throughout 1974.

Red is a progressive rock album with a noticeably heavier sound than their previous albums; it was later called one of the 50 “heaviest albums of all time” by Q. This was achieved with the rhythm section of performances by band members John Wetton (bass guitar, vocals) and Bill Bruford (drums, percussion). The production of the album is also significantly more layered, including more guitar overdubs. The album also marks the return of heavy saxophone usage in their music, with other instruments such as the cello, oboe, and cornet appearing throughout as well.

Much of the material on Red has origins in improvisation. Motifs that would eventually be used for “Fallen Angel” were first played by Robert Fripp in 1972, as part of improvs performed with the quintet lineup that would record Larks’ Tongues In Aspic. These improvisations are documented as “Fallen Angel” and “Fallen Angel Hullabaloo” in the Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: The Complete Recordings box set, as well as standalone releases of their respective concerts. The distinctive introduction to “One More Red Nightmare” was also deployed by John Wetton and Robert Fripp in various improvs throughout 1974, which can be heard in the Starless (box set) and The Road to Red box sets. One notable performance is titled “The Golden Walnut”. Lastly, “Providence” itself was an improv, taken from the group’s show on 30 June in Providence, Rhode Island. It has been included in its uncut form as part of various live sets, such as The Great Deceiver, as well as the 40th Anniversary Edition of Red itself.

“Red” was composed solely by Robert Fripp. In an analysis of the piece by Andrew Keeling, he describes “Red” as “an instrumental piece scored for electric guitar (multi-tracked in three layers), bass guitar and drums,” as well as “one of the more muscular pieces of Robert Fripp’s, in particular the deployment of open strings and heavily attacked and syncopated bass and drums.” In an online diary from 2012, Robert Fripp speaks about the development of “Red”: “A motif; moved from [the missing piece] “Blue” to “Red”: the opening and closing theme of “Red” itself. The driving, relentless figure that follows it, and the middle figure played by the basses, weren’t enough for a complete piece.” Speaking about it in the book accompanying the Larks’ Tongues in Aspic: The Complete Recordings box set, he says, “After we had just recorded the track “Red” in [Olympic Studios] … we played it back and Bill said, ‘I don’t get it, but if you tell me it’s good, I trust you.’ … I said, ‘We don’t have to use it.’ John was in no doubt: ‘We’ll use it.'” An unused variation of the song’s middle section would later emerge in 1983, during the writing rehearsals for Three of a Perfect Pair. Though it went unused, it finally saw light in 1995, more than two decades later, as the middle section of the instrumental “VROOOM VROOOM” on THRAK.

“Starless” was originally written by Wetton, with the intent of it being the title track for Starless and Bible Black. At the time, the piece consisted only of the vocal section of the song, and Wetton claims that it got a “cold reception” from both Robert Fripp and Bill Bruford. Later, an introductory theme was written by Robert Fripp and performed on violin by David Cross, and two additional sections were added after the vocal, one being contributed by Bruford. The final section reprises various themes from earlier in the song, and it also re-uses a bass part which was originally written for the song “Fracture”. This early arrangement of “Fracture” can be heard on discs 1 and 25 of the Starless box set, as well as the standalone releases of their respective concerts. The lyrics went through several iterations, with one early verse later included by Wetton in “Caesar’s Palace Blues,” a song he would perform with U.K. Since the title “Starless and Bible Black” was already used for an improvisation on the group’s previous album, the song’s title was shortened to “Starless”. On Red, “Starless” is credited to the quartet, as well as lyricist Richard Palmer-James.

The lyrics to the three songs on the album were not originally included as part of the packaging for the album, unlike all previous Crimson studio albums, which always had lyrics printed either on the inside of the gatefold covers, or on the custom innersleeves. This led to some occasional confusion amongst listeners about precisely what was being sung, particularly on the song “One More Red Nightmare.” The first printing of the lyrics would occur 26 years after the album’s initial release, on the 2000 ’30th Anniversary Edition’ release.

 

Track listing

1.  Red  (Written-By – Fripp) - 6:20
2.  Fallen Angel  (Written-By – Wetton, Palmer-James, Fripp) - 6:00
3.  One More Red Nightmare  (Written-By – Wetton, Fripp) - 7:07
4.  Providence  (Written-By – Bruford, Cross, Wetton, Fripp) - 8:08
5.  Starless  (Written-By – Bruford, Cross, Wetton, Palmer-James, Fripp) - 12:18

 

King Crimson – production, arrangements

• Robert Fripp – electric guitar (1–5), acoustic guitar (2), Mellotron (2,5)
• John Wetton – bass (1–5), vocals (2–3, 5)
• Bill Bruford – drums (1–5), percussion (3–5)

 

Former King Crimson personnel

• David Cross – violin (4), Hohner pianet (4–5)
• Mel Collins – soprano saxophone (5)
• Ian McDonald – alto saxophone (3,5)

Additional personnel

• Mark Charig – cornet (2)
• Robin Miller – oboe (2)
• uncredited – cello (1-2, 5), double bass (5)
• George Chkiantz – recording, engineering
• Rod Thear – recording, assistant engineering
• Chris, Tex, Harvey and Peter Walmsley – equipment
• John Kosh – cover
• Gered Mankowitz – photography

 

Notes
Released:  6 October 1974
Recorded:  30 June – August 1974 Venue Palace Theater, Providence, Studio Olympic, London
Genre:  Progressive rock
Length:  39:54

Label - Island / Atlantic

Barry Hay - Victory Of Bad Taste (1987)

Barry Andrew Hay (Faizabad (India), 16 augustus 1948) is de zanger van de Nederlandse rockband Golden Earring. 

Naast zijn werk met Golden Earring maakte Hay onder meer twee soloplaten, Only Parrots, Frogs and Angels (1972) en Victory of Bad Taste (1987), die minder succes hadden dan zijn werk met Golden Earring.

'Niet onaardig' is inderdaad de beste omschrijving van dit album. Ik heb de LP, op het eigen Ring-label van de Earring, dat ze toen net hadden opgestart, maar dat een zeer kort leven beschoren was. De LP-versie mist het nummer 'Going blind', wat kennelijk een bonustrack was op de moeilijk te vinden CD-uitgave van dit album. Vind ik eigenlijk wel jammer, gezien wat Heer Hendrik hierboven meldt.

De single Draggin' the line is inderdaad een lekker rocknummer, die hoop biedt op meer. Het tweede nummer, een cover van the Bellamy Brothers (!), trekt die lijn voort, maar daarna wordt het allemaal toch wat minder. Stevig rockwerk, goede zang, goed geproduceerd ook, maar de composities zijn kwalitatief niet al te hoogstaand, waardoor het zaakje toch behoorlijk inzakt naarmate de plaat vordert.

Ik veer alleen nog even op bij Did you really mean it. Dat is een rock-update van het softere, meer akoestisch georienteerde nummer op zijn eerste solo-LP van vijftien jaar eerder. Ik vind dat album als geheel een stuk beter, maar ik kan niet zeggen dat ik deze versie minder vind. Anders vooral natuurlijk, maar het nummer komt hier eigenlijk prima tot zijn recht. Drie echt sterke nummers en vijf matige. Nou, vooruit, ik maak er een krappe voldoende van.

Tracklist 

1.  Draggin' The Line - 4:31  

2 . I'd Lie To You For Your Love - 3:45  

3.  Jezebel - 4:22  

4.  My Favourite Spot - 6:17  

5.  Firewater - 4:37  

6.  Did You Really Mean It? - 4:36  

7.  She's Here - 5:03  

8.  Girl (is a man's best friend) - 6:10  

9. Going Blind - 5:17 

Personnel
Barry Hay - Zang
Bertus Borgers - Sax, Toetsen, Zang
Ernie van Ligten - Gitaar
Renee Lopez - Bas
Ton Dijkman - Drums
Jelle Schouten - Trompet
Jan De Ligt - Tenorsax
Jel Jongen - Trombone
Thys Kramer - Viool
Wim Both - Trompet
Eddie Conard - Percussie
Tineke Schoemaker - Background Vocals

Production

Mastering:  in de Townhouse Studios in Londen, UK
Producer:  Barry Hay
Engineer:  Robin Freeman

Notes

Release:  1987

Opgenomen:  In de Ring Side Studio in Rijkevorsel (België)

Genre:  Rock

Length:  39:24

Label - Ring Records