February 17, 2025

Steve Cropper - Playin´ My Thang (1981)

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Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. 
He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor. He also acted as the producer of many of these records. 
He was later a member of the Blues Brothers band. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 36th on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, while he has won two Grammy Awards from his seven nominations.

The man whose reputation is well established as a stellar guitar sideman has a big challenge stepping out front, especially considering the decision to take on lead vocal responsibilities. 
As a result, Playing My Thang is not so much about Steve Cropper's guitar playing as his singing, the obvious reason the early-'80s release hasn't exactly achieved classic status.
Not that he is a bad singer, not by any means. The title track manages to merge a story told by the singing voice with lead guitar playing, along the lines of the classic "Guitar Man" song and others of its ilk. 
"Give 'Em What They Want" is a surprising, thought-provoking opener, although it also presents the first ample evidence that this is going to be a dull album. 
The cynicism of the lyrics, as well as a somewhat morose groove, make it seem like a self-confessional opus from a singer/songwriter is underway -- basically the truth, since Cropper wrote or co-wrote many of these titles. 
In that case, are the musings of a jaded session man really such an attractive basis for lyrical philosophy? Certainly whoever designed the album cover didn't think so -- Cropper's axe is given priority. 
"Fly" is a bit more of a Stevie Wonder thing; which, along with an aggravated and strange brass arrangement of "Let the Good Times Roll," are examples of material related to, but not exactly in, what is considered to be Cropper's forte.
A Delbert McClinton cover, entitled "Sandy Beaches," complete with Jim Horn on flute, brings to mind the Herbie Mann Memphis Underground recordings as well as the prospect that a guitarist could take advantage of such a setting for some picking. Cropper's main business seems to be trying to pull off the vocal, complete with "I'll be loving you, loving you" chorus. 
Any chord Cropper played on any Booker T. & the MG's album is better than this entire album -- a realization that, although highly complimentery to the genius of Steve Cropper, is of little help when it comes to concieving just how he could have made a better solo album.  [Playin' My Thang Review by Eugene Chadbourne]


Track listing

A1. Give 'Em What They Want - 4:20
         Written-By – Richard Wolf, Steve Cropper
A2. Let The Good Times Roll - 3:57
         Written-By – Leonard Lee
A3. Playin' My Thang - 4:43
         Written-By – Steve Cropper
A4. Fly - 3:10
         Written-By – Steve Cropper

B1. Sandy Beaches - 3:35
         Written-By – Delbert McClinton, John Jarvis
B2. With You - 3:25
         Written-By – John Jarvis, Steve Cropper
B3. Feet - 2:58
         Written-By – Danny Kortchmar
B4. Why Do You Say You Love Me - 4:53
         Written-By – Steve Cropper
B5. Ya Da Ya Da - 4:00
        Written-By – Duck Dunn, Steve Cropper


Companies, etc.

Credits

Recorded and mixed at Cherokee Recording Studios,
751 N. Fairfax, Los Angeles, California 90046.
Mastered at A&M Studios, Hollywood, California.


Notes
Released: 1981 
Genre:  Pop
Length: 34:59

Label - MCA Records 

New Model Army - No Rest For The Wicked (1985)

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No Rest for the Wicked is the second studio album by the English rock band New Model Army, released in May 1985. It was the band's first release on major record label EMI, and their last featuring bassist and founding member Stuart Morrow. The album reached #22 in the UK Albums Chart.

The first LP Vengeance strangely enough works here for this incredible band that won't hear any malarkey about how bad second LPs are supposed to be. 
A more direct approach works wonders, rendering every song a possible single, every one a flaming, emotion-wracked foray into human thoughts, customs, and politics. 
And Slade the Leveler's got some unparalleled British lyrics for this kind of statement-oriented music and tremendous songwriting on side one. 
"There is no rest for the wicked ones," he sings, like a saddened preacher, a sentiment you see again on the terrific "Drag It Down," like a guy standing at the edge of a pointless fray wondering why human beings are always so stupid. 
But he's also capable of great empathy for the times in England as they are in the 2010s, when so many young people are struggling economically, as "Young, Gifted and Skint" makes clear. 
Don't miss "Grandmother's Footsteps" and "Ambition," too; you won't hear busier bass playing on a hotfoot U.K. post-punk rock record this year. 
The evidence here is that New Model Army are getting even better when you might have expected the usual decline, suggesting that Slade is an artist with great ideas you can't exhaust, and all three members have the talent to make it something other than regurgitation.

A key element on its cover is a quotation from Magna Carta, "To no man will we sell, or deny, or delay right or justice".


Track listing

  1. "Frightened"  (Justin Sullivan, Stuart Morrow) - 3:41
  2. "Ambition"  (Sullivan) - 3:08
  3. "Grandmother's Footsteps"  (Sullivan, Morrow) - 4:21
  4. "Better Than Them"  (Sullivan, Robert Heaton) - 3:13
  5. "My Country"  (Sullivan, Morrow) - 3:40
  6. "No Greater Love"  (Sullivan, Morrow, Heaton) - 3:30
  7. "No Rest"  (Sullivan, Morrow, Heaton) - 5:20
  8. "Young, Gifted and Skint"  (Sullivan, Morrow) - 3:09
  9. "Drag It Down"  (Sullivan, Morrow, Heaton) - 3:29
  10. "Shot 18"  (Sullivan, Heaton) - 3:11
  11. "The Attack"  (Sullivan) - 3:36

Musicians

Production

  • Mark Freegard – producer and engineer on "Frightened", "Ambition", "Grandmother's Footsteps", "Better Than Them", "My Country", "No Greater Love", "No Rest", "Young, Gifted and Skint", "Drag it Down", "Shot 18", "The Attack", "Heroin" (12" Version), "Adrenalin", "No Sense" and "Trust"
  • John Cornfield – producer on "Smalltown England" (live) and "Liberal Education" (live)
  • New Model Army – producer on "Smalltown England" (live) and "Liberal Education" (live)
  • Dr Volkmar Kramarz – producer on "Betcha" (live)

Notes
Released:  May 1985 
Genre:  New Wave, post-punk
Length:  40:19 
Producer(s):  Mark Freegard ·  John Cornfield ·  New Model Army ·  Dr Volkmar Kramarz

Label - EMI 

February 16, 2025

The Isley Brothers featuring Ronald Isley aka Mr. Biggs - Eternal (2001)

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Eternal is a studio album by American soul group The Isley Brothers. It was released by DreamWorks Records on August 7, 2001 in the United States. 

Now popular again with audiences, almost single-handledly for Ronald Isley's "Mr. Biggs" persona, Eternal included production from not only R. Kelly who gave the Isleys their biggest hit as leading artists in over two decades with "Contagious" but also from Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Raphael Saadiq and Ronald's wife at the time, Angela Winbush.
Based on thesuccess of lead single "Contagious", Eternal peaked at number on the US Billboard 200 chart, while also topping number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, eventually going Platinum. The first album the Isleys released as a duo in over a decade (the first as Ronald and Ernie), Marvin Isley left the group after suffering a bout with diabetes, which later caused both of his legs to be amputated), Ernie Isley also showcase his talents as a guitarist in songs like "Move Your Body" and the aptly titled "Ernie's Jam" while Ronald was still as vocally strong on this album as he had been throughout the Isley Brothers' legendary catalogue.

Within seconds of listening to "Move Your Body," the opener to Eternal, the latest by the Isley Brothers, audiences will easily agree -- the forefathers of boudoir faire still have it. 
Forty years in the business have not chiseled away at the talented brothers: Ronald Isley's falsetto is unwavering and remains inimitable in 2001, when the R&B market is saturated. 
Ernie Isley soars on guitar -- "Ernie's Jam" showcases the brother playing soulful and tasty solos, à la Jimi Hendrix -- adding further sexiness to this already sensual album. 
Cheaters are blatantly busted on the slithering "Contagious," where the rogue-lover is caught in the act. The words coming from the jilted are so vivid and painful. Ronald specifically describes walking toward the bedroom, hearing his lover crying out someone else's name. Ouch. 
While it's all about sex and pleasing a lover on the arousing "Just Like This," the disc is not just skin on skin. The album poignantly explores commitment on such romantic slow jams as "You're All I Need," "Settle Down," and the title track. 
An impressive roster of collaborators -- writers, performers, and producers -- grace Eternal and they span old-school and modern R&B players such as R. Kelly, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Jill Scott. 
There is nothing groundbreaking on this recording, however, the longtime R&B legends prove they're still very much worth their salt and can keep up very well with the Joneses. Indeed, the Isley Brothers are eternal.


Track listing

1.  Move Your Body - 5:15
      Backing Vocals – The Johnson Sisters, Raphael Saadiq
      Bass – Raphael Saadiq
      Co-producer – Jake & The Phatman
      Drums [Programming] – Jake & The Phatman
      Guitar – Ernie Isley
      Percussion – Martgol Beasley
2.  Contagious - 5:46
      Bass – Donnie Lyle
      Guitar – Donnie Lyle
      Producer – R. Kelly
3.  Warm Summer Night - 4:54
      Co-producer – Ronald Isley
      Drums [Programming] – Angela Winbush
      Guitar – Ernie Isley
      Keyboards – Angela Winbush
      Producer – Angela Winbush
      Vocals – Angela Winbush
4.  You Deserve Better - 4:02
      Instruments – Steve 'Stone' Huff
      Producer – Steve 'Stone' Huff
5.  Just Like This - 4:18
      Guitar [Additional] – Ernie Isley
      Instruments – Steve 'Stone' Huff
      Producer – Steve 'Stone' Huff
6.  Secret Lover - 4:23
      Backing Vocals – Avant
      Guitar [Solo] – Ernie Isley
      Instruments – Steve 'Stone' Huff
      Producer – Steve 'Stone' Huff
7.  You're All I Need - 4:49
      Guitar – Ernie Isley
     Instruments [Additional] – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
      Keyboards – Jimmy Jam
      Producer – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
8.  Settle Down - 6:29
      Backing Vocals – James "Big Jim" Wright, Ronald Isley
      Drums [Programming] – Alex Richbourg
      Guitar – Ernie Isley
      Instruments [Additional] – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
      Keyboards – James "Big Jim" Wright
9.  Eternal - 8:30
      Backing Vocals – The Johnson Sisters
      Co-producer – James "Big Jim" Wright
      Drums [Programming] – Alex Richbourg
      Guitar – Ernie Isley
      Instruments [Additional] – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
      Keyboards – James "Big Jim" Wright, Jimmy Jam
      Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa
      Producer – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
10.  If You Leave Me Now - 7:02
         Drums [Programming] – Alex Richbourg
         Guitar – Ernie Isley
         Instruments [Additional] – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
         Keyboards – James "Big Jim" Wright
        Producer – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
11.  Said Enough  (featuring Jill Scott) - 5:08
        Featuring – Jill Scott
        Producer – Andre Harris, Vidal Davis
12.  You Didn't See Me - 4:26
        Backing Vocals – The Johnson Sisters, Raphael Saadiq
        Bass – Raphael Saadiq
        Co-producer – Jake & The Phatman
        Drums [Programming] – Jake & The Phatman
        Guitar – Raphael Saadiq
        Guitar [Lead] – Ernie Isley
        Keyboards – Kelvin Wooten
        Producer – Raphael Saadiq
13.  Ernie's Jam - 4:49
        Bass – Raphael Saadiq
        Co-producer – Jake & The Phatman
        Drums [Programming] – Jake & The Phatman
        Guitar – Raphael Saadiq
        Guitar [Solo] – Ernie Isley
        Producer – Raphael Saadiq
14.  Think - 5:00
         Backing Vocals – Ernie Isley, James "Big Jim" Wright
        Co-producer – James "Big Jim" Wright
        Guitar – Ernie Isley
        Instruments [Additional] – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
        Keyboards – James "Big Jim" Wright
        Percussion – Alex Richbourg, Paulinho Da Costa
        Producer – Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis


Personnel
  • Ronald Isley – Lead and Background Vocals, Executive Producer
  • Ernie Isley – Guitar
  • Donnie Lyle – Bass, Guitar
  • Peter Mokran – Engineer
  • Neil Pogue – Mixing
  • Alex Richbourg – Percussion, Drum Programming
  • Louil Silas, Jr. – Executive Producer
  • Angela Winbush – Keyboards, Producer, Drum Programming, Vocals
  • Tony Flores – Assistant Engineer
  • Michelle Lynn Forbes – Assistant Engineer
  • Raphael Saadiq – Bass, Background Vocals, Producer, Guitar
  • Chris Bellman – Mastering
  • Bradley Yoast – Assistant Engineer
  • Jake and the Phatman – Drum Programming
  • Kelvin Wooten – Keyboards
  • Andre Harris – Producer
  • James "Big Jim" Wright – Keyboards, Background Vocals
  • Jeff Vereb – Engineer
  • Avant – Background Vocals
  • Jill Scott – Background Vocals
  • Vidal Davis – Producer, Engineer
  • Clint Roth – Engineer
  • Andy Gallas – Assistant
  • Ian Mereness – Programming, Engineer
  • Kevin Guarnieri – Engineer, Digital Editing, Assistant Engineer
  • Nick Monson – Assistant Engineer
  • Gary Brown – Engineer
  • The Johnson Sisters – Background Vocals
  • R. Kelly – Arranger, Producer
  • Paulinho Da Costa – Percussion
  • Steve Hodge – Engineer, Mixing
  • Steve Huff – Producer, Instrumentation
  • Jimmy Jam – Arranger, Producer, Keyboards
  • Terry Lewis – Arranger, Producer, Instrumentation

Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Released:  August 7, 2001 
Genre:  Soul, Contemporary R&B
Length:  75:37 
Producer(s):  Dre & Vidal · Steve Huff · Ronald Isley · Jake and the Phatman · Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis · R. Kelly · Raphael Saadiq · Angela Winbush

Label - DreamWorks

A Few - It's a Wonderful Life (1985)

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Profile: Minneapolis, Minnesota 
Members: Dan Nordenson, David Pinsky, Paul Frantzich, Tim Frantzich, Tim Johnson

This one did come out forty years ago however, and moreover it was a request that I'm happy to fulfill.  
Conducting a web query on A Few was practically a fool's errand, but from what I'm able to glean they hailed from Minneapolis and have one other elusive record to their credit.  
This one starts off splendidly enough with a trio of keepers to please the halcyon-era collegiate rock crowd, bleeding hues of everyone from Aztec Camera to R.E.M.  Further in, A Few's footing is less steady, with the rather aimless shouter "Hang Tough," and heck, and by the time they kick into "Gas is Gold," they may as well have mutated into a different band altogether.  
Luckily they recover on the jangly "Best Around," and close things out on a contemplative note by way of the decent enough ballad, "Wandering."  
 

Track listing

1.  Every World is Hot - 2:44
2.  Ride Halley's Comet - 3:50
     Keyboards – Chan Poling
3.  Something Wonderful - 2:18
4.  Do You Remember - 4:22
     Keyboards – Chan Poling
5.  Things Change - 1:18
6.  Hang Tough - 2:33
     Vocals – Wayne "Dirty Gus" Thommen
7.  Gas is Gold - 2:28
     Guitar – Chris Osgood 
8.  You and Me - 3:15
9.  Sail Up to the Moon - 2:55
10.  Best Around - 2:42
11.  My Own Mayhem - 2:27
12.  Wandering - 3:27


Companies, etc.

Credits

Chan Poling appears courtesy of The Suburbs
Pre-production by Jay Leigh and David Pinsky at Gark Studios

Notes
Released:  1985
Genre:  Rock
Style:  New Wave, Alternative Rock
Length:  34:24

Label - Gark 

February 15, 2025

Pete Jolly - Seasons (1970)

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Seasons is an album by jazz pianist Pete Jolly. 
Pete Jolly's third album for A&M Records offers the closest recorded approximation of this musician’s talent yet offered the listener. 
 Because in these grooves, produced by Herb Alpert, Jolly is heard not only on standard piano, but also on the Wurlitzer Electronic Piano, accordion, musette, Sano Vox, and Hammond Organ. 
The effect is startling to say the least, and at times a little unsettling as you wonder where the musician leaves off, and the engineer and technical studio wizards take over.
However, this album is no studio tour de force, but a "Live" recording in the sense that Jolly and fellow musicians Chuck Berghofer, Paul Humphrey, John Pisano, Milt Holland, and Emil Richards got together and improvised their way through 12 tunes in the space of four hours. 
The session was basically improvisational, and was completely open end, says Jolly. “We literally improvised as we went along – using visual and musical communications between ourselves to let the tunes happen, breathe and expand. 
Jolly’s most famous work is masterful but traditional jazz piano. Seasons is a completely different beast. 
For it, Jolly eschewed his usual piano for wurlitzer, accordion musette, sano vox, and hammond organ, holing up with his players—bassist Chuck Berghofer, percussionist Emil Richards, drummer Paul Humphrey, guitarist John Pisano, and percussionist Milt Holland—in a largely improvised four-hour session, which was then cut down to what would become Seasons.
Seasons has earned infamy for being used in samples for artists like De La Soul, Cypress Hill, and Redman, but mostly the album sticks out due to its complete and utter uniqueness from anything else Jolly recorded. 
Pressed here on spectacular-sounding vinyl, Seasons swings with Jolly’s masterful musicianship and the understated, complementary instrumentation of his accompanying musicians. 
But it surely is not your typical listen. 
The idiosyncrasies of the instruments Jolly is using and the improvisational nature of the compositions lend the album an exploratory feel. 
It’s almost as if Jolly and company were throwing things at the wall and seeing what stuck. Incidentally, it’s the uniqueness of the session which is lauded by Berghofer in the new liner notes for this reissue.
Seasons didn’t sell well at the time—listening to it and placing it in the context of his previous work, one can understand why—and the album was the last Jolly recorded for A&M. It’s a curious and at times beguiling work.


Track listing

1.  Leaves - 1:43
2.  Younger Than Springtime - 2:14
3.  Bees - 2:54
4.  Rainbows - 1:11
5.  Plummer Park - 4:25
6.  Springs - 3:06
7.  Seasons - 3:45
     Written-By – Roger Nichols 
8.  Sand Storm - 2:02
9.  Autumn Festival - 3:14
10.  Prairie Road - 2:50
11.  Indian’s Summer - 3:40
       Arranged By [Brass] – Bill Holman
12.  Pete Jolly - 1:45

Produced by Herb Alpert. All songs by Pete Jolly except where noted. 


Companies, etc.
Credits

Notes
Released: 1970
Genre:  Jazz, Funk / Soul
Length: 32:56
Producer:  Herb Alpert

Label - A&M Records

Jean-Michel Jarre - Amazônia (2021)

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Amazônia is the twenty-first studio album by French musician and composer Jean-Michel Jarre, released on 9 April 2021 by Columbia Records.

Along the lines of Jarre’s paean to Cousteau some years ago, this 52 minute piece in nine parts is an ode to the Amazon River Basin, the lungs of the world currently endangered by development.
Soft electronic sounds and percussion bend perfectly with source recordings of the natural sounds and the natives of the Amazon, this haunting hour takes through an aural journey up the River, through rain and thunder, past children playing and songs being chanted by native adults; this is a wonderful trip through another world hidden on our own beautiful and endangered planet.
A marked departure from the upbeat electronica embraced by Jarre as of late, this CD may come as a shock to those unfamiliar with Jarre’s ambient capabilities. 
If you’re looking for another installment in the Oxygene series, this album is not for you. However, if you are a fan of Eno and the late Peter Namlook combined with third world recordings, I think you will find this rec9rding to be a pleasant addition to your ambient collection.
The album serves as the 52-minute musical score for the exhibition Amazônia, a project by photographer and filmmaker Sebastião Salgado presented from May to October 2021 in the Paris Philharmonic complex. Jarre had access to the Museum of Ethnology in the city of Geneva, Switzerland.
The exhibition focuses on the Brazilian Amazon, featuring more than 200 photographs and other media by Salgado. In this album, a combination of electronic and orchestral instruments was made, natural sounds were also used. As well as a standard stereo version released on CD and LP, a binaural version and a 5.1 surround sound version were made available in digital download.
Some of the revenues will be sent back to the Indigenous communities where the recordings were recorded, according to a statement in the CD booklet or on the LP cover. Yet, it is not yet apparent how this will be accomplished.


Track listing

1.  Amazônia Part 1 - 7:42 
2.  Amazônia Part 2 - 9:59 
3.  Amazônia Part 3 - 8:10 
4.  Amazônia Part 4 - 3:16 
5.  Amazônia Part 5 - 6:04 
6.  Amazônia Part 6 - 3:33 
7.  Amazônia Part 7 - 4:18 
8.  Amazônia Part 8 - 3:19 
9.  Amazônia Part 9 - 6:23

All tracks are written by Jean-Michel Jarre


Personnel

Adapted from album booklet:


Notes
Released:  9 April 2021 
Recorded: 2021 Studio JMJ Studio, Paris 
Genre:  Electronic
Length:  52:47 
Producer:  Jean-Michel Jarre 

Label - Sony Music