New Music Tuesday - July 8 2008

[Margaux]

The Early Works news distracted me from this week’s new music, but I have nothing I feel like doing for awhile tonight, so I’m checking out the new music.
Amy found a new CD about baseball that’s pretty cool. I told her to write a review, she says I don’t know how to describe it. I say “Well who does it sound like?” “Like Bob Dylan but not quite, and like R.E.M.” – I said there you go, write that. So now all of you can write reviews too.

Two Men With the Blues
Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis

This recording of the historic two-night stand on January 12 and 13, 2007 at Jazz at Lincoln Center, a summit meeting between two American icons, a musical journey from Austin to New Orleans to NYC, and back in time as Willie and Wynton perform some of the most timeless of American classics. Willie has done “Stardust” and “Georgia on My Mind” countless times, but his interpretations are always original. Hot New Orleans standards “Bright Lights, Big City” and “Caldonia” step up the tempo. (Margaux)



Preview music and download MP3s:



Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails
The Baseball Project

The name of the album intrigued me as it combines two of my loves - baseball and music. Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails from The Baseball Project is an effort by two accomplished musicians, Scott McCaughey (R.E.M., The Minus Five, Young Fresh Fellows) and Steve Wynn (The Dream Syndicate, Gutterball, Danny & Dusty, Miracle 3) to bring these same two loves together. The quartet is rounded out by drummer Linda Pitmon (Miracle 3, Golden Smog) and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck. A quick listen to the 13 tracks brought out a sound not unlike R.E.M. (Broken Man) with a little Bob Dylan folk twist (Satchel Paige). The songs are a mix of humor and sarcasm on the state of the sport and could be a nice backdrop to your outdoor parties this summer. (Amyrebo)



Mamma Mia: The Soundtrack
Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Amanda Seyfried (and various artists)

Why isn’t singing ability a qualification to star in a movie musical? Didn’t someone make Pierce Brosnan audition before signing him on? Were John Travolta and Richard Gere (who did just fine in the movie version of “Chicago”) busy? Simon Cowell could make himself useful signing on as musical casting consultant for these projects. This summer’s big movie musical is Mamma Mia, which was an international hit play constructing a light story line around Abba’s greatest hits. The good news is that Meryl Streep is not a bad singer. I listened to Streep sing “Winner Takes It All”, and she does a fine job with a light and flexible mezzo-soprano. Amanda Seyfried of “Big Love” and “Veronica Mars” is very good in the ingénue role, I listened to “The Name of the Game”, she’s a real singer. However, Pierce Brosnan in “SOS” seems to be in actual distress. I also found the uptempo numbers such as “Dancing Queen” a bit sluggish. My recommendation: See the movie first and then decide if you want this disc, the original cast recording, or just Abba’s greatest hits (Margaux)



The Stranger: 30th Anniversary Edition 2 CDs/1 DVD
Billy Joel

This was the album that broke through Billy Joel as a major artist. Most of these tracks are still in regular radio play. Was it really 30 years ago? Can’t be.
1. Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
2. Stranger
3. Just the Way You Are
4. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
5. Vienna
6. Only the Good Die Young
7. Always a Woman
8. Get It Right the First Time
9. Everybody Has a Dream

This is an impressive package:
Limited Edition 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition - 3 Discs (2 CDs and 1 DVD)
CD of "The Stranger" remastered by the original album producer, Phil Ramone
CD of "Live At Carnegie Hall 1977"- previously unreleased - On June 3, 1977, one month prior to the recording of The Stranger album, Billy and his band performed at the historical Carnegie Hall.
Bonus DVD of BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test BBC2 television fron early 1978 - approx 60 minutes PLUS 2 live promotional videos
48 Page Booklet with liner notes by Rolling Stone Editor, David Fricke and un-seen photos from the original album photo shoot

[Margaux]

Stone Poneys Featuring Linda Ronstadt/Evergreen, Vol. 2
Stone Poneys

A very enticing reissue: These are the 2 albums of the Stone Poneys, a 60s California folk rock one-hit wonder band who happened to have an amazingly talented young female singer named Linda Ronstadt. The one hit was “Different Drum” written by Michael Nesmith of the Monkees – who wrote some very fine country rock songs in his day.

I went to a concert in 1974, a double-bill of Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne, in Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theatre. In that setting I decided then and there that Linda Ronstadt may be the best live female singer I’ll ever see. She can do soaring country and rock diva tones, and soft folk ballads that make you hold your breath to hear them, she knows WHEN to belt and when to hold back, always in impeccable vocal control. I love female singers, but I’m very picky because Linda set my standards high. A lot of the American Idol girls (Clarkson, McPhee, and Carly Smithson) need to go away with a stack of Ronstadt records for a month or two and not come out till they get it.

I’ve never heard most of these tracks, so I’d love to own them. Amazon lists this set as not currently available, so I’ll keep checking the link until they have it. (I’ll also go prowl around ITunes.. )

[AgingHippie]

2008 seems to be shaping up as the year of the reissued, the remastered and the enhanced !