"Alexandra Elene McLean Denny was born in London, England on January 6, 1947
and died on April 21, 1978. She was one of Britain's finest and most talented singers ever.
She was the lead singer of Fairport Convention and Fotheringay, played with The Strawbs,
and also recorded several remarkable solo albums."
- http://www.informatik.uni-hamburg.de/~zierke/sandy.denny/ Guity Pleasure, Nov 1997: A new song I heard last night, from an album called "Aria" (the announcer said, trying to bring a new audience to opera). Guilty pleasure because it was a beautiful operatic singer backed with electronic "beepiness" and a drum machine, as well as strings (or a string synth?- this was on my car radio). I thought- I should be enjoying this in its original form, this is hokey and cheap, but actually I enjoyed it as it was. Yaz (or Yazoo forthose on the east side of the pond) - "You And Me Both". An interesting album. Alison (Alf) Moyet does the vocals, ? Clarke, now of Depeche Mode collaborates. All synth background- not to my taste- very 1982 sound. But good songwriting and vocals. Herb Alpert- my first concert- my Mom took me, I was about nine or ten- was most impressd because the other act was the Brasil '66, who blew me away...Lani Hall and Janis Hansen? sounded fabulous. Herb did fun stuff.
- the Brasil '66
I was on a boat trip with my Dad down the Mississippi when Uncle
Albert was big- and my dad had this little AM radio going all the
time. I heard that song a hundred times, it seemed, on that trip.
Catchy ditty. I just restrained myself from throwing the radio in the
water by singing along..."hands across the water...water..."
I think Fleetwood Mac has slipped too deep into pop sweetness at
times, but have gems not to feel guilty about- like Silver Spring. Or
maybe I'm just in denial. I haven't heard their latest- public radio
stays away! Do I need to venture into commercialia once in a while?
Naw.
Kate Bush? "Hounds of Love" and "the Dreaming" are two of the best albums by
anyone. Hearing a song or two on the radio can't do her justice, unfortunately.
And people are often put off because when she began singing as a teen, and hit
the charts (in England, anyway) with Wuthering heights, her voice hadn't
reached the level of control and maturity it has had since after her
first few albums. Her stuff is not for everyone , in any case, IguessI have to
admit that things have slipped since the Hounds Of Love. I liked the Sensual World,
but the Red Shoes
leaves me cold, mostly. Especially "Eat The Music",
the song that goes nowhere. I keep expecting to hear a change that never comes.
-KateNatalie Merchant - I esp. hate that song about the gifted child. Like "Look at me- I'm God's gift to mankind!" I know its supposed to be about someone else (I wonder), but she takes that person's view, and with no humility. Now, what positive things can we say? Pele Juju, an all-female world beat group from Santa Cruz, CA, kicked ass at the Philly Folk Fest. From Belgium, a fabulous singing group, Zap Mama- brought to our shores by David Byrne's Luaka Bop record label- fun, fantastic harmonies, with international flavor- especially African. The members and their music are from around the world- American, European, Caribbean and African, all done with great feeling and musicality. I LOVE Zap Mama! They are quite engaging live- so enthusiastic. Great voices and harmonies. I believe they live in Belgium? But the members are from all over the world. The African sound seems to predominate. I would re-emphasize the idea that Americans tend to overlook great singers from other countries (natural enough, I suppose). Sandy Denny was one of the great ones. I have to say Linda Thompson has left me less than impressed in comparison, even though she blended well with Richard- for instance on their song "Just The Motion"- beautiful. Alison Moyet deserves more recogition. June Tabor- her latest Aelyn is extraordinarily beautiful, on a par with the wonderful Aqaba album, but more varied- not as spare. Some may be familiar with her singng with the Oyster Band, and on the great "Beat The Retreat" Richard Thompson tribute album. I think Ani DiFranco would be kick-ass in concert, with her percussive guitar style, and her attitude. I think its cool she collaborated with Utah Phillips, a great old folksinger/storyteller. It shows the multi-dimensionality of her character. I heard a radio interview about that album (forget the name!) and it was fascinating. She took one of his recited stories and tape manipulated and looped and made into music. And it was emotionally effective,I thought. I like 'Send In the Clowns'- perhaps because I saw a wonderful dance performance to it in college. It was very touching. That, and a performance to Laura Nyro's Been On a Train- and what a contrast. Every so often I have to put on Edgar Winter's Frankenstein to listen to that synth rattle the walls, and the synthesized drum solo... And, in contrast, Roger Miller's Greatest Hits - King Of the Road, You Can't Rollerskate in A Buffalo Herd, England Swings Like a Pendulum Do... What are you listening to? #753 - tomcoleman May 30, 2001 09:07 am Cecil Taylor- "Air" w/ Archie Shepp, Beull Neidlinger, Dennis Charles or thats the title on MY LP copy- allmusic.com lists a different album under that title, and mine is under the title "The World Of Cecil Taylor". Dissonant and percussively jagged & jarring, but somehow beautiful to my ears. Thelonius Monk's composing and piano style merges with Ornette Coleman's farthest out acoustic ideas here... What are you listening to? #404 - tomcoleman Oct 27, 1999 06:25 am Ornette Coleman- Of Human Feelings- cassette from library. Rocks out in a funky, free manner. Kickstarted my morning. Ornette Coleman - I recently talked about "1960 Free Jazz", which is probably his peak of raucous, loose improvizatoin, and possibly his best lineup, at the peak of their powers. Its also probably the hardest for the average listener to grok (to understand and appreciate) Now I am also listening to his newer stuff (1980s and 90s.) "Tone- Dialing" is much more palatable, probably. It almost sounds "normal". The most jarring number for some might be the little rap piece. Still, it is based in Ornette's harmolodics theory, which is to say you won't hear traditional harmonies. "Colors" is a duo album with pianist Joachim Kuhn, who is very much a musician who understands and compliments Ornette's style. The interplay between the two is marvelous. A duo album that works- doesn't get borig or sound thin. What are you listening to? #391 - tomcoleman Oct 14, 1999 01:08 pm Last night I was listening to a new acquisition: jazz pianist Bill Evans' "Spring Leaves", which is a 1976 reissue two-fer of his 1959 album "Portrait In Jazz", and his 1961 "Explorations" with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. These are well-known for being the only studio albums from this trio, whose most famous albums were the 1961 Village Vanguard releases, where LaFaro and Evans seem telepathic in their interplay. On the albums I have, a lot of that empathy is evident, to beautiful effect... Your Top Album Picks #1 - tomcoleman Feb 9, 2001 07:46 am This is my list, in no order, from my collection, and excluding classical albums. It is weighted towards older albums, which I feel have proven themselves highly listenable over time: 1) Miles Davis- Bitches Brew 2) Miles Davis- Cookin' With The Miles Davis Quartet 3) Miles Davis- Kind Of Blue 4) Los Lobos- Just Another Band From East L.A. (or Kiko, if no collections) 5) Pogues- If I Should Fall From Grace With God 6) Michelle Shocked- Short Sharp Shocked 7) June Tabor- Aleyn 8) Wild Colonials- Fruit Of LIfe 9)Yes- Going For The One 10)Neil Young- After The Gold Rush 11)U2- Achtung Baby 12)Stevie Ray Vaughan- The Sky Is Crying 13)Beat The Retreat- Songs By Richard Thompson 14)Radka Toneff- Fairy Tales 15)Louis Armstrong And His Allstars- On The Sunny Side OF The Street (CBS) 16)Bill Evans- Sunday At the Village Vanguard 17)Herbie Hancock- Maiden Voyage 18)Booker Little- Out front 19)Thelonious Monk- Monk's Dream 20)Gerry Mulligan Quartet- What Is There To Say?.. This Mortal Coil's "Blood". A 4AD "group". OK, not really a group. Really its Ivo Watts-Russell (pres. of the label) and various company. Soundscapes, with songs in the mix- like Spirit's Natures Way, Syd Barrett of early Pink Floyd's Late Night, Rodney Crowell's Til I Gain COntrol Again. Strings, electronica, voices. I heard Dan Hicks and His Hot LIcks live on my radio station a couple of weeks ago. He was a riot! And the interviewer played right into his joking. And Every time anyone mentioned the new album, the LIckettes would chime in "Beat beat beat the heat" in harmony (the name of their first new album in six years and his only studio release since 1978's It Happened One Bite: "Beat the Heat") It was great fun. I found Dan Hicks and the Acoustic Warriors- "Shootin' Straight" at the library. Love it- its a live performance. replete with his humour. And the music was great of course...They did a fantastic upbeat version of Tom Waits' "The Piano Has been drinking, Not me"
I've been enjoying my newly acquired Daniel Lanois - Acadie, a neat collection
of his ethereal sounding mood pieces, some cajun-tinged ballads, etc. Musicians
on various tracks include members of U2, some guy he heard playing trumpet out
on the street, and Aaron Neville singing Amazing Grace faintly behind some
spacey sounds (not the highlight of the album, IMO- interesting, but could have
been flat-out beautiful.) You can hear the genesis of the sounds he employed on
Emmy Lou Harris' Wrecking Ball album.
Gary Lucas- 'Gods and Monsters'. With the WTC on the cover. A
monster guitar player. Background- He has hung out in the NYC avant-garde
jazz scene, played on Captain Beefheart albums, performed as a
soloist in the European premiere of Bernstein's 'Mass' and on Jeff
Buckley's album 'Grace'.
Gods and Monsters is a varied showcase of his talents. It ranges from
raucous rock to folk acoustic, to rap to bebop. From Syd Barrett to
Miles Davis.
It all works for me, and stimulates the synapses and tickles my
tympani. 
World Saxophone Quartet- Rhythm and BLues - Just four saxophones
(occasionally one or two on bass or alto clarinets) playing up a
wonderful storm on old nuggets of R&B hits, and soulful originals,
with some "outside" harmonies and solos to keep things edgy. Perfect
interplay from these four talented players: Hamiet Bluiett -
Julius Hemphill - Oliver Lake - David Murray, all avant-garde
oriented players here showing they can play straight in perfect sync
and harmony. I love this sound. Pure, stimulating, fresh.
See also a review of Bill Frisell's "Gone, Just Like A Train"
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