You would think any band that’s been around for more than 40 years has to be doing something right. In fact, you would think that the musicians in such a group would definitely be household names by now. But since we’re not talking about the Rolling Stones or any of the other British Invasions bands of the Sixties, I’m betting big time that almost no one except for the immediate families of the members of the band Roomful of Blues could tell you the names of the eight guys in the current version of that band.
Click here for the full review.
Is it just me, or does it seem that the “tribute” recording, in which one artist (or a group of artists) pay homage to the music made famous by a legend (usually dead or at least at the end of their career) seems to be a bit overdone these days?
Click here for the full review.
2007 is in the books. But before I take that leap of faith into 2008, let’s take a quick look back at some of my favorite music of the past year… starting with a look at those CDs I reviewed for RedLounge.com that are still parked in those preferred spaces near my sound system.
Click here for the full review.
In a recording career that spanned more than half a century – from the late 1940s through the early years of the 21st century, the legendary Ray Charles amazingly released only one holiday recording. Originally released in December, 1985, The Spirit of Christmas captured Charles adding his unique, soulful touch to a blend of seasonal standards, from pop fare such as “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”...Click here for the full review.
Let’s do a little time traveling, go back almost two decades to 1988, tune the time machine’s radio to an urban rap station and check out the debut single by Queen Latifah. It’s called “Wrath of My Madness,” and besides the fact that if features an 18-year-old African-American female rolling with the rhymes and labeling herself “the new queen of royal badness,” it also showcases a positive...Click here for the full review.
Dean Martin passed away on Christmas day, 1995, almost a dozen years ago. In addition, Martin hadn’t performed publicly since 1988, and hadn’t been in the recording studio since 1983, so it’s really been almost two decades since anyone has seen a live performance by Dino or seen a new recording by the famed member of Sinatra’s “Rat Pack.” And yet, Dean Martin appears to be just as pop...Click here for the full review.
One of the unexplainable phenomena in the music world is the affinity that English singers and musicians have for the blues. Back in 1963, a 15-year-old singer named Stevie Winwood joined the Spencer Davis Group, and by the time he was 17 had recorded classic tunes such as “I’m a Man” and “Gimme Some Lovin’,” both of which showcased a gritty, blues vocal approach that would have fit right...Click here for the full review.
The tribute recording has become a hot commodity in recent years, with everyone from the Beatles, Radiohead, Duke Ellington, Leonard Cohen, Burt Bacharach and Metallica serving as subjects for these efforts. Aside from the fact that I’m the kind of guy who usually prefers hearing the original artist or band do the tune himself or herself, I do understand why the tribute recording has achieved...Click here for the full review.
It’s Michael Bublé’s world and we’re just living in it. At least that’s the way it may seem if you’ve been paying attention to Bublé’s meteoric career since he first hit the charts with his self-titled debut CD back in early 2003. That debut recording showcased Bublé’s strong vocal technique as well as his ability to blend winning versions of retro swing era classics with hip takes on pop and R&B tunes from...Click here for the full review.
It’s not often that a singer who has already achieved near superstar status by selling millions of copies of first two CDs decides to call the third Introducing. But then again, not many singers have had such an amazing beginning to their professional careers as Joss Stone. In 2003, the English-born Stone recorded her debut release, The Soul Sessions, at the same time she was turning sweet 16....Click here for the full review.
Just curious… is there anyone left on the planet who hasn’t heard a Norah Jones song? I suppose there might be a handful of folks in Tibetan monasteries or tribes deep in the Amazon or the middle of Australia who still haven’t heard Jones sing ‘Don’t Know Why” – but the rest of us have all heard that tune as well as plenty more tunes from Jones’ 2002 debut release, Come Away with Me, and her 2004....Click here for the full review.
Since making his recording debut on the Columbia Records label back in 1987 at the age of 19, Harry Connick, Jr. has showcased a versatile approach that has encompassed everything from solo piano recordings to lush big band releases. Connick has also been something of a chameleon in terms of style as well – covering standards from the great American songbook, doing movie soundtracks like When Harry Met Sally and recording original music written for his original Broadway... Click here for the full review.
What goes around comes around. Sure, it’s a cliché… and we all know that a cliché can be so general in meaning that it can be applied to almost any situation and still sound perceptive. But in the case of the new generation of male, jazz-influenced singers currently popping up on the contemporary music scene, this is definitely one instance when that cliché rings true.
Click here for the full review.
For decades, the Blue Note label was one of the most revered in the jazz world, featuring a catalog of consistently excellent recordings by the likes of Miles Davis, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Thelonious Monk, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter and many other legendary musicians of the hardbop and post-bop eras. But all that changed in 2002, when Blue Note released Come Away With Me... Click here for the full review.
A new holiday recording by Dean Martin? The same Dino who was the ultimate sidekick for Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and the rest of the “Ratpack” during the swingin’ Sixties in Las Vegas? The same Dean Martin who passed away in 1995 at the age of 78 has a new holiday CD – one that features him singing a duet with country superstar Martina McBride... Click here for the full review.
With the release of her 1999 debut on the Verve label, When I Look In Your Eyes, singer/pianist Diana Krall made the leap from niche success as a jazz vocalist to mainstream stardom. That CD won her a Grammy as “Best Jazz Vocalist” and was also the first jazz album in more than 25 years to garner a nomination in the elite “Album of the Year” category. Krall’s previous recordings were strongly rooted classic...Click here for the full review.
Terry Perkins has written about music for more than two decades. His work appears regularly in DownBeat, Jazz Times, Jazz Series Review, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the AllAboutJazz.com and JazzStandards.com Web sites. Terry is a fan of many styles of music -- from jazz and blues to roots rock and reggae. “Like Duke Ellington,” states Terry, “I believe there are only two kinds of music – good or bad. I don’t believe in categorizing and pre-judging music just because someonehas decided to put a specific label on it.”
« Return to previous page
» See the entire music review archive |
