About two months ago, I made a post about what kind of children's music I listen to. I thought it was high time that I should make another post (or more) about what other types of music I listen to. So as to give everyone a further peek into the flakiest guy on the western side of the Connecticut river, I thought I would randomly pull out six c.d.'s out of my bookcase, and give a little background on the artist and why I bought the disc (or acquired) in the first place.
1) "Bat out of Hell" by Meat Loaf. I have the album on cassette (you remember cassettes, right) and the copy I have is worn out. So I went looking for a replacement and found this copy at Best Buy. Not sure when the remastered version came out, but the bombastic glory remains as solid as ever. Probably the main reason why I was attracted to it in the first place. Right. Actually what attracted me to it was that 8+ minute monster track, "Paradise by the Dashboard Light. Factoids: On the c.d. cover, it says songs by Jim Steinman. Not sure why other than he and Meat Loaf had a bitter falling out and Meat Loaf sued Jim Steinman for ownership rights to the music.
2) "Out of the Hart" by Out of the Hart. An out of print c.d. that you might be able to find a website called CD Baby.com . What's noteworthy about this particular c.d. is that the lead singer was only fourteen when she wrote and sang the music. The music is somewhat overproduced at times, but her voice really does shine through on the tracks where the production interference is minimal. She is doing much better and is has quite a few projects in the works (writing and singing). Her singing style has grown to be more a soulful yet mellow R&B sound, from what her mother has told me, who is a very good co-worker of mine.
3) "Drops of Jupiter" by Train. I first got hooked into Train with their songs "Meet Virginia" and "Calling All Angels". So naturally, when the opportunity arose for me acquire their entire run, I grabbed it. "Drops of Jupiter" is a decent hook laden c.d., of which the title track really grabs you. I did catch the video for it, and the way the string quartet was worked into the song was something exceptional.
4) "Brothers In Arms" by Dire Straits. I saw this for ten bucks at my local Stop & Shop, about a couple of months before they discontinued selling music. I always liked Dire Straits (first got into them with the song Sultans of Swing), and enough time had gone by so that I can appreciate this c.d. without being turned off by it (MTV did extremely heavy rotation on a couple of songs: Money for Nothing and Walk of Life).
5) "Cover to Cover" by the Jeff Healey Band. I usually never pay any attention to music critics and this was no exception. The critics said that this particular c.d. by the late Jeff Healey had really good songs to showcase his talent, but didn't. Some of the songs he chose to cover (Communication Breakdown for example) he could have done justice to, but didn't. Others, like "Angel" he probably could have made soar higher than Hendrix's version. Avoid this one. The best c.d. that Jeff Healey came out with was his first. Forget about "Angel Eyes", go for the title track, "See the Light". Best rockin' song on the planet. In any event, I should of paid attention to the critics.
6) "American Recordings" by Johnny Cash. I always liked Johnny Cash, but never really got into him until some of his stuff was being played on college radio. The jock on a local program called In the Weeds (can be found Friday afternoons from 1-4 on WWUH 91.3 FM, University of Hartford) was raving about this particular C.D. by Johnny Cash. And boy was he right. With this particular c.d., he re-established himself as one of the premier anti-pop country musicians in the world during the late 90's/early 2000's. If you like Johnny Cash, then please seriously consider picking up the American Recordings series (6 discs in all) that he did with Rick Rubin and friends. Tracks on this c.d. I would recommend are Oh Bury Me Not and The Man Who Couldn't Cry. Shoot, the cover alone is worth buying: Barren sky, scraggly sunflowers and wheat stalks, flanked by two dogs and wearing a classic jet black duster.
I hope you enjoy the first of what should be many, many posts on what I like to listen to for music.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
6 comments:
Go on, give me your best shot. I can take it. If I couldn't, I wouldn't have created this wonderful little blog that you decided to grace with your presence today.
About that comment moderation thingy: While yes, it does say up above I can take it, I only use it to prevent the occasional miscreant from leaving thoughtless and/or clueless comments.
So remember, all of your comments are greatly appreciated and all answers will be given that personal touch that you come to expect and enjoy.
G. B. Miller
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
G - I think these are all great choices for music! I developed a fondness for Johnny Cash myself a few years ago. My friend Gator listens to him exclusively. She lives in an artists' conclave and when you go there for art showings Johnny Cash is always playing in the background.
ReplyDeleteLove Meatloaf, too! :)
I got into Johnny Cash quite late in my life. Like I said in the post, I was exposed to this latest batch on college radio, and it was a blast to listen to.
ReplyDeleteGreat selection here. I like that Train cd too, they're about due for something new, it's been awhile.
ReplyDeleteThe last Train CD I picked up was "For me, It's you", which came out in 2006.
ReplyDeleteI think in interim, the lead singer Pat Monahan released a solo CD either last year or in 2007.
Shit, Jeff Healey's dead? I totally missed that happening. He musta died pretty young.
ReplyDeleteYes.
ReplyDeleteHe passed away in the late summer of 2008 I believe (it could have been the fall, but was definitely 2008), from the same cancer that took away his eyesight.