I went to Silver Platters in Seattle (a bit more costly, but I'd rather support a local, independent music store than a chain like WalMart or Best Buy) in search of 4 CDs last week and found all of them. In addition I bought 2 more by artists I have been following for several years now.
They are:
Call Me Crazy - Lee Ann Womack
Ear Food - The Roy Hargrove Quintet
I Am . . . Sasha Fierce - Beyonce
Hurricane - Grace Jones
Little Honey - Lucinda Williams
Gossip In The Grain - Ray La Montagne
The first four were the ones I went looking for; the last two I picked up on the spur of the moment because I have their other work and have liked it.
I must say that my two favorites are not-quite-polar opposites; Call Me Crazy and Hurricane with the former being at the top of my playlist these days. I have never been a major league country music fan and have never bought a Lee Ann Womack album before, but I must say, I am astounded by this CD. Lee Ann has an amazing voice; plenty of vocal range and the ability to tell a story with just the tone of voice. The first song on the disc is amazing; a contemporary production that shows why so many people love what Nashville has been producing for the past 50 years. The sound is clean, the musicianship is impecable, Lee Ann's voice is plaintive, resigned, and ever-so-slightly disgusted. The lyrics contain the album title and showcase a dry, sly wit.
. . .
They're probably closing down,
Saying no more alcohol
I'll bet you're in a bar
'Cause I'm always your last
Call me crazy
But I think maybe
We've had our last call . . .
Amazing album all the way through. Highly Recommended.
Grace Jones' Hurricane ? Why? Because it is her first recording in 19 years and I have always been fascinated by her warrior woman persona. The CD is not likely to be a best seller, but I like it quite well. The first track, This Is, has a driving beat and some inventive wordplay in it; Corporate Cannibal comes in as my second favorite track at the moment. Great contemporary R&B, but certainly not the mainstream.
I have a story of a personal encounter with Ray La Montagne, but will save that for a future post.
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About Me
- RoboDad
- I'm currently 60 years old. I currently work as the learning management system specialist for American University of Madaba in Madaba, Jordan. I was originally certified as a high-school English teacher and taught school for 13 years (1 year of substituting, 1 year of 7th grade, 2 years of a combined 5th, 6th, 7th grade, 9 years of 8th grade). I've worked for hardware and software companies for the past 23 years doing training, training materials development, certification test development and other education related stuff. My wife and I have raised four children to adulthood; some of them live at home at the moment, but that won't last (they're too independent for that). We live at home with 2 Golden Retrievers, 2 black cats, a crazy cat, and, during the winter, 70,000 coho salmon.
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