#35: Lunasa: The Kinnitty Sessions

Details: Lunasa: The Kinnitty Sessions.  Compass, 2004. Total time: 40:30.

#34: U2: Wide Awake in America

 

Details: U2: Wide Awake in America.  Island,  1985. Total time: 20:44.  

#33: Rachmaninov: The Piano Concertos; Paganini Rhapsody

Details: Rachmaninov: The Piano Concertos; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Stephen Hough and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, conductor A. Litton. Hyperion, 2004. Total time: 145:35. 

Personal. Emotional. Romantic.  These words can be used to describe Rachmaninov's music especially these pieces. Also he is a bridge between 19th and 20th centuries: perhaps more accurately his music sounds more 1800s than 1900s.

Ultimately it is musical and melodious--so much so that Eric Carmen lifted much of the 2nd movement of the 2nd concerto for his 1970s pop hit, "All By Myself," and parts of the soundtrack to the hit movie "Home Alone" sound inspired by Rhapsody on a Theme By Paganini  (which itself was inspired by someone else).

My favorite is the 2nd concerto which is full of reflection and sounds very personal which it is. Rachmaninov reportedly struggled to compose it during a time of personal difficulty in his life and overcame creative challenges with the help of a therapist and wrote the beautiful opening chords of the 2nd concerto's first movement. This is a crowdpleasing, iconic piece of music and was featured in an iconic Marilyn Monroe movie, The Seven Year Itch.

The 3rd concerto is known as one of the most challenging accomplishments for any pianist to achieve and Stephen Hough is up to the challenge.  The Dallas Symphony does a great job throughout.  The 4 concerti were all recorded live while the Paganini variations apparently were not.  

#32: Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto -- Mutter/Vienna/Karajan

Details: Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto,  Anne-Sophie Mutter and Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan, conductor. Deutsche Grammophon,  1988. Total time: 38:34.

#31: Peggy Lee: At Last: The Lost Radio Recordings

Details: Peggy Lee (1920-2002), At Last: The Lost Radio Recordings.  Real Gone Music,  2015. Total time (2 discs): 92:57.

Holy Toledo! Talk about old-time radio.  Just released on CD this week, the 45 songs here are from the legendary jazz singer-songwriter, Peggy Lee. In 1951 and 1952 during some of her peak performance years Miss Lee had a radio program, The Peggy Lee Show, and all these superb song performances are from then. 

More than 60 years later this material sounds so damn good and how exciting that these long lost intimate radio performances, many of them romantic ballads, others swinging numbers, are finally being made available.

I believe although she is no longer with us Peggy Lee is still relevant in music today.  Even here with recordings that sound just a little scratchy, it is delightful to listen to her distinctive voice singing classic songs backed by a great band and pianists. One of the words I use to describe Peggy Lee's singing voice is this: smile.  Listening to her singing you can hear her smile so clearly. 

My only complaint is while reaching inside one of the pockets of the cardboard CD holder for the liner notes I ripped the front cover a bit. Other than that this 2-disc album is perfect.

#30: Electric Light Orchestra: Out of the Blue

Details: Electric Light Orchestra, Out of the Blue.  CBS, 1977. Total time: 70:23.

#29: Radiohead: OK Computer

Details: Radiohead, OK Computer. Capitol, 1997. Total time: 53:27.

A fascinating blend of technology, automation, and the human.  Ultimately of course,  despite the album title,  and several of the overt song titles, the human wins out through the voices, melodies; instrumentals, beats (heartbeats), noise, rhythm, tone, mood, words, emotions and message of the songs. 

Music originates from human creativity.  Technology has provided us with vehicles to preserve and share music, but the source of music is not mechanical -- it comes from the human spirit. 

#28: Stan Getz: A Life In Jazz: A Musical Biography

Details: Stan Getz (1927-1991), A Life In Jazz: A Musical Biography.  Verve, 1996 (compilation).Total time: 67:33.

Stan Getz was a saxophonist whose peak was in the 1950s and 1960s although he played before then with big bands and performed up to his death.

Getz's saxophone playing had a smooth singing sound and he experimented with different styles including strings on a much respected 1961 album,  Focus, and later that decade popularized Latin jazz, particularly  bossa nova.

The first track on this compilation is a piece with strings which is quite good. From the bossa nova period there is a great performance of Quiet Nights (more recently recorded by Diana Krall) and other tracks include a nice version of Summertime (unreleased until after his death) and a collaboration with the great Ella Fitzgerald.

This album apparently was a companion to a book, a biography of Getz. Not sure what happened to the book but once again this CD comes from my dad's collection. 

#27: Bill Evans: Conversations with Myself

Details: Bill Evans (1929-1980), Conversations with Myself.  Verve, 1963. Total time: 43:59.

My father's favorite musician again.  Here he is overdubbed playing piano, dueting and even seemingly trio-ing by himself.

This is the first time I've really listened to this entire album although I've heard Evans recordings for much of my life. The opening chords are startling--sounds so much like Debussy. Once again a reminder of Evans' roots studying classical music as a youngster.

The recording technology that enabled this overdubbing in 1963 must have been remarkable to see in action.

Also this album reminds me of another virtuoso pianist and contemporary of Evans:  Glenn Gould. Both men died tragically young and at about the same age,  and both were masters at the piano who experimented with recording technologies. I wish I had gotten the chance, like my father and brother Michael, to see Evans play piano in person. 

Most of the Evans recordings in my collection were either my father's or were given to me by him. My dad had an expansive collection of LP  records.  I used to joke that he had every recording ever made by Evans including a few that Evans himself was unaware of. 

#26: Chris Tomlin: See the Morning

Details: Chris Tomlin (b. 1972). See the Morning. Sparrow, 2006. Total time: 46:19.

This album is a follow-up to the smash hit,  Arriving,  previously written about here (#25). It is noticeably different in tone and tempo, much more subdued and stripped-down.

It sounds more like an album from a worship leader than an uptempo rock style CCM album in the vein of U2 or Coldplay, although there are still a few uptempo energetic numbers here and there, e.g. Rejoice.

Unchanged is Tomlin's earnest vocal delivery and skilled songwriting. Standout tracks are  the first three (How Can I Keep From Singing, Made to Worship,  and Let God Arise) and the final one, Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), an excellent partial remake of the classic hymn.

#25: Chris Tomlin: Arriving

Details: Chris Tomlin (b. 1972). Arriving. Sparrow, 2004. Total time: 45:59.

CCM, or contemporary Christian music,  has been around for decades (think Amy Grant) but last decade it seemed to take flight in terms of number of records, sales, tours, media (including seeping into secular airplay), and quite frankly from this listener's perspective, the quality of songwriting, performance and production. 

Gone is the often clunky sound from past decades.  If you don't listen to the words this could be U2 or Coldplay, for example. Chris Tomlin has been consistently good for years now and this is one of his earlier offerings.  The first 5 or 6 tracks are infectious and uplifting with the first three (Indescribable,  Holy is the Lord, and How Great is Our God) real standout songs in terms of his career.

As the album progresses Tomlin's earnest vocals continue but the song quality slips a bit. Still these are all in all very good songs by a talented singer-songwriter who is also a worship leader.  The production is clean and his band is made up of great supporting talent.