Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Jul 19, 2024 13:22:16 GMT -5
Sam Cooke is new to me, though when I hit play for "A Change is Gonna Come" my wife immediately started singing along and is apparently a fan. I rather like as well from hearing this! Yet again something new learned here. You can't go wrong with Sam Cooke. It's just excellent soul music. My wife walked down the isle to "You Send Me" when we got married. There's a great single CD compilation called Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964 that came out about 20 years ago, which has a well chosen track listing and fantastic digitally remastered sound. That's a really good gateway into his music. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2024 13:38:24 GMT -5
And so it ends with a bit of a sappy/sentimental choice for me, though few would argue the musicianship here isn't first-rate:
1) Vince Guaraldi Trio - Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown
This album preceded A Charlie Brown Christmas which came out the next year, but included music that would appear on it including the immortal "Linus and Lucy". It was actually commissioned for a Peanuts documentary that didn't end up happening, but the album is a delight unto itself.
Vince had this incredible gift for what I call the "sweet melancholy" when it came to the Peanuts music, even with the more spirited numbers at times. Like a background theme to life somehow, this unspoken sentiment in the back of our minds that the world keeps turning, life keeps going, no matter what happens to you on any given day. Sometimes you may have a really happy day, sometimes a miserable one, and more often than not days where life just passes along and you realize you are more along for the ride than really steering. And somehow it will be ok if you can just let yourself relax a little and not get too stressed out.
And with that, a couple of delightful tracks including the one we all know so well:
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 19, 2024 13:53:23 GMT -5
And so it ends with a bit of a sappy/sentimental choice for me, though few would argue the musicianship here isn't first-rate: 1) Vince Guaraldi Trio - Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie BrownThis album preceded A Charlie Brown Christmas which came out the next year, but included music that would appear on it including the immortal "Linus and Lucy". It was actually commissioned for a Peanuts documentary that didn't end up happening, but the album is a delight unto itself. Vince had this incredible gift for what I call the "sweet melancholy" when it came to the Peanuts music, even with the more spirited numbers at times. Like a background theme to life somehow, this unspoken sentiment in the back of our minds that the world keeps turning, life keeps going, no matter what happens to you on any given day. Sometimes you may have a really happy day, sometimes a miserable one, and more often than not days where life just passes along and you realize you are more along for the ride than really steering. And somehow it will be ok if you can just let yourself relax a little and not get too stressed out. And with that, a couple of delightful tracks including the one we all know so well: I'm not sure I've ever heard this one that I recall. Now if we were in '65, Charlie Brown Christmas would 100% make my list (foreshadowing?). |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 19, 2024 14:01:58 GMT -5
#2 - Sam Cooke - Ain't That Good News
I don't know this album in its entirety, but looking at the track listing on Wikipedia, I have at all but four of its tracks on various Sam Cooke compilations. We've discussed Cooke before and, as you'll know, I'm a big fan. Lots of great music on this album, with "Another Saturday Night", "(Ain't That) Good News", "Meet at Mary's Place", and "A Change Is Gonna Come" being faves of mine. The last studio album released by Cooke in his lifetime and it makes one wonder where he would have gone with his career had he lived. I always wonder this about Buddy Holly too. Especially given how far ahead of the curve he was, in terms of recording techniques and song arranging. Like, what would Holly's '60s, post-British Invasion records have been like? Or even his late '60s ones! Would he have embraced country-rock like the Everly Brothers and Rick Nelson did, or would he have instead dabbled in psychedelia? Likewise with Cooke, can you imagine him doing an early 70s topical soul album like Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On or Sly & the Family Stone There's a Riot Goin' On? Given that he'd already penned one of the civil rights era's greatest anthems before his death, I can definitely see him doing that. You have no idea the number of hours I've spent thinking about how music changes if Buddy Holly doesn't die. He was absolutely out front both technically and in terms of song-writing. So if he lives, does rock & roll really die and need to be revived by the British Invasion? I think there's a very good chance that Cooke becomes one of the centerposts of the Civil Rights movement. With the move to RCA and more control over his material one can see that happening. Sam Cooke is new to me, though when I hit play for "A Change is Gonna Come" my wife immediately started singing along and is apparently a fan. I rather like as well from hearing this! Yet again something new learned here. You can't go wrong with Sam Cooke. It's just excellent soul music. My wife walked down the isle to "You Send Me" when we got married. There's a great single CD compilation called Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964 that came out about 20 years ago, which has a well chosen track listing and fantastic digitally remastered sound. That's a really good gateway into his music. That is a great single CD collection of Cooke's music. Highly recommended. And, honestly, it's going to give you everything you need unless you are a huge fan. |
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Post by commond on Jul 19, 2024 15:26:14 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 1964 #2 - Sam Cooke - Ain't That Good News
The last studio album released by Cooke in his lifetime and it makes one wonder where he would have gone with his career had he lived. With the exception of "Another Saturday Night" which had been released as a single earlier in 1963 this comprised material that was recorded after the drowning death of his young son Vincent. The record afforded Cooke greater freedom in his material with his new contract with RCA. It's all interesting, if not entirely successful. But overall it's an excellent album divided between soul numbers and pop oriented material. The show-stopper, of course is the absolutely brilliant "A Change Is Gonna Come." An absolutely beautiful composition that went on to become a staple of the Civil Rights movement. Cooke based much of the song on events in his life and his experience performing in the Jim Crow era. On the other hand, "Another Saturday Night" is the kind of poppy soul song that set Cooke's reputation. While they aren't all home runs this is a solid album from start to finish. Sam Cooke is new to me, though when I hit play for "A Change is Gonna Come" my wife immediately started singing along and is apparently a fan. I rather like as well from hearing this! Yet again something new learned here. You should check out his Life at the Harlem Square Club album. His studio stuff is okay but it's dressed up for the white record buying audience. Life at the Harlem Square Club is raw soul. His work with the Soul Stirrers is also worth listening to. Cooke was an interesting performer in the sense that there were so many sides to him -- the church and the secular, the clean cut black man performing at the Copa and the raw soul singer at the Harlem Square Club. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Jul 19, 2024 17:17:07 GMT -5
1) Vince Guaraldi Trio - Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown I had no idea this album existed. Nor do I know any of the music from it. These are both nice tracks though -- "Baseball Theme" is delightful, and "Linus and Lucy" is simply brilliant. Love it! I'm gonna have to get a copy of this album, no question about it. |
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Confessor
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Not Bucky O'Hare!
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Post by Confessor on Jul 19, 2024 17:24:03 GMT -5
OK, finishing up my rundown of favourite albums from 1964... #1 - A Hard Day's Night and Beatles for Sale by The Beatles I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to anyone that I've put The Beatles in the #1 spot for my favourite albums of 1964. They released two albums that year and I've had to choose them both because they are both utterly fantastic. A Hard Day's Night is the soundtrack to the band's first movie, although the film was very much written to fit around the band's new songs, rather the other way round (with perhaps the exception of the title track). This is the only Beatles album to consist entirely of Lennon/McCartney originals – all their other LPs had at least one cover or a song by George or Ringo on them. The quality of the songwriting is a noticeable notch up from their two preceding albums, great though they both were. One of the reasons why I love A Hard Day's Night is because it carries the excitement and youthful energy of Beatlemania like no other record and is simply one of the best pop albums of all time, as far as I'm concerned. Beatles for Sale is more introspective overall and also features several cover versions alongside the eight new Lennon/McCartney compositions. Much of the original material has a slightly weary, downbeat feeling to it, with more thoughtful and reflective lyrics – something that ties in with the four unsmiling faces on the album cover. Again though, there's a noticeable jump in the quality of the band's melodic inventiveness and songcraft on this album. Interestingly, much of the album has a more pronounced country and rockabilly feel to it than had been usual in the Beatles' repertoire before. Lennon even jokingly referred to Beatles for Sale as "the Beatles' country and western LP." Since I've chosen two albums as my joint #1, I'm gonna post two tracks – one from each record. But I'm gonna kinda go for deep cuts instead of the obvious well known hits (is there really such a thing as a Beatles "deep cut"?). First up, here's "Things We Said Today" from A Hard Day's Night, a great song with a cunningly complex melody and unusual chord changes… And next up is "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", a country-flavoured song from Beatles for Sale, which jogs along briskly, with superb harmonies from John and Paul, though its melody and lyric are tinged with melancholy… |
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Post by tartanphantom on Jul 19, 2024 17:31:26 GMT -5
@supercat, I've been following the 1964 discussion at length and waiting for it to come to a conclusion before I strike up the gear posting again.
Lots of good choices in the thread, sorry that I've been too busy with other things this week to actually participate.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 19, 2024 19:58:51 GMT -5
OK, finishing up my rundown of favourite albums from 1964... #1 - A Hard Day's Night and Beatles for Sale by The BeatlesI'm sure it'll come as no surprise to anyone that I've put The Beatles in the #1 spot for my favourite albums of 1964. They released two albums that year and I've had to choose them both because they are both utterly fantastic. A Hard Day's Night is the soundtrack to the band's first movie, although the film was very much written to fit around the band's new songs, rather the other way round (with perhaps the exception of the title track). This is the only Beatles album to consist entirely of Lennon/McCartney originals – all their other LPs had at least one cover or a song by George or Ringo on them. The quality of the songwriting is a noticeable notch up from their two preceding albums, great though they both were. One of the reasons why I love A Hard Day's Night is because it carries the excitement and youthful energy of Beatlemania like no other record and is simply one of the best pop albums of all time, as far as I'm concerned. Beatles for Sale is more introspective overall and also features several cover versions alongside the eight new Lennon/McCartney compositions. Much of the original material has a slightly weary, downbeat feeling to it, with more thoughtful and reflective lyrics – something that ties in with the four unsmiling faces on the album cover. Again though, there's a noticeable jump in the quality of the band's melodic inventiveness and songcraft on this album. Interestingly, much of the album has a more pronounced country and rockabilly feel to it than had been usual in the Beatles' repertoire before. Lennon even jokingly referred to Beatles for Sale as "the Beatles' country and western LP." Since I've chosen two albums as my joint #1, I'm gonna post two tracks – one from each record. But I'm gonna kinda go for deep cuts instead of the obvious well known hits (is there really such a thing as a Beatles "deep cut"?). First up, here's "Things We Said Today" from A Hard Day's Night, a great song with a cunningly complex melody and unusual chord changes… And next up is "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", a country-flavoured song from Beatles for Sale, which jogs along briskly, with superb harmonies from John and Paul, though its melody and lyric are tinged with melancholy… Never heard of these guys. Must have been a flash in the pan. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 19, 2024 20:04:47 GMT -5
Thanks to Confessor and @supercat for playing along. |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 19, 2024 21:21:55 GMT -5
Various comments: On Sam Cooke, appreciate the recommendation on Portrait of a Legend. My wife has a different greatest hits album, but it only has about half the songs that appeared on the one mentioned. I'm going to give the one we have a full listen this weekend, and will likely then grab the other since it would still be worth it for that many additional songs (and again, I already really like what I've heard in this thread). Confessor , yes, the Beatles topping your list was certainly no surprise, it's wonderful music and of the many artists I struggled with finding a spot for on my top 10, probably the one I felt most bad about leaving out. The first album I ever got to buy as a kid was the US release Second Album, and more albums quickly followed. They were also one of the big reasons I ever picked up the guitar even though my love of different genres grew considerably over the years, I used to just stare at their pictures on the album covers as I played their material over and over. I took the approach of "what do I actually listen to the most these days", but I knew they would show up on your list (likely topping it) and that makes me smile that they are represented here. I also can't add anything to your excellent write-ups of both albums, great summaries. Slam_Bradley , likewise thanks for making me feel very welcome to participate. I know this was never meant to be exclusive of course, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and certainly learned a lot from both you and Confessor along the way with lots of great new listening for me to dive deeper into. I actually found 1964 a little tricky, while there was plenty of great jazz that ended up dominating my list, if you had gone back just a year prior I'm guessing some Surfaris might have made the list, maybe even some Ventures. The Dillards Back Porch Bluegrass might have made it (their live album from 1964 almost did this go around). But all that said, again I had a lot of fun. tartanphantom , I'm up for gear chat any time!  |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,212
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Post by Confessor on Jul 19, 2024 23:16:37 GMT -5
Thanks to Confessor and @supercat for playing along. As always, it was a lot of fun! |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,212
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Post by Confessor on Jul 19, 2024 23:18:58 GMT -5
Never heard of these guys. Must have been a flash in the pan. They were the band Paul McCartney was in before he hit it big with Wings.  |
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Post by tartanphantom on Jul 20, 2024 12:30:01 GMT -5
Tartanphantom's Guitar Roundup-- 2024 Appendix I- acoustics & misc.
Well, I suppose it's time to show off some gear acquisitions since I last did so waaaaaay back in February, 2022. Wow, has it really been that long? OK, @supercat and Confessor, here we go.
I've picked up a few instruments since then, and I'll divide them into a couple of posts, this one covering acoustic instruments.
First, My brother gave me this for my birthday in June, 2023. He literally picked it up at a thrift store for $25 USD, thinking it would be a good "gag gift" since he knew how much I love Gretsch guitars. He was a bit taken aback when I told him it was indeed a genuine Gretsch, and furthermore, was actually a very popular budget model. A little spit & polish, a few setup tweaks, and a new set of strings later, and I've got a great addition to my acoustic parlor guitar stable. I actually favor parlor guitars for songwriting, so it's good to have another tool in the drawer.
Gretsch G9500 Jim Dandy (2017 build)--
The Jim Dandy models are direct descendants of the limited-edition Gretsch Americana series (pictured HERE in a previous post). They are almost identical, and are made at the same Indonesian factory as the Americana guitars.
The other instrument is a mandolin, but a rather unusual one at that.
These were only made for about 4 years, and production numbers are perceived to be substantially lower than other Roots collection instruments, so they're pretty hard to find. This one happens to be a 2013 model. This time, I snagged a Gretsch G9310 New Yorker Supreme. A-Body style, with solid mahogany top, back, sides and neck. The 1-piece mahogany top gives it quite a different tone from my others, which all have solid spruce tops. It has more "bark" and "woof" in the voice than I expected! That's not a bad thing though, especially for playing old-time or bluegrass, which I do from time to time. The custom sapele armrest is from Hill Country Stringworks in Texas. Unlike my other three Gretsch mandos, this model was not factory-fitted with a pickup system, so that's a project for later on down the road.
More to come in the next post, which will cover electric guitars.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2024 16:06:53 GMT -5
Sweet additions, tartanphantom, looking forward to seeing the rest! |
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