Jon Cleary- Tipitina's, 2/14/88 (1988) - ***1/2
(Man, this is ten years before the Absolute Monster Gentlemen. Cleary sounds a tad overzealous on vocals. What was he, 28 or 29 years old? The legendary Smokey Johnson is on drums. Mostly New Orleans classics, it *was* Mardi Gras. Great addition to the NOLA library.)
Jon Batiste- Big Money (2025)- ****
(Yep! Review on Monday.)
Hudson-Ford- Free Spirit (1974) -***1/2
Miles Davis- In A Silent Way (1969) - ***1/2
Paul McCartney- Flowers In The Dirt: 1988 Demos (2017)- ****
(Great stuff here. Nothing beats the McCartney/McManus acoustic demos. And in many cases, the finished tracks that appeared on each of their albums, are better than these 1988 band demos. But the songwriting is so good throughout, every version of every song is a keeper.)
Kathleen Edwards- Billionaire (2025) - ***
Elvis Costello & The Attractions- All This Useless Beauty-****
(A fave. I know it's a hodgepodge of old and new, but it plays beautifully.)
Paul McCartney & Elvis Costello- Flowers In The Dirt Demos (2017)- ****1/2
(I could listen to these demos all over again right now.)
Queen- Jazz (1978)- ****
(I didn't hate this record when it came out, but I sure didn't like it. Time, Freddie's death, a Queen resurgence and me getting softer as I get older, "Jazz" is now a fave.")
Mott The Hoople- The Hoople (Sal's Version, 1974/2024)- ****
(Removed both "Trudi's Song"- yes, I know it's about Ian's wife, but it's not very good- and "Through The Looking Glass," because the b-side "Rest In Peace" is a better ballad than both. And I added the two last singles "Foxy Foxy" and "Saturday Gigs," because they belong!)
Aretha Franklin- I Never Loved A Man...(1967, MONO)- ****
1 comment:
Your mix of The Hoople is identical to mine.
- Paul in DK
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