iPod on Shuffle:
Happy Go Lucky Girl- U-Roy
Too Close/On My Way To Heaven- Mavis Staples
Baby It's You- Elvis Costello & Nick Lowe
Stop! In The Name Of Love- The Supremes
Two Lights In The Nighttime- Bonnie Raitt
Mystery Track- World Party
Freaks In Love- Elton John
Can We Still Be Friends (Live From Daryl's House)- Todd Rundgren & Daryl Hall
That 70's Song- Cheap Trick
Polly- Dillard & Clark
Head First- The Babys
Mouth Almighty- Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Watch The Moon Come Down- Graham Parker & The Rumour
Girl From The Pawnshop (Marie Laveau Sessions) The Black Crowes
Let Him Run Wild- The Beach Boys
Nervous- Jo-Ann Campbell
Won't Take No For An Answer- Cheap Trick
Life In The Air Age- Be-Bop Deluxe
Sugar On Sunday- The Three Degrees
I Can't Stand It- Lou Reed
Fish- The Damned
Little Ann- Deep Shadows (2009) ***
The Human League- Reproduction (1979) **1/2
Joni Mitchell- Blue: Kevin Gray Analog Master (1971/2026) ****
Steel Pulse- Handsworth Revolution (1978) ***1/2
The Beatles- Please Please Me: MONO RM (1963/2009) ****
T. Rex- Electric Warrior: Kevin Gray Analog Master (1971/2025) ****
Beastie Boys- Ill Communication (1994) ****
Jeff Beck- Truth (1968) ****
Circle Jerks- Group Sex (1980) ****
Rose Tattoo- Assault & Battery (1981) ***12
The Human League- Greatest Hits (1988) ***
•American soul singer Little Ann, born Ann Bridgeforth, was originally from Chicago, but moved to Detroit with her family, where she sang in church, inspired by local gospel legend Aretha Franklin. She recorded an album’s worth of songs between 1967 and 1969, primarily with Detroit musician/producer Dave Hamilton, although, save for one song, the work never saw the light of day. Interestingly, the only released song was not "Deep Shadows," which is now her most known, and perhaps the greatest example of the emotive power of her voice. Little Ann wrote in a letter to her mother, “If it doesn't work out, I tried." Cut to the 1980’s: two British soul collectors, Gilly and Andy Taylor, are digging through Hamilton’s personal music archive and find a box of reels labeled “The Possible Little Ann Album,” and it’s love at first listen. The dust is wiped off, and the music begins making the rounds, trickling out into the world by way of the British northern soul DJ scene, various compilations, covers, and samples, garnering enough attention that Little Ann was able to experience her own resurrection, and even perform one UK show, before her passing in 2003.
•I don't recall ever hearing The Human League's debut, having come in, like most people, at "Don't You Want Me." But this review on All Music killed me. "Pop fans a bit put off by the Human League's dispassionate vocals on their breakout hit "Don't You Want Me" would have been shocked by the degree of emotionlessness heard two years earlier on the band's 1979 debut. It's a surprise that the Human League hit the British charts at all (with the single "Empire State Human"), since this could well be the most detached synth pop record ever released." That pretty much nailed. And the cover of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" is pretty hilarious, yet I didn't hate it.
•This new Kevin Gray cut of Joni's "Blue" is, in a word, stunning!
•This Kevin Gray cut of "Electric Warrior" is, in a word, stunning!
•I am a Led Zeppelin superfan. I don't buy into any of the negative comments. I've listened to scores of live bootlegs and performances. Quite simply, they are in my Top Ten of all time. That said, Jeff Beck "Truth" is better than LZ's first.
•I have Rudy Vallee records that have aged better than The Human League.
3 comments:
I’d just started listening to Jeff Beck - Capitol Theater, Port Chester NY, July 19, 2016 before visiting Now Playing. It’s a fine set so far, but not as good as Truth.
- Paul in DK
That's a heck of a day. IPod on a serious roll, and then Blue, Electric Warrior, and Truth. I cued up Little Ann. Do I really need to rebuy Blue and Electric Warrior?
If your preferred way of listening is vinyl, the Joni and T.Rex are definitive.
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