Frank Sinatra- Watertown (1970) ****
Tony Bennett & Bill Evans- The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album: Kevin Gray Master (1975/2023) ****
Roy Ayers Ubiquity- Everybody Loves The Sunshine (1976) ***1/2
The Who- By Numbers: Abbey Road HSM (1975/2024) ****
Bee Gees - Horizontal: Kevin Gray Stereo Master (1968/2007) ****
Ian Hunter- All American Alien Boy (1976) ***1/2
Al Di Meola- Casino (1978) ****
John Coltrane- Plays the Blues: MONO (1962) ****
Eno- Here Come The Warm Jets (1974) ****
David Bowie- David Live : 2005 Mix (1974/2005) ****
* Sinatra's "Watertown" never fails to affect me. It's a heartbreaking concept and Frank delivers convincingly. More people need to love this record.
* The first three Bee Gees records got the Kevin Gray treatment in 2007 and there is no other way to hear these records. Stunning sound.
4 comments:
Very much loving the 2005 mix of David Live this morning, thank you. I bought the CDs immediately upon its release. Do you prefer this to 2017’s Cracked Actor? Tony Visconti did miracles on both. Hope you’re enjoying the day :)
I recently listened to "Cracked Actor" and loved it, but "David Live" has a special place in my heart, which I just wrote about yesterday on FB and IG:
“David Live” is a misunderstood classic that often gets thrown into the ring with “Stage,” Bowie’s live record released four years later.
The former may have had some doctoring after the fact, but “Stage” still sounds…uh…faker.
Two other asides-
A) I was riding the #6 bus up Sixth Avenue in 1974 and saw this record in the window of Record Connection near Waverly Place. I don't remember where I was headed, but I can't play this record without thinking of that bus ride.
B) Next time you're talking about great guitar solos and citing the obvious, consider Earl Slick's solo in "Cracked Actor" on "David Live." How good is it? It made a bunch of Sheepshead Bay Jimmy Page and Tony Iommi fans say, "Holy shit!"
I'll bet the Bennett/Evans album remaster makes it sound like you're in the room with them.
Concur with your reviews, sir. Sentimentality and closing with “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” makes David Live my favorite of the two. I’m very fond of Stage (more nostalgia) but, the relative looseness of Welcome to the Blackout (Live London ‘78) is a revelation and fun. A great band. And in line with the YouTube videos of that tour where you see Bowie enjoying himself.
Earl Slick not being allowed to tour Station to Station was criminal. As incredible as Live Nassau Coliseum ‘76 is, that should’ve been Slick opening each night with the pyrotechnics. Thanks for sharing :)
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