Los Angeles Philharmonic - Bach: Transcriptions (2000)

Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic, recorded at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles on October 6-7, 1999.

I inherited this CD from my father and when I came across it, I contacted my college buddy who played percussion in the LA Phil for 30 years. He confirmed he is on this recording, so that's kinda cool. It's not a CD I would have picked out for myself, but I find myself liking some of the tracks. Salonen selected transcriptions by musicians who are famous for their own compositions and/or conducting, giving the CD programming a nice twist.

• Toccata & Fugue in d minor, BMV 565, arr. by Leopold Stokowski
• Fantasy & Fugue in c minor, BWV 537, arr. by Sir Edward Elgar ✔
• Ricercare No. 2 from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079, arr. by Anton Webern ✔
• Prelude & Fugue in E-Flat Major "St. Anne," BWV 552, arr. by Arnold Schoenberg
• Fugue in g minor "Little," BWV 578, arr. by Stokowski
• Suite for Organ, Harpsichord & Orchestra (from Orchestra Suites Nos. 2 & 3), arr. by Gustav Mahler ✔

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Great Organ Works (1996)
Empire Brass - A Bach Festival for Brass & Organ (1986)
Brian Slawson - Bach on Wood (1985)
Glenn Gould - The Goldberg Variations (1955)

Susan Tedeschi - Back to The River (2008)

Yeah, this is considered a "blues album," but it's more of an Americana roots album that encompasses blues, soul, gospel, funk, and Southern rock. I guess it's a nod to almost all American musical traditions and there's strength in the diversity. Plus there's riffs aplenty and I dig the thing. I don't think Tedeschi will ever escape vocal comparisons to Bonnie Raitt and her Telecaster speaks for itself.

Press of the time:

• DownBeat (★★★★): "Tedeschi stands tall with superior material"
• Sounds of Blue (7/10): "What is immediately obvious is how mature Tedeschi's vocals have grown, as well as her songwriting abilities."
• Offbeat: "she truly sets herself apart from her peers, sheds the fair-weather comparisons to Bonnie Raitt, and cements her place at the table"
• All About Jazz: "a well-rounded CD that showcases Tedeschi's talent as a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist."
• Jambands: "this is a great album"
• BBC Music: "Gritty, wood smoked, and with its heart pinned in the right place on its sleeve, Back To The River is a record for singing loudly along to in the car. And if you don't do much loud singing in your car - it probably isn't for you."

Good news! I'm a guy who does a lot of singing in my car and I only have two volumes: loud and off.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #71
• Billboard Blues: #1

Tracks: I enjoy it from top-to-bottom, but things start cookin' in the middle. My top picks are the title track, Love Will, People, Revolutionize Your Soul, and There's A Break In Every Road. Track 9, True, was released as a radio single and the only chart action I can find is on the Radio & Records "Triple A" chart in late November, 2008.

True has a slight Latin feel to it (à la Santana's Smooth) and it is radio-ready for sure with fantastic solos on keys and guitar.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but now I'm thinking a concert pairing of the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Marc Broussard would be a helluva double bill.

Pages - Future Street (1979)

Japanese import

After discovering the self-titled 1981 Pages album, I slowly dove into their back catalog, which included this Future Street album. Comparisons to Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, and Ambrosia are appropriate. The band was still refining its sound - they can't all emerge fully-formed like, say, Boston or The Cars.

More on the band can be found in a 'New Faces To Watch' feature from the November 17, 1979 issue of CashBox magazine. The group would eventually split and band members Richard Page and Steve George would form Mr. Mister, seeing major chart success in 1985.

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "commercial, musical wonderment"
• Billboard: "At times the band sounds like a hybrid between the Eagles and Steely Dan, though it is not nearly as distinctive as either."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• CashBox: #183

Tracks: A brief release, clocking in at only 34½ minutes. The lead track, a Toto-ish rocker titled I Do Believe In You, was released as a single, peaking at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100. The best track, however, is Who's Right Who's Wrong, featuring Michael Brecker and Kenny Loggins. In fact, Loggins released his own version of Who's Right Who's Wrong almost simultaneously on his Keep the Fire album and then Al Jarreau, Randy Crawford, David Sanborn, & Pages themselves recorded a fantastic live version of the tune on the Casino Lights album. I struggle to understand how that song was never a hit for somebody. The other tracks here are hit-or-miss. Heck, let me go ahead and rank 'em.

1. Who's Right, Who's Wrong
2. The Sailor's Song
3. Two People
4. I Do Believe In You
5. Keep On Movin'
6. Future Street
7. Take My Heart Away
8. Chemistry

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, but the overall sound of this thing takes me back to Spring 1980 real quick even though I never heard this album until decades later. Funny how the mind works.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Pages (1981)
Pages (1978)

Bob James - 12 (1984)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD.

Now here's an impulse buy that I made purely for reasons of nostalgia. It's good not great, but I picked up a used LP while I was a college freshman in early 1985, playing it in my drafty dorm room on the Fisher stereo my parents gave me to celebrate my graduation from high school the previous year. You get the picture. Sometimes a nostalgic reunion with sorta familiar music from your distant past is exactly what you need.

The album is particularly notable for being the recording debut of saxophonist Kirk Whalum. Whalum's contributions were enough to make me seek out some of his later solo albums, including his 1985 solo debut, Floppy Disc. Definitely of its time, 12 is overproduced and heavily relies on mid-eighties studio tropes. The result is fairly safe music; one of those albums where good musicians were 'professionally' prevented from making waves.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "reliably tight, accessible crossover fare built around strong pop melodies with gusts of r&b and funk."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #136
• Billboard Jazz: #5
• Billboard R&B: #67
• CashBox: #129
• CashBox Jazz: #5
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #5

Tracks: The opener is a hard-driving shuffle that falls just short because of the overly-busy arrangement. I was previously familiar with the second track, Courtship, from its in inclusion on The Official Music of the XXIII Olympiad Los Angeles 1984 compilation album. It's the best track on the album. The two later tracks that feature Whalum are very good as well: Ruby Ruby Ruby and, in particular, Midnight. The worse track is Moonbop.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: See above. I don't remember playing this album after my freshman year, so it brings back particular memories of those two semesters. (More on those times here and here.) Looking back, I feel I was well-prepared for college academically and emotionally. However, I was socially immature and very much so. I was particularly ill-prepared for the onslaught of women at the time seeking their "MRS degree." Somehow, I slogged through that year, had a great summer in 1985, and things improved greatly in the fall of 1985 when I started dating my future wife, who was in no hurry to get married. In fact, we never even discussed marriage until I proposed in March, 1989. A lack of communication and planning probably isn't the recommended way to start a marriage, but since we've been wed for over 37 years, that method somehow worked for us. But I happily digress...

Previously revisited for the blog:
Playin' Hooky (1997)
with Earl Klugh - Cool (1992)
with David Sanborn - Double Vision (1986)
Rameau (1984)
with Earl Klugh - Two of a Kind (1982)

Oscar Peterson Plays The Cole Porter Songbook (1953/1959)

2024 EU import consisting of a combination of tracks from two albums: Oscar Peterson Plays Cole Porter (Clef, 1953) and Oscar Peterson Plays The Cole Porter Song Book (Verve, 1959) plus two bonus tracks from the earlier recording session. Here at CDP, we consider that a two-fer. I'm a big fan of Cole Porter (also, apropos of nothing, we share a birthday) and these piano trio interpretations go down real easy. A fantastic pairing of performers and material.

2024 liner notes by Alan Guntry.

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OSCAR PETERSON PLAYS THE COLE PORTER SONG BOOK (1959)

The first twelve tracks of the CD are the 12 tracks - in the same order - originally released on the 1959 Verve album.

Original liner notes by Lawrence D. Stewart.

Peterson - piano
Ray Brown - bass
Ed Thigpen - drums

Reviews/ratings:

• HiFi/Stereo Review: "Peterson is functioning as a superior workman in the fields of contrivance without very much emotional drive in what he is doing."
• CashBox: "A must for the jazz collectors - yet with definite pop appeal."
• DownBeat (★★★): This is not ambitious Peterson by any means; the intent was apparently to aim at the commercial market. It should hit that bull's eye dead center."
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★½
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: All are quite nice and it sounds like the trio is having a great time; my favorites today are Love For Sale, I've Got You Under My Skin, Every Time We Say Goodbye, Why Can't You Behave?, and It's De-Lovely.

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OSCAR PETERSON PLAYS COLE PORTER (1953)

The remain 14 tracks come from sessions that took place between 1951-54, 12 of which were released in 1953 on the Clef label. These 12 tracks are not presented in the same order as originally released, plus there are two bonus tracks included. As these cuts originally appeared on 10" vinyl, I guess the order doesn't really matter. We've also got a slight change in instrumentation from the earlier tracks: add guitar, subtract drums.

Original liner notes by producer Norman Granz.

Peterson - piano
Bernie Kessel - guitar
Herb Ellis - guitar Ray Brown - bass

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard (76/100): "the sets will indicate again Peterson's inventiveness, imaginative improvisation and his rhythmic drive."
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: my picks of these 14 tracks include I Get A Kick Out Of You, Let's Do It, Anything Goes, Begin The Beguine, and So Near And Yet So Far. The final cut, From This Moment On, includes vocals from Peterson and while they're perfectly fine, it provides a startling conclusion to an otherwise instrumental album. Yes, I prefer the 1959 recordings, but the entire 26-track CD is worth a listen, even with the few repetitions. 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Not with this CD in particular, but with this sort of beautiful music. When I was a child in the mid-1970s, my family seldom went out to a restaurant for dinner. Given my behavior at the time, that's hardly surprising. On rare occasions (maybe once or twice a year), the family would go to Furr's Cafeteria on Grandview Ave.

My parents would always say, "Don't let your eyes be bigger than your stomach" but of course I'd always get too much food anyway. My excessive choices were well worth the weary, frustrated "I told you so" that inevitably ended the meal. In any case, in the Furr's dining room there was often a piano player playing standards like those found on this CD. Mac & cheese, a slice of chocolate pie, and the Great American Songbook. I didn't know how good I had it.

Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan - In Session (1999)

Recorded in 1983, first released in 1999, re-released in 2010, then re-re-released in 2024.

Allow me to expand on that: the show was originally recorded live on December 6, 1983, at CHCH-TV studios in Hamilton, Ontario then edited for broadcast. Somebody at the TV studios was thinking and saved the thing. The session was edited and released as a single CD in 1999 then re-released in 2010 with a bonus DVD of the television broadcast. Finally, the full show (in order) was released in a 2 CD set by Stax in 2024 for the album's 25th anniversary. That's the version I'm spinning today. The digisleeve packaging includes a 16 page booklet which reprints liner notes from both the 1999 release and the 2010 re-release. A 4K Blu-Ray upscale of the TV feed would have been a nice bonus, but no dice. Maybe I was just born under a bad sign.

Edited from the record label's website:

At the In Session taping, 60-year-old Albert ruled over the proceedings like a benevolent father, retaining control while allowing his 29-year-old guest loads of solo space in which to display his awesome command of the electric guitar. Stevie avoided flaunting his prowess, however, and instead delivered some of the most deliciously restrained playing of his career, laying back when his mentor dictated, turning up the heat only when Albert deemed it appropriate. The interplay between the two blues masters is uncannily empathetic, and Albert's fans will find special pleasure in hearing him play rhythm parts at such length. At one point between tunes, Albert complained about problems with his guitar strings, then told Stevie, "I'm about ready to turn it over to you.... I've got to sit back and watch you."

Albert was, in a sense, passing the torch to Stevie. In Session is the only known recording of Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan performing together. Its long-overdue commercial release stands as a fitting tribute to the genius of two of the greatest musicians ever to have played the blues on electric guitar.

The only known recording of Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan performing together. Simply put, it's well worth your time.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: did not chart
• Billboard Blues: #1

Tracks: King's Born Under A Bad Sign is a stone cold classic and it leads things off and you immediately hear how well King's vocals and Vaughan's guitar mesh. Other top tracks on the first CD are Pride And Joy and Blues At Sunrise. From Disc 2: Overall Junction, Match Box Blues, and Don't Lie To Me. But this is the rare live 2 disc set you'll want to hear from top-to-bottom.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:

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Stevie Ray Vaughan

Original Album Classics (2013)	Greatest Hits (1995)
The Real Deal: Greatest Hits Vol 2 (1999)	Family Style (1990)

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Albert King

Born Under A Bad Sign (1967)

Evie Sands - Any Way That You Want Me (1970)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2005 Rev-Ola reissue import from the UK that includes a bonus track.

I consider the 1975 album Estate Of Mind to be one of the best pop albums of the 1970s, so I picked up this CD based solely because it was Evie Sands. I wanted more of the same; I didn't get it. It's not a terrible album - Evie is in fine voice - it's simply not what I wanted nor expected. Different songwriters, different producers, different backing band. It happens.

Press of the time:

• Rolling Stone: "definitely commercial but always in good taste."
• Billboard: "sure to win many new fans"
• CashBox: "strong melodic vocal talent"
• Record World: "Evie has a husky-sweet voice and the look and sound of a winner."

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: It's fairly generic slow tempo '60s folk rock with an occassional hint of soul music (think Dusty In Memphis with weaker material). Single releases that appear on the album include But You Know I Love You (#110), Any Way That You Want Me (#53), Take Me For A Little While, and One Fine Summer Morning. I think the title cut is the best track on the original album, closely followed by Take Me For A Little While. Inexplicably, we only get 30 seconds (fade in-fade out) of a cover of James Taylor's Carolina On My Mind. Would like to have heard the whole thing.

Bonus track: the 1969 single Maybe Tomorrow, composed by Quincy Jones with lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It was recorded for the film John and Mary and 'bubbled under' Billboard's Hot 100 at #116. The chorus is quite nice, but I understand why it didn't chart higher.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Estate Of Mind (1975)