Wynton Marsalis - Standard Time, Vol. 3: The Resolution of Romance (1990)

From the Wynton Marsalis website:

Accompanied by Reginald Veal on bass and Herlin Riley on drums, Wynton joins one of jazz’s finest pianists, his father, Ellis Marsalis, on this album of ballads and blues. Selections include “My Romance,” “Where or When,” and “Skylark,” and three smoking originals “In the Court of King Oliver,” “Bona and Paul,” and “The Seductress” – which promise to become standards in their own right. Dedicated to matriarch Dolores Marsalis, the entire session sings with solos and group playing that respond to, and extend, the lyricism of jazz’s great instrumentalists, from Louis Armstrong to Johnny Hodges to Miles Davis and John Coltrane, and its signature singers, from Bessie Smith on through to Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, and Ella Fitzgerald.

The third entry in Wynton's six volume 'Standard Time' series and my second-favorite CD in said series after Volume 1, primarily because of the chosen material and the fact that it doesn't sound like the group is trying too hard to impress. Their laid back subtlely absolutely works.

Ratings/reviews:

• Musician: "this is the trumpeter's finest hour"
• Billboard: "Marsalis takes another sentimental journey through the standards indelibly imprinted upon the psyche of jazz"
• DownBeat (★★★★★): "Marsalis bestows all the wisdom at his command"
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000):★★★½
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #101
• Billboard Jazz: #1
• CashBox Jazz: #1

Tracks: 21 tracks, 74 minutes. There's a lot to like here, but I'll pick a few favorites.

1. In The Court Of King Oliver (1990 Marsalis original) ✔
2. Never Let Me Go (1956)
3. Street Of Dreams (1932) ✔
4. Where Or When (1937) ✔
5. Bona And Paul (1990 Marsalis original)
6. The Seductress (1990 Marsalis original)
7. A Sleepin' Bee (1954)
8. Big Butter And Egg Man (1926)
9. The Very Thought Of You (1934) ✔
10. I Cover The Waterfront (1933)
11. How Are Things In Glocca Morra? (1947)
12. My Romance (1935) ✔
13. Everything Happens To Me (1940)
14. Flamingo (1940)
15. You're My Everything (1931)
16. Skylark (1941) ✔
17. It's Easy To Remember (1935)
18. Taking A Chance On Love (1940)
19. I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues (1932) ✔
20. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning (1955)
21. It's Too Late Now (1951)

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None, although my familiarity with the music here suggests I listened to it quite a bit in the early '90s.

Previously revisited for the blog:

Two Men with the Blues (2008)	Crescent City Christmas Card (1989)
Standards & Ballads (2008)	Baroque Music for Trumpets (1988)
Live at The Village Vanguard (1999)	Portrait of Wynton Marsalis (1988)
Marsalis Plays Monk (1999)	Marsalis Standard Time, Vol. 1 (1987)
In Gabriel's Garden (1996)	Carnaval (1987)
Joe Cool's Blues (1995)	J Mood (1986)
Baroque Duet (1992)	Black Codes (1985)
Uptown Ruler (1991)	Baroque Music for Trumpet (1984)
Standard Time, Vol. 2 (1991)	Hot House Flowers (1984)
Tune In Tomorrow (1990)	Trumpet Concertos (1983)

Blog post #2300

Marc Broussard - Time Is A Thief (2024)

Broussard seems content to make cover tunes these days, but he released this album of originals in 2024 and I'm glad he did. Broussard has honed his unique Americana/bayou soul sound and these varied tunes certainly groove. It's a bit brief, but the band is tight and the vocals are soulful, a nice blend of blend of classic Southern influences and modern production. At times, I'm reminded of The Meters, while other times it reminds me of a Dan Auerbach solo album. It's the sort of album where the more I listen to it, the more I like it.

Press of the time:

• Rock And Blues Muse: "Broussard covers plenty of ground while sticking to his distinctive palette."
• Blues Rock Review (9/10): "explores themes of love, the struggles of life and times fleeting nature as a testament to his evolution as an artist"
• Music Connection (7/10): "the album blends funk, soul, and R&B, creating a rich soundscape filled with gritty hooks and warm grooves."
• Bluestown Music: "Broussard and his amazing band have delivered a masterpiece."

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

Tracks: My top picks today are Fire, Cold Blooded, You Deserve More, and Stay Still.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
S.O.S.: Save Our Soul (2007)
Carencro (2004)

Brenda Russell (1979)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 2000 re-release with a bonus track.

Even though Get Here was one of the first CDs I ever purchased, I never went into Russell's back catalog. That all changed during the COVID-19 pandemic when I discovered the brilliant Love Life album. Then it was suggested that I pick up Two Eyes. While I was at it, I went ahead and picked up a copy of this self-titled debut. It's more good stuff and makes you wonder why its creator needed another nine years to achieve her greatest commercial success. Russell immediately proves herself to be a gifted songwriter in the jazzy pop/R&B/adult contemporary genre. Love Life continues to be my favorite Russell album, but there's some tracks here that certainly hold up against that standard.

Here's the original 1979 album cover. Not sure why they felt the need to "update" it for this CD release.

Press of the time:

• Robert Christgau (B+): "If it's pop you crave, slow down a minute and check this out--eight love songs, all in sensual-to-pert medium tempos, all sweetly hooky."
• DownBeat (★☆☆☆☆): "A very pretty face and a waste of time"
• Billboard: "showcases her smooth and sensible vocal style which recalls Chaka Khan at her more subtle"
• CashBox: "romantic jazz tinged ballads"
• Record World: "a standout effort"

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #65
• Billboard R&B: #26
• CashBox: #81

Tracks: The lead track, So Good So Right (#30 pop, #15 R&B, #8 AC), is the single mentioned in the above album advertisement. It's the best cut here although it isn't without some serious competition. Close runners-up include In The Thick Of It, Way Back When, You're Free, and Think It Over. No skips. In fact, why don't you go ahead follow it up with the Love Life and Two Eyes albums in their entirety. That's what I'm gonna do.

Bonus track: For this reissue, the decision was made to tack Russell's 1988 hit, Piano In The Dark (#6 pop, #8 R&B, #3 AC), to the end of this 1979 release. I can't say that it really fits, but it's one of the best songs of the 1980s, so I'll allow it. Most anytime is a good time for that song.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Get Here (1988)
Two Eyes (1983)
Love Life (1981)

Seal - 6: Commitment (2010)

Note: the CD I listened to was the 'Deluxe Edition' with two bonus tracks and a DVD.

I enjoy Seal's work with producer Trevor Horn plus I usually like what David Foster does at the console, so this Seal-Foster collaboration seemed like something I'd like. And some tracks certainly do resonate with me. Unfortunately, most others do not. It's heavy on ballads, strings, and filler; not enough Crazy for this listener.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "Seal delivers a more engaging and satisfying addition to his repertoire"
• Pop Matters (5 out of 10): "I wasn’t expecting much from 6: Commitment, and in many ways I didn’t get much."
• The Guardian (★★☆☆☆): "there's too much polished, overwrought, formulaic slop"
• USA Today (★★★⯪☆): "It's fine adult-contemporary pop"

My thoughts are more aligned to The Guardian and Pop Matters than Billboard and USA Today.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #31

Tracks: This thing is front-loaded with the first three tracks being the best tracks - If I'm Any Closer, Weight Of My Mistakes, and Silence. Then I gradually lose interest until the final track, Big Time.

Bonus Tracks: yet another ballad followed by another version of track 9, You Get Me, this take featuring Buika.

DVD: A 21 minute "Making Of" documentary. I didn't find on YouTube, but I didn't put forth much effort to find it. You're not missing anything. Clearly thrown together as an afterthought, it's simply some studio shots interspersed with a poorly recorded hotel room interview featuring Seal and a messy room service tray.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: When I saw Seal perform in 2023, none of the songs from this album were included in the setlist. He's a helluva performer.

Previously revisited for the blog:

7 (2015)	Seal (1994)
Best 1991-2004 (2004)	Seal (1991)
IV (2003)	Crazy (1990)
Human Being (1998)

Rick Springfield - Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet (1982)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by the 1995 CD reissue.

I recently came across a used CD of this mediocre piece of pop rock released by a soap opera heartthrob and couldn't resist. As I wrote a few weeks back: "Sometimes a nostalgic reunion with sorta familiar music from your distant past is exactly what you need." After a few spins of the disc, I've determined I'm good for another 44 years. Have a nice day.

Press of the time:

• Billboard: "although far from adventurous maintains all the pop and AOR hooks that radio seems to thrive on"
• CashBox: "Each track here has a hook-heavy persuasion and sharp, bouncy riffs that epitomize the meaning of the word 'pop'"
• Record World: "energetic pop-rock that's sure to set radio and retail on fire"
• Rolling Stone (★★⯪☆☆): "he's a seasoned, knowledgeable rock & roller who should be making records better than Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet."
• Stereo Review: "if, as the album title claims, success hasn't spoiled Springfield yet, it has slowed him down a bit."

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #2
• Billboard Rock: #5
• CashBox: #4
• Rolling Stone: #7

Tracks:

Title	Hot 100	Rock	AC
Don't Talk To Strangers	2	11	30
What Kind Of Fool Am I	21
I Get Excited	32
Calling All Girls		4

All of the above tunes are included in the first 7 tracks on the CD. More than likely, I played side one of this album (tracks 1-6 on CD), flipped the LP over, and played Don't Talk To Strangers before moving on to spinning a different album. In other words, I don't recall much of tracks 8-12. Don't Talk To Strangers certainly rises above the other tracks.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I'm 99% sure I originally bought this album in late April/early May 1982 at a record store on the Drag in Austin. My crack staff informs me that Don't Talk To Strangers was sitting at #5 in Billboard's Hot 100 that week. I was a 15 year old high school sophomore at the time and was in Austin for school-related activities (more on that week here). If memory serves, I bought this LP along with my first copy of Revolver and a couple of pinbacks. One of my friends, being much cooler than me, picked up a copy of Sandinista! at the same time and that was my introduction to both The Clash and Central American politics. Then we all piled back on a yellow school bus for the trip back home, said trip most likely involving a group sing-along of an ELO tune.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Working Class Dog (1981)

Sonny Rollins - Volume 2 (1957)

Note: the CD I listened to was the mono 1999 Rudy Van Gelder Edition.

Other than the sequential name and Rollins himself, this album has very little to do with its predecessor. Recorded four months after Volume 1 with different musicians and instrumentation, this album is noteworthy for the variety in material, a mixture of swinging original material, more angular modern jazz compositions from Thelonious Monk, and standards from the Great American Songbook. Monk wrote and plays on two tunes, providing his unusual phrasing and harmonies, while the remaining tunes with Horace Silver are more blues-inflected hard bop.

Something about this album makes me believe a great lineup isn't the same thing as a great album. Volume 2 is certainly not terrible by any means, but these days I prefer Volume One. It just feels more cohesive, swings harder, and takes advantage of more satisfying material. But ask me next month and I may say the exact opposite. That's the beauty of music.

Rollins - tenor saxophone
J.J. Johnson - trombone
Horace Silver - piano
Thelonious Monk - piano
Paul Chambers - bass
Art Blakey - drums

Original liner notes by Robert Levin.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "another essential volume for the modernist collector."
• HiFi & Music Review: "most deeply fulfilling"
• Audio: "It is as complete a picture of Rollins, both from his most difficult and his more easily accessible angles, as is likely to be encompassed on one record."
• DownBeat (★★★★★): "something of interest (and quite often genius) on every track, may well be the wailing set of the year."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★⯪
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★⯪
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★☆

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

Tracks: Don't miss any of these six tracks, but my top picks are Why Don't I and Poor Butterfly.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Newk's Time (1959)
Volume One (1957)

Sonny Rollins - Volume 1 (1957)

Note: the CD I listened to was the mono 2003 Rudy Van Gelder Edition. The album was originally titled "Sonny Rollins" but the Volume 1 tag was added once Volume 2 was later released.

A straight-ahead hard bop album, combining blues-based themes and driving swing with the exploratory style of Rollins. At 26, Rollins had developed his own jazz vocabulary, Donald Byrd and Wynton Kelly were just starting out, and Max Roach was already an established figure in jazz circles. So you've got three different levels of experience forming a solid quintet. Byrd sounds fantastic and holds his own. It was the debut for Rollins on the Blue Note label, but he was releasing many seminal recordings on several labels at the time, including Saxophone Colossus (Prestige), Way Out West (Contemporary), and the Monk/Rollins recordings on the Prestige and Riverside labels.

Rollins - tenor saxophone
Donald Byrd - trumpet
Wynton Kelly - piano
Gene Ramey - bass
Max Roach - drums

Original liner notes by Leonard Feather. 2003 liner notes by Bob Blumenthal.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "some of the most vigorous and creative blowing of recent months by the tenorman all the young cats are digging."
• CashBox: "Smooth work.
• DownBeat (★★★★☆): "Recommended"
• Audio: "the most important new voice on the tenor saxophone"
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★☆
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★☆
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★☆

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

Tracks: Four originals by Rollins and a cover of How Are Things In Glocca Morra. Don't skip any.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Newk's Time (1959)