INXS - X (1990)

It's no Kick, but how could it be, no matter how hard it tries? The results are uneven, but the good stuff is very good while the other tracks are easily forgettable. I'd rank this one behind Kick and Listen Like Thieves, about on par with The Swing.

Press of the time:

• CashBox: "full of singles that should fit into almost every format"
• Billboard: "there's nary a false step here."
• Musician: "instrumental finesse, sly shifts in dynamics and deep, deep grooves"
• Smash Hits (7 out of 10): "Not too remarkable in the innovation department, but 'X' is still pretty good."
• Rolling Stone (★★★½): "big-audience rock & roll that feels right for our time"
• Stereo Review: "the band's most flinty, knife-edged album of rock noir to date.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #5
• CashBox: #3

Tracks: The album starts off with a one-two punch of the two best songs, Suicide Blonde (#9 pop, #1 album rock, #1 modern rock, #25 dance) and Disappear (#8 pop, #6 album rock, #10 modern rock, #41 dance). Also good are Bitter Tears (#49 pop, #4 album rock, #6 modern rock), On My Way, and The Stairs, which might be the best song Simple Minds never recorded. The so-so filler is Who Pays The Price, Lately, and Know The Difference. And I flat-out skip the depressing By My Side, 

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: When this album was released, I was 24 years old, had been married for a little over a year, recently moved back to my hometown, and had started my second "adult" job: teaching instrumental music classes at the same middle school I once attended. Part of that particular job included helping with marching band at the high school from about 7:15 to 8:45 each morning before driving my new Nissan truck (5 speed manual!) across town to start teaching classes to around 200 students aged 11 - 14. That morning drive between campuses usually included a stop at Shipley's Donuts or Jack In The Box to pick up a quick breakfast (didn't JITB have some sort of "breakfast pocket" served in pita bread back then?). In any case, I have specific memories of hearing Suicide Blonde on the radio during that drive down 6th Street and being absolutely mesmerized by the harmonica lick. The decision that kept me from buying X on cassette that fall was probably based more on finances than music.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Kick (1987)
Listen Like Thieves (1985)

Roberta Flack - Softly With These Songs: The Best Of Roberta Flack (1993)

I've got most of these tracks on other discs, but this CD is a fantastic chronological compilation nonetheless. I think the track selection is a bit odd - I figured it would be skewed to the '70s, not the '80s - but then again, the compilation is titled "best of" not "greatest hits." I'm a big fan of the Flack-Hathaway duets and believe Where Is The Love is one of the best songs of the 1970's. I have to admit that it is quite a journey from the sparse beauty of track one to the pounding four-on-the-floor dance mix of track 17.

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

Tracks:

	Song	Year	Hot 100	AC	R&B
1	The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face	1969*	1	1	4
2	Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow	1972	76	15	38
3	Where Is The Love	1972	5	1	1
4	Killing Me Softly With His Song	1973	1	2	2
5	Feel Like Makin' Love	1975	1	1	1
6	The Closer I Get To You	1977	2	3	1
7	More Than Everything	1980
8	Only Heaven Can Wait (For Love)	1980
9	Back Together Again	1980	56		18
10	Making Love	1982	13	7	29
11	Tonight, I Celebrate My Love	1983	16	4	5
12	Oasis	1988		13	1
13	And So It Goes	1988
14	You Know What It's Like	1988
15	Set The Night To Music	1991	6	2	45
16	My Foolish Heart	1991
17	Uh-Uh Ooh-Ooh Look Out (Here It Comes) (Steve Hurley's House Mix)	1988	✝

*originally released in 1969, but charted in 1972 after being featured in the 1971 film, Play Misty For Me.
^✝#1 on Billboard's Dance chart

Missing Top 40 hits: You've Got A Friend (#29, 1971), Jesse (#30, 1973), and If I Ever See You Again (#24, 1978).

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: On today's listen, The Closer I Get To You took me right back to 6th grade and spending Friday nights at the local skating rink - "This next skate is ladies' choice!"

Previously revisited for the blog:
Original Album Series (2012)

Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties (2006)

"What do you get when you mesh Barry Manilow with an inspired set of retro songs perfectly suited for 50-year-old women? Massive nirvana." - Billboard, October 28, 2006, p. 80

Manilow and Rod Stewart successfully turned this sort of recording into a recognized late-career strategy. Since The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties hit #1, you can bet there was a sequel (and two more sequels following this one, but we won't get to those). It's more of the same, but with worse arrangements. One of those cover albums that leaves you longing to hear the originals. I'll just put this one back on the shelf and move on.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #2

Tracks:

	Song	Year
1	Can't Take My Eyes Off You	1967
2	Cherish/Windy	1966/7
3	Can't Help Falling In Love	1962
4	There's A Kind Of Hush	1967
5	Blue Velvet	1963
6	Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head	1969
7	And I Love Her	1964
8	This Guy's In Love With You	1968
9	Everybody Loves Somebody	1964
10	You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'	1965
11	When I Fall In Love	1962
12	Strangers In The Night	1966
13	What The World Needs Now Is Love	1965

I can't knock the song selection, particularly the inclusion of three classics by Bacharach/David. Track 12, Strangers In The Night, was previously released on the 1998 album, Manilow Sings Sinatra.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties (2006)	Barry (1980)
Ultimate Manilow (2002)	One Voice (1979)
Here At The Mayflower (2001)	Greatest Hits (1978)
Summer of '78 (1996)	Even Now (1978)
If I Should Love Again (1981)	Tryin' To Get The Feeling (1975)

Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties (2006)

It's a landmark day here at blog headquarters because this is the first time I've written about a DualDisc. This is also the only DualDisc currently in my collection; I inherited it from my father. I recently read a piece that collectively labelled formats such as DualDisc, SACD, DVD Audio, CD+G, CD Video, etc. as "legacy music discs" and I think I will adopt that terminology.

2004-2009

It makes sense Dad might want to try out this particular album as the 1950s were his decade in high school (Class of 1955) and college ('59). I have no idea if he knew it was a DualDisc when he purchased it, however. The disc comes with a warning:

Welp, I've currently got no fewer than 10 machines about the house that play DVDs and/or CDs so we'll just have to take our chances, won't we?

Musically, this album sounds exactly as you would expect. Manilow singing over derivative, schmaltzy orchestral arrangements with an upward modulation or two at the end of the tracks. Manilow doesn't have the greatest voice, but he sure can sell a song. And people who grew up in the '50s bought the hell out of this album and apparently recommended it to their friends, so I'll just put this one back on the shelf and move on.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #1 (Manilow's second #1 album, and his first since his 1977 live album)

Tracks (CD Audio Side) my top picks are checked.

	Song	Year
1	Moments To Remember	1955
2	It's All In The Game	1958	✔
3	Unchained Melody	1955
4	Venus	1959
5	It's Not For Me To Say	1957
6	Love Is A Many Splendored Thing	1955
7	Rags To Riches	1953
8	Sincerely/Teach Me Tonight	1955
9	Are You Lonesome Tonight?	1959	✔
10	Young At Heart	1954
11	All I Have To Do Is Dream	1958	✔
12	What A Diff'rence A Day Made	1959	✔
13	Beyond The Sea	1959

Two tracks placed on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart: Unchained Melody (#20) and Love Is A Many Splendored Thing (#32).

Tracks (DVD Side): The entire album in "enhanced stereo" (yes, I listened to all the audio tracks on each side) plus a 15 minute video of "exclusive behind-the-scenes footage," which is oddly unavailable on YouTube as of this writing. It is simply video footage of the recording sessions interspersed with interviews of Manilow and Clive Davis. If you haven't seen it, you haven't missed much.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:

Ultimate Manilow (2002)	One Voice (1979)
Here At The Mayflower (2001)	Greatest Hits (1978)
Summer of '78 (1996)	Even Now (1978)
If I Should Love Again (1981)	Tryin' To Get The Feeling (1975)
Barry (1980)

Return To Forever Featuring Chick Corea - No Mystery (1975)

German import

Generally regarded as Return To Forever's weakest (maybe I should say "least celebrated") album, this thing just kind of unevenly meanders with more of a jam band vibe than an album of composed tracks. Hummable melodies need not apply. I took a chance on a used CD and it didn't really pay off for me.

Nevertheless, the album won a Grammy in the category of Best Jazz Performance by a Group.

Reviews/ratings:

• Billboard: "remains one of the best examples of how jazz and rock cross polinate [sic] into a modern pop band."
• Record World: "[transcends] the limitations of categorical classification with musically innovative ingenuity and a collective flow"
• CashBox: "The textures are moods delineated on these tracks are striking"
• Stereo Review: "often swims about aimlessly in a sea of electronic gimmickry"
• DownBeat (★★★½): "the overall presentation is less than I have come to expect from talents like Clarke and Corea"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #39
• Billboard Jazz: #7
• CashBox: #35
• Record World Jazz: #34

Tracks: I dig a few tracks, including Dayride and Sofistifunk. What was side two (tracks 6-9) is more of a prog-rock/jazz thing that I don't particularly care for.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Return To Forever (1975)

Stanley Turrentine - Rough 'N' Tumble (1966)

Turrentine and a star-studded band groove through some soul/pop/jazz tunes (mostly covers) with top-notch arrangements; however, I ultimately agree with what is written in The Penguin Guide to Jazz: "Very enjoyable, if scarcely any kind of classic." But sometimes "enjoyable" is just what I'm after.

Original liner notes by Ira Gitler.

Turrentine - tenor saxophone
Blue Mitchell - trumpet
James Spaulding - alto saxophone
Pepper Adams - baritone saxophone
Grant Green - guitar
McCoy Tyner - piano
Bob Cranshaw - bass
Mickey Roker - drums
Duke Pearson - arrangements

Reviews/ratings:

• Record World: "beautiful sound on six groovy, commercially appealing tracks"
• CashBox: "A powerhouse package"
• DownBeat (★★): "not recommended for serious listening"
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000): ★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #149
• Billboard R&B: #20
• Billboard Jazz: #12
• Record World Jazz: #1

Tracks:

1. And Satisfy - originally recorded by Nancy Wilson in 1964. Wilson's single release in 1964 "bubbled under" Billboard's Hot 100 at #106.
2. What Could I Do Without You - written and recorded by Ray Charles in 1956. His single peaked at #5 on Billboard's R&B chart.
3. Feeling Good - written by for the 1964 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. While the musical wasn't a big hit, this song has become a standard.
4. Shake - written by Sam Cooke and recorded by him at the last recording session before his death. Posthumously, the song reached #7 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B chart.
5. Walk On By - most famously recorded by Dionne Warwick (#6 pop, #1 R&B, #7 AC). I was previously familiar with this cut from its inclusion on the stellar Blue Note compilation, Blue Bacharach.
6. Baptismal - the premiere recording of this piece, written in the 1950s by trumpeter John Hines.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
T Time (1995)
Ballads (1993)
The Best of Stanley Turrentine (1990)

Various Artists - Buddha Lounge (2002)

UK import

The story about how I found this particular brand of ambient lounge music is available on a previous Buddha blog post so I won't go into again. However, if you need some innocuous background music at your next cocktail party, these discs might just fit the bill.

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

Tracks:

CD1	Artist	Title
1	Stereo MC's	Fever (Steve Hillage Mix)
2	Talvin Singh	Traveller
3	Fila Brazillia	Nature Boy
4	The Cristophe Gaze Project	Manana
5	Thievery Corporation	Indra
6	4 Hero feat. Terry Collier	The Days Of The Greys
7	Jazzanova	Bohemian Sunset
8	Al-Pha-X	First Transmission
9	Bebel Gilberto	Samba De Bancao (4 Hero Mix)
10	Outside	Blue Sky
11	Nitin Singh	Indian Secret (Shankar Remix)
12	Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan	Mustt Mustt
13	Purple Nine	Moodswings (Kharma Mix)
14	Herbalism	Run Away
15	Dave Warrin, Julius Papp & Lisa Shaw	Looking Up

CD2	Artist	Title
1	Badmarsh & Shri	Day By Day (Chris Coco Mix)
2	Gotan Project	El Capitalismo Foraneo
3	Bob Holroyd	Waking The Spirits (Loop Guru Extended Strawberry Mix)
4	Jonathan Maron	Wish You Well
5	Nitin Sawheny	Breathing Light
6	Roni Size	Heroes (Kruders Long Bossa Mix)
7	Native American Dream	Native American Dream
8	Illie Natalia	Romanian Gypsy
9	Tribal Lord	African Chill
10	Craig Armstrong	Weather Storm
11	Sergio	Ibizan Dawn (Chill Mix)
12	DJ Kermit	Turkish Dawn
13	Eastern Awakening	Eastern Awakening
14	Dust	Stand By My Side

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Another pic from my vacation in the French West Indies? Sure! Here's the tropical rainforest in Parc national de la Guadeloupe.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Buddha-Bar III (2001)