This Week's Playlist 9/26 - 9/30
This week featured new output from some long running acts and two windows into the past (one revisited, and one previously unopened). Here’s my take.
9/26 – The Way Up – Pat Metheny
Not sure where this way is going, but it's an interesting trip with glimpses of almost all the places Metheny's been over the years, starting with early Pat Metheny group output and American Garage. It didn't grab me initially – there’s too much going on and it feels unfocused on first listen - although it's nice to hear Lyle Mays and Metheny working together. I wouldn't call myself a major fan, but I like Metheny’s work on ECM (got a lot of their production on vinyl - Gary Burton, Steve Swallow, Ralph Towner, etc.) , and some of Metheny's smaller, quieter sets like the absolutely lovely Beyond the Missouri Sky with Pat on guitar and Charlie Haden on bass. This one I’ve got to listen to again, in a more peaceful space than my cubicle on a busy day. Maybe it - and I - will have more to say.
9/27 – A Bigger Bang – The Rolling Stones
OK. This is a good Stones album. They play with energy and spirit, and sound just fine; you don’t even miss Bill Wyman. OTOH, it doesn't seem to matter to me. Thematically and musically they haven’t gone anywhere we all haven’t been before – and attitudes/concepts that once fascinated simply don’t any more, for whatever reason. The music is alive, but the poses are exhausted, and should be put out to pasture. I know all the arguments about how old blues singers keep doing their material until they simply up and die and how Jagger’s always said he saw no reason why the Stones shouldn’t do the same, and there really isn’t any. I just don’t care about them any more.
9/28 – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard – Paul McCartney
Better than I expected. He probably shouldn't have done the one-man-band thing with the cymbals between his knees, although an outside producer does his best to keep him from overindulging his natural charm. Paul even allows himself to show some genuine self-wisdom (confronting his inner twee-ness in “English Tea” is a cool thing to do), and – as usual - displays his sizable gift for melody and running the Pop Confectionary. A few songs (the sad and anger-tinted “Riding to Vanity Fair”) go further – maybe as far as Paul can go without violating his nature. It’s not a reinvented Paul, but he’s pushing himself on this set and I respect that (even though he’s just sooo NICE). I’ll add this one to current rotation and give it another spin or two.
9/29 – Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (remastered) – John Mayall
Wow. I don't think Clapton ever played blues guitar better than on this set. His take on Robert Johnson's Rambling On My Mind is so much better than anything on the recent Me and Mr. Johnson disc; his solos are taut and pointed, with great tone and attack. Strong support is provided by Mayall (expecially on organ and blues harp), Flint (drums), and particularly McVie on a nice fat bass, and Mayall is smart enough to stand back and let it be more Clapton's album than his own. For fans of electric blues guitar, this is a must have. The remastered sound is excellent, and this reissue has two additional tracks that are more than just filler. If Layla is Clapton's high water mark, as I think it is, this one's not far behind.
9/30 – Live At The Gaslight – Bob Dylan
Sold only at Starbucks, which is kind of weird but ironically appropriate, given Dylan’s historic connection to coffeehouses (and I assume they thought of that - it certainly suits him better than Victoria's Secret, unless he's got a secret lingerie fetish). This is in some ways a better accompaniment to the recent PBS Dylan documentary (about which more to come) than the official soundtrack. It's the kind of set you would have heard Dylan play if you dropped into the Gaslight or Gerde’s Folk City back in '62; you can even pick up some audience voices quietly singing along on Hard Rain. The sound is surprisingly good, and you can hear how Dylan was crafting his arranging skills and shaping his voice around a folk and blues kernel; it’s a key moment in Robert Zimmerman’s greatest work – the creation of “Bob Dylan”. A nice listen and a good document; it was my wake-up music for the week.
9/26 – The Way Up – Pat Metheny
Not sure where this way is going, but it's an interesting trip with glimpses of almost all the places Metheny's been over the years, starting with early Pat Metheny group output and American Garage. It didn't grab me initially – there’s too much going on and it feels unfocused on first listen - although it's nice to hear Lyle Mays and Metheny working together. I wouldn't call myself a major fan, but I like Metheny’s work on ECM (got a lot of their production on vinyl - Gary Burton, Steve Swallow, Ralph Towner, etc.) , and some of Metheny's smaller, quieter sets like the absolutely lovely Beyond the Missouri Sky with Pat on guitar and Charlie Haden on bass. This one I’ve got to listen to again, in a more peaceful space than my cubicle on a busy day. Maybe it - and I - will have more to say.
9/27 – A Bigger Bang – The Rolling Stones
OK. This is a good Stones album. They play with energy and spirit, and sound just fine; you don’t even miss Bill Wyman. OTOH, it doesn't seem to matter to me. Thematically and musically they haven’t gone anywhere we all haven’t been before – and attitudes/concepts that once fascinated simply don’t any more, for whatever reason. The music is alive, but the poses are exhausted, and should be put out to pasture. I know all the arguments about how old blues singers keep doing their material until they simply up and die and how Jagger’s always said he saw no reason why the Stones shouldn’t do the same, and there really isn’t any. I just don’t care about them any more.
9/28 – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard – Paul McCartney
Better than I expected. He probably shouldn't have done the one-man-band thing with the cymbals between his knees, although an outside producer does his best to keep him from overindulging his natural charm. Paul even allows himself to show some genuine self-wisdom (confronting his inner twee-ness in “English Tea” is a cool thing to do), and – as usual - displays his sizable gift for melody and running the Pop Confectionary. A few songs (the sad and anger-tinted “Riding to Vanity Fair”) go further – maybe as far as Paul can go without violating his nature. It’s not a reinvented Paul, but he’s pushing himself on this set and I respect that (even though he’s just sooo NICE). I’ll add this one to current rotation and give it another spin or two.
9/29 – Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (remastered) – John Mayall
Wow. I don't think Clapton ever played blues guitar better than on this set. His take on Robert Johnson's Rambling On My Mind is so much better than anything on the recent Me and Mr. Johnson disc; his solos are taut and pointed, with great tone and attack. Strong support is provided by Mayall (expecially on organ and blues harp), Flint (drums), and particularly McVie on a nice fat bass, and Mayall is smart enough to stand back and let it be more Clapton's album than his own. For fans of electric blues guitar, this is a must have. The remastered sound is excellent, and this reissue has two additional tracks that are more than just filler. If Layla is Clapton's high water mark, as I think it is, this one's not far behind.
9/30 – Live At The Gaslight – Bob Dylan
Sold only at Starbucks, which is kind of weird but ironically appropriate, given Dylan’s historic connection to coffeehouses (and I assume they thought of that - it certainly suits him better than Victoria's Secret, unless he's got a secret lingerie fetish). This is in some ways a better accompaniment to the recent PBS Dylan documentary (about which more to come) than the official soundtrack. It's the kind of set you would have heard Dylan play if you dropped into the Gaslight or Gerde’s Folk City back in '62; you can even pick up some audience voices quietly singing along on Hard Rain. The sound is surprisingly good, and you can hear how Dylan was crafting his arranging skills and shaping his voice around a folk and blues kernel; it’s a key moment in Robert Zimmerman’s greatest work – the creation of “Bob Dylan”. A nice listen and a good document; it was my wake-up music for the week.
posted by DJStan at 1:39 PM
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