A Record a Week: Billy Joel - Piano Man

SIDE 1.
TRAVELIN' PRAYER
PIANO MAN
AIN'T NO CRIME
YOU'RE MY HOME
BALLAD OF BILLY THE KID

SIDE 2.
WORSE COMES TO WORST
STOP IN NEVADA
IF I ONLY HAD THE WORDS (TO TELL YOU)
SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE
CAPTAIN JACK

Billy Joel is one of those artists that seems to have put out new music forever, but when you think of him, you think 'Why do I only know a handful of songs?' Well, this one happens to have my favourite song of his on it; the titular Piano Man. I allow for the fact that I may be too young to know most of his stuff, as well as accounting for the fact I also liked We Didn't Start The Fire.

When I was growing up, I always pictured myself being able to play this song on the piano. Other than the beginning and the solo, I'm not sure it's even that tough. I will pretend it is that, not the fact that my piano playing was not particularly ambitious or adventurous (or you know, good). Still I loved thinking that it could be me sitting at the piano and playing/singing the song.

The rest of the album is less like that song and a little more like other Joel material. Beatles-influenced rock music that is fairly generic. Travelin' Prayer, Piano Man and the other single Worse Comes to Worst are the best offerings, in my opinion.

This album/song was my reason to try out Gin and Tonic for the first time, though for rhyming sake, he calls in the 'tonic and gin'. Thank you for that, Billy Joel, it is a good drink. 

A Record a Week: Earl Hines - Fatha and His Orchestra On Tour

SIDE 1.
I JUST WANNA MAKE LOVE TO YOU
SECOND BALCONY JUMP
PASSION FLOWER
MY HEART STOOD STILL
I FEEL SO SMOOCHY
ALL OF ME

SIDE 2.
SOMEBODY LOVES ME
NIGHT IN TRINIDAD
CANNERY WALK
THINGS AIN'T WHAT THEY USED TO BE
MELODICA BLUES
EASY TO LOVE

Listening to this record, I am reminded that there was a time when the player was the namesake of the group, even if he or she was not the singer. Not to take anything away from the singer in this group, she's wonderful; but it is clearly Hines that is in control and the best of the bunch.

Teaming up with jazz greats Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington(among countless others) he over the years, Hines was considered amongst the elite in jazz and what would later become 'bebop'. He triumphed through a move to Chicago(where jazz was king at the time), powered through the times when African-Americans were discriminated against everywhere, and even maneuvered much of his band being drafted into the army, missing only a short stint as a result. I am not an aficionado of this style of music at all, but I can tell a good piece when I hear it. If my record player were upstairs, this would certainly be perfect cocktail party background music. I'm going to go against the grain of saying 'I should have been born in (insert era)' and just go ahead and say more modern musicians should do well done versions of music from eras past.

A Record a Week - George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue/An American in Paris

SIDE 1.
RHAPSODY IN BLUE

SIDE 2.
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

Gershwin was one of several composers who died at an early age (38). These two songs are his most notable compositions, Rhapsody in Blue being his first release, An American in Paris coming later. His main source of income, however, was recording the rolls for player pianos.

The first thing I thought of when I turned on this record was that it was very theatrical. The type of classical composition that really lends itself to film or stage (some research tells me that pieces of Rhapsody were arranged for West Side Story). The writing is diverse, heavy with jazz, classical, broadway and doses of other styles as well. When it comes to classical records, I enjoy ones that bring to mind a certain setting or scenery and I feel this record did just that.

A Record a Week: Erroll Garner - Misty

SIDE !.
MISTY
EXACTLY LIKE YOU
YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE
WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE
FRANTONALITY

SIDE 2.
AGAIN
WHERE OR WHEN
LOVE IN BLOOM
THROUGH A LONG AND SLEEPLESS NIGHT
THAT OLD FEELING

This is a great and classic swing album. Garner bridges the gap between classic jazz and swing without being too generic or offensive to either style.

This album contains a good collection of songs, including the leading song, Misty, which became a jazz standard covered by several other jazz musicians. The song, first released on 1954's Plays Misty was at that time an instrumental. Lyrics were later added by Johnny Burke and the song re-released on the album Contrasts. This record is a re-release of Plays Misty and includes the lyricized version of the song.

The other songs are equally well-written and engaging, encompassing a bright vision of all elements of jazz. Various time signatures, including at some times different ones played by different hands, meld together at the right time creating an element of suspense-satisfaction as the listener gets drawn in. Even if you can't hear such subtleties (ones I only heard occasionally myself), this album plays out as a great jazz/swing collection.

A Record A Week: Bach: The Goldberg Variations (Glenn Gould)

Okay, so I definitely could have filed this under G I suppose, but it says BACH in big letters, so it's under B.



SIDE 1. - Variations 1 Through 16

Aria
Variation 1 a 1 Clav.
Variation 2 a 1 Clav.
Variation 3 a 1 Clav. Canone All'Unisuono
Variation 4 a 1 Clav.
Variation 5 a 1 Ovvero 2 Clav.
Variation 6 a 1 Clav. Canone Alla Seconda
Variation 7 a 1 Ovvero 2 Clav.
Variation 8 a 2 Clav.
Variation 9 a 1 Clav. Canone alla Terza
Variation 10 a 1 Clav. Fughetta
Variation 11 a 2 Clav.
Variation 12 Canone Alla Quarta
Variation 13 a 2 Clav.
Variation 14 a 2 Clav.
Variation 15 a 1 Clav. Canone alla Quinta. Andante
Variation 16 Ouverture a 1 Clav.

SIDE 2. - Variations Nos. 17 Through 30
Variation 17 a 2 Clav.
Variation 18 Canone Alla Sesta a 1 Clav.
Variation 19 a 1 Clav.
Variation 20 a 2 Clav.
Variation 21 Canone Alla Settima
Variation 22 Alla Breve a 1 Clav.
Variation 23 a 2 Clav.
Variation 24 Canone All'Ottava a 1 Clav.
Variation 25 a 2 Clav.
Variation 26 a 2 Clav.
Variation 27 Canone Alla Nona
Variation 28 a 2 Clav.
Variation 29 a 1 Ovvero 2 Clav.
Variation 30 a 1 Clav. Quodlibet
Aria da Capo

Glenn Gould was as much of a musical prodigy as you can get. He hummed instead of crying as a baby and was playing music before he could read words. Throughout his life, he wrote, composed, arranged and conducted music, as well as being a radio announcer later on.

He did some of his own composition, but when it came to performing classical pieces, Bach was his main squeeze. He dabbled in other composers as well, but they were never with the same amount of focus. His playing on this record shows his intimate knowledge of classical music. He didn't just play it, he felt it and understood it completely. When classical piano is played well, it feels as if the fingers of the player are moving automatically and freely across the keyboard.

I am always on the hunt for classical music that I can tolerate listening to and this record gives me hope. At times it does sort of sound like the soundtrack to the parts of a black and white film where the person is skipping along; before they run into the villain and the minor chords kick in. Overall I enjoyed this record and am proud to have Glenn Gould in the musical heritage of Canada.

A Record a Week: Mose Allison - Back Country Suite/Local Color

Wow, I'm starting writing this at 10:45 and it's a double record, so I am going to have to listen and write at the same time to get this under my self-imposed Saturday Deadline!

This album is a re-release of his Debut Album "Back Country Suite" and his second effort, "Local Color".



SIDE 1. (Originally released on the album Back Country Suite)
NEW GROUND
TRAIN
WARM NIGHT
BLUE BLUES
SATURDAY
SCAMPER
JANUARY
SPRING SONG
HIGHWAY 49

SIDE 2. (Originally released on the album Back Country Suite)
BLUEBERRY HILL
YOU WON'T LET ME GO
I THOUGH ABOUT YOU
ONE ROOM COUNTRY SHACK
IN SHALAH

SIDE 3. (Originally released on the album Local Color)
PARCHMAN FARM
CARNIVAL
CREPUSCULAR AIR
MOJO WOMAN
TOWN

SIDE 4. (Originally released on the album Local Color)
TROUBLE IN MIND
LOST MIND
I'LL NEVER BE FREE
DON'T EVER SAY GOODBYE
AIN'T YOU A MESS

An incredible piano player, Mose Allison's Jazz styles range from the smooth piano lounge to the snap-your-fingers jazz dance club. It's easy to see how he influenced and is covered by the Clash, The Who, The Stones, Hendrix, Elvis Costello, and the Yardbirds; Van Morrison even did an entire Album's worth. The Pixies song "Allison" is a tribute to him. The songs on these albums, a mixture of his own work and variations on others', are a foundation for his 40+ albums and have a sound that wove through Jazz and Rock for years to follow.

In this reissue, Pete Townshend and Ira Gitler fill the gatefold with tales of his life and his influence on them.

Years before Elvis brought was a white man doing black music, a teenage Mose Allison was playing jazz with an also teenage B.B. King in Memphis.

The first side of the record sounds like something you would hear on Itunes when you double-click a song. The songs start and play for about a minute before fading out, sounding more like a snippet than a complete works. The songs focus on the instrumentation (mainly his piano, but including solos on other instruments), with vocals used sparingly. The sparse use of vocals really pulls you into focus after you lose yourself in the groove of the instrumental tracks. Once you flip the record over, the other three sides have a more traditional length to them and a more complete feel as well. He even plays trumpet on the opening track of the final side.

I love the sounds on old records and I wish sometimes that things had never gone digital. The effect of the old microphones and the recording on to tape has such a warm, comfortable feel to it. Drums were recorded with two microphones and sound better than many of today's ten plus microphone setups.

This record is a terrific example of why I started this project in the first place. I have a whole host of records that I've never listened to and I just knew that I would be exposed to a bunch of new areas of music that I hadn't been previously. This record is a real gem and here's to hoping that I uncover more treasures along the way.

(writing finished at 11:51, record played until 11:59)