CD Albums - Reviews by laviolet

CD Albums - Reviews by laviolet

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Member	Item		Review/Comment
laviolet 9th Aug 2022		CD Album Fats Domino - The Very Best Of Fats Domino 1963-1965 (2004)	Review Title is a bit misleading since a "very best" of Fats would include the classic sides he made for Imperial Records between 1949 and 1963, when he left that label for ABC-Paramount. The ABC sides, recorded between 1963 and 1965, are the ones featured here. Instead of building on Fats' success recording in New Orleans, ABC sent him to Nashville. That's not as incongruous a move as you might think, considering Domino's clear country influences. Unfortunately, the glossier treatment with strings and vocal chorus produced only one top 40 hit in "Red Sails in the Sunset." The later sides like "Heartbreak Hill" and "Wigs" are more like the Fats the public had come to know, but by that time the British Invasion had swept many American R&B artists off the charts. The collection closes with a nice reworking of his 1956 hit "When My Dreamboat Comes Home." Out of print but not difficult to find. [YouTube Video] [YouTube Video] [YouTube Video] 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
laviolet 8th Jul 2022		CD Album Linda Hoover - I Mean To Shine (2022)	Review In the spring of 1970, 19-year-old Linda Hoover entered a New York studio to record her debut album for Roulette Records. Gary Katz was in charge as producer, while his protegés Donald Fagen and Walter Becker handled arrangements and contributed five songs. Other participating musicians included guitarists Denny Dias and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. Ultimately, label boss Morris Levy declined to release the finished album after finding he would control copyright on only three of the 11 songs. Becker, Fagen, Dias, and Baxter formed Steely Dan two years later. Fifty years after that Hoover's record was finally released, restored from her quarter-inch tape copy. Okay, that's the history, but what about the music? Excellent. Hoover was a formidable talent; I agree with a review that likened her to Mary Hopkin. Becker and Fagen's five songs contain what became Steely Dan's signature quirky chords and cryptic lyrics. Hoover's three compositions provide a counterpoint, especially the lovely closer "The Dove." Highly recommended. [YouTube Video] [YouTube Video] 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
laviolet 13th Feb 2018		CD Album The Moody Blues - Days Of Future Passed [50th Anniversary Edition] (2017)	Review If you've been wanting to hear the original 1967 mix of Days of Future Passed on CD, your wait is now over. The only drawback is, unlike the Sgt. Pepper anniversary issue, there's no single-disc option so you'll have to buy the complete set. Bonus material includes eight studio tracks and a batch of BBC radio performances, much of which has been previously released. The DVD on disc three is the real discovery, since it contains two high quality mixes of the LP and a 16-minute clip of the band performing three songs on French TV from early 1968. You'll marvel at the primitive production compared to today but also at the rare look at the band at their peak. Highly recommended. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
laviolet 25th Jul 2017		CD Album Laura Nyro - A Little Magic, A Little Kindness: The Complete Mono Albums Collection (2017)	Review Real Gone Music scores again with the first-ever CD issue of the mono versions of Laura Nyro's first two albums. More Than a New Discovery appears in the dedicated mono mix and original running order. Eli and the Thirteenth Confession appears in the fold-down mix only released in the US as a promo. As bonus tracks, we get the "alternate" single version of "Stoney End" (actually recorded before the LP version), the single edit of "Eli's Comin'," and the uptempo Bones Howe-produced single version of "Save the Country." Very good sound. Highly recommended. [YouTube Video] [YouTube Video] [YouTube Video] 8 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
laviolet 10th Jul 2017		CD Album Justin Hayward - Songwriter (2004)	Review Justin Hayward's 1977 LP Songwriter was first issued on CD in 1987 with two bonus tracks. The 2004 edition is the one to get, as it sports two additional tracks and much improved sound. I'm not familiar with all of Hayward's solo work, but most reviews find Songwriter his best, and it is a quite pleasant listening experience. Recommended. Note: CD notes credit Hayward as sole producer of tracks 12 and 13, but original 45 credits Hayward and Alan Leeming. 4 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
laviolet 21st Jul 2016		CD Album Aaron Neville - Apache (2016)	Review Just when it seemed that Aaron Neville had settled into doing oldies and standards, along comes Apache, his most personal record, which he appropriately describes as "just me." Indeed, all his influences are here: funk, soul, doo-wop, his New Orleans roots and often troubled youth. Neville is in fine voice at 75 and the backng, including the Daptone horn section, is superb. Neville co-wrote nearly all the songs and the lyrics are poignant and powerful. The title comes from his boyhood nickname, drawn from his Native American ancestry and tendency in younger days to turn red in the sun. His songs are published by his company "Apache Red Music." Very highly recommended. [YouTube Video] 5 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
laviolet 10th Dec 2015		CD Album The Neville Brothers - Treacherous: A History Of The Neville Brothers, 1955-1985 (1988)	Review Even before the Neville Brothers finally broke through with Yellow Moon in 1989, Rhino assembled a nice cross-section of Art's and Aaron's recordings from the 1950's, 60's and 70's, added to studio and live tracks from the brothers. We also get two tracks from the Wild Tchoupitoulas album, the first project on which all four brothers worked. Another nice touch is the original single version of "Hercules" (almost every other compilation has a different mix). The final four tracks are live, capturing the brothers' dynamic stage performance. Inexplicably, the best-known recording associated with any Neville, Aaron's 1966 hit "Tell It Like It Is," is missing, though it appears on the LP version. Recommended. 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
laviolet 10th Dec 2015		CD Album The Neville Brothers - Treacherous Too! A History Of The Neville Brothers, Volume Two 1955-1987 (1991)	Review The second volume of Rhino's Nevilles compilations follows the same format as the first: selections by Art and Aaron from the 1950's through 1970's, followed by studio and live Neville Brothers tracks. This collection includes tracks which don't show up much on digital, such as the B-side of the Hawketts' only record, the same from Cyril's only 45, and three of Art's tracks from the Instant labels. On the downside, Cyril's "Tell Me What's On Your Mind" has little dynamic range and we get three tracks from 1987's dispensable Uptown album. If you're looking to fill some holes in your Nevilles collection, this is worth your while. Update: The Cyril Neville track listed as "Tell Me What's on Your Mind" appears to be a different, unknown song. Here's the correct track. [YouTube Video] 2 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
laviolet 4th Jun 2015		CD Album Aaron Neville - Gold (2008)	Review Most Aaron Neville compilations focus on a specific period of his career, but this one runs the spectrum from his first 45 in 1960 to the most recent recordings at the time of release. Minit tracks written by Allen Toussaint are credited as "Naomi Neville," his pseudonym of the time. Includes the original 45 mixes of "Mojo Hannah" and "Hercules," which are hard to find elsewhere. Highly recommended. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
laviolet 13th Dec 2014		CD Album Lee Dorsey - Yes We Can ...And Then Some (1993)	Review As the modified title indicates, this isn't a straight reissue of Dorsey's 1970 LP. It consists of 11 of the 12 LP tracks, seven other Polydor recordings, and two Smash titles from 1963. Allen Toussaint contributes some of his strongest writing, with "Yes We Can" and "Sneaking Sally Through the Alley" becoming hits for the Pointer Sisters and Robert Palmer, while "Freedom for the Stallion" stands as one of his most beautiful and moving songs. Original album tracks are reordered with bonus tracks interspersed. The omitted LP track "Would You?" isn't a song, but a comic dialogue. Earl King wrote "Hello Good Looking"; the other Smash title "As Quiet As It's Kept" appears for the first time here. "On Your Way Down," "When Can I Come Home," "If She Won't," and "Freedom for the Stallion" were first issued on Polydor singles. "If I Were a Carpenter," "A Place Where We Can Be Free," and "Lonely Avenue" are newly issued Polydor tracks. Well worth searching for. ✔︎ Helpful Review?