The Now Spinning/Recent Purchases Thread

July 31st, the entire Pat Metheny ECM catalog was reissued in Hi-Res. Everything from Bright Size Life to First Circle. Just sampling a few selected tracks at the moment. My digital setup isn't quite optimal right now (it sounds a tiny bit vague due to using a crappy USB cable, since my Bridge in the DAC is offline) but otherwise they seem to sound pretty good. No compression or limiting, and the tonal balance is nice. I've read that the goal for this series of remasters was to preserve the sound of the original tapes as much as possible (and those original tapes were in excellent condition).
 
Soooo...yep, first thing this morning on release day, fresh from Qobuz:

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I'll probably buy this as a download, while I'm waiting on the vinyl to arrive. It's a mix of new tunes and classics that Raul Malo heard from a young age (he is a first-generation Cuban-American). Two of them should be familiar to early A&M fans--the Baja Marimba Band covered "Sabor a Mí" on Watch Out!, and Sandpipers did a version of "Cuando Me Enamoro" on the Softly album (badly misspelled there). The opening track, La Sitiera, reminds me of an Ennio Morricone soundtrack with a touch of Duane Eddy guitar.



It's an interesting album for sure--it does have some of the Mavericks' signature elements (brass section, accordion, Raul's voice) yet it's unlike anything they've done prior. It's about as far away from their early days on the country charts as you can imagine.

The Mavs have a PPV event this weekend. An hour-long performance of tunes from the album recorded live in the studio, with interviews and other bonuses.

The Mavericks live from The Mavericks Show, Nashville, TN on nugs.tv
 
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Another new release today is Agora from Bebel Gilberto.

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It's not Tanto Tempo but it similarly draws on electronica, in an entirely different way. This time, she worked with producer and longtime friend Thomas Bartlett. The backing floats and soars via its multitude of uncluttered layers (there is a lot happening, but none of it is overbearing). Some of the rhythms are faintly Brazilian but it's otherwise unlike others she's done in the past. I have to admit the first two singles released earlier this year didn't grab my ear but listening to the album as a whole, it makes more sense now. It will take a few listens to full grasp what is going on here, but it is so interesting at first listen that I'll be returning to it often.

So now I have two new albums to listen to--one in Spanish, the other in Portuguese. 😁
 
A somewhat recent remastering of this, the debut album from Tears For Fears. I've played this a few times in the past couple of weeks, not having heard the entire thing for a while.

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It does sound a bit less metallic than the original CD, a slight but welcome improvement.
 
By the way, Tears For Fears late 1989 "The Seeds Of Love" will be reissued with bonus material as a box set!! I wasn't too happy with their 3rd album though.
 
I've been digging into my classical music lately I found a couple CD versions of albums I used to have on vinyl classical Guitarists Christopher Parkening'1972 gem called Parkening plays Bach which was reissued on CD with extra bonus tracks in 1986 and a very Rare Andres Segovia album which was released originally on RCA in 1975 called "The Intimate Guitar the CD I got however was an italian version retitled "Guitara intimo" it has the exact same tunes as the aforementioned Intimate guitar ( and I ripped them into my computer the exact moment they were delivered to me) back in the 80s I was collecting classical music that I would hear used on TV as background music or Test pattern audio and I haven't so many albums in my collection that have been used in that manner over many decades it's nice to still be able to enjoy these almost impossible to find albums
 
Having just read Steve Lukather's biography, I've been going back into the Toto catalog. I just noticed that the Toto catalog on Columbia was remastered and reissued in hi-res earlier this year, so I've been catching up. I forgot how much I liked some of the tunes from that debut album--"Georgy Porgy" especially, as that was the tune that our local dance/R&B station played (due to Cheryl Lynn's vocal part) and was my introduction to the band via the 12" single of that track. It's a lot more complex a tune than it lets on at first--lots of interesting chord changes. "Child's Anthem" has to be one of my favorite lead-off tracks on an album. The remastered sound seems quite good (I'm on the KEF LS50s right now, but I haven't heard it on the "big" system yet), and it isn't brickwalled.

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Lukather's bio was something I have wanted to read for a while, since there have been a lot of Toto myths out there that persist to this day. Plus, I had only known some of the musicians' work in passing, without getting into too much detail. Regarding Jeff Porcaro's untimely death...we'd always heard it was cocaine. Nope. He was having some heart issues, and was having to ice his left arm after each performance due to the pain. He was at home working in the yard, spraying pesticide (without a mask), and ended up having a fatal heart attack from it. And years later, his brother Mike passed from ALS. Their sibling Steve Porcaro still performs with Toto.

I also learned that their current lead singer Joseph Williams is the son of famous film composer John Williams. So that's quite a heritage three of the Toto members have. David Paich is the son of legendary band leader and arranger Marty Paich (whose work I've always admired with Mel Tormé), and the Porcaro brothers have popular percussionist Joe Porcaro as their father.

The story behind Bobby Kimball was interesting. He and the band parted ways a few times since, on the road and in the studio, he couldn't hit the notes in tune or reach the highest notes. Some days he was dead-on perfect; on others, he would struggle. Beyond that, reading about the hundreds of sessions per year was exhausting to think about--these guys in Toto, back in the 70s and 80s, were probably on half the records coming out of Los Angeles back then. Heck, they were practically the house band for Thriller; even Steve Porcaro was featured with his tune "Human Nature" (co-composed with John Bettis). Paich and Jeff Porcaro were playing at an advanced level even while in high school and were the first of their group to break into the studios and land the choice gigs. There were also a few references to A&M Studios--it's mind boggling to think of how many hit singles and albums were recorded at A&M, and how many of those sessions various Toto members played on over the years.
 
Having just read Steve Lukather's biography, I've been going back into the Toto catalog. I just noticed that the Toto catalog on Columbia was remastered and reissued in hi-res earlier this year, so I've been catching up. I forgot how much I liked some of the tunes from that debut album--"Georgy Porgy" especially, as that was the tune that our local dance/R&B station played (due to Cheryl Lynn's vocal part) and was my introduction to the band via the 12" single of that track. It's a lot more complex a tune than it lets on at first--lots of interesting chord changes. "Child's Anthem" has to be one of my favorite lead-off tracks on an album. The remastered sound seems quite good (I'm on the KEF LS50s right now, but I haven't heard it on the "big" system yet), and it isn't brickwalled.

1598140700770.png

Lukather's bio was something I have wanted to read for a while, since there have been a lot of Toto myths out there that persist to this day. Plus, I had only known some of the musicians' work in passing, without getting into too much detail. Regarding Jeff Porcaro's untimely death...we'd always heard it was cocaine. Nope. He was having some heart issues, and was having to ice his left arm after each performance due to the pain. He was at home working in the yard, spraying pesticide (without a mask), and ended up having a fatal heart attack from it. And years later, his brother Mike passed from ALS. Their sibling Steve Porcaro still performs with Toto.

I also learned that their current lead singer Joseph Williams is the son of famous film composer John Williams. So that's quite a heritage three of the Toto members have. David Paich is the son of legendary band leader and arranger Marty Paich (whose work I've always admired with Mel Tormé), and the Porcaro brothers have popular percussionist Joe Porcaro as their father.

The story behind Bobby Kimball was interesting. He and the band parted ways a few times since, on the road and in the studio, he couldn't hit the notes in tune or reach the highest notes. Some days he was dead-on perfect; on others, he would struggle. Beyond that, reading about the hundreds of sessions per year was exhausting to think about--these guys in Toto, back in the 70s and 80s, were probably on half the records coming out of Los Angeles back then. Heck, they were practically the house band for Thriller; even Steve Porcaro was featured with his tune "Human Nature" (co-composed with John Bettis). Paich and Jeff Porcaro were playing at an advanced level even while in high school and were the first of their group to break into the studios and land the choice gigs. There were also a few references to A&M Studios--it's mind boggling to think of how many hit singles and albums were recorded at A&M, and how many of those sessions various Toto members played on over the years.
I heard Jeff Pocaro's death while doing yardwork first before I heard any of the rumors I was sad to hear of his passing as he was one of the more known session drummer I was familiar with He played on Larry Carlton's Sleepwalk album ( one of my favorite early Carlton albums) Jeff also played on many A&M Recordings too he was very versatile
 
Sweet Lizzy Project -- Technicolor.

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It's catchy! The band has a surprising background, though. Lisset Díaz, the lead vocalist and band leader, used to sing and play along to American classic rock in her youth, and after forming a band, they played classic rock covers in a club in Havana, Cuba. After listening to this track, it's hard to think that this band (and especially Lisset) hail from Cuba! When Raul Malo visited Havana during the taping of his PBS special "Havana Time Machine," their paths crossed. They arranged for visas and Malo invited them to join him in Nashville where he has helped them record this album, and released it on the Mono Mundo Records label.

More about the band here:

Miami: What happens when Cuban rockers and a Cuban-American country singer join forces

One of their breakout songs, "Turn Up The Radio," an English cover of "Súbeme La Radio" by Enrique Iglesias:

 
With over 100 albums, it's no surprise I'd miss something along the way. 😁



I was more familiar with his more polished recording on the Concord Picante label in the 80s:



And this one, originally from the Tambó album (this version on YouTube sounds awful):



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I've been listening to my latest Download album purchase "The Return of We Five" now that I have the complete We Five A&M trilogy so to speak this 3rd one isnt as Good as the other two but it's good for what it is with a couple personnel changes one in particular being Debbie Burgan ( who replaced original Vocalist Beverly Bivens) she does sound pretty Good and can belt it out like the aforementioned Bivens it's a little more Contemporary than the others but all in all it's not the We Five we knew and remembered But for what it is it's a pleasant and Good album and for us A&M completists a Historical necessity in my opinion Your mileage may vary
 
I really fell down the YouTube rabbit hole this evening. In another thread, AM Matt mentioned a Terry Jacks song, "Concrete Sea". It's probably over 40 years since I've heard it, so off I went to search for it on YouTube. I then spent the next three hours, clicking on "recommended" videos, and listening to loads of classic Canadian music from my youth. I had nearly forgotten how many great bands we had back in the 70s and 80s! Here's a few examples:

"Let Go The Line" by Max Webster


"My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)" by Chilliwack


And finally, this epic from Prism, "Armageddon"
 
Prism "Mirror Man" is one great song from 1979 "Armageddon". Chilliwack "Dreams, Dreams, Dreams" (1977) is their best album by a nose over "Lights From The Valley" (1978). Max Webster "High Class In Borrowed Shoes" (1977) is their best effort.
 
You'd think we would have heard more of the Canadian music on our side of the border--CKLW was right across the river, but they were playing right to the US audience over here. The "Can con" rules (Canadian content) ended up killing off CKLW's popular format.

Here's the Prism track again (I think the link above works in Canada only):



Then again, most of us were very familiar with this Canadian band:

 
I picked up the CD version of the new Fleetwood Mac box set, which covers their Warner Bros. years before they hit the big time with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

There are 7 remastered albums in the set, plus a bonus live album recorded the year before Buckingham and Nicks joined the band. It's the first remastering for all of these records.

The musical journey made by Fleetwood Mac over these seven albums is pretty intriguing. They started off (with three previous albums on other labels) as a straight ahead blues band, and then during this early WB tenure, they slowly morphed into a smooth pop/rock band -- with touches of blues never far below the surface. The newest album in this set, Heroes Are Hard To Find, pretty much lays the groundwork for what followed with Buckingham and Nicks.

The sound so far (I'm in the middle of Future Games right now) is much improved over previous CD issues. The whole thing comes in a box with each album housed in a mini-LP sleeve, complete with any gatefolds, inserts or lyric sheets that were originally included. The Future Games album comes in the rarely-seen original yellow cover (for some unknown reason, later pressings had the cover changed to a snot-green color).
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Highlights:
- Peter Green's last album with the band before he joined a religious cult (Then Play On)
- Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan and Bob Weston's brief hiatus with the band (lots of good guitar work from these guys)
- Several outstanding instrumentals. I had forgotten they recorded so many instrumentals. Kirwan had a knack for those.
- The group's early singles, "Rattlesnake Shake," "Oh Well," "Station Man," "Jewel-Eyed Judy" and a few others
- Christine McVie's debut as a band member, which happened on the album Future Games
- Bob Welch's original (and in my opinion, better) version of his hit "Sentimental Lady"
- The still-popular-to-this-day album cut "Hypnotized," from the sadly-underrated Mystery To Me album
- Some of Christine's prettiest balladry ever, including "Prove Your Love," "Show Me A Smile," and "Why"

Fleetwood Mac's pre-Buckingham/Nicks career has pretty much taken a back seat, and a lot of people still aren't even aware some of these albums exist! I remember getting into an argument in 1977 at our store with a guy who was asking about the "new" Fleetwood Mac album "Mystery to Me," which was about five years old at the time. He was pretty astonished when I showed him their extensive back catalog.

Anyway, if you're a fan of mid-period Mac, this is pretty essential stuff. The ONLY gripe I have is, I was hoping for some kind of essay in the booklet; all we get are the song lists, and the original liner notes from the records reproduced on the mini-jackets.
 
The still-popular-to-this-day album cut "Hypnotized," from the sadly-underrated Mystery To Me album
One of my favorites cuts also, and the album is also pretty good. 👍👍




I like some of the music from all Fleetwood Mac eras. It's interesting to hear how much Buckingham and Nicks changed the band--their still-unreleased Buckingham Nicks album (on CD) is so much like the FM albums that would follow.
 
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Before The Clash and The Brian Setzer Orchestra covered it, here's Vince Taylor's original:



(I'm playing the Rhino Rockin' Bones 50s punk and rockabilly set.)
 
One of my favorites cuts also, and the album is also pretty good. 👍👍




I like some of the music from all Fleetwood Mac eras. It's interesting to hear how much Buckingham and Nicks changed the band--their still-unreleased Buckingham Nicks album (on CD) is so much like the FM albums that would follow.


After playing this a couple of times I was struck as to just how much of a Sting-type vibe this song has. It also seems rather sophisticated rock for 1973; almost has a smooth jazz feeling to it.

Definitely something I'll Spotify and Amazon both...
 
After playing this a couple of times I was struck as to just how much of a Sting-type vibe this song has. It also seems rather sophisticated rock for 1973; almost has a smooth jazz feeling to it.
I used to like Fleetwood Mac more back in my teen days, when Rumours was the album to own. At the time I only really knew that album and the prior self-titled album, and distinctly remember buying Tusk when it first came out. I had seen the other albums in the bin but, being on a teenaged budget (and not having discovered used record stores yet), I never took a chance on any of them since I didn't see Nicks or Buckingham in the photos.

But, I clearly remember "Hypnotized" coming on the radio and immediately being drawn in by it. Mick could have been a drum machine--his timing was so precise on that beat that he kept it up constantly throughout. And those octave guitar licks were reminiscent of jazz, mixed with the acoustic guitars...very unusual, even today. The rest of that album is actually pretty good also. (If you can find "Emerald Eyes" on YouTube, it's another favorite of mine from that record.) I think I looked at that record for a couple of years in the bin at the record store before finally buying it. I still don't play it often but it's always a nice change from everything since it's not really like any other rock album out there at the time, and "Hypnotized" remains the centerpiece for me.
 
I love "Hypnotized" too, but the whole last 3rd of side 1 really nails it for me. Nothing wrong with the first two songs, but it really kicks into gear with the bouncy Christine McVie pop tune, "Just Crazy Love," which probably would have been a hit if it had been included on a later album. Then comes "Hypnotized" which is awesome - I love the guitar work in it, plus the words fit the spooky Bob Welch vocals perfectly. Then you have the proto-reggae tune "Forever," which is a perfect lazy summer anthem.... check out John McVie's bass lines on it. And then a rarity -- "Keep On Going," which is written by Bob Welch, but sung by Christine McVie... one of the very few times that a Fleetwood Mac tune was sung by someone other than its writer. I like the acoustic guitars that are the foundation of the song, along with some subtle strings.
 
I agree--that's an incredibly good run on the first side, and the mix of styles keep it interesting. "Just Crazy Love" would have fit well on any later FM album--Christine's tunes were always among my favorites. It still throws me how "Hypnotized" comes completely out of left field! It's very uncharacteristic for Fleetwood Mac let alone rock albums in general.
 
"Two Bass Hit" is my favorite from Milestones:

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Changing it up for the evening.
 
Hi Rudy. I just wanted to update a Recent purchase or needle doctor thread. Anyway after listening to my Ortofon 2M Bronze for a couple of months, with a very nice and pleasant sound that was a huge upgrade from the blue, I found the even better black at a great price. It cost more than my turntable, but wow! It’s the bronze on steroids. It took a couple of weeks to break in, as all their better stylus do. The true test was to play the very poorly mixed Ticket To Ride album. Japanese vinyl. Having the Shibata tipped stylus, it gets way down into the grooves to play what’s really there. I only get a tiny bit of distortion on the last “Someday “ Karen sings, with very loud horns behind her. About 2 seconds worth, and not cringe worthy as with other cartridges. There is also a small amount of the always poorly mixed ending of Benediction. Again it’s the horns and orchestra bleeding into the speakers. It gives a whole new sound to my vinyl. I can’t stop listening, as I hear things previously not there before. Like you would only hear with headphones on. I’m not crazy about using headphones, I have many, just not for me. Thanks for telling me about the upgrades. Money well spent. The turntable is the Fluance RT-85 if anyone is interested, very highly recommend and well reviewed.
 
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