The Charles Lloyd Quartet: Dream Weaver


This one just feels good. Plus, hold on to your hats.


the players:
Charles Lloyd - tenor sax
Keith Jarrett - piano
Cecil McBee - bass
Jack DeJohnette - drums

Elvin Jones: Moon Dance

Recently, Emmett, my brother, and I took in a show by saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa , which was great, and after surviving near fisticuffs before, and nearer desperate housewives after, we can now all sit down and enjoy this; some Elvin Jones with Bunky Green which I got from this post by Rudresh himself, over at destination out. Turn the lights down and enjoy, for this is Yuri Gagarin country.

This goes out to William Shakespeare.

Wreckless Eric: Whole Wide World

"We're going to blow the lid on this myth of France because Americans always think of France as the land of love and culture and good food, and it's all beige floor tiles, 40 watt light bulbs, polyester, tin brussel sprouts, and going to bed at 8:30 at night, not because of love, but because you've got to get up at 5:30 to drive a tractor - in the freezing wet."

My brother tipped me off to this interview with Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby on Radio Free Song Club from Bloomsday, a year ago. The magic begins at about the 13:00 mark (earlier if you want to hear a reading of some of Joyce's Ulysses). And here's the song they play, which I've had in steady rotation as of late.

Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby: Do You Remember That?

The Cure: In Your House

Traffic - Dream Gerrard

Hank Mobley: The Best Things in Life Are Free

One for the optimistic song titles category.

The players:
Hank Mobley, tenor sax
Grant Green, guitar
Wynton Kelly, piano
Paul Chambers, bass
Philly Joe Jones, drums

Jefferson Airplane: She Has Funny Cars

Agnetha Fältskog - Wrap Your Arms Around Me

Music to lose your virginity to from Sweden's Agnetha Fältskog, best known as the first "A" in ABBA, featuring a bold 'n' brassy guitar riff and an embarrassingly forthright chorus. Many thanks to Michele Cesana of the great Sci-Fi Pogo blog for the tip in this sparkling mix.

Junior Wells: Ships on the Ocean

That'll do nicely, thank you very much.

Lou Rawls:Trouble Down Here Below


And this is how one should learn the alphabet...

The Beach Boys - The Little Girl I Once Knew

I'm fine with the song, but mainly I just want to crank the intro, especially when it reappears at 2:06.

From Wikipedia:

The last new original song the group produced before the album Pet Sounds, it was not included on any regular Beach Boys album.

The song is notable for innovative use of two dramatic periods of near-silence lasting several seconds each. Although one of the Beach Boys' most exuberant songs, it was poorly received by radio stations preferring to avoid dead air time, which may account for its relatively low chart rating among their other singles of the period, including "California Girls" and "Barbara Ann". It is still rarely heard on oldies radio.

Capitol Records' rushed release of "Barbara Ann" in December ruined any chance "The Little Girl I Once Knew" had of continuing up the charts. Just after its release, John Lennon gave it a favorable review; another what-if for the Beach Boys.

A Hundred Birds - So Eye On

...back from Ireland. Shortly before I left I purchased this CD from a semi-homeless dude on W. 72nd St., and this track is a standout on the comp. A historical reënactment of what could have been recorded by the Salsoul Orchestra in 1978, but was in fact done by some gentlemen in Osaka in 2003.

Kicking off Spring/Summer 2011 with this one... are you ready for love?