New tunes

There are days when I want to go out and get some new music and end up not caring much for my choices.  So with my old school ways went to the library and checked them out to listen to them first.  Here are the 3 new ones I took with on the road.

I know you can down load samples of the above and get the whole deal burned to your Ipod or whatever you use, BUT, I prefer the real thing yet, love to read the notes.  The Clapton Album has a lot of wonderful tunes on it that he must love.  Its an album that at first listen, I didn't like, and some Clapton heads probably won't either.  But, the second times the charm, the guest artists on this album make it for me Taj Mahal on Harp on the opening tume Further Down the Road, also written by him.  Angel has J J Cale on Guitar, possibly one of the best songs here is Gotta Get Over with Chaka Khan on vocals, its written by Doyle Bramhall the other guitarist on the CD, very good too.  All of  Me is a song I've heard a few times, notable by Willie Nelson, here with Paul McCartney on bass and vocals.  And, one of my favorites is Goodnight Irene done old school a wonderful tune written by Huddy Ledbetter, better know as Leadbelly for a fight he got into in prison, got stabbed 5 times in the gut and survived!  Overall, the guitar playing is excellent and I really got into the various styles he plays here, including some Peter Tosh, Otis Redding and the Gershwin Brothers. 

All day yesterday was Record Store Day, a day of old albums on vinyl.  I heard a ton of music on that format coming though Indiana and Chicagoland ( Wxrt)  Great stuff made me look though some of mine, am gonna hafta dust of the record player and check some out, like the above!  Man, I have some great ones, I have not heard in a long time, like the Masked Marauders ( said to have Mick Jagger on the first tune) they were a great garage band, gotta love it, lots more.  Fodder for another day...

The David Bowie CD is another I had a hard time liking the first time though, but, man does it grow on you its awesome!  Its been 10 years since his last album, he's had a heart attack to recover from but, back like a great rocker.  The album is a pretty quiet affair, heck the cover is a post-it note over his Heroes album, no notes here, no musicians listed.  Great tunes, The Next Day, The Stars, Valentines Day ( reminds me of Pete Droge's 4th of July is a good day to die, they'll remember you each year, your departure from here).  BTW, the video of The Stars is a very good short film, can be seen on YouTube.  OK, the album is a rocker, not quiet, it has Earl Slick on Guitar pretty good if you ask me, he replaced my favorite guitar player in Bowie's band Mick Ronson a great player on Ziggy Stardust and other albums.  He died at age 46 of liver cancer, way to young. 

The Heart Album on the other hand is one that I like all the way though the first time, a fine bit of hard rock, these woman can do it all, even with strings the ladies rock.  This year they were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I think this album is to prove that they belong there.  Dear Old America and Skin and Bones both excellent tunes.  You can't go wrong getting this CD. 

Its really great when your bands of the past still can produce good music, I have the new Niel Young and Springsteen albums that I find to be really good also.  In this day and age when people are retiring it feels good to hear them doing their art and on the road.  Heart is out and about, close to me, in Highland Park, Il. Bowie, on the other had is not out promoting his new one.  Clapton probably is.  The last time I saw him live was at Alpine Valley, WI. (1992)  It was with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Robert Cray.  It was a wonderful show, with a great jam in the end, you can not believe how good that was!  The sad part was that was the night Stevie Ray went up in a helicopter and crashed in to the side of the hill there and was killed.  It was a very foggy night.  Man, that was hard to take, one of our favorite  guitar players was gone.  Clapton rocks on...