Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles covers this second period of Ray Charles’ career 1959 to 1972 on ABC-Paramount, offering A and B sides of all the singles released by ABC. The hits are here starting with his first #1 for ABC, “Georgia On My Mind” all the way to “America The Beautiful” in 1972.
Opening with an instrumental workout that builds to the lyrical proclamations of “Stand” you witness immediately that MTO Plays Sly is not your ordinary cover album.
Beatles and or John Lennon covers can be horrifying to behold. From the band who plays a song note for note with all the imagination of an accountant, to the performer who absolutely wrecks a classic by making it sound kitschy, the world is littered with songs that have been given something less than the royal treatment. But when placed in the hands of legendary maverick guitarist Bill Frisell, an album full of such John Lennon songs is engaging because the tracks become lyric-less re-imaginings rather than bland retreads or ridiculous send-ups.
Blue Note recording artist Amos Lee will release a six-song collection of previously unheard songs as a CD, digital, and 10”-vinyl EP, entitled As The Crow Flies, on February 14th,
Thanksgiving is certainly one of the most family friendly holidays and Robert Randolph & The Family Band made the days surrounding it an extended family throw down. The group decided to host a residency from Tuesday until Saturday, taking Thursday off for the obvious turkey obligations. On Friday night the venue was approximately half to three quarters full for the band's third show at this fantastic location.
Known less as a musician and more for his role as producer (Dawes among other collaborations) as well as avatar for the (re-) burgeoning Laurel Canyon music scene in California, Jonathan Wilson aims to equalize the balance with Gentle Spirit, his second full length (and first widely-distributed) solo album. The beauty of the work is that it captures rather than contrives the tranquility implied in its title, not surprisingly with most of the musicianship supplied by Wilson himself
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue have gone from opening shows at Terminal 5 to headlining and selling them out in seven months, a great accomplishment, but what was even more impressive was the rabid response the crowd gave him over and over again. There were tons of cheers, full on dance parties and a whole lot of toasting to the New Orleans group as they rocked the Big Apple.
The band can program their technological flourishes and rock out on real instruments, making their hard work look easy and producing a sound that the band could easily convert to fill arenas and stadiums. If M83 keeps up their current progression, they may just do both.
With 2010’s epic Brothers, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney were propelled to superstar status and with good reason as the band found inspiration in broken marriages and Muscle Shoals Studio. The expanded musical instrumentation and focus on crafting heartfelt songs paid huge dividends for the band, producing a new album a year later is unexpected and when first announced smelled of leftover tracks.
Handguns, the 4th studio album from Greensky Bluegrass, is one of the most stirring acoustic releases of the year. The five-man Michigan band has taken strands of bluegrass, country, folk, and engineered a lyrically blunt, musically sophisticated strain of acoustic art. The songs have an honesty that harkens back to the glory days of confessional country music as perfected by Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, and the like.
