By: Rick Landers
Here we go again, with our second session of Take Five, where we talk about music that we have hanging around. We select five albums, DVDs, books or other media and let you know what we think of them in short bursts that you should be able to read in five minutes or less – so, “take five” and check out at least one of our quick reviews.
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Live at the Regal – B.B. King – Ask guitarists Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page about their favorite blues album and, inevitably they’ll rave about B.B. King’s Live at the Regal , which was recorded at the Regal Theater in Chicago back in November 1964. King’s vocals mix it up with raucous strain, sweetness, and soulful aching. B.B.’s guitar phrasing is unmatched, bending notes and squeezing heartfelt emotions, in a way to make a grown man weep.
“Every Day I’ve Got the Blues,” “Worry, Worry,” and “Sweet Little Angel,” all offer hang dog blues. A couple of beboppin’ tracks, “Woke Up This Morning” and “You Upset Me Baby” must have had people dancin’ in the old venue’s aisles. I particularly enjoyed the sultry Calypso beat of “Help the Poor” that adds sexual tension and smoldering intensity to King’s soulful lover’s plea to, “…come to my rescue.”
A blues collection without Live at the Regal is just lame.
Download Live At The Regal
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Wishing Well – Monte Montgomery – From the onset, Monte creates his own atmospherics with a collision of hard hitting vocals and chordal flailing with Wishing Well. His six-string antics are accents that seem to be as much off-handed, as they are straight in your face. Don’t expect some wilting acoustic from this guy, he’s got some serious energy going that’s restrained, yet still explosive…maybe Monty should have been a drummer given his love of heavy-handed playing. But Wishing Well works on many levels, from the primitive swamp folk of “River” to the crowd pleasing “Tug of War.” I’ve seen Montgomery live and he’s a crowd pleaser and his guitar work was hard as nails, while still sparkling.
Download Wishing Well
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Life, Death, Live and Freedom – John Mellencamp – You have to hand it to Mellencamp, the guy can write a good song. Since we first heard him back in the day, he’s had a talent for capturing life’s stories, particularly of the down and out and disenfranchised, all with a cutting edge and a good backbeat. “Troubled Land” is John at his best, a sucker punch tough track that was featured at Farm Aid 2007. LDLF is folk rock rooted deep in the heart of middle America’s rust belt, portraying hard scrapple lives, desolation, and gritty survival. “Troubled Land” and “Jena” are two of the downloads I recommend on this one, the rest may not quite hit the mark for most listeners, even Mellencamp fans, but still, check it out.
Download Life, Death, Live And Freedom
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God Shuffled His Feet – Crash Test Dummies – This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but in my world God Shuffled His Feet is brilliant…genius. The Canadian group’s deceptively clever lyrics are a mix of cynicism, humor and angst, the album is like a great conversation drenched in hip melodic expression. The bass-baritone vocals of lead singer, Brad Roberts, set up the intellectually laden lyrics with seemingly earnest intent, allowing them to melodically blossom with a tongue-in-cheek smile. How can you not already own this album? Brilliant…brilliant.
Download God Shuffled His Feet
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Mali – Putumayo World Music – If you’ve been stuck in the pentatonic scale box, 4/4 beat, and English lyrics, maybe it’s time to open up your ears to the other side of the planet and dig into world music. Putumayo World Music’s compilation of music from the African country of Mali will set you on your heels without losing your mooring.
Mali musicians have been game to allow western influences to infiltrate their own native-born music, while holding onto the integrity of their own culture. So, don’t be surprised to hear some fine guitar, coupled with keyboards, gourds, African harps, and other instruments in tracks that captivate. It’s a fusion of cultural influences that works.
Listen to the guitar on “Fala,” a track sung by Malian musician Tom Diakite’ and you’ll swear you’re listening to Mark Knopfler. But, don’t stop there, the track’s hesitant African beat and charming vocals are hauntingly magnetic. Mali is filled with exotic music from Central Africa – “Amassakoul ‘N’ Tenere” (Tinariwen); “Bana,” “Maninda” and all of the other tracks will help crack your music world open, and you just might find that you’ve discovered a golden egg.
Download Putumayo Presents: Mali
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