Traditional Pop music reviews

BUD BRISBOIS... MAYBE THE BEST LEAD SCEAMER TRUMPET....JUTS SEARCH IN THE WEB....THANKS.

This is one of my FAVORITE Stan Kenton albums of all time! Great arrangements by Bill Mathieu and tremendous playing of it by one of the best Kenton bands....Mathieu's charts used counter-melodies with the main melody to set some beautiful moods. This was one of Capitol Records' "theme-type" Kenton albums (they even had Stan record an album of Tex Ritter songs! I swear it! ) and sets a definite "blues mood."

The band was really HOT ( Bill Trujillo, Don Sebesky, Archie LeCoque, Rolf Ericson and some of the best playing I ever heard from Charlie Mariano on alto, share the solos). The trumpet section featured (4)--count 'em---superb lead players: Bud Brisbois, Dalton Smith, Bill Chase & Roger Middleton! ... Add the always-great Kenton trombones and WOW ! Some of the full-band ensemble playing will startle and amaze the musicians listening, but you don't have to be one to appreciate the music--it will totally wrap you up and sweep you off to another world. ( My vinyl copy was pretty worn, so the CD is a welcome reissue, and "Lazy Afternoon, " which I only heard on a live, one-mike recording once before, is a nice bonus). Kenton fans who missed this one will want to add it to their favorites, too !

Thank God they finally remastered this for CD ! (After 30 years of playing it, my LP was about worn away). Many Kenton albums followed a theme (an idea Capitol Records carried to the ridiculous when they even had Stan do an album of Tex Ritter songs -- I swear it's TRUE! )...and this one features TERRIFIC (and very challenging) arrangements from Bill Mathieu all the way through. The writing uses counter-melodies and the familiar close Kenton-style harmonies to weave a sort of magic spell as you listen to it. The musicians ? There are Bill Trujillo on tenor and Archie LeCoque on trombone, both of whom still reside here in Las Vegas. Then there's the best alto playing I ever heard from Charlie Mariano, and there's Don Sebesky, Rolf Ericson and of course, Stan himself. The trumpet section besides Rolf featured (4)--count 'em--great lead players: Bud Brisbois, Dalton Smith, Bill Chase and Roger Middleton, plus Clyde Reasinger on a pair of tracks. Add the "stalwarts" in the bone section (Kent Larson, Jim Amlotte and Bob Knight) and WOW ! You wanna' talk powerhouse bands ? "Lazy Afternoon" is a bonus on the CD, which I never knew still existed--but I'm glad they included it here. THIS IS CLASSIC KENTON! Ahead of its time, extremely well-played and running the gamut of musical emotion, from moody to funny with these great charts. You'll probably keep it in YOUR collection forever, too !

Williams has really outdone himself on this second album. Whilst I found his self titled first album one flat and without energy or atmosphere, Steam has everything that the first one lacks.

I bought this CD a few weeks ago, and it hasn't left the CD player in my car since I got it. John Williams is one of the best Irish accordionists out there, but this CD is more than a collection of tunes highlighting his virtuosity. The creative arrangements on the sets and the rhythmic interplay between John and his accompanists is reminiscent of the energy from the first Solas album. Best tracks are the first and last reel set, and the slow piece " Miss Hamilton."

John Williams has acquired a certain voice. With this recent release on Green Linnet he speaks eloquently on the profound musical relationship connecting Irish-American musicians to their heritage; the living traditional music of Ireland. The Irish not only brought their music with them to America in the course of at least two major periods of emigration but to a great degree preserved and embellished it here. Particularly in Chicago and New York Irish music flourished as it fell largely out of fashion in Ireland, associated for a while with famine and heartbreak. In the last third of the twentieth century a generation of gifted young Irish musicians began reclaiming their musical culture and found a significant portion of it alive and intact in Chicago. They have, as we do, emigrants including John Williams' immediate ancestors to thank for keeping the music playing. Today we can thank John himself for in every sense continuing the tradition.
In this important CD he as surrounded himself with many of the best Irish musicians living in America, notably fiddler Liz Carroll and Seamus Egan of "Solas" (on banjo here) both important participants in the musical Irish-American dialogue. Other essential collaborators include an array of excellent guitarists well versed in the style, which for guitarists is a delicate balance of technique and sensitivity . John Doyle, Randal Bays, and Dennis Cahill are each significant artists in their own right, and with clean performances by Jim DeWan and Dean Magraw "Steam" could be recommended as a collectable example of Irish guitar playing. Interesting and subtle contributions from bassist Larry Gray and appropriate tasteful percussion touches from Paul Wertico enhanced a few tracks without distracting form the mood and tone of the project. And in a brilliant duet with John on penny whistle, Californian Paul Donnelly displays the skill and precision on the bodhr�n worthy of high esteem and respect afforded him today on the West Coast.
All that noted, it is the playing of John Williams that makes this work remarkable. Thousands of choices and small considerations made in the course of this production have resolved to an artwork rather than simply a recording of several good players going through their practiced routines. It's a neat trick to say something refreshing and creative in the dialect of one's father. John Williams somehow does it effortlessly, on button accordions, concertinas, various whistles, and even the bodhr�n. With "Steam" he says a great deal about the music Ireland and America. He makes his point.

I am not absolutely sure but I have every reason to believe that the first Johnny Cash song I heard was "A Boy Named Sue." So when I first encountered the Cash persona it was as the guy who was performing to convicts on the classic "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison" and "Johnny Cash at San Quentin" albums. What I did not not know was that "Folsom Prison Blues" was one of the first songs that Cash ever wrote back in 1954 when he was in the Air Force and it was not recorded until two years later when he signed with the legendary Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis. These are some of the things that I learned from the Cash bio-pic "Walk the Line," and I suspect I am not alone in being interested in checking out Cash's early work after watching the film. That is what led me to track down this 18-track collection of Johnny Cash during "The Sun Years."

"Folsom Prison Blues" was set up in the film as Cash's first hit for Sun, but in fact when Cash came back to show Phillips that he could do more than gospel what he really played was "Hey Porter," which was released with "Cry, Cry, Cry" on the flip side and made #14 on the Country Singles chart in in 1955. The following year "Folsom Prison Blues" hit #4 and Cash had his first pair of #1 country hits with "Get Rhythm" and "Walk the Line." There are three more top Country singles with "Guess Things Happen That Way," "There You Go," and his biggest hit, "Ballad Of A Teenage Queen," which topped the charts for ten weeks. In 1958 Cash signed with Columbia and wrote fini to his days at Sun. Virtually every song here was a top ten single on the Country charts, "Give My Love to Rose" being the exception because it only made it to #13. You look at the chart success of these songs and you can see why Cash became a major figure in Country music in the 1950s: "Home Of The Blues: (#3), "Big River" (#4), "Next In Line" (#9), "Come in Stranger" (#6), "Train of Love" (#7), "So Doggone Lonesome" (#4), and "The Ways of a Woman in Love." Backing up Cash on all of these songs are the Tennessee Two, which originally consisted of guitarist Luther Perkins and bassist Marshall Grant.

There are only 18 tracks here so this is not a comprehensive collection (there is a five-disc version that has a better claim to that distinction). A few hits like "Don't Make Me Go" (#9), "All Over Again" (#4), and "What Do I Care" (#7), so there is room to quibble, but they are minor all things considered (remember, this is a Rhino album and they are the masters of reissuing blasts from the past). Besides, the three songs that are included that are not "hits"--"Rock Island Line," "Luther Played the Boogie," and "Mean Eyed Cat"--certainly represent the early Johnny Cash, which is ultimately what this album is all about. Just do not be surprised if this collection only whets your appetite for going back to the early years and hearing more from that period.

Wow, Johnny cash songs with only Luther Perkins' root fifth guitar work. Every song has the unmistakable Luther Perkins beat. Amazing stuff!

This is a solid 18 track collection of some of the best songs that Johnny Cash recorded for Sun Records. Of course, almost everything Johnny Cash recorded for Sun Records was good, so this is by no means a complete collection of all his essential Sun recordings. But it is an excellent place to begin to discover the early years of Johnny Cash. Highly recommended.

Susana is a very good piper. This is a pleasant album; it's not spine tingling like Hevia, but it's well worth a listen. There's not much new from good pipers these days.

Susana Seivane has some of the best music I've heard, I'll say.
I especially like the two fast-paced songs that you can download for free. You can get Jotab�, track 1 of this album, from [...] and once upon a time you could get Vai de Polcas, from her other album from there as well; thankfully, you can still get it through archive.org.
Check out these two songs, and if you don't love them . . . I don't know if I can help you:
[...]

And, as for the person who said that her music wasn't spine tingling like Hevia's . . . I really don't know what that person was talking about. Susana Seivane's music has a much richer sound to it; much more substantial in tone; more flavorful--the free tracks, at least, are much more upbeat, as well (at least from what I heard of Hevia by listening online; I don't actually own any of their albums). This music is unique to Western ears. This is Galatian bagpipe music, and although it's Celtic, it's not like the Scottish sort. It sounds more like the Breton sort of Celtic music with some Spanish-Arabian sounds.

This is masterful piping. Lovers of traditional Irish, Scottish, or Breton music will find this disc a delight.

BTW, the writer of Amazon's review has it completely backwards: centuries of Spanish, Portugues, and other musical influences graft on the the scion, the original stock, Galician! The only older influence hereabouts is Basque.

Excellent album! Tracks mostly from 1950's release "Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra" are arranged by George Siravo and Axel Stordahl. "I've Got a Crush on You" is my favourite. This album really swings!

This is essentially Frank's first LP (10") and his last date for Columbia records, an entry that has long had the reputation being the last-ditch effort of a fading star with fading pipes to regain his former glory. The fact of the matter is that it's a remarkably strong performance by Old Blue, set apart from his other Columbia offerings by the consistency of the all-swing program.

The voice itself clearly has more "edge" than the mellower Sinatra of the Dorsey and bobby-soxer years. Even looking at the enclosed photos, I can't help but associate this Sinatra with the later master storyteller of the Capitol years. Although Sinatra was only 35 at the time of the recording (1950), he looks 10-15 years older than the "Frankie" of 1945. If I didn't know better, I'd judge him to be older than 50-year-old Presidential candidate John Edwards. The point is that Sinatra lived every instant of his life to the fullest, which is why this recorded moment, no less than the others, is at once expressive, satisfying, and revealing.

So is this a must-have album? Only if you've already acquired all of the Capitol releases with "swing" in the title--"Songs for Swinging Lovers," "Come Swing with Me," "Swing Along With Me," "A Swinging Affair," and above all "Sinatra's Swingin' Session," for which "Swing and Dance with Frank Sinatra" might be considered a preliminary blueprint.

Sinatra sings here with command and conviction, but admittedly some of the electricity is missing. For one, the fidelity isn't quite up to the "hi fi" audio of the later LP's; for another, the singer dubbed in his voice after the orchestral tracks had been recorded, thereby assuring "perfection" but betraying one of his cardinal principles; and finally as competent as the arrangements are, they simply don't stand up to Riddle, May, Hefti, Mandel, or Costa. They leave space when they should fill it, and they usurp space that should be the vocalist's creative domain. And as yet Sinatra has not--with the assistance of drummers like Alvin Stoller, Irv Kottler, and Sonny Payne--figured out not merely how to swing but to "outswing" any other vocalist on the planet. The beat is relatively flat, or "evened out," compared to the infectious back-beats that would soon be propelling his swing arrangements into another orbit.

Most of these tunes can be heard to far greater effect on "Sinatra's Swingin' Session." Still, given the price of the album, the length of the program, and the singer (face it, inferior Sinatra from this period is worlds apart from any other male singer, be it Haymes, Eckstein, Bing, or even Nat), how can you afford not to pick it up?

In trying to put together a list of essential Frank Sinatra records that would be limited to 10 albums, "Swing and Dance with Frank Sinatra" does not make the list, but in terms of honorable mentions it would comes first on the list from a chronological perspective. What made it a close call was the fact that this CD reissue expands the original lineup of songs to include all 18 of the track Sinatra recorded with arranger George Siravo at that time (remember, this album is so old it was not a 12" record; there were only 8 songs on it originally). This includes two versions of "All of Me" and alternative takes of "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)" and four other songs. On this album Sinatra performs with various artists, including Harry James & His Orchestra on "Farewell, Farewell to Love," the Skylarks on "There's Something Missing," and the Wippoorwills on "Meet me at the Copa." This album is the one that proved Frank Sinatra was a star even if he was not the major star he had been in the 1940s. Of course, by the end of the 1950s Sinatra would have proven himself to be on the absolute top plateau of recording artists of all time (along with Bing Crosby, Elvis and the Beatles). "Swing and Dance with Frank Sinatra" is an album where the performances are better than the songs, but this is the point in his career where the boy crooner who was adored by a nation of boxsoxers was in the cocoon. When he would emerge, he would be a bona fide singer, amply proven once and for all on his 1954 album "In the Wee Small Hours" (the first album on my list of the 10 essential Sinatra albums).

This cd is one of the best cds Ella recorded during the 70's! all of the Ella & Joe duo cd's are fantastic! Ella sounds so relaxed and Joe's playing is beautiful! 'You're Blase' is wonderful.

Although the other recordings from this duo are also great, this title is my most favorite one. Every song stands out for their unique jazz interpretation of these classic tunes. Vocal/jazz duos are very difficult to pull off, but you'd never know it by listening to these recordings. Joe Pass's guitar work here is some of his best in a duo setting. Ella's melodic improvisations on these tunes is incredible. Definately one of the greatest jazz duos of all time.

it seems very hard to sing jazz,ella does it like wedo everyday things ,there are many duets with ella but only one is with joe pass .ella & louis made beautiful music but take love easy is collosal thing.listen to this and you wont be sorry .This is worth searching out.

This cd is one of the best cds Ella recorded during the 70's! all of the Ella & Joe duo cd's are fantastic! Ella sounds so relaxed and Joe's playing is beautiful! 'You're Blase' is wonderful.

Although the other recordings from this duo are also great, this title is my most favorite one. Every song stands out for their unique jazz interpretation of these classic tunes. Vocal/jazz duos are very difficult to pull off, but you'd never know it by listening to these recordings. Joe Pass's guitar work here is some of his best in a duo setting. Ella's melodic improvisations on these tunes is incredible. Definately one of the greatest jazz duos of all time.

it seems very hard to sing jazz,ella does it like wedo everyday things ,there are many duets with ella but only one is with joe pass .ella & louis made beautiful music but take love easy is collosal thing.listen to this and you wont be sorry .This is worth searching out.

I own 2 other Bob Wills box sets - Anthology 1935 - 1973, which is a 2 CD set with a lot of good music on it, mostly old. I also have the box set "Encore" that has all Bob's newer stuff from the early 60's (when Tommy Duncan came back) to his recordings in the early 70's before his death (at this time in his career his band cosisted of a lot less members and no horns)both these sets are "pretty" good. But this set from Proper Records "Take me back to Tulsa" is one of the Best deals on the internet today. I paid about 18 bucks for this set "Brand New" and it has four CD's that are loaded with tons of great music going all the way back to when Bob was still playing with Milton Brown (Proper's box set "Milton Brown and his Brownies" is also pretty darn good,but it doesn't have that Wills Western Flair). Bottom line if you are a fan of Western Swing and can't afford at this time to put out about $700.00 for the two Outstanding Bear Family box sets then go for this one, over 100 Great songs you won't be disappointed....the price is right too! "Enjoy" Joe Kopeck - Parkville , MD.

This boxed set is amazing for the sheer volume of wonderful music it proffers at a fraction of what one would expect to pay for it. Concentrating on the early years, it presents Bob Wills at the dawn of his recording career and continues through the height of his creativity. This is the cream of early Bob Wills, and contains about 60% of his very best material (I am long of the opinion that Bob Wills never made a bad record in his life, and he continued to be productive through his so-called "lean years" of the 1950's, 1960's and beyond). But these tracks are the classics that most fans cherish above all.

Tommy Duncan, Wills' favorite featured vocalist, appears here on many sides, including Time Changes Everything (my personal Bob Wills favorite) and many others. Besides the early Columbia sides, there are examples of his Decca years and other smaller labels. A few of my own favorites include My Little Cherokee Maiden (close runner-up to Time Changes Everything as my favorite Bob Wills record) Sunbonnet Sue (recorded with Milton Brown and His Brownies before Bob formed the Playboys) Maiden's Prayer, Steel Guitar Rag, Basin Street Blues, San Antonio Rose, Silver Bells, Lone Star Rag (an overlooked masterpiece, and one of the catchiest instrumental tunes you've ever heard), Take Me Back To Tulsa, Miss Molly, My Confession, Roly Poly, Hawaiian War Chant, Sugar Moon, Bubbles In My Beer, Deep Water, Faded Love (which Bob wrote and Patsy Cline had a monster hit with) and I Laugh When I Think How I Cried Over You (what a great title!).

For anyone who doesn't know, Bob Wills was a fiddle player who played his first professional gig as a young boy, substituting for his father at a barn dance. Although he grew up around Western music, the Wills family lived in a poor area where there were many black families, and very early he was exposed to and grew to love the Blues and other forms of traditional African-American music. Legend has it that he once rode fifty miles on horseback to attend a Bessie Smith recital, and was the only white person in the audience. He was one of the founding members of Milton Brown and His Brownies, the band credited with creating the style of music now known as Western Swing. When he started his own band, the Texas Playboys, he took a cue from Count Basie and included Brass, Horns and rhythm instruments, and if he couldn't claim to actually invent Western Swing, he certainly perfected it. In the 1940's he was one of the highest paid bandleaders in the US.

Bob was most famous for his "calls" or "hollers". When the band got hot, he would frequently holler "Ahhhhh-hahhhh" or prod them along with such exclamations as "Take it away, Leon" or "Here's that old piano pounder". Or, if the band was playing below his expectations, he would shout, "Johnny in key, please" or virtually anything else that came into his mind.

For many years during the height of his popularity, Bob and his music were rejected by the orthodox country music establishment for being too "jazzy" and ignored by the jazz world for being too "hillbilly". Western Swing is a blend of jazz and western music - it is primarily dance music, with a strong emphasis on vocals (like country), but it also includes jazz instruments like saxophone and trumpets. What makes it most unique are instruments that are traditionally associated with country music (like fiddles and steel guitars), being employed in a "swing" or jazz fashion. Any performance by Bob Wills Texas Playboys incorporates spotlight solos, improvisation and other musical trademarks generally associated with jazz. In other words, his band and his music are totally unique.

Fortunately, there was a revival of interest in Bob Wills and his music which started in the 1960's and continues to this day. After his death in 1974, there was an explosion of new Western Swing bands, with young admirers anxious to copy the Bob Wills sound and keep Western Swing alive. Even country music has finally paid him his due, for today Bob Wills is proudly embraced and revered in country circles as a pioneer and a true original. He is now acknowledged as one of the first to incorporate African American rhythm and Jazz into country music, and his influence has been acknowledged by such diverse artists as Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and even Elvis Costello.

If you are not familiar with Bob Wills, you can't go wrong with this set as an introduction, especially at this price.

Some of these songs aren't on any of the other CD's and if they are, they're different versions. A couple you will want to hear if you haven't already are "Fan It" and "Pray for the Lights To Go Out"- MAN, ARE THOSE OLD BUT GOOD!! "Cowboy Stomp" is another one I hadn't heard before that's in this collection. Anybody who loves Bob Wills should have this, it is worth every penny.

I love the song "That's All" and that was the main reason I purchased the CD. As it turned out I love the whole album...

If this doesn't put you in the mood for love, nothing will. Pure gold to help create that special feeling with that special person.

Mel Torme...WHAT A VOICE ! All the other reviews say exactly what I would say. This album is overflowing with the kind of music that plays well where ever it's shared...it is "adult" romantic music, meant to be played over and over again between lovers and lovers of music. NO ONE could hold a note or a candle to Mel Torme. This CD has some of his VERY BEST on it. A HUGE BIG FIVE STAR RECOMMENDATION !! While his body of work is vast, (there are many other CDs out there) this particular CD is a GREAT compilation of his best.

First Heard This Album In 1984, Loved It Then And Still Do,
Best Down To Earth Album Merle Haggard Has Recorded In My Opinion

one of my favorite haggard albums...his voice is great...the band is great....the songs are real...i was amazed it was out of print for so long......listen to this one....

I bought this when it came out, and just recently fired up the old turntable and gave it a listen. It doesn't have an era, it's timeless, just as magic as the first time I heard it. I'm talking the whole album here... there is not a weak point on it. The instrumentation reflects off that great throat of Merle's and it really " Must have been Magic " . This album has more feelings overall than any other of Merle's... now I know there are singles, and some albums have numerous songs that come close, but not the whole package. Buy this one if you've got any emotion at all!!