Old dogs with new tricks...
First of all, a little apology...I'm a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due, and my addled mind had forgotten that my friend and fellow blogger Carl had sent me an E-mail about the Fark link. My bad...sorry 'bout that, Carl!
Now, to Wednesday's blog...and with it being Wednesday, it's another installment of "I, Consumer!"
Taking a little inspiration from my friend Sam, I did a little purchasing of some new product from some old faves...here's the result...
Paul McCartney's "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard"
I'm a big Paul McCartney fan, but his albums have been pretty hit-and-miss the past couple of decades. For every "Flaming Pie," you have to put up with "Off the Ground" or "Driving Rain." That's not to say that his albums since the 80s have been total crap. Even the weakest albums have their moments like "Waterfalls" off of "McCartney II" or "However Absurd" from "Press to Play."
The last album of his that made me go "WOW" was "Tug of War." The last album that didn't feel like a single with twelve B-sides was "Flaming Pie." The round of praise "Chaos" has been getting got me wondering, is this a return to "Tug of War" or "Band on the Run?" Not quite...
"Chaos and Creation" is a damn good album. It's not going to make you forget "Band on the Run" or "McCartney," but it's a very solid set eclipsing "Flaming Pie" in a several respects, most notably the production. It was definitely big plus having producer Nigel Godrich on board for this one. The songs are darker but not so much that it's un-Macca.
My faves after a first couple of listens..."Fine Line" (great piano-based song that chugs along quite nicely), "Promise to You Girl" (very cool harmonies in the intro), "English Tea," "Anyway," "This Never Happened Before," "Too Much Rain," "Riding to Vanity Fair," and "Jenny Wren."
Queen + Paul Rodgers' "Return of the Champions"
When "Rock Star: INXS" came out, I thought to myself, ya know...the band that should be really doing this? Queen! There's a band that cuts across many audiences on a global scale. Yes, Freddie Mercury has a voice that could never really be replaced, but why not give a shot with somebody else (in this case, it's Paul Rodgers from Bad Company) and see what happens?
Well, the answer lies here and the results are mixed at best. This live album isn't awful or sacreligious at all...still, hearing "These Are the Days of Our Lives" or "Another One Bites the Dust" without Freddie's signature voice just sounds...oh, I dunno, a bit off. Some of the songs lose a bit of power and edge without that voice. That being said, it's a noble effort and succeeds here and there as in songs like "A Kind of Magic," "We Are the Champions," and surprisingly "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen
This one's also a mixed bag, but then again so are most tribute albums. This one is actually one of the more tolerable ones along the lines of the Paul McCartney tribute albums ("Coming Up" and "Listen to What the Man Said") that came out a few years ago. There some clunkers like Joss Stone's take on "Under Pressure" and Be Your Own Pet's version of "Bicycle Race." But there are some goodies like Jason Mraz's "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" and the best of the bunch...Josh Kelley's rendition of "Crazy Little Thing of Love" which takes the song from rockabilly territory to the land of The Cars and new wave. It's one that's best purchased in bits and pieces on iTunes.
Elton John's "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - The Deluxe Edition"
OK, so I believe this is the fifth copy of this album I've bought in the past decade, but ya know...this one bounces back and forth with "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" as my favorite Elton John album. In addition to the awesome packaging, the second disc which features the infamous live performance of the entire album from 1975 making it well worth the price of admission. And some of the tracks like "Gotta Get a Meal Ticket" gain even more punch with a live setting.
Even better...I just read that Elton and Bernie are making a sequel to "Captain Fantastic" to be released in 2007. NICE!
All righty, I'm going to take my wallet to emergency room for some nursing after this latest bit of splurging...
In the mean time, the Emmy-fied podcast is set to go on Sunday. The plan will be revealed in tomorrow night's blog!
Now, to Wednesday's blog...and with it being Wednesday, it's another installment of "I, Consumer!"
Taking a little inspiration from my friend Sam, I did a little purchasing of some new product from some old faves...here's the result...
Paul McCartney's "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard"
I'm a big Paul McCartney fan, but his albums have been pretty hit-and-miss the past couple of decades. For every "Flaming Pie," you have to put up with "Off the Ground" or "Driving Rain." That's not to say that his albums since the 80s have been total crap. Even the weakest albums have their moments like "Waterfalls" off of "McCartney II" or "However Absurd" from "Press to Play."
The last album of his that made me go "WOW" was "Tug of War." The last album that didn't feel like a single with twelve B-sides was "Flaming Pie." The round of praise "Chaos" has been getting got me wondering, is this a return to "Tug of War" or "Band on the Run?" Not quite...
"Chaos and Creation" is a damn good album. It's not going to make you forget "Band on the Run" or "McCartney," but it's a very solid set eclipsing "Flaming Pie" in a several respects, most notably the production. It was definitely big plus having producer Nigel Godrich on board for this one. The songs are darker but not so much that it's un-Macca.
My faves after a first couple of listens..."Fine Line" (great piano-based song that chugs along quite nicely), "Promise to You Girl" (very cool harmonies in the intro), "English Tea," "Anyway," "This Never Happened Before," "Too Much Rain," "Riding to Vanity Fair," and "Jenny Wren."
Queen + Paul Rodgers' "Return of the Champions"
When "Rock Star: INXS" came out, I thought to myself, ya know...the band that should be really doing this? Queen! There's a band that cuts across many audiences on a global scale. Yes, Freddie Mercury has a voice that could never really be replaced, but why not give a shot with somebody else (in this case, it's Paul Rodgers from Bad Company) and see what happens?
Well, the answer lies here and the results are mixed at best. This live album isn't awful or sacreligious at all...still, hearing "These Are the Days of Our Lives" or "Another One Bites the Dust" without Freddie's signature voice just sounds...oh, I dunno, a bit off. Some of the songs lose a bit of power and edge without that voice. That being said, it's a noble effort and succeeds here and there as in songs like "A Kind of Magic," "We Are the Champions," and surprisingly "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen
This one's also a mixed bag, but then again so are most tribute albums. This one is actually one of the more tolerable ones along the lines of the Paul McCartney tribute albums ("Coming Up" and "Listen to What the Man Said") that came out a few years ago. There some clunkers like Joss Stone's take on "Under Pressure" and Be Your Own Pet's version of "Bicycle Race." But there are some goodies like Jason Mraz's "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" and the best of the bunch...Josh Kelley's rendition of "Crazy Little Thing of Love" which takes the song from rockabilly territory to the land of The Cars and new wave. It's one that's best purchased in bits and pieces on iTunes.
Elton John's "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - The Deluxe Edition"
OK, so I believe this is the fifth copy of this album I've bought in the past decade, but ya know...this one bounces back and forth with "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" as my favorite Elton John album. In addition to the awesome packaging, the second disc which features the infamous live performance of the entire album from 1975 making it well worth the price of admission. And some of the tracks like "Gotta Get a Meal Ticket" gain even more punch with a live setting.
Even better...I just read that Elton and Bernie are making a sequel to "Captain Fantastic" to be released in 2007. NICE!
All righty, I'm going to take my wallet to emergency room for some nursing after this latest bit of splurging...
In the mean time, the Emmy-fied podcast is set to go on Sunday. The plan will be revealed in tomorrow night's blog!
3 Comments:
At 8:46 AM,
Rialtus said…
Have you ever heard of Hayseed Dixie? Just imagine classic rock sounds being done with a hillbilly slant... and it generally working.
At 12:55 PM,
Anonymous said…
Point/counterpoint time, son:
New Macca? It sounds like Radiohead decided to be a McCartney cover band. Better than I expected, for sure, but his voice is still grating to me. Oh, and the strings in "Fine Line" are the textbook definition of "wholly unnecessary."
I haven't heard the Queen-type albums you mention, but I did actually recoil a bit when I spied them on the shelves. Having seen some video of Queen 2.0 performing, I think I'll be happier skipping them.
And Elton? Hmmm. Well, who am I to criticize? I own 3-4 copies of a number of albums, and I, too, am a sucker for comprehensive & nice remastering jobs like that one.
At 12:56 PM,
forepac said…
Point/counterpoint time, son:
New Macca? It sounds like Radiohead decided to be a McCartney cover band. Better than I expected, for sure, but his voice is still grating to me. Oh, and the strings in "Fine Line" are the textbook definition of "wholly unnecessary."
I haven't heard the Queen-type albums you mention, but I did actually recoil a bit when I spied them on the shelves. Having seen some video of Queen 2.0 performing, I think I'll be happier skipping them.
And Elton? Hmmm. Well, who am I to criticize? I own 3-4 copies of a number of albums, and I, too, am a sucker for comprehensive & nice remastering jobs like that one.
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