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Post by Jim Boylston on Jan 1, 2008 17:24:50 GMT -5
How about it? What were the best albums and/or concerts you experienced in '07? Because many of you, like me, are just as apt to purchase old music as new, nothing is out of bounds as long as you were exposed to it this year. It needn't have been an '07 release. Feel free to include any other musical highlights, like workshops, etc. Jim
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Post by TRK on Jan 1, 2008 21:28:02 GMT -5
The two best concerts for me in 2007 were a tie: Emmylou Harris with Carolina Star (John Starling, Mike Auldridge, and Tom Gray) at Chatauqua Amphitheatre in August; and Bill Kirchen in Wellsville, NY, in May. After the death of Gram Parsons in 1973, Emmylou, as she said, "attended the university of Bluegrass" under the tutelage of Starling and Auldridge, and they played and sang on her first couple of albums, so this concert was like going back home. Kirchen played a no-holds-barred show, showing why he is the reigning king of Dieselbilly.
Other great shows: the Tarbox Ramblers, Guy Davis, Doug Yeomans, and Professor Louie and the Crowmatix.
Albums: I bought a lot of them in '07 but didn't get a lot of time to digest them. Have to say the capper is Neil Young, "Live at Massey Hall," which I predict will go down as one of the great live albums of all time.
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Post by bobdurham on Jan 2, 2008 8:44:45 GMT -5
I only saw a couple of concerts -- Roy Bookbinder and Rory Block -- both at Canal Street Tavern a local, very eclectic, bar. Going there is like taking a trip back to the sixties. I'm hoping to see Rory again on the 19th. She moved to Kentucky not too long ago so she usually hits my area at least twice a year.
Albums -- went to the shop at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and replaced some of my old record albums with DVDs. Bob Dylan's first album, Joan Baez's first two albums, Best-Of albums by Tom Petty, Dion, the Bangles (yeah, the Bangles) and a few more I can't recall. Oh, and I got a couple of great DVDs by Elizabeth Cotten and Rev. Gary Davis.
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jan 2, 2008 9:49:11 GMT -5
As I mentioned in another post, The best concert for me this year was the Derek Trucks Band at the House of Blues.
Hands down worst show I saw all year was the Beatles/Cirque du Soliel's "LOVE" at the Mirage in Vegas. $140 a seat for an overblown, badly realized, update of "Hair". It looked like a 20 year old art director's idea of what the 60's were like. Second only to the movie version of "Sgt. Pepper's" for worst Beatles related dreck I've ever seen. The music and sound mix were, however, phenomenal. Every seat in the theater had it's own 5.1 surround system.
Among the scores of new CDs I've picked up (most of them used) some of the the highlights were: Dion: "Son of Skip James" Bob Dylan: "Modern Times" The Wood Brothers: "Ways Not To Lose" Harry Manx and Kevin Breit: "In Good We Trust" Derek Trucks Band: "Songlines" Johnny Winter: "Hey, Where's Your Brother?" Kenny Sultan: "Guitar Blues"
Biggest disappointment was probably McCartney's "Memory Almost Full". I thought his previous effort, "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" was a wonderful return to form, but "Memory" left me flat.
In other areas, my discovery of the Rambling Podcast site turned me on to a ton of new music this year, including great albums by Stanton Moore (drummer for Galactic) and a genre-bending group called Hazmat Modine, who's album "Bahamat" I'd highly recommend. I've also really enjoyed listening to the XM radio shows hosted by Tom Petty and Bob Dylan.
Jim
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Post by Allen Wiener on Jan 2, 2008 10:36:35 GMT -5
Bob Dylan's first album, Joan Baez's first two albums, Best-Of albums by Tom Petty, Dion, the Bangles (yeah, the Bangles) Speaking of the Bangles, I wonder why so many people trash 80s music completely. I liked a lot of that stuff, including the Brit pop stuff, Eurythmics; even Boy George. I still like Annie Lennox and enjoyed her new album this year for the most part ("Songs of Mass Destruction"). There were also first rate albums at the time by Tom Petty and Bonnie Raitt, David Bowie and many others. Speaking of McCartney, I thought both "Tug of War" and "Pipes of Peace" were among his better stuff, although they are rarely mentioned in favor of "Band on the Run" (which i do like) and "Flowers in the Dirt," which was a dud in my view, but got hyped from here to Zanzibar until everyone had convinced themselves it was a beaut. I haven't heard his last few albums as I'd OD'd on the Beatles stuff after doing the 3rd edition of my book and packed it all away in the basement for a good, long rest. AW
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jan 2, 2008 18:07:26 GMT -5
...and speaking again of the Bangles, there was a decent record that came out either this year or last. Sussanah Hoffs, the Bangles lead singer, and Matthew Sweet did an album called "Under the Covers" that was all cover versions of 60's hits. They did solid interpretations of "Cinnamon Girl" and a bunch of other tunes. Worth a listen. Jim
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Post by bmoses on Jan 2, 2008 19:02:52 GMT -5
I'm enjoying reading through the list . . . have my paper and pencil out - keep 'em coming!
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Post by marklemon on Jan 2, 2008 22:47:43 GMT -5
Concerts: Saw an unknown rockabilly guitar player (who in an earler time would be the next Buddy Holly) named Jody Evans-Just amazing and a crime if he doesn't get a record deal somewhere, somehow. Dwight Yaokum said of him that if Jody Evans were playing in Berlin, they'd be rioting in the streets.
Albums (Warning-Theyre OLDIES):
1. Jackie Wilson 30 Greatest Hits ("Lonely Teardrops, Baby Workout, Higher and Higher" etc, etc)
2. The Legacy of Otis Redding (DVD compilation)
3. Sam Cooke: Portrait of a Legend
4. Johnny Cash Walking the Line: The Legendary Sun Recordings
5. Cash: Legend (Box set)
6. Journey's Greatest Hits (Sorry guys, but Steve Perry has an awesome voice and Neal Schon is a fantstic guitar player)
7. James Brown Live at the Apollo
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Post by Jim Boylston on Jan 2, 2008 23:19:04 GMT -5
Sam Cooke is the greatest. If I had to pick one singer as a favorite it would probably be Sam. He made a great album called "Night Beat" that might still be available on CD. It's an absolutely perfect record, bluesy and soulful, Sam for adults. No hits on it, but in my opinion it's one of the best albums ever made. Which would be another interesting list... Jim
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Post by marklemon on Jan 3, 2008 1:37:13 GMT -5
Sam Cooke is the greatest. If I had to pick one singer as a favorite it would probably be Sam. He made a great album called "Night Beat" that might still be available on CD. It's an absolutely perfect record, bluesy and soulful, Sam for adults. No hits on it, but in my opinion it's one of the best albums ever made. Which would be another interesting list... Jim Jim, I agree about Cooke. He and Jackie Wilson (they were friends and rivals, by the way)had two very different voices, but each could sing like an angel. Too bad they both were real jerks in their personal lives and couldn't stop chasing women. Both were shot as a result of this activity, Wilson recovered, and Cooke, of course, did not. Mark
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Post by TRK on Jan 3, 2008 7:54:58 GMT -5
The dvd Mark mentioned, "Dreams to Remember: The Legacy of Otis Redding" is one of my favorites of '07. It was a treat to see all that great, historic footage, without interruptions, and a double treat to see Booker T and the MGs, arguably the best backing band of all time, behind him on a lot of the clips.
And speaking of Dwight Yoakam, I picked up "Dwight Sings Buck" yesterday and have my chops set for a real treat.
Although it came out in '06, I'd like to plug an album that I got into in '07: "Gram Parsons: The Complete Reprise Sessions." Emmylou Harris co-produced this classy box set, featuring remixes of the albums "GP" and "Grievous Angel" that never sounded better, and also including over a disc's worth of interviews, rare live tracks, and alternate takes. Parsons, Harris, and a stellar backing band that included among others James Burton and Glenn D. Hardin, virtually invented in these sessions a new genre of Country music with a difference, that remains hugely influential thirty-five years later.
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