Fri, 31 Aug 2007

You may think I'm overstating the case, but bear with me. Da Vinci's Notebook is/was (they are no longer performing together) a DC-based a cappella group that started by mixing straight covers and comedy material and by this, their third album, had turned their back on serious for good. Anyway, I was listening to Brontosaurus in the car, a dangerous activity as it's hard to concentrate when you're in hysterics. And then that track came on, the one that I knew I had to immortalize in Farscape video clips. And so I did. And it was good. And I got to watch it with a few hundred of my Scaper friends at a convention, and listen to the laughter. And that was very good. Which led to one female Scaper telling me later how much she enjoyed my Enormous Penis. Which, you'll admit, is not the sort of thing one can hear too often.

Fri, 22 Jun 2007

Anyway, I discovered Bublé through his cover, sadly not available on the iTunes Store. Nice voice, but Irresponsible? Try geographically illiterate. Sorry, Michael, but Reno isn't and never was on Route 66. It's only a detour of 500 miles or so off the Mother Road, thank you very much.

Fri, 01 Jun 2007

Fri, 03 Nov 2006

Which has nothing to do with this album by the American-born Dombasle, who sings mostly faux-French songs with her excellently acquired French accent. And which is rather fun, in a genuinely faux-French sort of way.

Wed, 06 Sep 2006

I mention this because the title of this album uses the word's traditional meaning, referring to the use of Turkish styles and performances to influence 18th century European music. In this case, it's more than influence, as Concerto Köln's period instruments are joined by the Turkish Sarband, performing both individually and together. The resulting mix is both subtle and exciting, and proof, as if we needed it, that crossover hits began long before Dolly Parton.

Wed, 16 Aug 2006

Fri, 26 May 2006

Mon, 27 Mar 2006

Wed, 19 Oct 2005

Granted, I'm just young enough not to remember Anka's early successes as a singer/songwriter, like the theme to The Tonight Show he wrote for Johnny Carson. But I certainly recall The Times Of Your Life, which appeared in way too many Kodak ads. To say nothing of the dreadful Having My Baby, which I'll forever associate with the faux Mormon Tabernacle Choir version that graced the pilot episode of WKRP in Cincinnati, or My Way, which in a burst of good taste wasn't used in Frank Sinatra's sendoff. My point being that Paul Anka overlaps with my life, even if he's made a limited impression on the Biddies.

Which is all irrelevant. What matters is that this is kind of an interesting album. Anka's covers are jazzier than the originals. If you hadn't heard them before, you might think they were pretty cool middle of the road songs. Heck, you might think so anyway. Which certainly makes this a less embarrassing effort than some people's.

Mon, 10 Oct 2005

Apologies for quoting from my own (other) blog, but a story claiming that Ice-T is going to help The Hoffmeister turn hip-hop had me thinking of other crimes against humanity. Which naturally led me to Pat Boone's attempt to turn his squeeky clean but steadily more wrinkly image toward darker fare. The results are kind of what you'd expect. I don't imagine any of you will buy this one; I certainly didn't. But give a listen to thirty seconds of Boone's rendition of Stairway to Heaven. G'wan; I dare ya. Proof positive (as if we needed it) that Love's not the only thing that Hurts.

Fri, 01 Apr 2005

I'm not quite sure of the result, although Ms. Shapplin has a truly lovely voice. I've seen a few reviews that compare her to Sarah Brightman. Personally, I find Emma Shapplin's singing to be both warmer and sweeter. But I'd love the chance to hear her sing something more contemporary. They just don't write new 14th century Italian music any more.

Fri, 21 Jan 2005

I've owned several CDs in the Ultra-Lounge series. These are collections of tracks from the vaults at Capitol Records that have been organized around some theme. The theme doesn't much matter, at least to me. But what does matter is that the music itself is fun, performed very well, and rarely the original performance. Well, two out of three isn't bad...

Because On the Rocks is exceptional, and not in a good way. This album contains the most regrettable set of covers I've ever encountered in one place. And you're listening to somebody with a CD of a dozen versions of Stairway to Heaven. That I've listened to. Several times. Voluntarily.

Don't believe me when I say this is the worst? Try sampling a few tracks. Like Mel Tormé singing Sunshine Superman. Or Wayne Newton on Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes). Or David McCallum (yes, that David McCallum) performing a medley of Mellow Yellow/We Gotta Get Out of This Place. But I've saved the best worst for last: a very special version of Daydream Believer. On a sitar for God's sake.

All of this cover horror is, I suppose explained easily enough. Take popular songs of the 60s and cover them by artists beloved of the parents of those 60s teens and preteens, who won't realize what horrors they're receiving. It's the same impulse that led the Ed Sullivan Show to once do an entire program of Beatles covers. Imagine Peggy Lee doing Maxwell's Silver Hammer. Just try; it can't compare to the reality.

Sample a few of these Ultra-Lounge tracks. Go ahead; it'll only hurt for a little while. But beware: this collection is labeled part one. And you know what that means.

Sun, 03 Oct 2004

A very small case in point is the album I mention here, a ten year old collection of standards sung very well by a women I'd never heard of. And if she hadn't caught my attention in ten years of standard record company promotion, odds aren't all that great of my noticing her now. Except... one night I was watching television and heard an old favorite called Will You Love Me Tomorrow. So I did what I do when a song grabs my attention: I went to the Internet. To one of those file sharing programs that make record execs want to scream and throw things. Where I found the original by The Shirelles and covers by Carole King, Roberta Flack and a bunch of others. Including, as I'm sure you've already figured out, some woman named Laura Fygi. So I downloaded a copy of Ms. Fygi's version. And liked it a lot. And that took me to the iTMS to see if they had any of her work. Which got me to this album, where I discovered a wonderful version of I Only Have Eyes For You, a song from the 30s that has been covered by everybody from Billie Holiday to Art Garfunkel. And moments later I was downloading and enjoying Laura Fygi's interpretations of these songs and a dozen others.

Gosh, do you think maybe Steve Jobs was right, that you give people a convenient way to buy music and they won't automatically try to steal it? Could the suits be wrong?

Fri, 01 Oct 2004

In a world of increasing noise, to be subtle is to take the greater risk. And at this, Ms. Monheit succeeds admirably.

Sat, 25 Sep 2004

And so it is with Moya Brennan. Her voice has a magical, ethereal quality. This is music to contemplate the vastness of the Universe, to step outside ourselves and mundane concerns and to pretend for a moment that we're more than animals practicing a more complicated version of Darwin's survival of the fittest.