The Dame’s Still Got It - And Other Stuff

April 12th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Whew.  Still recovering from the three week round-the-world trip, with a couple of domestic journeys piled on when I got back.  I think this would be a lot more fun if I was single and 30, and still had that cast-iron stomach.  Lots of time in airports and airplanes, though - meant lots of plugged-in time, and the iPod is still my friend.  Picked up a few things along the way, as well.

By far, one of the more “wow” things I listened to was Dame Shirley Bassey’s version of “Get This Party Started,” originally recorded as the soundtrack for a series of holiday television commercials for one of the UK’s major department store chains.

You must hear the “Goldfinger” woman sing, “I’ll be burning rubber, you’ll be kissing my…”

Well, you get the picture.  Beats Steve Lawrence singing “Black Hole Sun” any day.

You can purchase the single track at iTunes or Yahoo’s music site (I’ll assume Rhapsody, too) - it’s well worth a buck.  I tripped through the rest of the album of the same title (Decca) at Yahoo; it sounded mostly like remixes or covers of the same old MOR stuff Ms. Bassey has been turning out for decades.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that - she’s still got a powerful voice for a septegenarian - but there’s nothing really new, either.

Now - I’ve got a lot of ground to cover in the next few days.  Lots of music listened to, and there was lots waiting for me in the mailbox upon my return, so let’s get started.

Felicia Carter - Feather/Step Lightly (Alberta)
Released: January, 2008

None better than this surprise.

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The World Tour…part two

March 9th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Live Performance, Reviews, Uncategorized | No Comments »

This business part of this trip is almost over.  Whew.  I’m not sure I want to be on the road for three weeks again.  On the other hand, it’s allowed me to listen to some great, not-so-great, and some just odd music this time out.

Among the odder things I saw - was this radio station in Mumbai (Bombay), India - “Meow FM,” India’s first “Just-for-Women” radio station.  Here’s their ad on the back of a city bus:

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The World Tour…part one.

February 22nd, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

14 hours is a long time to be cooped up on an airplane - and that was just the first leg, to Japan.  On the other hand, it gave me time to write about some of the good things I’ve been listening to lately.  These have included Dorothy Doring and Shelby Lynne.

Southern Exposure - Dorothy Doring (Quarter Note)
Released: 2007

This one is a real treat - recorded in 2005 with a group of New Orleans musicians, but held up because of Hurricane Katrina, from Ms. Doring, active in the Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene.

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Just flew in from Vegas, and…

February 3rd, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

Spent a week in Las Vegas - ended up so busy, I really didn’t have time to do much more than work, eat and sleep.  Didn’t even have enough free time to lose much money.  That was good.  Also good - I did have some time to listen to some new tunes on the way there and back. 

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What’s on My iPod? Part two.

January 21st, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in iPod playlists | No Comments »

Part two of the 40 songs in heavy rotation on my iPod this month.  They’re not all female vocalists - as much as you might like chicken soup, you can’t eat it all the time, right?  Anyway - the question remains.  What’s on your iPod?  Would love to see the results.

Lets Hear It for Love
Judith Owen
Happy This Way

Drawn in by the album cover, and the eyes, I think.  Just like Judy Collins.  Sounds a lot like Ms. Collins, too.  Just got picked up for distribution in the UK by the Linn company - same group that records Claire Martin.  Man, they don’t do much bad stuff - even if they do use my reviews, and ignore my requests for review copies!

There Will Never Be Another You
Keely Smith
The Essential Capitol Collection

A recent iTunes acquisition.  I had the occasional track from compilation albums, but I never paid much attention to Ms. Smith’s solo work - until I heard her interviewed on Radio Deluxe.  I liked this album a lot.

It Might As Well Be Spring
Masha Campagne
Caminhos Cruzadas

From another recent review, Ms. Campagne is Moscow-born, but clearly with Brazilian blood.  San Francisco-based, another album that’s one of my recent favorites. Read the rest of this entry »

The Doctor is In. Oh my, yes.

January 20th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

I went back to Michigan for the holidays.  I’m tempted to say “home,” since it’s mostly where I grew up, but I’ve lived in Virginia so long over two periods, now - the late seventies and eighties, and since 2002 - that I really do think of Virginia as home.  There aren’t many honest-to-God, brick-and-mortar record stores left in the world.  Places where you can not only buy CDs, but new and used vinyl recordings, as well.  But Street Corner Music sits at the corner of Southfield and Thirteen Mile Road in Beverly Hills.  Thank goodness.  Besides seeing family and friends, it’s the one thing I look forward to on a trip to Michigan.  I could spend hours going through the treasures inside.  But I settled for just an hour this time.  For less than fifty bucks, I filled out my collections of Holly Cole, Susannah McCorkle, Sergio Mendes, Vanessa Rubin, and the Manhattan Transfer.  I also picked up a disc from a young woman named Teraesa Vinson.

Teraesa Vinson - Next To You (Amplified Records)
Released - 2007

This one didn’t belong in the cutout bin - oh my, no.

There’s nothing complicated about this disc - it’s simply Ms. Vinson and her partner, NYC guitar veteran Tom Dempsey.  No tricks, no special effects.  Nothing up their sleeves.  A dozen tracks - all but one covers of semi-classics - from Kern-Hammerstein’s “Nobody Else But Me,” to Muppet Kermit’s “Bein’ Green.”  The one original is Mr. Dempsey’s title track, “Next To You,” which fits seamlessly with the rest.  This disc is a treat.

Ms. Vinson and Mr. Dempsey have crafted a seamless recording that fits their styles well - and the recordings show not a respect for each other’s talent, but the ability to step back and let the other take the spotlight for a while.  Good stuff.

Ms. Vinson is part of the regular jazz series at Lanigan’s, a Times Square bistro; she’s also a Ph.D in Psychology, teaching at Columbia University’s Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology.

Heckuva day job.

I liked this disc a lot - favorites included Mr. Dempsey’s “Next To You,” along with “Just Squeeze Me,” the simple “You Taught My Heart To Sing,” and Yip Harburg’s “Old Devil Moon.”

Serendipity strikes nearly ever time I walk in the door at my favorite record store.

This disc is very highly recommended.

 Three and one-half stars (out of four.) - MySpace - Website

What’s on your iPod? Part One

January 14th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in iPod playlists | No Comments »

Ever go to someone’s house, and flip through their records?  Take a look at all their books while they’re out in the kitchen fixing drinks?  Do you learn a lot about someone that way?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  But it’s fun, anyway.  So…here’s what’s on my current rotation - it’ll always be 40 songs, because I’m a child of top 40 radio.  That’s about two hours of music, and about how long it takes me to commute every day.  Next month, I’ll let you know which songs got added.

Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)
Alanis Morissette
De-Lovely (Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Such a sad movie - the story of Cole Porter’s very, very complicated relationship with his wife (and muse), Linda Lee Porter.  Both Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd were great.  Take a box o’ Kleenex. But it was also full of current stars doing all those great classic songs.  This one is more than a little unconventional.  Probably why I like it.

What’ll I Do
Alison Krauss
Mona Lisa Smile (Motion Picture Soundtrack)
From sad movies to bad movies - but again, some great covers of old tunes.

La Vie En Rose
Allison Adams Tucker
MySpace Recording
Oh, yes - I’ll admit to recording songs from the MySpace Java player.  Especially when they’re as good as Ms. Tucker.  I probably violated some Terms of Service, somewhere.  Ms. Tucker is from San Diego.  Sings at weddings.  Should be singing for more people.

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Viva Las Vegas…

January 13th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

Sandy Kastel - This Time Around (Silk and Satin)
Released - June, 2007

Sandy Kastel’s biography says her father, saxophone player Dick Kastel, uprooted the family from Texas to Las Vegas when she was a child - so that he could play in Harry James’ band.  There’s not much doubt that Ms. Kastel settled into Vegas just fine.

“This Time Around” is like a love song to Vegas - big, brassy, and loud.  I’ve said before that large backing bands surely get my attention, and out of the box with “Come Back To Me,” I got the message that this disc would not be background music.

Ms. Kastel, who competed in the Miss America Pageant as Miss Nevada - is a knockout on the big numbers, and nearly all of the tracks are big numbers.  40 people are listed in the credits on 13 of the 15 tracks.  Of these, “Cry Me A River,” arranged by Tom Howard, is a fine showcase for Ms. Kastel’s voice - never overpowered, even by the big band.

Two tracks (”Misty,” and “My Funny Valentine”) feature a smaller combo - piano, bass, and Ms. Kastel’s dad - with great sax solos.

If you’re a fan of big bands - this disc will be a real treat.  I’m only sorry that I won’t be able to see Ms. Kastel performing anywhere when I visit Vegas on business later this month.

Available at iTunes and CDBaby - this disc is highly recommended.

Three Stars (out of four) - MySpace - Website

Thank you, Mr. Pizzarelli.

January 13th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in Live Performance, Uncategorized | No Comments »

I had a chance to see a double-bill of John Pizzarelli and Jane Monheit at the Kennedy Center over the holidays. Great show. I have to close my eyes, though - and simply listen to Ms. Monheit sing. She’s got a couple of tics that make me crazy. She slaps her belly (even before she became pregnant), and does this thing where she pulls her hair. Both are fine the first ten or fifteen times, but then you start watching for them.

Mr. Pizzarelli surely knows how to put on a show; his pianist, Larry Fuller, and brother Martin on bass are excellent foils for the tomfoolery.  I think my multi-talented son was impressed, although he was cool about it, you know?

Even my wife enjoyed some “old people’s music, so long as it’s live,” for a change.

Fun.  And despite the crack about Ms. Monheit’s tics, she’s one heckuva singer.

A do-over.

January 12th, 2008 by dwboynton | Posted in beginnings | No Comments »

Today’s horoscope: “Lucky for you, you’ll get a great opportunity for a ‘do over’ today…”

I’ve been meaning to tend to this website for weeks, now. But it’s sort of like my son and his room - sometimes the job seems so overwhelming, you don’t even want to think about getting started.

I’ve got a new job that seems to be taking up a lot of time. After four years, the whole grind got a little tiring. So here’s the new idea - to write about what I’m listening to now, and singers that have caught my ear…in the context of whatever else I’m doing now.

I’m still learning how to do this, but it’s time. Besides, it’s between us, and if I screw it up, you’ll be forgiving, right?

We’ll see. It’s always a work in progress. Hell, my life is a work in progress.

It’ll be a while before all of the virtual boxes get unpacked.  But we’ll get there.