Just a quick Christmas note to wish holiday greetings to all Pop Rock Nation readers!
Well, well, well… here it is Christmas day and I’ve been missing in action for over a month. Actually, I haven’t been missing in action, I’ve just been preoccupied with other stuff lately. We just took a trip to Austria, Italy, and Switzerland and it always takes me awhile to catch up after a trip, especially right before Christmas.
My husband Bill and I have had a rather low key morning so far. We had Eggs Benedict for breakfast and then we opened presents while listening to Christmas music. I’m afraid that while I like to buy holiday music, I don’t necessarily listen to it often. I managed to pick up Kenny Rogers’ latest Christmas album, mainly he did a duet with Alison Krauss. The song they sang together, “Some Children See Him”, is one of my favorite holiday songs. Though, if I’m honest, I think James Taylor’s rendition is my favorite so far.
Kenny Rogers, all plastic surgery altered, sings some holiday tunes with Home Free…
And “Some Children See Him” with Alison Krauss.
I promise, I don’t just listen to country, bluegrass, and songs done by people who were best known forty years ago. In fact, one of the songs that played as we were opening gifts this morning was Cee Lo Green’s very own rendition of “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” It was surprisingly fun to listen to!
I look forward to listening to and discovering new artists in the coming new year. And hopefully, I’ll get back on the blogging bandwagon. For now, I hope every has a wonderful holiday, whatever you celebrate. If you don’t celebrate, I hope you have a great day!
Los Angeles based band The Cherry Bluestorms combine 60s styled guitar hooks, tight vocal harmonies, and modern ingenuity…
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. One of the best things about being a music blogger is that sometimes people send me free music to review. I have found a lot of great music from talented artists I might not have ever run across otherwise. Such is the case today, as I offer my thoughts on The Cherry Bluestorms’ 2013 album, Bad Penny Opera. I received a copy of this album free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. So here goes…
The Cherry Bluestorms are Deborah Gee on vocals and Glen Laughlin on vocals, guitars, bass, and keyboards. According to their Web site, the two met in a Los Angeles coffeehouse and bonded over “their mutual love of 60s era guitar-based melodic rock”. Bad Penny Opera is their second album, a follow up to their well-received debut, Transit of Venus, which was released in June 2007. Laughlin had worked with the band The Dickies, while Gee had a solo career going. The two joined forces and developed a style that is described as “British pop influenced psych-Mod”. Most of the songs on this album were written by Glen Laughlin, with the exception of “A Better Place”, which was cowritten by Gee, and “Wear Your Love Like Heaven”, which is credited to 60s era Scottish folk singer, Donovan Leitch. Joining this duo are a host of supporting musicians to include Lily Aycud and Andy Duncan on horns, Brittany Cotto on violin,Tommy Diehl on drums, and Arlan Schierbaum playing Hammond organ.
The first track on Bad Penny Opera is “Bad Penny Overture”. It’s an instrumental, giving listeners a taste of what’s to come. The first time I heard it, I kept waiting for vocals. By the time it was over, I realized that I had really enjoyed the energy of the overture, with its thundering beat, intricate guitar riffs, and subtle bass line. There’s a lot going on in the “Bad Penny Overture”, which is reprised with vocals on the song, “Bad”, which is the last song on the album.
I first hear Deborah Gee and Glen Laughlin sing on the second track, “By Your Leave”. Their harmonies are tight and precise, the lyrics are about breaking up and staying friends. I’m paying close attention to the lovely acoustic guitar, complimented by a Hammond organ. For a breakup song, it’s surprisingly pleasant and civil.
A live performance of “A Better Place”.
Keyboards open the third track, the contemplative “A Better Place”. As Gee sings, I’m immediately reminded of Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. The music sounds very 60s, with its sassy horn solo. This is another song about breaking up, though it’s not as friendly and folk-oriented as “By Your Leave” is. The lyrics seem to be more of a kiss off than a gentle adieu.
A cover of Donovan Leitch’s “Wear Your Love Like Heaven” comes next. The Cherry Bluestorms’ arrangement features horns prominently, along with Laughlin’s arresting guitar and thumping percussion. I have to admit that I was not familiar with Donovan’s original version of this song. I had to listen to it just to compare. I’m pleased to report that The Cherry Bluestorms have definitely made this song their own.
“A True Heart Wears a Thorny Crown” features Laughlin singing lead and Gee singing harmony. This song features swirling guitars, edgy organ, and jaunty tambourine beat. I hear a little of The Beatles and Oasis. It’s hard to stop myself from nodding along with the beat.
“Sunday Driving South” immediately reminds me of The Beatles, with its dreamy Mellotron opening. The lyrics are whimsical and poetic, psychedelic and imaginative. With lyrics like “Happy birthday to the moon/ A silver candelabra lights your room.”, I easily picture the scene that inspired those vivid words. Melodically, I recall “Strawberry Fields Forever” by The Beatles, which had similarly evocative lyrics.
Although Bad Penny Opera is definitely hip enough for this decade, it will also appeal to fans of music from the 1960s. Gee and Laughlin have done a great job of marrying the styles into something that is all theirs. I’m impressed by the creative arrangements of the thirteen songs on this album. I always appreciate artists who write and perform their own music and Bad Penny Opera is rich with original material. This is an album that will appeal to artists and dreamers who enjoy hearing new things, yet are comforted by the familiar.
76 year old Judy Collins is still making music and she recently released a new album called Strangers Again…
I found out about Judy Collins’ new album Strangers Again because I follow her on Facebook. She seems to be a very interactive Facebook user; from what I can tell, she personally updates her wall. And when I saw that she was releasing an album full of duets, I decided I wanted to have it. Collins was probably best known in the 1960s and early 70s, which was before I was born. Nevertheless, thanks to cheesy music compilations that were hawked on daytime TV back in the 1980s and 90s, I discovered her luminous soprano when I was in college. I used to play her lovely Colors of the Day compilation all the time. I owned it on cassette and later bought the download. I have always been enchanted by her voice, along with her mesmerizing blue eyes.
The deluxe download version of Strangers Again consists of fifteen songs. I recognized many of the people joining Collins on duet versions of some of her best known songs. She sings with Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffett, Jackson Browne, Joan Baez, Marc Cohn, Don McLean and Michael McDonald, among others. Some of the others who collaborate with Collins are people I don’t know. The very first song, “Strangers Again”, is a duet featuring Ari Hest, a singer-songwriter with whom I was unfamiliar. Given that until I bought this album, I didn’t know Ari Hest, it seems appropriate that they sing a ballad called “Strangers Again”, which has a very soothing, adult contemporary feel to it. Hest wrote this song and I like it… and now I need to get to know him.
Jimmy Buffett joins Collins on a surprisingly fun duet rendition of “Someday Soon”, which happens to be one of my favorite songs by Judy Collins. This song, which has always seemed kind of country to me, is given an update with a little rollicking piano, organ, and Buffett’s southern twang. They seem to have enjoyed singing together on this number.
I have to confess another reason I bought this album was because Judy Collins tackles “Feels Like Home”, a pretty ballad by Randy Newman that was featured on his musical, Faust. I’m pretty fascinated by how popular that song has become and how many people have covered it in the past twenty years. Bonnie Raitt was the first one I heard sing it. Then Linda Ronstadt, Chantal Kreviazuk, Diana Krall and Bryan Adams, Josh Groban, Neil Diamond… the list goes on. Here, Judy Collins sings with Jackson Browne. They sound good together, though this is not the most moving version I’ve heard. I don’t know what it is about that song, but it’s well-loved… and what’s really funny is that the character in Faust who sings it is not exactly a nice person. I’m guessing not many have heard the Faust soundtrack, though I used to listen to it all the time when it was new.
The sentimental favorite, “Send In The Clowns”, gets a remake with Don McLean joining Collins. I’ve always liked this song and Don McLean, who still sounds great.
“Diamonds and Rust” has always been a favorite song, mainly because I used to have a pony by that name… and the song is just so dramatic and expressive. Joan Baez and Judy Collins are great together, though I’m not sure if this song works as well as a duet. Are the women singing to each other or to a mutual lover? Collins and Baez harmonize beautifully, though.
All in all, I’m just impressed by how great Judy Collins still sounds at age 76. This is especially evident as she and Marc Cohn sing “Belfast to Boston” together. Collins shows off her still superb soprano range and phrasing. Cohn’s idiosyncratic vocals provide an interesting contrast to Collins’ lilting, lyrical voice. Willie Nelson and Judy Collins share an equally haunting duet with “When I Go”… especially considering that Willie is now 82 and still singing well.
Strangers Again is a lovely album, the kind of music that sounds great on a laid back Sunday morning over coffee and the newspaper. I suspect I will enjoy it for years to come. Surprisingly enough, I see on Amazon.com that the album frequently purchased with Strangers Again is Adele’s latest, 25. Go figure!
