web analytics

Pop Rock Nation

Blog

  • New discovery! Zucchero’s La Sesion Cubana!

    New discovery! Zucchero’s La Sesion Cubana!

    Zucchero “Sugar” Fornaciari’s La Sesion Cubana gives me a taste of Havana!

    One of the greatest things about being a music blogger is that I occasionally get to discover artists and promote them. Italian rock star Zucchero “Sugar” Fornaciari has been around a long time, but I just discovered him days ago when I scored a promotional copy of his latest album, La Sesion Cubana. I really knew nothing about Zucchero when I agreed to review this album, but was impressed by his Latin flavored cover of “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime”, a song that was originally a hit in 1980. Since I am a sucker for retro hits from the 70s and 80s, I wanted to hear more of Zucchero’s music.

    I played Zucchero’s La Sesion Cubana for the first time on Sunday afternoon. As soon as the music started, I immediately felt like dancing. This album was obviously a labor of love for the Italian blues-rock singer, who has long dreamt of recording in Cuba with the best native musicians in Havana. The end result is a fun mix of Latin, Cuban, Tex-Mex, and Mexicali sounds that practically beg you to get to your feet. This album was released on February 18, 2014 and includes music recorded live at the Legendary Concert in Havana, Cuba on December 8, 2012. La Sesion Cuba features seven brand new songs and six newly arranged versions of Zucchero’s previously released European hits.

    My deluxe copy of La Sesion Cubana includes a DVD. As much fun as it is to just listen to the CD, watching the DVD really adds to the experience. Zucchero and his band have a lot of fun with their live performance, which includes festive backup singers dressed in colorful Cuban inspired costumes. I enjoyed watching the horn section accompany Zucchero’s soulful singing, and the acoustic guitar player’s fingers nimbly dance across the guitar strings with intricate Latin infused melodies. The DVD is a treat for the eyes as much as the music is a gift for the ears.

    Interspersed within concert footage, there are video clips that depict Cuban people and the complexities of life there. Besides the docufilm, the DVD also includes bonus videos for two songs, “Never Is A Moment” and “Quale Senso Abbiamo Noi”. Though you can purchase the CD or download alone, the deluxe CD/DVD package is definitely worth it– you get more than two solid hours of entertainment and the pleasure of watching Zucchero perform with his excellent band.


    Zucchero sings one of his new songs, “Guantanamera (Guajira)”. Try to sit still for this one!


    Zucchero’s haunting cover of “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime”, a song that was originally made popular by The Korgis in 1980.

    Zucchero actually first covered “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime” in 2004, when he performed it as a duet with Vanessa Carlton. The version on La Sesion Cubana is a new one, performed as a solo with subtle Latin accents.


    Zucchero performs “Pana”.

    The song “Pana” features Spanish singer “Bebe”, who adds even more spice to this very saucy number. I’m listening to this song in my office this morning and I have to admit, it’s getting the blood flowing! The music is so festive and energetic that I can’t help but wake up and greet the day. I am especially impressed by the high octane horn section on this song.


    “Ave Maria No Morro” is an inspirational duet with Brazilian star, Djavan.

    I really enjoy the soulful collaboration of Zucchero and Djavan, another artist with whom I was not acquainted before I listened to La Sesion Cubana. The slower, more emotional sounds of this song nicely complement the lively salsa rhythms on the rest of this album.


    By contrast, there’s the very frisky “Baila”, which I think is my favorite song on this album!

    “Baila” is remade Latin style for La Sesion Cubana and from the looks of the way the audience reacts to it, I think it’s a hit! This song reminds me a little of something I might hear by Santana.

    While La Sesion Cubana is my first taste of Zucchero’s music, I can say without hesitation that it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed La Sesion Cubana and now I want to hear more by Zucchero! It gets five stars and a hearty recommendation from me!

    If my review has turned you on to Zucchero’s La Sesion Cubana, you should try to catch him live. He’s on tour in the U.S. and Canada this spring!

    I received a complimentary copy of this album in exchange for my honest opinion of it.

  • I discovered Eddi Reader!

    I discovered Eddi Reader!

    I love it when I stumble across something brilliant, and that’s just what I did when I discovered Eddi Reader!

    I like to watch British soaps on YouTube sometimes. I get a kick out of the accents and the edgy music they play on Hollyoaks and Coronation Street. I’ve bought a lot of music after watching one British soap or another and discovered some artists I might not have otherwise noticed. Scottish singer Eddi Reader is now among the musicians I’ve found by watching soaps on YouTube.

    It helps that Eddi Reader is from Scotland. I visited there a couple of years ago and it felt like I belonged there. Indeed, many of my ancestors were Scots, so it’s only natural that I’d look and feel the part. Even if she’d been from Bangladesh, I’d love her beautiful voice. I first heard her sing “Auld Lang Syne” on Hollyoaks and just from that, went straight to iTunes to download it. It turned out “Auld Lang Syne” was included on her 2003 album, Songs of Robert Burns. You can’t get more Scottish than that.


    Eddi Reader sings “Auld Lang Syne”…

    I was so moved by her rendition of this song that I bought the whole album. Then last weekend, during my music shopping spree session, I listened to the rest of her brilliant musical tribute to Robert Burns. I liked each more more than the last.


    I love how Eddi Reader introduces “My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose”…

    The first time I ever heard Burns’ love poem, it was when I was singing in a choir in college and we performed a musical version of that poem. I really enjoy Eddi Reader’s take on this lovely sentiment toward Burns’ many loves. She gives it sort of a dreamy wistfulness, with the romantic accordion and the gentle accordion. I could easily get lost in this song.


    The sweet “Wild Mountainside”…

    When I visited Scotland, one of the many things that struck me was its stunning beauty, mainly owing the the mountains and the way the sunlight hit them. The light gave the rugged hills these unusual highlights that made them seem almost magical. I’ve never seen that anywhere else, though I will admit I haven’t seen as much of the world as I’d like to at this point. Eddi Reader’s “Wild Mountainside” reminds me of that dramatic beauty of the Scottish landscape.


    I’m not very religious, but this could make me find God…

    I don’t have a big weekend planned, so it’s entirely possible I’ll end up on another music buying spree. Or maybe I’ll just scout out more British soaps in search of great music from across the pond. I’m so glad I discovered Eddi Reader. I hope you will too, if you haven’t already!


    Captain Richard Heaton on Hebridean Princess recites the famous Robert Burns poem, “Address to a Haggis”. Yes, I tried it. It wasn’t that bad when accompanied with whisky!

  • Music buying sprees…

    Music buying sprees…

    Beware the music buying sprees that can happen when you’re bored… and a little drunk!

    Over the weekend, I was watching TV and got bored. I don’t remember what I was watching that bored me, just that I got disgusted and turned off the TV. That’s not a bad thing, really, since there’s a reason people call TV “the boob tube”. When my husband is not home, I usually record music when I’m bored. I’ll either do karaoke on SingSnap.com or I’ll make videos for YouTube. When my husband is home, I’ll usually turn on iTunes.

    I currently have well over 12,000 songs on my iPod. Many songs were purchased on iTunes as part of whole albums or buy themselves. The rest come from my huge CD collection. I usually buy new music when I hear something I like. I’ll use Shazam if I’m in a public place and have WiFi or 4G to find out what the song is, if I don’t already know. Sometimes I’ll use it if I hear something on TV that I like. But the truth is, I am just as likely to buy stuff just randomly.

    The other day, as I sat at my desk with a large glass of expensive, imported beer, I started listening to music on iTunes. I was just skipping through songs on my vast playlist, playing whatever struck my fancy. All was well until I ran into an album I partially purchased in 2007. At the time, my husband Bill was in Iraq and I was alone, drinking too much wine and listening to a lot of music to pass the hours. I ran across an album by Larry Sparks, a man I had never heard of. But he’d done a bunch of duets with a long list of bluegrass and country stars, one of whom was Alison Krauss. I am a BIG Alison Krauss fan. I downloaded the song Larry Sparks did with her and Dan Tyminski, which turned out to be a cover of The Judds’ “John Deere Tractor”.


    Larry Sparks sings with Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski.

    I was never a big fan of The Judds’ version of “John Deere Tractor”, but I like what Larry did with it. I ended up buying a couple more songs from the album from which it came, 40 (2005). Then I kind of forgot about it.

    Fast forward seven years and I’m listening to “John Deere Tractor” and I got curious about the rest of the album. I started listening to clips on iTunes and recognizing other singers that I have since taken to liking after I first discovered 40 by Larry Sparks. One by one, I started paying for downloads and then just said, “Screw it!” and bought the rest of the album.

    From there, I moved on a Michael Johnson album that featured a duet with Alison Krauss. I discovered it at about the same time I discovered Larry Sparks. I knew Michael Johnson from his 1978 hit, “Bluer Than Blue”. The song was played a lot when I was a little kid, but it wasn’t until my husband was deployed that I really connected with it.


    This song has more meaning to me than it did in 1978.

    Michael Johnson updated “Bluer Than Blue” on a 1997 album called Then and Now, which features updated acoustic versions of his better known songs. On that collection, there’s a really nice duet Johnson did with Alison Krauss that was made very famous by Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks. The song I write of is, of course, “Whenever I Call You Friend”.


    Michael Johnson and Alison Krauss breathe updated life into “Whenever I Call You Friend”.

    Well, fresh from my Larry Sparks download, I decided to complete Then and Now. And from there, I went on to download more partial albums… all while I sat there sipping expensive imported beer at my desk. By the time I was done, I had spent about $25! Who knew listening to music while drinking would end up being so expensive? While I love the convenience of buying music from my computer, I have to admit, iTunes and Amazon are making a small fortune off my habits. I need to curb this tendency, since my husband is about to be looking for work!