Category: DERBY

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Kind of gossip girl show me to the party Taylor

a quick glimpse of sorts into music


The Pretty Reckless
Light Me Up
Interscope Records – UICS-1227, DAS Label – UICS-1227
Japanese Blu-Spec CD 2 (BS CD 2) deluxe edition format

The Pretty Reckless is a hard rock compendium of talent sprouting from the vocals of former Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momsen.

Gossip Girl Jenny Humphrey is left behind, the good girl gone bad, breaking free from the programme so she could accomplish her rock and roll dream, Taylor dispels the image and goes to the other end of the spectrum, toughing it out a la Joan Jett.
Light Me Up when I’m down is the message and title track of the band’s debut album produced by Kato Khandwala (who in the studio also does all the bass and plays guitars with Ben Philips) on Interscope Records.. The musicians behind Momsen’s which can go from whisper to a belt it out vocals definitely back her, they rock with crunchy guitars and hit the bass and drum so strikingly tight. The backup vocals on You Make Want To Die from guitarist Ben Philip are haunting. Nothing Left to Lose is a ballad paean of a couple and she losing the love of her life in the blink of an eye. But Light Me Up rocks and the album issues three hit singles: Make Me Wanna Die, Miss Nothing, and Just Tonight. Zombie, Make Me Wanna Die with the acoustic guitar and Far From Never are the three extra bonus tracks make the blu-spec cd2 collector’s edition worth getting. The production sound quality on this BS CD2 is hard and crunchy emphasizing the lead guitar with bass bottoming out very tightly with the vocals floating while the drums splash and cymbal are precise.

xo xo

(The Pretty Reckless Light Me Up on compact disc as tested through an OPPO 103D and Audio-GD DAC.)

Light Me Up album cover
1My Medicine3:14
2Since You’re Gone2:42
3Make Me Wanna Die3:56
4Light Me Up3:28
5Just Tonight2:48
6Miss Nothing3:14
7Goin’ Down3:36
8Nothing Left To Lose4:12
9Factory Girl3:31
10You3:32
Bonus Tracks
11Zombie3:10
12Make Me Wanna Die (Acoustic)3:34
13Far From Never3:37

Kind of a rainy afternoon with Simone

quick impressions of music

Simone. Kopmajer. An Austrian chanteuse with a cool style. She reaches the in-crowd that extends internationally from Europe to the UK to the United States to Japan and south east Asia including Thailand. Her SACD are on a Japanese label VENUS alongside other releases on CD on various labels. In her albums such as “My Favorite Songs” (which is her version of her hand picked greatest hits album) to “Christmas” (including Christmas time songs such as “Santa Baby” alongside carols sung in English and German), Simone sings in a boppy Marilyn manner with a Dionne Warwick tinge that would not be out of place alongside the canon of Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. On other albums that cover the gamut of rock and popular, she has innovative approaches that can be quiet and intimate, bluesy or very swinging with the with it band. The talent on her discs are high calibre musicians that propel or indulge her as she engages with contemporary covers, classical songs and jazz standards with even a bit of Marvin Gaye. Her catalogue is worth the hunt as many of the titles are scarce or out of print.

Kind of nightmusik

random impressions on music

I am the mushiest of music listeners. Sitting in the basement at night listening to the music of Mozart, the musik of your life.

The recording of the romantic “Elvira Madigan” – Piano Concerto No. 21 performed by Géza Anda, a pre-eminent performer of Mozart sets the standard, and is likely a staple of all Royal Conservatory students. On the reverse side is an equally beautiful Piano Concerto 17. Even after these years, the original vinyl survives and is very much playable.

The 2nd movement (Andante) of Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major (K467) was featured in the 1967 Swedish film “Elvira Madigan” and, as a result, the work became widely known as the “Elvira Madigan Concerto”. The complete recording of the Concerto, combined with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major (K453), was released with artwork featuring actress Pia Degermark in a film still of “Elvira Madigan”

These notes are part of the “running-in” period for the Dali Oberon 7 speakers as we randomly choose or pick what we feel in the mood for a good spin on the Technics turntables.

Kind of black mirror magic

an impression of music that goes bump in the night

Ryuichi Sakamoto: soundtrack to Black Mirror: Smithereens

Record Store Day release in 2019

As we continue to break in and evaluate the system of life as it falls apart to smithereens.

More nightmusic as Ryuichi Sakamoto’s sombre electronic contribution to the world of Black Mirror as it rotates through the world of darkness.

Little chapters that add up to a whole lot of creepiness. As ominous and eery a soundtrack for a stormy nocturne.

(this evaluation is part of a 100 hour process of “running in” a pair of Dali Oberon 7 speakers and a Shure m97xe cartridge paired with a N97ED stylus on a Technics SL-Q2 direct drive turntable. No rhyme or reason except semi-automatic is handy in the darkness.)

Kind of Köln

a few impressions on music

Recorded live at the opera in Köln, Germany, January 24, 1975.
Reissue in SHM-SACD format for the first time. Uses the DSD master produced by ECM Records (Germany) in 2017.

SHM-SACD discs are fully compatible with standard Super Audio CD players, but they do not play on regular CD players. Features DSD mastering. Universal. 2021.



1. KÖLN, January 24, 1975 Part I 26:15
2. KÖLN, January 24, 1975 Part II a 15:00
3. KÖLN, January 24, 1975 Part II B 19:19
4. KÖLN, January 24, 1975 Part II C 6:59


i myself have the original of this historical concert from the ECM label on vinyl. The classic ECM recording. Keith Jarrett as his own self-accompaniment, complete with foot stomps and little guttural verbalisations as he digs into the piano and reacts to his music. Modern free range explorations in the classical and jazz range. Ready to play a million notes a minute. The audience is drawn into a submersive experience of piano.

Kind of cool on a beach – Getz / Gilberto

The classic of the cool generation.

Getz / Gilberto


Getz Gilberto

Stan Getz on tenor sax
João Gilberto, singer songwriter and guitar
Antonio Carlos Joabim on piano
Tommy Williams on bass
Milton Banana on drums
Astrud Gilberto on vocals

Verve Records

 

1   The Girl From Ipanema

 

Vocals – Astrud Gilberto
 5:22
2   Doralice 2:43
3   Para Machucar Meu Coração 5:04
4   Desafinado (Off Key) 4:12
5   Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) 4:13
6   Só Danço Samba 3:43
7   O Grande Amor 5:25
8   Vivo Sohando (Dreamer) 2:54
9   The Girl From Ipanema (45 RPM Issue) 2:46
10   Corcovado (Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars) (45 RPM Issue) 2:20

I personally own a few copies of this album on vinyl, regular black vinyl, stereo, mono. Two versions of this album exist on Super Audio CD ( S A C D ), on either, the recording comes to life. This listened to copy is the single layer SACD with the two 45 single versions of Girl from Ipanema.

“Antonio Carlos Jobim, considered as the primary force behind the creation of the Bossa Nova style of Brazilian music, his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists, both within Brazil and across the world.” 
The Girl From Ipanema starts off with the guitar and quiet vocal sung in its own inimitable way. Enter Astrud Gilberto and the English lyrics.

 

Featured

Kind of mono – part 3

Julie London – SHM-5401

Cool and elegant. Earth(a) kitt and sensual.

By sheer happenstance as we reflect upon a case of mono recordings, Julie London turned up at the top of the stack of vinyl.
Julie London on Sunset Records SUM-5104

A1LauraWritten-By – Raksin*, Mercer*Written-By – Raksin*, Mercer*1:37
A2In The Middle Of A KissWritten-By – Coslow*Written-By – Coslow*2:40
A3I’m In The Mood For LoveWritten-By – McHugh/Fields*Written-By – McHugh/Fields*2:28
A4That Old FeelingWritten-By – Brown*, Fain*Written-By – Brown*, Fain*2:35
A5My Love, My LoveWritten-By – Haymes*, Acquaviva*Written-By – Haymes*, Acquaviva*2:38
B1Baby Come HomeWritten-By – Troup*, Rowles*Written-By – Troup*, Rowles*2:40
B2Tain’t What You Do (It’s The Way That Cha Do It)Written-By – Oliver*, Young*Written-By – Oliver*, Young*2:05
B3Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come HomeWritten-By – Cannon*Written-By – Cannon*2:05
B4Spring Is HereWritten-By – Rodgers/Hart*Written-By – Rodgers/Hart*2:05
B5Blue MoonWritten-By – Rodgers/Hart*Written-By – Rodgers/Hart*2:20

Companies, etc.

Credits

Other Versions (5 of 7)View All

A1LauraWritten-By – Raksin*, Mercer*Written-By – Raksin*, Mercer*1:37
A2In The Middle Of A KissWritten-By – Coslow*Written-By – Coslow*2:40
A3I’m In The Mood For LoveWritten-By – McHugh/Fields*Written-By – McHugh/Fields*2:28
A4That Old FeelingWritten-By – Brown*, Fain*Written-By – Brown*, Fain*2:35
A5My Love, My LoveWritten-By – Haymes*, Acquaviva*Written-By – Haymes*, Acquaviva*2:38
B1Baby Come HomeWritten-By – Troup*, Rowles*Written-By – Troup*, Rowles*2:40
B2Tain’t What You Do (It’s The Way That Cha Do It)Written-By – Oliver*, Young*Written-By – Oliver*, Young*2:05
B3Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come HomeWritten-By – Cannon*Written-By – Cannon*2:05
B4Spring Is HereWritten-By – Rodgers/Hart*Written-By – Rodgers/Hart*2:05
B5Blue MoonWritten-By – Rodgers/Hart*Written-By – Rodgers/Hart*2:20

Companies, etc.

Credits