Thursday, October 25, 2007
Pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure. I thought that writing a blog was supposed to be for pleasure, but it seems to be a hell of a lot of hard work, lately. I really shouldn't take it that seriously.
Anyway...
The review of Maximum Bob's CD is done. Here is the review, but first some thoughts.
Maximum Bob's Shuffleathon CD is a definite Thursday night listening experience. Why Thursday night, I hear you asking? Well, Thursday night is the night that Bob Harris does the Country Music show on BBC Radio 2. It is a show that I can often be found listening to, either while doing the cooking or the washing up. Background ambiance. Some of it I like, some of it I don't. I must admit that I rarely listen to the show until the end.
If I had to label the type of music on Maximum Bob's Shuffleathon CD (and labelling music isn't something I have much truck with) I would definitely say that it is a Country CD. Nothing wrong with that, but it occurred to me that Country music as a genre is seriously under subscribed in my CD collection. In fact, at this moment in time, I can think of only two Country albums that I own. They are
"The Best Of Glen Campbell" by Glen Campbell.
"Sweetheart Of The Rodeo" by the Byrds.
Tracks from those two albums sometimes pop up on shuffle on my MP3 player. Sometimes I let them play. Sometimes I don't.
I have had a good listen to Maximum Bob's CD. This is my honest opinion.
Firstly I have to dismiss the stuff that I thought was shite. (Sorry Bob.)
1. "Chasin' Whiskey" by Julie Roberts.
2. "Here's A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)" by Travis Tritt.
7. "No Next Time" by Allison Moorer.
12. "Whiskey And You" by Tim McGraw.
Dreadful Country cliche's from start to end. Cheating wives, cuckolded husbands, loneliness, alcoholism, twangy vocals and lots and lots of steel guitar. Awful. Truly horrible noise from start to end. (I will say, though, that Lorraine liked all of them. I think she said that to piss me off.)
Now for the ones that I would listen to, and have listened to, again. (There's more I liked than didn't, Bob!)
3. "You Can Feel Bad" by Patty Loveless.
It reminds me of something that Shania Twain would have recorded when she was still releasing great singles in the UK circa 1998/1999. A really good pop song and I just love a good pop song.
4. "Break My Heart Tonight" by Reckless Kelly.
Starts off a bit like "Some Might Say" by Oasis (not a bad thing in my book) and is a nice, mid paced, tuneful rocker. It also features the word 'damn' spat out with some venom which I kind of like. Good track.
5. "Settlin'" by Sugarland.
Starts off like "Stand" by R.EM. or is it something by Talking Heads? Not sure. Another mid paced rocker. Great vocals and guitar work.
6. "Nothing" by Dwight Yoakam.
Ah... Now this is really good. Brilliant track. Really brilliant. It reminds me a lot of the kind of thing Roy Orbison, and sometimes Chris Isaak, used to do so well. Soulful, full of emotion, shimmering guitars, understated organ, strings, wonderful backing vocals. Almost an R 'n' B vibe to it. With a slightly different backing track it could even work as a dance track. (Get Mark Ronson on the phone, now.) One of the two truly outstanding tracks on the CD. (A result, Bob!)
8. "I'm Gonna Miss Her" by Brad Paisley.
This song made me laugh. I think that was the whole point. A guy is forced to make a choice. Fishing or his wife. No choice really. He doesn't really sound like he is going to miss his wife, though. I seem to remember a similar song where a guy had to choose between his wife and his horse. The horse won. Obviously.
9. "I Doubt If It Does To You" by Joy Lynn White.
The second really brilliant track on this CD. Outstanding. A descending acoustic guitar riff reminiscent of "Monday" by the Jam, although not really anything like that song. Yearning, emotional , brilliant vocals, with a girl picking over the remnants of a collapsing relationship. I think it is just wonderful. It might be the best track on the CD. I even looked up the singer on the Web. I might buy the album that this comes from. (Another result, Bob.)
10. "You Look Good In My Shirt" by Keith Urban.
(Isn't this guy married to Nicole Kidman? Bastard! I immediately hate him.) I did like this. True it swings perilously close to Southern redneck cliche, but a fun track nevertheless. Keith sounds like he is having a ball and that makes all the difference. They should have stuck it on the "Dukes Of Hazzard" soundtrack. It would have fitted right in.
11. "You And Tequila" by Deana Carter.
Reminds me of the kind of song that made Norah Jones' career. A lovely, sweet song with practically whispered vocals. Really nice, and kind of sexy, in my opinion.
OK, I didn't like a third of the tracks on the CD, but two thirds I did like. I think that is pretty good for any album I listen to these days.
Anyway...
The review of Maximum Bob's CD is done. Here is the review, but first some thoughts.
Maximum Bob's Shuffleathon CD is a definite Thursday night listening experience. Why Thursday night, I hear you asking? Well, Thursday night is the night that Bob Harris does the Country Music show on BBC Radio 2. It is a show that I can often be found listening to, either while doing the cooking or the washing up. Background ambiance. Some of it I like, some of it I don't. I must admit that I rarely listen to the show until the end.
If I had to label the type of music on Maximum Bob's Shuffleathon CD (and labelling music isn't something I have much truck with) I would definitely say that it is a Country CD. Nothing wrong with that, but it occurred to me that Country music as a genre is seriously under subscribed in my CD collection. In fact, at this moment in time, I can think of only two Country albums that I own. They are
"The Best Of Glen Campbell" by Glen Campbell.
"Sweetheart Of The Rodeo" by the Byrds.
Tracks from those two albums sometimes pop up on shuffle on my MP3 player. Sometimes I let them play. Sometimes I don't.
I have had a good listen to Maximum Bob's CD. This is my honest opinion.
Firstly I have to dismiss the stuff that I thought was shite. (Sorry Bob.)
1. "Chasin' Whiskey" by Julie Roberts.
2. "Here's A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)" by Travis Tritt.
7. "No Next Time" by Allison Moorer.
12. "Whiskey And You" by Tim McGraw.
Dreadful Country cliche's from start to end. Cheating wives, cuckolded husbands, loneliness, alcoholism, twangy vocals and lots and lots of steel guitar. Awful. Truly horrible noise from start to end. (I will say, though, that Lorraine liked all of them. I think she said that to piss me off.)
Now for the ones that I would listen to, and have listened to, again. (There's more I liked than didn't, Bob!)
3. "You Can Feel Bad" by Patty Loveless.
It reminds me of something that Shania Twain would have recorded when she was still releasing great singles in the UK circa 1998/1999. A really good pop song and I just love a good pop song.
4. "Break My Heart Tonight" by Reckless Kelly.
Starts off a bit like "Some Might Say" by Oasis (not a bad thing in my book) and is a nice, mid paced, tuneful rocker. It also features the word 'damn' spat out with some venom which I kind of like. Good track.
5. "Settlin'" by Sugarland.
Starts off like "Stand" by R.EM. or is it something by Talking Heads? Not sure. Another mid paced rocker. Great vocals and guitar work.
6. "Nothing" by Dwight Yoakam.
Ah... Now this is really good. Brilliant track. Really brilliant. It reminds me a lot of the kind of thing Roy Orbison, and sometimes Chris Isaak, used to do so well. Soulful, full of emotion, shimmering guitars, understated organ, strings, wonderful backing vocals. Almost an R 'n' B vibe to it. With a slightly different backing track it could even work as a dance track. (Get Mark Ronson on the phone, now.) One of the two truly outstanding tracks on the CD. (A result, Bob!)
8. "I'm Gonna Miss Her" by Brad Paisley.
This song made me laugh. I think that was the whole point. A guy is forced to make a choice. Fishing or his wife. No choice really. He doesn't really sound like he is going to miss his wife, though. I seem to remember a similar song where a guy had to choose between his wife and his horse. The horse won. Obviously.
9. "I Doubt If It Does To You" by Joy Lynn White.
The second really brilliant track on this CD. Outstanding. A descending acoustic guitar riff reminiscent of "Monday" by the Jam, although not really anything like that song. Yearning, emotional , brilliant vocals, with a girl picking over the remnants of a collapsing relationship. I think it is just wonderful. It might be the best track on the CD. I even looked up the singer on the Web. I might buy the album that this comes from. (Another result, Bob.)
10. "You Look Good In My Shirt" by Keith Urban.
(Isn't this guy married to Nicole Kidman? Bastard! I immediately hate him.) I did like this. True it swings perilously close to Southern redneck cliche, but a fun track nevertheless. Keith sounds like he is having a ball and that makes all the difference. They should have stuck it on the "Dukes Of Hazzard" soundtrack. It would have fitted right in.
11. "You And Tequila" by Deana Carter.
Reminds me of the kind of song that made Norah Jones' career. A lovely, sweet song with practically whispered vocals. Really nice, and kind of sexy, in my opinion.
OK, I didn't like a third of the tracks on the CD, but two thirds I did like. I think that is pretty good for any album I listen to these days.
Labels: Music
# posted by Pynchon @ 8:35 pm 
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That seems fair enough.
I'm chuffed you like the Joy Lynn White track. She is superb and just doesn't release bad records. Precious few, unfortunately.
I'm chuffed you like the Joy Lynn White track. She is superb and just doesn't release bad records. Precious few, unfortunately.
Thank's all. On balance I think it was a good CD, but wouldn't it be boring if we all like the same things.
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