February is Music Writer Exercise Month #MWE • Page 72

When you listen to Solomon Burke and then find out Mick Jagger was a huge fan you can pick up on the influence, which is fun.

And you inspired me to throw on “Hold On, I’m Coming” and god if that’s not just one of the best songs of all time. (If you think the cover is goofy, don’t look up the origin of how Isaac Hayes came up with the song. Haha)

 

found some heaters this week! almost there.

 

changing of the guard is the only time bob tried to sound like bruce, instead of the other way around. guess what, pretty good!

 

Sonny Rollins - The Bridge

This is my kind of jazz and I can tell you already that it’s going to slot into my regular rotation of jazz albums. “Where Are You” and “God Bless the Child,” especially are the perfect late night tracks when the night is winding down, dinner is over, most everyone else is asleep and you’re cleaning the kitchen.

At some point I began associating jazz music with the kitchen. Prepping dinner, chopping veggies, cooking, cleaning; anything I do in the kitchen, especially at certain times of the year, involves jazz. I don't know where that came from, but this album was perfect for it over the weekend. Great album

 

The Who - Tommy

I don't know about this one. It seems like one of those records that was probably really innovative when it came out, but is maybe too interconnected and too long to really enjoy outside of that moment in time. It's not that you can't enjoy individual tracks on their own, but a lot of them are so linked in story to other tracks that if you pick and choose it would be super weird.

"Pinball Wizard," the only song I knew going in, is great. "Go To The Mirror!" is also pretty good. The majority of the back half of the record is some form of enjoyable, but also not something I feel drawn to in any meaningful way. Probably not going to come back to it much.

 

The Outfield - Play Deep

I randomly heard "Your Love" the other day and loved it, so I decided to listen to the whole album and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

I've never heard of this band before, but it sounds like a classic 80s album. I read that they got some flack for not being super sophisticated, but the band totally played into it and basically told everyone to deal with it because they were just trying to have fun and make catchy tunes (From wikipedia: "I love melodic music. [...] When you look at that music, you have to take it for what it is. I can write a pretty melody. That takes some talent. It may not be complicated and maybe it doesn't challenge anybody, but so what? Some people obviously like it. [...] You don't have to analyze my lyrics to understand them. You enjoy these songs or you don't. You can put these songs on while you're driving. They make you feel good. What more can you ask?"). They succeeded. I dig so much of this.

I actually hear a lot of this band in The Night Game's music and I can't help but wonder if the song "The Outfield" off their self titled album was an homage to this band.

"Your Love," "I Don't Need Her," and "All The Love In The World" are probably my favorites, but honestly the whole thing is great.

(Subbing this one in for something [not sure what yet] because I loved it so much and also because I fell behind over the weekend, but had listened to this. Should be caught up now)

 

Slipping behind here, so picked one at random, which is Deceit by This Heat from 1981. The album cover is a good representation of what we’ve got here, this is ugly, angular experimental post punk, that’s very hard to get a grip on.

You get little scatterings of tunes like the openings of SPQR and it sounds promising in little parts. Overall, I’d say this was a pretty difficult listen, though with plenty of interesting bits buried in here.

 

I seriously can't believe I've stayed on pace so far.

 

Songs: Ohia is killing me today. Just nottttt in the mood for so many droning 8 minute songs

 

I jinxed myself. I go to my parents' every Monday for dinner and designed my MWE so every Monday an album lands to listen to with my Mom that she'd be into, but chaotic family showed up from out of town unannounced and we didn't get to listen. I think the universe saw this post and scrambled for whatever chaos it could scrape up on short notice.

 

Man, I am right there with you. I expected that one to be a home run for me, and I am just not feeling it in the slightest.

 

i pretend i do not see it

 

Crazy album. Hearing Travis do all the vocal stuff in "Girl O'Clock" live was unreal.

 

Everything I read about them/this album suggested the live show was even better.

 

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn’t Stand the Weather

Some really cool guitar work on this one. “The Things (That) I Used to Do” is the clear best track on the album. In certain parts you can hear the precursors to some of John Mayer's work.

The cover of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” which, coincidentally, was on one of my other albums this month is also pretty good, although not nearly as good as the original.

 

Nat “King” Cole - Where Did Everyone Go?

Went with this one over Just One of Those Things because the cover was moderately cooler and had a bit of an In The Wee Small Hours feel to it.

Can't find much on how this was received, but it doesn't seem to be considered one of his best. For the first album I've heard from him, though, I loved it.

I couldn't help but hear Christmas in every song this man sang at first, but that passed after a couple tracks. Anyway, I can’t believe this came out in 1963. It feels older.

The songs are just so beautiful and soothing. This guy could probably sing anything and make it enjoyable. The sequencing of "The End of a Love Affair" into "I Keep Goin' Back to Joe's" into "Laughing on the Outside (Cryig on the Inside)" is perfect and my favorite run on the album.

 

Almost there! Capping it off with some fun ones.

 

Etta James - Tell Mama

Glad I ended with this one....I love modern music and listen to far more of it than something like this, but there is something so raw and pure about soul/blues music from this era. At times happy and sad, James takes us through all the emotions. Love, hatred, exasperation (especially at her mother in law which is something I never had to deal with since I loved mine).

Not crazy about the fade outs on seemingly every song, but I guess that’s the time. Love her voice in all it’s iterations. Love this.

 

Every year when February ends, I plan to listen to more new music throughout the year, but usually don't keep up with it beyond an album here or there. Figured I'd create this to try to get myself to actually do it. Thought I'd post it here in case anyone else is interested

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