Tina Turner and the album ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’

The Tina Turner album What’s Love Got to Do With It turns 21 today. The contemporary pop/rock, soul and adult contemporary stylings of the album dabbles in R&B (rhythm and blues) for twelve (12) songs. The album, including a number of re-recorded hits from the singer’s period performing with Ike Turner as part of Ike & Tina Turner, is the soundtrack for a biopic of the life of Tina Turner named What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993).

(Shown here is the cover art for the June 1993 album by Tina Turner named What’s Love Got to Do With It).

I Don’t Wanna Fight opens the What’s Love Got to Do With It album as a reflection by Tina Turner of the end of the married relationship between her and Ike Turner. The lyrics speak to both parties understanding that things have changed, pretending brings little, and that strength for Tina as a person means moving on from blame, arguments or ongoing attempts to live together. This song was new for this album.

(I Don’t Wanna Fight by Tina Turner was released as a single in April 1993).

Rock Me Baby reflects the Tina Turner remake of the blues standard that originated with the Melvin Lil’ Son Jackson song Rockin’ and Rollin’. The recording doesn’t attempt to bring new production value to the song with the 1993 recording.

Disco Inferno offers the Turner remake of the hit song Disco Inferno by The Trammps. The remake offers the Tina Turner energy one has come to expect over time without taking the song in much of a different direction that the bigger original hit.

(The song Disco Inferno by Tina Turner was released as a single in August 1993).

Why Must We Wait Until Tonight? provides an inspired example of what makes this soundtrack contemporary and current at the point the song was released, at least in my view. The song lends itself to Tina Turner‘s singing style with compelling R&B overtones, too. This is a favorite song for me from this album.

(Why Must We Wait Until Tonight? by Tina Turner was released as a single in September 1993).

Nutbush City Limits revisits a song she wrote and her early history in the community of Nutbush, Tennessee. The fondness that Turner has for this part of her life is genuine, real and something that the later realities of life could not take away.

(Darlin’) You Know I Love You remakes the 1952 B.B. King song You Know I Love You. The modified tempo helps to make the song Tina Turner‘s own, which pleases my desire for a reinterpretation of the original. The piano rather than guitar focus suits Turner as well.

Proud Mary brings us the remake of the Creedence Clearwater Revival song Proud Mary, presented with the Ike Turner vocals that open the Tina Turner song. That the song is presented with an energetic, dance feeling matches the energy of Tina Turner energy of her earlier career.

A Fool in Love dates back to 1960 as an original release with the song getting sung by Tina Turner dating back to 1956 at the latest. The distinct R&B quality eventually crossed over to the early pop charts that helped create the rock and roll genre. The song was the first million-song seller for Ike & Tina Turner.

It’s Gonna Work Out Fine became the second million-song seller for Ike & Tina Turner. Like A Fool in Love, the lead vocalist for the song is Tina Turner, with the original release dating back to 1961.

(Tina Turner as seen in September 1993).

Stay Awhile moves into a more contemporary country ballad feel to it than many of the other songs of the album. The song’s theme encourages love as a means to healing through the give and take of the better angels of our natures.

I Might Have Been Queen harkens back to the Tina Turner‘s Private Dancer album. As noted here, “This song deals with her spirituality, and the Buddhist belief in reincarnation.” I Might Have Been Queen “was the only song on the [Private Dancer] album written specifically for Turner.”

What’s Love Got to Do With It also is a song originally from Private Dancer. As noted here, the song has Turner playing “the part of a woman who enjoys the carnal encounters with her lover, but feels no emotional attachment. She wants him to know that there’s nothing more to it, as for her it’s purely physical. Their relationship has nothing to do with love, which she dismisses as “a sweet, old-fashioned notion.””

Outside the United States, the songs Shake a Tail Feather and Tina’s Wish were included on the album.

Musicians contributing to the album beyond Tina Turner and her vocals (primary and backing) included Billy Livsey on keyboards, Bob Feit on bass guitar, Curt Bisquera on drums, Cy Curnin on backing vocals, David Paich on piano, Gene Black on guitar, Graham Jarvis on drums, Jackie Gouché on backing vocals, James Ralston on guitar and backing vocals, Jamie West-Oram on guitar, Jean McClain on backing vocals, Jeffrey “C.J.” Vanston on drum programming and keyboards, Keith Scott on guitar, Lee Thornberg on trombone and trumpet, Nick Glennie-Smith on keyboards, Rick Braun on trumpet, Robbie King on Hammond organ, Rupert Hine on bass, drum programming, keyboards and backing vocals, Sharon Brown on backing vocals, Simon Morton on percussion, Steve DuBerry on drum programming, keyboards and backing vocals, Terry Britten on guitar and backing vocals, Tessa Niles on backing vocals, Tim Cappello on saxophone and backing vocals, Tim Pierce on guitar, Trevor Morais on drums and Tuck Back Twins on background vocals.

Matt – Saturday, June 15, 2024

Christopher Cross and the self-titled album ‘Christopher Cross’

The self-titled album Christopher Cross by Christopher Cross of San Antonio, Texas was reportedly released on December 20th, 1979. To recognize the artistry of this pop/rock, adult contemporary and soft rock album, let’s have a look back and listen to the songs of this debut effort.

(Shown here is the album cover for Christopher Cross‘ self-titled album. Christopher Cross was released on December 20th, 1979).

Say You’ll Be Mine opens the album with an uplifting, harmonizing upbeat expression of romantic love interest. A clear attraction exists from the outset of the song, with Cross offering a common sense and heartfelt invitation to engage more fully.

I Really Don’t Know Anymore mediates on the nature of romantic love. The meditation reveals a man who has lost confidence in the possibility and promise of love following an experience that has left him lonely and alone.

(Christopher Cross as seen performing in the early 1980s).

Spinning flips the script on the preceding two songs. Cross finds himself reluctant in love yet suddenly awash in the passionate possibility of a new beginning. The point-of-view advances a narrative that to find himself here must be to doubt himself and the romantic love interest with suspicion in the face of opportunity.

Never Be the Same takes another bite of the apple of love. As singer, Christopher Cross feels the sting of lost love in coming to terms with emotionally moving on. The sweetness of the song rests in that effort while Cross still bringing balance to a viewpoint of seeing the optimism and beauty present from the beginning of the romance.

(Never Be the Same was the third single released in support of Christopher Cross‘ debut album, Christopher Cross).

Poor Shirley takes the notion of moving on from romance to the feminine perspective, with demands to hold back tears being heard sympathetically by Christopher Cross. The nature of the pain is compared, darkly, to the experience of soldiers losing friends to the hostilities of warfare. The depth of the feeling is clear, if the metaphor seemingly harsh.

A condemned man on the run to Mexico from the United States brings us to Ride Like the Wind. Per the link here that seems to reference LSD, “Christopher Cross was on acid when he wrote the lyrics.”

(The debut single Ride Like the Wind by Christopher Cross was released in February 1980 as the debut single from the album named Christopher Cross).

The central metaphor of The Light Is On is the consolation offered a friend and potential romantic love interest who fears the risk of engaging in love. The consoling wisdom of this song is pointing out the safety of home, indoors, where the light is on and separate from the storm of lost love.

As quoted here, the song Sailing “evokes sailing on the open sea, leaving any troubles on the shore.” Cross would go on to explain of the writing for the song that “[i]t took about two years before [he] came up with the bridge that changes all the keys to where [the song] lifts, but it was a pretty special moment.”

(Released in June 1980, Sailing was the second single released in support of Christopher Cross‘ self-titled debut album).

Minstrel Gigolo closes the album with a semi-autobiographical sense for what performing is like for some ladies in the audience and the performer. The sense of traveling from one place to another in performance leads to the temporary intimacy of the stage performance followed by a separate temporary intimacy for women wishing to feel love. The feeling is sad yet introspective at the same time.

Musicians who performed on the Christopher Cross album include Andy Salmon on bass, Chuck Findley on trumpet, flugelhorn and horn, Don Henley on vocals, Don Roberts on saxophone, Eric Johnson on guitar, J.D. Souther on vocals, Jackie Kelso on saxophone, Jay Graydon on guitar, Jim Horn on saxophone, Larry Carlton on guitar, Lenny Castro on percussion, Lew McCreary on trombone, Marti McCall on vocals, Marty McCall on vocals, Michael McDonald on vocals, Michael Omartian on keyboards, piano, synthesizer, and vocals, Myrna Matthews on vocals, Nicolette Larson on vocals, Rob Meurer on celeste, keyboards, organ, piano and synthesizer, Stormie Omartian on vocals, Tommy Taylor on drums, Tomás Ramírez on saxophone, Valerie Carter on vocals and Victor Feldman on percussion and vibraphone.

Matt – Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Bruce Hornsby and the Range and the album ‘The Way It Is’

The debut album for Bruce Hornsby and the Range kicked off April of 1986 with one wallop of an album. The Way It Is as an album earned the group a best new artist Grammy Award. The band’s genre landed them in Adult Contemporary, Heartland Rock and Pop/Rock.

(This is the album cover art that the debut album The Way It Is for Bruce Hornsby and the Range is known).

On the Western Skyline opens The Way It Is album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. As quoted on Songfacts here, On the Western Skyline “is about imagining that there might be a future love waiting for the singer somewhere in the western skyline.”

In charting as high as 14th in the United States, Every Little Kiss is “sung from the perspective of a worker who is far away from his sweetheart,” as quoted here. Thematically, this song hits me in a similar place as On the Western Skyline.

(Every Little Kiss was first released in May 1986 as the lead single from the 1986 Bruce Hornsby and the Range album The Way It Is. The song was re-released in 1987, after the album had achieved some measure of commercial success).

Mandolin Rain charted 70th in the United Kingdom and 4th in the United States. The metaphor for heartbreak invokes “a failed southern romance between two people who enjoy the rainfall and spent a lot of intimate time in it, but now that she’s gone, the singer mourns her loss and is reminded of her when he hears the rain.”

(Mandolin Rain was released as a single supporting The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby and the Range in late 1986).

The Long Race invokes winter as a stand in for loneliness and longing for the love of another. The singer invokes an eastern gaze in maintaining the view of continued vigilance of ultimately getting to love once again.

In charting 15th in the United Kingdom and first in the United States, The Way It Is deals with the Civil Rights Movement and the 1964 Civil Rights Act in the United States. As quoted here, the “lyrics in this song deal with the need to resist complacency and never resign yourself to racial injustice as the status quo.”

(The Way It Is was released as a single in the United States in September 1986. The song was released to support the 1986 album The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby and the Range).

Down the Road Tonight is the song of the singer’s introduction to a woman acting as a prostitute, lyrically spoken from the perspective of an adolescent being introduced to the notion by older kids and young adults in his social circle.

The Wild Frontier lyrically explores the exploration for love from learning of a passionate sense of love in Down the Road Tonight to seeking love in exotic locations. The singer learns that this isn’t the proper place for love to bloom for him, so seeks such in getting back to the familiar.

The River Runs Low invokes the sense of loss raised in the song Mandolin Rain. The absence of rain metaphorically operates at the central level of longing for the love interest whose left town. The singer additionally has been down on his luck from a financial standpoint, thus diminishing his ability to follow his lady.

The Red Plains brings The Way It Is to an end with the sad tale of having built a home and life with his love, only to see the home morally, metaphorically and in reality burn to the ground in what the singer feels is a personal failing. The song is a dream lost with moral self-recrimination tacked on, setting the deal up in flames. My interpretation, though, is that the love perseveres.

(This was the first album cover released, in the United States, for the Bruce Hornsby and the Range debut album The Way It Is).

The primary Bruce Hornsby and the Range band for the Way It Is album included Bruce Hornsby of Williamsburg, Virginia, David Mansfield of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, George Marinelli of Staten Island, New York City, New York, Joe Puerta of Los Angeles, California, and John Molo of Bethesda, Maryland. Additionally, John Gilutin of Los Angeles, California, Sean Hopper of San Francisco, California, and Huey Lewis of New York City, New York contributed to the album.

Matt – Saturday, April 1, 2023

Phil Collins and the album ‘No Jacket Required’

With a release date in the United Kingdom of February 18th, 1985, we look today into the third studio album by drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins of Chiswick, London, England. Released a week later internationally, No Jacket Required performed well in the UK and the United States, with Collins winning three Grammy Awards for the album.

(The cover for Phil Collins‘ No Jacket Required album, first released in the United Kingdom on this date in 1985).

As quoted here with background drawn from the VH1 program VH1 Storytellers, Sussudio started as a song title that happened in a semi-structured yet unplanned way. Phil Collins said “I started to sing into the microphone, and this word came out.” As the meaningless expression didn’t give way to anything better with the lyrics that were added to a set of chords with an uplifting and dance feel, a hit was born. As mentioned on the www.songfacts.com listing for the song, Sussudio would peak at #1 in the United States and #12 in the United Kingdom.

(Released as a single in January 1985, Sussudio is the first track on Phil Collins‘ third solo studio album, No Jacket Required).

Only You Know and I Know follows the opening album hit with a heavy drumline mixed with horns. Lyrically aiming for the give-and-take of a relationship whose bonds are being questioned, I hear the song saying that the power to restore the relationship rests in honest communication focused on precisely such an outcome.

Moving to a sharply more meditative direction, Long Long Way to Go feels hurt and afraid in both mood and hopefulness. Taking the song as a metaphor for a romance at risk, the feelings and strength Collins wants as the song’s singer asks for the pain to stop rather than continuing to try. That’s a heavy message indeed.

I Don’t Wanna Know extends a theme of a relationship in peril, though musically upbeat in mood. There’s word getting around that Phil‘s love interest has been spotted romantically in the company of another suitor, which if true is precisely what the singer doesn’t wish to know. As the song progresses lyrically, optimism persists with the hope of picking up romantically where things have been for Phil Collins and his love interest.

One More Night offers a ballad seeking relationship redemption with the attempt to rekindle what has existed between Phil Collins and his romantic love interest. Peaking at #1 in the United States and #4 in the United Kingdom, the notion of pleading “with his lover to give him just one more night to prove his devotion” clearly resonated with many then and likely still now.

(One More Night was the first United States single in and the second United Kingdom single released in support of the No Jacket Required album by Phil Collins).

Don’t Lose My Number brings enthusiasm and a vague sense of storytelling to a seeming romance, budding yet not started or otherwise, with a person named Billy. Whether the number not to be lost is a telephone number never really becomes clear, as doesn’t the relevance to this and whatever follow-up Billy being findable means to imply. As with this song, sometimes a decent hook is all a song needs to stick.

(Peaking at #4 in the United States in September 1985, Don’t Lose My Number was never released as a single in the United Kingdom).

Who Said I Would sure takes an unexpected and unsympathetic turn in the world of romance. That the lady of Phil‘s longing would so readily and clearly reject his feelings lays the groundwork for the relationship’s end like little verbally could. The jarring quality of this message stands in such opposition to the musical statement I hear through most of the song is equally jarring.

(First recorded as a studio recording for No Jacket Required, Who Said I Would was not released as a single until released as a live version Serious Hits…Live! in the United States and Japan six years later).

The heavy opening of drums to begin Doesn’t Anybody Stay Together Anymore feels deliberate and indicative of the feelings I sense Phil Collins having with his song. As indicated in the quotes here, this “song was made in response to everyone around Collins getting a divorce, including his manager, friends and though he was happily married to his second wife, Jill Tavelman [spelling corrected], himself years before.”

I sense a recognition for moving on after a broken relationship ends with the song Inside Out. The inside out references the clear sense for where the end of that love has left him, with a sense of recovery on Phil’s own recovery being the priority. To me, following his own grieving process to recovery makes a lot of sense. This strength of this song musically pleases me.

As quoted here through VH1 Storytellers, Take Me Home‘s “lyrics refer to a patient in a mental institution, and that he was inspired by the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Ken Kesey wrote that novel. The song peaked at #7 in the United States and #19 in the United Kingdom.

(Take Me Home, the tenth song from the No Jacket Required album, was released as a single in the United Kingdom in July 1985 and in the United States in March 1986).

The ballad We Said Hello Goodbye was a bonus track added to the compact disc release of the No Jacket Required album. The sentiment underpinning the song of emotionally moving on from one situation to another, growing and improving with time as the only way is an inspirational take that places this song, lyrically, among the more impressive achievements on this album.

Musicians supporting this album included David Frank of Dayton, Ohio, Nick Glennie-Smith of London, England, Daryl Stuermer of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Leland Sklar of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Don Myrick of Santa Monica, California and The Phenix Horns, Louis Satterfield of Chicago, Illinois and The Phenix Horns, Michael Harris of The Phenix Horns, Rahmlee Michael Davis of Chicago, Illinois and The Phenix Horns, Gary Barnacle of Dover, England, Arif Mardin of Istanbul, Turkey, Sting of Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England, Peter Gabriel of Chobham, Surrey, England and Helen Terry of England.

Matt – Saturday, February 18, 2023

Don Henley and the album ‘Building the Perfect Beast’

Following a successful career as part of the band Eagles, Don Henley of Gilmer, Texas achieved success with work under his own name. The second album released in this way was Building the Perfect Beast, which was released in the third week of November, 1984.

(Shown is the album cover for Don Henley‘s second solo album Building the Perfect Beast).

The Boys of Summer opens Building the Perfect Beast with lyrics by Don Henley and music composed by Mike Campbell of Panama City, Florida and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. The song is a look back at what was had with a past relationship and wanting those feelings and experiences back again. Evoking a feeling of summer at a beach offers a pleasant sense of nostalgia for me.

(The Boys of Summer was the first single released from the Don Henley album Building the Perfect Beast on October 26th, 1984).

You Can’t Make Love offers a rather grim look into the physical and emotional limitations that keep the singer from a full expression of love. I sense Henley saying that engaging many of the heartfelt parts of love will offer simply the illusion of love without granting the intimacy that offers true emotional connection. Henley wrote this song with Danny Kortchmar of Larchmont, New York.

Man With a Mission offers a country dance floor sensibility to suggesting that is singular focus is on emotionally connecting with someone he wishes to know romantically. J.D. Souther of Detroit, Michigan joined Kortchmar and Henley writing this song.

You’re Not Drinking Enough went full country lament for the sadness of a love lost. The song focuses on the hurt of loving another, with advice to drink more as a coping mechanism against the pain. With writing credits for Danny Kortchmar here, this song was most popularly covered by Earl Thomas Conley of Portsmouth, Ohio, with another cover by Alan Jackson of Newnan, Georgia here.

(Supporting the Building the Perfect Beast album, Don Henley‘s Not Enough Love in the World was released as a single in 1985 and hit #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart).

Not Enough Love in the World lands with a soft rock sound with writing credits for Benmont Tench of Gainesville, Florida, Henley and Kortchmar. The song deals with another rocky relationship wherein the singer indicates he remains in love. As indicated here, the relationship sung about might be one between Henley and Stevie Nicks of Phoenix, Arizona.

Don Henley’s second studio album gains its title from the song Building the Perfect Beast. In what feels like a reference to the beast that couldn’t be killed in the song Hotel California by Eagles, this song offers a sarcastic look at the psychological torment that losing in love does in turning a man all around. That the distance traveled to building that beast is our own doing is a cruel feeling indeed.

All She Wants to Do Is Dance present writing credits for Danny Kortchmar. The song, as indicated by SongFacts here, “draws on classic literature for song inspiration.” The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald of St. Paul, Minnesota and The Ugly American by Eugene Burdick of Sheldon, Iowa and William Lederer of New York City, New York are those classics. The song itself is among Henley‘s more successful in his solo career in part due to the pop groove of the sound.

(All She Wants to Do Is Dance was released as the 2nd single from Don Henley‘s Building the Perfect Beast album. The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart).

Written by Don Henley alone, A Month of Sundays offers a sentimental ballad of a lifestyle lost and looked upon in retrospect. Looking back as a grandfather who built things with pride, the song is sadness, lament and acknowledgment that the current world is no longer the one he knew.

Sunset Grill offers the writing collaboration of Henley, Kortchmar and Tench once again. As captured here, the “Sunset Grill is a real place and a favorite spot for Henley. Located on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, it’s a place where Henley could see how everyday people interact, which isn’t always easy to do when you’re a celebrity in LA.” Further, the Sunset Grill was used as “a metaphor for what he liked, what he thought was great about society. And then he also used it to describe what he didn’t like, which is plenty.”

(Sunset Grill was released as the fourth single from Don Henley‘s Building the Perfect Beast album).

Drivin’ With Your Eyes Closed brings a perspective of the elevation of women in the eyes of men in romantic relationships. Stan Lynch of Gainesville, Florida and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers joins Henley and Kortchmar with writing credits, wherein Henley‘s lyrics point out that improperly appreciating women in romance is bound to end badly.

Land of the Living is the concluding song to Building the Perfect Beast, granting Henley and Kortchmar their final collaboration for this album. The messaging gets into an uplifting feel as an album sendoff. Lyrically the song is a call to slow down and metaphorically smell the roses with the one you’re with. The song does provide the light touch in bringing me home with satisfaction and lightness of spirit.

Additional musicians contributing to Building the Perfect Beast included Steve Porcaro of Hartford, Connecticut, David Paich of Los Angeles, California, Michael Boddicker of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Albhy Galuten of Hartsdale, New York, Randy Newman of Los Angeles, California, Bill Cuomo, Lindsey Buckingham of Palo Alto, California, Charlie Sexton of San Antonio, Texas, Larry Klein of California, Pino Palladino of Cardiff, Wales, Tim Drummond of Bloomington, Illinois, Ian Wallace of Los Angeles, California, Kevin McCormick, Jim Keltner of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Maren Jensen of Arcadia, California, Jerry Hey of Dixon, Illinois, Belinda Carlisle of Hollywood, California, Sam Moore of Miami, Florida, Martha Davis of Berkley, California, Michael O’Donahue, Carla Olson of Austin, Texas, Patty Smyth of New York City, New York, Waddy Wachtel of New York City, New York, Marie Pascale Elfman and Dominique Mancinelli.

Matt – Saturday, November 19, 2022

Heart and the self-titled album ‘Heart’

It was Saturday, July 6th, 1985 when the eighth studio album for the band named Heart was released to the world. The self-titled album Heart came on the heels of when many had thought the band washed-up. I was ten-years old when the album was released, thus granting me what felt like a fresh new band to hear. It was only later that I came to appreciate the band’s fuller catalogue more completely. Join me with this look back at the Heart self-titled album.

(Pictured here is the cover art for the self-titled album, Heart, by the band named Heart).

If Looks Could Kill opens the Heart self-titled album as the fifth song released from the album. The album rock, arena rock band flexed more of their hard rock muscle with this song about the importance of personality rather than looks in a relationship.

(Heart‘s remake of If Looks Could Kill was the fifth and final single released in support of the band’s self-titled album, Heart).

What About Love charted tenth in the United States and fourteenth in the United Kingdom. The song “marked a turnaround for the band, which after a triumphant run of hits in the ’70s got off to a rough start in the ’80s with a decline in sales and little airplay for their new material on radio or MTV,” as noted here by Songfacts. Music Television (MTV) was still playing music videos in the mid-1980s.

(The Heart remake What About Love was the first single from the Heart‘s self-titled album).

Never topped the music charts at #4 in the United States and #8 in the United Kingdom. Never “is an empowerment song with a very vague storyline but a seriously catchy chorus,” as indicated here. The theme of the chorus is to experience the love that has developed while never running away from the risk of a heartbreak.

(Never was the second single released from Heart‘s eighth studio album, Heart).

These Dreams charts at #1 in the United States and #8 in the United Kingdom. Bernie Taupin of Lincolnshire, England wrote the lyrics to this song as Martin Page of Southampton, Hampshire, England wrote the music. Nancy Wilson sang the vocals for the song, rather than her sister, Ann Wilson. As for Heart, the song “became their first #1 hit,” as confirmed here.

(Released as a single on January 18th, 1986, These Dreams was the third single released to support Heart‘s self-titled album, Heart).

The Wolf aspires for a rock & roll sound with a message to a male counterpart singer that is into a fast and loose lifestyle that doesn’t work for the perspective of the song’s singer, Ann Wilson.

All Eyes addresses the notion of intimate physical attraction based strictly on looks. The song is aspirational in feeling and expectation. The perspective takes the rejected male perspective of The Wolf and affirms it from a feminine, even hopeful perspective here.

(From left, the primary musicians for Heart in 1985 were Mark Andes of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Denny Carmassi of San Francisco, California, Ann Wilson of San Diego, California, Nancy Wilson of San Francisco, California and Howard Leese of Los Angeles, California).

The song Nobody Home plays as a ballad of warning and disappointment. The song’s perspective is of the jilted lover singing to the dreamer in a relationship that is looking for more outside the relationship, thus leaving the romantic relation behind.

Nothin’ at All is the last hit on the self-titled album, Heart. The song peaked at #10 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #38 in the United Kingdom as late as 1988. As the lyrics go, the song describes new love that came about with little in terms of effort or conflict.

(The fourth single from Heart‘s self-titled 1985 album was Nothin’ at All).

What He Don’t Know returns to more of the melodic contemporary pop/rock sound about what gets communicated in romantic relationships. The song specifically gets into the intimacy that singer Ann Wilson is seeking with another man outside of her main romantic relationship.

Shell Shock offers guitar driven riffs with a parting mixture of stunned hope for the audience listening to the album. That the song raises the notion of physical intimacy and the immediacy of unexpected success in such matters. The experience is a wink of an eye of sorts, inviting a shell shocked feeling to the adolescent male listening to this album while the singer herself professes the self-same feeling.

Matt – Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Adele and the album ’21’

It was eleven years ago in the United States when Adele‘s second album, 21, was released. Having been released 22-days earlier in Europe, the album continues what the website All Music describes as “bittersweet soul and folk-infused love songs,” acknowledging feels for the singer and songwriter aged 21 when the album was released. Join me in reminiscing with the music.

(The album cover for the 2011 album 21 by Adele).

Rolling in the Deep opens the album 21, serving as a song that the artist considered a “dark bluesy gospel disco tune,” per the website Songfacts. The song takes a turn of expressing feelings of being through with a love interest who had been unfaithful. The song topped the British charts at #2 and the American charts at #1.

Rumour Has It follows the album opener with a story of returning home to friends in the United Kingdom asking “about rumors that they had heard about Adele,” per Songfacts. The artist found the gossip surprising, aiming to set things straight back home as well as with this song. Rumour Has It topped the American charts at #16.

(Adele released the album 21 at the age of 21).

Turning Tables turns more ballad focused, turning to the notion of pre-emptive protection against becoming trapped by a controlling relationship. Accompanied by piano, Adele sings of maintaining independence with this tune.

The song Don’t You Remember offers a sad look at forgetting. Adele is quoted in saying by Songfacts that this song explores “when you forget why you loved someone? I was just thinking about how my entire body would just shiver if my ex touched me to say hello. It’s sad when you can’t remember why you loved someone.” The acoustic with stripped down sound of drums offers a sound of comfort while invoking consolation.

(The album 21 by Adele was released when the singer was 21-years old).

Set Fire to the Rain charted at #11 in the United Kingdom and #1 in the United States. The uplifting sense of pop accompanies the notion for how it can be difficult to light a cigarette in the rain. The metaphor underlying this song is for it being difficult longing for the comfort of another who isn’t there.

He Won’t Go offers an interesting and uplifting splash of piano accompaniments. The sound invokes the surprise of the beginning of a relationship quickly averted when Adele‘s prospective suitor enters rehabilitation for drug use.

(Adele released the album 21 at the age of 21).

The ballad Take It All “turned out to be about the early stages of a relationship falling apart,” per Adele. The choice to begin the song with singing as well as piano was compositionally interesting and appreciated, later invoking the sound with the backing vocals of what sounds like a choir.

I’ll Be Waiting warms the emotional temperature for the album with the recognition from the singer to the notion that rekindling the right relationship feels righter in the moment than she had previously realized. Seeing the blue skies of redemption warms the soul with optimism.

One And Only picks up the notion of considering love, this time with someone whose long been present yet the two have never quite come to examining those feelings with one another for one another. Using a different key to previous ballads included with 21 proves a nice and appreciated touch in turning over a gospel sound engenders a distinct feeling that seems appropriate to the bridge of possibility struck with this song.

(The album 21 by Adele was released in 2011).

The acoustic approach of Lovesong as a remake to a song by The Cure was both interesting and unexpected for me. The declaration that love remains a hopeful possibility for Adele offers a sweet and optimistic spirit that, with one last song, completes the album 21.

Someone Like You brings the album 21 full circle, remembering the special feelings of love, hoping for those again with the appropriate suitor, and moving on from a former hopeful who proved himself to be not the one. This song charted as #1 in the United Kingdom while additionally charting #1 in the United States. There you have my look into 21 by Adele. Thanks for stopping by and listening in with me.

Matt – Wednesday, February 16, 2022

David Foster and the album ‘The Christmas Album’

A pair of radio stations where I live have been playing Christmas music through the month of December. The station that tends to play more contemporary music has included music from The Christmas Album (1993) by David Foster among its more commonly featured songs. As it is the season for such songs, let us look more closely into the dozen songs that comprise this album.

(The Christmas Album by David Foster with friends was released in 1993).

Carol of the Bells opens the 12-songs of The Christmas Album with an uplifting and melodious rendition of this traditional song. Mixing horns, piano and an orchestral mix meaningful to many, the joy that comes in less than three-minutes of playing time is beloved by many. This song, incidentally, receives the heaviest play of any song from this album with my local station.

(The Christmas Album featuring David Foster and friends was released in 1993).

Blue Christmas features Wynonna Judd singing to the instrumentation offered by David Foster. A rendition of this song also accompanied David Foster’s Christmas Album television special, which accounts for the following image. The rendition of the song selected here comes from the album rather than the television special.

(Wynonna Judd accompanies David Foster by singing Blue Christmas from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).

Bebe Winans and Cece Winans are featured accompanying David Foster with The First Noel. The contemporary sound with support from a chorus and a broad accompaniment of other musicians offer a warm, welcoming and full sound commensurate with the underlying lyrics and music offered. The song offered is from the album, whereas the image is from the television special.

(From left, David Foster, Bebe Winans and Cece Winans performing The First Noel).

Johnny Mathis joins David Foster in performing It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The enthusiastic time offers an uplifting spirit to a traditional composition known to many through more commonly played alternative renditions of this song.

(Johnny Mathis accompanies David Foster by singing The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. This image is from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special while the rendition linked above is from The Christmas Album).

Natalie Cole joins David Foster in offering Grown-Up Christmas List. Compositional credit for the song belongs with David Foster and Linda Thompson-Jenner. The fresh perspective in offering a new sentiment for the holidays with quality musicianship is heartwarming with a sense of calm.

(Natalie Cole accompanies David Foster by singing Grown-Up Christmas List from The Christmas Album. This image is from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).

O Holy Night features Michael Crawford singing alongside David Foster‘s piano and other accompanying instrumentation. Crawford is “[m]ost popular to theater audiences from his title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s version of The Phantom of the Opera,” as mentioned by All Music, the American online music database).

(Vanessa Williams accompanies David Foster by singing Go Tell It on the Mountain / Mary Had a Baby. The version linked below is taken from an album published by Williams).

Vanessa Williams sings a powerful medley of Go Tell It on the Mountain / Mary Had a Baby with a choir and David Foster, as featured on The Christmas Album, in David Foster’s Christmas Album television special, and in albums published separately by Williams. In staking out something truly their own in a musical arrangement offering many things, call me intrigued and moved.

(From left, Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack performing I’ll Be Home for Christmas. The image shown is from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).

I’ll Be Home for Christmas features Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack with musical assistance from David Foster. The mellow feeling of the presentation, taken from The Christmas Album as linked above, offers compositional direction changes at various points in the presentation that offer interesting and warm feelings to my hearing.

(Tom Jones performing Mary’s Boy Child from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).

Tom Jones sang to Mary’s Boy Child. The linked soundtrack to a ballad with choir harmonies bordering on the up-tempo style of many of the standards of Tom Jones, with a distinct timing difference to the song that comes next on The Christmas Album.

(From left, Céline Dion and David Foster perform The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)).

Céline Dion sings The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) to David Foster‘s piano, set in a distinctly higher key to much of the catalogue offered by The Christmas Album before this song. The juxtaposition of the Peebo Bryson and Roberta Flack duet followed in sequence by Tom Jones and Céline Dion also feels wisely selected to me.

Tammy Wynette sings and speaks Away in a Manger. The orchestration and production value of the song strikes me as more endearing.

The song White Christmas as captured on the album is credited in performance to David Foster, Natalie Cole, Michael Crawford, Wynonna Judd, Johnny Mathis, Bebe Wians and Cece Wians. I distinctly heard Vanessa Williams, Peebo Bryson, Roberta Flack, Tom Jones, Céline Dion and David Foster singing as well.

Matt – Wednesday, December 14, 2021

Fifty years and the James Taylor album ‘Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon’

April 1971 brought the release of a follow-up album to the first album to bring commercial success for the calm, understated stylings of musician and 2000 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee James Taylor. Today we listen into the 1971 album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon.

(Here is the album cover for the James Taylor album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, which was released in April 1971).

Love Has Brought Me Around opens the album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon with a desire to continue a conversation of recovery, contemplation and better days. As mentioned in a review of the album for AllMusic, a receptive audience was “recovering from the political and cultural storms of the [19]60s,” making this song resonate then. For many others, similar recovery fits today.

You’ve Got a Friend as written and originally recorded by Carole King as a response to James Taylor‘s Fire and Rain of 1970 as a musical response saying, per Songfacts, “you’ve got a friend right here.” You’ve Got a Friend was Taylor‘s only #1 album in America, winning Grammy Awards for Taylor and King.

Places in My Past continues the personal introspection into the biography of James Taylor at the tender age of 23. Listen closely for the subtle accordion play, which is joined by piano, guitar, bass and, of course, singing.

(James Taylor is featured on the March 1, 1971 cover of Time magazine).

The accompanying violin and banjo play adds a homey, afternoon journey feeling to the song Riding on a Railroad. The invitation to sing along in the spirit of the pan underpins the sensibility of this tune.

Soldiers offers perhaps the shortest song to the Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon with a length less than 80-seconds long. Whether or not you consider the 55-seconds of Isn’t It Nice to Be Home Again that ends the album a song, Soldiers is a close second. The optimism that brings an end to the lyrical tale offers an uplift perhaps unexpected yet sweet nonetheless.

Mud Slide Slim brings conclusion to the opening album side of Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. Finding consolation and friendship in contemporary troubadours and likeminded folks that understand moods and uplift the spirit. Taylor himself said in 1997, according to Songfacts, that the song was inspired by a picture of a tree washed down a hill in a mudslide with a random message affixed to it. I am fond of the electric guitar and congas accompanying the sound of this production.

(Here is the backside of the James Taylor album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, which was released in April 1971).

Hey Mister, That’s Me up on the Jukebox takes a more subdued sound with drums, vocals and guitar contributing to the lyrical lead of a young man’s sadness. The notion of being in a bar with a jukebox somewhere with a stranger playing a sad and sweet song of a man wearing a younger man’s clothes as sung at a later date by Billy Joel comes to mind.

You Can Close Your Eyes performed this song in the original construction of it as a song to Joni Mitchell, his girlfriend at the time. The song would be performed by other musicians and in duets with different performance ideas over time, yet this original version offers the consolation of a cherished memory of the song after romantic feelings of a relationship separate two brought together as one, which would later happen for Mitchell and Taylor.

Danny Kortchmar wrote the song Machine Gun Kelly, playing acoustic guitar along with James Taylor. Kortchmar also played congas on this track. The song tells a clear story warning of the ambitious Katherine Kelly seeking bolder crimes, putting the pair at risk of more heat than Machine Gun Kelly might be willing to reckon with.

(James Taylor circa 1971).

Long Ago and Far Away is a follow-up single with a folk music sensibility to the song You’ve Got a Friend, with backup vocals by Joni Mitchell and piano playing by Carole King. Per the book Fire And Rain: The James Taylor Story by Ian Halperin, the song deals with “how things don’t turn out as planned, how dreams don’t usually match the ultimate reality and how expectations don’t last.”

Let Me Ride brings a mixture of electric and acoustic guitar combined with an arrangement of horns to boot. The ode to highway traveling between destinations, not unlike a free bird that travels unbound to the rigors of daily routine or feeling that can feel at times like chains that bind our souls.

Highway Song brings piano, bass and drums to the foreground with a hymnal quality that aspires to the apostolic notion of fishing for men and women of faith. The subtext flips quickly to realization that the narrator’s heart, that is, James Taylor‘s heart, rests not there or in settling down to a more traditional sense of marriage. Like a tumbleweed, like an unchained bird unburdened, the calling rests with the journey of movement.

(A contemporary image of James Taylor).

Isn’t It Nice to Be Home Again offers perhaps the most intimate nugget of music on the whole album. Lasting just 55-seconds, the acoustic guitar with lyric overlay has James Taylor back home, missing the road, questioning how much his spirit that reveled in the being on the road really belongs tied to the place he calls home.

Matt – Saturday, January 23, 2021

A holiday playlist introduction to classic rock

Many may have a preferred playlist for holiday songs around that bring comfort over the holidays. This is an introduction classic rock through a few songs that I’ve come to appreciate over time. Enjoy!

(Chuck Berry opens our listing with his classic Run Rudolph Run).

Beginning the list is this 1958 classic from Chuck Berry to get us started. Run Rudolph Run continues to be popular to this day.

(From left, From left, Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong).

Santa Claus and His Old Lady by Cheech & Chong from 1971 falls more into the comedy genre, yet I get a chuckle from this for capturing an attitude. Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong were formidable in their day.

(John Lennon, pictured here, offered Happy Xmas (War Is Over) with the Plastic Ono Band).

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band is a song hard to miss by folks streaming or catching music from the radio. The first holiday song on our list by a member of The Beatles, 1971 was the year this song entered the culture.

(Bruce Springsteen asking for a roll call of all the good little boys and girls)?

Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band has taken on a bit of a life since it came on the scene in 1975.

(From left, Bing Crosby and David Bowie singing the duet for The Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth)).

The Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth) by Bing Crosby and David Bowie first played for the masses in 1977. My first remembered exposure came on MTV a few years later. The mixing of two generations of performer like this produced a beautiful song.

(The Kinks offered us a reminder to aim for equity in the song Father Christmas).

1977 also offered the world Father Christmas by The Kinks, which offers a more pragmatic spin on the notion of the holidays in reminding us with social commentary that not all are affluent with an experience of Santa Claus that is consistent.

(The Eagles as they were in 1978 sang of the bond of togetherness over the holidays).

Please Come Home for Christmas by the Eagles came along in 1978 as a solid remake of the 1961 number by blues singer and pianist Charles Brown.

(Paul McCartney and his wife Linda McCartney in 1984).

1979 offers us the song Wonderful Christmastime by former member of The Beatles Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney & Wings get the musical credit for this song, which when put alongside Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band offers a bit of a difference in where the two primary songwriters were in the messaging of their music.

(From left, Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt enjoying the work of being musicians).

Merry Christmas Baby by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band rings in 1980 with a second song by the boss and the band. The song’s popularity grew with the release of a Special Olympics charity album in 1986.

(From left, Sting of The Police, Bono of U2 and Simon Colley of Duran Duran as part of Band Aid).

On the subject of popular holiday songs made possible by charity, Do They Know It’s Christmas by Band Aid. An effort of mainly English and Irish recording artists, the song was meant to offer aid for the famine in Ethiopia when released in 1984.

(John Mellencamp performed I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus).

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus by John Mellencamp was a thematically lighter song released in 1987. The pacing in more upbeat and apolitical than some in this listing, yet musically appealing nonetheless.

(Bob Seger offering a rendition of The Little Drummer Boy).

The Little Drummer Boy by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band offered a second 1987 release, joining the Special Olympics album that included Mellencamp‘s I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus and Springsteen‘s Merry Christmas Baby. Seger‘s song is notable for removing religious names and references.

(Bono of U2 in the video for the song Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)).

Also in 1987, U2 offered Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) in a romantic interlude as filled with passion as anything the band released.

(Trans-Siberian Orchestra made a light show and orchestration a large part of their live holiday performances over time).

Trans-Siberian Orchestra came along in the mid-1990s with a concept of classical music made contemporary with a rock and roll sensibility. Much of their catalogue is devoted to the music this post contemplates. Our decision here is to introduce the 1996 song Christmas Eve / Sarajevo by TSO.

(The Reverend Horton Heat would like you to know that Santa Claus is Coming to Town).

Also stylistically on point with this list yet perhaps stretching the genre of classic rock is Santa Claus is Coming to Town by The Reverend Horton Heat. I could help but hear the excitement of young children looking forward to the holidays.

Matt – Monday, December 14, 2020