Francis Albert – Part 2

With soothing charm, masterful singing, and a touch of class (except when he wasn’t singing and spoke in that clipped, harsh New Jersey accent), the music of Frank Sinatra reminds listeners of a bygone era when talent and charisma carried the day. But let us not forget the great songwriters, conductors, and musicians who helped craft the entire dream package Sinatra delivered year after year, decade after decade: names like Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Nelson Riddle, and Quincy Jones- just to name a few. Sinatra was from an era when- even though he did not write the songs- they became his.

Sinatra and Nelson Riddle

For me, Sinatra’s music falls into three neat categories: the Columbia, Capitol, and Reprise years. The Columbia years- the early period that some say was the golden era of Sinatra’s greatest singing voice- sounds too dated for even me. The Capitol years marks Sinatra’s ‘50s comeback and includes some of his most memorable songs and concept albums before he left Capitol to start his own record label in 1960. The Reprise years marks the beginning of Sinatra’s reign as Chairman of the Board and leader of the Las Vegas Rat Pack when his middle-aged singing voice became rougher and hoarser but he could still hold his own against the Beatles and their followers.

Sinatra and Quincy Jones

Whether effortlessly belting out swing or cooing softly in your ear, Sinatra makes you feel- whether you’re a man or a woman- like you’re getting your money’s worth. I remember hanging out with a bunch of my male Peace Corps buddies in Bulgaria one weekend in the Rhodope Mountains just smoking, drinking, playing chess, and listening to Capitol era Sinatra swing when suddenly we all broke out laughing to “All of Me”. It was great fun and one could do worse than have Sinatra introduce you to the music of Cole Porter- and adulthood. Here are some more of my favorite Frank Sinatra songs. Enjoy!

01. Frank Sinatra – “My Heart Stood Still” (1963)
02. Frank Sinatra – “A Foggy Day” (1961)
03. Frank Sinatra – “Lost in the Stars” (1963)
04. Frank Sinatra – “All the Way” (1963)
05. Frank Sinatra – “My One and Only Love” (1953)
06. Frank Sinatra – “My Way (Live)” (1987)
07. Frank Sinatra – “It Was a Very Good Year” (1965)
08. Frank Sinatra – “This Was My Love” (1959)
09. Frank Sinatra – “Someone to Watch Over Me” (1954)
10. Frank Sinatra – “All of Me” (1954)

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Quincy – Official Trailer

Francis Albert – Part 1

It was about fifteen years ago or so when I started buying and digging Frank Sinatra albums and a big part of the reason was at that time I was trying to get over a painful break up and not only did Sinatra sing of the highs and lows of romance (especially the lows) but he also sang convincingly enough to make me feel he understood what I was feeling because he had been there, too. And, at the end of the day, isn’t that what everyone is looking for- some authenticity as well as a little understanding?

Of course it didn’t hurt the man was oozing with talent and could sing the phone book and people would pay money for it. Pop standards, show tunes, jazz, rock, folk- Sinatra could do it all. He was also from the generation who understood that being human meant accepting the whole deal that comes with it: there will be joy, and pain, and you can’t have one without the other, so enjoy the ride, bub, because it will all be over sooner than you think. In addition to his swing, people in the twentieth century also enjoyed Frank Sinatra’s sad songs, his “torch” songs, and while many today don’t want to admit it (or perhaps are not emotionally equipped enough to even try it), there is something wonderful and life affirming in feeling miserable and heartbroken and listening to a song that enhances the mood.

If you’ve ever felt the thrill of romantic infatuation, the pain of rejection, pangs of longing and regret, and the joy of being alive, then welcome to the human race- and the music of Sinatra may just be for you! Here are some of my favorite Frank Sinatra songs. Enjoy the music- and the ride!

01. Frank Sinatra – “Angel Eyes (Live)” (1966)
02. Frank Sinatra – “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (1963)
03. Frank Sinatra – “Ol’ Man River” (1963)
04. Frank Sinatra – “The World We Knew (Over and Over)” (1967)
05. Frank Sintara – “Mrs. Robinson” (1969)
06. Frank Sinatra – “It Never Entered My Mind” (1955)
07. Frank Sinatra – “The September of My Years” (1965)
08. Frank Sinatra – “How About You?” (1956)
09. Frank Sinatra – “Bewitched” (1963)
10. Frank Sinatra – “I Get a Kick Out of You” (1962)

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Dennis Miller tells about dinner with Frank Sinatra

Classical Music Faves III

As mentioned in an earlier entry, when I was a kid I would lie on our living room floor playing with my action figures while listening to classical music on the stereo. It was the perfect music to inspire my imagination to create and direct epic tales with my figures- my actors- and to this day classical music helps me not only to relax and sleep but also to study, work, think, imagine- and just be.

John Barry

I enjoy listening to music and watching movies that inspire me and make me feel and to me it makes sense that classical music and movies go so well together. Alas, it would not surprise me if both classical music and film stimulate the same parts of the brain- and the soul. Here is some more of my favorite classical music including orchestra, Romantic, opera, 20th/21st Century, and Baroque. Enjoy!

01. Barry: “Out of Africa: Main Theme”

       – Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Nick Ingman (2002)
02. Mozart: “Così fan tutte, Act 1, Scene 2: No. 10 Terzettino: Soave sia il vento (Dorabella/Don Alfonso/Firodiligi)”
       – Riccardo Muti, Angela Baltsa, José van Dam, Margaret Marshall, Wiener Philharmoniker (1982)
03. Debussy: “Suite bergamasque, L. 75: No. 3, Claire de lune (Arr. L. Caillet for Orchestra)”
       – Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra (1963)
04. Puccini: “O mio babbino caro”
       – Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir John Pritchard, The London Philharmonic Orchestra (1983)
05. Vaughan Williams: “The Lark Ascending”
       – Britten Sinfonia, Nicholas Cleobury, Pauline Lowbury (1998)
06. Britten: “Songs from ‘Friday Afternoons’, Op. 7: Songs from Friday Afternoons, Op. 7: ‘Cuckoo!’”
       – Viola Tunnard, Choir of Downside School, Purley (1967)
07. Tchaikovsky – “The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act 1: March”
        – Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra & Emil de Cou (2016)
08. Debussy: “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair”
         – Joshua Bell, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Michael Stern (2003)
09. Mozart: “Le nozze di Figaro, K.492 / Act 3: ‘Sull’aria … Che soave zeffiretto”
        – Edith Mathis & Gundula Janowitz & Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin & Karl Böhm (1968)
10. Vivaldi: “Sposa son disprezzata”
        – Cecilia Bartoli, György Fischer (1992)

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Flying over Africa

Easy Does It IV

I respect vocal/easy listening music’s bottom line which is to provide respite and pleasure to its listeners. Life is hard enough without subjecting yourself to music the World War II generation would consider noise, yet even they needed something to listen to while mixing cocktails to take the edge off. 

Tom Jones

Most of the big names in vocal/easy listening music have passed on but I continue to enjoy them and make new discoveries. I like the way vocal/easy listening artists actually have talent, carry themselves with class, and can make me feel as though they understand my every pain and desire because they have felt it too- and that is what art is all about. Here are some more of my favorites. Enjoy!

Tom Jones

01. Frank Sinatra – “Cycles” (1968)

02. Frankie Laine – “The Valley of the Hundred Hills” (1959)
03. Tom Jones – “It’s Not Unusual” (1965)
04. Tom Jones – “Green, Green Grass of Home” (1966)
05. The Swingle Singers – “Ode to Joy” (Unknown)
06. The Lettermen – “We’re All Alone” (1979)
07. Dean Martin – “Bumming Around” (1965)
08. Nat King Cole – “Smile” (1961)
09. Robert Goulet – “If Ever I Would Leave You (from ‘Camelot’)” (1960)
10. Doris Day – “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" (1956)

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Alternative Grab Bag V – Part 2

Alternative had its moment in the sun just as I was entering college, and by the end of the century its usefulness to the music industry and mainstream media had run its course. Many of the so-called alternative artists who were inspiring my friends and me before there even was a thing called alternative music are still active today though there’s not much left for them to do except provide nostalgia concerts and maybe churn out a new song or two that sounds just like their old stuff. (No judgement from the Jean- I know these alternative artists have to eat, too, and a Pixies show is still on my bucket list.)

Keane

Alternative used to mean- if anything- bold, edgy, and uncompromising music, but like anything else the genre has become so mainstream and diluted as to have become golden oldies music for my generation (I mean, really, I’m digging Keane who might as well be easy listening music for graying Gen Xers). Heaven only knows what bold, edgy, and uncompromising music the restless teenagers of today have discovered. Are kids even rebelling with music anymore and spending nights alone in their bedrooms getting inspired by secret messages from the underground? I hope so. Here are some more of my favorite alternative songs including garage rock revival, old school punk, noise pop, ‘80s alternative, post-modern pop, alt dance, skate punk, and punk pioneers. Enjoy the alternative! 

Ween

01. X – “See How We Are” (1987)

02. Ween – “Stay Forever” (2000)

03. The Dead Milkmen – “The King in Yellow – William Bloat” (2011)

04. Ween – “What Deaner Was Talkin’ About” (1994)

05. Badly Drawn Boy – “You Were Right” (2002)

06. Ned’s Atomic Dustbin – “Grey Cell Green” (1991)

07. The Replacements – “Alex Chilton (Live)” (1989)

08. Keane – “Chase the Night Away” (2019)

09. Headless Heroes – “Blues Run the Game” (2017)

10. Lick the Tins – “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (1985)

11. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – “Vanessa from Queens” (2003)

12. The Replacements – “Darlin’ One (Bearsville Version)” (1988) 

13. Tears for Fears – “Head Over Heels” (1985)

14. Superchunk – “Like a Fool (Acoustic)” (2019)

15. The Raveonettes – “Last Dance” (2009)

16. The Velvet Undergound – “I Found a Reason” (1970)

17. Pixies – “Catfish Kate” (2019)

18. Keane – “Silenced by the Night (Live)” (2019)

19. NOFX – “72 Hookers” (2012)

20. They Might Be Giants – “New York City” (1996)

Pixies

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Pixies: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Alternative Grab Bag V – Part 1

I was there in the early ‘90s- during the Red Hot Chili Peppers and grunge explosion- when the term “alternative” music entered pop culture as a catch-all marketing device for artists who did not fit the traditional molds. Once considered underground outsiders by the profit driven music industry, by the mid ‘90s alternative artists were calling the shots- on both sides of the Atlantic- and for awhile alternative seemed invincible with groups like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Green Day, and Oasis carrying the torch and extending the genre’s reach to every corner of America- and the world. For the record, I prefer New England’s Sebadoh to Seattle’s Nirvana, and Glasgow’s Travis to Manchester’s Oasis. 

Travis

The alternative moniker also came to include artists who for decades had either been operating outside the mainstream or bending it to their will long before there ever was an alternative section in the record store. While not opposed to having fun, alternative artists are much more willing than their pop and rock contemporaries to explore darker, stranger themes and take chances which is really the only thing that pushes the boundaries in any art form. Here is some more of my favorite alternative including punk, new wave, post-punk, grunge, Britpop, ska revival, and indie/alternative. Enjoy the alternative!

X

01. X – “4th of July” (1987)

02. Shack – “Comedy” (1999)
03. Badly Drawn Boy – “The Shining” (2000)
04. Blondie – “Picture This” (1978)
05. Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – “Rocket Man” (1997)
06. The Suburbs – “Love is the Law” (1984)
07. The Bouncing Souls – “Lean on Sheena” (2006)
08. Hole – “Heaven Tonight” (1998)
09. Yaz – “Only You” (1982)
10. Travis – “As You Are” (1999)
11. Travis – “Writing to Reach You” (1999)
12. Travis – “Sing” (2001)
13. The Specials – “Ghost Town” (1981)
14. Sebadoh – “Celebrate the Void” (2019)
15. The Divine Comedy – “At the Indie Disco” (2010)
16. Sebadoh – “Soul and Fire” (1993)
17. Sebadoh – “Skull” (1994)
18. Sebdaoh – “License to Confuse” (1994)
19. Sebadoh – “Magnet’s Coil” (1994)
20. Migala – “Your Star, Strangled” (2004)

Sebdaoh

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Brotherly Love

If you have ever enjoyed singing or listening to harmony in a rock song then you can thank the Everly Brothers who not only directly influenced the Beatles’ sound but also helped bring rock, R&B, and country music together. Born in the Midwest and raised in a country music singing family group, Phil and Don Everly could do it all musically, yet after their late ‘50s and early ‘60s peak the brothers just never seemed to be able to adapt and find a place in the modern musical landscape they helped create. After the passing of Phil Everly in 2014, Paul Simon said: “Phil and Don were the most beautiful sounding duo I ever heard. Both voices pristine and soulful. The Everlys were there at the crossroads of country and R&B. They witnessed and were part of the birth of rock and roll.”

In the early ‘90s I was traveling through the South of France listening to Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. on my Walkman when one day I wandered into a little shop and purchased an Everly Brothers cassette tape (since I had read in a fanzine somewhere that the Everly Brothers had influenced Sebadoh who at the time were my favorite band). To this day, I’m an Everly Brothers fan although when it comes to their vast catalogue of music I’m more interested in their darker, sadder stuff than the more popular songs like “Bye Bye Love” or “Wake Up Little Susie”. To me, “Gone, Gone, Gone” sounds like proto-pop punk and rocks harder than any Green Day song; while the Everlys’ cover of Bob Dylan’s “Abandoned Love” is just so beautifully weird and touching. Here are some of my favorite Everly Brothers songs. Enjoy!

01. The Everly Brothers – “Gone, Gone, Gone” (1964)

02. The Everly Brothers – “Bowling Green” (1967)

03. The Everly Brothers – “When Will I Be Loved” (1960)

04. The Everly Brothers – “Mama Tried” (1968)

05. The Everly Brothers – “Let It Be Me” (1960)

06. The Everly Brothers – “Down in the Willow Garden” (1958)

07. The Everly Brothers – “Problems” (1958)

08. The Everly Brothers – “(Till) I Kissed You” (1959) 

09. The Everly Brothers – “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (1958)

10. The Everly Brothers – “Abandoned Love” (1985)

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