Well, the magic is certainly back. I have been in musical heaven all week, spinning record after record, and it has all been glorious.
I began the morning with Frank Sinatra. He's my favorite male vocalist bar none, and I really like a lot of them: Bing Crosby, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin.
Nobody knew how to swing like Sinatra.
This was a vinyl stereo reissue from Capitol Records of this 1955 classic that was originally pressed in mono. The sound of Sinatra's voice on my speakers was magnificent!! This also happens to be my favorite Sinatra album from his years on Capitol, when he was really in the prime of his career. The slate of songs on this record is strong throughout:
You Make Me Feel So Young,
Old Devil Moon,
Pennies from Heaven,
I've Got You Under My Skin,
Love Is Here To Stay, and
Anything Goes are just some of the highlights. Sinatra's range on this album is remarkable (baritone through tenor). The sound of this record on my system really reminded me of the sheer joy in music. The quality of the presentation made it so easy to get lost in the performances. This is what it's all about folks.
I then moved onto another timeless Sinatra classic from his Capitol Records years. This time I had the pleasure of tearing the shrink wrap from a sealed copy of
Come Fly With Me.
This was also a stereo reissue on Capitol Records, but this one had never seen a turntable until today. Wow, very little surface noise and a sonic purity that put an ear-to-ear grin on my face. While this album is not as strong song-wise as
Songs for Swingin' Lovers, it is still a teriffic album of Sinatra belting out great swing in his prime. I've had this one on CD for years and just recently found a sealed vinyl copy. The vinyl sounded so good that I really wanted to toss the CD out of the window.
After that I moved on to
September of My Years, which was released in 1965 on Reprise Records (the label was founded by Sinatra).
This one was a 180g reissue from RTI records. It was a first rate pressing and had a very low noise floor. This album is not swing. Sinatra had just turned 50 and this record was filled with introspective, melancholy, and reflective songs. It is quite a somber recording. But Sinatra's powerful and stately baritone takes you on an emotional ride. Perhaps this record might carry a little more meaning for me personally, since I am about 18 months away from turning 50 myself.
How does one go from a somber Sinatra record to Little Feat? Easy. Put the records on the turntable and drop the needle!
Ok, sorry about that.
Waiting for Columbus is arguably one of the greatest live recordings ever made from one of the greatest live acts in popular and rock music. If you don't have this on vinyl you really owe it to yourself to find a copy. There's not a drop of filler to be found on this two record set. The recording and mixing engineers were at the top of their game on this one. The recording features the excitement of a live concert without the crowd noise overwhelming the sound and performance. This is one live record that actually sounds good! The rhythym section had my DeepHemp hammering out the bass and percussion with aplomb. On guitar and vocals this was one of Lowell George's finest moments. He would tragically die of a heart attack a few years later and the band would fade into obscurity. My system delivered this performance in all of its splendor and glory. What a ride!
I've always liked the music of Joe Jackson. The guy is incredibly ecclectic in his approach to music and that has always had a certain appeal to me. My favorite record of his is a jump swing record called Jumpin' Jive.
I think Jackson had a lot of courage to do a record like this in 1981 when he had an established reputation as a new wave rocker thanks to his debut album Look Sharp, and it's hit single
Is She Really Going Out With Him? I can only imagine what the execs at A&M records said when Jackson told them what he wanted to do as a follow-up to the reggae tinged Beat Crazy: You wanna do a
what kind of album? But I really believe that Jumpin' Jive is one of Jackson's crowning achievements as an artist. He proved to the younger generation that swing was cool (10 years before the neo swing movement began) and that he had the musical chops to pull it off. Featuring a great collection of classics such as:
Jack, You Dead,
Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby,
Five Guys Named Moe,
The Jumpin' Jive, and
You're My Meat, the arrangements and Jackson's vocals give these songs new life. And Yes, as a 22 year old in 1981 I thought this was one cool record and actually had a copy of it. I am pleased to have it again, as well as a system that can do this marvelous recording justice.
What a great week it's been.
--Jerome
