Johnny & Andy's Christmas Club

I'm a huge fan of Christmas music and I was notably frustrated when my Real Player crashed this morning after I had recorded the annual Johnny & Andy's Christmas Club show on WDCB. Of course it crashed before saving the file. I've been recording this show every year since about 2003 and to miss a year is terribly disappointing. Not only that but for whatever reason WDCB decided to broadcast the show only once this year and at 7AM on Christmas Day. I also learned that another local area station, WXRT, had just last week their show on the air. I don't really listen to XRT so I had no way of knowing they were doing their show there. Double disappointment. To compound the problem even further, these shows are not available ANYWHERE. Thus, I have decided to play a small part in making these shows available.

I considered making them available as downloads from a hosting website such as 4shared. But I like the idea of streaming the audio instead. I would love to upload them to soundcloud but I already have an account there with a limited amount of upload time remaining. And these Christmas Club shows are all 2-3 hours long. So I'm going to try uploading them to YouTube. Hopefully there will not be any copyright issues by uploading them there. Most of the songs these guys play on their show are obscure and would pose no problems. However, they do throw in a few commercially available tracks that may or may not be problematic. Well, that will be for YouTube to decide. If I have any problems with my first upload then I will consider other options. I just want to get these out there for everyone to enjoy!

I will start with their show from 2014. As soon as it's live on YouTube I will link to it here.

Coldplay "Ghost Stories"

I'm going to do a review of Coldplay's new 'Ghost Stories' album which was released about 2 weeks ago and I just picked up yesterday.

Let me just first share my mentality leading up to this new album. Coldplay is probably my favorite modern rock band. When a friend first introduced me to one of their earliest albums I didn't listen to it for a very long time because I didn't know exactly what kind of music it was and for some reason I actually thought it was metal or something of that sort. I'm not sure how I actually first heard Coldplay but when I did it was one of those instant love type moments. So I started listening to their first two albums--Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head--quite regularly and there were so many great songs on both of those. It definitely wasn't metal. It was unique. Kinda low-key, a bit sad. Plenty of acoustic guitar and piano. Nice layers of electric guitar. Unique vocal. It was great. I thought they were an awesome band and they quickly became my favorite. 

So their third album, X & Y, was highly anticipated by me. And I was not disappointed in the least bit. The music sounded a bit more electronic due to the vintage sounding keyboards on there. But it was great! There was a number of uptempo yet dark songs on there that I play to this day regularly. There were a few I didn't care for either but that's to be expected, right? Anyway the good heavily overshadowed the not-so-good. 

Three years later I was anticipating the Viva La Vida album. As a side note, it seems every three years has become the norm for Coldplay albums to be released. That being said, this new album failed to impress me. There were only two songs that stood out for me. And no, one of them was not "Viva La Vida." In fact, that was the song that made me realize that a change was taking place. Coldplay was moving away from their unique original sound to something more along the lines of Pop. There were still traces of their original sound on this album. But they were headed more towards Viva La Vida and less towards X&Y and anything before that. The bonus in this album was that the cd came with heavy-duty vinyl LP version as well. But I just never really got into the music other than "Cemeteries of London" and "Chinese Sleep Chant," the latter being an unlabeled song on the album. 

Another three years later and Mylo Xyloto came out. Funny thing about this album is that I don't ever remember listening to it. I have heard "Hurts Like Heaven" playing at stores. I probably recognize a few others but I don't know them by name. I think that by 2011 my love affair with Coldplay had ended. I really should go back and listen to both this album and Viva. 

So again another three years later and Ghost Stories is out. I bought the deluxe edition with bonus tracks. I caught the band playing a few of their new songs on Saturday Night Live. Couldn't tell you which ones. The songs really didn't do anything for me. I read that this album was an introspective one in particular due to the breaking up of lead singer Chris Martin and his celebrity bride.

I'm listening to the album once more as I write this. Coming into this new album my expectations weren't all that high. My first impression upon hearing it was that I was correct in keeping my expectations tempered. One of the first thoughts that came into mind was that this band no longer needs a drummer! There is barely a song on here that has any real acoustic drum sounds. The majority of songs feature electronic percussion of one sort or another. So Will Champion, you might want to start looking for another project to work on. I don't think the other guys will be needing your services much longer unless you can settle for being a roadie.

At the moment, "A Sky Full of Skies" is playing and I'm reminded that this was one of the songs they performed on SNL. This song is the most animated of the bunch on the album and obviously the one for radio. It's a catchy song and it sounds all right. But it has a Euro dance/pop beat and it's not the Coldplay of yore. 

Nothing really stands out on this album. The music is very mellow and reflective. It is well made and crafted and produced. Many of the lyrics are obviously referring to Chris Martin's ex-wife. You can hear the sorrow and pain in the lyrics. Those who thought Coldplay's music was too sad before will only confirm their convictions with Ghost Stories. The bonus tracks on this edition did nothing to redeem the rest of the album. Were this their first album I would not be seeking out a sophomore effort. But it isn't so I'll keep anticipating and hoping for even the slightest of a return to the days of X&Y, Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head.

I'm sure that even my friend who introduced me to Coldplay would not be excited over this new album. I give it a C/C-.

YouTube Channel: MusicMasters

I created a YouTube channel that I titled "MusicMasters" and I will be publishing obscure and/or forgotten music on there from my personal collection. My intent is to cover 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 2000's music that is not already on YouTube. There is so much music that is readily available on there. I started going through lists of songs I wanted to upload but most of the ones I checked are already there. This might make things a bit difficult as I wanted to do a song a day. I could easily accomplish this by uploading any song that is not already there but I only want to add my favorites and share music that I consider must-be-heard.

I uploaded my first one today and here it is:

Thrift Store Record Treasures

I've been finding a good selection of LP's at the thrift store lately. Now mind you I am no vinyl purist nor am I a collector of lp's. I only look for records from the 1960's and 1970's that look good enough for me to convert to wav files & mp3 so that I don't have to purchase them on cd. Many of these records I will attempt to sell at either a garage sale or on eBay after I've converted them. To me lp's are just big and bulky and take up more space than I can afford to spare. Additionally, I don't want to keep things around that I don't use much. After converting them they just sit there gathering dust, never to be used by me again. As I said I am not a collector. I just want the music. There are certain lp's I will keep, however, such as the brand new ones I have bought over the years and ones by artists I really like. But the used ones I have been buying at thrift stores have no emotional attachment for me.

Here is the most recent batch of records I found which was just last week. First up is "2 Hot" by Peaches & Herb from 1978:

The 5th Dimension "Reflections" from 1971:

"Soft & Soulful" by Bill Medley (1969):

Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra "Gone is Love" (1970):

Bobby Goldsboro's "Greatest Hits" (1970):

Various Artists "Family Portrait: 16 Outstanding Selections Rrom A&M Records" (1967)

And finally, "Close To You" by The Carpenters (1970):

More findings to come!

Blue-Eyed Soul of Steve Colt

I uploaded this really cool song by Steve Colt from 1970 titled, "Please Please Please (Tell My Mind to Stop Teasing My Heart)." For those of you who aren't familiar with Steve Colt, he had some mid-to late-60's songs where he sounded like the white version of James Brown. In particular he had a song called "Dynamite" which just brings the house down. Check the song out on YouTube if you don't already know it. There are several uploads of the song there along with others. I decided to upload the lead-off track from his Paradox album because no one else has done so on YouTube and because it is my favourite song on the album.




The sound here is a little different from the 60's singles. A little less soul/R&B sounding and more along the lines of blues rock. But the voice is undeniably blue-eyed soul. Absolutely a great vocal performance and solid instrumentation. My only criticism is the horribly weak-sounding snare drum. I realize this was from 1970 but there had been better sounding recorded snare drums up to that point.

Steve Colt died at the age of 62 at a nursing home in 2005. An amazing musician indeed.

I Can't Handle It!

A shout out to Northwestern IL University for playing this song on their weekly R&B Flashback program:




An absolute jewel! Has that classic mid-60s sound which includes, electric guitar, bass, organ, drums and a horn section. And I just love the reverb on the vocal. Gives me chills.

This is one of those songs that once I come across I play it non-stop and annoy everyone around me with it. Sounds so great straight from a scratchy, mono 45. Thanks again to the program host and to the individual who made YouTube even better by uploading it.

Some of My All-Time Favorite Christmas Albums

It's officially Christmastime and I'm going to list a few of my all-time favourite Christmas albums. Now mind you, I'm not one of these collectors of obscure holiday music nor do I have an extensive collection of Christmas albums. I have plenty of mp3's of shows I have recorded over the years on radio stations and special podcasts that people have put together. But I really don't spend time shopping around for them, especially since the best stuff is from the 50s, 60s and 70s and nothing made recently or nowadays will ever compare.

So here is a short list of some of my favourites and ones definitely worth checking out if you're not familiar with them. In no particular order:

The Anita Kerr Sings - Spend this Holiday with Me (1969)

This is a wonderful album. The music arrangements are very typical (and great) late 60's/early 70's sounding for pop music of the time. Sounds very much like The Free Design from the music to the vocals. I caught two songs off the radio many years ago from this album--the title track and Jingle Bell Rock--and was never able to find out who the artist was until a few years ago when I ordered a copy of this album on cd from Brazil! Anyway, this is a 5 star album and it stays on my iPod all year round.

Glen Campbell - That Christmas Feeling (1968)

Another hard-to-find album. And another I keep on my iPod all year long. This one is very mellow and some may even consider it a bit too melancholy for the festive season. But I love it cause Glen sounds so good on it and the arrangements are top-notch. His rendition of Roger Miller's "Old Toy Trains" is my favorite and I've never heard a better version yet. Other standout tracks include "Little Altar Boy," "Christmas is for Children" and "It Must Be Getting Close to Christmas."

The Partridge Family - A Partridge Family Christmas Card (1971)

If you like the sound of the Partridge Family--aka L.A. studio musicians known as 'The Wrecking Crew'--then you'll love this album. Ok, we all know the Partridge Family was not a real band. They were just actors with a storyline based upon a real band known as The Cowsills. But 'Keith Partridge' and 'Shirley Partridge' really did sing and they contributed their vocals to this album. The rest of the fictional family did not contribute at all to the music and albums. That being said this is a great early 70's pop/soft rock offering featuring the West Coast sound. Most of the numbers here are upbeat and you can't go wrong with any that Keith sings on.

                        

Elvis Presley - Elvis' Christmas Album (1957)

This is not only one of my favourite Christmas albums of all time, but it's one of my favourite albums period. This was the first time Christmas music met rock & roll. Oh sure, Elvis kept the traditional songs modest and low-key but he totally rocked out on the contemporary ones. The arrangements here are very simple and basic. Nothing more than piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, double bass, organ and background vocals. Just like his non-Christmas music of the same era. Standout tracks include all of them, but in particular 'Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me,' 'Santa Claus is Back in Town' and 'I'll Be Home for Christmas.' This album happens to be the best selling Christmas album of all time and for good reason.

                         

Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

This is a jazz album that has transcended its exclusive genre to become a pop smash. The music is wonderful. Simple arrangements. Playful melodies. Tunes that stay in your head. Mostly instrumental but a few with children's choirs. Probably the most memorable and recognizable tune, 'Linus & Lucy,' has become a Christmas staple even though the song itself has little or nothing to do with the holiday, other than having been featured in the animated classic. Other than 'Linus & Lucy,' my faves on this excellent album include both versions of 'Christmastime is Here,' 'Skating' and Christmas is Coming.'

                            

Kenny Burrell - Have Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas (1966)

Another jazz Christmas offering. This one definitely not as well-known as the Vince Guaraldi one but equally essential. Burrell is a master guitarist and surely my favourite player of the genre. The arrangements here include piano, bass, drums, horns and strings. He mainly plays his hollowbody electric but there are a few songs where he plays a nylon string acoustic. This album is timeless and his playing is effortless and spellbinding. It is bebop jazz at its finest during a wondrous era of recorded sound. The most remarkable tracks include 'My Favorite Things,' 'Little Drummer Boy,' 'God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen' and 'Children Go Where I Send Thee.' Gotta love that 60's album cover, too.

So there are 6 of my favourite Christmas albums of all time. I don't want to make this post super-long and it's getting late so I may do a part-two at a later time.