Bob Lind's Message Board

Hey, has anyone heard Nick Lowe's Christmas album? Has a Richard Hawley-ish vibe.

Paul Carrack top stuff

Bought two more Jimmy Webb albums: "Land's End" and "El Mirage", which will probably complete my Webb collection.

I still think Land's End is his best album, but El Mirage has The Highwayman and is essential for that song alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0-Sdf4x1fg

Also been listening to Brian Wilson - Imagination. Probably his best solo release, if you don't count "Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE". One of the best songs on the album is "Lay Down Burden"; I found this Youtube clip of a live performance, preceded by a brief interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_cdDzr48JE

Bought heaps of new CDs lately - I need to slow down a little.

I have started to acquire parts of Jimmy Webb's back catalogue, some of which I have on vinyl but nothing to play it on, some of it which for some reason I never picked up on at the time of release. I have got, and have been listening a lot to, his first two (authorised) albums, "Words and Music" and "Letters". Both have some astonishingly good songs,though neither album is flawless.

This is one of the highlights from the first album: "Careless Weed"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFWKyFIDg0g

Paul Kelly - Songs From the South vols 1 & 2

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Paul Kelly is probably the only Australian performer worthy of sharing a stage with Bob Lind. Actually I think a concert featuring both of them could work quite well. Maybe Bob should mention it next time he runs into Paul at S x SW.

Elton John - The Diving Board

streaming free on Amazon until Sep 24, the date of its release.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1001386841&tag=vglnk-c25-20

So far I am impressed, it sounds like his best album in a long time.

I have a heap of Jimmy Webb albums that I have not heard for years because I don't have a turntable for playing vinyl. Recently I discovered that most, if not all, his albums are available to listen to on Spotify, so I have been enjoyi8ng:

Words and Music
Letters
Land's End
El Mirage

At some stage I'll probably acquire these again on CD.

Jimmy Webb probably ranks among my top 10 songwriters, along with such people as Bob Lind, Brian Wilson, Steven Wilson (no relation), Joni Mitchell and Tony Banks. Webb does not have a [b]great[/b] voice, but he has an [b]adequate[/b] voice, and it's a shame he is really only known as a songwriter rather than a recording artist in his own right.

I borrowed the 2003 edition of Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield from the local library. I have never listened to this in its entirety before; I have heard many times the well-known bit where he introduces all the "instruments" one by one, and while the theme itself is nice, the repetition always annoyed me a little, giving me the impression he was trying to show off. The album itself has other parts that I liked much more.

I still don't think it's as good as Incantations, though.

Mike Oldfield and I happen to have the same birthday.

That's quite nice, that is.

Been listening lately to some albums by No-man.

No-man is a duo consisting of Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson, the latter better known as the frontman for Porcupine Tree.
The music is mostly rather different from Porcupine Tree, though occasionally one hears points of crossover influence. No-man's earlier music was very "housey"; it would not sound too out of place in certain dance clubs, though it's a great deal more melodic than most dance music. Their later albums are much more dreamy and ambient, with very lush production.

Here's a clip of a song from one of their later albums, "Together We're Stranger". Be patient; the song takes quite a while to get going,but it's worth the wait.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onzqvRXD6oE&feature=youtube_gdata

Been continuing with my Joni binge.... as well as Ladies of the Canyon, listened recently to Dog Eat Dog, Hejira, Court and Spark, and The Hissing of Summer Lawns.

Some of Dog Eat Dog is forgettable. The other albums mentioned are a joy from beginning to end.

I also have Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, which is a very strange album indeed. Initially I found its experimental nature a bit off-putting, but I find myself returning to it.

Recently picked up Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon, to replace my old cassette copy.

The well-known "Big Yellow Taxi" is possibly my least favourite track on the album,though still a good song. "Conversation" is probably my favourite, and indicates the more jazz-oriented direction she would take on later albums.

[quote="jhosmer"]Just downloaded Bob's new cd. How is it possible for him to just get better and better? Amazing![/quote]
Huh? I haven't put out any CD?

Oh. THAT Bob. :wink:

Ha Ha! Subtle, Bob...subtle...

I like this Jhosmer person. Excellent taste this fellow. Welcome to the board J.