You're The Reason I'm Living

Bobby Darin - "You're the Reason I'm Living" (1963) - Capitol Records

Hello Friends,

After the huge success of Ray Charles's Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music (1962), it became very en vogue for non-country artists to release records with a country & western sound.

In 1963, Bobby Darin threw his (cowboy) hat into the ring with this record of swinging, soulful Country music.  It sounds like Nashville by way of the Bronx.

The result has echoes of Ray Charles's masterpiece but it falls prey to overly produced, too-slick-for-their-own-good arrangements.  Darin's vocals are good, as always, especially on songs like Gene Autry & Fred Rose's "Be Honest With Me", Hank Williams's "(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle" and Glen Campbell's "Here I Am".  Songs like the opener, "Sally Was a Good Old Girl" and Don Gibson's "Oh, Lonesome Me" are definitely more swing than country.  

The leadoff single, "You're the Reason I'm Living", was a pretty big hit reaching # 3 on the Billboard singles chart.  It was also Darin's first single for Capitol after leaving Atlantic Records.  

None of the songs here are as great as Darin's classic recordings of "Beyond the Sea", "Splish Splash", "Mack the Knife" or "Dream Lover" but its a fun and listenable record nevertheless.  Enjoy it because its Bobby Darin and not because you're hoping for some groundbreaking country western crossover LP.

The album's most soulful tune is side two's "Who Can I Count On?", a duet with fourteen year old gospel singer, Merry Clayton.  This song began Merry's long and illustrious recording career.  In addition to her own music, she sang backup vocals for a ton of artists including Ray Charles, Tom Jones, Neil Young, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Joe Cocker, but her most famous duet is with Mick Jagger on the Stones' classic, "Gimmie Shelter".

Rape and Murder, indeed.

RATING: 3.5 Hardest Working Girls in the Neighborhood out of 5

Pictures at an Exhibition

Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic - "Moussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition & Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol" (1959) - Columbia Masterworks

Hello Friends,

We're cranking up the Classical again on tonight's Vinyl in the Valley.  

And in honor of the Russian National Hockey team being eliminated at the Sochi Olympics earlier this we've got some Russkie favorites on the old the old Поворотный стол. 

Modesto Moussorgsky completed his 10-part piano suite, Pictures at an Exhibition, in 1874. In 1922, composer Maurice Ravel arranged Moussorgsky's suite for a full orchestra becoming one of Classical music's most performed and recognizable pieces.  

Its a piece of "program music", meaning it musically follows a plot or storyline; in this case, the composer walks through an exhibition of artwork by Russian artist, Viktor Hartmann- essentially making it an early form of the "concept" album like Come Fly With Me, Sgt Peppers or Dark Side of the Moon.

In 1959, Lenny Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic made this recording of Pictures at an Exhibition for Columbia Records.  We're not sure where this recording stands in comparison to others but we've got no complaints.  Its got a very "modern" feel to it like it could have been the soundtrack to some epic 1950's Cinemascope movie.  The melodies are familiar and there's lots of quiet-loud-quiet moments which is always a plus for us!

Rounding out the last 15 or so minutes of Side Two is Bernstein conducting a rousing version of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espangnol, a composition in five movements celebrating several Spanish folk melodies.  Ole!

Our thoughts go out to the Russian Hockey team!  Better luck in four years!

USA! USA! USA!

Update: USA loses to Canada (0-1) and then gets blown out by Finland in the Bronze Medal game (0-5).  There was no miracle on ice this time around!

RATING: 4.5 Great Gates of Kiev out of 5

Go, Get the Butter

Gato Barbieri - "Last Tango In Paris" Soundtrack (1972) - Liberty

Hello Friends,

Bernardo Bertolucci's acclaimed 1972 film, Last Tango in Paris, is about two strangers (Marlon Brando & Maria Schneider) who meet on the streets of Paris and begin a salacious, anonymous sexual tryst.  Its your basic boy-meets-girl story with lots of nudity, afternoon sodomy, tangoing and butter-covered fingers inserted into rectums!  Don't bring your kids to see this one!

Argentinian composer & musician, Gato Barbieri, was recruited for the film's soundtrack. For the score he crafted a melodic, saxophone-laden, Latin jazz score in a very 1970's vain.  Its like a cross between Henry Mancini, early Santana and Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street".  Jazz composer (and fellow saxophonist), Oliver Nelson, aided Barbieri in the arrangements and the music fits the film perfectly.

In fact, its some of the most memorable saxophone heard in a film second only to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuJ9YNfKC2o.

The film holds up well as a masterpiece of the cynical 70's.

Brando, up to this point, has never been so sleazy and so creepy! 

The soundtrack album holds its own as well. When heard out of the context of the film it comes across sounding a little lite, a little soft jazzy, a little bit like a remorseful cop beneath a street lamp in the rain!

Now, if I only knew where Tiki T. hid the nail clippers!

RATING: 4 better not lay a finger on my butterfingers out of 5

Thanks to Danny & Ross for this one! An import from Italy, no less!  

Spraying My Night Mist All Over the Place

The George Shearing Quintet with Voices - "Night Mist" (1958) - Capitol Records

Hello Friends,

We're trying to catch a break from these Winter Blues so we cracked open 3 or 4 bottles of wine, dimmed the lights and listened to this LP by The George Shearing Quintet.

For the most part, its a nice, relaxing affair.  We'll give the music a solid "A" (straightforward and competent jazz for the Sears crowd), but we'll give the vocal choruses that appear throughout the record a "D+".  Man, they really bring the record down: they're obvious and obtuse and are mixed too loudly and sound too tinny.  Basically, the "follow-the-bouncing-ball" Mitch Miller vocal choruses are unnecessary and distracting and bring down what is otherwise a pretty good record.

The wine is good though... my teeth are purple...

RATING: 3.5 Polka Dots and Moonbeams out of 5

When I Paint My Masterpiece

The Band - "Cahoots" (1971) - Capitol Records

Hello Friends,

This 1971 LP, The Band's fourth album, is often overlooked.  This is probably because (a) their first two records-- Music From the Big Pink & The Band -- are regarded as classics that set the bar ridiculously high; (b) their third record-- Stage Fright-- though not as revered as the first two was still pretty well received; and (c) The Band, themselves, never really held this album in high regard often dismissing it in interviews and only really playing one song ("Life is A Carnival") at live shows.  

The album starts out with the very strong, aforementioned "Life is a Carnival" featuring a pretty jazzy horn arrangement by Allen Toussaint.  Next is the album's best track, the Bob Dylan-penned, "When I Paint My Masterpiece".  Two fantastic songs with the Band's familiar folk-rock-jazz-rhythm & blues sound.

In title alone, "Last of the Blacksmiths" sounds like a song by The Band. 

The song, "4% Pantomine", has lyric and vocal contributions from none other than everyone's favorite purple jumpsuit wearing, Van Morrison.

Side Two doesn't fare as well.  Songs like "Shootout in Chinatown", "The Moon Struck One", "Smoke Signal" and "Volcano" aren't terrible but they're certainly not all that great!

Overall, we think that this is a pretty good record!  Perhaps by 1971 critics and fans were looking for a new direction or sound out of The Band or maybe the boys themselves were growing sick and tired of each other.  (We're looking at you Robbie Robertson!)  Its worth mentioning that Cahoots would also be their last all original studio album for four years which is strange because up until then they were releasing albums at a rate of one per year!      

RATING: 4 the Streets of Rome are filled with rubble out of 5

Best of BREAD

Bread - "The Best of Bread" (1973) - Elektra Records

Hello Friends,

This is the perfect record to listen to when its after last call and you find yourself at some strange dude's house and he begins uncomfortably massaging your shoulders.

You fixate on the music and the lava lamp and just pray to yourself that this whole night has just been a bad dream.

But as his fumbling paws work their way lower down your back, you cringe as you realize that this isn't a dream but another one of those bad life decisions fueled by poorly mixed drinks and a lifetime of low self-esteem.

How do you get yourself into these situations?  Why did you accept his invitation for a "night cap" at his "crib"?   Where's your car?  Why does this dude have a box of Chinese massage balls on his coffee table?  Yecccch!

You close your eyes and hope for the record to end so you can tell him to "flip it", excuse yourself to the bathroom, run the water and give your self a "pep talk" in the mirror.

You're better than this.

You deserve better than this.

If you make your break now, you might still be able to catch a ride home with that nice little Mexican guy that washes the dishes back at the bar!

RATING: 3 Baby I'm A Want Yous out of 5