Ray Charles - Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection CD

Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection songs Texas blues-rock hero Delbert McClinton sounds remarkably energized on this 2005 album--not bad for a guy whose genre-blending career extends back to the late 1950s. COST OF LIVING features McClinton's distinctively twangy takes on blues, rock, and R&B, as best showcased on the witty, rollicking opener, "One of the Fortunate Few," and the pleading "I'll Change My Style"--which could serve as a tongue-in-cheek anthem for his own subtly shifting aesthetic. McClinton's good-natured humor is also evident on plenty of other tunes, including "The Part I Like Best," an innuendo-filled barnstormer, and the Randy Newman-like narrative "Hammerhead Stew." The consistent quality of the material here makes this one of the husky-voiced performer's finest offerings in years. Recording information: Fearless Recording, Nashville, TN (03/08/2004-02/08/2005); The Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN (03/08/2004-02/08/2005). Photographer: Michael Wilson . Personnel: Delbert McClinton (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica); Delbert McClinton; Tom Hambridge (vocals, percussion); Bekka Bramlett (vocals, background vocals); Crystal Talifaro, Jeffrey Steele (vocals); James Pennebaker (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar, fiddle); Gary Nicholson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Al Anderson (acoustic guitar); Stuart Duncan (fiddle); Jim Hoke (saxophone); Steve Mackey (bass instrument); Spencer Campbell (acoustic bass, double bass, electric bass, bass guitar); Bill Campbell (guitar); Rob McNelley (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Don Wise (saxophone); Kevin McKendree (piano, organ); Lynn Williams (drums). Audio Mixer: Ray Kennedy.

Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection album for sale Big Sandy's solo debut heralds a major shift away from the retro-Western swing of his work with the Fly-Rite Boys; Dedicated to You instead celebrates the classic L.A. low rider sound, sporting covers of 15 doo wop and R&B chestnuts originally cut between 1954 and 1961 (with one original composition, "Baby Baby Me," tossed in for good measure). Recorded with pianist Dewey Terry, one-half of the '50s rock & roll duo Don & Dewey, the album features what is perhaps Big Sandy's finest vocal work to date, with lovely and soulful performances of largely forgotten ballads like "Lonely Guy," "Gloria," and "Death of an Angel." Clearly a labor of love, Dedicated to You is one solo project that's driven not by ego but by genuine affection, as well as an honest desire to try something new. ~ Jason Ankeny Personnel: Vicky Tafoya (vocals); Adrian Demain (guitar); David "Cad" Kadison (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Dewey Terry, Skip Edwards, Carl Leyland (piano); Brian Nevill (drums); Freddy Willis, Herman Pruitt, Jimmy Corbitt, Bob Adams , Calvanes (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Bill Dashiell. Liner Note Author: Big Sandy. Recording information: Sunnyside Studio, Los Angeles, CA. Unknown Contributor Role: Russell Scott . Personnel includes: Robert "Big Sandy" Williams (vocals); Dewey Terry (guitar, piano); The Calvanes (background vocals). Producers: Robert "Big Sandy" Williams, Larry Sloven, Bruce Bromberg.

Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection CD music Top Ten Heavy Metal Albums Of The Year in Tower Records, The band released two videos on MTV, Includes two enchanted video tracks Recorded in Burbank, California. The Roxx Gang includes: Kevin Steele. Composer: Kevin Steele. Personnel: Jeff Taylor , Wade Hayes (vocals, guitar); David James Blackshire (vocals, drums); Roby "Strychnine" Strine, Kevin Steele (vocals). Audio Mixer: Beau Hill. Recording information: The Enterprise; The Enterprise, Burbank, CA. Directors: Ralph Ziman; Nigel Dick. Photographers: Randee Saint Nicholas; Jeff Katz. This is an enhanced CD which contains regular audio tracks and computer files.

Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection buy CD music Reynold da Silva's Silva Screen Records (of which Prime Time is an imprint) has devoted itself to new recordings of film music (usually, as here, performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra), and its box set The Music of John Williams: 40 Years of Film Music, filling four CDs and running over three hours and 45 minutes, is one of its most ambitious efforts. That's appropriate for Williams, both because he is the most successful film composer of the 40-year period beginning in the early '60s and because his music is produced on such a large scale. Since the '70s, Williams has been associated with directors Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, and he has matched their blockbuster films with his large-scale scores, producing some of the most memorable themes of the era, including instantly recognizable music from Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series. Spielberg and Lucas have often attempted to evoke the styles of the old serials of the '40s, such as Flash Gordon, but on an epic scale, and Williams has done much the same thing with his music, which owes little or nothing to the more jazz- and rock-influenced film composers of the '50s and '60s, and everything to the film composers of an earlier generation, such as Franz Waxman and Victor Young, with its sweeping orchestral statements, martial rhythms, and grandly ornamented melodies. Yet, like the directors, Williams does it all with a slight wink to the audience. This collection doesn't restrict itself to Williams' best-known work, but it does demonstrate that even in his lesser-known pieces, his style is often much the same. The overture from The Cowboys, for example, while employing some standard Western elements familiar from Hollywood movies of decades before, also has a hint of Star Wars. Even when he is scoring a more downbeat film like Born on the Fourth of July, Williams can't seem to help writing his usual uplifting music. Despite its length, this collection can't do more than offer excerpts of Williams' extensive work, but the sampling is representative, and the best of the composer's familiar themes is included. ~ William Ruhlmann

Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection songs Available at www.haciendarecords.com. Personnel: Flaco Jiménez (vocals, accordion).

Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection album for sale If Jen Wood's beautiful voice doesn't soothe the savage beast in you, it's hard to imagine just what exactly will. If there's an aural equivalent to the first day of spring, this has got to be it. THIS UNCONTAINABLE LIGHT is breezy, pastel-colored acoustic pop that states its case in just four songs, which only serve as a maddening teaser for more. Though it's pretty much an indie release, the recording lacks for nothing. A mere two acoustic guitars and drums sound more complete than you'd imagine; in fact, with the way Katrina Thompson's vocals and guitar blend in and compliment Jen Wood's, you might almost call the CD lush. In fact it's gorgeous, and it leaves you craving more. Photographers: David Belisle; Diona J. Mavis. Personnel: Jen Wood (vocals, guitar); Jayson Tolzdorf (vocals, guitar, drums); Katrina Thomson (vocals, guitar). Recording information: La Casa Studios (12/1998).

Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection CD music Track Listing of songs: Nube Pasajera; Amor De Subasta; Super-Turistica; Dime A; El Temba; Yuya La Charanguera; Que Te Lleve Otro; A Mi Me Gustan Todas; Homenaje A Los Caballeros; Siempre Estaras En Mi;

Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection buy CD music Track Listing of songs: Colour-Ize; Love Will Not Die; Nobody's Wounded; Mirror Men, The; Dive, The; Fashion, Passion and Pigaches; Wasted Years; Bells of Another Land;

Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection songs D.T.S. (Dan ...