Rod Stewart - Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3 CD

Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3 buy CD music This is an Hyper CD, which contains regular audio tracks and also provides a link to the artist's website with the help of a web browser. After the unexpected runaway success of COME AWAY WITH ME, where to next? The good news about Norah Jones's sophomore effort is that she and producer Arif Mardin decided to leave well enough alone in most regards. There are no screeching guitars, thumping drum machines, or padding synthesizers, and most of the tempos are slow or laid-back--way back. Guests Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of the Band contribute to "What Am I to You?" and Dolly Parton makes an appearance on bassist Lee Alexander's "Creepin' In." Jones's backing group, the Handsome Band, provides just the right stripped-down accompaniments and subtle touches to support the blessing that is her voice. Jones knows how to luxuriate in the sumptuousness of her sound and infuse such unlikely lyrics as "my toes just touched the water" with a sensual blues sensibility. On top of all this, when it comes to phrasing, her tremendous instincts and smarts put her in rare company. What Jones does explore further is the art of songwriting, and the results here give every indication that she is on the right track. 'Feels Like Home' features 13 tracks & a host of special guests including Dolly Parton, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson of the Band, Jesse Harris, Robert Burger and Tony Scherr. Blue Note. 2004. Personnel: Norah Jones (vocals, piano, Wurlitzer piano); Dolly Parton (vocals); Kevin Breit (guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo); Jesse Harris (acoustic guitar); Tony Scherr (electric guitar); Lee Alexander (lap steel guitar, double bass, bass guitar); David Gold (viola); Jane Scarpantoni (cello); Daru Oda (flute, background vocals); Garth Hudson (accordion, Hammond b-3 organ); Rob Burger (field organ); Levon Helm, ...

Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3 CD music With the help of her husband, "Mutt" Lange, a legendary producer who helmed mammoth hits by AC/DC and Def Leppard, Canadian songstress Shania Twain developed a highly commercial style of country-tinged pop music that helped her become one of the biggest stars in America. Though GREATEST HITS doesn't include the two major singles from her 1993 self-titled debut, Twain has released so many hits that the 21-track disc is still overflowing with familiar chart-busters. Listening to these ubiquitous songs all in one stretch will leave listeners awed at the breadth of Twain and Lange's incredible talent for catchy pop ditties that sound cutting-edge while still retaining that ever-important hint of Nashville twang. In fact, though laced with the usual fiddles and steel guitars, many songs end up recalling ABBA and the Cars as much as anything south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Of course, the main attraction is always Twain's smoothly sensual voice, which has won over millions of fans worldwide. Recording information: A.R.P. Track Productions, St. Anne Des Lacs, Quebec, Ca; Battery Studios, Nashville, TN; Compass Point Studios, Nassau, The Bahamas; Emerald Sound Studios, Nashville, TN; GBT Studio, Nashville, TN; Glenn Gould Studio, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Javelina Recording Studios, Nashville, TN; Masterfonics Tracking Room, Nashville, TN; Officine Meccaniche Next Recording Studios, Milan, Ital; Recording Arts, Nashville, Yn; Seven Studios, Mamaroneck, NY; Seventeen Grand Recording, Nashville, TN; Sound Stage Studio, Nashville, TN; Windmill Lane Recording Studio, Dublin, Ireland. Arranger: Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Personnel: Shania Twain (background vocals); Shania Twain (vocals); Mark McGrath, Billy Currington (vocals); Brent Mason (guitar, electric guitar); John Willis (acoustic guitar, banjo, bouzouki, mandolin); Michael Thompson (electric guitar, slide guitar, E-bow, bouzouki); Billy Crain (slide guitar); B.J. Cole (dobro); Terry McMillan (harp, harmonica, cowbells); Jonathan Yudkin (mandolin, violin, fiddle, cello); Glen Duncan , Larry Franklin, Rob Hajacos, Aubrey Haynie, Stuart Duncan, Joe Spivey (fiddle); David Hamilton , The Irish Film Orchestra, Carl Marsh (strings); Joey Miskulin (accordion); John Barlow Jarvis (piano, Wurlitzer organ); Matt Rollings, Michael Omartian (piano); John Hobbs (organ, Wurlitzer organ); Joe Chemay (electric bass, bass guitar, fretless bass); Diamond Duggal, Simon Duggal (percussion); Olle Romo (programming); Dan Huff (guitar, electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, wah-wah guitar, electric sitar, talk box, 6-string bass, sound effects); Biff Watson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, nylon-string guitar); Larry Byrom (acoustic guitar, slide guitar); The Nashville String Machine (strings); Arthur Stead (piano, organ, Wurlitzer organ); Paul Leim (drums, percussion); Robert John "Mutt" Lange (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Michel Gallone; Lynn Peterzell; Mike Shipley; Steve McMillan.

Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3 songs Charles is joined by Elton John on a soulful exploration of the latter's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word," and sidles up next to Willie Nelson for a haunting version of the Frank Sinatra hit "It Was a Very Good Year," made all the more poignant in retrospect by its posthumous nature. Of course, it's not all bittersweet melancholy; Charles teams with Van Morrison for a jubilant soul/gospel reading of Van's MOONDANCE tune "Crazy Love," and the duet with James Taylor on the upbeat "Sweet Potato Pie" is probably the sassiest, perkiest thing in which Taylor's ever been involved. GENIUS LOVES COMPANY is a swan song that fittingly finds the titular genius surrounded by friends from varied musical worlds, all of whom he's touched with his rare gift. Though Ray Charles, one of the greatest singers of the 20th century, was never in need of vocal assistance, he was no stranger to duets either (one of his finest records is a duet album with Betty Carter). For as much of a musical giant as he was, Brother Ray knew how to share the spotlight, as evidenced by GENIUS LOVES COMPANY, his final project before his 2004 passing. In keeping with the eclectic nature of Charles's artistry, he partners with a wide assortment of performers here. N.Jones/J.Taylor/D.Krall/B.B. King/J.Mathis/G.Knight/W.Nelso Personnel: Ray Charles (vocals, piano); B.B. King, Willie Nelson (vocals, guitar); Bonnie Raitt (vocals, slide guitar); Norah Jones (vocals, piano); Michael McDonald (vocals, keyboards); Diana Krall, Elton John, James Taylor , Johnny Mathis, Van Morrison, Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight (vocals); Danny Jacob, George Marinelli, Jeff Mironov, Michael Landau, Michael Thompson , George Doering, Charles Fearing, Irv Kramer (guitar); Randy Waldman (piano, keyboards); Alan Pasqua (piano); Billy Preston (Hammond b-3 organ); Michael Bearden (keyboards); David Hayes, Abraham Laboriel, Sr., Trey Henry, Tom Fowler (bass guitar); James Gadson, Jim Keltner, Ray Brinker, Shawn Pelton (drums); Bashiri Johnson (percussion).

Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3 album for sale It may or may not be significant that Diana Krall's first album of new material since the ascendance of Norah Jones is the former's least jazzy, most pop-savvy album of her career. In any case, it marks Krall's biggest departure to date; THE GIRL IN THE OTHER ROOM is almost entirely devoid of the jazz standards that constituted her previous repertoire, and it contains her first recorded batch of original songs. It's possible that new husband Elvis Costello, who co-wrote all six of those tunes with his wife, was the agent provocateur. It's also feasible that Costello, who has previously recorded Mose Allison material and palled around with Tom Waits, nudged Krall toward such choice selections as Allison's bluesy plaint "Stop This World" and Waits's cocktail rhumba "Temptation." Nevertheless, Krall delivers them--like the rest of the songs here--in a misty, laconic style very consistent with her earlier work. There's no attempt at pop-oriented production here, just the same piano-trio sound that's been Krall's stock in trade all along. Ironically, the jazziest tune here is Costello's early-1980s ballad "Almost Blue," previously performed by Chet Baker. Naturally, the new songs also bear the unmistakable stamp of Costello, but no matter how far afield her song sources (Joni Mitchell and Chris Smither's catalogs are drawn on as well), Krall maintains the trademark feel that made her famous. 6 Original Songs + Interpretations Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, California and Avatar Studios, New York, New York. Personnel: Diana Krall (vocals, piano); Neil Larson (Hammond B-3 organ); Anthony Wilson (guitar); Christian McBride, John Clayton (bass); Peter Erskine, Jeff Hamilton, Terri Lynne Carrington (drums). This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3 CD music AS TIME GOES BY VOL. 2 was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. On his second album tackling the Great American Songbook of the album's subtitle, Rod Stewart sounds even more energized, and seems to insert more of himself into his delivery of gems by the Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, et al. Though two veteran pop-rock producers (Richard Perry and Phil Ramone) handle most of the tracks, they wisely make no attempt to "rock up" any of the arrangements, instead leaving Stewart to explore his balladeer side to its fullest. One may wonder why the Perry-produced tracks feature layers of string synthesizer, when Ramone's cuts employ the real thing; presuming that there was no lack of budget here, it must have been some inscrutable aesthetic choice. While those more accustomed to a traditional approach may be put off by this aspect, or by a pair of duets with Cher and Queen Latifah, this album isn't for them anyway. It's for those who have followed Stewart through all the stylistic byways of his career and are ready to go with him around one more bend. Personnel includes: Rod Stewart (vocals, whistling); Cher, Queen Latifah (vocals); David Spinozza (acoustic guitar); Dean Parks, Aaron Kaplan, Larry Koonse (guitar); Rob Mathes (nylon string guitar, keyboards); Elana Barere, Avril Brown (violin); Vincent Lionti, Adria Benjamin (viola); Richard Locker, Ann Kim (cello); Lawrence Feldman (clarinet); Dave Koz (alto saxophone); Doug Webb (saxophone); Arturo Sandoval (trumpet); Mike Thompson (piano, synthesizer); Henry Hey (piano); Phillippe Saise, Rob Mounsey (keyboards); Joe Locke (vibraphone); Tom Barney, Reggie McBride (bass); John Ferraro, Shawn Pelton (drums); . Producers: Richard Perry, Clive Davis, Phil Ramone.

Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Vol. 3 buy CD music Apparently, Rod Stewart's desire to cover American jazz/pop classics is as great as the titular SONGBOOK itself, since this is the gravelly voiced British singer's fourth foray into standards territory. THANKS FOR THE MEMORY features more guest artists than the two previous discs in the series, with Stewart's collaborators ranging from R&B legend Diana Ross (on the playfully romantic "I've Got a Crush on You") to smooth-jazz trumpeter Chris Botti (who lends his pleasant horn lines to "I Wish You Love"). Stewart is also joined by fellow 1970s-rock icon Elton John for a breezy take on "Makin' Whoopee." Of course, Rod the Mod is fully capable of carrying a tune by himself, as best revealed on string-laden renditions of "Blue Skies" and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." Given Stewart's consistently laid-back, straightforward interpretations, fans of earlier installments in the SONGBOOK series will find this set just as entertaining as it predecessors. Recording information: Capitol; Deep Diner Studios, New York, NY; Larrabee Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Schee Studios. Author: Rod Stewart. Photographer: John Swannell. Arranger: Bob Mann. Personnel: Rod Stewart; Gayle Levant (harp); Lorenz Gamma, Lisa Dondlinger, Irina Voloshina, Anatoly Rosinsky, Gil Romero, Ana Landauer, Phillip Levy , Lily Chen, Melissa Phelps Beckstead, Kevin Connolly , Sid Page, Roberto Cani, Julie Gigante, Armen Garabedian, Darius Campo, Berj Garabedian, Endre Granat, Haim Shtrum (violin); Kenneth Burward-Hoy, Dan Neufeld, Victoria Miskolczy, Robert Becker, Keith Greene, Simon Oswell, Dave Walther, Andrew Duckles (viola); Paula Hochhalter, Trevor Handy, Vahe Hayrikyan, Timothy Landauer, Tina Soule, Dan Tobin Smith, Larry Corbett, Stephen Erdody, David Low , Steve Richards (cello); Gene Cipriano, Greg Huckins, Bill Liston, Bob Sheppard (clarinet, saxophone); Philippe Saisse, Lee Musiker, Quinn Johnson (keyboards); David Finck, Ed Howard (bass instrument); Bob Mann (guitar, keyboards); Dan Higgins (clarinet, saxophone); Dave Koz (saxophone); Warren Luening (trumpet); Kenny Ascher (piano, keyboards); Allan Schwartzberg (drums); Chris Botti, Elton John, George Benson , Roy Hargrove, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan. Audio Mixer: Andy Zulla.