To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story CD

To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story songs A surprise best-seller when it was first released, this mostly improvised pairing of singer/keyboardist/producer Al Kooper with two major guitar heroes of the day sounds fascinating all these years later precisely because of the distance of time--nobody makes records like this any more. The material runs the gamut from folk pop (covers of Donovan and Dylan), to blues ("Albert's Shuffle," "You Don't Love Me"), to heady jams ("His Holy Modal Majesty"), to big-band jazz ("Harvey's Tune"). All the tunes make effective templates for the kind off-the-cuff music-making that in less capable hands might have resulted in simple noodling. In fact, although Bloomfield and Stills don't play together on any of the cuts (Bloomfield played on one side of the original LP, Stills on the other), all three principals get off lots of good licks and producer Kooper has some interesting tricks up his sleeve, as in the over-the-top phasing he lavishes on "You Don't Love Me." The only real disappointment here is that Stills, a far better singer than Kooper, never opens his mouth. Those familiar with the Live Adventures album these two recorded at the Fillmore West know how brilliant they could be on stage, and here's another gem, recorded at the Fillmore East this time and featuring 'One Way Out,' 'It's My Own Fault' (with Bloomfield trading licks with Johnny Winter...Johnny was signed to Columbia after this gig!). Newly remastered & now with 4 bonus tracks, 'Albert's Shuffle' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Season of the Witch.' (2002 Remix w/o Horns), 'Blues For Nothing' (Studio Outtake) & 'Fat Grey Cloud' Previously Unreleased Live Track). Features 12-page booklet with unpublished photos from the recording session, new liner notes by Al Kooper & the Rolling Stone Hall Of Fame review by David Fricke. 60 scintillating minutes! 13 tracks. Colunbia/Legacy. 2003. Includes liner notes by Al Kooper, Michael Thomas. Includes liner notes by Michael Thomas. Full performer name: Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper/Steve Stills. Personnel: Mike Bloomfield (electric guitar); Al Kooper (vocals, 12-string & electric guitars, piano, organ, ondioline); Steve Stills (electric guitar); Barry Goldberg (electric piano); Harvey Brooks (bass); Eddie Hoh (drums). Personnel: Mike Bloomfield (electric guitar); Al Kooper (piano, organ, ondioline, vocals, 12-string & electric guitars); Steve Stills (electric guitar); Barry Goldberg (electric piano); Harvey Brooks (bass); Eddie Hoh (drums). Reissue producer: Bob Irwin.

To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story CD music The folks at the modest Seattle imprint Light In The Attic have dedicated themselves to providing the public with carefully assembled re-issues of forgotten soul, reggae, and psychedelic albums, and have scored yet another triumph with their reissue of Rodirguez's neglected psychedelic folk masterpiece, COLD FACT. Born to a Mexican immigrant family in Detroit, Sixto Diaz Rodriguez honed his guitar playing skills in between shifts at Detroit's larger auto plants. In the late `60s he attracted the attention of guitar-slinger extraordinaire Dennis Coffey and soon thereafter recorded COLD FACT for Coffey's Sussex label. COLD FACT is a singular amalgamation of gentle folk and dreamy psychedelic production touches that sounds today like a more soulful variant of Donovan's psych-pop excursions of the late `60s. Arrangers: Dennis Coffey; Mike Theodore. Personnel: Sixto Rodriguez (vocals, acoustic guitar). Audio Remixer: Ray Hall.

To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story buy CD music Though the Band are often discussed in terms of their contributions to musical Americana, drummer Levon Helm was in fact the only American-born member of the group, and his Dixie-fried, high lonesome lilt was one of the keys to their proto alt-country sound. On his 2007 solo release, DIRT FARMER, Helm returns to his roots and indulges in the bedrock American music on which the Band based their legendary sound. Joined by his daughter Amy, she of Ollabelle fame, and studio ace Larry Campbell (among others), Helm works his way through a relaxed yet sturdy set of bluegrass rave-ups, country slow-dances, and bluesy shuffles from across the centuries. And though Helm battled throat cancer prior to this recording, it hasn't diminished the power of his voice a drop--rather, it lends the album a steely sense of endurance and resolve. Liner Note Author: Levon Helm. Recording information: Levon Helm Studios, Woodstock, NY. Photographer: Ahron R. Foster. Arrangers: Levon Helm; Amy Helm; Larry Campbell. Personnel: Levon Helm (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, drums); Amy Helm (vocals, mandola, mandolin, piano, drums, percussion, background vocals); Larry Campbell (acoustic guitar, resonator guitar, dulcimer, mandolin, fiddle, percussion, background vocals); Brian John Mitchell (accordion, piano, background vocals); Glenn Patscha (pump organ); Byron Isaacs (percussion, background vocals); George Receli (percussion); Teresa Williams (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Justin Guip.

To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story album for sale His stage fright quickly gives way to a hilarious persona--sort of a stoner Buddy Hackett--who rambles about popping pills at his old bookstore job, out-of-tune Buffalo Springfield gigs, and his lack of "happy songs." These goofball but charming "raps" (six in total, each given their own track) counterbalance the hypnotically emotive performances they bookend. With just an acoustic guitar and his crystalline alto sharp as a lathe, the singer reinvents Buffalo Springfield deep cuts such as "Out of My Mind," "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing," and "Expecting to Fly" and offers a glimpse of future releases like "The Loner" before they were buried in overdubs on NEIL YOUNG. An essential purchase for both fans and newcomers, SUGAR MOUNTAIN provides a deepened portrait of the songwriter as his mercurial but prodigious talent ripened. This set is another singular installment in the continuing Neil Young Archives Performance Series. On this CD+DVD set, recorded in Ann Arbor, MI, November 9-10, just days before the release of Young's self-titled solo debut, one of the greatest singer-songwriters in rock history is heard solo and acoustic at the height of one of the most tumultuous and creative periods ever experienced in both music and culture. Along with the music--restored and transferred from analog to digital--the packaging is a treasure, including the front cover photo taken in 1967 by Linda McCartney and reproductions of artifacts surrounding the Canterbury House concerts. This third release in Neil Young's Archives Performance series presents the entire 1968 Ann Arbor show legendary among Young-o-philes for including the version of "Sugar Mountain" previously released on 1979's DECADE. The revelatory set captures the Canadian troubadour finding his footing as a solo artist after the break-up of Buffalo Springfield and on the eve of his debut. Petrified about not having enough material, Young had to be rallied from his hotel by the club's manager to perform in front of the unexpected capacity crowd. [Also includes a DVD of the performance] Personnel: Neil Young (vocals, guitar).

To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story CD music James Murphy is well-known as half of the New York-based production duo DFA (who have lent their distinctive touch to songs from artists as diverse as Gorillaz, the Rapture, and N.E.R.D.). Aside from creating the modern template for indie dance music since the early 2000's, Murphy has been busy writing music under his solo moniker, LCD Soundsystem. His sophomore effort, SOUND OF SILVER, picks up where the debut left of, expanding an already diverse set of influences and honing the songwriting craft into a thematically cohesive whole. As wryly noted on LCD Soundsystem's debut 2002 single, "Losing My Edge," in the underground music arms race, aging hipsters are losing ground against young upstarts who are (perhaps) unaware of their own influences. And if influences are the stuff with which post-millennial musicians are made, Murphy has trumped us all. Touching on reference points ranging from disco, krautrock, Bowie, house, and post-punk, to singer-songwriter types, SOUND OF SILVER is a veritable catalog of left-field cool. Leading off with the slow-boil, hypnotic opener, "Get Innocuous"--which sounds a bit like a reprise of "Losing My Edge" crossed with Kraftwerk's "The Robots"--the album moves from dance-floor stormers to plaintive piano numbers without batting an eye. On "North American Scum," Murphy lampoons the often mistaken idea that LCD Soundsystem is a U.K. act; his nasal vocal echoing Jonathan Richman as he declares "for those of you who think we're from England--we're not." As humorously self-effacing as he is, SOUND OF SILVER also shows Murphy's growth as a songwriter. On the album's closer "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down," he laments the passing of the old New York, "To the cops who are bored once they've run out of crime/New York you're perfect don't change a thing." It's a fitting tribute that holds up against the countless other great songs written about the Big Apple. Audio Mixers: James Murphy ; Dave Sardy. Recording information: DFA; Longview Farms Studio. Photographer: Mike Vadino. LCD Soundsystem: Amy Kimball (violin); Jane Scarpantoni (cello); Tyler Pope (bass instrument); James Murphy (bass guitar); Marcus Lambkin, Eric Broucek (hand claps); Morgan Wiley, Lorenza Ponce, Pat Mahoney , David Gold , Justin Chearno, Nancy Whang. Personnel: James Murphy (vocals, guitar, piano, Clavinet, organ, synthesizer, glockenspiel, drums, percussion, electronic percussion, programming); Pat Mahoney (vocals, drums, percussion); Eric Broucek, Nancy Whang (vocals); Tyler Pope, Justin Chearno (guitar); Lorenza Ponce (violin); David Gold (viola); Jane Scrapantoni (cello); Morgan Wiley (piano).

To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story buy CD music WHITE CHALK is as surprising a musical change of direction for Polly Jean Harvey as the bluesy, torchy TO BRING YOU MY LOVE was back in 1995 after the corrosive guitar fury of the Welsh singer-songwriter's first two albums. Indeed, WHITE CHALK may be PJ Harvey's most unexpected work yet, as well as her most artistically accomplished. Putting down her signature guitar in favor of piano (an instrument she has never played on record before), Harvey has crafted a gloriously strange song cycle that owes much to the art rock likes of Kate Bush or Genesis-era Peter Gabriel. These 11 songs tell a fractured, loosely connected story that blends allegorical fantasy with some of the most intensely personal vocal performances of Harvey's career. Highlights include the phantasmagorical "When Under Ether" and the near apocalyptically intense closer "The Mountain," although WHITE CHALK is one of those albums that is best experienced as a whole. Personnel: PJ Harvey (acoustic guitar); Martin Brunsden, Briget Pearse, Nick Bicāt, Andrew Dickson (vocals); John Parish (acoustic guitar); Nico Brown (concertina); Eric Drew Feldman (keyboards); Jim White (drums).