duaneiac

American IV: The Man Comes Around. This was the fourth and final album of Johnny Cash's American Recordings tracks to be issued in his lifetime and for me, it is the best. It contains his hit version of "Hurt", and as good as that was, for me, the real highlights are elsewhere. Whether it be his versions of more recent rock songs like "Personal Jesus" or "I Hung My Head" or Johnny Cash revisiting a classic like "Give My Love To Rose" (arguably the saddest tale ever sung) or his moving versions of chestnuts like "Danny Boy" and the poignant closing tack "We'll Meet Again", this album is packed with great music. The only track I could live without is "Desperado", a song I've never cared for and which is made all the more mundane following as it does in the wake of the quasi-religious experience here that is "Danny Boy".

Except Mildred Bailey was, through her mother, of Native American ancestry.

Discs 2 & 3 of 3.

Disc 2 of 3.

Since it is the "21st night of September" . . .

Disc 4 of 4, billed as "The Ultimate Live Otis Redding Show".

insert "spit take" here! So, I'm curious -- does Ninotchka fall into the "too overdone" or the "not good" category in your opinion? IMHO it's a film classic. But then, I'm a big Billy Wilder (he was one of the co-writers on that film) fan, which brings me to my most recent viewing -- I'd never seen this one before. It's a good movie, but one I'm sure would not be to every one's taste. It is an amazingly fast paced comedy (I felt kind of tired from trying to keep up with everything by the end of the film) and doing that successfully would have been a feat in itself. But this film about the East -West Cold War was shot in Berlin and while they were filming, the Berlin Wall was unexpectedly erected, causing rewrites and various other production problems (they even had to rebuild the Brandenburg Gate in Munich!!!). James Cagney is great delivering the rapid-fire dialog, and he is able to make an audience sympathetic to the plight of his rather unlikable character. Unfortunately, his experience making this film caused him to decide to retire from films (until his brief but welcome appearance in Ragtime two decades later). The film makes lots of sly, witty references to other films including Ninotchka, Public Enemy, Little Caesar, Gone With The Wind and Yankee Doodle Dandy.

All 3 discs, while admittedly skipping over a few tracks (if I never hear "Born In The U.S.A." again in my life, I'd be perfectly okay with that).

Kind of appropriate, given the album title, that the image is somewhat skewed. I still miss Jazzbo (aka Jazzbeaux) -- he truly was one of a kind. The main musician of interest to me here is Bob Wilber, playing in a more modern, less swing/traditional mode than I'm used to hearing him play. Giving Hank Jones an electric piano is like giving Hank Aaron an aluminum bat!

Previously: Currently:

A mostly solo concert (Howard Johnson joins in on 5 tracks) from 1993. At one point, Taj Mahal has to stop the show to teach the German audience how to clap on 2 & 4 instead of 1 & 3, explaining that this is schwarzer musik!

From 1982, so it's post-disco, but it does have an undeniable 80's production sound to it (which is not a bad thing, IMO). It's a longtime favorite of mine, one of those albums which always make me feel just a little younger again when I play it. Ernie Watts gets a few brief solo spots on this Quincy Jones produced album, including on a very credible version of "Lush Life", one of the best performances of that tune by a non-jazz singer I have encountered.

As of this writing, there are 3 copies of this CD available as an add-on item at Amazon for the low, low price of $3.96! Get it while you can! https://www.amazon.com/After-Hours-Willis-Jackson/dp/B00064VQRG/ref=sr_1_17?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1536543662&sr=1-17&keywords=willis+jackson

Disc 1 of 2.

Disc 2 of 2.

This CD reissue also includes this album, which was recorded just a couple weeks before the above one --

Every few months I revisit this video and every time it just devastates me -- Is there a word to describe something which gives you goosebumps, curls your toes, makes you cry and makes you smile all simultaneously? Because that's the word I need to describe this performance.