Happy New Year !!!

a Happy New Year to you, your loved ones, and your families wherever it is you're from
i hope the new year will be even better than the one you just had ...

just remember ...
Music is THE universal language ...
has been, will be, and long may it continue to do so ...

Happy New Year and thanks for dropping by !:)!

Chris Rea - Tell Me There's A Heaven

while the New Year is soon upon us ... we must not forget there are wars still going on in the world, and even in someone else's home ...
the cruelties of man is everywhere, and ever present ...

an emotional, yet powerful song from Chris Rea that first appeared on his "The Road To Hell" album from back in '89.
this song, 6 minutes in length, was the last track of the album, is one of the most moving songs i've come across ...
i rate this in the company of :
Foo Fighters - Home
Tracy Chapman - Unsung Psalms
Pearl Jam - Just Breathe

if you've never heard the song ... i beg you to give it a listen ... you will not regret hearing it ...
enuff said, i guarantee the song will grip you in a manner such that you wanna stop whatever it is you are doing and just focus on the lyrics ...
WARNING : you might just cry by the end of the song !!!

The Pogues & Kristy MacColl - Fairytale Of New York

EXCERPTS from NME Blog by Guest Blogger, Spider Stacy.

Stacy is a founding member of The Pogues, and played the tin whistle on the band's classic Christmas song, 'Fairytale Of New York'.

"About 12 years ago, me and my wife were in Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and ['Fairytale Of New York'] came on the PA in the shop. It was about December 16 and it was just perfect – it just made me realise why it is actually such a good song. It’s got a real power to it and a kind of grandeur, definitely."

click HERE to read rest of the original post

The MixTapes 005 [Xmas 2009]

Nicolette Larson

It's 12 Years on this very day that Nicolette Larson left us ... to be with the angels


A Tribute To Nicolette Larson
(song : Jackson Browne - For A Dancer [solo acoustic version])



Celebrating Nicolette : A Who's Who of Tribute ...















excerpts of the original Reuters article on her passing back in '97 [Full Article Here]
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country-pop singer Nicolette Larson,best known for her hit version of Neil Young's "Lotta Love" in the 1970s, has died at age 45, her publicist said Wednesday.
Publicist Michael Jensen said Larson died Tuesday at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles from an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the brain.
"We were truly devastated when we heard the news that our friend Nicolette Larson was admitted into the hospital," said Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash.
The Montana-born Larson released six albums and won several awards, including being named best new vocalist by the Academy of Country Music in 1984.
She began her career when she moved to California at age 21, and shortly afterward landed a job with Hoyt Axton's band. She soon appeared with Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen and became a top backup singer for such solo artists as Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Michael McDonald.
Within five years, Larson was at the top of the pop charts with "Lotta Love," the Neil Young classic. That song propelled Larson's career and her subsequent hits included "Rumba Girl," "Fool Me Again" and "I Only Want to Be With You."
[Full Article Here]

A Tribute to Nicolette Larson: Lotta Love Concert
[BUY TRIBUTE CD HERE]

The "Lotta Love Concert," a tribute to late vocalist Nicolette Larson was staged Feb. 21-22, 1998, at the Santa Monica, CA Civic Auditorium.

The concerts featured performances by Larson's friends and music greats including Crosby, Stills & Nash, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Dan Fogelberg, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt with Little Feat, Joe Walsh, The Section and Jimmy Buffett, a number of whom Larson recorded with in her lifetime.

On Thursday, May 21, 1998 Elsie May, then eight-year-old daughter of Nicolette Larson, presented a check for more than $165,000 to the UCLA Children's Hospital. Accompanying her was her father and renowned drummer, Russell Kunkel, and singer Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills & Nash. The check was presented to Dr. Edward McCabe, Physician-in-chief of UCLA Children's Hospital.

audio samplers :
Nicolette Larson - Lotta Love (single edit) [Buy Very Best Of Nicolette Larson HERE]
Jackson Browne - For A Dancer


Lotta Love
(single version, original music video, sound quality - lacking, also be sure to SKIP first 30secs)


Lotta Love
(album version, sound quality - excellent)


Nicolette Larson - A Retrospect
(song : Shadows Of Love)

RIP - Eric Woolfson (Alan Parsons Project)

Eric Woolfson was the co-founder of Alan Parsons Project ...
Mr Woolfson and Alan Parsons split up in 1990
he sang lead vocals on some of APP's biggest hits such as "Time" and "Eye In The Sky"
Eric passed away on 1 December (2009).
He was 64.

i can't think of a better tune than my favorite APP track, one which till this day i feel could and should have done better than it did in the charts ...

so, even if you have heard this song (to death) ... at least give "Time" another listen, as a mark of respect to the late Mr Eric Woolfson.

Rest In Peace, Mr Woolfson, wherever you may be now ... but my guess is ... he's probably somewhere amongst the stars ...

Red Light Company - With Lights Out

possibly one of my favorite tracks from recent years, "With Lights Out" is from Red Light Company, a five-piece multinational alternative rock band based in London, England.






















Red Light Company have been named as one of the hottest new bands of 2009 by both NME and HMV.

The band was formed in 2007 by members :

• Richard Frenneaux (vocals/guitar)
• Shawn Day (bass)
• James Griffiths (drums)
• Paul Mellon (guitar)
  
• Chris Edmonds (keyboards)
  

The band is formed out of the ashes of Frenneaux and Griffiths' former band Dirty Perfect. They came together following an advert Richard posted on the internet, to which Shawn quickly responded, and moved from his home in Wyoming, United States to London in order to pursue making music with the rest of the group.

The song, "With Lights Out", about a childhood friend of Frenneaux's who committed suicide, was released as a single in 2008 without much chart success.
The album "Fine Fascination" though did fairly well in the UK peaking at #13.

audio clips :
With Lights Out

With Lights Out (instrumental version)


BUY the album "Fine Fascination"

lyrics : (check out the Lou Reed-like spoken segment at 2:20)
It's just red and white
Get a little older and that's alright
Seven years colder by the sight
Bought you some flowers and every day gets longer

I guessed you might
Get a little quieter and that's alright
Still I keep holding on to you
Bleach scarred honey there, sleeping pills aren't stronger

Hit the walls on my back
To reconcile with lights out
Falling down the lighthouse
Still I found your little toy soldier buried under

It's a heavy malign
Ceremony breakdown every time
Bells keep ringing out loud in rhyme
As my heart beats faster every breath gets stronger

I can't rewind
Or even move forward and that's alright
Still I keep holding on with you
Bleach scarred honey there, sleeping pills aren't stronger

Hit the walls on my back
To reconcile with lights out
Falling down the light house
Still I found your little toy soldier buried under

Set alight its a slow burn, bury me
Set alight its a slow burn, bury me
Keep alight and keep secrets buried beneath
Set alight its a slow burn, bury me

Hit the walls on my back
To reconcile with lights out
Falling down the light house
Still I found your little toy soldier buried under

Barenaked Ladies - Footprints

"Footprints", an original composition by Canada's Barenaked Ladies remains as one of my favorite festive songs. the track is from the band's 9th full-length album "Barenaked For The Holidays" in 2004

audio sampler :
Footprints [BUY CD HERE]

lyrics :
I followed footprints in the snow,
Never knowing if I was right behind you,
Looking down no one would know,
I wasn't walking hand in hand beside you.

For your footprints lead the way,
To a hearth where hearts we made surround you,
You're awash in all its glow,
And I'm still standing in the snow.

I stood and watched the lights go out,
While the snowflakes settled all around me,
And though it filled my heart with doubt,
Couldn't move and this is where you found me.

As our footprints disappear,
Snow erasing how I came to be here,
I've got nowhere else to go,
Now you're standing in the snow.

Look for understanding in the snow,
You look just outstanding in the snow,
Standing in the snow.

[Interlude]

Now it's almost Christmas Eve,
And I'm surrounded with the sound of laughter,
To give is better than to deceive,
For I received a happy ever after.

You might have left me in the cold,
A fitting ending for the fool that I was,
But you'd be cuddled up alone,
And I'd still be standing in the snow.

Whatever Happened To ??? - David & David

Duo : David & David
Members : David Baerwald and David Ricketts
status : disbanded
Number of Albums : 1




























Album Details :
Title : Boomtown
Year : 1986-1987
RIAA : Platinum
Chart : #39 Billboard 200
Acclaim : Album of the Year from Rolling Stone Magazine
Singles :
"Welcome To The Boomtown", #37 Hot 100; #8 Billboard Top Rock Tracks
"Swallowed By The Cracks", #14 Billboard Top Rock Tracks
"Ain't So Easy", #51 Hot 100; #17 Billboard Top Rock Tracks

samplers : BUY ALBUM HERE (Recommended)
Welcome To The Boomtown
Swallowed By The Cracks
Ain't So Easy


David Baerwald
Following the breakup of David and David, Baerwald focussed himself on writing for others, often under pseudonyms, though he found time to record and release two albums: "Bedtime Stories"; a romantic album based around tales of suburban ennui and decay; and "Triage"; an ambitious narrative song-suite focussed on the fringe-dwellers of America's paranoid and disaffected subcultures. Both albums were released to critical triumph and commercial disaster.

In fall of 1992, with friend and producer Bill Bottrell, he cofounded the Tuesday Night Music Club, which then helped launch the career of Sheryl Crow.

His songs have been recorded by a wide range of artists ranging from the aforementioned Crow to artists as disparate as Japanese classical artists the Yoshida Brothers, opera legend Luciano Pavarotti, rebel-country frontrunner Waylon Jennings, Bangles front woman Susanna Hoffs, country star LeeAnn Rimes, jazz artist Holly Cole, critic's darling Jesca Hoop, and actor/singers Kristen Stewart, Nicole Kidman, Ewan Magregor, Ethan Hawke, Hayden Pannettiere, Ashley Simpson, and Steven Strait, among many others.

As a lyricist, Baerwald is known for his cold eye, precise language and occasional bursts of romanticism. As a composer, his taste ranges from derivations of the simplest of folk-inspired melodies to instrumental music which is often experimental, cerebral and difficult to categorize, though usually containing a strong melodic line.

Outside of popular music, Baerwald has worked extensively as both a songwriter and instrumental score composer in film and television, including the Golden Globe-nominated song from the 2001 motion picture Moulin Rouge! called "Come What May", for which he also won the International Film Music Award, and which has been covered by a wide variety of international artists. He is also a skilled multi-instrumentalist, with a primary focus on stringed instruments.

Recent projects include the ABC show, "October Road", and the Showtime series' "Sexual Healing" and "Pleasure For Sale". In 2009 he completed work on the Matt Damon/Chris Moore film "The People Speak", for which he also co-produced an album of the same name with life-long friend and associate Tony Berg, featuring Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pink, Eddie Vedder, and others.

As of late 2009 he is residing peacefully in Los Angeles, scoring the CW series, "Life Unexpected" and pursuing private studies in music theory and martial arts.

Discography (solo) :
Bedtime Stories (1990)
Triage (1992)
Hurlyburly (1998)
A Fine Mess (1999)
Here Comes The New Folk Underground (2002)


David Ricketts
His failed relationship with singer Toni Childs formed the basis for her critically acclaimed debut album, Union, which Ricketts co-wrote and produced.

He collaborated with Sheryl Crow on her debut Tuesday Night Music Club and is credited on the songs "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Strong Enough." He also produced and performed on Meredith Brooks' 1997 album, Blurring The Edges, which contained her hit "Bitch".

songs credits on Sheryl Crow's Tuesday Night Music Club :

"Run, Baby, Run" (David Baerwald), "Leaving Las Vegas" (David Baerwald, David Ricketts), "Strong Enough" (David Baerwald, David Ricketts), "Solidify" (David Baerwald, David Ricketts), "The Na-Na Song" (David Baerwald, David Ricketts), "What I Can Do For You" (David Baerwald), "All I Wanna Do" (David Baerwald)

sources : wikipedia

Collective Soul - Blue Christmas

alrighty, next up on the Xmas featured song is Blue Christmas
possibly the most well known version belongs to Elvis Presley, it has has since been recorded by a host of rock and country artists alike, as well as those of other genres.

Collective Soul's version first appeared (i think) on a 1995 Various Artist release titled "You Sleigh Me: Alternative Christmas Hits" ... and has since re-appeared on another Xmas compilation CD "Now Christmas 4" (as i've seen somewhere on the web)

audio sampler :
Collective Soul - Blue Christmas [BUY CD HERE]

Blue Öyster Cult - Then Came The Last Days Of May

a track culled off Blue Öyster Cult's (BOC) debut album back in '72. this track was never released as a single ... but it remains to this day as one of my favorite BOC's tunes




























audio samplers :
Then Came The Last Days Of May



lyrics :
Parched land no desert sand, sun was just a dot
And a little bit of water goes a long way, 'cause it's hot
Three good buddies were laughing and smoking in the back
Of a rented ford
They couldn't know they weren't going far

Each one with the money in his pocket
Could go out and buy himself a brand new car
But they all had the money they had
Money they hoped would take them very far

The sky was bright, a traffic light, now and then a truck
And they hadn't seen a cop around all day
They brought everything they needed
bags and scales to weigh the stuff
The driver said the border's just over the bluff

It wasn't until the car suddenly stopped
In the middle of a cold and barren place
And the other guy turned and spilled
Three boys blood, did they know a trap had been lain?

They're ok the last days of may, I'll be breathing dry air
I'm leaving soon, the others are already there
You wouldn't be interested in coming along, instead of staying here
They say the west is nice this time of year

Alan O’Day — Have a Very Mellowmas (Theme From Mellowmas)

PopDose ... my favorite music blog site first introduced this song "Have A Vey Mellowmas" last year ... and now they are back at it again !

in their own words : "If you’d like to brush up on your Mellowmas history, part of 2006’s holiday (6 of the 12 tracks) and 2007’s holiday (all 25!) are available at Jason’s site — and all of 2008 is available here."

DOWNLOAD : Alan O'Day - Have A Very Mellowmas (link is from the PopDose original related post)

the song was written by Alan O'Day ... yes, the same man with the #1 hit "Undercover Angel" from (way) back in '77.

hmmm, on hindsight (of this post) ... perhaps someone (even the PopDose guys) might wanna include this tune into Alan's wikipedia page LOL

related post : http://popdose.com/the-first-day-of-mellowmas-the-gates-of-mell/

Daryl Hall & John Oates - Christmas Must Be Tonight

my 2nd installment of this year's Xmas is a cover version of The Band's Christmas classic, "Christmas Must Be Tonight".
It was released as part of an 11-track Christmas release by the dynamic duo back in 2006.
"Home For Christmas" consisted of 9 cover versions, and 2 original Hall & Oates compositions.


























audio samplers :
Hall & Oates - Christmas Must Be Tonight

Buy "Home For Christmas" CD : HERE

*recorded volume of this youtube video is kinda low*

Could've Done Better : Yes - Love Will Find A Way

Title : Love Will Find A Way Artist : Yes Year : 1987 Chart : #30 Hot 100; #1 Mainstream Rock chart Album : Big Generator




























about the song : this was the first single off Yes' "Big Generator" album, the follow-up album to "90125" which spawned the US #1 hit "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", their biggest chart even to this day (not that they've ever had much success before or after this monster hit anyway lol)
album trivia :
The vinyl record cover art is almost identical to that of the CD, but on different colouring: yellow is replaced by cyan and red by purple. The word YES is in the upper part of the letter G, and the symbol is of red colour and is located on the lower part of the letter G.
i have got to dig up my old Vinyl copy to have a look one of these days ...
it's been stored away in one of the cartons all these years, ever since my turntable broke down
i do hope to DIY replace the belting soon as the original one had been melted in the hot & humid climate of Singapore lol ...
as a result, the tonearm could not be lowered onto the vinyl
it's an old Aiwa turntable (LX120) ...
i don't suppose anyone knows what the original size of the belting (black rubberband) is ... anyone ? lol

audio samplers :
Love Will Find A Way



audio & video a tad out of sync lol

Yes - Love Will Find A Way

Elton John - Levon

i'll be posting some personal festive season favorites from now till Christmas ...

we kick off with Elton John's 1971 minor hit Levon which only peaked at #24 on The Hot 100.
I am aware that it was never intended as a Xmas song (or holiday song for that matter) ... but Jesus (in no way was it used in reference to Christ himself in this song) is a main character in the song ...
now (readers) please this do not take offence in the usage of His name, nor use this post for religious propaganda or whatever ...

The track, from Elton's 4th album "Madman Across The Water" was apparently written by Bernie Taupin inspired by the co-founder of The Band, Levon Helm.
Since this runs 5:37, Elton's record company wanted to cut this down for the single so that more US radio stations would play it. Elton refused, insisting it be released full-length.

Elton says of "Levon": "It"s about a guy who just gets bored doing the same thing. It's just somebody who gets bored with blowing up balloons and he just wants to get away from it but he can't because it's the family ritual."

read more trivia HERE

audio sampler :
Elton John - Levon

Led Zeppelin - 50 Personal Favorites (Part 5 of 5)

my Top 10 Led Zeppelin tunes ...

10 - 01 : Part 5
10 Kashmir [Physical Graffiti]

09 Your Time Is Gonna Come [Led Zeppelin]

08 Going To California [Led Zeppelin IV]

07 Stairway To Heaven [Led Zeppelin IV]

06 Night Flight [Physical Graffiti]

05 Over The Hills And Far Away [Houses Of The Holy]

04 Fool In The Rain [In Through The Out Door]

03 Hey Hey What Can I Do [Led Zeppelin Box Set]

02 The Rover [Physical Graffiti]

01 Archilles Last Stand [Presence]


audio clips :


RECAPS :
50 - 41 (Part 1)
40 - 31 (Part 2)
30 - 21 (Part 3)
20 - 11 (Part 4)

hey readers, i'd love to hear what your Led Zep Top 10 / Top 3 are ...
so c'mon let's share 'em