From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #1046 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, March 20 2014 Volume 16 : Number 1046 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: 2014 so far [Raphael Schweikert ] Re: 2014 so far [Tim Jones-Yelvington ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 18:45:09 +0100 From: Raphael Schweikert Subject: Re: 2014 so far I've not yet had a chance to listen to either St. Vincent nor Charlotte Martin thoroughly but I will definitely do that, then. I have not found Mary Chapin Carpenter's Songs from the Movie to be so bad (but then I don't know any of the original versions). The sound reminds me a lot of Joni Mitchell's orchestral versions of her songs (on Both Sides Now and Travelogue), which I liked. So far, my favourite albums this year have been: == Lydia Loveless -- Somewhere Else == (Highly Recommended) At first I was a bit taken aback by the prevalence of loud guitars here but it's grown on me. A lot. I guess, mostly because there's a lot of Brandi-Carlile-style belting in her voice. == Rosanne Cash -- The River & the Thread == (Recommended) This reminds me a lot of Aimee Mann, even though the melodies are a little bit more mellow. == Suzanne Vega -- Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles == (Highly Recommended) I've been to a Suzanne Vega concert recently and she performed some of her new songs, which I happened to like a lot. When the album came, I was a bit disappointed at first as the studio versions were not as good as I had remembered the live songs, but they have since grown on me, especially the songs I Never Wear White and Portrait of the King of Wands. == Toni Braxton & Babyface -- Love, Marriage & Divorce == (For RnB/Pop Fans) This may be a bit misplaced on the ecto mailing list but I've found it to be a very enjoyable, witty and diverse album. == Sopie Ellis-Bextor -- Wanderlust == (Recommended) Sophie Ellis-Bextor has parted ways with electronic dance music and, for her fifth album, has created a truly unique sound that's difficult to categorize (so I suggest you simply give it a listen). Furthermore, the following two albums have caught my attention but I've not yet given them a thorough listen: * Joan As Police Woman -- The Classic * MO -- No Mythologies to Follow * Warpaint -- Warpaint - -- Raphael On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 5:42 PM, JoAnn Whetsell wrote: > We're not even 1/3 of the way through the year yet, but already there > are a number of releases to talk about. Here are some preliminary > thoughts. > > SUZANNE VEGA - TALES FROM THE REALM OF THE QUEEN OF PENTACLES > I really, really like this album. More so than Beauty & Crime. The Queen > of > Pentacles is a tarot card by the way (I had to Google it). > > ANNE HEATON - DORA > A thoroughly lovely album. One hopes that Anne's late friend whose poems > provide the lyrics has some awareness of these songs. > > MARY FAHL - LOVE AND GRAVITY > Beautiful album, and more even than The Other Side of Time (though that > album > may have had higher highs). > > CHARLOTTE MARTIN - WATER BREAKS STONE > More electronic. This took me a little while to get into, but I'm really > enjoying it. Some songs, like "Not a Sure Thing" sound like they could > have > been on Tori Amos' American Doll Posse. > > MARISSA NADLER - JULY > Marissa's sound doesn't change much on albums. This is another beauty. > The > song "Anyone Else" is a bit of a jolt, darker and with an insistent beat > underneath. > > ST. VINCENT - ST. VINCENT > Weird, but far more listenable (to me) than her last album. > > NICOLE ATKINS - SLOW PHASER > I'm having trouble getting into this one, but I really like Nicole, so I'll > keep trying. > > MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER - SONGS FROM THE MOVIE > Re-recording your songs with an orchestra is one thing, but turning them > into > cinematic schmaltz is quite another. :-( > > JoAnn ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 12:48:10 -0500 From: Tim Jones-Yelvington Subject: Re: 2014 so far I love the Braxton/Babyface also -- so if it's misplaced, then two of us are misplaced, lol On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 12:45 PM, Raphael Schweikert wrote: > I've not yet had a chance to listen to either St. Vincent nor Charlotte > Martin thoroughly but I will definitely do that, then. > I have not found Mary Chapin Carpenter's Songs from the Movie to be so bad > (but then I don't know any of the original versions). The sound reminds me > a lot of Joni Mitchell's orchestral versions of her songs (on Both Sides > Now and Travelogue), which I liked. > > So far, my favourite albums this year have been: > > == Lydia Loveless -- Somewhere Else == (Highly Recommended) > At first I was a bit taken aback by the prevalence of loud guitars here but > it's grown on me. A lot. I guess, mostly because there's a lot of > Brandi-Carlile-style belting in her voice. > > == Rosanne Cash -- The River & the Thread == (Recommended) > This reminds me a lot of Aimee Mann, even though the melodies are a little > bit more mellow. > > == Suzanne Vega -- Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles == > (Highly Recommended) > I've been to a Suzanne Vega concert recently and she performed some of her > new songs, which I happened to like a lot. When the album came, I was a bit > disappointed at first as the studio versions were not as good as I had > remembered the live songs, but they have since grown on me, especially the > songs I Never Wear White and Portrait of the King of Wands. > > == Toni Braxton & Babyface -- Love, Marriage & Divorce == (For RnB/Pop > Fans) > This may be a bit misplaced on the ecto mailing list but I've found it to > be a very enjoyable, witty and diverse album. > > == Sopie Ellis-Bextor -- Wanderlust == (Recommended) > Sophie Ellis-Bextor has parted ways with electronic dance music and, for > her fifth album, has created a truly unique sound that's difficult to > categorize (so I suggest you simply give it a listen). > > Furthermore, the following two albums have caught my attention but I've not > yet given them a thorough listen: > > * Joan As Police Woman -- The Classic > * MO -- No Mythologies to Follow > * Warpaint -- Warpaint > > -- Raphael > > > > > On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 5:42 PM, JoAnn Whetsell >wrote: > > > We're not even 1/3 of the way through the year yet, but already there > > are a number of releases to talk about. Here are some preliminary > > thoughts. > > > > SUZANNE VEGA - TALES FROM THE REALM OF THE QUEEN OF PENTACLES > > I really, really like this album. More so than Beauty & Crime. The > Queen > > of > > Pentacles is a tarot card by the way (I had to Google it). > > > > ANNE HEATON - DORA > > A thoroughly lovely album. One hopes that Anne's late friend whose poems > > provide the lyrics has some awareness of these songs. > > > > MARY FAHL - LOVE AND GRAVITY > > Beautiful album, and more even than The Other Side of Time (though that > > album > > may have had higher highs). > > > > CHARLOTTE MARTIN - WATER BREAKS STONE > > More electronic. This took me a little while to get into, but I'm really > > enjoying it. Some songs, like "Not a Sure Thing" sound like they could > > have > > been on Tori Amos' American Doll Posse. > > > > MARISSA NADLER - JULY > > Marissa's sound doesn't change much on albums. This is another beauty. > > The > > song "Anyone Else" is a bit of a jolt, darker and with an insistent beat > > underneath. > > > > ST. VINCENT - ST. VINCENT > > Weird, but far more listenable (to me) than her last album. > > > > NICOLE ATKINS - SLOW PHASER > > I'm having trouble getting into this one, but I really like Nicole, so > I'll > > keep trying. > > > > MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER - SONGS FROM THE MOVIE > > Re-recording your songs with an orchestra is one thing, but turning them > > into > > cinematic schmaltz is quite another. :-( > > > > JoAnn ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #1046 ****************************