James Taylor At Christmas

A great Xmas album filled with all the spirit of Xmas a lot of classics blues to enjoy in the joyful season.

Tom Waits - Used Songs 1973-1980 (2001) {Elektra–Rhino 8122-78351-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 402 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 184 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 40 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973-80, 2001 Asylum / Elektra / Rhino / Warner | 8122-78351-2
Rock / Blues / Blues Rock / Singer-Songwriter

Rhino's fine 16-track collection Used Songs (1973-1980) chronicles Tom Waits' first seven albums, all recorded for Asylum Records. This contains pretty much all his staples from the '70s – "Heartattack and Vine," "Burma Shave," "Ol' 55," "Jersey Girl," "(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night," and "Tom Traubert's Blues" among them – sequenced not chronologically, but sequenced for maximum impact. Given the sheer amount of music Waits made for Asylum, it shouldn't be surprising that there are some fan favorites missing, but there are no complaints with what is here, and this provides a near-perfect encapsulation of his pre-Island years, especially for those only familiar with the Island recordings.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has long been a giant in the classical world, though he has also made a number of recordings with musicians who play other styles. This holiday disc doesn't exclusively stick to traditional Christmas songs, but covers a wide scope of material in a very ambitious manner.

Hearing an album of Bach arias sung by a countertenor may not be essential for every listener. Many of the high arias from Bach's cantatas weren't the kind of operatic pieces that called for a muscular male voice comparable to those that have tackled Handel's arias in similar collections, and Bach, at least much of the time, wrote for female vocalists. If you enjoy countertenor singing, however, this release by Canadian singer Daniel Taylor may be the Bach album of choice. Taylor succeeds precisely because he doesn't try to hit you over the head with acrobatics. His voice is rich, smooth, and lyrical, and it is deployed to maximum effect in music that seems to reflect the almost sensuous approach Bach took to the depiction of religious contentment.