Harlem 1970

Harlem River Drive - Harlem River Drive (1971) {Stateside 0946 333986 2 7 rel 2005}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 206 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 75 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 22 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971, 2005 Roulette / Stateside / EMI | 0946 333986 2 7
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Latin / Soul Jazz

The reason this record is "legendary" is because it marks the first recorded performances, in 1970, of Eddie and Charlie Palmieri as bandleaders. The reason it should be a near mythical recording (it has never been available in the U.S. on CD, and was long out of print on LP before CDs made the scene), is for its musical quality and innovation. The Palmieris formed a band of themselves, a couple of Latinos that included Andy Gonzales, jazz-funk great – even then – Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, and some white guys and taught them how to play a music that was equal parts Cuban mambo, American soul via Stax/Volt, blues, Funkadelic-style rock, pop-jazz, and harmonic and instrumental arrangements every bit as sophisticated as Burt Bacharach's or Henry Mancini's or even Stan Kenton's.

On his debut album, Randy Newman sounded as if he was still getting used to the notion of performing his own songs in the studio (despite years of cutting songwriting demos), but apparently he was a pretty quick study, and his second long-player, 12 Songs, was a striking step forward for Newman as a recording artist. While much of Randy Newman was heavily orchestrated, 12 Songs was cut with a small combo (Ry Cooder and Clarence White take turns on guitar), leaving a lot more room for Newman's Fats Domino-gone-cynical piano and the bluesier side of his vocal style, and Randy sounds far more confident and comfortable in this context. And Newman's second batch of songs were even stronger than his first (no small accomplishment), rocking more and grooving harder but losing none of their intelligence and careful craft in the process…

Duke Ellington's collaboration with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnatti Symphony Orchestra gives one an opportunity to hear Ellington's "The Golden Broom & the Green Apple" and "New World A'Coming" in rare performances along with a symphonic version of "Harlem." Ellington, who is featured throughout on piano, adds verbal "poetic commentary" between sections and the arrangements (which may have been by Luther Henderson) are fine but one misses his illustrious orchestra.

Neil Diamond - Stages: Performances 1970-2002 (2003) {5CD+DVD9 NTSC Box Columbia C5K 90540}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.32 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 758 Mb
DVD9 -> 6.74 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9/4:3 | LPCM, 2 ch | ~ 101 min | ISO Image
Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 56 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1970-2002, 2003 Columbia / Neil Diamond / Sony Music | C5K 90540
Rock / Soft Rock / Adult Contemporary / Singer-Songwriter / Contemporary Pop

Stages: Performances 1970-2002 is one of the most cynical box set projects ever issued. While producers Neil Diamond and Sam Cole don't exactly offer untruth in their presentation of this five-CD live retrospective, they might as well have. For starters, this entire project seems like an excuse to issue a new double-CD live album from Vegas in December of 2002, and a live Christmas album (like anyone ever needed that to happen). The other two discs in this set are a compilation of live tracks, from "Lordy" in 1970 (easily the best thing here) to a cloying "I Believe in Happy Endings," from New Year's Eve 2001. The majority of the cuts from these discs come from Diamond's '80s and '90s shows and do not showcase him at his best.

They don't make 'em like this anymore. Oliver Nelson, one of the great composer/arrangers of his generation, brings 20 or so guys with invincible swing in their DNA into a studio with some killer charts to play, and Johnny Hodges stands in front of them and does what Johnny Hodges does. The result was a classic album that's given me great pleasure…