Day 10: May 10, 2005

Bush, Kate, THE RED SHOES - I've been a fan of KB since LIONHEART, but this album, her most recent (1993) is a great disappointment. All of the dynamics and drama one comes to expect from KB is sucked out and replaced by soulless drum machines and plastic sounding instrumentation. My little boy, who is cutting some new teeth, was surprisingly melancholy as this album played. He had been in obvious pain throughout the day, but for the 45 mintues or so this was on, he appeared to become very insular and played quietly - almost too quietly - with a rotation of a few of his favorite toys, before giving me a clear signal that it was bedtime.
unaired - THE WHOLE STORY, NEVER FOR EVER, HOUNDS OF LOVE, THE SENSUAL WORLD

Butterfield, Paul, THE ELEKTRA YEARS - I really like this stuff - especially the recordings with Mike Bloomfield on board. The later stuff on disc 2 tends to get a little sappy - but the first disc is solid Chicago blues experimentation. I somehow managed to get my son to sleep while the strains of "Mystery Train" echoed through the house.

Byrds, TURN TURN TURN - McGuinn still channeling his inner folkie on the second album. I never really cared for a lot of folk music. I feel that real folk music had been hi-jacked in the 60's by people who really didn't understand its foundation, but understood its power and its audience. The Byrds, great music and Gram Parsons aside, represent the difference between real folkies (Roger McGuinn) and phony folkies (David Crosby).
unaired - MR. TAMBOURINE MAN, FIFTH DIMENSION, SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO

Byrne, David, DAVID BYRNE - Byrne's song-based albums are decent aural wallpaper, but nothing ever jumps out and grabs your ear. This is no different.

Cabaret Original Cast Recording - The 1999 production of Cabaret became a national phenomenon and won an armful of Tony awards. My wife was working for the Roundabout Theatre while this show was in production and our lives were intertwined with the show for a couple of years. It's a fun soundtrack (the only Broadway recording we own), some of the songs are really funny - and then of course you realize what the play is really about and it brings you back down to earth. There is one great song on here called "Maybe This Time."

Finally through with the B's. We might have to re-think the rule which states that in multiple disc-per-artist situations, the most obscure one should be aired. I think I remember now why albums like THE RED SHOES gather dust on the shelf! Maybe we can append the rule to allow for an upgrade if its a given fact that the most obscure cd is a turkey. I would rather have listened to KB's NEVER FOR EVER. Man, I knew RED SHOES was crap!