There are some cool tunes such as "Pennies From Heaven" by Chris Botti (featuring Renee Olstead), "Clocks" by Coldplay, "Constant Craving" by k.d. lang, "Breathe You In" by Kurt Nilsen and "Kashmir" by William Joseph. And just for the fun of it, I also added one of my favorite fun songs, "Coconut" by Harry Nilsson. I've added "Who'll Stop The Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival and an updated version of Simply Red's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye". This Cole Porter song has been covered many times, but for some reason, Simply Red's version moves me more than any other version I've heard.
While looking for the website for the group America, I found that they have a new double CD album that was just released in January. One disc with new music and a live disc that was recorded in 2005. If you go to the album's page on Amazon.com you can watch a video of their song "Chasing The Rainbow." This week I have chosen to feature their classic song, "Ventura Highway." Here is an excerpt from their biography:
I am featuring a number of new artists this week. Jon McLaughlin is launching his new album, "Indiana" this month with his lead single, "Beautiful Disaster." (Which is not the same as the song by Kelly Clarkson.) You can preview his album on the AOL Full CD Listening Party. (While you're there, be sure to check out the new album by Kimberley Locke too.) An excerpt from his biography:In the midst of their fourth decade of music making, America have been perennials on the concert circuit for 34 years, pleasing their loyal fan base and attracting new generations of followers. The band's new 2-CD set, Here & Now is a spectacular distillation of the group's signature sound past and present, comprising one studio record of all new material and a second live disc taped at XM Radio featuring renditions of songs found on the group's multi-platinum greatest hits album, History.
Their new studio album is a fresh blast of classic Americana shaped by the contemporary sensibilities of producers Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne) and James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) and features guests, Ryan Adams, Ben Kweller, Jim James and Patrick Hallahan (My Morning Jacket), Ira Elliot and Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Stephen Bishop and Mark Rozzo (Maplewood). "One of the main attractions for Adam (Schlesinger) and James (Iha) was their initial love of the America sound," explains Gerry Beckley. "We have intentionally tried to keep that being the main focus. We're not trying to emulate or go backwards but the initial ingredients have always remained common to us, which were an abundance of acoustic instrument sounds, a lot of vocal harmony and interesting melodies and lyrics in the forefront." Dewey adds, "Adam and James are terrific to work with. We've tried to maintain the elements of our own traditions so those things haven't changed. We're not moving into electronic music but there are a few quirky things on the album. We're doing a few outside tracks including "Always Love" by Nada Surf."
"Slammin'" is the lead single from the sophomore effort, "Stay Awhile," by the award winning guitarist, Jay Soto that is due to drop on May 29. Here is an excerpt from his biography:Jon's songwriting finally began to take authentic shape when he enrolled in Anderson University's School of Music. There he spent countless hours developing the foundations for his debut album. With his classically trained ear and influences from Ben Folds and Billy Joel, Jon McLaughlin has crafted his unique piano-driven rock style to create a sound that has delighted audiences and coated the states with his sound.
The self-titled debut album covers a mass of musical ground, beginning with the funk-rock driven Some Tight Fix, to the airy jazz sound of Blue Skies, the nonchalant elegance of Once Again, the simple and classic piano-driven Loving Me, and ending with the album's first single, a rag-time piano-roll track Throwing A Line.
"Beautiful" is a track by the independent artist Yurko from his debut CD, "Heavy". An excerpt from his bio describes some of his background:Drawing from a vast background of experience as a sideman, Soto's role as the lead guitarist for acclaimed Christian group "Vessel," gave him the opportunity to appear before thousands of listeners in major Christian venues with such notable acts as Margaret Backer, Jon Gibson, Whiteheart and The Newsboys. Soto was also the lead guitarist for Zum Zum Zum, a highly acclaimed Latin group based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Soto's involvement with the group taught him the finer points about Latin rhythms, which he now incorporates into his playing and technique. During this time in his career, he opened up for major acts such as Vikki Carr, Acoustic Alchemy and the Latin group, Cumbia Kings. These experiences and performances have seasoned Soto into one of the finest Smooth Jazz guitarists of his generation.
His memorable melodies and impeccable technique are evident in his successful debut release, Long Time Coming, which has received outstanding reviews from critics everywhere and has opened many doors for this young and rising star. His self-produced debut caught the attention of producer greats, Jeff Lorber and Paul Brown who helped produce his sophomore release, Stay A While, scheduled to be released in April of 2007. Other producers on the album include Darren Rahn (Wayman Tisdale, Jonathan Butler) and Mario Mendivil (Nelson Rangell). With the likes of Jeffrey Osborne, Jeff Lorber and Michael Lington on his release, Soto is in star-studded company and sure to catch the attention of Smooth Jazz fans everywhere.
He may not be a new artist, but Michael Bublé does have a new album set to drop this week. Be sure to check it out as I think it is his best album yet. You can listen to the album this week on the AOL Full CD Listening Party.Recent (2005) recordings of Yurko's guitar playing can be heard on AMANDA STOTT (EMI) produced by Jon Levine (Philosopher Kings, Nelly Furtado) and Andreas Carlsson (Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi), EMMA ROBERTS (Sony) produced by Brian Malouf (Foo Fighters, Eve 6) and SOCIAL CODE (Universal) with producer Arnold Lanni (Simple Plan, Our Lady Peace).
Yurko has also recorded and/or toured with several successful Canadian independent artists such as Likota Son, Smeer, Lucie Idlout, Candida Clauser, Trust, Anjulie, Rachel Robinson, Vivian George, Carlo Coppola, Mary Zilba and even hit the stage with legendary guitar slinger Kim Mitchell on his Greatest Hits Tour.
Happy listening!Ask Michael Bublé how he felt going in to record his third studio album, Call Me Irresponsible, and this artist with 11 million albums sold and two Grammy nominations under his belt can sum it up in one word.
“Terrified,” he says simply. Terrified?
“Completely, because I knew that it had to be better than the first two — that it had to show growth without alienating anyone, and that’s a tough line. So I sat there from the very beginning and came up with the songs, put together the skeleton, and thought about what arrangers I would hire. I even ended up at the mastering session, which artists rarely attend. I wanted to be involved in every aspect because I wanted it to be conceptually beautiful.”
Bublé has certainly achieved success on that front. As with his previous two 143/Reprise bestsellers, 2003’s self-titled debut and 2005’s multi-platinum follow-up It’s Time, Call Me Irresponsible boasts more of Bublé’s buoyant, modern interpretations of standards from a variety of eras, including songs by such greats as Leonard Cohen, Eric Clapton, Cy Coleman, Gamble and Huff, and others, as well as two self-penned originals, including the first single, the uplifting love song called “Everything.”
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