i've got the best of interventions

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

#471 - New York Tendaberry, Laura Nyro

"It was hardly a gloomy affair, but the emphasis was on soulful laments and arrangements that often featured, in part or whole, nothing but her voice and piano. Without at all sounding blatantly derived from gospel, it often sounded very much in the spirit of gospel in its fervid passion, though using melodies from a wide pop/blues-soul canvas and addressing concerns far more secular and personal." (allmusic guide)

#470 - Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley

"This was as startling a debut record as any ever made, representing every side of Elvis' musical influences except gospel -- rockabilly, blues, R&B, country, and pop were all here in an explosive and seductive combination. Elvis Presley became the first rock & roll album to reach the number one spot on the national charts, and RCA's first million dollar-earning pop album." (allmusic guide)

#469 - The Road To Ensenada, Lyle Lovett

"The Road to Ensenada is the lightest album Lyle Lovett has ever made -- the darkness that hung around the fringes of Pontiac, Joshua Judges Ruth, and I Love Everybody has drifted away, leaving his wry sense of humor and a newly found empathetic sentimentality. The combination of straightforward instrumentation and lean, catchy, and incisive songwriting results in one of the best albums of his career -- he's just as eclectic and off-handedly brilliant as he has always been, but on The Road to Ensenada he's more focused and less flashy about his own talent than he's ever been." (allmusic guide)

#468 - Marshall Crenshaw, Marshall Crenshaw

"Working without any kind of smoke or mirrors, Crenshaw delivers simple, straightforward pop music invested with remarkable melodic ingenuity; his material is timeless and fresh -- gems like "Someday, Someway," "She Can't Dance," and "Not for Me," are the kinds of songs which would fit like a glove on both oldies radio and contemporary Top 40 play lists in any era. Witty, assured, and utterly infectious, Marshall Crenshaw remains among the finest debuts of its day." (allmusic guide)

#467 - Songs Of Love And Hate, Leonard Cohen

"Songs of Love and Hate captured Cohen in one of his finest hours as a songwriter, and the best selections (especially "Famous Blue Raincoat," "Joan of Arc," and "Love Calls You by Your Name") rank with the most satisfying work of his career. If Songs of Love and Hate isn't Cohen's best album, it comes close enough to be essential to anyone interested in his work." (allmusic guide)

#466 - Question Of Balance, The Moody Blues

"The group's first real attempt at a harder rock sound still has some psychedelic elements, but they're achieved with an overall leaner studio sound. The group was tryng to take stock of itself at this time, and came up with some surprisingly strong, lean numbers (Pinder's Mellotron is surprisingly restrained until the final number, "The Balance"), which also embraced politics for the first time ("Question" seemed to display the dislocation that a lot of younger listeners were feeling during Vietnam)." (allmusic guide)

#465 - Giant Steps, John Coltrane

"Coltrane's Atlantic Records debut, Giant Steps introduced the tenor saxophonist to a wider audience and became a great leap forward for jazz in general and for 'Trane in particular. Unyielding, driving power yields to delicate, beautiful moments. This CD is full of alt takes of the seven compositions ("Niama" and "Countdown" are the most famous among them)." (real music guide)

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