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Post by unomusette on Jul 25, 2016 22:01:43 GMT
For your delight this week, I thought I'd bring on some of my favourite songs from talented ladies. To avoid it taking until this time next year I've had to be really strict and reject whole heaps of them who really deserved to be included, here are the victorious nine....
Dixie Chicks - There's Your Trouble - I love these girls, they're super-talented with bucket loads of attitude. Not afraid to tackle difficult issues at times, but here's a straight up belter:
Bat for Lashes - Daniel - As somebody comments on Youtube, she's a bit like Stevie Nicks without the distracting vibrato. Great spooky song which I've squealed along to many a time:
Petula Clark - Colour My World - '60's classic, brilliant catchy song with a hilarious "London" video which was probably really hip at the time
Judie Tzuke - For You - Lovely bit of complicated acapella here, if you like this you might also like her other big hit, Stay with Me Till Dawn
Tina Arena -Sorrento Moon - I love Tina's voice to bits, I think she mainly does musical theatre these days but here's her big hit which is stuffed full of win and rather uplifting.
Sam Brown - Stop - Yes, stop being so cheerful, it's time for some proper angst. Pass the tissues.
Maggie Reilly - To France - Actually it's a Mike Oldfield song but Maggie smashes it despite looking a bit hungover (which just endears her to me even more, I expect she was glad she could mime) Another one of my favourites to join in with, hitting notes that only dogs can hear. I believe it's about Mary Queen of Scots. See, history too, I'm spoiling you.... Lesley Duncan - Love Song - Ah, peace at last. And some sensible lyrics for these troubled times. I really like the rain effect too, very soothing.
Kirsty MacColl - In These Shoes? - Sadly missed, Kirsty was the queen of the quirky song and this is probably her best. Bristling with swagger and Cuban heat, where's me mojito?
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Post by jrmugz on Jul 26, 2016 3:14:06 GMT
Sounds cool uno, looking forward to checking these out. Will send my review later this week!
Jim
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Post by jrmugz on Jul 30, 2016 23:52:24 GMT
I didn't forget uno, just super-slammed! Look for a review later tonight or tomorrow!
Jim
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Post by jrmugz on Jul 31, 2016 14:58:03 GMT
Hey Uno, I really enjoyed these working out at the gym this morning and running through them one more time afterwards.
Very creative thing to do, picking all women, and very good selections picked!
Here is my review.
01. Dixie Chicks - "There's Your Trouble" - Great harmonies, instrumentation, and clever lyrics. LOve the fiddle touches. Perfect country song. Glad to hear them for who they are and not something to do with controversy. Sounds great!
02. Bat for Lashes - "Daniel" - One of them-there-mysterious-type songs. Pretty decent, probably her vocal isn't hushed like that on all of her songs.
03. Petula Clark - "Colour My World" - Really like the chorus for this song. Kind of nice mystic feel in the verse. Like the main riff.
04. Judie Tzuke - "For You" - I agree with "Lovely bit of complicated acapella here", very nice and soothing.Tasteful orchestral touches as the song progresses. Love that there is no drums or bass or keyboards.
05. Tina Arena - "Sorrento Moon" - Love the South American feel, and how the rhythm picks up. Good singer!
06. Sam Brown - "Stop" - Great night club bluesy kind of song, sung with a lot of grit. Great stuff!
07. Maggie Reilly - "To France" - Beautiful Celtic song; like it a lot! Definitely one of the best of the bunch! Lovely voice!
08. Lesley Duncan - "Love Song" - Great to here the original of the classic cover song Elton John does on "Tumbleweed Connection".
09. Kirsty MacColl - "In These Shoes?" - Not a fan of the lyric; but love the nice Cuban feel of the music.
Star Rating: 4.7 out of 5 Prime Cuts: "There's Your Trouble", "Stop", "To France", "Love Song" Bottom Line: Strong collection of songs from some great female artists.
Thanks again Uno; really enjoyed playing these! I will mark you down for the next available spot!
Jim
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Post by unomusette on Jul 31, 2016 20:04:04 GMT
Thanks, Jim for the positive review, you are plainly a music lover I think 4.7 out of 5 is the best score ever for a collection of mine around here so I'm feeling very pleased on behalf of the collective ladies. I didn't know Elton John had done a version of Love Song, I'm off to listen to it asap, thanks for the heads up
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Post by jrmugz on Jul 31, 2016 20:53:14 GMT
Yeah, and I believe on the EJ cover song of it, Leslie Duncan sings on it too, maybe harmony, if I remember.
Would-be interesting to know whose version was recorded first.
Jim
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Post by Platypus on Aug 2, 2016 6:15:19 GMT
Thanks for putting these up, uno.
Dixie Chicks - There's Your Trouble: Country is not my favourite genre, but I did like a Wanda Jackson gospel album during the late 1970s! This one is well crafted & a good listen.
Bat For Lashes - Daniel: Haunting, good use of retro keyboard sound, I suspect a touch of her Pashtun cultural heritage, especially in the little bridge from 2:00 min.
Petula Clark - Colour My World: Written to a formula, but a formula that works!
Judie Tzuke - For You: Stay With Me 'Til Dawn is the only reason I'd know Judie Tzuke's name. I prefer this one, the interplay of vocal harmonies and chamber strings is lovely.
Tina Arena -Sorrento Moon: Tiny Tina Arena is quite well known to me, being an Australian and having watched Young Talent Time... So I saw her develop as an artist. Stevie Nicks was referenced for an earlier song, but I think I pick up little Fleetwood Mack hints here.
Sam Brown - Stop: So blue! Little bits of the string phrasing could be ELO at times.
Maggie Reilly - To France: Unmistakably a Mike Oldfield song, and well done, but like I generally find with his material, initially interesting but I soon tire and have trouble seeing it through.
Lesley Duncan - Love Song: Gorgeous sultry voice - except for the odd little bit of whistling, I prefer her rendition over the Elton John.
Kirsty MacColl - In These Shoes?: Quirky song, as jrmugz comments the premise is a bit sus, but the idea of responding to outlandish propositions with "In These Shoes?" is neat and somehow sounds like something you'd expect Fran Drescher's "Nanny" to say.
A very passable collection - 4/5 from me.
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Post by queenofthehours on Aug 2, 2016 17:17:59 GMT
1. Dixie Chicks - There's Your Trouble – I love country. I heard this years ago and liked it but I don’t know much about them other than what I hear on Radio's country shows. The fiddle is very Gram Parsons but rather than country rock this is country pop.
2. Bat for Lashes - Daniel – I'm not too familiar with this. I like the music, it's very mysterious and Kate Bushy. It reminds me of if Kate was invented today. I love the 80s-ness of it.
3. Petula Clark - Colour My World – I've never been keen Petula. This is very 60s and sounds a bit like Procol Harum's 'Souvenir of London' music-wise. I like the song but I don't know about the bouncy poilice!
4. Judie Tzuke - For You - I don’t know much her but it sounds to me like Kate Bush crossed with Clannad crossed with a folk singer trying something different. I like it a lot. It's got strings like the Beatles/Colin Blunstone.
5. Tina Arena - Sorrento Moon – I remember this and her other song (the title escapes me) which were both really big in the 90s. I can still remember the words to sing along! Mainly because the words were in a magazine I used to get. Brings back memories.
6. Sam Brown - Stop – Daughter of Joe, and both sang alongside Jeff at the Concert for George. 'Horse to Water' A believe Sam sang. I wish she still did solo stuff more prominently because she went out of sight almost once she joined Jools Holland's band. She's still a great singer thought. She's out ELO connection here!
7. Maggie Reilly - To France – I love her and Mike Oldfield – They are like a prog Jeff and Olivia. I've never really listened to this track be fore though. Mike's autobiog is really worth reading and has lots about his work with Maggie as well as his "differences" with Richard Branson.
8. Lesley Duncan - Love Song - I don't think I know her, I like the guitar as it reminds me of 70s folky people sitting in a back garden playing while the sun goes down. 9. Kirsty MacColl - In These Shoes? - I love Kirsty and was very sad when she was killed. She's worked with so many people and sang on so many great songs yet her own music is just as perfect and is largely unknown. I remember her singing this on Jools Holland's show not long before she died.
Some excellent choices here, unomusette , some very unexpected choices. I'll definitely be finding out more about those I'd never heard of.
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Post by jrmugz on Aug 3, 2016 0:26:36 GMT
Hey Uno, for the record, we'll let your girly power CD run another week here, then qoth will post an "...of the week" on Sunday. Just so everyone knows what's going on. Jim
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Post by unomusette on Aug 6, 2016 22:26:30 GMT
Thanks Platypus and queenofthehours for your positive reviews, and for giving this large-ish collection a proper listen. It's interesting that Platypus has seen Tina Arena from her early days, she just seems to have appeared on the UK scene fully formed. I think she should have had more acclaim though, she's streets ahead of a certain Ms Minogue for a start. And it's also telling that queenofthehours referenced Kate Bush a couple of times, I was very tempted to include something by Kate but she probably deserves a whole thread to herself. I'm sure the ladies will be very pleased to hold the fort for another week, thanks Jim
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Post by 88keys on Aug 7, 2016 6:10:32 GMT
I f'in love The Dixie Chicks. Such attitude and take no shit approach to life. There's Your Trouble is a kick butt song. I am in love with Natalie Maines' voice. Daniel by Bat for Lashes is cool in it's ambience and ethereal musical tone. Colour My World by Petula Clark is like a re-write of These Boots Are Made for Walking, but it's pretty awesome. For You by Judie Tzuke is a breathtaking piece of music! The voices blow me away in the greatest way possible. I wasn't crazy about the Tina Arena song. A little bit too much paint by numbers. Sam Brown's Stop is another amazeballs song! Sexy and bluesy and megatons of swagger. The Maggie Riley song was medicore. Love Song by Lesley Duncan reminds me of a Stevie Nicks song. It's really nice, but could use some more changes in it. In These Shoes sounds a lot like Smooth By Rob Thomas and Santana! It's pretty blatant plagiarism, actually. A great set of songs that proves women really rock.
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Post by unomusette on Aug 7, 2016 21:40:31 GMT
Thanks for listening 88keys , and for sharing your thoughts which I'm pleased were mostly positive. I sort of see what you mean about In These Shoes, but I can't see Carlos writing lyrics like those Out of curiosity I checked the dates and the Santana version was slightly earlier so you could be right about at least a bit of influence. As I recall the whole album which included In These Shoes was a result of a long stay in Cuba so it was all very latin inspired. Before this her music was more folky/britpop. Anyway, I agree with all the good things you said about the songs, nice one
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