Johnny Madsen "Godt nyt" (2015)

Godt nyt

release date: Sep. 25, 2015

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]

producer: Chief 1 (aka Lars Pedersen)

label: REO / Universal - nationality: Denmark

16th and final studio solo album by Johnny Madsen. This is posted on the day it was publicly known that Madsen had passed away, Nov. 4, 2024 (age 73). The album is the only one by Madsen that I purchased shortly after it came out. I never was a huge fan but I really enjoyed much of the music he made from 1982 to 2015, and also in the lasting trio Dalton together with Lars Lilholt and Allan Olsen. I think, I first noticed one of his songs after he had launched his third album Chinatown, Yellow Moon og Den Sorte Fugl in 1987 when I came across the title song and "Halgal halbal" - two songs that had some radio airplay. I thought of these songs as highly original and not without appeal, although, I wasn't a big fan of the blues, and simply wasn't ready for his sometimes surreal original take on the genre back then. His follow-up Udenfor sæsonen (Aug. 1988) was a national breakthrough and it's an album that brought several classics with it, incl. the title track, "Færgemanden", "Komadibovser", and "Tidlig mandag morgen". With that album, he established himself as a contemporary artist with an unusual strong original take on soft blues rock in a most original style and certainly notable for his ear for his local dialect, garnered with strong lyrics and his rasping singing voice.

Godt nyt ['Good news'] may sound like an inappropriate title to pick on this day, but with Madsen's sense for the surreal, an abundance of irony, and a gift for word-play, this title could be as good as any to pay tribute to his gifted soul. The album provides us with a mature and personal look on modern life with well-placed comments on social media, globalism, traditions, and smaller things from everyday life. I really like this one. It both contain great hooks, well-crafted and powerful arrangements but it also has a certain Lo-Fi tone to it that makes you think of something echoing early rehearsals in an organic kind of way, as an ingredient of authenticity, which is a quality I think stick to all his records. He leaves us with a solid discography that I need to dig more into 'cause his music is there, and I do know several of his albums, and they're definitely all worth knowing.

Thank you for the music, Johnny. Keep rockin'!

Pino Daniele "Terra mia" (1977)

Terra mia[debut]

release date: 1977

format: vinyl (2015 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]

producer: Claudio Poggi

label: EMI - nationality: Italy

Studio album debut by Pino Daniele (aka Giuseppe Daniele). This reissue was made available following Daniele's death, Mar. 2015.

Etta James "Blues to the Bone" (2004)

Blues to the Bone
release date: Jun. 8, 2004
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Etta James, Donto James, Sametto James
label: RCA Victor - nationality: USA

Studio album by Etta James in her autumn years. The album was to be her third last studio release as she passed away in 2012. The album is dominated by blues standards and rhythm and blues. She does very well, although, the songs are not new nor at her best level of performance but she's still able to add a certain soul and liveliness to every track. The album was handed a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Traditional Blues Album of the year.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Etta James "At Last!" (1960)

At Last! [debut]

release date: Nov. 15, 1960

format: cd (1999 remaster / vinyl (2018 reissue, blue vinyl)

[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,45]

producer: Phil Chess, Leonard Chess

label: Chess / MCA // WaxTime In Color - nationality: USA

Studio album debut by the 22 year old Etta James originally released on Argo Records. The original album was a ten-track album with a running time just above 29 minutes. The 2018 vinyl reissue (on WaxTime In Color) comes with the four bonus tracks that have been released with the album since 1999 when the first remastered 'expanded' edition came out on Chess / MCA, and it has a total running time just above 40 minutes.

This is such a wonderful and mindblowing debut. It's a must-have in any album collection.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 5 / 5, Pitchfork 9 / 10 stars ]

Bill Frisell "Good Dog, Happy Man" (1999)

Good Dog, Happy Man

release date: May 18, 1999

format: cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]

producer: Lee Townsend

label: Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Rain, Rain" - 2. "Roscoe" - 4. "My Buffalo Girl" - 5. "Shenandoah (For Johnny Smith)" - 7. "The Pioneers" - 8. "Cold, Cold Ground" - 11. "Good Dog, Happy Man" - 12. "Poem for Eva"

14th studio album by Bill Frisell following Gone, Just Like a Train (Jan. '98) is Frisell's second of eight consecutive albums with long-time producer Lee Townsend.

Stylewise, Frisell has been on a long and twining progression in shaping that highly personal sound of his, and for me, this is when he first comes out the cleanest. He combines and bonds with other genres and styles and you'll notice elements from jazz, blues, americana, country and folk, and what appeals the most to me, is the absence of jazz fusion or the bold traits of rock fusion of the 1970s and 80s. Many will probably associate Frisell with artists like Pat Metheny, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea and others belonging to, and keeping alive, the heritage of the innovative Miles Davis and the ingenuity of Thelonius Monk. Exactly that may also be a starting point to his own orginal blend, but what I really enjoy, lies more in his ability to combine roots music - be it blues, jazz, or country folk with bits of americana and a tad more gentle approach that flows into something highly original - and that's basically all found on this one.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 3,5 / 4 stars ]

Zucchero "Zucchero & Co." (2004)

Zucchero & Co.
release date: May 14, 2004
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Luciano Luisi & Zucchero
label: Polydor - nationality: Italy

10th studio album by Zucchero following 2½ years after Shake (May 2001) is simply released under his shortened moniker 'Zucchero'. In terms of new material, this is not a traditional album of brand new compositions and on the other hand it's no real compilation either. It's the revisit to Zucchero's back catalog featuring guest artists and with new musical arrangements, and NOT produced by Corrado Rustici, which already makes it a different release. Rustici is credited as producer on two tracks, Mousse T., Simon Climie and Toby Baker all on one track respectively. The album contains 18 tracks and 18 "guest stars" all of which perform "duets" (Miles Davis is the only guest artist as instrumental artist). In track order, the featuring guests are: Miles Davis, Sting, Vanessa Carlton, Mousse T., Macy Gray, Maná, John Lee Hooker, Sheryl Crow, Dolores O'Riordan, Eric Clapton, Tom Jones, B.B. King, Ronan Keating, Cheb Mami, Solomon Burke, Paul Young, Brian May, and Luciano Pavarotti & Andrea Bocelli.
The album is pretty good, even if you happen to know the original tracks because these are new interpretations, except "Senza una donna" (feat. Paul Young), which is as good as it comes in the old familiar version.
Zucchero & Co. does not stir up Zucchero's image but basically, once again, show the international star he has grown into. Over the past decade and more, he has performed with established artists all over the world and he has become Italy's biggest national and international rock star, so in that respect the album only documents his star quality. And in his discography the album marks a fine contribution as a new musical perspective without introducing a stylistic revolution.
All in all a fine album.

Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari' "Shake" (2001)

Shake (Italian version)
release date: Sep. 14, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Corrado Rustici
label: Polydor - nationality: Italy

Track highlights: 1. "Sento le campane" - 4. "Ali d'oro (with John Lee Hooker)" - 5. "Ahum" - 6. "Scintille" - 7. "Baila Sexy Thing" - 8. "Dindondio" - 10. "Shake"

9th studio album by Zucchero is released by 'Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari' and it follows three years after his most recent studio album BlueSugar. In '99 Polydor released the compilation Overdose (d'amore / The Ballads with a mix of Italian and English-versioned ballads. Shake doesn't signal big changes to the formula. The album is released on the same label he has been with since his debut, and it's his sixth consecutive (seventh so far) to be produced by Rustici. The international version comes with six translated songs out of a total of eleven compositions and it also has a different running order (also a Spanish / Mexican and a US bonus track version was released).
The album seems like a pumped up pop / rock release, which points in too many directions. Predominantly, it has fast blues rock tracks and slow ballads, and then it contains pop soul and a relatively new addition to his repertoire: dance pop or: italo pop compositions. Ultimately, it turns out as a show-off thing to satisfy a broader international audience. The track "Ali d'oro" with John Lee Hooker was Hooker's last studio recording before his death (Jun. 2001).
The album is not really bad. Zucchero is too fine an artist to make nonsense and he is a remarkable songwriter with a nose for song structure. The downside to it is that it mostly sounds like Zucchero on cruise control. He wants to make a new album - he starts the engine and swings the bus on to the motorway where he swims like a fish in familiar waters. It may not impose too many speculations - he knows this ballgame, and it you get what you get: a new bunch of swinging Zucchero, which is not the same as brand new material. He lends, borrows and steals from his own back catalogue. The manager doesn't mind, the fans don't mind, so why care? The album is Zucchero's sixths consecutive number #1 album in Italy, it's his second to top the charts in Switzerland, and it's his album that has spawned the largest number of single releases with six selected songs (tracks #7, #5, #8, #1, #9 and #6) (something he would copy with albums released in 2016 and in 2019). The first single (track #7) is his so far only second single to top the charts in Italy, and it was made in various other versions: one "Baila Morena" featuring the Mexican band Maná topped the charts in France in 2006.
So, in terms of sold copies and exposure, Shake is definitely another grand success of his, so why change anything? Well, fans who look for artistic and musical nuances may not be overwhelmed. I guess, Zucchero cares but also thinks he will do what he feels is the right thing to do. I'm not overly enthusiastic about his recent albums and direction but I must admit that he continues to spit out delicious compositions. However my luke-warm enthusiasm for his recent works, Shake is admittedly another fine album, and I truly prefer any album by this man to the most recent musical direction by artists like Bowie, Depeche Mode or U2 - any day, but that remains a complete other story.
I cannot hand this my warmest recomendation - and for a first purchase with his music I will instead gladly direct anyone to his earlier works, which still dominate his 'best of' releases anyway.
Note: The front cover is identical for the various versions. It comes with two dedications: 'Dedicated to Mr. John Lee Hooker' and with: 'In Memory of Angiolino Figliè'.

Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari "BlueSugar" (1998)

BlueSugar (Italian version)
release date: Nov. 5, 1998
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,34]
producer: Corrado Rustici
label: Polydor - nationality: Italy

Track highlights: 1. "You Make Me Feel Loved" - 2. "Blu" - 5. "Back 2 U" - 7. "(Temporaneamente) X sempre tuo" - 8. "Eccetera eccetera" - 9. "Karma, stai kalma" (feat. Irene Fornaciari) - 10. "Dopo di noi"

8th studio album by Zucchero released as 'Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari' follows more than three years after SpiritoDiVino (May '95). The album is Zucchero's fifth consecutive album and sixth overall to be produced by Rustici. Despite the relative long period in between albums this follows the blueprint of the two predecessors by being released in a national, an international (English) version as well as a Spanish version. The international version comes with six translated songs of which five have been given new titles.
Compared to Miserere (1992) and SpiritoDiVino this shares stronger bonds with British-styled pop soul and pop / rock, which I normally prefer to his ever-present American blues inspiration. However, listening to Zucchero at this point of his career, he isn't an artist who feels a strong urge to make stylistic changes when writing and composing music. He has found a formula he sticks to, and staying with the same label and using the same producer his music do tend to sound much like on earlier releases. It's in the small details that you may notice a progression - it's not that everyone has to reinvent themselves all time. Most would accept a new Frank Sinatra album had a certain Sinatra-feel, and I guess fans of Bruce Springsteen or Coldplay may expect their artistic fingerprints, respectively, and Zucchero has in many ways put himself in a certain category with artist like Sting, Peter Gabriel, Lucinda Williams, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Cocker, Martha Wainwright, etc. who are all expected to deliver recognisable music and not to excell in experiments - like Neil Young, Paul Weller or Gorillaz are expected to do.
Anyway, I think it all sounds quite nice - the execution, the production, arrangements mixing, but I have simply lost a great portion of my curiosity for Zucchero's music - much like I did a long time ago with U2, Sting, late R.E.M. and Simple Minds. BlueSugar is a mighty fine album, it just doesn't ring the big bells, and I personally think it doesn't matter much what version you pick anymore. Be it Italian or English, they basically sound much alike. Now don't get me wrong, Zucchero is undoubtedly a great and truly fine songwriter and most likely Italy's finest rock artist of all their great names, and as much as I enjoy his earlier albums, I also find that he has ended up reproducing too much without being sufficiently original to do exactly just that.
BlueSugar is fine - put the first two tracks on repeat - they are part of his legacy, but at this point of his career, I think his compilation albums may be better choices, e.g. the 2-disc album All the Best (1999) or Wanted (The Best Collection) a 3-disc album from 2017.

Note: both the Italian and the international version have the same cover.

David Lindley "El Rayo-X" (1981)

El Rayo-X

release date: Apr. 1981

format: vinyl / cd (reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,04]

producer: Jackson Browne and Greg Ladanyi

label: Asylum / Elektra - nationality: USA

Track highlights: A) 1. "She Took Off My Romeos" (4 / 5) - 2. "Bye Bye Love" - 3. "Mercury Blues" (4 / 5) (live 1981) - 4. "Quarter of a Man" - 5. "Ain't No Way" - 6. "Twist and Shout" (live 1988) - B) 1. "El Rayo-X" (4 / 5) - 3. "Don't Look Back" - 5. "Tu-ber-cu-Lucas and the Sinus Blues" - 6. "Pay the Man"

Studio album debut by David Perry Lindley is a late but also much anticipated release. Lindley was co-founder of 1960s psychedelic folk band Kaleidoscope and later became renowned for his skills as multi-instrumentalist on all types of strings. He was an acclaimed studio musician and worked for and with artists like Jackson Browne, Crosby & Nash, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, and Ry Cooder before finally making music under his own name.

Stylistically, the album feels timeless with influence from various styles and genres. Only the title track and the closer "Pay the Man" are credited Lindley but really, all songs here are re-arranged according to Lindley's taste, and the result is a highly original coherent whole serving to document what a musical wizzard Lindley is.

This is absolutely and highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari "SpiritoDiVino" (1995)

SpiritoDiVino (Italian version)
release date: May 27, 1995
format: cd (reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]
producer: Corrado Rustici
label: Polydor - nationality: Italy

Track highlights: 1. "Voodoo voodoo" - 2. "Datemi una pompa" - 4. "Pane e sale" - 6. "Il volo" (4 / 5) - 7. "Senza rimorso" - 8. "Papà perché" - 9. "Così celeste"

7th studio album by Zucchero released as 'Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari' follows 2½ years after the album Miserere (Oct. '92) is an album released in various different versions, and most issues contain 10 tracks. The English-versioned issue with the subtitle "Stray Cat in a Mad Dog City" is made according to the formula of the predecessor with six tracks with translated English lyrics and new titles as well as a quite different running order. A Spanish version was also issued with translated Spanish lyrics and a North American version with two older tracks replacing two tracks with Italian lyrics. All songs are written and composed by Zucchero except track #1 with music co-composed by Luciano Luisi, track #4 with lyrics by Franceso De Gregorio, tracks #7 & #8 with lyrics by Alberto Salerno and track #10 with lyrics by Jovanotti.
Style-wise the album is a step towards more pop soul and uptempo energy and it basically sounds more in tune with Oro incenso & birra from '89 than his most recent Miserere, which reeked of American soft rock and traditional r&b. With this Zucchero confirms his position as an international artist of contemporary rhythm & blues with a strong mainstream pop / rock appeal.

Recommended.

International English-
versioned issue

The Blues Brothers "The Definitive Collection" (1992)

The Definitive Collection (compilation)
release date: 1992
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Bob Tischler, Paul Shaffer
label: Atlantic - nationality: USA

Compilation album by The Blues Brothers mainly produced by Tischler and compiled by Michael A. Mazzareila.
The album comprises many of the duo's better tracks and despite containing 20 tracks, I simply find that too many essential tracks are missing out, and it's also a bit strange to include two tracks from the original motion picture soundtrack The Blues Brothers - one (great track) by Ray Charles and another (fine song) by Aretha Franklin, when Aykroyd and Belushi do not feature on those tracks. The album simply doesn't match its title.

Tom Waits "Used Songs (1973-1980)" (2001)

Used Songs (1973-1980) (compilation)
relase date: Oct. 23, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Bones Howe
label: Elektra / Rhino / Warner - nationality: USA

16-track best of compilation by Tom Waits, basically containing some of his best-known songs from the first seven albums of the 70s - all compositions from his time at Asylum Records.

It is of course an almost impossible task to select this man's best tracks for a single CD release, as he has simply made so many worthy songs, but what is equally important: he has released entire albums of classic material that should be seen in context, and yet... for people who don't know his entire repertoire, this might be a good place to start.

Personally, I would undoubtedly have chosen other songs from this period, and I'm really surprised that only a single track has been selected from his first two albums, only two from Small Change (1976), whereas a less significant album like Foreign Affairs (1977) might boast of having as many as four tracks represented. And then all the tracks from the seven albums are scattered across the album in what looks like random order - starting with the title track from his final album on Asylum Heartattack and Vine (1980) and ending with his classic "Tom Traubert's Blues" from Small Change. Despite these slightly annoying decisions about the album, it can't take away the feeling of being a mighty fine collection.

Nina Simone " 'Nuff Said!" (1968)

'Nuff Said! (live)

release date: Oct. 1968

format: cd (2011 RM) / vinyl (2015 reissue) (MOVLP1028)

[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,38]

producer: Joe René

label: RCA Victor / Music On Vinyl - nationality: USA

Live album by Nina Simone succeding the album Silk & Soul (Oct. 1967) is a eleven-track album with 8 tracks being recorded live at Westbury Music Fair, Long Island, New York on Apr. 7, 1968. Three songs (tracks #1, #8, and #11) are studio recordings from May '68. The song "Why?" is with strong memory of and a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., who passed away three days prior to the concert - it's a song written on the day of the recording by jazz bassist Gene Taylor (aka Calvin Eugene Taylor) and Simone handles this with supreme quality.

'Nuff Said! is Nina Simone in an exquisite performance, and the 2015 vinyl reissue by Music On Vinyl is a great pressing.

Highly recommended.

Zucchero "Miserere" (Int.) (1992)

Miserere (International version)
release date: Oct. 1, 1992
format: digital (12 x File, MP3)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,26]
producer: Corrado Rustici
label: London Records - nationality: Italy

Track highlights: 2. "L'urlo (Medley with 'La solitudine')" - 3. "It's Alright (The Promise)" - 7. "Un'orgia di anime perse" - 9. "Come Back the Sun" - 12. "Miserere (feat. Luciano Pavarotti)"

6th studio album by Zucchero in the international English issue with four songs that apparently have been exchanged from the "ordinary" Italian edition but which are all simply translated versions. This version is released on London Records, whereas the Italian issue is released by Polydor. On the Italian issue the artist is credited with his full moniker as 'Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari' while he is simply credited as 'Zucchero' on the International / English version - as seen on the front cover. The album is Zucchero's first to be released simultaneously in an Italian version for the domestic market and an English-versioned issue.
Overall, this is a bit of a step down from his most recent album(s). Although, I feel that the Italian version is the better choice with what I sense reveals a stronger coherency with songs mostly in the same mother tongue, it's still an album with an almost all-American sound to it. It's made with americana slide-guitars and dobro, country-rock banjos and harmonica and with dominating Wurlitzer or Hammond organs and acoustic guitars - all put together making it sound like Eric Clapton jamming with Ry Cooder while they try to sound like The Band.
Zucchero is an artist with his own distinct qualities and he has made several strong releases with inspiration from American music styles but on this it's as if he tries too hard to make an American album instead of continuing making Italian music with various influences.
With two previous number #1 albums in Italy and growing international esteem he has sought out an embracement of both markets, so that, yes, there's still an Italian foundation but the tone has become unmistakably English-American regardless what version of the album you purchase.
If your thing is John Mellencamp, The Doobie Brothers, J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton, then this might just be your kinda thing. It's not for me, though, and in the discography of Zucchero Fornaciari this sits pretty much at the low end.
Not recommended.

Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari "Miserere" (1992)

Miserere (Italian version)

release date: Oct. 1, 1992

format: cd (2004 remaster)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,36]

producer: Corrado Rustici

label: Polydor - nationality: Italy

Track highlights: 2. "L'urlo (Medley with 'La solitudine')" - 3. "It's All Right (La promessa)" - 7. "Un'orgia di anime perse" - 10. "Ridammi il sole" - 11. "I frati (Ovvero l'osteria della felicità)" - 12. "Miserere (feat. Luciano Pavarotti)"

6th studio album by Zucchero following Oro incenso e birra (1989) is his third consecutive and fourth album overall to be produced by Corrado Rustici and it introduces a new "release formula" by Zucchero - or his manager, which is to produce two different issues simultaneously: one for the national market and a slightly different issue for the international markets. Both releases contain 12 compositions, and with this the Italian issue the album comes with four (tracks #3, #4, #10 & #11) that have been exchanged on the International version with English translated or altered titles and with English lyrics - also the track listing has been altered slightly (so that the aforementioned tracks correspond with tracks #3, #4, #9 & #11 on the international issue). Although, this is the Italian market version, the English language is not absent. Two songs are co-composed with Paul Buchanan (of The Blue Nile): The song "It's All Right (La promessa)" is partially in English (it has been translated to "The Promise" for the international issue) and "Ridammi il sole" (mostly in Italian except for a repetitious chorus-line but for the international issue it's entirely in English with the title "Give Me Back the Sun"). Both versions of the album comes with the song "Miss Mary" written by Elvis Costello and composed by Zucchero. This means that the music on both albums remains the same - only titles and lyrics have been changed.

In essense, the style has become less pop soul and more americana and blues-oriented, which in my opinion, is a wrong turn. It's as if he's trying to copy Joe Cocker with a hint of Bruce Springsteen and Ry Cooder, and I don't really like that direction. With two previous number #1 albums in Italy and a growing success internationally he has tried to embrace both markets, so that yes, there's still an Italian foundation but the tone has become unmistakably English-American regardless what issue you purchase.

If your thing is John Mellencamp, The Doobie Brothers, J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton, then this might just be your kinda thing and you should probably aim for the international version of the album. But it's not to my liking, and in the discography of Zucchero Fornaciari this sits pretty much at the bottom.

Not recommended.

Zucchero "Zucchero" (1990)

Zucchero (compilation)

released: Sep. 3, 1990

format: cd (1991 reissue)

[album rate: 4 / 5]

producer: various

label: London Records - nationality: Italy

1st compilation album by Zucchero had some issues with the sticker: "Zucchero Sings His Hits In English". This is the first album released for the Italian market completely without his usual stage name "Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari". The first issues consisted of only nine compositions (which also applies for all vinyl pressings), whereas cd re-issues from '91 and later all came with twelve tracks.

On some lists the album is filed as a studio album, and I admit it is difficult to label entirely. Fact is, the songs here have all been issued before-hand, BUT never in these versions. British songwriter Frank Musker has written English lyrics for seven of the original nine compositions - the last two songs are together with the additional three extra tracks held in the original Italian versions. This makes the majority of the songs appear in new versions and in new arrangements, but then again: they have been selected for the purpose of widening the knowledge of Zucchero's music, and five of the songs still come in their original versions...

Anyway, the collection is fine, the songs are splendid and show what a great songwriter Zucchero is.

It's a recommended acquisition of alternative international versions of his older songs, although, later compilations better this one.

Nina Simone "Nina Simone Sings the Blues" (1967)

Nina Simone Sings the Blues

release date: 1967

format: cd (2011 reissue) / vinyl (2013 reissue) (MOVLP878)

[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,32]

producer: Danny Davis

label: RCA Victor / Music On Vinyl - nationality: USA

Studio album by Nina Simone following High Priestess of Soul (1967) is her first release with RCA Victor in long series of acclaimed albums with that label, who understood better to showcase her multifacetted talents more directly than the management at Coolpix Records and Phillips had succeded in.

The album is both a return to the musical sources to her acclaimed debut and also a turn to a more personal expression, where she gives new stylistic twists to familiar vocal jazz staples with soul, with folk, and of course with a strong element of blues. On top of that, the album also showcases Simone as composer of five original compositions.

Nina Simone Sings the Blues is a natural part of the Holy Grail of jazz alogside a handful of her albums.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, All About Jazz 4 / 5 stars ]

Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari "Oro incenso e birra" (1989)

Oro incenso e birra
release date: Jun. 13, 1989
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Corrado Rustici
label: Polydor - nationality: Italy

Track highlights: 1. "Overdose (d'amore)" (4 / 5) - 3. "Il mare impetuoso al tramonto salì sulla luna e dietro una tendina di stelle..." - 5. "Diavolo in me" - 7. "A Wonderful World" (4 / 5) - 8. "Diamante" (4 / 5) - 9. "Libera l'amore"

5th studio album by Zucchero is released as 'Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari', and it follows two years after the album Blue's. All lyrics and music is written and composed by Zucchero except his popular song "Diamante", which has lyrics by Franceso De Gregori, and "Libera l'amore" with music by Ennio Morricone. As with the predecessor a Christmas version was issued later in '89 with a different cover and also with the title changed to Oro incenso & mirra. One year later a new limited and numbered Christmas edition was released with a new cover and the title D'oro incenso & birra (and with the possiblity to win a compact disc in pure gold) - all with the same tracklist; however the French version from '90 was released with the bonus track "Senza una donna (Without a Woman)" featuring Paul Young.
Once again, Zucchero has managed to write and compose a fine collection of songs, and the album topped the Italian and the Zwiss album charts and made it to number #17 in France. Four tracks were released as singles: tracks #4, #5, #8 and #1 with "Diamante" as the best-selling single from the album with a chart position as number #11. The album itself was for seven years and with more than 8 mio. sold copies ranked as the best-selling album worldwide.
The album signals Zucchero's international breakthrough and is by many considered his all-time best. It's his last album to have lyrics in Italian exclusively ("A Wonderful World" only has its title and repetitous phrase 'A Wonderful World' in English), and most of his successive albums would be issued in an Italian issue for the national market and in an English-versioned edition for international markets.
Oro incenso & birra was my first acquisition with music by Zucchero as I purchased the album on cassette. As with the predecessor I believed the album to be a compilation, which may say a few things about the quality of Zucchero Fornaciari's songwriting talent.
Highly recommended.

Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari "Blue's" (1987)

Blue's
release date: Jun. 15, 1987
formats: cd (2004 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
produced by: Corrado Rustici
label: Polydor / Universal - nationality: Italy

Track highlights: 2. "Con le mani" (4 / 5) - 3. "Pippo" - 4. "Dune mosse" - 5. "Bambino io, bambino tu" - 6. "Non ti sopporto più" (4 / 5) - 7. "Senza una donna" (5 / 5) - 9. "Hey Man" - 10. "Solo una sana e consapevole libidine salva il giovane dallo stress e dall'Azione Cattolica" (org. video) - 11. "Hai scelto me"

4th studio album by Zucchero follows one year after Rispetto and is released under the name of 'Zucchero Sugar Fornaciari'. Most songs are written and composed solely by Zucchero - only tracks #2, #5 & #9 are co-written by Gino Paoli, track#4 is written with Marco Figliè, and track #5 is co-composed with Albino Mammoliti and Raymond Jones. The album was already in late '87 issued in a Christmas version ['versione natalizia'] with a different front cover but with the same original tracklist. However, the optical issues featured two bonus tracks (tracks #8 & #12).
Blue's continues very much in the style of his '86 album with an even stronger presence of a blues rock ingredient. I just think this has several songs of higher quality, and it basically sounds like a "best of" compilation, which I initially mistook it for. The album is Zucchero's first of ten [10!] consecutive studio albums to top the Italian album charts, and it's his first to have en entry outside of Italy. The album peaked at number #43 in the Netherlands and as number #18 in Switzerland where it sold Platinum.
Two singles where released from the album: track #2 and #7 peaking at number #27 and #17 respectively; however, "Senza una donna" would become his first number #1 single-hit and best-selling single ever, when it was re-recorded with Paul Young and released as single in '91. It's also included on Zucchero's first compilation album Zucchero from '90 as well as Paul Young's compilation From Time to Time (1991) and that version of the song is one of of the top-3 best-selling Italian songs ever released.
Note: The front cover is the photography "7th Day Adventists" (aka 'Male Voice Choir Seventh Day Adventists Church Holoway, London') by Neal Slavin taken from his book "Britons" (1986).
This is really Zucchero on top of his career with brilliant songwriting and tight pop soul and blues, and it comes close to the style of Joe Cocker and Paul Young, "only" difference is that Zucchero is an artist, who writes his own material.
I think, this is his clearly best album so far.
Highly recommended.

The Blues Brothers "Made in America" (1980) (live)

Made in America (live)
release date: Dec. 5, 1980
format: vinyl (reissue - ATL 50 768)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Bob Tischler & Paul Schaffer
label: Atlantic - nationality: USA

3rd and final album by The Blues Brothers - including the soundtrack for the film "The Blues Brothers" (Jun. 1980). The album is the band's second live album - this time recorded live at the Universal Amphitheater, Jul. 26 - Aug. 1, 1980 by Record Plant, LA.
The album consists of traditional 'blues' and 'rhythm & blues' material but lacks some of the sheer energy that characterised the live debut, Briefcase of Blues (1978), and it doesn't have the star quality as the soundtrack album, which makes this the band's weakest performance.