Our picks this week. Click the links to order from Amazon.
Norah Jones - Visions
Norah Jones’ new album Visions is a vibrant and joyous 12-song set that finds Jones singing about feeling free, wanting to dance, making it right, and acceptance of what life brings. Visions is the yang to the yin that was Pick Me Up Off The Floor, Jones’ last album of new original songs which was released early in the pandemic lockdown of 2020 and foreshadowed many of the dark emotions of that period.
Rolling Stones - Live At The Wiltern
In November 2002, the Stones arrived in Los Angeles to perform at a packed Wiltern Theatre, treating fans to a set heavy on rarities which feel right at home in such an intimate setting. While some of the hits are performed, this night at the Wiltern is for the rarely played classics, including "Stray Cat Blues," "No Expectations" and a cover of "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love," featuring a guest spot by the legendary Solomon Burke, who opened the show that night. Blu-ray/2 CD Softpak set with 12-page booklet included.
Pete Ham - Gwent Gardens
A new Pete Ham album of previously unreleased home demos. "Gwent Gardens" is being released with the support of the Pete Ham Estate and is full of the beautiful melodies and universal lyrics that Pete is well known for.
Composed on either guitar or piano/keyboards between 1966 and 1972, most of the 18 songs on this new collection have never been heard before by the public.
Ham is best known as the founding member of Badfinger, the first act signed to The Beatles' new label, Apple Records, back in 1968. Pete's classic songs include "Day After Day," "Baby Blue," "No Matter What" and the pop standard, "Without You," which was co-written by Badfinger's Tom Evans.
Bear Family Records offers another intriguing collection of blues and rhythm & blues obscurities and classics from the '40s to the '60s about life behind bars.
It deals with the various elements of the US justice system: prison = county farm, chain gang; jail and penitentiary.
Among the better-known highlights are Jailhouse Rock by Frankie Lymon, the heartbreaking Please Mr. Jailer by Wynona Carr, the Prisoner's Song by Fats Domino - in this case a classic from the Anglo-Celtic tradition - and the tongue-in-cheek Good Morning Judge by Wynonie Harris.
Incarceration is a frequent theme in American roots music, especially in blues and rhythm & blues. African American life in the New World started in chains and endured slavery and segregation.
This is a sensitive topic, and one might wonder how this compilation of African American popular music from the 40s to 60s fits into the lighter and novelty-laden 'Destination' Series. See and listen for yourself. This compilation offers various styles. It also presents multiple viewpoints - from gallows humor, the laughing-to-keep-from-crying approach, the cry for help, and the promise of redemption.
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