Playlist for 4/26

Creation - Action Painting
I'm A Freak Baby: Journey Through British Heavy Psych & Hard Rock 68-72  (Box set)
Ten Years After - Ssssh
Auteurs - New Wave
Supergrass - I Should Coco
Lush -  Lovelife
Ray Davies - Americana
Soundgarden - Louder Than Love
Soundgarden - Screaming Life/Fopp
Soundgarden - King Animal
Soundgarden - Ultramega Ok

29th Wedding Anniversary

Today's my 29th Wedding Anniversary.  Not going to get sentimental, but it still feels like we just got married.

Anyway, here's a couple of tidbits that pertain to our marriage:

Slow dance song played at our reception in 1988:  Stylistics-You Make Me Feel Brand New.  Performed by a local band that we hired, instead of a D.J.

Song played as wife was walking down aisle:  "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
Song played at end of Church ceremony: Stevie Wonder - "You & I"
In both instances, the songs were performed by a woman who was a family friend of my wife's.

Song that most reminds us of our pre-wedding years:  Gregory Abbott - Shake You Down.  Remember hearing that everywhere we went back in the mid-80's.

The best Anniversary song that I always sing a few lines of every year at this time?  Tony! Toni! Tone! - "Anniversary"

In other words, music has always and continues to play a big part in our marriage.  Maybe it's the secret to our success?

Remembering Prince: One Year Later

In honor of Prince, who died one year ago today, I'm reprinting my post on his best albums which initially posted on 4/23/16.  I've updated the discography to include one newer compilation.

Prince's albums up until the mid-90's are uniformly strong.  As the 2000's were ushered in, Prince's records all had a few good cuts, but were lacking the originality we came to expect from his early days.  I hope someone will release a compilation of Prince's late 00's work.

So, my own list is top heavy with the classic stuff.

Essential
Dirty Mind
1999
Purple Rain
Parade
Sign O' The Times

Every music fan should have the above 5 in their collection.  These are Prince's best albums and show his depth better than anything:  Funk, Rock, Pop, Soul, Gospel and any other genre he was inventing.

Very Good
Controversy
Around The World In A Day
Lovesexy
Diamonds and Pearls
Love Symbol Album
Gold Experience
Emancipation
Black Album

Controversy followed Dirty Mind in 1981 and was seen as being less daring than that album, but still has some great moments.  Same fate for Around The World In A Day which followed Purple Rain. But today it stands as a neat stylistic departure.   Lovesexy from 1988, had a great, overlooked hit "Alphabet Street".  Diamonds and Pearls (1991) was sort of a comeback album chartwise, as it was released after the terrible movie Graffiti Bridge.  It has Prince's last #1 single, "Cream". The Love Symbol Album followed and was one of his funkiest albums. Gold Experience contains Prince's last big Top 40 hit, the #3 "Most Beautiful Girl In The World".   Both it and Emancipation released in the mid-90's and kind of forgotten today. Finally, the Black Album, recorded in 1987 but not released until 1994 was to be the followup to Sign O' The Times but shelved at the last minute.  It became a big bootleg album for years.  It's a good album, not a classic, but full of odd songs.

Good
Batman 
Graffiti Bridge
Prince (1979)
Crystal Ball
Chaos and Disorder
Musicology
3121
Art Official Age

If some of the titles don't seem obscure to you, then you are as much a die-hard as me.  For most, a lot of these were completely forgotten by even curious Prince fans. The latest album on this list is 2014's Art Official Age.  I'm kind of fond of the Batman album.  All have their moments, and again I hope someone compiles a latter day Prince compilation.

Greatest Hits Sets
Hits/B-Sides  (1993)
Very Best Of  (2001)
Ultimate  (2006)
4Ever (2016)

4Ever was released after Prince died and is the best of the bunch, even though it stops at 1993.  None of the others contain anything post-1993.  Very Best Of is a single disc, Hits/B-Sides a triple and Ultimate/4Ever are double discs.  Ultimate has a few 12" mixes for collectors.

Playlist for 4/20

Tom Jones: Soundstage (PBS)
Sun Records  (CMT Series)
Roy Orbison - Black & White Night 30 (Updated Version)
Gimme Danger (2016 Stooges Documentary)
Kendrick Lamar - Damn
Drake - More Life
Conor Oberst - Salutations
John Mayer - Search For Everything
Jesca Hoop - Memories Are Now
Cindy Lee Berryhill - Adventurist
Conway Twitty - You've Never Been This Far Before

Playlist for 4/15

Temptations - Puzzle People
Temptations - Sky's The Limit
Temptations - All Directions
Tempations - Meet The Temptations
Temptations - Temptin' Temptations
Temptations - Gettin' Ready
Temptations - With A Lot 'O Soul
Temptations - I Wish It Would Rain
Temptations - In A Mellow Mood
Temptations/Supremes  - Supremes Join The Temptations
Meters - Look-Ka Py Py
Last Poets  - s/t

Top 1970's Soul/Funk/Disco Tracks (Poll)

Top 1970's Soul/Funk/Disco Tracks Poll.  Last year I voted in the 70's Albums Soul/Funk/Disco Poll. Format was the same.  List up to 100 songs.  Ranked or unranked.  Only catch was that the songs to choose from come from a set list of just over a 1000 songs.   So, cutting it down to 100 proved daunting.  What I ended up doing, so that I could squeeze as many songs as possible, was limit myself to 1 song per acts (except for 3 artists).

Still, no matter how I got it down to 100, this would makes for a great Playlist.

1.  Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
2.  Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
3.  Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive
4.  James Brown - Sex Machine
5.  Chic - Good Times
6.  Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Wake Up Everybody
7.  McFadden & Whitehead - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
8.  Stevie Wonder - Superstition
9.  Spinners - I'll Be Around
10. Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
11. Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star
12. Manhattans - Kiss and Say Goodbye
13. Stylistics - Betcha By Golly Wow
14. Gladys Knight & The Pips - Midnight Train To Georgia
15. Undisputed Truth - Smiling Faces Sometimes
16. Three Degrees - When Will I See You Again
17. Five Stairsteps - O-o-h Child
18. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On
19. Al Green - Let's Stay Together
20. Edwin Starr - War
21. Temptations - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone
22. Thelma Houston - Don't Leave Me This Way
23. Billy Paul - Me & Mrs. Jones
24. Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
25. Hall & Oates - Sara Smile
26. Ohio Players - Love Rollercoaster
27. KC & The Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight
28. Commodores - Easy
29. Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover
30. Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove
31. Rufus featuring Chaka Khan - Sweet Thing
32. Donna Summer - Hot Stuff
33. Michael Jackson - Rock With You
34. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - Tears of A Clown
35. Bobby Caldwell - What You Won't Do For Love
36. Ike & Tina Turner - Proud Mary
37. Deniece Williams - Free
38. Blue Magic - Sideshow
39. L.T.D. - Love Ballad
40. George McCrae - Rock Your Baby
41. Heatwave - Always and Forever
42. Natalie Cole - This Will Be
43. Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces
44. O'Jays - Love Train
45. Chi-Lites - Have You Seen Her
46. Timmy Thomas - Why Can't We Live Together
47. Vicki Sue Robinson - Turn The Beat Around
48. Rose Royce - Wishing On A Star
49. Minnie Riperton - Lovin' You
50. Tavares - It Only Takes A Minute
51. Labelle - Lady Marmalade
52. Major Harris - Love Won't Let Me Wait
53. Delfonics - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)
54. Joe Tex - I Gotcha
55. Isaac Hayes - Theme From Shaft
56. Bill Withers - Lean On Me
57. Blackbyrds - Walking In Rhythm
58. Barry White - Can't Get Enough Of Your Love
59. Aretha Franklin - Day Dreaming
60. Lyn Collins - Think
61. Sylvester - You Make Me Feel Mighty Real
62. Whispers - And The Beat Goes On
63. Curtis Mayfield - Freddie's Dead
64. Shalamar - Second Time Around
65. Sister Sledge - Lost In Music
66. Cheryl Lynn - Got To Be Real
67. Staple Singers - I'll Take You There
68. Norman Connors - You Are My Starship
69. Al Wilson - Show & Tell
70. Emotions - Best Of My Love
71. Maxine Nightingale - Right Back Where We Started From
72. Brook Benton - Rainy Night In Georgia
73. Isley Brothers - That Lady
74. Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23
75. William DeVaughn - Be Thankful For What You Got
76. David Ruffin - Walk Away From Love
77. Parliament - Flashlight
78. Freda Payne - Band of Gold
79. Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine
80. Diana Ross - Love Hangover
81. Peaches & Herb - Reunited
82. Tyrone Davis - Turn Back The Hands of Time
83. Trammps - Disco Inferno
84. Hot Chocolate - Every 1's A Winner
85. Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair
86. Luther Ingram - (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right
87. Peabo Bryson - Feel The Fire
88. War - Low Rider
89. Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers - Bustin' Loose
90. Dorothy Moore - Misty Blue
91. Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand The Rain
92. Donny Hathaway - A Song For You
93. Tower of Power - So Very Hard To Go
94. Boz Scaggs - Lowdown
95. Shirley Brown - Woman To Woman
96. Moments - Love On A Two Way Street
97. Meters - Hey Pocky A-Way
98. Carl Carlton - Everlasting Love
99. Terry Huff and Special Delivery - Lonely One
100. Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie

Playlist for 4/9

New Pornographers - Whiteout Conditions
Father John Misty - Pure Comedy
Valerie June - Order of Time
Syd - Fin
Jaime Wyatt - Felony Blues
Frank Sinatra - All Alone
George Jones & The Smoky Mountain Boys
Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes - Live at the Bottom Line  (1976)
Patsy Cline:American Masters  (PBS Documentary)

Top 25 Talking Heads Songs (Poll)

Been a few months since I voted in a poll, but here's an interesting one:  Talking Heads.
Great group, great original sound.
Rules simple: list up to 25 songs.

1.  Once In A Lifetime
2.  Burning Down The House
3.  Psycho Killer
4.  Life During Wartime
5.  And She Was
6.  Flowers
7.  Take Me To The River
8.  Slippery People
9.  Heaven
10. This Must Be The Place
11. Stay Up Late
12. Wild Wild Life
13. Girlfriend Is Better
14. Drugs
15. I Zimbra
16. Big Country
17. Road To Nowhere
18. Blind
19. Love-Building On Fire
20. Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town
21. Lady Don't Mind
22. Love For Sale
23. Houses In Motion
24. Memories Can't Wait
25. Found A Job

Playlist for 4/2

Hurray for the Riff Raff - Navigator
Rodney Crowell - Close Ties
Mavericks - Brand New Day
Bob Dylan - Triplicate
Shins - Heartworms
Spoon - Hot Thoughts
Craig Finn - We All Want The Same Things
Paul McCartney - Flowers In The Dirt  (reissue)