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No One Like You - David Crowder Band
This track, along with a few others, turned me on to the music of the David Crowder Band. We'd performed several of their songs at the Upper Room on a regular basis, and, after picking up their three albums, tossed this punkish piece in at the threshold of this mix. So much fun.
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Mighty Wings - Cheap Trick
Act I: I'm in art class, seventh grade. We're sketching students who are posing in various athletic stances. The teacher, Jim Gulstrand, had the "Top Gun" soundtrack in full effect, and it was then I first heard this track. Act II: The movie of the same name gains a resurgence during my freshman year at Webster, and the soundtrack is procured. Act III: With the release of a "Special Edition" DVD of the movie of the same name, the CD is plucked from my shelf, and the rest is history.
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Won't That Be Fine - Ginny Owens
After the Upper Room one night, one of the sound guys put this album on as the set dressings were being taken down. I was equally taken down by the R&B vibe of this jam, and asked who the artist was. There's a quiet intro during which the pianist is noodling around on some tasty chords, and Ginny responds, "I like that!" Ditto.
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Love The One You're With - Stephen Stills
There's no telling how many times this track's been spun on classic rock radio. Recently, I heard the local funk cover band The Good, The Bad And The Funky nail it during a performance. I particularly enjoy the use of the Hammond B3, which was faithfully replicated during the live jam.
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City Of Blinding Lights - U2
Wow. This band cannot be stopped. Another great album from a working-class band from Dublin. Sidestepping the otherwise obligatory inclusion of the lead single "Vertigo" (which has already received massive airplay, courtesy of Apple and their lovely little iPods), this track really stood out to me. It's anthemic, it rocks, and it's got a great bass line. The rest of the album is extraordinary as well. One of those "day of release" acquisitions.
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Kalamazoo - Ben Folds
This one almost didn't make it in. The other day, I checked out the Super D EP on the iTunes Music Store, and this was the song I previewed. Subsequently, I downloaded the rest of the disc. Ben has always managed to turn slacker sensibilities into high art, and this song is no exception. The musical textures, ideas and movements are so freaking smart. Parts of this piece take me back to my first exposure to BFF, with killer vocal harmonies....and then it breaks into this 7/8 rock jam, complete with strings (sounding a bit like the theme to "Magnum P.I."). And it's not even on an actual album! Unreal.
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7-29-04 The Day Of - David Holmes
I caught "Ocean's 12" a couple of weeks ago, and among other things, really enjoyed the soundtrack. Director Steven Soderbergh has used the music of David Holmes in his more urban, stylized pictures ("Out Of Sight", "Ocean's Eleven"), and this track comes out of the gates, blasting this repetitive horn riff, laying back on the beat, and separated by 3/4, waltz-like swells, before cutting straight back to the original riff. It was almost annoying in the theater, but after listening to it again, it just swaggers with attitude. After the horns have almost driven you crazy, the piece burns down to a smoldering groove with a dirty, filthy organ in the background, and an even dirtier guitar rocking out on top.
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Hottentot - John Scofield
This was one of two stellar jams on Scofield's collaborative work with acid jazz kings Medeski, Martin & Wood--the other being "Chank". Both are exactly the same length, but this one features a mind-blowing organ solo by John Medeski, who utilizes every trick in his wicked book, making this a solo of solos, a true splash of acid to the face.
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Lovely Day - Bill Withers
A few weeks back, I met up with Upper Room worship leader Stefan Van Voorst at the Cabooze over on Cedar-Riverside to check out local cult funk band Greazy Meal. Keyboardist Tommy Barbarella opened this tune with the phased-out Fender Rhodes, quickly flanked by the rest of the band. On this, the original by Bill Withers, the instrumentation is slightly more difficult to discern, but still fantastic. Unfortunately, he goes up to the octave on the final "lovely DAY"s, and it's a bit overpowering, given that there's so much cool stuff going on underneath. Still, a lovely tune.
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Me And Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
During my brief stint with Minneapolis' own Twin Town Soul Revue, bandleader/bassist Stu Nankin turned me on to this R&B classic. It's such a sweet groove, with a sweet voice over the top. I also like how the meter is tossed aside during the belting of "me-e-e and Mrs....Mrs. Jones".
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Have A Talk With God - Stevie Wonder
The smartest thing Motown Records did during this stage of Stevie's career was to step back and give him the creative control he demanded. The result was this record, and this track is an early taste of the brilliance poured liberally throughout the album.
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God Bless The Child - Blood, Sweat & Tears
An astounding example of a remake, David Clayton Thomas and Al Kooper turned this Billie Holiday gem into a horn-soaked piece of genius. The meter jumps all over the place, starting with a swung 6/8 feel, cutting to an even swingier jazz beat during the trumpet solo, and flattening out to four immediately thereafter. Thomas' unmistakeably gruff voice and that sweet Hammond organ make this a fine fit, no matter where it falls in the mix.
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All About Love - Earth, Wind & Fire
Maurice White spends most of this song laughing and talking. He does so over a pretty progression of piano chords. The orchestral bridge section, for some reason, sounds like it belongs in "Thunderball". Why DIDN'T Earth, Wind & Fire do a James Bond theme? Think about that.
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Licence To Kill - Glady Knight & The Pips
Oh, what a segue! Speaking of James Bond themes, this track goes back to 9th grade, when I received the 30th anniversary set of themes. At the time, "Licence To Kill" was the latest Bond flick to be released. Not a great film, but I remember programming the last four themes on this disc, and put it on repeat as I lay in bed with my new blue Lava Lamp. (The themes, by the way, were "All Time High" from "Octopussy", "A View To A Kill", "The Living Daylights" and this one.)
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The Captain Of Her Heart - Double
To my knowledge, the Living In Oblivion collection is the only place on Earth you'll find this song on CD. And what a great song. The sole hit from Double (pronounced Doo-Blay), it is bathed in distant piano and synth. Unquestionably 80s. Thanks, Mary Beth, for turning me onto this mellow classic from the decade of excess.
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The Ivy Variations - Fourplay
As far as "smooth jazz" groups go, it's difficult to fault Fourplay for much of anything. A jazz supergroup (Bob James, Larry Carlton, Harvey Mason and Nathan East), they put together a hip blend of Christmas tunes on their Snowbound album. I originally listened to it because they covered Donald Fagen's "Snowbound", but when Jon Rydquist sent it my way, this track jumped out as an example of wonderful orchestration, capturing the Christmas feel, and still retaining the virtuosity they're known for.
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Peace - Norah Jones
I saw Norah on September 11, 2004 at the Xcel Energy Center in Minneapolis....not the best venue for her, but she's getting too big to play in bars and coffee houses. During her cavernous gig, she pulled out this one from the A Very Acoustic Christmas album, and it has some heavy jazz chords. Of course, her voice sounds stellar atop this one. She's really a great piano player.
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As If I Could Reach Rainbows - David Benoit
We conclude this evening's mix with the final track on an album very near and dear to my heart--David Benoit's Urban Daydreams. A bit of history: I first heard the lead track from this disc during the summer of '96, just before heading down to St. Louis for school. After arriving in St. Louis, I tracked this disc down at Vintage Vinyl and picked it up. It's very 80's-sounding, great playing nonetheless, but it was yet another record that provided the score for that most transformative of years. Perhaps not Benoit's best-known work, but certainly my favorite.
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