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Reunion - David Benoit & Russ Freeman
After arriving at Webster in August 1996, I had just stumbled onto the Rippingtons, which changed the face of music for me yet again. Since Webster was within walking distance of a Streetside Records store, I continued my search for Russ Freeman's genius there. I hadn't heard any David Benoit, but I knew of him, and this collaboration seemed like a sure thing. It's so crystal-clear, the performances are fabulous, and the arranging totally set the mood for what would be an incredible year. It pleases me to open this mix with this warm, triumphant track.
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A Kind Of Magic - Queen
After Queen night on last season's "American Idol", I revisited the Classic Queen album, which kicks off with this tune. It's a cool, synthy, laid back song, and Freddie Mercury's voice...man. Dude could sing.
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She Wants To Move - N.E.R.D.
My first exposure to N.E.R.D. came during a rehearsal, when Justin Sharbono pulled up a live Sessions@AOL video, featuring guitarist Brent Paschke in the background. A fun, unique style of production, with Pharrell right up front. As Justin would say, it's a hot track.
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Jenny Won't Play Fair - Semantics
After hearing Owsley in concert and picking up both of his albums, I looked for whatever else out there might contain his brilliance. Shortly after the concert, I heard that he had been in a band called the Semantics, which featured Ben Folds on drums. However, there wasn't much to be found about them, except that they had one CD out, which was only available in Japan. After making the trip across the Pacific, the CD arrived in my hands, at which point I discovered that Ben Folds wasn't actually on it....but this song would make you think he was.
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Let's Hear It For The Boy - Deniece Williams
Unlike most folks, I do not think of "Footloose" when I hear this song. I think of "Big Trouble In Little China". Why? I first taped "BTILC" off Fox 29 in the summer of 1989 (aka The Summer Of Summers), and saw a commercial for "Dirty Dancing Live In Concert" (I know I'm moving tangentially--stick with me). The production style in that commercial was burned into my memory, so whenever I hear an 80's movie song, it generally takes me back to that point in time. Make sense? If not, email me and I'll elaborate in greater detail.
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Too Good To Be True - Spiraling
This is a great tortured love song, complimented by fabulous keyboard sensibilities and a perfect vibes part. I hope these guys come out with some new material soon.
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Step Into My Office, Baby - Belle & Sebastian
My first exposure to Belle & Sebastian. I picked it up as a free selection from BMG. This song is so packed with innuendo ("I took down all she read/I even took down the little red dress"), it's funny. The musical version of the "casting couch".
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Someday, Sarah - Dave Barnes
Dave Feil fired up some Barnes over the Upper Room's loudspeaker system after a service one night, and after my ears cooled, I walked up to the soundboard where he was, and asked the familiar question: "Who is this?" The track was full of Rhodes and cool changes, and had an 80's sound to it, mixed with a bit of Pizzicato Five. This girl Sarah must be quite a gal.
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The Zodiac - David Lindup
This cut, from the "Full Monty" soundtrack, has this badass, big band from the 70's attitude. It feels like it should be the theme song to "ABC's Wide World Of Sports" or something.
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Wild - Seal
I reluctantly admit that, after purchasing Seal's incredible debut album, it actually took me several years to listen to it. I loved his follow-up (with "Kiss From A Rose"), and was so happy with that album that I guess I didn't want anything to spoil that experience. However, after listening past tracks like "Crazy", I discovered a treasure chest of amazing production, and this one, near the end, has something just a bit more than your typical R&B track. There are these keyboard synth flourishes, composed of thick, upper-extension chords. It took someone with a musically schooled mind to cook this up.
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Osaka Cool - Larry Carlton
During my sophomore year at Webster, I began watching over Steve Schenkel's precocious daughter Claire at their house while he was playing gigs. As one of Webster's most established jazz professors, walking into his basement was like opening a vault filled with all sorts of musical treasures. His CD collection was unparalleled. This disc appeared to be a recent acquisition of his, and the cover, with the guitar pick skipping across the water, had the essence of everything smooth jazz--and everything I was trying to absorb. Firing up this disc made me realize how much smarter Steve was than me, and it kinda felt good...like knowing you're about to get schooled by a master.
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Inside And Out - Feist
I was laying in bed the day after Christmas 2005, listening to Feist's Let It Die album for the first time. When it arrived at track 9, I raised my fist in the air in exultation, and shouted "huzzah!", for 'twas such a glorious moment. The production is so simple and punchy, with little ticks and clicks that stimulate the aural senses. What a fine cover of a Bee Gees classic.
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Keep That Same Ol' Feelin' - Jeff Lorber
I'm so glad I was with Scott Jones that fateful day when we acquired a Korg Karma at MacMurray Music in St. Louis, for he had also just picked up the new (at the time) Lorber disc. I wasn't long to follow suit, and this track has that smooth groove to it, and the changes are wonderful. I wish my Nord Electro had this kind of liquid Rhodes sound.
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Breathe Deep - Caitlyn Smith
I played with Caitlyn at her penultimate performance during the '06 band competitions at Minneapolis' Christian hotspot, Club 3 Degrees. (She would later take first place, ushered across the victory line by fellow keyster Steve Haines.) Since her latest work had not been recorded yet, we performed songs primarily from her "Breathe" album, which includes this great, high-energy track. Her young voice sounds right at home over the heavy production.
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Lost Without You Near Me - The Violet Burning
My friend Erik turned me on the Violet Burning, whose emo tendencies resembled some of the more sweeping cuts of U2's catalog. Great sound, great production.
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Run To You - Bryan Adams
During my sophomore year at Webster, I was blessed with means of transportation, and would frequently visit three "outposts", destinations to drive to and return, usually while listening to a tape of my latest work. These outposts were the Schnucks at Ladue Rd and 170, the Borders at Lindbergh and Watson, and Vintage Vinyl in the UCity Loop. It was during a drive to Vintage Vinyl that I heard the unmistakeable voice of Bryan Adams on a St. Louis rock station, and diverted into the record store. They had a used copy for $7.99, but for some reason, I didn't buy it. Perhaps it would have spoiled the serenity of the drive.
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True Companion - Steely Dan
This is the greatest, thickest Steely Dan track never released on an official album. In 2000, I compiled a handful of tracks from various bootlegs, unreleased sources, and Napster (thereby creating a very, very illegal document) containing some of the "remaining" work of Steely Dan, and this track kicked off the whole thing. It sounds like Gaucho-area material, and I'm pretty sure it's Larry Carlton on the guitar solo. But the arrangement is so stacked and well-executed...broad as the universe. What's really cool is that the lyrics don't enter until the last minute of the 5-minute song. They're so few in number, actually, that I'll reprint them here. Can I do that legally? Well, I'm already headed down that road:
Crewmen of the True Companion
I can see you're tired of action
In this everlasting twilight
Home is just a sad abstraction
Just beyond the troubled skyways
Young men dream of fire and starshine
I've been dreaming of my own green world
Far across the reach of space time
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Tell Me A Bedtime Story - Henry Johnson
I first discovered Henry Johnson just hours before my family hopped on a flight to Germany, and his guitar jazz more or less got me through the trip. This track, from the newly-downloaded New Beginnings album, is a wonderfully performed and arranged song, with interesting chord changes and vintage key brass parts. It's a great example of middle-school (not junior high, mind'ya...somewhere between old and new) smooth jazz--not super-synthy, but also in possession of musical depth and breadth, unlike most of today's smooth jazz. Henry does it right.
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Tomorrow's Child - Spaceship Earth at EPCOT Center
When I was ten years old, my family took our first trip to DisneyWorld, and it totally blew my mind. For a kid who was running around with a sci-fi high and a semi-controlled addiction to video games, seeing all these futuristic scenarios realized, through someone else's mind, and presented in such a euphoric theater took everything to a new high. And, like Wayne Shorter, since my original love of music began with soundtracks, the song playing behind the flagship of EPCOT Center, Spaceship Earth, had this majestic, galactic-opera quality to it. Though it's only around three minutes long, its scope is so epic that it feels light-years longer, ending this mix by cruising off to another galaxy.
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