Another Rainy Day - 3/28/05

Okay, so Monday was a rainy day and as most people who know me know (they might not realize they know but they do) on rainy days I'm often inclined to play a mixture of soul and R&B. I'm not sure why rain makes me want to do this but it does and who am I to fight that inclination?

It had been so long since I'd done one of these shows that I didn't dig too deeply into the albums and pretty much stuck with the hits. I played mostly older stuff but some new stuff and a couple I hadn't listened to yet (Marvin Gaye's live version of What's Going On was new to me).

I know I should make a little effort to explain a few of these choices but I think they speak for themselves really. Oh...okay, but just a few...

There is no one more funky than Prince and therefor there is no funkier way to start the show.

Al Green has a new album out and I hear it's a little less great than last year's but still a little less great for Al Green is still one of the best things out there.

I know it's not very cool to dig Christina Aguilera for her talent but that girl can sing. And this is a sweet little song.

I'm still raving about this Ricky Fante disc. If you like old soul, this disc is practically can't miss. His voice is like something from another era.

I was first introduced to the song Johnny Too Bad by Mary when she brought UB40's Labour of Love to camp one summer. That album has been a staple in my record/tape/cd collection ever since. This is the original from The Harder They Come soundtrack.

I once dated a girl whose last name was Jones. And then she got married. I never dated her while she was married and even so her last name wasn't Jones at that point either. She was a sweet girl though. Now she's a mother of two and lives in Baltimore and is happily married - again.

Midnight Train to Georgia is one of those perfect songs. It goes on just long enough. It is as sweet and bittersweet as it should be to tell its story. And Gladys Knight's pipes give it just the right amount of emotion.

This Tracy Chapman song is not the "hit" from the album (that would be "Fast Car") but frankly there's not a song on this album that falls short.

I still think Res's They-Say Vision should have been a much bigger hit. But then again, I think Angie Stone should be a household name. There was a little article-let in EWeekly a couple weeks ago about why people like Angie Stone don't get the recognition they deserve. The writer boiled it down to hooks over talent. Makes sense but still it sucks.

I bought a bunch of these Motown collection cds once and they really are great early year showcases. The Four Tops, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Jr. Walker and The All-Stars, The Jackson 5 and a few others. Motown was the best era in music. So many truly wonderful songs all came out of a simpler time.

I was intrigued by this Nina Simone that Bridget Fonda's character kept talking about in Point of No Return (a movie I don't particularly like but can't seem to not watch every once in a while) so I checked her stuff out one day. Blown away is the only way to describe what I felt. I listened to the disc like four times in a row. Nina's Choice. I've now expanded my Nina knowledge and as anyone who knows her music will tell you, it's haunting and beautiful and strong and sweet. It's everything everyone always said music could and should be.

Okay, that's it...more next week...now look at the list.


CD1
Prince & The New Power Generation - Eye Wanna Melt With U
Wilson Pickett - Land of 1,000 Dances
Al Green - Here I Am (Come And Take Me)
Curtis Mayfield - Freddie's Dead
(this one skipped near the end so I had to cut it short)
Christina Aguilera - Lovin' Me 4 Me
Whitney Houston - Exhale (Shoop Shoop) (Waiting To Exhale soundtrack)
Millie Jackson - Lovin' Your Good Thing Away
Kelly Clarkson - Since You've Been Gone
Ricky Fante - I Let You Go
The Spinners - I'll Be Around
Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes - If You Don't Know Me By Now
The Slickers - Johnny Too Bad (The Harder They Come soundtrack)
Bill Withers - Kissing My Love
The Dramatics - Me & Mrs. Jones

CD2
Richie Havens - What About Me
The Grass Roots - Midnight Confessions (Jackie Brown soundtrack)
Gladys Knight & The Pips - Midnight Train To Georgia
Tracy Chapman - Baby Can I Hold You
Angie Stone - No More Rain (In This Cloud)
Res - They-Say Vision
Sade - No Ordinary Love (live from Lovers Live)
Rufus & Chaka Khan - Sweet Thing (live from R&B LIVE! Essentials)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - I Second That Emotion
The Four Tops - Reach Out, I'll Be There
The Temptations - Too Busy Thinking About My Baby
Diana Ross - Love Hangover (extended longplay club version)
Nina Simone - Do What You Gotta Do
*Talk*
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (live from What's Going On - Deluxe Edition: Disc 2 - Live at the Kennedy Center - May 1, 1972)