What song are you listening to right now? (Page 360 of 392)

Quinn Sullivan - Wide Awake (2021)

Technically, this is Quinn’s 4th album, even though he’s still only 21, coming after a 3 year gap since 2018’s Midnight Highway; I’m guessing from the subject matter, the gap was Quinn’s college years..

I remember, despite the tasty playing, I was harsh on Midnight Highway as tome it felt that Quinn was more a “guest” on his own album: misgivings that were hard to shake. Truth be told, I pre-ordered this more because it’s been a slow year so far, rather than any curiosity that history is repeating itself. Well, I’m happy to report that those particular misgivings have been swept aside, Quinn has found a more suitable foil with Oliver Leiber producing and co-writing. The album, and songs have a more commercially melodic feel, than raw Blues, reminiscent of John Mayer, with large measures of Soul, like Jonny Lang and a funky nod toward Prince; which let’s face it isn’t a bad mix. However, some may feel let down that Quinn has toned down the guitar throttling that he is capable of, though the structure of the songs allow plenty of leeway in a live setting.

Not an album then to singe you ear hairs, but one of those you’ll keep coming back to for it’s freshness. maybe it does fly short of being up there in the major league with Mayer, Lang, Bonamassa et al, but it’s a strong showing in the AAA league.

The Coral - Coral Island (2021)

Album #10 for The Coral, and perhaps their most ambitious to date, fo it is *gasp* a double as well as a **concept** album. Okay, pushing it calling it a double; it’s availabe as 2 discs, each just either side of 30 mins, so technically it would fit on a single disc, but that would downplay the duality of the subject.

And what of the subject, this concept? Well, despite the title, the band aren’t jumping [belatedly] on the “green” issues, the “Coral Island” of the title is a metaphor of the seaside resort, be it Blackpool Rhyl, Margate or Whitley Bay; [or works just as well on US tri-County shows etc] looking back through the rose-tinted endorphine, hormone and rock’n'roll blinkers of yesterday, marking only the changes and not the tawdriness of it all. The first part of the album brims with hope and joy. Single Lover Undiscovered sets the tone wonderfully. A new day, fresh opportunities. It skips and slides along with grace, head high. Mist On The River takes the band back to the best of their sound. Mid-side highlight, Vacancy, feels timeless, again a Wurlitzer winding beneath the woozy melody brings the memories of dancehalls at the end of piers, bustling and teeming with giddy joy. It’s a sensation that continues on the wonderful My Best Friend. The side’s closing song, Autumn Has Come, feeds perfectly into the changing of mood. The rides are winding down, cold waves lap the shoreline, “golden days are gone.” The melody begins to haunt, a precursor to the second half of the album, with a perfect line that comes to all our minds each year as we reminisce on the end of another summer, thinking back to the days of our youth when they seemed endless. That’s the thrust of disc 1.

What ties the songs together so well are the spoken-word interludes, recorded by the James Skellys’ grandfather and filtered through an echo effect to give it an air of mystery. Skelly Sr closes the side with End Of The Pier, a send-off to the penny arcades and promenades before he again opens the second set with The Ghost Of Coral Island. The remnants of the summer lay scattered on the floor as the band begin to look back through the cracks of the tarpaulin that covers their carousel.

Disc 2 exposes, in sharp relief, an almost “gothic” side, of what the funfair is, when the smell of the candy-floss has faded and all that’s left is the acrid deisel fumes and stale hormones. At the end of the day, at the close of the season, what happens to those who’ve entertained and thrilled? Golden Age feels like both and welcome and goodbye to the crowds. They have one last roll of the die, one last penny for the slots. From there, things start to take a spookier turn with Faceless Angel, an almost eerie take on Johnny Remember Me as the desolation of winter falls on the once-bustling town. “Faceless Angels. Where do they go?” The interludes begin to bring in the characters of the fairground, lost and without purpose, a carnival of souls. Through the yearning Strange Illusions, we see ships leaving, but the side is not all dark. There’s a merriness in the memories, looking back and creating a warmth within, and it comes through on the Beatles-esque Summertime over a simple and catchy melody. It’s there that The Coral have a true gift, one that they have displayed throughout their career. A touch of light that sparks in the dark. Standout track on the second disc, Old Photographs, is an evocative and stripped-down acoustic piece that brings the sense of recollection, a hue of sentimentality at the stories they tell. By the time they reach the final song, Calico Girl, the band have all but disappeared altogether and we are left with James Skelly in the guise of a busker, still standing, alone, waiting for the tourists to return. The piano joins mid-song to add a dose of hope that the days of glory will return, pulling them from the purgatory of winter back to the heavenly summer days.

The two discs are certainly Spring & Autumn in their respective feel, but the whole together; this has got to be one of the best albums of the year, from any genre. Really, check it out.

this was just uploaded couple of hours ago, many have probably already seen it but for those like me who had not then here you go. I'm trying to figure out who that is on the 335 or Epiphone look alike. Jimmy Hall is superb on the harp, you may remember him from Wet Willie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDqApU2rLDc

some boring instrumental https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nby59SRBy44

   play this melody and note who stops

I just subscribed last week, he has some really good lists and plays fairly decent guitar, very entertaining

John Mayer - Shouldn't Matter but It Does  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tX6nQtujQU

This is pretty good from BFG, with Kenny Greenburg on the 335, and Orianthi on the gold PRS whatever

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqUDWAt0XSE

Rick introduced me to Oscar Peterson today, thought you might like to see it if you haven't already

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj93v9j2A4A