Freedom to Music
Posts tagged George Harrison
Alvin Lee – I Hear You Rockin’ (1994) (@256)
05 Mar 2010
(Review from amazon)
Alvin Lee’s 1994 album was released as “1994″ in Europe and “I Hear You Rockin’” in the US. As usual it features great guitar work, catchy rhythms, strong vocals…
“Bluest Blues”, which features an incredible guitar duet with George Harrison, is certainly the standout. Both “I Don’t Give a Damn” and “Long Legs” have become staples of Lee’s live set, and his take on the Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is nothing short of extraordinary.
Line-up:
- Alvin Lee / Guitar, Vocals
with
- Steve Gould / Bass, Vocals
- Steve Grant / Keyboards, Vocals
- George Harrison / Slide Guitar
- Tim Hinkley / Piano
- Alan Young / Drums
Track List:
01. Keep On Rockin’ – 5:09
02. Long Legs – 6:16
03. I Hear You Knockin’ – 3:39
04. Ain’t Nobody’s Business – 4:11
05. The Bluest Blues – 7:27
06. Boogie All Day – 3:52
07. My Baby’s Come Back To Me – 4:58
08. Take It Easy – 6:25
09. Play It Like It Used To Be – 4:01
10. Give Me Your Love – 5:59
11. I Don’t Give A Damn – 5:49
12. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) – 9:52
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Alvin Lee – Zoom (1992) (@256)
04 Mar 2010
(Review from allmusic)
Alvin Lee’s first solo album after the Ten Years After reunion was released in 1992.
“Real Life Blues” became a hit in spots around the US. The track featured the unmistakable sound of George Harrison on slide guitar and Deep Purple keyboard player Jon Lord. This is a wiser, slower, more methodical sentiment than we once heard Lee make on “I’d Love to Change the World.”
“A Little Bit of Love” is Ten Years After meets Power Station with thunderous drums and very smooth production. Steve Gould and Deena Payne’s backing vocals chirp over Alan Young’s boom-boom drumbeat on “The Price of Love,” a bonafide dance tune that cries for the kind of production that the band Chic made famous — dance blues.
“Moving the Blues” is a fun, Delaney & Bonnie type rocker with Clarence Clemons on tenor sax. Clemons appears on four tracks, including “Use That Power,” “Jenny, Jenny” — a Little Richard meets Mitch Ryder by way of Chuck Berry fun stomper — and the funky “Wake Up Moma” which has that trademark Jon Lord keyboard filling in nicely. The instrumental “Lost in Love” is very tasteful.
Track List:
01. A Little Bit Of Love – 3:58
02. Jenny Jenny – 4:26
03. Remember Me – 4:38
04. Anything For You – 5:00
05. The Price Of This Love – 4:08
06. Real Life Blues – 4:36
07. It Don’t Come Easy – 5:07
08. Lost In Love – 4:08
09. Wake Up Moma – 3:58
10. Moving The Blues – 4:06
11. Use That Power – 4:21
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Alvin Lee – Detroit Diesel (1986) (@256)
02 Mar 2010
(Review from allmusic, amazon)
In 1986′s Detroit Diesel, Alvin Lee opens his blues jams into funky grooves.
Highlights include the title track with its nasty guitar solo, “Just Another Night” and “Ordinary Man”. George Harrison adds some great slide guitar to the heavy, slow “Talk Don’t Bother Me”.
This is no-frills rock and roll, good guitar work and Alvin Lee singing his guts out.
Line-up:
- Alvin Lee / Guitar, Vocals
with
- Joe Brown / Violin
- Vicki Brown / Vocals
- Boz Burrell / Bass
- Mickey Feat / Bass, Vocals
- Steve Gould / Guitar, Vocals
- Bryson Graham / Drums
- George Harrison / Guitar (4)
- Tim Hinkley / Keyboards
- David Hubbard / Keyboards
- Jon Lord / Keyboards
- Leo Lyons / Bass
- Alan Young / Drums
Track List:
01. Detroit Diesel – 4:38
02. Shot In The Dark – 4:04
03. Too Late To Run Foe Cover – 3:47
04. Talk Don’t Bother Me – 3:37
05. Ordinary Man – 4:00
06. Heart Of Stone – 4:05
07. She’s So Cute – 3:17
08. Back In My Arms Again – 3:48
09. Don’t Want To Fight – 4:25
10. Let’s Go – 3:24
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Alvin Lee & Mylon LeFevre – On the Road to Freedom (1973) (@256)
22 Feb 2010
(Review from amazon)
Alvin Lee known for his lightning fast licks on guitar, soulful bluesy tunes and amazing live performances throws us a curve ball with his first solo album. Much more mellow and melodic than his work with Ten Years After, but with great feeling and depth. He shares the vocalist duties with American gospel singer Mylon LeFevre and Mylon also belts out some very nice songs of his own.
Each song utilizes the various noteworthy musicians (including the entire Traffic cast), with Alvin Lee playing guitar on almost all of the tunes. It has a variety of music styles as well, with a very country tune “Funny”, to an almost gospel like tune “Lay me Back” to a very nice traditional rock and roll jam “Rockin’ Til The Sun Goes Down”. The title track is a deceptively simple prime cut with its searing guitar, solid drumming, tasteful piano, a rousing melody.
The combination of Alvin Lee’s fabulous talent and that unmistakable voice of Mylon LeFevre make an interesting album.
Line-up:
- Alvin Lee / guitar, bass, sitar, vocals
- Mylon LeFevre / 12-string guitar, bass, percussion, vocals
with
- George Harrison / guitar, slide guitar, bass, back vocals
- Ron Wood / 12-string guitar, bass, drums
- Steve Winwood / piano
- Tim Hinkley / piano, organ, background vocals
- Boz Burrell / bass, background vocals
- Bob Black / steel guitar
- Andy Stein / fiddle
- Jim Capaldi / drums
- Reebop Kwaku Baah / congas
- Mick Fleetwood / drums
- Ian Wallace / drums
- Mike Patto / percussion, back vocals
Track List:
01. On the Road to Freedom – 4:15
02. The World Is Changing (I Got a Woman Back in Georgia) – 2:47
03. So Sad (No Love of His Own) – 4:36
04. Fall Angel – 3:22
05. Funny – 2:50
06. We Will Shine – 2:39
07. Carry My Load – 3:00
08. Lay Me Back – 2:55
09. Let ‘Em Say What They Will – 2:54
10. I Can’t Take It – 2:53
11. Riffin – 3:33
12. Rockin’ Til the Sun Goes Down – 3:10
13. So Sad (No Love of His Own) (Bonus Single) – 3:00
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Traveling Wilburys – Vol.3 (1990) (@256)
16 May 2007
(Review from allmusic.com)
The Traveling Wilburys’ second album, incongruously titled Vol. 3, sounds for all the world like a dead-ringer for their debut, but the feel is considerably different. It isn’t that Roy Orbison sadly died shortly after the release of Vol. 1 (which does make a slight difference), it’s that the guys are sounding like they’re trying very, very hard to have fun — how else to explain the exhortation to dance around with underwear on your head on “Wilbury Dance”. No matter how silly the first Wilburys record got, it was frequently clever and never self-conscious — the polar opposite of its sequel, actually. Occasionally, these guys do get off a couple of good tunes — they’re seasoned professionals, after all, and they can make a throwaway like “She’s My Baby” infectious — but they don’t do it a whole lot, and the rest of the record is padded out with songs that try hard to be fun, but never are. It’s unfair to lay the blame on the absence of Orbison, since if he was around, the results would likely to have been the same. After all, it’s nearly impossible to capture lightning in a bottle once, and it’s a fool’s game to try to do it twice.
Line-up:
* Jeff Lynne – Guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals
* George Harrison – Guitars, mandolin, sitar, vocals
* Tom Petty – Guitars, keyboards, vocals
* Bob Dylan – Guitars, harmonica, vocals
Track List:
01. She’s My Baby – 3:14
02. Inside Out – 3:36
03. If You Belonged To Me – 3:13
04. Devil’s Been Busy – 3:18
05. 7 Deadly Sins – 3:18
06. Poor House – 3:17
07. Where Were You Last Night? – 3:03
08. Cool Dry Place – 3:37
09. New Blue Moon – 3:21
10. You Took My Breath Away – 3:18
11. Wilbury Twist – 2:56
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Jeff Lynne – Armchair Theatre (1990) (@256)
16 May 2007
(Review from allmusic.com)
Jeff Lynne has managed to resurrect the careers of several of his heroes (George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan), as well as more recent arrivals (Tom Petty) and somehow managed to start the supergroup for fun, under silly names trend with the Traveling Wilburys. Armchair Theatre, then, is a collection of 11 songs, including several covers, and influences run rampant, from the upbeat Beatlesque “Every Little Thing” to the closing eco/peace anthem “Save Me Now”, a touching acoustic number that reflects, of all things, Peter, Paul and Mary when they were blowin’ with Bob Dylan’s wind. Along the way, there are several cover songs, including “September Song” and “Stormy Weather”, both of which are such wonky choices and played with such delighted syrupy lounge-lizard panache that you can’t help but like them. It isn’t a great album, but it is a good, affectionate, subdued recording. It deserves to be heard because it manages to be appealing without sounding overproduced, glossy, or outlandishly mindless. It was something Lynne did because he wanted to do it, not because he wanted to sell millions of records. That makes all the difference in the world.
Line-up:
* Jeff Lynne: Guitars, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, cello, vocals
* Richard Tandy: Keyboards, organ, piano, electric guitar, vocals
* George Harrison: Guitars, vocals
* Mette Mathiesen: Drums, percussion
* Jim Horn: Saxophones
* Phil Hatton: Backing vocals
* Dave Morgan: Backing vocals
* Michael Kamen: String arrangements
Track List:
01. Every Little Thing (Lynne) – 3:41
02. Don’t Let Go (Stone) – 3:00
03. Lift Me Up (Lynne) – 3:36
04. Nobody Home (Lynne) – 3:51
05. September Song (Anderson/Weill) – 2:57
06. Now You’re Gone (Lynne) – 3:57
07. Don’t Say Goodbye (Lynne) – 3:09
08. What Would It Take (Lynne) – 2:40
09. Stormy Weather (Koehler/Arlen) – 3:42
10. Blown Away (Lynne/Petty) – 3:29
11. Save Me Now (Lynne) – 2:39
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Traveling Wilburys – Vol. 1 (1988) (@256)
15 May 2007
(Review from wikipedia, allmusic.com)
Reversing the usual process by which groups break up and give way to solo careers, the Traveling Wilburys are a group made up of solo stars. Initially an informal grouping with Roy Orbison and Tom Petty, they got together at Bob Dylan’s studio (Santa Monica, California) to record an additional track as a B-side for the single release of Harrison’s “This is Love”. The song they came up with was “Handle with Care”. However, the record company immediately realized it was too good to be released as a single “filler”.
They enjoyed working together so much that they decided to create an album together. Written by all its members, writing and recording was accomplished by this group over a ten-day period because Dylan was due to go on tour.
The Traveling Wilburys are the only supergroup that lives up to expectations because they underplay them. They never shoot for the moon on their 1988 debut, they simply lay back and have a little fun. Anyone expecting something monumental will be disappointed, yet that’s precisely what’s fun about it — Dylan, Petty, Harrison, Lynne, and Orbison are having such a good time that it’s hard not to get caught up in the spirit of things. The songs? Well, the songs are on one level a mixed bag, a blend of easy rockers, folk-tunes, and silly jokes, but even if these might sound like throwaways on “serious” albums, they sound fresh, lively, funny, even heart-rending here. Apart from the two singles, “Handle With Care” and “End of the Line,” the highlights belong to Dylan, who’s having more fun here than he’s had since The Basement Tapes (check out the Springsteen parody “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” for proof). If Lynne’s production is a little lush and lavish for these roots rockers, it’s nevertheless warm, welcoming, and appropriate, helping make Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 a unique record, different than anything in any of the members’ own catalogs.
Line-up:
* Jeff Lynne – keyboards, guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals
* George Harrison – guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals
* Tom Petty – bass,acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
* Roy Orbison – acoustic guitar, lead vocals, backing vocals
* Bob Dylan – acoustic guitar, harmonica, lead vocals, backing vocals
Track List:
01. Handle with Care – 3:20
02. Dirty World – 3:30
03. Rattled – 3:00
04. Last Night – 3:48
05. Not Alone Any More – 3:24
06. Congratulations – 3:30
07. Heading for Light – 3:37
08. Margarita – 3:15
09. Tweeter and the Monkey Man – 5:30
10. End of the Line – 3:30
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Electric Light Orchestra – Zoom (2001) (@256)
14 May 2007
(Review from amazon.co.uk, rollingstone.com)
Although Zoom marks ELO’s first proper album for 15 years, it’d be unjust to accuse Jeff Lynne of resting on his laurels. After all, the ELO main man has been busier than most in that time, becoming a much sought-after producer for the likes of Tom Petty (Full Moon Fever and Into The Great Wide Open), George Harrison (Cloud Nine), Paul McCartney (Flaming Pie) and the Beatles themselves (he produced the reunion single “Free As A Bird” from their first Anthology).
On Zoom, Lynne again demonstrates his unique knack for combining simple tunes and lyrics with grandiose, symphonic music, a formula that made ELO one of the biggest bands of the 1970s. Zoom lacks the thematic coherence that marked some of the band’s best work (notably Out of the Blue, A New World Record, Eldorado and Time) and few of Zoom’s songs feature the grand orchestrations that defined the group. Instead, Lynne showcases his strengths as a composer of pop songs. On Zoom, his songs are a bit more introspective and personal, as well as slightly scaled down–the namesake “Orchestra” has become more of a string quartet. But with songs like the Beatles-esque “Ordinary Dream”, the rocking “Easy Money” (with Ringo Starr on drums), the mellow “A Long Time Gone” (with George Harrison on slide guitar) and first single “Alright”, it’s a change that works.
Aside from keyboardist Richard Tandy, who appears on only one cut, Lynne’s the sole ELOer here.
Line-up:
* Jeff Lynne / bass, cello, vocals, string Arrangements, producer, vocals, piano (electric), keyboards, guitar (rhythm), drums, guitar, piano
* Richard Tandy / piano (electric)
* Kris Wilkinson / string arrangements
* Suzie Katayama / cello
* Marc Mann / conductor, string arrangements, digital editing, guitar (rhythm)
* Rosie Vela / vocals (background), dance (tap), string arrangements
* Reverend Dave Boruff / saxophone
* Roger Lebow / cello
* George Harrison / slide guitar
* Ringo Starr / drums
Track List:
01. Alright (3:13)
02. Moment in Paradise (3:36)
03. State of Mind (3:04)
04. Just for Love (3:40)
05. Stranger on a Quiet Street (3:41)
06. In My Own Time (3:03)
07. Easy Money (2:51)
08. It Really Doesn’t Matter (3:20)
09. Ordinary Dream (3:23)
10. Long Time Gone (3:15)
11. Melting in the Sun (3:10)
12. All She Wanted (3:14)
13. Lonesome Lullaby (4:02)
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