With the release of "Momentum," Neal Morse seemed to find the right mix of progressive music and his spiritual message-mainstream enough for rock fans without selling his ministry short. "You've got some new momentum, you better keep on going" is the tag line of the title track, and with this album and its follow-up (The Grand Experiment), Morse created a pair of releases that deserve to be heard. If you are looking for the deluxe edition with the DVD, I have a copy for sale on eBay HERE
Late-blooming soul singer Charles Bradley died Saturday in
Brooklyn. He was 68.
Bradley was diagnosed with stomach cancer, which spread to
his liver, according to NPR.
Bradley released his debut album "No Time For
Dreaming" at 62, with the 1960s soul revival label, Daptone Records.
"Charles was truly grateful for all the love he's
received from his fans and we hope his message of love is remembered and
carried on," a statement from the record label read.
Bradley performed between odd jobs throughout most of his
life.
He moved back to New York’s
Brooklyn borough in his 40s and was singing as a James Brown impersonator known
as Black Velvet when he was discovered by the record label.
"It took 62 years for somebody to find me,"
Bradley told NPR when his first album was released. "But I thank God. Some
people never get found."
So why buy The Mighty when you can use your phone, you ask?
Maybe you don't want to carry your phone around for every
activity, like if you want to jog or ski or hike or bicycle. Phones now cost
upwards of $500, are heavy and easily broken.
The Mighty is tiny and water resistant, and the next
iteration will be waterproof.
The Mighty is roughly the same size, shape, weight and price as
an iPod shuffle.
The Mighty lets you store your Spotify music off-line so you can
listen even when there is no cell or wi-fi signal, and from what I have read, set-up
is seamless.
You download the app, go through the prompts, and The Mighty works,
right out of the box.
You go through the prompts, and then you can synch
playlists. You can't shuffle the songs in those playlists, not yet, but you
push a button and a voice comes on to tell you you've switched to the next
playlist, its name is spoken.
The rest is intuitive. Forward and backward buttons, up and
down volume buttons, and a pause/play button at the center.
You can use Bluetooth or wired headphones, and you charge
the unit through the headphone jack with a USB cord.
For a first generation product, The Mighty sounds pretty impressive.
To be sure, there have been a few minor glitches.
You cannot shuffle quite yet, although it's coming, as is voice control, in version 2.
Spotify saw the future of how people would consume music.
Mighty saw the future of how people would take Spotify on the go.
And I sit looking at a room full of CD’s and wonder how this
all happened so fast!
Back in the day there were rumours that Warren Zevon was
working on a concerto for strings, and snippets from it appeared on his third
Elektra/Asylum album, "Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School."
First gaining success as a songwriter with superstars like
Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon struck gold, or rather platinum
with Excitable Boy. This was his follow-up, and it gave him a space on the
charts again thanks to his remake of The Yardbirds hit "A Certain
Girl."
For me, the string interludes do not add to my enjoyment of
the album, but there are some killer songs here, including a rewrite (co-write)
of a tune Springsteen started but never recorded, "Jeannie Needs a Shooter."
I have always wondered what Springsteen's version of this song would've sounded
like.
It amazes me that this record is out of print, as it is an
essential part of the soundtrack of my life.
While his first record, while not
as commercially successful, is certainly his high water mark, I thought this
effort was every bit as good as the second.
