The 'What Song Are You Listening To Now' Thread

Fulham Broadway · March 15, 2023

Fulham Broadway · March 15, 2023

Fulham Broadway · March 15, 2023

Vesper · March 17, 2023

Extreme - Rise (2023)

That Nuno Bettencourt solo!

Fulham Broadway · March 17, 2023

Fucken' tune.

Where is Union Jack ??

Vesper · March 17, 2023

The Nuno Bettencourt Solo Everyone is Talking About

Fulham Broadway · May 3, 2023

This goes well with dark rum and coke and Hindu Kush in the sunshine in these dark and troubled times...

Vesper · May 5, 2023

Beastie Boys – Hello Nasty - 1998 (Deluxe 2009 Version) [Remastered] Full Album

Label:   Capitol Records – 509996 94239 18, Grand Royal – 509996 94239 18
Format:   2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, 180 gram
Country:   Europe
Released:   2009
Genre:   Hip Hop, Funk / Soul
Style:   Instrumental, Funk

Edited May 5, 2023 by Vesper

Vesper · May 9, 2023

Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long [Full Album - 2007] 2008 UK Deluxe Edition

Label:   A&M Octone Records – 0602517767669
Format:   CD, Album, Deluxe Edition
Country:   UK
Released:   2008
Genre:   Rock, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style:   Funk, Minneapolis Sound

Maroon 5's 2002 debut album, Songs About Jane, was the kind of hit that doesn't happen often in the new millennium -- a genuine word-of-mouth hit whose popularity grew steadily after its release, largely due to the sweet, sunny hit "This Love," a song sly and catchy enough to stay on the adult pop charts for years without wearing out its welcome. It also was catchy enough to engender years of goodwill. Five years of goodwill, in fact, as the band toured heavily while slowly tinkering away on their second album, finally delivering It Won't Be Soon Before Long (its title perhaps a pun on the gap between records, perhaps not) half a decade after Songs About Jane. If that delay sounds like a symptom of sophomore jitters, that's not exactly true, since during that long stretch between albums Maroon 5 worked Songs About Jane and, in a sense, that album wasn't strictly their first album, either. Maroon 5 evolved out of Kara's Flowers, a post-grunge pop band whose 1997 debut never took off, not even when their debut was reissued in the wake of Maroon's success, but it did provide the group with the foundation for their success; it's where they paid their dues and learned how to be a pop band. Traces of Kara's Flowers could be heard in Maroon's rockier moments on their debut, but under their new name, the group began to develop an infatuation with blue-eyed soul-pop, which they wisely develop on It Won't Be Soon Before Long. More than develop, they modernize it, borrowing elements of Justin Timberlake's stylized synthesized soul, but Adam Levine is wise enough to know that he's no young colt, like JT. He knows that he's a pop guy, somewhat in the tradition of Hall & Oates, but he isn't trying to be retro, he's trying to fill that void, making records that are melodic, stylish, and soulful, which It Won't Be Soon Before Long certainly is.

In every respect, It Won't Be Soon is a bigger album than its predecessor: hooks pile up one after another, there's not an ounce of fat on the songs, the production is so immaculate that it glistens. If there were lingering elements of Maroon 5's alt-rock past on Songs About Jane -- primarily in its lazy, hazy vibe -- they're gone now, replaced by the sleek, assured sound of a band that's eager to embrace its status as the big American mainstream pop band of the decade. But Maroon 5 isn't desperately grasping at the brass ring, they're playing it smart, building upon the core strengths of their debut and crafting a record that's designed to appeal to many different listeners, from teens crushing on Nelly Furtado's R&B makeover to adults looking for something smooth and melodic. It Won't Be Soon Before Long appeals to both audiences with an ease that seems effortless, but like any modern blockbuster, this album was shepherded by several different teams of producers, all brought in to emphasize a different personality within the group. The bulk of the record was cut with Spike Stent and Mike Elizondo -- Stent worked with U2, Oasis, Björk, and Gwen Stefani, while Elizondo had produced Fiona Apple and Pink -- but Queens of the Stone Age producer Eric Valentine was brought in for a couple of cuts, as was Mark Endert, who mixed "This Love." There may have been three different sets of producers, but the album is streamlined and seamless, never seeming calculated even if it was clearly made with an eye on mass appeal, and there are two reasons for that. First, Maroon 5 has gelled as a band, developing a clean, crisp attack that may bear traces of its influences -- there are knowing references to Prince, the Police, even OutKast sprinkled throughout (the keyboard on "Little of Your Time" is a direct nod to "Hey Ya") -- but it's a sound that's instantly identifiable as the band's own signature. Nowhere is that more evident than in how they can give soulful grooves like "If I Never See Your Face Again" a rock edge -- or how they can suddenly explode into shards of noise as they do on the coda of "Kiwi" -- or how when the electronic instruments dominate the production, the music still breathes like the work of an actual band, not like something that was constructed on a computer. But like with any good blue-eyed soul, the reason that this album works is the songs themselves. Even the flashiest production-driven tracks here -- the opening one-two punch of "If I Never See Your Face Again" and "Makes Me Wonder" -- aren't about feel; they're about the songs, which are uniformly tight and tuneful, sounding better with repeated plays, the way any radio-oriented pop should. If some of the ballads aren't as distinguished as the livelier tracks, they nevertheless are as sharply crafted as the rest, and the end result is that It Won't Be Soon Before Long is that rare self-stylized blockbuster album that sounds as big and satisfying as was intended.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Vesper

milka · May 13, 2023

Vesper · May 17, 2023

Duran Duran - Girls On Film (Salt Tank Extended Mix - EMI 1998) 🧂⚗️

Label: EMI – 12GOF 2
Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Promo
Country: UK
Released: 1998
Genre: Electronic
Style: Progressive House, House

Vesper · May 18, 2023

The Chemical Brothers - Chemical Remix 💊🧪🩹🧬 (mixing done by Elektro Dark)

00:00:00 Tomorrow Never Knows (Junior Parker's version)
00:04:24 Believe
00:08:16 Out of Control
00:11:33 All Rights Reserved
00:14:57 Hey Boy Hey Girl
00:20:22 No Reason
00:25:36 The Darkness That You Fear
00:29:37 Star Guitar
00:35:10 Let Forever Be / Setting Sun
00:41:14 Saturate
00:44:49 Go / Chemical Beats
00:49:09 Chemical Beats
00:54:11 Galaxy Bounce / In Dust We Trust
00:59:07 Come With Us
01:02:45 Music: Response
01:06:12 Galvanize
01:10:03 Song to the Siren / C-h-e-m-i-c-a-l / Leave Home
01:11:36 Block Rockin' Beats
01:14:23 MAH
01:19:48 Eve of Destruction
01:24:52 Bango
01:28:33 No Geography
01:31:10 Escape Velocity
01:36:17 Got to Keep On
01:39:21 Wide Open
01:41:03 Swoon
01:43:57 Got Glint? / Do it Again / Don't Think
01:49:22 The Private Psychedelic Reel

Vesper · June 20, 2023

U2 - I Will Follow

Label: Island Records – WIP 6656
Format: Vinyl, 7", Single, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: Oct 1980
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock

Edited June 20, 2023 by Vesper

Vesper · July 9, 2023

Arnold Schönberg - Verklärte Nacht op. 4 | WDR Klassik

Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899. Composed in just three weeks, it is considered his earliest important work. It was inspired by Richard Dehmel's poem of the same name, combined with the influence of Schoenberg's strong feelings upon meeting the sister of his teacher, Alexander von Zemlinsky (1877–1923), whom he married in 1901. The movement can be divided into five distinct sections which refer to the five stanzas of Dehmel's poem; however, there are no unified criteria regarding movement separation.

Vesper · July 10, 2023

UK Lovers rock Mixtape 80's. Lovers rock mix. PT 1

Vesper · July 10, 2023

Hans Zimmer - Solomun - Boris Brejcha - Rufus Du Sol - Other Artists - 🖤 MORPHINE Selection 🖤

Vesper · July 11, 2023

Jackie Opel - I Am What I Am / Jackie Mittoo & The Skatalites - Devil's Bug - Rio Records - 1967

Label: Rio (2) – R 117
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: 1967
Genre: Reggae
Style: Ska

A couple of absolute scorchers from Studio One Studios, both sides of the record hitting the ska sweet spot.

The text below courtesy of Greg Burgess.

Jackie Opel was born Dalton Sinclair Bishop sometime in 1938. He was in fact a Bajan by birth from the unkempt Martinsdale area of Bridgetown, Barbados. He came from a large family and money was short.

Jackie Opel was musical from an early age. He would earn pennies from his singing by swimming out to the liners that docked in Bridgetown Harbour and performing to the passengers.

It was the major hotels where Jackie Opel learnt to perform on stage and where the visiting Byron Lee, the band master of the Dragonaires spotted him. Lee realised that Opel’s six octave voice was a rare gift and he had plans for Jackie to front the Dragonaires.

Around 1960, Jackie left his home island with Byron Lee and The Dragonaires for Jamaica.

The union quickly dissolved and there appears to be no records to suggest they made it together to a recording studio. Jackie had other designs in Jamaica, and would be at the forefront of the changes.

As independence in 1962 approached Jamaican music remained the province of R&B and other forms of American music but a musical revolution was nigh in the form of ska, a style of music that quickly gained pre-eminence among Jamaican youth.

The multi-talented Jackie Opel was more than ready to take advantage of the changes.

Jackie Opel is now chiefly remembered for the early recordings he made with the Skatalites, an acoustic band of trained musicians Jackie Opel travelled with the Skatellites as one of their lead singers, playing the bass on the occasions when the regular bass player Lloyd Brevett was missing.

The Skatalites trumpet player ‘Dizzy’ Johnny Moore called Jackie Opel ‘a genius, the best lead singer the Skatalites ever had’. The standard of the Skatalites records is exceptionally high. Jackie Opel and another member the late saxophonist Roland Alphonso were responsible for many of the arrangements.

He recorded for Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd's Studio One label. He also recorded for another seminal label Top Deck owned by the late Justin Yap.

Opel’s style during this period remained heavily influenced by R&B/Soul and songs such as 'Cry Me A River’, 'Eternal Love’, the epic 'Wipe These Tears', the intense 'One More Chance' and 'Shelter The Storm’ are about as deep as soul can get.

The ska scorchers ‘I Am What I Am’ and ‘King Liges’ were recorded at this time and Opel became one of the hottest singers of the day. He was paired with Alton’s sister Hortense Ellis for the Crescent City sounding ‘Stand by Me’ and with Doreen Schaffer for ‘The Vow’. He appears as backing support for Larry Marshall’s successful cover of Paul Martin’s ‘Snake in The Grass’.

Opel’s influence during these years was huge with many covering his songs including his protégées The Deacons and the embryonic Wailers who were hanging out with Opel at this time. The sexually charged ‘Mill Man’ from 1964 is one of Opel’s finest vocal performances and features Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer on backing vocals with a sublime musical arrangement featuring the Skatalites.

Jackie, now a huge star in Jamaica, left Kingston for Trinidad and eventually home to Barbados.

Opel continued to work and record in the West Indies for the next three years. On March 8th 1970 Jackie Opel, was killed in a car accident in Bridgetown. He was thirty-two.

Jackie Mittoo & The Skatalites are actually the Soul Brothers, the text below courtesy of Soul Jazz Records.

In August 1965, barely a week after the demise of the original Skatalites, The Soul Brothers, featuring ex-Skatalites members Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, Johnny Moore and Lloyd Brevitt were up and running as the new house band at Studio One. Other members in this group included Wallin Cameron (guitar) and Bunny Williams (drums).

This release could just as easily have been called Rolando Alphonso and The Soul Brothers or just The Soul Brothers as the group were essentially a collective, releasing material under their own name or under a nominal leader, usually Jackie Mittoo or Rolando Alphonso.

The group line-up changed over time with Bobby Ellis (trumpet), Bryan Atkinson (bass), Dennis Campbell (Sax), Harry Haughton (guitarist) and Joe Isaacs (drummer) replacing various members alongside the ever-present Jackie Mittoo.

The Soul Brothers mix of musical styles is described as Ska, Jump-Up and Soul sounds.

The main difference between the sound of The Skatalites and The Soul Brothers is the arrival of electric instrumentation such as Jackie¹s organ as well as electric guitar on some tracks.

In 1967 Clement Dodd decided to take a group of musicians to England. Alongside the singers Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe, he asked Roland Alphonso, Jackie Mittoo, Johnny Moore, Lloyd Brevett, Bunny Williams and Errol Walters.

This group would be named The Soul Vendors and signaled the end of the short-lived Soul Brothers.

Vesper · July 15, 2023

PAUL WELLER - Wild Wood - Full Album (1993)

Label:   GO! Discs – 828 435 1
Format:   Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:   Europe
Released:   6 Sept 1993
Genre:   Rock, Funk / Soul
Style:   Indie Rock, Mod, Alternative Rock, Folk Rock, Rhythm & Blues