Various Artists [The Best Of All Woman]
These compilation albums are really useful, collecting together many tracks i otherwise wouldn't really bother with, it's a good concept, and there seems to somewhat of a theme, or rather a nice bringing together of like minded songs, no track seems awkward or out of place, and even though there are lots of famous tracks, there are also tracks that aren't exactly popular, it's a great double disc which veers from my usual, a nice bit of escapism if you like, i played this over the park, sitting on a bench and watching the world go by, also i played these discs early last year [22nd January 2011].
Well this compilation came out in 1995, the front cover of course has a picture of a woman on it, a sepia toned black & white shot, i guess a poolside shot considering the wet hair, a nice pose with elbows on knees [well almost], the background is very much washed out, concentrating on the arms and face, the lettering is great, and i just love that pink 'All Woman', and then a smattering of a list of Artists below, nicely well laid out.
The tracks i liked most of all were 9-10, 18, 23, 26 & 30, and i would like to give a short synopsis of each of these tracks,
9 - Joan Armatrading - Love And Affection, A very acoustic track from Armatrading, strumming and plucking guitars, i love the way Armatrading almost ad-libs the vocals, she nicely staccato's the wording, then launches into legato, a nice and effective idea, the song builds up into something really soulful, and a superb saxophone solo [2:51-3:14].
10 - Sinead O'Connor - My Special Child, This is a song that i don't know that well, i remember buying a Various Artists package that had her song 'This Is To Mother You' on it, another great song, there's certainly a hidden talent there, the intro is great, a vague tune that is quite haunting, her vocals are nicely ghostly, and they get more serious as the song goes on, halfway through there's a solo for uilleann pipes [a sort of Irish bagpipes], where O'Connor talks over the solo, the best lyrics are at the beginning 'Think about my little girl, her yellow skin and her dark curls'.
18 - Dinah Washington - Mad About The Boy, An old song from 1963, with an orchestra to back her up, there's a constant trickle / cycle in the piano keys, sounding backward to the point at first i thought it was a harp, and a gentle brushes on the drums, this underpins the whole song, Washington constantly swings from half talking to half singing, and that's just fantastic, i love the way Washington drags out the first word of each verse like a long stutter [0:16], the second one is great [0:42] as the strings come in right afterward [0:47+], a lovely lazy serenading addition, and the piano in the background that just ups the volume, as well as goes up into treble territory [1:16+], that's another lovely addition, but can easily be missed, there's a nice serenading instrumental interlude by the strings [2:01-2:18], this track might be considered easy listening, but there's more than just a simple tune being played.
23 - Kate Bush - The Man With The Child In His Eyes, A lovely atmospheric opening, just piano and voice [0:00-0:10], that piano is so affecting, the cello comes in [0:11+], and it really creates a mood, the music changes into high strings [0:32+], it's a nice slight change of direction, and the lyrics are great here, epitomizing the whole meaning of the song, 'And suddenly i find myself listening, To a man i've never known before', it's almost Classical in its conception, there's flute [1:10], horn [1:21], and oboe [1:23].
26 - Dorothy Moore - Misty Blue, A wonderfully soulful song, Moore has such a compelling voice, tinkling piano and soft strings as an intro [0:00-0:16], Moore has this ability to add oohh's and mmmm's, and lengthen out her words, and hesitate in the most stunning way, it's that gently twanging guitar that makes the song so affecting [0:19+], the background strings are lovely and swooning, going well with the music and the gist of the lyrics.
30 - Hazel O'Connor - Will You, The 'saxophone track', rather like Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, it uses a very upfront and central use of the saxophone [played by Wesley McGoogan], the lyrics are fairly banal, but the music slowly builds up and up, the second half of the song is really just a saxophone solo [2:45-4:44], over a constant beat and background strings, there's an 'overblown angry' feel to the solo, the solo develops a real intensity the longer it goes on, and right at the end McGoogan blows and only air comes out! [4:41+], quite possibly the best long saxophone solo in Rock music, but the Gerry Rafferty / Baker Street use of the sax is more memorable / famous.
9 - Joan Armatrading - Love And Affection, A very acoustic track from Armatrading, strumming and plucking guitars, i love the way Armatrading almost ad-libs the vocals, she nicely staccato's the wording, then launches into legato, a nice and effective idea, the song builds up into something really soulful, and a superb saxophone solo [2:51-3:14].
10 - Sinead O'Connor - My Special Child, This is a song that i don't know that well, i remember buying a Various Artists package that had her song 'This Is To Mother You' on it, another great song, there's certainly a hidden talent there, the intro is great, a vague tune that is quite haunting, her vocals are nicely ghostly, and they get more serious as the song goes on, halfway through there's a solo for uilleann pipes [a sort of Irish bagpipes], where O'Connor talks over the solo, the best lyrics are at the beginning 'Think about my little girl, her yellow skin and her dark curls'.
18 - Dinah Washington - Mad About The Boy, An old song from 1963, with an orchestra to back her up, there's a constant trickle / cycle in the piano keys, sounding backward to the point at first i thought it was a harp, and a gentle brushes on the drums, this underpins the whole song, Washington constantly swings from half talking to half singing, and that's just fantastic, i love the way Washington drags out the first word of each verse like a long stutter [0:16], the second one is great [0:42] as the strings come in right afterward [0:47+], a lovely lazy serenading addition, and the piano in the background that just ups the volume, as well as goes up into treble territory [1:16+], that's another lovely addition, but can easily be missed, there's a nice serenading instrumental interlude by the strings [2:01-2:18], this track might be considered easy listening, but there's more than just a simple tune being played.
23 - Kate Bush - The Man With The Child In His Eyes, A lovely atmospheric opening, just piano and voice [0:00-0:10], that piano is so affecting, the cello comes in [0:11+], and it really creates a mood, the music changes into high strings [0:32+], it's a nice slight change of direction, and the lyrics are great here, epitomizing the whole meaning of the song, 'And suddenly i find myself listening, To a man i've never known before', it's almost Classical in its conception, there's flute [1:10], horn [1:21], and oboe [1:23].
26 - Dorothy Moore - Misty Blue, A wonderfully soulful song, Moore has such a compelling voice, tinkling piano and soft strings as an intro [0:00-0:16], Moore has this ability to add oohh's and mmmm's, and lengthen out her words, and hesitate in the most stunning way, it's that gently twanging guitar that makes the song so affecting [0:19+], the background strings are lovely and swooning, going well with the music and the gist of the lyrics.
30 - Hazel O'Connor - Will You, The 'saxophone track', rather like Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, it uses a very upfront and central use of the saxophone [played by Wesley McGoogan], the lyrics are fairly banal, but the music slowly builds up and up, the second half of the song is really just a saxophone solo [2:45-4:44], over a constant beat and background strings, there's an 'overblown angry' feel to the solo, the solo develops a real intensity the longer it goes on, and right at the end McGoogan blows and only air comes out! [4:41+], quite possibly the best long saxophone solo in Rock music, but the Gerry Rafferty / Baker Street use of the sax is more memorable / famous.
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