Elvis Pop

This blog has been overwhelmingly favoring catchy pop music. I would be remiss if I didn't focus on Elvis' fantastic pop repertoire.

Here are a couple of fantastic examples. Nothing profound in the lyrics ("You say you wanna hold me and stick to me like glue ...") but a great rhythm, simple and entertaining lyrics, fun backing vocals, and a catchy tune. That's all there is to it. Less than two minutes of foot tapping that'll put a smile on your face.

Both these selections are coincidentally from the same album Elvis Is Back! The lyrics to both these songs are by songwriting legends (Otis Blackwell & Leiber/Stoller). Dirty, Dirty, Feeling showcases Elvis' great voice and ability to actually infuse his voice with the "fun" that the song is supposed to convey. Make Me Know It is another great fun "throwaway" ditty that while not profound is a lot of fun and great excuse to get off your feet. I'm also going to throw in another song from these same sessions that is in exactly the same vein. I Gotta Know follows the same formula. There's something simple, beautiful, and naive about these songs. The recording sessions took place in early 1960 and we seem to be caught on the edge the musical drift from the innocent Ricky Nelson days (e.g., Lonesome Town) which is reflected in these recordings to the harder revolutionary music that was to come a few years later.

I have also selected to highlight Take 1 from the recording sessions. If you have any knowledge and experience with recording sessions, you may recognize how astonishing it is to have the artist run off relatively polished and complete versions of new songs on the first take. Elvis biographers have often commented about Elvis' incredible level of preparation at recording sessions and his uncanny ability to listen to a song once or twice and then sing it almost perfectly immediately. Now, you don't have to take biographers' word for this and experience Elvis' fantastic ability to record fantastic versions of songs on the first take. Do you believe that the final master used in the released version of I Gotta Know is Take 2 (included here along with Take 1)?

Both these selections were taken from the FTD release of Elvis Is Back! As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this is BMG's collector's label that legally releases studio outtakes and live recordings. I'll say it again, if you're even minimally interested in Elvis's recording career and "behind the scenes" views of Elvis in the studio, these collections are incredible. I personally prefer the studio outtakes to the live shows as Elvis seemed to have a pretty standard concert repertoire that didn't vary a great deal. FTD also has been re-releasing some classic Elvis albums in their unique style. For example, the Elvis Is Back! album was released in this 2-CD version that includes the complete album (beautifully remastered) as well as numerous outtakes from the album's recording sessions. Well worth the money. This album is available for a high price on Amazon here. Other FTD albums are available cheaper on http://www.shopelvis.com/. If you're looking for other FTD releases that are not available on ShopElvis, try this link to Amazon.

1. Elvis Presley - Dirty, Dirty Feeling, Take 1 (1.55 MB; 128 kbps MP3)
2. Elvis Presley - Make Me Know It, Take 1 (2.41 MB; 128 kbps MP3)
3. Elvis Presley - I Gotta Know, Take 1+ (2.73 MB; 128kbps)

Back to Poland

Oops! I ran out of time to get a post in today. Although I want to keep this blog going with as few interruptions as possible, life keeps getting in the way.

So today's post will be a continuation of an old post on a Polish group called Blue Cafe.

Here's another great song from their album Ovosho. It gives you a little glimpse into a different , but equally attractive side of the group.

1. Blue Cafe - My Road (3.65 MB; 128 kbps MP3)

Enjoy Your Time On Earth

So, the new Crowded House album is out after a break of over ten years. As would be expected, the album has been subject to much speculation and discussion.

Is it really a Crowded House album or a Neil Finn solo album superficially packaged to make it a "band" album? Can Crowded House really be Crowded House without Paul Hester? The album started as a Neil Finn solo package and ended up as a Crowded House album after Neil decided to get the band back together. I think discussions of the "band" versus "solo" sound are bound to be pointless. I am not sure there is a distinct "band" sound that can be distinguished from a Neil Finn "solo" album sound.

Neil is a master of catchy melodies and pop hooks. There are several standouts on this album even though I just received it today and have listened to it a few times. The most accessible and catchy tune has to be the one I have featured below. You'll be amazed at how Neil takes a rather dark and somber lyric (of lost love) and turns it into almost a "happy" song.

This is a depressing lyric set to an upbeat rhythm and melody. The song is called She Called Up and is classic Crowded House (or should I say, Neil Finn).

The album is available at a VERY reasonable price on Amazon ($9.99 only). So, please buy it here. You won't be disappointed. You can also buy the Crowded House back catalog here.

1. Crowded House - She Called Up (2.65 MB; 128 kbps MP3)

Don't Dream The Italian Trip Is Over

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am a big fan of Crowded House (and the various source/spin-off groups like Split Enz, Finn Brothers, etc.) So, I will spend this week celebrating the release of the newest Crowded House album, Time on Earth.

But first, let me bridge the Crowded House theme for the week with my trip to Italy which led this blog to be dormant for two weeks. I had assumed that I would have regular and easy access to the Internet in my hotel and was surprised to find no WiFi in my hotel room. So that led to my putting the blog on hold for a bit.

Well, I'm back. Probably one of the most recognizable Crowded House songs in the USA is Don't Dream It's Over. The song was a huge hit for the group in the eighties and even showed up on an MTV album of "One Hit Wonders." To me, labeling Crowded House a "one hit wonder" is an outrageous injustice.

While in Italy, I happened to hear the familiar strains of Don't Dream It's Over, but sung to Italian lyrics. I discovered that an Italian superstar, Antonello Venditti had rewritten the lyrics to the song and released it in Italy as Alta Marea. I found it unique, interesting, and well done enough to buy the CD in Milan and present it here as my first offering during Crowded House Week here on Underheard Music. As usual, the album (the 3-disc special edition) is available via Amazon.com at a price considerably lower than the price I paid in Italy. Go figure!

1. Antonella Venditti - Alta Marea (4.83 MB; 128 kbps MP3)

Soaring Multi-Octave Vocals & My Return

Okay, I have been VERY neglectful of this blog. It really is unforgivable. I set out to keep this blog as uninterrupted as possible, but failed recently as work overwhelmed me. Usually, I'm able to build up a few posts on nights and weekends, but I have had relatives visiting since last week and so have neglected this posting.

I was inspired today by Mr. Tibbs (see recent comment) to jump back into this. Frankly, I had no idea anyone was even reading this blog (except a few of my family), so it was invigorating to get that message. Hey, Mr. Tibbs, you aren't some relative of mine using a pseudonym, are you? So, let this be a lesson to you. If you find me slacking off, just add a comment and it will drive me back to action immediately!

Anyway, I will have a few local treats for you this week. There are a couple of local (Duluth, Minnesota) musician friends of mine who I think have some fantastic offerings.

Today, I'll focus on Billy Q. Effinger who I met through my very young kids. Two of my kids (aged 6 and 5) were cast in a local playhouse production of Carousel as the "Snow Kids." Mr. Snow in the play was played by Billy Effinger and I met him at a cast party and he told me of his CD as I was praising his singing in the play. He has written, composed, and performed several songs and this first self-produced CD of his is a combination of original songs and covers. I am going to focus on the originals here, frankly because I think they are really standouts. Oddly, I would recommend the album for the originals and not the covers! Billy Effinger has an incredible vocal range and most of his original songs are written to take advantage of his soaring, multi-octave singing range.

The first song featured here highlights his incredible range. Willie The Warlock is an original song that conjures up incredible images of jesters and unicorns and magical fantasies, all with a very positive tone. The tune is incredibly catchy and almost everyone I've played it for has liked it on the first listen and got seriously hooked on it after the second listen. The second song, Blue Boy (Judy's Song), written by Billy in honor of Judy Garland (she's from this area, if you didn't know) also is a beautiful song with great lyrics and a catchy hook. I loved both these songs and am quite sure you will too.

You should consider buying the CD here. For only $8.88, you can't go wrong. If you drop Billy an email at bestqualityenter@aol.com, tell him you heard his songs here. You'll enjoy the covers too, but the originals are worth the price of this CD alone. This is my kind of music in the sense you don't need to be in any abstruse, elevated state of mind to "get it." Just great music and great singing.

1. Billy Q. Effinger - Willie The Warlock (4.1 MB; 128kbps MP3)
2. Billy Q. Effinger - Blue Boy (Judy's Song) (5.41 MB; 128kbps MP3)

Driving to Blue Café

While one of our hosts in Poland were driving us around Olsztyn, she had a CD playing in the car that was pleasant. The tunes were toe tapping and never jarring. Although the lyrics were in english, I could detect a distinct accent at times.

I asked our host about the CD and she said that it was a Polish group called Blue Café. This is from their newest CD Ovosho. The lead singer has an incredible controlled smoky voice not unlike Diana Krall or Norah Jones. She also seems to have quite an incredible range. Most of the songs on this album are in english, with a few Polish songs thrown in. On an interesting note, this band's Love Song served as Poland's entry to the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest.

Frustratingly, this CD seems to be available on Amazon for about the same amount as I paid for it in Poland.

Again, I really did have a hard time picking a couple of songs to feature here. Given a choice, I would highlight about 6-8 songs here which all highlight different aspects of the group's talent. However, I'll stick to the catchiest melodies. The lyrics are not particularly sophisticated or subtle, but then again, let's not forget that groups like Abba took lyrics like "Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight, Take me through the darkness to the break of the day" all the way to platinum status mutliple times over!

Let's see how this is received. If there is enough demand, I may feature a couple more songs from this album later.

1. Blue Café - Barok (2.61 MB; 128kbps MP3)

2. Blue Café - Baby, Baby (3.57 MB; 128kbps MP3)

Experience Seandemonium

A friend of mine sent me a CD by Sean Altman a few years ago. Great catchy pop that is not pretentious and doesn't pretend to be anything more than catchy melodies. The CD he sent me was Sendemonium and proved to be one of those instantly likable CDs.

Some of the songs (like the first one featured here - Person) is completely acapella, while others have more instruments. But all the songs have catchy melodies. Great harmonies and clever vocal stylings. As a lover of harmonies, I tend to prefer the acapella songs, but they're all great.

I started describing the music as very similar to David Yazbek (who will be featured here soon)and the harmonies similar to Rockapella. It was incredibly gratifying to visit his Wikipedia page and find that he is a long time friend of Yazbek and was the founder of Rockapella. Now, you shouldn't be surprised at the sound. There are some songs that remind me of Julian Lennon and others that are very Beatlesque, such as the second song featured here, You're Mine.

You can find all Sean's CDs on Amazon here. If you're interested in his Rockapella discography, you'll find it here. The songs featured in this post are from the Sendemonium album which you'll find here.

As always, I recommend you always visit the artist's site and buy CDs there to support the talent.

1. Sean Altman - Person (2.85 MB;128kbps MP3)

2. Sean Altman - You're Mine (3.17 MB;128kbps MP3)

Give! And Anything Is Possible

Oh no! I missed my first post. And it's only been a few weeks since I started this blog! I was out of town yesterday and never got around to doing my blog post for Monday.

Today, I returned to town and had a meeting with my friend Marty Weintraub who now runs a search engine marketing (SEM) firm AimClear.com. As usual, I remembered my initial introduction to Marty was through his work in the music industry. A long time ago, I served on the local United Way advisory Board and Marty was instrumental in creating a fund raising effort that involved producing an original CD by a Minnesota artist Pamela McNeill. Being on the Committee at that time, I was marginally involved in the process.

The end result was a CD of original songs written by Pamela McNeill and other local artists, with a lot of the music composed by Marty Weintraub. When I heard the CD for the first time, I was floored. Here was one of those rare CDs where I felt every song was a classic. This truly was one of those complete CDs with no filler material. A perfect example of the incredible talent that isd often hidden in the heartland of this country. I bought several autographed copies of this CD to give to friends convinced it was going to be a huge hit. In a way, it was. One of the songs on this CD (The Gift) was picked up and used for the national United Way campaign. The song, The Gift was written in a short time by a local songwriter, Dick Wilson around our local United Way of Greater Duluth theme of "Give, and Anything Is Possible." Beautiful words, with music composed by Marty. If this song doesn't make you want to go out and donate to the great local causes of the United Way, nothing will!

To make up for my missed post on Monday and to highlight the fact that this CD is spectacularly strong, I am including FOUR songs from the CD here. Pamela McNeill has an exquisite and unusual raw voice that will tug at your heartstrings. She donated 100% of the profits from this CD to charity. Unfortunately, you can only get used copies of this CD from Amazon for as little as a penny here. I promise you that this is an album you won't regret buying. Great pop produced in tiny Duluth with catchy melodies and great lyrics. There isn't a weak song on this album. However, she has another album out, American Breakup. Although you can buy these albums on Amazon, I beg you to support such talented artists by buying these CDs from her own site http://www.pamelamcneill.com/. Please consider getting Pamela's CDs. Start with 2 Sides to Every Sky which is featured here and then move on to American Breakup. This is really good stuff that you wouldn't have heard of if it wasn't for this blog! :-)

Here's a deal. To encourage you to support the artists highlighted here, I am willing to mail one of my autographed copies of 2 Sides To Every Sky to the first person who posts a comment on this blog in response to this post AND buys a copy of another Pamela McNeill CD online through her site. First post a message on this blog and then email me (rvblogs@gmail.com) with a copy of your purchase receipt and I'll mail you (at my expense) an autographed copy of her debut CD.

1. Pamela McNeill - You Will Love Again (4.22 MB; 128 kbps)
2. Pamela McNeill - Let The River Come To You (3.99 MB; 128 kbps)
3. Pamela McNeill - 2 Sides To Every Sky (4.78 MB; 128 kbps)
3. Pamela McNeill - The Gift (3.94 MB; 128 kbps)

Jangling Guitars for Years Around The Sun

When I started this blog a few weeks ago, my goal was simply to learn a little about blogging as a form of word-of-mouth communication as well as share my love of more "unusual" music (that is, stuff you don't hear every day when you turn on the radio). I never expected that this blog would (so quickly) help me discover new music and artists -- something I love to do (as I mentioned in my post about bar hopping).

I was surprised recently with an email from the marketing coordinator of an artist management company that represents a band called Years Around The Sun with an attached MP3 file from the band as well as an offer to send me their debut CD Introstay. The moment I heard it, I decided that this was my kind of music. Catchy melody and toe-tapping rhythm. While it's possible the lyrics may be profound (as I've mentioned before, I am not really a "lyrics man"), I couldn't tell. I listen to music for entertainment and not some intellectual stimulation. This was a song with lush and layered sounds surrounding a nice hook. As I said, my kind of music.

I would like to assure blog readers that I am NOT paid for the review. They sent me the song, I liked it and decided it is worth sharing with all of you. I don't know if any of you know me well enough to trust that I won't feature anything I am sent by any band or company that I don't genuinely like myself. But, given my eclectic taste in music, the featured music here will span many genres.

The first song is a single Heart Delay which, as I said, will get your toe tapping. This is the first song I heard from this group. The second song linked below is a selection from their debut CD called Sinclair. I had a hard time picking a song off their Introstay CD to feature here. I didn't like the opening track (Align), but found Dead Man's Sea to be very catchy. But then, when I put my headphones on, I seemed to prefer Dry Lake Bed. Probably the easiest to like on the first listen is Sinclair. Sounds like a single should sound. Soft Soul has a funky groove to it that would work great in the evening with a glass of wine in your hand. Both Northfork and Warm Jets are great songs. For some reason Warm Jets sounds a little Beatlesque to me. The sound on most of the songs is quite similar with jangly guitars and synths leading to a nice melody and a steady beat. Overall, the vocals are somehow reminiscent of a British group, but their site seems to suggest they're all Americans. Let me know if you get the same sense of a "British accent" when you hear these songs. In fact, all these songs remind me a lot of Evermore who I featured recently on this blog. Maybe it's my imagination.

You can find the band web site here (including tour info). And their CD cover looks suspiciously like the Jantar Mantar ancient astronomical lab I used to pass by frequently when I lived in New Delhi! Like many independent bands today, you can hook up with their MySpace page. Of course, I urge those of you who like these songs to buy their CD here. After having heard the songs, how wrong can you go for ten bucks?

1. Years Around The Sun - Heart Delay (Deleted on artist's request)
2. Years Around The Sun - Sinclair (Deleted on artist's request)

A Fine Hero

An unexpected benefit of blogging is when it helps me discover new music that I otherwise would never have found. Recently, I was contacted by Dinesh Lalvani in Dubai about a song from his group The Fine. The music is a mixture of rock, electronica and strong vocals from fellow group member Claire Murphy.

They have a 4-song EP done that is available for purchase online. I understand they're working on a full album. You can find more information on Dinesh & Claire on their site at http://thefine.net/ which I urge you to visit. You can also head to their MySpace spot.

The first song featured here is Hero which couples a rock beat with some beautiful guitar work and Claire's clear vocals. It has a catchy melody and the combination of rock and acoustic ballad that I like so much (as you may have guessed from the selections of Triumph and Uriah Heep that were featured on this blog earlier).

If you like the song, why don't you add a comment to this post and I'm sure Dinesh and/or Claire will respond to any of your compliments or criticisms! Let them know if you want to hear more and maybe they'll send me another song for me to post here.

1. The Fine - Hero (4.69 MB; 128kbps MP3)

Free Steadman NOW!

Several years ago (honestly, it was at the turn of this century!), when the idea of bands releasing their own music on the Internet was a completely new phenomenon, I ran across a band completely by accident on MP3.Com. In those days, bands could create an account and upload their music and then create a "space" on their site to sell their stuff.

One of the many songs I downloaded in those days was by this group called Steadman and this song called Life of Leisure was absolutely one of the catchiest songs I had ever heard. I was just convinced that this band was on the verge of really hitting it big. The song sounded exactly like the hits that was getting a lot of airplay in those days (Blues Traveler, Semisonic, Everclear, etc.) and I couldn't imagine how it could be long before some savvy marketer picked up this single and got it a ton of airplay. I remember being excited and telling friends about this band I had "discovered" so I could tell them all "I told you so" once the band became a household name.

Well, as far as I know, it never happened. I still love this song and think it has a catchy melody and great clear vocals. For anyone out there wondering what kind of music turns me on, here's a model! When I was creating this post, I did some searching online to find out what happened to Steadman. Of course, at Amazon, not only can you find the album with this song, Loser Friendly but also their newest album, Revive (released in 2003). Apparently they're an English band who has gained some fame after being featured on Smallville. Wikipedia provides more details about their current whereabouts and also clarifies that their sound is influenced by Oasis and Radiohead (shows what I know in my musical comparisons!) Most interestingly, I discovered from Wikipedia that Steadman got disgruntled with the "big label" business and have released all their albums and off-cuts online as free digital downloads with a creative commons license (feel free to download and distribute). Now if that isn't a reason to love this band, I don't know what gets you going. Please visit their site here and download anything you want! As they say, they want you to.

1. Steadman - Life of Leisure (5.376 MB; 160 kbps MP3)

Fountains of Wayne are Never Wet

The music savvy among you probably are scoffing at the idea that people haven't heard of Fountains of Wayne. After all, they're gaining in popularity and may even have gotten some fair airplay recently. Again, my 11-year-old son (who I use as the barometer of what's "current") knew who Fountains of Wayne were and gave me the title of a few of their songs.

But, this CD was sent to me by a friend of mine some time agop and I found most of the songs instantly catchy and likeable. The one song that grabbed me and stayed around in my head all day was "Hat and Feet." I challenge you to listen to this song twice and not find yourself humming it all day.

Great midwest pop. You can find all their CDs on Amazon.com here. The CD from which I got these two selections is Utopia Parkway and you can find that CD here. Enjoy!

1. Fountains of Wayne - Hat and Feet (2.78 MB; 128kbps MP3)
2. Fountains of Wayne - Red Dragon Tattoo (3.23 MB; 128kbps MP3)

What's This All About?

I enjoy a great variety of music. While most of my music listening is quite traditional (you'll find Pink Floyd, Elvis, The Beatles, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, BB King and more in my music collection), I particularly enjoy finding music that does not get as much airplay on the radio.

A variety of things about a piece of music may pique my interest. Sometimes, it is just something I heard in my childhood that I haven't heard in ages. Sometimes it is a catchy melody from a regional band. Sometimes it is an unusual piece of history that isn't that easy to find.

I just figured there may be someone out there with an interest in listening to music that is not easy to find on U.S. radio. Some of the bands I'll feature here may be very popular in other parts of the world, but simply under appreciated in the U.S. Other names may be quite familiar to people who listen to a certain genre of music, but not to others. Still other songs may just be unusual pieces from well known names in music.

You'll also find a wide range of music featured here from pop to rock to jazz to Broadway. Hope you enjoy at least some of the selections.

There's no rhyme or reason to why I may select a piece of music except that I found it interesting for some reason I'll outline in my post. Let me know if you enjoy any of the pieces in this blog. If you do like any of the music, PLEASE buy the CD so the artist gets their well-deserved royalties.

The goal here is just to share music that I like for some reason. The goal is to give underheard artists a greater airing and help people find out-of-print recordings. If you are an artist (or their lawyer) and would like me to remove any of the music here, please let me know and I'll take it off immediately. No hard feelings and no need for threats! :)

Email me at rvblogs@gmail.com!