I chose to share with you ''Private Life'' from Grace Jones. This extended version remastered in 1980 is my favourite. Musically richer, with Reggae, Dub, New wave accents, and stil respects the original version sound's structure. Grace Jones was an extraordinary voice singer, muse of the photographer Jean Paule Goude, and an icon of the 80's. Surrounded by the cream of the musicians of the time, her music is strange, avant garde, sophisticated, neat, ahead of its time, almost timeless. Please enjoy.
''DRIVE MY CAR'' by the Beatles is not necessarily my favourite track but it represents a happy memory of December 1965.
A had been a fan of the band since the beginning when I heard the song for the first time during a long train trip.
One of the passengers in the compartment where I was seated was listening to it with his portable radio, loudly enough for anyone to hear it... at that time, it was common practice.
It was the sound, the bass plan, the arrangement that were completely new, different and original.
For those who have known these years, each new record of the Beatles was unmistakable and a real pleasure to discover.
8 magical years when all their masterpieces were released...
Of course, at that time, there was an explosion of English and American bands and radios would air new kind of vibes every week... but the Beatles were special, they had something different.
Each album was a new step on the stairs that led them to the best and we couldn't wait for what they would do next.
The evolution of their albums was spectacular. It's History today. DRIVE MY CAR is not the most extraordinary of their titles but I have a vivid memory of the place and moment when I heard it for the first time.
I was already a musician in a band and I have a similar memory of the first time I heard ABBEY ROAD, late September 1969, in a new club where were singing for its opening. We were installing the amps, the sound system, and preparing all our stuff before the show when the club's boss, very proud of the new record he had probably brought in London a few days earlier, put the music on.
That was like a big shock for the whole team: the incredible sound of the bass of COME TOGETHER, the first title of the A side, SOMETHING and the saturated sound of the guitar passing in a Leslie, the voices and the harmony of BECAUSE .... not to mention the rest.
Discovering the entire album, all at once, not on the radio and in an unexpected way, that was really a memory that will remain.
This Congo-Brazzaville band was formed around 1957 and inspired by Cuban rhythms. Gary Stewart (author of Rumba on the River) explains that it was at Xmas time that they chose the name Ry-co Jazz (Congolese Rhythms). During the tours that followed, they enrolled musicians like Jerry Malekani (Manu Dibango) and Jean Serge Essous (OK Jazz, Les Bantous etc), and with their resultant popularity, they were invited in 1966 to play one concert in Martinique and stayed 7 years! In my search for biguines and tumbeles it was a joy to discover this Ry-co Jazz album (also spelt Rico Jazz on the cover) with the track ‘La Madone le Jossaud' on Hit Parade. Further research revealed that there is a religious statue, originally called “Notre Dame de Boulogne” that was transported from France in 1948 to Martinique. It took on the name of the La Madone le Jossaud. It's a long story about its arrival, the pilgrimage and the apparent deceptions that followed. Whatever the truth and its religious significance, it is a strikingly beautiful tune, the rhythm is ecstatic, and Xmas seems a good time as any for the story to be told. Incidentally Radio Martiko has just released an album of their early 60s recordings, and thanks to their sleeve notes and Gary Stewart's book for information.
I had been into the musical scene of Brittany for quite some time but I was not really hooked until I heard ''An dorn''. It was so simple and yet profound: the voice of Yann-Fanch Kemener and Aldo's cello. So eventually I came to Brittany and started to learn Brezhoneg - this is how it started.
A tribute today. An unknown song with very stirring lyrics.
It's the name of my first company. I feel like I see a success story on this sleeve.
I met CDandLP team on a record fair. At that time I was looking for this track by Jean Pierre Francois as I am a big fan of the singer. Since then, I've been regularly ordering on the website as I'm also a fan of Johnny Haliday, Les Forbans, and Europe. I always find what I want and I really appreciate the team. Always available!
I selected the song ''love street'' by the Doors because it feels as light as a soft bubble that reminds us how love is our driving force.
Everything is simpler when it is done with love. Even with a rock background sound, you feel Jim's tenderness for Pam in this Californian street (Laurel Canyon) where they lived happily.
Because music is a way of moving people, I get emotional every time I listen to it.
I not only like this band for its rock influence but also because it has added other musical genres to their songs (blues, pop, funk, jazz but also flamenco).
According to me, this is the reason why this band was successful amongst so many people and was also an inspiration source for several artists.
I particularly like the song ''And I Love Her'' from the Beatles' album ''A Hard Day's Night''. I love this song. Besides it was issued in 1964, the year when my loving wife was born and when they inaugurated the monument dedicated to the 7 astronauts of the Mercury program (John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, Gordon Cooper, Deke Slayton et Scott Carpenter - 18th December 1964). Short story about the album, a quote by John Lennon in 1980: ''Hard Day's Night'' is the sexual equivalent of the beginning hysteria of a relationship.
It was pouring outside, I was wandering about... On my sofa, watching a TV program, when I suddenly heard this song. An unexpected tune that didn't fit in with the rain outside and the story of Medellin's cartel.
All of a sudden, nothing else mattered, I had to hear that song again... Fast!
I jumped on the remote, backwards... and listened to the song again and again. Who could that be ?
Remote control, forwards, credits and pause... That's it, I got it! Saved (ok I could have done it much quicker with this well known app !)
Christmas under the tropics? Never tried yet. Maybe one more line to add on Santa Claus' letter, in addition to Peregoyo Y Su Combo Vacana - Sacale Brillo Teresa, which song ''El Mundo Al Reves'' I now share with you.
''Remember when'' is a song about the different steps in a lifetime. Meeting the love of your life, the haps of life, death and birth, children who fly the nest... The softness of the lyrics and the music gives me goosebumps. We aired the song for my son's wedding.
In 1979 where the Hip Hop Culture was still not represented by peer pressure in Europe, Kurtis Blow all away from Harlem NYC under Mercury major record label was rocking it with a positive rap message on a funky fresh instrumental. A classic joint to play loud and clear in December and get your booty shaking without any control! Love for the kids...
Abdelhalim is famous for his love songs and music. His music is popular for oriental dancing. We may say that this track is immortal and the most beautiful by Abdelhalim. The lyrics are also really poetical.
There are thousands of titles that I could have selected for this Advent calendar and I could fill calendars for millenium (long live CD and LP)! It all began with the French and English songs aired on radio stations from the late '60s, early' 70s, like Dylan's adaptations by Hugues AUFRAY and Graeme ALLWRIGHT singing Leonard COHEN.
Also Maxime THE FORESTIER. And my mother's favorite singer Joe DASSIN (He sang great songs and his adaptations of Gordon LIGHTFOOT were fabulous...). And then came Don McLEAN with the title ''Vincent'' that I heard for the first time in a small town at the far end of England, in 1972. I still have the sheet music that I bought the same day, in the small record store of the village. Like the builders of ancient cathedrals would do, they sealed the original score in the foundations of the Van GOGH Museum in Amsterdam.
I was about to select this title when I changed my mind for ''The memory and the sea'' by Leo FERRE. If you're curious and willing enough, you will continue the verses of this extraordinary song.
Use your imagination!
A wonderful track about all the beauties of my country Cuba.
I've loved this melody for a long time. It makes me dive into a deep nostalgia feeling...
It's the name of my first company. I feel like I see a success story on this sleeve.
Con un recorrido en bicicleta por la ciudad de Lima, el astro colombiano, Carlos Vives lanza su nuevo sencillo titulado ''Mañana''. Junto a la canción entrega también el vídeo, una producción protagonizada por su esposa, Claudia Elena, y Lima - Perú como escenario. A través de los ojos de Carlos se muestra la ciudad en todo su esplendor. Una Lima que respeta su pasado y logra la armonía perfecta entre la tradición y la arquitectura contemporánea. Recorrer sus calles es admirar sus iglesias y lugares mágicos.
La bicicleta es el hilo conductor de este vídeo que se grabó durante 4 días, un elemento con el que el cantautor se siente libre para encontrarse con la ciudad.
Se muestran espacios como el Parque de las Aguas, el restaurante Astrid y Gastón en el que se deleita con platos típicos peruanos, el Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), el Centro Histórico y la playa de Miraflores, entre otros. También participa el Coro Nacional de Niños de Perú.
Estamos felices de que Lima haya sido elegida para protagonizar este video. Estamos seguros que se viralizará logrando mostrar los atractivos, la riqueza, el arte y la cultura que posee nuestra ciudad. Además, buscamos ser protagonistas de más producciones y ser locación para trabajos audiovisuales tan increíbles como éste”, mencionó Isabella Falco, directora de Comunicaciones e Imagen País de PROMPERÚ.
Las imágenes comienzan con Claudia Elena caminando por la playa teniendo como marco, un sublime atardecer limeño. Carlos, por su parte, monta su bicicleta y se detiene para admirar el horizonte y comenzar así su recorrido por la capital de Perú.
''Queremos mostrarle al mundo la diversidad de una ciudad como Lima, que lo tiene todo, montañas, playa, una arquitectura preciosa, es lo máximo, un agradecimiento especial a PROMPERÚ por esta invitación, para repetir siempre.'', afirma el artista.
This track deals whith segregation, misery and distress, but it transcends me. It's sad, moving. Syl Johnson's voice is so intense and the intimate banding music is minimalizing to serve it better.
I chose to share the song ''Take my hand'' by Matt Berry, from his album ''Witchazel''.
This track has a particular resonance inside me as it has accompanied me during the first years of my life in England.
It has this flamboyance, this psychedelism that can reflect a certain idea of a lost London life, beyond clichés.
The lyrics are also in tune with this arrogance, this daring style that stands out. They contain a lot of fantasized melancholy.
Happy 80's. Such a great time for 7inch and dancing hits! I still love them.
''Qu'est ce que je peux faire, j'sais pas quoi faire...'' said Anna Karina in the movie ''Pierrot le fou''. With a track dedicated to this movie by Jean Luc Godard, I was introduced to Yellow Magic Orchestra. The track I picked for you is also a tribute to ''The Magnificient Seven'' and the famous replica by Steve Mc Queen: ''So far, so good...''.
I could have selected so many gospel groups! But my first contact with the «Gospel Highway» happened with the Soul Stirrers. Along with Sam Cooke, I also discovered other singers with supernatural voices: R.H. Harris, Julius Cheeks and the extraordinary Paul Foster, first and last soloist on the 1953 track, also starring frisky Sam. The song starts with a slow country tempo, and thirty seconds after the arrival of Foster, everything flares: the drums, the piano, the organ speed up, the harmonics by Senior Roy Crain, RB Robinson, JJ Farley and Thomas Bruster send everyone to an absolute, a heavenly frenzy and beauty... and here come the last notes, because, alas, one must go back to reason. My God, how can this be possible ?