What I was Listening to - Vol #5

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - The Best of OMD, Virgin Records Inc., 1988 (75021-5186-2)

This is another one of my faves from my techno-pop collection.  For those of you who don't know, OMD was a 4-man group who were first big in Britain before crossing the pond.  They hit it big in the early to mid-80's.  Although a 4-man group, the main forces behind OMD were Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys.   This particular CD contains 16 of their hits from 1979-85.  Included are 12" versions of "We Love You" and "Le Femme Accident".  I always felt that OMD was an acquired taste.  The first song I ever heard from them was "Messages" (included on this CD) which was a simplistic, but very catchy tune.  In my opinion, the individual albums they released are a mixed bag, not really passing the usual 3-song rule.  I wouldn't recommend this particular CD to everyone, but if you're into synth music or techno-pop, then give this one a try.  Don't bother getting the individual albums, unless you're really hooked.

Steely Dan - A Decade of Steely Dan, MCA Records Inc., 1985 (MCAD-5570)

For those of you who are Steely Dan fans, this group (or disc) needs no introduction.   This disc has 14 tracks covering their work from 1972-85.  Obviously, lots of great stuff is missing from this collection.  That's not to say that this disc is bad.  It's just that to compile all the great stuff Donald Fagen and Walter Becker wrote for Steely Dan would require a multi-disc set.  This particular CD includes hits like "FM", "Peg", "Do it Again", "Rikki Don't Lose that Number", and "Hey Nineteen".   Overall, this is a nice compellation of some of their best work.

The Rippingtons - Black Diamond, Windham Hill Jazz, 1997 (01934-11271-2)

For me, this most recent release by the Rippingtons was a great disappointment.   The title cut on this one is a great tune.  Actually, the title track comes in two forms.  The acoustic version is a let-down, with these really lame vocals in the background.  There is a really nice cut which mainly features Russ Freeman on acoustic guitar called "Seven Nights in Rome".  Another nice cut is "Jewel Thieves".   But overall, I think Russ Freeman's attempt to make this a thematic CD basically took something away from the usual Rippingtons release.  Maybe he tried too hard to catch the feeling of that ski trip he talks about in the liner notes.  If you're a hard-core Rippingtons fan, getting this one won't kill you.  If you're not, then I suggest getting one of the previous releases.

Blue Note:  A Story of Moden Jazz, Capitol Records Inc., 1997 (CDP-7243-8-56399-2-0)

This is a wonderful soundtrack from a European documentary produced by Julian Benedikt on the history of Blue Note Records and its founder Alfred Lion.  Lion founded Blue Note records back in 1939 and had the gift of recognizing great jazz talent that most people ignored.  He recorded some of the best and brightest jazz musicians and brought them to the attention of the public.  This documentary (which aired on the Bravo Network) chronicles the history of Blue Note through interviews with Lion's family, friends, and many of the great jazz/blues legends who recorded with the label.   The documentary also provided short biographies of some of the artists.  This is a 2-CD set with 16 tracks which accompanies this documentary.  Although labelled as a "soundtrack", in reality it simply has some of the music which was played in the film.  Cuts include stuff from Bud Powell ("Un Poco Loco"), Miles Davis ("Wierdo"), Thelonius Monk ("Skippy"), John Coltrane ("Blue Train"), Herbie Hancock ("Cantaloupe Island"), and others.  It also features great musicians such as Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Hank Mobley, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, Kenny Burrell, Pearcy Heath, Fats Navarro, Milt Jackson, and the list goes on.   If you're a jazz and blues fan, I highly recommend this CD.  Also, if you get the chance, get the video of this documentary (or catch it on TV).  There's more music featured in the film, although many times it only serves as background music and is never played in entirely.

  What I was listening to (#1)

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  What I was listening to (#3)

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  What I was listening to (#7)

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