Album Reviews

Leonard Cohen, the enduring romantic, recorded his debut album appropriately enough, in the waning days of the “summer of love,” in August of 1967. By then he was in his 30’s and capable of expressing his views of love and intimacy in refreshingly sophisticated and sometimes indelibly bleak terms.

Rare, desirable and expensive when first issued in 1973 as a triple LP set in Japan where it was recorded and available in America only as a hard to get import, Lotus didn’t make it to CD until the earl 1990s.

CSN&Y played and sang live better than ever during this 2006 “Freedom of Speech” tour as you'll hear on this 16 track document, none of which was overdubbed. The only “overdub” was of a 100 voice choir recorded at Capitol studios, Hollywood before the tour that was added to the live shows as well.

The Modern Jazz Quartet would never have been signed to Blue Note. The group’s Bach-influenced button-down counterpoint was a bad fit with Blue Note’s gospel and blues influenced soul-jazz.

One side of this 1975 release gives you a smokin’ hot live recording of mindless, Texas-style speed-boogie music (the mind is not a terrible thing to waste!), while the other is a somewhat more introspective studio set.

This summer of 1955 set probably recorded at United in Los Angeles August 23rd and 25th 1955 just a few days after a successful Hollywood Bowl appearance finds Holiday covering standards in fine voice backed up a great small combo.

Krall’s cool, detached yet available look on the front and back covers of this popular 2002 release let you know from whence the emotions flow here. She sells these standards intimately yet barely rising above a warm smolder, leaving you to crack the code.