Willie Nelson - Last Man Standing

Styles: Vocal, Guitar, Country
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:40
Size: 79,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:00)  1. Last Man Standing
(2:28)  2. Don't Tell Noah
(3:03)  3. Bad Breath
(2:49)  4. Me And You
(3:53)  5. Something You Get Through
(2:35)  6. Ready To Roar
(3:16)  7. Heaven Is Closed
(3:00)  8. I Ain't Got Nothin'
(2:43)  9. She Made My Day
(2:59) 10. I'll Try To Do Better Next Time
(3:48) 11. Very Far To Crawl

Willie Nelson started singing about the end of the line a while back but now that he's in his mid-eighties, he's so accustomed to having death lurking around the corner that he can kid about it. That's precisely what he does throughout Last Man Standing, an album that serves as a jocular counterpart to its predecessor, God's Problem Child. Nelson didn't avoid humor on that record, but the vibe seemed haunted by a looming sense that the clock is ticking away. Willie shakes off this spookiness on Last Man Standing, whose title track finds him singing that "it's getting hard to watch my pals check out" to a jaunty rhythm. Ultimately, he decides he wants to be the last man standing, a sentiment that's reiterated a few tracks later, when Willie looks into the mirror and determines it's "better to have bad breath than no breath at all." Nelson isn't seizing the day so much as shrugging off worries, and decides just to have a good time. Despite being riddled with songs about death and aging, Last Man Standing is ridiculously fun, thanks not just to Nelson's jocularity it's not just gallows humor, either; the swinging honky tonk of "She Made My Day" is filled with sly one-liners  but to the nimbleness of his band. It's no secret that his bandmembers are pros, but it's still a pleasure to hear them play they're as compelling sliding into the shimmering jazz overtones of "Something You Get Through" as they are kicking out the blues of "I Ain't Got Nothin'" and they give Nelson plenty of cover for working with his weathered voice. No longer able to croon as he once did, Nelson opts for playing around with the rhythms of his delivery, a move that makes him seem limber, adding a sense of vitality to Last Man Standing. Willie realizes he's not going to be here forever but he's made up his mind to make the most of his time here, and that's why Last Man Standing feels richer than so many self-conscious meditations on mortality. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine https://www.allmusic.com/album/last-man-standing-mw0003151298

Personnel:  Willie Nelson – vocals, guitar;  Alison Krauss – background vocals, fiddle;  Mickey Raphael – harmonica;  James Mitchell – guitar

Last Man Standing

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Yo-Yo Ma - Songs Of Joy & Peace

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 79:41

Size: 182.4 MB

Styles: Classical crossover

Year: 2008

Art: Front

[2:00] 1. Dona Nobis Pacem

[3:29] 2. You Couldn't Be Cuter (Feat. Diana Krall)

[3:43] 3. Joy To The World (Feat. Dave Brubeck)

[2:50] 4. Here Comes The Sun (Feat. James Taylor)

[2:57] 5. Improvisation On Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace)

[2:37] 6. The Wassail Song All Through The Night

[3:47] 7. A Christmas Jig Mouth Of The Tobique Reel (Feat. Natalie Macmaster)

[4:20] 8. The Wexford Carol (Feat. Alison Krauss)

[3:06] 9. Panxoliña A Galician Carol (Feat. Cristina Pato)

[0:58] 10. Improvisation On Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace) (Feat. Sergio Assad)

[3:25] 11. Vassourinhas

[2:32] 12. Improvisation On Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace) (Feat. Paquito D'rivera)

[4:53] 13. Invitación Al Danzón (Feat. Paquito D'rivera)

[4:07] 14. My One And Only Love (Feat. Joshua Redman)

[3:57] 15. Familia

[4:31] 16. Concordia (Feat. Dave Brubeck)

[6:30] 17. My Favorite Things (Feat. Chris Botti)

[4:36] 18. Touch The Hand Of Love (Feat. Renée Fleming)

[3:26] 19. Kuai Le

[5:02] 20. This Little Light Of Mine (Feat. Amelia Zirin-Brown)

[4:46] 21. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (Feat. Jake Shimabukuro)

[1:58] 22. Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace) Auld Lang Syne (Feat. Chris Botti)

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has long been a giant in the classical world, though he has also made a number of recordings with musicians who play other styles. This holiday disc doesn't exclusively stick to traditional Christmas songs, but covers a wide scope of material in a very ambitious manner. Ma opens with a lovely take of the traditional favorite Dona nobis pacem (Give Us Peace), playing both the melody and counterpoint via overdubbing. Jazz pianist/vocalist Diana Krall is superb in a swinging rendition of Jerome Kern's unjustly obscure "You Couldn't Be Cuter," adding bassist John Clayton. An arrangement of Joy to the World features pianist Dave Brubeck, cellist Matt Brubeck (his son), and clarinetist Paquito d'Rivera in a playful setting that works in The Christmas Song and On the Trail. The senior Brubeck's Concordia is filled with spirit in a lively performance with the two cellists. Chris Botti has never sounded better in the warm arrangement of My Favorite Things, playing both open and muted trumpet, with pianist Billy Childs, bassist Robert Hurst, drummer Billy Kilson, and guitarist Romero Lubambo. Ma has previously collaborated with bassist Edgar Meyer (who is equally at home in jazz and classical music), though this is the cellist's first meeting with mandolinist Chris Thile. Together they make an impressive trio, especially in the enticing medley of The Wassail Song and All Through the Night. Soprano Renée Fleming's rich voice is beautifully complemented by Ma, Meyer, and Thile. Having worked with onetime bluegrass fiddler Mark O'Connor, Ma is very much at home with Celtic fiddler Natalie MacMaster in the lively medley of A Christmas Jig/Mouth of the Tobique Reel. Among the other friends featured on this disc are the Assad Family, Wu Tong & the Silk Road Ensemble, tenor saxophonist Joshua Redman, plus Alison Krauss with piper Christina Pato. One track doesn't fit in all that well with the rest of this CD. The Beatles' bland "Here Comes the Sun" has a warm vocal by James Taylor, but it is hampered by its weak lyrics. ~Ken Dryden

Songs Of Joy & Peace

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Alison Krauss - Windy City (Deluxe)

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 47:41

Size: 109.2 MB

Styles: Country, Folk, Pop

Year: 2017

Art: Front

[2:51] 1. Losing You

[3:10] 2. It’s Goodbye And So Long To You

[3:16] 3. Windy City

[2:45] 4. I Never Cared For You

[3:52] 5. River In The Rain

[4:03] 6. Dream Of Me

[3:33] 7. Gentle On My Mind

[3:25] 8. All Alone Am I

[2:54] 9. Poison Love

[4:18] 10. You Don’t Know Me

[3:18] 11. Windy City

[4:20] 12. River In The Rain

[2:55] 13. Losing You

[2:53] 14. I Never Cared For You

Alison Krauss' voice can seem like an entity unto itself: a holy spirit wafting through the pop world, melting away musical categories. Of course, that's not what it is at all. It is the instrument of an astute musician who began pursuing her craft in bluegrass as a child and who's logged in hours of work learning that genre as well as country, folk and pop. Krauss is not some kind of angel – she's a real woman, a master of in-studio collaboration, and one of the finest players, on fiddle, in her field. Windy City (out Feb. 17), Krauss's first solo album since 1999's adult-contemporary oriented Forget About It, shows off her intelligence and good humor in versions of classic songs that are delightfully down to earth.

The vehicle is country music – not the misty mountain folk sound she invented in the early 2000s with the help of producer T-Bone Burnett and vocal co-conspirator Robert Plant, and not the refined bluegrass experimentalism she perfected with her longtime band, Union Station. Instead, Krauss turned to stalwart Nashville producer Buddy Cannon, who's been working similar miracles with Willie Nelson on that legend's past several albums. Cannon helped Krauss choose songs representing country's practical eclecticism: "All Alone Am I," the highly emotional "rockaballad" Brenda Lee made famous in 1963; John Hartford's "Gentle On My Mind," made famous in 1968 by Glen Campbell in a performance that presaged the rise of soft rock; "Poison Love," the sturdy Elmer Laird singalong that's served bluegrass, rockabilly, classic country and new revivalist interpreters alike. Krauss honors her bluegrass origins with several songs associated with the genre's beloved risk takers the Osborne Brothers, including the poignant title track. She also gives a subtle reading to Willie Nelson's lovely and sometimes overlooked meditation on loss, "I Never Cared for You."

Cannon and Krauss create a sonic atmosphere in which these songs can breathe and feel fleshy. Members of Union Station, including banjo player Ron Block and bassist Barry Bales, play alongside Nashville country-rock legends like guitarist Richard Bennett and drummer Chad Cromwell. Krauss, who finds her peace in the perfect vocal blend, invited an all-star cast to harmonize with her on these tracks: honky-tonk heroes Hank Williams, Jr., and Jamey Johnson, bluegrass standard-bearers Sidney and Suzanne Cox, her longtime collaborator Dan Tyminski, Cannon's daughter Melonie. The feel of these tracks is highly professional but loose: pros romping through their repertoire, with Krauss making each song charmingly personal.

The highlight of the set may change for listeners depending on mood: quiet or rowdy. One standout, however, is also among the album's most unexpected inclusions. "River in the Rain" was written by the great raconteur Roger Miller for a mid-'80s Broadway musical based on Huck Finn's adventures called Big River. Krauss transforms this duet between Huck and his enslaved companion, Jim, into a hymn that somehow both contains and expands beyond its historical context: in her hands, it's a love song, a hymn, a submersion in the essence of longing. "River in the Rain" epitomizes what has made Alison Krauss such a beloved figure across musical genres: hers is that spirit that settles into your heart and becomes a boon companion to all the sadness and hope that's in there. ~Ann Powers

Windy City

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Various - Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:33
Size: 131.8 MB
Styles: Soundtrack
Year: 1997
Art: Front

[3:46] 1. K.D. Lang - Skylark
[3:38] 2. Joe Williams - Too Marvelous For Words
[5:06] 3. Paula Cole - Autumn Leaves
[4:07] 4. Rosemary Clooney - Fools Rush In [where Angles Fear To Tread]
[5:07] 5. Brad Mehldau - Dream
[4:44] 6. Cassandra Wilson - Days Of Wine And Roses
[3:28] 7. Kevin Spacey - That Old Black Magic
[4:28] 8. Alison Eastwood - Come Rain Or Come Shine
[3:33] 9. Clint Eastwood - Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive
[3:42] 10. Alison Krauss - This Time The Dream's On Me
[4:46] 11. Kevin Mahogany - Laura
[3:56] 12. Diana Krall - Midnight Sun
[4:57] 13. Joshua Redman - I'm An Old Cowhand [from The Rio Grande]
[2:09] 14. Tony Bennett - I Wanna Be Around

This Clint Eastwood vanity-project was one of the biggest box office disappointments of 1997, despite a masterful performance by Kevin Spacey, Eastwood's typically subtle direction and, to these ears anyway, one of the most satisfying collections of songs gathered in service of a film in many a year. It didn't hurt that they were all penned by the late, great Johnny Mercer (a native of Savannah, GA, the film's locale and most crucial, underrated element) and with the exception of Tony Bennett's "I Wanna Be Around" and Sinatra's classic "Summer Wind," were rendered by an all-star team of jazz players (Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker, Joshua Redman, Kevin Eubanks, Christian McBride among them) and an impressive line-up of vocalists including k.d. lang, Paula Cole, Joe Williams, Rosemary Clooney, Cassandra Wilson, Alison Krauss, Diana Krall, and Kevin Mahogany. Eastwood has long been a jazz devotee and, in recent years, eager proselytizer; this album plays like a love letter to one of his most beloved musicians and composers. --Jerry McCulley

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil: Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture

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