Listening: Recommended Music To Drink Coffee By

Cooler evenings and mornings. Early Fall welcomes music to drink coffee (or tea) by. 


Over The Rhine - Films For Radio > Smart rock with a message from this Ohio based duo. http://overtherhine.com/music/films-for-radio/


GoGo Penguin - V2.0 (Deluxe Edition) > High energy piano jazz trio. https://gogopenguin.co.uk/


Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off > Jazz keyboard legend's first album. A classic. https://www.herbiehancock.com/music/discography/album/650/

Thanks very much for visiting Hear More Music,

Doug 

Listening: Great Sounding, Inexpensive Records

As in vinyl records. Here is a list of great sounding and in many cases, older, recordings. If you're a collector check the vinyl versions out if you can find them. If you prefer to stream first, buy later search for these on your streaming music service of choice. As to whether or not you enjoy the music itself your mileage may vary of course. Go ahead and explore. You may find some gems and that you've not considered nor heard of before before I pulled on your coattails with this list.

Make It Easy On Yourself by Burt Bacharach (on the original A&M Brown label)

Winners: Featuring Go Away Little Girl by Steve Lawrence on Columbia 360 Sound Stereo. Remember 360 audio?

Ruby Baby by Dion on Columbia Guaranteed High Fidelity Mono. Remember mono? It can sound fantastic.

The Lady and the Unicorn by John Reborn on Reprise Orange Steamboat Records.

Emerson, Lake and Palmer on Cotillion Blue Label Original. ELP anybody?

Big Bad John and Other Fabulous Sings and tales by Jimmy Dean on Columbia 360 Sound Stereo.

Striking It Rich by Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks on Blue Thumb Original.

Walk Right In bt The Rooftop Singers on Vanguard Black Label Stereolab.

Mr. Lucky Goes Latin by Henry Mancini on the RCA Black Living Stereo Nipper label.

Island Paradise: Exciting on the Spot Recordings. The Authentic Sounds and Music of Hawaii, The 50th State. Wesley Edwards Presents (Capitol Black Label Dynagroove Stereo.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from Hugh Montenegro and His Orchestra. RCA Black Label Dynagroove Stereo.

Ambush by Marc Benno on A&M Brown Label Stereo.

Visions: American Legends" A New Look and a New Sound by Larry Elgart and His Orchestra on MGM Black Lion Label Stereo.

Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful on Kama Sutra Mono.

America The Beautiful: An Account of its Disappearance by Gary McFarland. Skye Black Label Stereo.

The Spectacular Johnny Horton, Columbia Stereo 360 Sound

Hang 'Em High: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from Dominic Frontiers on United Artists Orange and Red Stereo.

Wildflowers by Judy Collins on Elektra Gold Label Stereo Original

My Lord What A Mornin' by Harry Belafonte on RCA Victor Black Label Nipper Living Stereo.

Center Of The Circle by Roger Kellaway on A&M Brown Label Stereo.

Jesse Winchester on Ampex Ble Label Stereo.

Enjoy finding this new music from older, established artists who cared not only for the music but the sound quality of their records as well. Start searching...

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Listening: Octave Records Radio

Octave Records is music birthed from high-end audio manufacturer PS Audio in an attempt to offer high quality recordings and to make those records available to interested audio and music lovers. Just this morning I became aware (on co-founder Paul McGowan's YouTube channel) that you can now listen to Octave Radio through their website. Certainly their CD quality and high-res quality music titles are not streamed in such a hi-res manner. They are down streamed to 320 mg in order to stream from their server into your audio device. Just how they do this would be interesting to know because the music quality is quite amazing. 

You can hear Paul's explanation of Octave Radio and streaming (for free) down the pipeline into your home here ----> 

Visit their website at this link and click on Listen Live at the top of the page. https://www.psaudio.com/collections/octave-records to experience their radio channel of selections from the Octave Records catalogue.

*You can enjoy their channel through your mobile device and head/earphones as well as through your connected device running into your home audio system. I'd be interested in your thoughts about the music and how you access the station.

As always, thank you very much for reading my Hear More Music blog. Your constructive comments are always welcomed!

Doug


Listening: DAN FOGELBERG CELEBRATION WEEKEND 2024

Fogelberg Foundation of Peoria and the Peoria Riverfront Museum are proud present the Dan Fogelberg Celebration Weekend 2024, 50 Years of Souvenirs!  Complete details of all events are available on the News and Events tab of the Fogelberg Foundation of Peoria website at www.fogelberg.rocks.  Join us for a fun filled weekend of music and memories as we celebrate the musical legacy of Dan Fogelberg in his home town.  Special guests that will be joining us at this year's celebration include Jerry and Mary Anne Milam of Golden Voice Recording Company, acclaimed music and television producer Peter Berkow (appearing via video link), who managed The Red Herring in Champaign, IL where Dan got his start as a solo artist, and Norbert Putnam, who produced many of Dan's albums and worked closely with Dan from 1972-1985.  Our weekend of events also features the dedication of the newly expanded Dan Fogelberg Memorial and a very special tribute to Dan's seminal album, Souvenirs!  Be sure to check out the ALL ACCESS PASS options that allow entrance to all events at a discount!

All website and ticket information is available here ----> https://ticketstripe.com/events/4009105277925793?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2EQMIvelhKZjbYi0zhZOk546X_Hrh4zvCSs0GbuoGaF_Nn0YUEoZa7FMs_aem_Acrt0oNLtfinSbFcxteC_b9sZ3EYDBQdf70yI7MtZGnwWR3624HB1k4zB_T8go8c6GP22QEmvQLI8SdnU8a0pFt_

Enjoy this celebration of a wonderful singer and songwriter!

Thank you so much for visiting Hear More Music,

Doug

Listening: Hania Rani's "Ghost" new music release

I first learned of Hania Rani during the pandemic while learning how to find my way around the Bandcamp website. Mesmerized by her music samples I downloaded "Live From Studio S2 (Complete Sessions)" which has become one of my go-to albums ever since. Rania is a pianist, composer and vocalist from Poland and her piano playing often times seems inspired 'in-the-moment'. Her music is well recorded and inspiring.

Ghost is a new album, just released this early May. I encourage you to check out her new music and back catalog on Bandcamp. Some albums are available via download (in a variety of formats) as well as vinyl and CD (not all are available in a physical format). While my preference is for CD or vinyl the shipping costs from European artists are prohibitive. Therefore thus far my Bandcamp purchases have all been downloads in AIFF format and all sound wonderful. Other formats are available if AIFF is not for you.  A splendid album, here are the notes from Hania's Bandcamp website regarding this fine album:

Hania Rani announces her new album, Ghosts, bringing her songwriting and beautiful vocals to the fore and featuring special guests Patrick Watson, Ólafur Arnalds and Duncan Bellamy (Portico Quartet). 


Ghosts is the sound of an ever-evolving artist and, just as the album’s title suggests she passes repeatedly and gracefully between musical worlds: as composer, singer, songwriter, and producer. This album builds on Rani’s earlier successes Esja and Home with an expanded yet still minimal setup of piano, keyboards, synths (most importantly her Prophet) and features more of her mysterious, bewitching voice. Its spirit is warm, beckoning one into an ambitious double album that unfolds at an exquisite pace, informed by her revelatory, exploratory live performances.

Ghosts is also an album of collaborations as Rani is joined by Patrick Watson, who breathes unearthly life into the ethereal ‘Dancing with Ghosts’. ‘Whispering House’is written and recorded with her friend, Ólafur Arnalds and casts a peaceful, ineluctable spell; and Portico Quartet’s Duncan Bellamy contributes vital loops to ‘Don’t Break My Heart’ and ‘Thin Line’. 

Rani’s lyrics are partially inspired by a two-month residency in a small studio in Switzerland’s mountains, where Rani was working on the soundtrack On Giacometti for a documentary about the renowned Swiss artist. “Where I stayed was once an old sanatorium in an area which used to be very popular, but now there are huge abandoned hotels where the locals say ghosts live. I mean, it's kind of a local belief system – these ghosts even have names! – but once you're deep into nature or some abandoned place, your imagination starts working on a different level.”

“The edge of life and death,” Rani summarises, “and what actually happens in between: this was what really interested me. Even singing the word ‘death’ was quite a shock. It’s such a weird word to say out loud, and people are afraid of it, which I found extremely interesting. Most of the songs probably still talk about love and things like that, but Ghosts is more me thinking about having to face some kind of end.”  

Find her latest album here https://haniarani.bandcamp.com/album/ghosts  Ghosts is also available on streaming platforms.

Thank you very much for visiting Hear More Music. Have you signed up for free updates?

Doug