Not Really about Taylor Swift

I'm certainly not the demographic that Taylor Swift is aiming for, but having actually never heard TS before (yes, I live in a cave that doesn't have access to the internet), I was curious about her latest album, her daring dive into pop. Lots and lots of hooks here, but for me (again, not intended to be for me), it's like a Twitter version of an album: short hooks, repeated (re-tweeted) a LOT. What I was most curious about was the collaboration on one track with Imogen Heap.

Imogen Heap first came to my attention via her band Frou Frou, who had a song on the soundtrack to the film "Golden State". I've described her before as 'Bjork Lite', and in fact, she's worked with Bjork. What I like most about her work is that even though it's piled high with synthesized sound, there's a warmth to it, especially in her voice.

I was slightly disappointed with the Swift/Heap Collaboration (now there's a band name for you!). Missing for me was the warm vocal sound and instead we get what currently rules the charts -- reedy, thin voices dwarfed by oppressive production glitz. (Yeah, I know -- this isn't meant for you, Grandpa).

So I wondered if maybe I'd mis-remembered the Frou Frou album and on listening again, it might not hold up.. Well I'm pleased to report that for me, it holds up very well. I like every track, and there are at least 5 that I like A LOT.

Funny how out of step it is with the current charts. Who would have guessed that a 2002 album would be Old School?

Boz Scaggs -- Still Great!

I've never really followed Boz' career. Of course, if you listened to pop radio in the '70s, you couldn't miss his string of hits, so I was certainly familiar with him, but I never bought any of his albums, though I did tape "Loan Me A Dime", the blistering l-o-n-g song featuring Duane Allman. Fast forward to 2003, and my wife gets a copy of "But Beautiful", Boz' album of standards like "Sophisticated Lady" and "What's New". Hmmm, very nice. Fast forward again, and in 2013, Boz released "Memphis", recorded in the same studio that Al Green used. Wow! It's subtly great, so subtle that at first listen you might think there wasn't much going on. But the band (studio guys like Willie Weeks and Steve Jordan) is fine, and the album is full of unlikely covers ("Love on a Two Way Street", "Can I Change My Mind", Mink DeVille's "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl", Steely Dan's "Pearl of the Quarter" -- that was the song the piqued my interest in the album). Boz does a fantastic version of "Rainy Night in Georgia", but you have to be content with a far distant second or third with that song -- Brook Benton OWNS it.  I don't know if there are any Boz originals because the library copy has no booklet, so I got zip for songwriting credits, other musicians (had to read info in the library catalog to find out the little I did).

A little more than half-way through, there's a very simple and powerful version of the blues/folk staple "Corrina, Corrina" that's one of the stand-out tracks for me. All-in-all, a very good album by some who proved their talent over 40 years ago -- amazing!