R. Kelly - 'Love Letters'

Quincey Jones - Q: Soul Bossa Nostra

Not really feeling this one. A lot of hip hop grooves on this. Most likely aimed at the younger crowd in an effort to expose them to different music. Not a bad record but just not my thing.

BT - "These Hopeful Machines"

For Christmas I got CD's from these artists:

The Derek Trucks Band
Joe Bonamassa
John Mayer Trio
Rory Gallagher
Neal Morse
Glass Hammer

I like 'em all, and none of them are jazz. Peace and goodwill.

@DWBass

Strawberry Letter 23: The Best of Brothers Johnson

The Real Funk

Woody-RE: Your Aaron Neville concert experience. Yep- I hear ya. I like the bands that keep the patter to a bare minimum. Bruce Springsteen-used to play 4-5 hour gigs-with LOOONG spoken intros to near every song. Good songs-pace and momentum killer. Al Stewart and James Taylor are the same way. I SUPPOSE for the stone fanatical BS,AS,+JT fans they just eat that stuff up as "intimacy" On the other hand- at most of the 54 DYLAN concerts I have attended since 1978, he plays his hour forty-five to two hours...stopping once to say "THANGGGYOUUU!" then he introduces each member of his band. At the very end of the last encore-Dylan and band stand-hands on hips for 20-30 seconds-NO BOWING.Dylan points at the crowd with both index fingers-they call it now his double six shooter salute. Then Dylan+band leave and get on the tour bus. He gets CRITICIZED in some reviews for NOT talking between songs. Though in 1978-the press called Dylan too VEGAS-Y when he intro`d songs and said thank you several times!!! TRUE STORY!

Makes you wonder what people go to concerts for - the music or to be able to say: "so and so spoke to me" or "shouted out my home town's name after every song."
I don't mind some banter, but my experience has been that a lot of the vocal acts who aren't jazz do it way too much. Even more annoying is when they do it on recordings.
I once reviewed a Gap Band live album that was done in Atlanta. I'm sure for the people who were there, hearing "Atlantaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" meant something. But to a person playing the CD at home or in the car, it's very annoying.

Ha ha hee too true! I`ve been mulling over starting a "Old Hat Concert/Music Cliches" thread. That ATLAAAAAAAAANTAAA thing and the like IS annoying...when you KNOW two nights later-probably the same point in the concert it will be DEEEEEETROOOIIIIIITMost annoying ever: "C`MON! PUT YER HANDS TOGETHER!"--I rebel-I always clasp-CLASP my own hands and raise them like a winning prizefighter! Heheheh. I always thought it cheesy-wonder who said it first? Death by hanging! LOL!

LMBO. So true.