The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions: Tenor Abrupt

The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions: Tenor Abrupt

ASIN: B00008DHR6

Track Listings

1. On Green Dolphin Street

2. Climb Every Mountain

3. Que Reste-T-Il de Nos Amours [#]

4. Make Someone Happy [#]

5. Blues Abrupt

6. Nearness of You [#]

7. I Got Rhythm

8. Go Red Go

9. Blues in Deauville [#]

10. Jumpin' at the Woodside

Tracks:

Black Sheep Boy
For Real
In a Radio Song
Black
Get Big
King and a Queen
Stone
Latest Toughs
Song of Our So-Called Friend
So Come Back, I Am Waiting
Glow
For Real [Multimedia Track]

Tracks:

Missing Children
No Key, No Plan
Garden
Black Sheep Boy, Pt. 4
Next Four Months
Another Radio Song
Forest
Last Love Song for Now
No Key, No Plan [Alternate Take][Multimedia Track]

Amazon.com

When Okkervil River released Black Sheep Boy Appendix in 2005, it seemed like the band just couldn't stop themselves. Folk icon Tim Hardin's tune had both opened and provided the name for the preceding full-length album, and the "Black Sheep Boy" was too compelling a concept to leave behind. Ouch, you sigh, a concept album: But here, the concept disappears, replaced by Will Sheff's fantastic narrative songwriting and a mix of electrics and acoustics--guitars, pump organs, mandolins, vibraphones, and more. Then there's this 2-CD Black Sheep Boy Definitive Edition, merging the original album with the Appendix EP. It's a spare-beauty-turned-turbulent thing. On "Another Radio Song," Sheff's an imagist, bellowing and pleading alongside a cresting string section: "There is no escaping it / The way an unborn baby's ear unfolds in your belly / There is no escaping the thing that is making its home in your radio." It all becomes a bursting emotional leap. And for the Definitive album, you find that classic rock gem: an unreleased track whose easy brilliance seems effortless. "The Next Four Months" is a pill-popping, husband-ditching classic, "We're driving down the interstate/ You're feeling great / You scratch your wrist / And we pretend your kids, your husband / All you left does not exist," the story goes. You can guess the ending. But it's the whole piece, words and music, that you have to hear to imagine. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

This is the definitive double-disc set which brings together Okkervil River's ground-breaking Black Sheep Boy project in its entirety--including the original album, the 7-song Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP, the song "The Next Four Months" (originally released on the "For Real" CD single), the "For Real" video as well as a new video of a magical alternate slower take of "No Key, No Plan". Enjoy this panoramic perspective of a modern masterpiece and one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the new millennium. Black Sheep Boy is Okkervil River's most ambitious and cinematic record to date, a love story and adult fable carved in lacerating rock and roll, desolate late-night country weepers, and a few shining moments of sheer, shameless pop. Along the way, the compositions of Will Sheff evoke the mature songcraft of Leonard Cohen's New Skin for the Old Ceremony, the sophistication of Scott Walker's Scott 4, the shambling slow-motion bravado of Neil Young's On the Beach, and the raw nerves and trick effects of Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers. The Appendix is not just a companion piece to Black Sheep Boy; it's also a condensed, alternate vision of that record's imagery and themes, with the ultimate intent to exhaust and destroy both. This ambitious mini-album rounds up and reworks the band's favorite unfinished songs (tracked for the full-length) and then punctuates and bookends them in brand-new compositions.

Customer Reviews:

A Creature All Its Own.......2007-07-07

Okkervil River is one of those rare bands that came on the scene like a crippled child in a street race, tons of ambition and heart in a limping fragile frame. With each reappearance their stamina shines through however, as every album they release is an exponential improvement over the last. With Black Sheep Boy they have, not only come to full maturity as a band, but have grown into a powerful creature of immense musical talent aswell. They are without a doubt miles ahead of their competition. On par with bands such as The National, Arcade Fire, and The Decemberists, as far as talent and personal voice, if not also in style (Think: The child of The National and The Decemberists trapped inside of a very troubling dream).

The Album does not stick to a single genre, sometimes it's alt-county, sometimes it's straight up rock, but it's always musically inspired and rewarding to listen to. But the part that makes this an excellent Album, rather than a collection of songs, is the epic scope of the story it contains.

The songs collect the thoughts and experiences of a true struggle with evil. The physical turmoil of a rotten relationship, the very real vices and temptations of humanity, the sickly excitement and victories that evil enjoys, all of these things are brought together to form the black sheep boy, the devil inside us all. The story is extremely personal, and Okkervil River's great strength is the injection of emotion into every line, and every note of the songs. But even for an album completely covered with the struggle with evil, it never gets bogged down in the darkness, and is more often triumphant in it's victories over the enemy. I'm always overjoyed with the pitiful pleas of evil desires as the hero turns his back on the empty promises and lies and moves on to a better life.

Add to all of this, the fact that it now comes packaged with The Black Sheep Boy's Appendix, for almost no extra cost, and you have a definitive product indeed. The Appendix is an EP that was released several months after Black Sheep Boy. However, it is seriously one of the best mini-albums I've ever heard. From start to finish the songs segue like a masterpiece stage act. Floating from song to song, remembering themes and images from itself and Black Sheep Boy propper, it finalizes the story and musical arc of Black Sheep Boy. It contains several songs that are even more beautiful and grander than the songs on the album itself. Check out 'Another Radio Song' to find the best song Okkervil River has recorded to date, in my opinion.

This is a must have for any fan of adventurous albums with emotion, talent, and character. I have listened to it at least once a week for the past year and a half. Give it a try.

Black and White: The Definitive Collection

Average customer rating:

Excellent material, but...
A Great Social Injustice
distilled experience
Rough-edged, wide-ranging, and essential
Brilliant

Black and White: The Definitive Collection
Ewan MacColl
Manufacturer: Cooking Vinyl
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Scottish Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Revival | Folk | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Celtic | International | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Real MacColl
The Definitive Collection
Classic Scots Ballads: Tradition Years
Scottish Drinking & Pipe Songs
Blow Boys Blow: The Tradition Years

ASIN: B0000001ZU
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Tracks:

Ballad Of Accounting
The Driver's Song
My Old Man
Dirty Old Town
Black And White
Brother Did You Weep
The Press Gang
The Shoals Of Herring
The Manchester Rambler
Sheath And Knife
Highland Muster Roll
Cam Ye O'er Frae France
The Maid Gaed Tae The Mill
The Moving On Song
Nobody Knew She Was There
Looking For A Job
Kilroy Was Here
The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face
The Foggy Dew
The Joy Of Living

Amazon.com

MacColl was a renaissance man of folk music, not as well known as Seeger or Guthrie, but in many ways just as important. Born in Scotland in 1915, MacColl knew and recorded thousands of traditional British and Celtic songs, a generous sampling of which is here offered. His voice can be a bit of a shock--wild and rustic and thick with dialect--but matched with original and traditional material like "Dirty Old Town" (made infamous by the Pogues), "Driver's Song," "Looking for a Job," and "Joy of Living," MacColl's art has vigor and immediacy. --Roy Francis Kasten

Customer Reviews:

Excellent material, but..........2006-11-27

...hardly 'definitive'. Probably best to seek out source material for this artist until a truly 'definitive' collection comes out...

A Great Social Injustice .......2005-11-30

Ewan MacColl does a great job with these songs of injustice. The music on this CD reminds me of Pete Seeger - was Pete influenced by Ewan? These songs give you lots to think about the injustices of this world - a woman "lies dead in the ditch fed on by hungry flies" and no one seems to notice, his father loses his job to new and improved means (robots, most likely), being born of the wrong class therefore "you can't stay here ... you'll drive down the price of property", begging for work - anything - even cleaning up after animals that unload on the street, slave labor that picks the fruit that we put on our table, etc. These are the types of people we tend to ignore when we see them on the street begging for a "dollar". Will we think twice the next time we see these types of people? I hope that I do, for some day I could end up like them.

distilled experience.......2001-10-01

This album is an antidote to all forms of fashionable 'arty' popular music (from Maccoll's original 'bete noir' Bob Dylan onwards). Maccoll's language is so spare and precise that it cuts right to the essence of the emotions and experiences he describes. The poetry of `Nobody Knew She Was There' is almost like Auden. But Maccoll is most powerful for the ethical force of his songs, and the charismatic control of rhythm with which he performs them. The lyrics of these songs are like a history of left-politics in Britain during the twentieth century, culminating in its defeat at the hands of Mrs Thatcher during the 80s. She is the `lady' of `Looking for a Job', a painful song to listen to because its raw power seems now to come from desperation - the failure of the traditional Communist values which Maccoll supported throughout his life. In the end all he seems able to offer is resentful resistance to change (`My Old Man'). This is sad, and depressing to experience, but it is also, in a way, unimportant. What we have here is a real sense of continuity - from the 1930s to the 60s to the 80s, but also stretching back to the 17th and 18th century. It's intensely moving to feel this sense of continuity and communality so consistently affirmed in these wonderful songs. This is an album that cares about life: past, present and future. The final song 'The Joy of Living' can make you cry.

Rough-edged, wide-ranging, and essential.......1998-10-02

Black and White includes a song whose cover version hit the Top 40 (The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face), songs that couldn't be sung by anyone else (Looking For a Job), songs that have entered the folk canon (Shoals of Herring, which is often assumed to be by 'trad.arr.', and Manchester Rambler) and songs that really are traditional (Sheath and Knife). When MacColl has a message it's blunt as can be, as in Dirty Old Town and the despairing Looking For a Job (skip this song if you're really out of work!). There is no danger of overproduction here; there are only a few musicians on the album besides MacColl himself and Peggy Seeger, his wife (I think) and life partner. MacColl's singing suits his music; Seeger's is definitely an acquired taste, and their harmonies are raw, with the almost Appalachian sound characteristic of theeraly folk revival. The crowning jewel is the last song on the album, the beautiful Joy of Living, a farewell to MacColl's life that will leave you with a greater appreciation of your own.

Brilliant.......1998-08-21

Every song and performance on this album is pure genius. The problem really is that Ewan Maccoll's career has such breadth that it is difficult for this type of 1 disc compilation to provide a full overview. Still, it's the best that's out there, though missing a number of key tracks.

Average customer rating:

Just Like the Title Says
Infuriating!
The Best BOA Collection Yet
The best BOA collection yet!

The Definitive Rock Collection
Black Oak Arkansas
Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Southern Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Arena Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Definitive Rock Collection
The Definitive Rock Collection
Gold
Black Oak Arkansas - First 30 Years
The Definitive Collection

ASIN: B000ICLR7K
Release Date: 2006-10-17

Tracks:

Uncle Lijiah
Hot And Nasty
Lord Have Mercy On My Soul
When Electricity Came To Arkansas
Keep The Faith
Fever In My Mind
White Headed Woman
Gravel Roads
Fertile Woman
Mutants Of The Monster
Gettin' Kinda Cocky
Hot Rod
Swimmin' In Quicksand
Happy Hooker
Red Hot Lovin'

Tracks:

Jim Dandy
High 'N' Dry
Sting Me
Son Of A Gun
Dixie
Everybody Wants To See Heaven 'Nobody Want To Die'
Taxman
Fancy Nancy
Back Door Man
Diggin' For Gold
Cryin' Shame
Hey Ya'll
Strong Enough To Be Gentle
Rock 'N' Roll
So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star

Customer Reviews:

Just Like the Title Says.......2007-06-08

"Definitive" is the key word for this collection. It pulls together the best album cuts along with the BOA signature tunes. A collection well worth waiting for.

Infuriating!.......2007-04-11

The biggest idiots I've ever heard except for Rappers of course. This is a band that could have been a great band if it wasn't for the goofy vocalist botching and making a joke out of everything. The musicianship is definately there, excellent musicianship, but comic book lyrics and vocals trash it all! After a few songs of this, the humor gets old real quick. It's sad to see such gifted Southern musicians live up to an outdated stereotype played out by a childish vocalist who thinks all of life is a joke. If it wasn't for this, and they had gotten a real vocalist to sing the songs seriously, they probably would have been as big as Lynyrd Skynryd, and their musicianship gives strong evidence of what should have been, instead of them being reduced to dime store novelty status! Thank god that Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and Molly Hatchett got it right, and did the South proud with some dignity!

The Best BOA Collection Yet.......2007-01-06

THE DEFINITIVE ROCK COLLECTION is a wonderful double-disc anthology of Black Oak Arkansas, featuring songs from throughout their career as one of the funkiest, grittiest, most psychedelic bands ever to come out of the South. This band provided the blueprint for such 80s street-metal bands as Guns N' Roses, L.A. Guns, Motley Crue, and Junkyard. True, BOA lacked the musical finesse of the Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Marshall Tucker Band, the Outlaws, .38 Special, or even Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet, but they made up for it with an absolutely wicked sense of humor that's good to equate teasing with so that the bully doesn't get any satisfaction. The fact that lead singer Jim "Dandy" Mangrum and guitarist Ricky Reynolds currently advocate sanctions against Indonesia in retaliation for that country's trumped-up 2005 drug-smuggling conviction of a young Australian tourist, as well as increased funding for law enforcement and stern justice for kidnappers, makes this anthology an essential prchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

The best BOA collection yet!.......2006-10-27

The odds are that, if you're even looking at this release, you're already a BOA fan. The question then is, why buy yet another compilation cd of their music? I strongly suggest that, even if you own all their other available cds, you still need to buy this one!

If you're not already a fan, then this is definately the best starting place for an introduction to the music of those rebel hillbillies known as Black Oak Arkansas!

Here're some reasons why:

1. This is simply the best collection of BOA music available in any given package, period. By way of comparing "products", I'll suggest that this release gives a more comprehensive overview of this band than the Definitive Rock release for Foghat (which is pretty good in it's own right, but the BOA is better!).

2. This is the only place (so far!) where you can get any cuts from the "X-Rated" lp.

3. Other than the pic on the front cover, the rest of the pictures in the booklet are ones I'd never seen before. The liner notes are ok, but it would've been nice to have new quotes from the actual band members.

4. Let's face it, this is also about Respect. BOA never got any and just the fact that Atco/Rhino made the effort to put this collection out is a great thing for the band and us as fans.

It occurs to me that the label will be watching the sales figures on this release and those figures may come into play when they make decisions about future releases of BOA material. I'm still hoping for both an official release of X-Rated and, the Holy Grail of BOA music, a remastering of Raunch N Roll which would also finally include previously unreleased bonus cuts.

Also, the last picture inside the booklet is of the band in the Black Oak era...maybe an indication that RWTD might also, at long last, be in consideration for release?

A boy's got to dream!

So all you OakHeads unite, do your part and buy this release!

PLEASE, keep the faith, we NEED it!

(EDIT: 3/28/07 - Dreams do come true and the Holy Grail has been found! Rhino Handmade has done the full-blown remaster treatment on Raunch N Roll and has just released it on their Rhino Handmade label. Two full discs covering the full two shows from which the original RNR was culled. Excellent packaging, liner notes from JD & Rickie Lee, and two full discs of the best rock and roll ever produced! Get yours fast as it's a limited production run of 5000!)

Average customer rating:

Their Perception is Our Reality
ON POINT!
The Perceptionists - Black Dialogue
great at times
www.sportofdistraction.com

Black Dialogue
The Perceptionists
Manufacturer: Definitive Jux
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Experimental Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
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Emergency Rations
Mo' Mega
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ASIN: B00070G74G
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

Let's Move
People 4 Prez
Blo
Memorial Day
Love Letters
Black Dialogue
Frame Rupture
What Have We Got To Lose?!?
Party Hard feat. Guru & CamuTao
Career Finders feat Humpty Hump aka Shock G
5 O'Clock feat. Phonte of Little Brother
Breath In The Sun

Album Description

Debut album from Boston based super-group made up of MC's Mr. Lif, Akrobatik and DJ Fakts One. Album features guest appearances by Guru, Humpty Hump aka Shock G and Phonte (of Little Brother) + guest production by El-P and more. Chuck D. on Perceptionists: "Lif is Coltrane, Ak - Miles Davis and Fakts One yo, that's Art Blakey - the magic in NYC that happened 50 years ago, y'all are experiencing right now"

Customer Reviews:

Their Perception is Our Reality.......2007-04-05

Let me be the first to admit I know next to nothing about hip-hop. That being said, I know gold when I hear it, and Boston-based hip-hop group The Perceptionists is it. Their 2005 disc, Black Dialogue, has all the makings of a star disc: the break beats, smooth rap, dope lyrics and righteous rhythms. The disc flows naturally from one track to the next, and even got my scrawny white butt grooving. In fact, the grooves are so good, my whole body started moving.

The Perceptionists is a trio made up of Mr. Lif, Akrobatik and DJ Fakts One. The trio have been working together as far back as 1997, with DJ Fakts One doing the cuts for Lif's single "Electro," and Lif lending vocals to Akrobatik's 1998 b-side "Fat S-t." In fact, the liner notes of Lif's 2000 song "Avenger" read: "Akrobatik and Mr. Lif combine to form The Perceptionists." But it took until 2005 to come up with their debut, Black Dialogue, released on New York label Definitive Jux.

Although all three rappers had solo careers, releasing albums with Definitive Jux and Coup D'Etat labels, they blend seamlessly into a tight group. Definitive Jux's Web site describes them as "three brothers from other mothers," hailing their close working relationship: "[The Perceptionists] have been to different continents together, blown up each other's cell phones to get to airports on time, shared bad fast food meals at truck stops. Truth be told: road warriors have bonds that are stronger than studio associates will ever know about."

The album is totally real, without an ounce of pretense. Two tracks that stand out are "Black Dialogue" and a righteous rant against our current president, George W. Bush, and the lack of weapons of mass destruction is Iraq, "Memorial Day."

The title track is a scorching diatribe against selling out, a shout-out to African-American cultural leaders of the past and present, and a hymn to the power of hip-hop culture: "Yo, Martin and Malcolm knew it / Black dialogue / Grandma Moses drew it / Black dialogue / Stevie Wonder seen it / Black dialogue / Many games to steam with / Black dialogue / Chuck D took a stand for / Black dialogue ... The whole world is after / Black dialogue." "Memorial Day" takes the position of supporting American troops, but cussing out leaders, mostly white ones, who sent them to die for a lie.

Rounding out the album, "Love Letters" and "Breathe In The Sun" are two soulful and plaintive love songs, told with a hip-hop sensibility. With this black dialogue, The Perceptionists have created a set of songs that leave listeners with something new to think about on every listen. Whether they're tackling institutional racism, sociopolitical issues, or just shooting it about love and life in some Jamaica Plain living room, each track is a massively mind-bending groove. Sometimes they're angry. Sometimes they're heartsick and soulful. Sometimes they're comedic. But each time they spit out the good stuff. The Perceptionists are an auditory wonder.

ON POINT!.......2006-07-21

This is one of the most refreshing hip hop contributions that I have heard in a minute. The lyrics are meaningful, relative, definitive and true knowledge. The production is tight, clever tracks, beats that resignate. Memorial Day is quite inventive, each of the tracks can stand on their own but together they are a force to be reckoned. Much appreciation and gratitude for these indivdually talented artist to combine their gifts to bring this offering. I am quite pleased.
Much Love.

The Perceptionists - Black Dialogue.......2006-01-15

Black Dialogue's debut album "The Perceptionists" (2005) is a solid release from the Boston trio of Mr. Lif, Akrobatik & DJ Fakts One. The first real standout for me is Memorial Day- The Perceptionists talk to the President asking "Where are the Weapons of Mass Destruction?" while doing their own narrative of being soldiers in Iraq, calling out the politicians and dropping some very memorable lines. This track is powerful, and worth listening to whatever your stance on the war is. The Perceptionists then flip things delivering the laidback "Love Letters" an outstanding and intelligent track about looking for love. The Perceptionists shine again on the title track "Black Dialogue" getting political and repping black culture while calling out the fakes and talking about the ignorance they see in today's culture. Midway not feeling some of the tracks, two more standouts finish off the album the first of these is the exceptional "5 O'clock" feat. Phonte of Little Brother, an ode to enjoying life after work, making a plan about life and business, and focusing on where you want to be- this whole track is full of quotable lines. The album closes off with the chilled out "Breath in the Sun". Recommend checking out "Black Dialogue" if your looking for something different. 3.5.

great at times.......2006-01-10

The problem with most of these 5 star reviews is that they don't take in account the album as a WHOLE. This album is absolutely incredible at certain times, mostly good the rest of the time, with a couple fairly weak tracks.

With that said, this is a very good album overall, with the standouts being the title track "Black Dialogue" and "Love Letters". "Frame Rupture" and "5 O' Clock" (featuring Phonte of Little Brother) are also very good.

The production is very good most of the time and lyrically there is really no problem at all, as usual with most underground hip-hop. Very political at times, but very versital as well, The Perceptionists have produced a good album.

Very good album with a couple mishaps. Worth your money.

www.sportofdistraction.com.......2005-11-23

5 stars for content, and the same 5 stars by comparison to the pied-piper music we are innundated with on a daily basis. It's definitely nice ot hear these 2 pass it back & forth, and I think it helps Akrobatic immensly for him to have a break throughout an album, instead of carrying the whole weight.

In any event, for those that appreciate the naturally evolved classic sound, this is it.

The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions: Green Onions

Average customer rating:

The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions: Green Onions
Milt Buckner
Manufacturer: Black & Blue France
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Milt Buckner/Illinois Jacquet/Buddy Tate

ASIN: B00004SDJY
Release Date: 2002-07-01

Tracks:

Green Onions
Pour Toutes Mes Soeurs [Take 2]
Since I Fell for You
Sleep
Milt's Boogie Woogie
It's the Talk of the Town [#]
Sweet Georgia Brown
After You've Gone
Pour Toutes Mes Soeurs [Take 1][#]

Average customer rating:

The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions
John Hardee
Manufacturer: Black & Blue France
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004S3JZ
Release Date: 2002-07-01

Tracks:

Sleep Walking
These Foolish Things
Cruising Along
O.D.B.
A Little Blue
Upstairs
A New Avenue

Average customer rating:

The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions
Charlie Shavers
Manufacturer: Black & Blue France
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00002590A
Release Date: 2002-07-01

The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions: Live on Stage

Average customer rating:

The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions: Live on Stage
Willis Jackson , and Richard "Groove" Holmes
Manufacturer: Black & Blue France
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Jazz | Styles | Music

Soul-Jazz & Boogaloo | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jump Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00008DHR7
Release Date: 2003-07-01

Tracks:

Ya Understand Me
Body and Soul
More
Satin Doll [#]
My One and Only Love
Head Tune
Man I Love [#]
Bar Wars [#]

Average customer rating:

Some of the sharpest swords from this BLACK SAMURAI!!
C-Rayz with the right ears is always pleasing, quality EP
His best work to date...
C-minus for C-Rayz!
it works like he does on the mic

We Live: The Black Samurai
C-Rayz Walz
Manufacturer: Definitive Jux
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Experimental Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
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Ravipops
Year of the Beast

ASIN: B0002W4TS0
Release Date: 2004-09-07

Tracks:

Opening Ceremony
We Live [Belief Mix]
Trudeau - Beba, C-Rayz Walz, LJ, Luminisah, Rashida
Showgun
Crayzeebeat - C-Rayz Walz, Lyrikill da Observer
Crayzeerock - Bleedin Gumz, C-Rayz Walz, Lyrikill da Observer
Single Mothers - Beba, C-Rayz Walz, , Imani, Krystal, Rachelle, Shani
Amore
Metal Petals
Rainforever - Bleedin Gumz, C-Rayz Walz, Lyrikill da Observer
3 Card Molly
Closing Ritual

Customer Reviews:

Some of the sharpest swords from this BLACK SAMURAI!!.......2006-08-24

C-RAYZ is just one of those mc's thats just plain enjoyable to listen to. He lives+breathes hiphop so you know everytime he releases something he's put his heart+soul into it. (All you slacking rap artists out there, take note!!) This EP starts off smoothly with a japanese influenced intro instrumental then hits us off with "We Live [Belief Mix]", a slightly superior (in my opinion) version of this classic song. Next up is "Trudeau" and "Showgun", 2 of the tightest tracks, lyrically, on display. Then we bare witness to, in my opinion, the best beat on display "Crayzeebeat", and its used for a 30sec interlude??!!!! Why do so many artists do that?? Next up is the fantastic "Crayzeerock" where RAYZ goes wild on the mic coming up with some of the freshest ryhmes you'll hear. "Single Mothers" is an ode to the situation that is so common in every corner of the globe, backed up by "Amore" another soulful offering that allows the previous heat from tracks 3,4 and 6 to simmer down. "Metal Petals", an interlude is next followed by "Rainforever" (easily the best track on show here), where RAYZ tears it down big style. Finally we got another remix this time in the form of "3 Card Molly" and it ends with the same piece of music used for the intro. All in all an excellent EP, that if you can get on the cheap becomes an amazing EP.

C-Rayz with the right ears is always pleasing, quality EP.......2005-04-30

First of all I have to say that at a strictly face value, this album is awesome. Entering a store and seeing a 12 track cd deemed an EP and, thus, being priced as an EP is always pleasing. Some artists sell CDs with 11 tracks for more than 15 dollars, but C-Rayz sticks to a 12 track EP, though some are recycled from Ravi, at low cost. Right out the gate it earns points. But as for the content, its hard to really disagree with C-Rayz. There are those who feel his voice and style are a bit too uncoventional for hip hop. I, after hearing C-Rayz on Aesop Rock's Bent Life, was also apprehensive towards his style. However after hearing C-Rayz featured on other songs, such as Peruvian Cocaine by Immortal Technique, I realized that the unique voice and sporadic, almost nonsensical lyrics are quite soothing in this packaged, stale sound of hip hop today. Furthermore, C-Rayz can ride beats like a pro. His flow is never off and the general sound is most impressive. Ravipops does trump this album easily, but We Live is quality. C-Rayz always comes hard with lyrical prowess and the beats, though occasionally boring after a while, do compliment C-Rayz's style as he always has with his beats. They move in and out of soft and hard beats, though there are rarely any beats that fit a medium. There are also two 10-20 second tracks that are just beat introductions, both of which are INCREDIBLE despite being short as hell. The choruses are a bit weak, especially off Truneau, but these days adding a hook to a song typically damages the song regardless who the artist is. C-Rayz keeps his talent shining on this EP with quality, clever, humorous lyrics, the tight beats he is characteristic of, and the flow to make almost any song sound good. However this album is certainly not flawless, and in comparison to Ravipops, it could be deemed subpar. But as an EP, its as good as it gets with 12 tracks that will make your head nod. If you enjoy C-Rayz at all, its worth it to acquire this EP. And if you just pretend to like hip hop, then you can criticize C-Rayz and pretend like hes trash. But the reality is, he's nastier than 90% of MCs out there, including you critics. So give respect where respect is due, like to C-Rayz.

His best work to date..........2004-11-10

"We Live: The Black Samurai EP" by C Rayz Walz is his best work to date. C Rayz Walz is truly amazing as an emcee... This EP is almost perfect. It has enough universal appeal for new listeners but also has some odd and creative sentiments for the true fans. The best songs are CRAZEEROCK , AMORE and RAINFOREVER. Even the songs that are re-visited from Ravipops (like 3 CARD MOLLY and WE LIVE) are incredible because they are RE-DONE... and dramatically improved. This is a modern hip-hop classic.

C-minus for C-Rayz!.......2004-10-22

Well well well,

Any fan of the Def Jux line up knows that C-Rayz could kill the mic at one point. Now 2+ years since proving his skills on various underground & early Def Jux releases... he's got 2 full lengths under his belt. I'll admit I was a doubter when I first heard 'Ravipops'. I felt that his style wasn't tight enough & he relies on too many nonsensical lines & verses to make his songs make sense. After multiple listens & a growin appreciation for the beats on 'Ravi', I warmed up to it... even came to really like it. Then came the track 'Jello' on DJXP3, which was new territory for C, to actually be doing a song w/ an entire point. The verses made sense, & related to the point of the song. I thought this was a pretty tight track for C, & was therefore excited more for his new releases 'We Live'. Well let me just say that i'm terribly disappointed. First off the album starts w/ a Belief remix of 'We Live' which was featured on 'Ravi', & a remix of '3 card molly' from 'Ravi' as well. These are good songs, but i just feel that he should've saved them as b-sides for 'Ravi' released them bt/w the 'Ravi' singles... instead he releases a new album w/ not one remix'd old song but 2! So then there's the actual new songs... some of which are still bangers, most of which have darn good beats, only a few horribly commercial sounding. But the clincher that really takes this album from a B+ to a C- is the hooks! The hooks are so "sing-Songy" as another reviewer put it, & just plame simple & annoying, plus C has a tendency to really let his voice go on this CD, letting himself hit these distorted, raspy, sometimes even whiny lines! It's really a shame b/c as we all know he's a tight MC, better than any of us could hack, & I really look forward to another effort from him reclaiming his freestyle glory days. I'm a huge supporter of underground hip-hop so if you're at all into it.. go pick this up, help them feed their habits & their seeds... but this is definitely not the best that C Rayz can do. Sorry C@!

it works like he does on the mic.......2004-09-23

it makes sense to put out another street banger for c- rayz..we all heard him on countless guest appearances from the def-jukies and stronghold mix tapes to the blaze battles. he has all the right elements.this ep is no doubt another hit from c- rayz. rest assured his style has never chaged. he steps it up in the first 6 tracks. i enjoyed listening to this many times. i think if more people listened to the underground hiphop that c-rayz embraces, it could take a turn away from the "rims and timbs" glamour and desentizing rhymes/mainstream madness. i have been highly influenced by defjux and the hiphop they produce.

Jumpin' With Al: The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions

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Jumpin' With Al: The Definitive Black & Blue Sessions
Al Casey
Manufacturer: Black & Blue France
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000280LP
Release Date: 2002-07-01

Tracks:

Rosetta
Willow Weep for Me
One Woman's Man
I'm Beginning to See the Light
Pousse-Caf#]
Just You, Just Me - Milt Buckner, , Al Casey, Arnett Cobb, Roland Lobligeois, Michael Silva,
If You Ain't K - Milt Buckner, , Al Casey, Arnett Cobb, Roland Lobligeois, Michael Silva,
I Wish I Knew - Milt Buckner, , Al Casey, Arnett Cobb, Roland Lobligeois, Michael Silva,
I'm Beginning to See the Light [Take][#] - Al Casey, Paul Gunther, Roland Lobligeois
Pousse-CafTake 2][#] - Al Casey, Paul Gunther, Roland Lobligeois

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music