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Also, I caved in and bought an advance copy of the Skaggs-Hornsby album from ebay a couple weeks ago (don’t worry I’m buying a legit copy too). I found the album version of Superfreak vastly inferior to the live performance on CMT. Don’t get me wrong, its a great album and will likely end up being in my top 3 Bruce albums (I’ll post a review shortly), but live versions will always be superior.
In face, I’m not sure if I can think of a Bruce song for which I’d rather hear the studio version instead of the live version…. well maybe “Listen to the Silence” but thats only because I don’t have a choice
I agree… the live versions really take the songs to new places they could never go in the studio. Its a much greater challenge for an artist to better live than in the studio. It’s not hard to sound like a virtuoso after some work with Protools and autotune.
mine is full of monkey wrenches…
Nine Inch Nails
Lee Michaels
Chris Whitley
Emerson Lake and Palmer
Johnny Cash
Tom Petty (but who doesn’t like him?)As for up and coming artists, I HIGHLY recommend you check out Alela Diane.
Comments I’ve come across from around the internet:
“I saw it recently and IMO is the best episode of crossroads that CMT has produced. If you don’t like this combination, I actually feel sorry for you. To hear “that just the way it is” and with Kentucky thunder backing Bruce up, is a masterpiece. I knew Bruce could play the piano, but what he does is not simply play but he owns it. It is an extension of his arms. I recorded it on HD and 5.1 and when I crank it up, well it’s just heaven.”
“Just finished watching a tape of this show. Good job CMT!!!! Why can’t you put music like this on all the time?
Wonderful, gifted artists from one end of the stage, to the other. Kentucky Thunder is one of the best in Bluegrass, and Hornsby has quite a unique style on the piano. Had no idea he had such a diverse musical background.
Enjoyed the show from start to finish. If you haven’t watched it yet, treat yourself to some fine music, and catch this episode. “
“Ricky Skaggs is on CMT right now (with Bruce Hornsby — I was curious, and I flipped on the audio, and they were doing a Bluegrass version of “The Way It Is” and I was all “…man…” because the bluegrass part was kinda good, but then you realise what SONG it is and you’re all “dammit…”), but it’s funny, because he totally looks like a Televangelist now. He’s actually got kinda a Jerry Falwell kinda vibe. He’s all Falwell With A Mandolin!”
“I watched CMT’s Crossroads with Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby last night. Even if you don’t care for bluegrass, you should make a point to see this. It was beautiful. The rendition of Mandolin Rain was truly beautiful.”
“OMG it was a train wreck you just couldn’t stop watching. ROFLMSAO!!!” – Concerning Superfreak
“BTW, wtf happened to Ricky Skaggs in the past 10 years? His head looks like a helium balloon that’s about to explode.”
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Is the CMT appearance really bring all this new traffic to the boards?
If you haven’t seen it/recorded it yet you haven’t missed your chance….
Has Bruce peaked?
Live in concert Bruce is always getting better. Stretching songs in different directions and making what was once old, new again. The latest Bruce concert is always stretched out more than previous shows.
In the studio… thats a different story. Personally, I feel Halcyon Days was a let down to me as a fan of Bruce. I kept feeling like the album was made for record execs instead of his hardcore fans. I remember the first time I heard Dreamland when he sang “isn’t this so nice, so nice” and thinking that line was just to try to sell his recording contract to a new company…. and it worked since he signed the deal with Columbia. I really felt Halcyon Days was a COMPROMISE between artistic integrity and commercial success. I’d much rather see Bruce continue on his own path (like he did with Spirit Trail and Big Swing Face) than to make a record that is a better fit to make the radio charts.
With that said, I am really looking forward to the bluegrass record with Skaggs. Bruce played a few rough cuts from the record on his first radio show on The Tide and they were AMAZING. Will this be a new PEAK for Bruce in the studio? I don’t know yet, but I can’t wait to find out.
There is a new documentary out now that deals with these exact issues called “Before the Music Dies”. Given some of the other names involved in the production (Branford Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton…) , I’m surprised Bruce wasn’t involved.
Here’s a clip from the picture that many of you will find interesting (though not surprising) that shows the process of a teen pop song from its creation to the making of a music video.
http://www.beforethemusicdies.com/blog/ … -pop-star/
You can see more about the DVD on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KGGP8UHow about End of the Innocence from the Charlottesville show? I’m really digging the spacey second half of the song.
Will_S wrote:I have talked to someone who confirmed that he will torrent the show in a week or so.It would speed things up if someone could provide him with a setlist for the Sonny Emory set. Can anyone help out with that?
Hey Will, any word on the torrent? I haven’t seen it on etree… or is a copy of the show somewhere else like Rick’s server?
thanks for the update. I only caught the last few minutes (I slept in today since a poker game ran into the middle of last night).
It was good to hear bruce talking about his work with chris whitle…. and hey Gnarles Barkley found its way to the tide’s (air)waves on this side of the pond right after the show.
I think it would be cool to try to coax JV to do “Walk the Dinosaur” – the hit from Was Not Was (the band he recorded and toured with in the early 80s)
Will_S wrote:If people don’t care about the music anymore, I think it’s because they aren’t finding the right SOURCE MATERIAL, regardless of the playback format. I’d blame ClearChannel, the big record labels, and the standards of the current pop music market before I thought of blaming MP3s.Interesting point, Will. It got me thinking of where I have found new music that I have some passion for. Very little comes from listening to mainstream radio. Here are a few sources that have introduced me to music that I have felt passionate enough about to go buy it on my own…
– Stuff my friends play. Often times it just takes being able to hear what someone else hears in music they like to dig it just as much or more than the other person.
– KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. Though I live on the east coast I listen to this radio show on the net. This show features all hand-picked music and gets a lot of music months before other stations. This show has a lot of influence in the industry as well. It is largely responsible for the success of Norah Jones and Coldplay, among others.
– Napster. I listen to the radio stations on the pay service. I recently found James McMurtry though Napster. I’m really liking this darker side of country. Where most country music is about the man sitting in the front of the church who is hard-working, patriotic and loves his family, McMurtry would rather sing about the red-eyed guy sitting in the back who is hungover from the night before.
– Artist Collaborations/Covers. I’ve found a lot of great music by looking up guys Bruce has worked with (like Chris Whitley) or artists he covers (like Sam Cooke).
As for Si’s question….
Yeah, I think most of us use music for background noise, some more than others. I remember a friend telling me how she burned a cd to play for a trip to the beach. It used Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” for 3 different tracks. Of course this is just background music… it’s music that just acts as a way to control the atmosphere around you, whether it be to you pumped up or get you so bored that you focus on your work instead of the tunes.
After all, it seems like the best music has the catchiness needed for background music and the quality that makes it worthy of more intense listening. I guess it’s a lot like The Simpsons in that respect… if you really get it it becomes 10 times better.
That’s enough rambling for one night… this is a forum post not at dissertation after all.
