Bossanovanglo - Various Artists

Brazil’s Bossa Nova emerged as one of the most influential movements in musical history, standardized by its anthem “Garota de Ipanema” (The Girl from Ipanema) written by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes. But the influence of Bossa Nova with its strong jazz flavor has endure the test of time and it has embedded itself into the composition and performing style of many English-singing artists, some of which comprise “Bossanovanglo”. Published by Kithara Musique, this is an incredible collection of Bossa Nova originals and covers sung entirely in English and performed by some amazing international artists who have embraced bossa nova rhythms, jazz stylings and nylon string guitar colors with their own beautiful vocals and pop sensibilities to create a smooth contemporary vibe full of love, longing, sadness, happiness and everlasting emotions normally depicted on this Brazilian music genre. Featuring Canadian singer/songwriter Marc Jordan (famous for having written "Rhythm of My Heart" for Rod Stewart) a duo with Canadian jazz singer Molly Johnson; American composer, pianist and educator Don Grusin accompanied by sensual soul stylist singer Leon Ware of Mowtown fame; the amazing vocal-piano duo of American vocalist Cecily Gardner with famous Canadian composer, pianist, producer David Foster; German crooner Peter Fessler accompanied by the amazing NDR Bigband; German vocal extraordinaire Nikola Materne & Bossanoire; sultry Swedish vocalist Anna Nygren; American jazz diva Sylvia Bennett; the insideful American singer-songwriter Amy Holland (wife of Michael McDonald); the duo of German guitarist, composer Dago and acclaimed soul jazz singer Tokunbo Akinro; the ever cheerful Canadian singer Michele Mele and French awesome newcomers Aymeric Frerejean and Joel Virgel. Beautiful cover painting by Sergio Lazo.

Lou Rawls - Love All Your Blues Away



We have all heard the crooning voice of Lou Rawls (1935 - 2006) through his biggest hits such as "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine", “See You When I Git There” and “Lady Love”. From gospel, R&B to soul and jazz to blues and straight-up pop, Lou Rawls was a consummate master of African-American vocal music whose versatility helped him adapt to the changing musical times over and over again while always remaining unmistakably himself. Rawls' smooth, classy elegance permeated nearly everything he sang, yet the fire of his early gospel days was never too far from the surface. Rawls always remained a highly visible figure on the American cultural landscape, pursuing an acting and voice-over career in addition to his continued concert appearances, and doing extensive charity work on behalf of his consuming passion, the United Negro College Fund. “Love All Your Blues Away” is not his best album. Quite honestly I didn’t even know it existed until recently, but it’s an interesting find. Produced by the great Jay Graydon, with contributions by David Foster, it has become sort of an obscure “West Coast” classic. It embodies a mixture of typical 80’s synthesizer-pop and classic Rawls soul and jazz ballads, which seem to come from two different production camps, most likely in an effort to maintain Rawls current with pop music developments of the time and at the same time remain true to his fan base. I have not been able to locate any information on the musicians on this production and this classic has never been released on CD but there’s very decent rip to vinyl on the comments. Portions of this write-up were provided by Steve Huey from AMG.

Track listing:
1. Change Your Mind
2. Are You With Me
3. Love All Your Blues Away (2nd sample above)
4. Stop Me From Starting This Feeling
5. Learn To Love Again
6. Willow Weep For Me
7. We'll Be Together Again (1st sample above)
8. The Way You Look Tonight
9. It Never Entered My Mind

Paul Hyde & The Payolas - Here's The World For Ya

Vocalists Paul Hyde and guitarist-vocalist Bob Rock formed the Payolas with drummer Chris Taylor and bassist Larry Wilkins. After "China Boys" was released on their own Slophouse Records, A&M signed the band and released four albums, “No Stranger to Danger” (1982), “Hammer on a Drum” (1983), “In a Place like This” (1984) and “Here's the World for Ya” (1985). With the release of “Here's the World for Ya”, the record label decided to put lead singer Paul Hyde's name out front in an effort to hang some fame onto a single recognizable person instead of a fairly anonymous group. The tactic didn't really do much for Paul Hyde's own career or the band, though this David Foster-produced album did net the group a few hit singles, including "Stuck in the Rain", the title track and the power ballad "You're the Only Love”. This is a great pop good sounding album featuring David Foster's slick keyboards and amazing production skills, which in this case failed to bring the band onto a truly compelling platform. At the time Foster had just produced albums for Chicago (16 & 17) and The Tubes (The Completion Backward Principle & Outside Inside), which did propel those bands into higher levels. In the case of the Payolas, the album was indeed a great album but maybe at the time, Foster’s production might have contributed to rob the band of a bit of their earlier identity. You can hear traces of Chicago’s sound prominent in Foster’s contributing songwriting, the vocal harmonies and a production sound similar to that of The Tubes on “Outside Inside”. Nonetheless, this is a superb album, full of great songs, an amazing production and craftsmanship as it truly stands the test of time. After breaking up in 1985, Rock and Hyde continued on, releasing a popular single in 1987 called "Dirty Water." Paul Hyde left for a solo career in 1989; Bob Rock later joined the band Rockhead and then became one of the most sought-after producers in the music business. Musicians: Paul Hyde on vocals, Bob Rock on guitars (he also recorded and mixed the album), Chris Taylor on drums and Larry Wilkins on bass with contributions from David Foster and Christopher Livingston on keyboards, Christopher Allen on harmonica, Mark Rousseau on saxophone, Richard Marx, Paul Janz, Henri Lorieau, Sugar Jones, Mark Lafrance, Todd Smallwood and David Foster on background vocals, Steve Porcaro (Toto) on synth programming and horn arrangements by Jerry Hey. "20th Century Masters: The Best of the Payolas" collects 4 of the 10 songs from this album, "Stuck in the Rain", “It Must Be Love”, “Here’s The World” and “You're the Only Love" and singles and album tracks, including "Eyes of a Stranger", "China Boys", "Never Said I Love You" and "Dirty Water (Rock and Hyde)”. This compilation focuses more on the smoother, poppier side of the band rather than the earlier, punkier work, making it a good overview of this somewhat overlooked band's career. The rest of the album can be found on a link within the comments from a great rip from vinyl.

Track Listing:
1. Struck in the Rain
2. You're the Only Love
3. It Won't Be You
4. Cruel Hearted Lovers
5. It Must Be Love
6. Little Boys
7. All That I Want
8. Here's the World (sampled above)
9. Rhythm Slaves
10. Never Leave This Place

Buy 20th Century Masters: The Best of the Payolas at Amazo

Contante & Sonante - Highlights and Rarities

“Highlights and Rarities” is Contante & Sonante's long-awaited comeback release after the critically acclaimed triumph of 2009's “Fly Away: The Songs of David Foster”, which definitely marked a turning point for the indie label. “Highlights and Rarities” is a special compilation of songs from the label, comprised of the previously mentioned David Foster tribute, Steve Dorff's magical release of “Original Demos” and two releases by Swiss music-maker Urs Wiesendanger, “Somebody New” and “A Christmas Eve in LA”. But this isn't your typical compilation album. The real treat comes with the eight unreleased songs such as the enchanting ballad "My Angel's Voice” by Steve Dorff, beautifully performed by the late Warren Wiebe; the previously unreleased gems by Urs Wiesendanger, "Luckiest Man", a smooth, sultry R&B number featuring great vocals courtesy of the talented Skyler Jett and "When I Think of You" featuring great Swiss singer Rey Thomas. Additionally you’ll find three previously unreleased numbers from the same Fly Away sessions, which remained uncompleted at the time and have been produced and re-arranged by the very talented Tomi Malm for this special compilation. Among these new songs, the haunting cover of "Forever" (a ballad originally sung by Kenny Loggins, who co-wrote it with David Foster for Loggins’ Vox Humana album, featuring a fantastic new name from Korea, SunHo Lim; a stunning rendition of The Tubes' rocking classic "She's a Beauty" with amazing vocals by Bjarne Langhoff and last but not least is a new outstanding bossa nova flavoured version of the David Foster and Boz Scaggs’ hit "Look What You've Done To Me" with wonderful vocals by singer Cecily Gardner. What is amazing about this release is that just as “Fly Away: The Songs of David Foster”, the real beauty of this album rests in the fact that these are great beautiful songs brought to life by a cast of superior musicians and singers and the appeal of these covers and originals is undeniably attractive and you cannot help but to feel the labor of love minced into this release, which compels you to continue listening to this wonderful production again and again.

Track Listing:

1. A Little Thing Called Life
2. Kindred Spirits
3. Somewhere In Time
4. My Angel's Voice*
5. The Final Reason Why
6. If Only For A Day
7. Luckiest Man*
8. When I Think Of You*
9. The Christmas Song
10. This Christmas
11. Silent Night*
12. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas*
13. In The Stone
14. Jojo
15. Through The Fire
16. Forever*
17. She's A Beauty*
18. Look What You've Done To Me* (sampled above)

Tracks 4, 7,8,11,12,16,17 & 18 Previously Unreleased
Tracks 1, 2 & 3 from Steve Dorff “Original Demos”
Tracks 5 & 6 from Urs “Somebody New”
Tracks 9 & 10 from “A Christmas Eve in L.A.”
Tracks 13, 14 & 15 from “Fly Away: The Songs of David Foster”

Buy it at Contante & Sonante or at CD Baby

Fly Away - The Songs Of David Foster

Once in a while comes along one of those tribute albums, which catches your ear. “Fly Away” is certainly one of those. It celebrates the songwriting art of one of the most talented musicians/writers/producers ever to appear on the music scene, David Foster. But while a lot of people think that Mr. Foster had everything to do with this album, the fact remains that the man behind this tribute is Tomi Malm, from Finland, who as an arranger and producer has reinvented a number of classics from Foster’s amazing songbook. Furthermore, Malm’s inventive and original covers are brought to life by a cast of superior musicians and singers, some of whom have collaborated with Foster in the past in one way or another. Mr. Foster himself collaborates on a few tracks playing piano. But the real beauty of this album is the fact that even for someone who doesn’t know who David Foster is or who these musicians are, it doesn’t matter. These are great songs and great performances and the appeal of these covers is undeniably attractive. To say that these renditions sound better than the originals by Earth, Wind & Fire, Peter Cetera, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Loggins, Peter Allen, Chaka Khan, James Ingram and Chicago would be sacrilege, but even if you are familiar with the originals you cannot help but to feel compelled to continue listening to this wonderful production and end up loving it. Mr. Malm has achieved a true tribute album, which sounds fresh, inventive and gives new meaning to “The Songs of David Foster”, or should we say David Foster, Maurice White, Bill LaBounty, Boz Scaggs, Kenny Loggings, Michael McDonald, Carole Bayer Sager, Peter Allen, Cynthia Weil, Richard Marx, Jeremy Lubbock, Jay Graydon, Robert Lamm, just to name a few. After all, none of the songs in this tribute (and throughout most of his career) were written by Foster alone but in collaboration with some of the best writers in the music business. Mr. Foster just has a star-like persona and is a better businessman. His all around talent as a writer, producer, musician and entrepreneur propels him into stardom. The album closes with an extraordinary contribution directly from Foster’s vaults, the unreleased song “Live Each Day”, which features a vocal performance by the late Warren Wiebe, which has never been heard before. Musicians are: Vocals by Bill Champlin, Bill LaBounty, Arnold McCuller, Frank Adahl, Jeff Pescetto, Robbie Dupree, Cecily Gardner, Ole Borud, Lisa Lovbrand, Bill Cantos and Warren Wiebe, Tomi Malm as producer, arranger on keyboards, bass and guitars, Jeremy Lubbock, Lenni-Kalle Taipale, Aidan Zammit on Rhodes, David Foster on piano, John Robinson and Jarmo Valmari on drums, Nathan East, Rick Chudacoff, Neil Stubenhaus, Alberto Hernandez and Abraham Laboriel on bass, Ramon Stagnaro on nylon guitar, Brandon Fields and Fabrizio Mandolini on sax, Paul Jackson Jr., Janne Lehikoinen, Peter Friestedt, Dan Warner, Michael Landau, Soren Reiff, Jay Graydon, Porty, Jyrki Manninen, Jaakko Pesola and Juan Carlos Jimenez on electric guitar, Michito Sanchez on percussion, Tollak Ollestad on harmonica, Frank Adahl, Bill Champlin, Lisa Lavie, Tomi Malm, Gabriel Raya, Rafa Hernandez, Eli Hernandez, Arnold McCuller, Bill Cantos, Joaquin Gonzalez, Jeff Pescetto, Bjarne Langhoff, Bjarne Langhoff, Aidan Zammit and Joe Pizzulo on background vocals, Horns arranged by Tomi Malm, Jan Glaesel and performed by the Danish All Star Horns, Jan Glaesel on flugelhorn solo, string arrangement by Tomi Malm and Jeremy Lubbock, strings conducted by Dan Bornemark and performed by the Värmland Opera Sinfonietta.

Track Listing: (Composers)

1. Prelude (Tomi Malm)

Featuring David Foster on piano

2. In the Stone (David Foster, Maurice White & Allee Willis)

Performed by Bill Champlin

3. No Explanation (David Foster, Linda Thompson, Bill LaBaounty & Beckie Foster)

Performed by Bill LaBounty

4. Jojo (David Foster, David Lasley & Boz Scaggs)

Performed by Arnold McCuller

5. The Colour of My Love (David Foster & Arthur Janov)

Performed by Frank Adahl

6. Heart to Heart (David Foster, Kenny Loggings & Michael McDonald)

Performed by Jeff Pescetto

7. Fly Away (David Foster, Peter Allen & Carole Bayer Sager)

Performed by Robbie Dupree

8. Look What You've Done to Me (David Foster & Boz Scaggs)

Performed by Cecily Gardner

9. Through the Fire (David Foster, Tom Keane & Cynthia Weil)

Performed by Ole Borud

10. The Best of Me (David Foster, Jeremy Lubbock & Richard Marx)

Performed by Lisa Lovbrand

11. Nothin' You Can Do About It (David Foster, Jay Graydon & Steve Kipner)

Performed by Frank Adahl

12. Whatever We Imagine (David Foster, Jeremy Lubbock & Paul Gordon)

Performed by Bill Cantos

13. When Will the World Be Like Lovers (David Foster, Tom Keane & Robert Lamm)

Performed by Jeff Pescetto, Robbie Dupree, Frank Adahl, Bill Cantos, Arnold McCuller and Joe Pizzulo

14. Live Each Day (David Foster and Linda Thompson)

Performed by Warren Wiebe

Buy Fly Away at Amazon, CD Baby