Music Reviews
I'm in a bit of a rut, writing only about tech things I read elsewhere on the net. Boring, even for me. So here's some non-tech commentary. I've been listening to four new CDs. Here's my take.
Mark Knopfler's The Ragpicker's Dream: Good but not great. Occasional riffs reminiscent of Dire Straits, but on this disc Knopfler wanders around a bit among bluegrass, blues, and light rock. It's a strange disc. I think it'll grow on me, but first listenings weren't great.
James Taylor's October Road: Awesome. Great. Beautiful. JT's voice just gets better with age (if that's possible), and these songs, mostly written by him, are poetry. To think we almost lost this guy 20 years ago to heroin - what a personal comeback he's made. Buy it.
Bruce Springsteen's The Rising: I didn't like it when I listened to it on the home system, but I've moved it to the car, and it's great road music. The 911 tribute song, Empty Sky, is one of those parasitic tunes that you just can't get out of your head. Not the Boss's best effort, I'd have to admit.
Van Morrison's Down The Road: Another great, great disc. I could listen to this one over and over again (and I do). He's another one who just gets better with age. Beautiful lyrics, Van's distinctive voice and cadence. And talk about poetry - each and every one of these songs is worth reading. Here's an excerpt from "Man Has To Struggle":
"Man makes his money and they call him rich
Deep down inside he knows that life's still a bitch
Man tries to keep things but they're taken away
Man has to struggle all the live long day
Man has to sweat and toil his life filled with trouble
Man got to step and fetch it on the double
Man has to work so hard to make it all pay
Man has to struggle all the live long day
Man keeps on moving 'cos he can t keep still
Man has to set his goals and climb up the hill
Man sees the mountains and the deep blue sky
Man has to struggle till the day that he die
Well yes siree Bob them there's the breaks
That's how it is my friend don't make no mistake"
Anyway, the VM disc is highly recommended. But I guess that was obvious.
7:39:49 AM 
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