Tag: album review

An album such as The Scarlet Dukes – Rogue Escapades revisits the 1990s swing music renaissance with original East Coast neo-swing combos played in their unique jump blues style. You will enjoy those jazzy sounds coming from this album. Think Edgy downtown jazz from New York City. What’s even better’s that all their compositions are original. Their digital album includes the long out of print self-titled EP released in 1998.

Going Back to Saint Louie is about a man leaving his lady to his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri because he is through with her. Going Back to Saint Louie uses that cheerful neo-swing sound and that St. Louis boogie with a touch of blues rock. The band sings the song with those jazzy sounds.

She is a travelin’ gal with her microphone. One day she is here and the next day she is gone. This man who is dating this travelin’ gal is going back to St. Louie because this time they’re through.

The man woke up this morning feeling sad and blue. He turned around to find out she had left him. Now he wonders where she is at. She really tuned his engine and had him purring like a cat. He followed her up to Chicago. The only problem was that she wasn’t around. He loved her so much. But now he is going back to St. Louie because he had enough of her. He hears she is steppin’ out all over town. Singing those songs with the jazzy sounds.

Hazy Streetlights explained how the city life took a man’s woman away from him.

Hazy streetlights took a man’s woman downtown. That is why he is alone and feeling down. It is 5 o’clock in the morning and the night’s fading into day. She said she’d see him at 6. That’s one of her tricks. He believed every word she said. This man can’t have no woman cheating on him. Getting is what he plans on intending to do. She thinks she can two time him. She’s nothing but a brazen hussy.

The man has been up all night drinking and his angst has turned into rage. Then when she’s not looking, he’ll pour a surprise in her glass which is a strong poison.

Picking ’em Up is about a free loving woman known as Sassy who is known to be able to pick up men real quick because she is a gold digger. Picking ’em Up uses such jazzy instrumentation.

You can call her Sassy cause that’s her name. Being a free loving woman is her claim to fame. When she see a man, she grabs him quick because she sure knows how to get her kicks. Rolling dice on the casino floor her eyes are peeled she’s looking to score. If some rich daddy walks her way, she sees a dollar sign because it’s her payday. She is a gold digger who is only after men for their money. Picking them up and laying them down. She ain’t no hussy but she gets around as she works the town. She’s known all over as the sugar peach.

Now Sassy here likes to try her luck and roll the dice. She’s a gal with a whole lot to show. She’ll give you a little but you’ll want more. Come here fella feast on her a while cause what she’s got is gonna make you smile. She dances close with her lustful man. Shows him her moves as only she can. Checks out his wallet and unless it’s thick she’ll dump that heel and move on quick.

I rate this album 4/5****!

Through The Olive Branches by Pierce Murphy is a decent male vocal jazz album accompanied by a mellow riveting guitar. Pierce’s trademark jazz-blues guitar can be heard throughout the album of course. The album uses a mixture of rock, funk, soul, and jazz. But mostly leans towards the edge of soft rock. Overall his 2021 album is a jazz/soul venture. Now Pierce says some of the most quotable shit that is downright hilarious in songs such as Chania, Caldera Blue, and Heraklion Strut.

Among The Stars is about Pierce and his lover spending time among each other. He is head over heels when he is with her.

In the shadow of the bluff, Pierce was holding on her hand. She were searching for the sun hovering golden over him. He never knew what it could do. He is head over heels when he is with her. After all that they have been through. Pierce is lost in her eyes.

She told Pierce he was out there wasting all his time. But fast forward all these years ahead, he is still loving her like mad. And she wears his ring now. He hopes she wear it out from here to Denver and back again. He can’t wait to get her back again. It’s paradise where she is. Like it’s mythology. Pierce thinks they written in the stars. Like lovers from Crete asleep in the sand. No matter how far he goes now, he is bound to her.

Chania is about Pierce and his lover fighting in their relationship. The song follows a mid-tempo jazz drum kit and tempo. Overall the tone of the song is calming and mellow to say the very least.

They fought in the car because she wanted the beach and he didn’t know just how much it means to get your toes in the sand and feel the wind in your hair. Pierce is always surrounded by a concrete jungle blacktop.

But these old cobblestones won’t let no cars by because they’d fuck up the roads and fuck up the vibe as if Venice rose defying the tide. It is pretty charming. Like something frozen in time. But it’s violet always. The light never stops. Look at them rays coming off the building tops. And the look on her face when she is finding the frame. Capture the feeling.

Now Pierce says some of the most quotable shit that is downright hilarious. Just read these lyrics and you’ll laugh.

But these old cobblestones,
Don’t let no cars by,
Cus they’d fuck up the roads,
And they’d fuck up the vibe.

As if Venice rose,
Defying the tide.
It is pretty charming.
Like something frozen in time.

And a shitload of tourists,
Tryna have a good night,
Tryna catch some good light,
Tyrna spend some good drachma,
On some kotsifali wine.

Pierce’s trademark jazz-blues guitar can be heard throughout the song Caldera Blue. In this song he says some of the most downright hilarious quotable shit.

Do you feel like an heiress twenty-something lounging by the pool?
Waking up to scale but to feel small,
You gotta look down.

George has an air of Bowie,
And knows his paradise.

We all pay a price.
No matter where you’re from.
Whether it’s the,
Chinese tourists with selfie sticks,
Or the German tourists with hiking boots,
Or Italian tourists with Hermes bags,
Or American tourists singing Abba.

I rate this album 4/5****.

Combustible Edison – The Impossible World is one of the lesser known neo-lounge albums from the 1990s that hardly ever gets any recognition or any mention. The album incorporated lounge music and lounge jazz into future jazz in a swift manner. A bit avant garde too. Now the group had incorporated more modern electronic elements in this album than they did on their other albums. This would be the last album and recording from this mostly forgotten 90’s exotica band.

Laura’s Aura is about a woman named Laura who was born to wander until she dies. Life for her is just a misty blur.

Twilight turns to evening. Evening turns to morning. Laura doesn’t heed them doesn’t hear their warning. Laura never will marry because she was born to wander till she dies. Life for her is just a misty blur. She needs no home as her shelter is the sky.

Echoes come from her bedroom. Is she laughing or is she crying? No one will know the answer. The tears on her cheeks are drying. Laura, she’s a thing of beauty. Beauty loves her most of all. Some fine day when she is old and gray, she’ll rest in peace behind her garden walls. Some day when she is old and gray, she’ll rest in peace. That is where she will find peace.

These are the most poetic lyrics to the song which make this song seem like an excerpt of poetry. “Echoes from her bedroom/Is she laughing, is she crying/None will know the answer/On her cheeks the tears are drying”

Pink Victim is a song which tells everyone to let their sadness got. The song explains how a sad serenade never ends. The song also teaches us that happiness can be ours if we let that happen.

Each day you say that you can’t forget it. Happiness is in your own backyard. It could be yours, but you’ll never let it. I know you try, but you try too hard.

It’s your sad serenade again. It starts and it never ends. The weight of the world isn’t meant for a song. But you know you’re right and you’re never better. You say you know you’re right. But you’re never any better. I know you wait, but you wait too long. Tell your sad serenade goodbye because by now it’s close to a lie. Those long days into nights will know. That serenade won’t let you go.

I rate this album 4/5****.

Jaye & Foe – Bad Reaction is one of the lesser known swing albums from the award-winning brassy jazzy folk multi-instrumentalists Jaye & Foe. You will enjoy the brassy jazzy-tinged folk music with elements of swing jazz and gypsy jazz. The album uses such lively horn sections that are very jazzy and sophisticated.

Cloud Judgement is about a man who attempts to persuade a woman living on Regent’s Street on the West End of London, United Kingdom with his suaveness and slickness. All because his judgement is clouded and quite skewed. Only to find out to late that she had completely bowled over him and was way above his league.

Cloud Judgement deals with people who have bad judgement and skewed judgement with skewed view and contrite points. Some people have clouded judgement. Some people’s judgement is cloudy because they are not up to date with reality.

If you go past Shakespeare’s Circus and right at Regent’s Street, you’ll find a woman living with the world tucked at her feet. Her beauty knows no trying. Her gaze will hold you still.

This man who attempted to persuade the woman living on Regent’s Street on the West End of London, United Kingdom thought he could persuade her with his suaveness and slickness. However the man is overwhelmed and unprepared for the foot of this great bill because his judgement is clouded and quite skewed frankly. He was all undone and caught in a state of slight distress. He thought he was the strong one. He thought he could impress her with his suaveness and slickness. Not to mention swiftness. But she’s completely bowled him over. She’s overflowed his cup. She left him proud in awe and open-mouthed. Lying down but looking up at Cloud Judgement.

Bad Reaction told the story of a bad reaction Faye had when a doctor gave her a shot because she had a bad reaction to that creature in the sea that attacked her.

It was a day in late August. Faye was bathing in the sea. The air was hot and heavy like a lover’s breath on her. She felt a sharp and sudden pain that took her by surprise. She saw these tentacles arising and wrapped around her thigh. Faye said, “Not this time. Not this way. You’re not having me.”

Her ego’s black and blue. She is a physical disaster that she has grown accustomed to. Later Faye admits herself to the Emergency Room. And through the needles and the pain relief, the doctor says to her, “My dear, you’ve had a bad reaction. That’s how it seems to me. My dear, your bad reaction just shows your sensitivity.”

As the doctor administered the medicine, he said “You might hallucinate and realise the world around you just reflects your current state. I’ve seen your punch-bag heart stop beating during cardiac arrest. That’s 32 years of inhaling without exhaling the excess. You’re full of bad reactions to those creatures in the sea. Don’t push your bad reactions back on me.”

The song Brave told the story about a man who is trying to impress Faye for his own gain and personal satisfaction as he said the world was for his taking.

Faye met a man who said the world was for his taking. He used his kit and his charming wit in an attempt to impress her. His spirit was not one for breaking. She watched him punch the air and then the door. She was unimpressed. He’s used to getting what he wants. And bizarrely we all want more of him.

Outrageous statements turn the air blue sending shocks and shivers. Tingles of excitement through the ones who know that he’ll deliver. But then he comes a’ cropper as he battles with his beloved lover. Faye understand how this stuff happens. She watched him so bemused skipping past her on the floor.

He can attack, fight, bite, and drink through the night. Shout, swear, and drive fast to show his might. He spends half his lifetime on the phone trying to sort stuff out with his other half. Still he finds the time to make us laugh at his intoxicated history and its wavering integrity. Faye dislikes it but it still happens.

So that’s the man who said the world was for his taking. His spirit was not made for breaking. He laughs at himself in both wonder and depreciation. His quest for love and thrill seek dedication. This man is desperate for thrill seeking attention. He knows not how to separate. Faye wishes him all the best because he’s captivating company for her.

I rate this album 5/5*****!!