Late Fall Record Haul

After some alone time in the office I treated my self to two record runs in a single afternoon. I was on the lookout for more instrumental music by which to do focused work. Also, I have been more interested in the studio musicians who made yacht rock so smooth.

High-energy and tremendously skilled. This will provide a high work GDP, I can tell already.

Patti Austin—*Every Home Should Have One*

Her voice is great and fooled me on the album The Dude by Quincy Jones into thinking it was Michael Jackson’s. Looking forward to this for her voice and the usual Q treatment and personnel.

She is always amazing.

Kenny looking downright messianic. I think there will be smoothness.

I love the two big hits from the album, “Higher Love” (I got obsessed for a month or so with this track a few years ago) and “Back in the High Life Again” (choice James Taylor backing vocals on this). I suspect there are more nice tracks too.

Stevie Wonder—*Songs In The Key of Life*

I won’t lie—although Stevie Wonder can be incredible, he is also not afraid to try anything, which means there are usually some godawful (to me, a fool) tracks. However, this deluxe collector’s edition of a very renowned album is exceedingly heavy, and I bet it has some great stuff I’ve never heard.

O.V. Wright—*Into Something (Can't Shake Loose)*

Somehow I came upon his dynamite cover of the song Let’s Straighten it Out, so I am excited to have found a whole album.

Another famous album that I haven’t listened to all the way through. Also great album cover.

I already listened to this today. It is a superb disco album. Luther Vandross singing is a highlight but so are many other things.

I learned a few months ago that she was a classically trained singer and got criticized during her career for not having sufficient “soul.” I love that voice.

Ray Parker Jr.’s The Other Woman was the first album acquired in this great season of record-listening that featured the singer posing in a fairly regular room. This isn’t as pedestrian, but I like this chair. Also his voice is fantastic.

He never has a dull album cover.

I love his yacht rock work, so I picked up three entire albums of his. Hopefully they are excellent to listen and also work to. I also reserve the right to sell them and any other album(s) back to Hard Off.

Until recent months did not know these guys were yacht rock studio musician royalty, but listening to their songs it becomes apparent, and makes it fun to dive deep into their albums.

Leonard Bernstein—*An American in Paris / Rhapsody in Blue*

I could not add this to my collection on Rate Your Music because Bernstein has too many releases with his name attached, and there are equally too many of the Gershwin bangers. This is sure to get a lot of play, because (as I have said before) no number of listens or lousy airline can dull my love for “Rhapsody in Blue.”