Top Five Records

Late at night, unwinding on the couch after work. It's cold tonight, getting hard to type because my fingers are going numb.

As some of you know, I am a bit of a DMB fan. Tonight I got an e-mail from the administrator at Ants Marching in answer to a question, and for the first time ever, I intentionally clicked on a Gooooooogle Ad in my Gmail.

It was an Amazon ad for a Dave and Tim (Reynolds) live album, "Live at Luther College." Now, I already have that album. But I heard somewhere that that album is one of Amazon's top five buyer-rated albums of all time. So I decided to click through the ad and read some of the reviews. And the reviews support the claim. Here are a few of my favorite excerpts, slightly abridged:

Not a big DMB fan, but this set is fantastic!
Having lived with two DMB fans, one of whom virtually worships the man and his band, I have been exposed to the vast majority of their tunes. I think they're talented, but between Dave's somewhat indecipherable vocals and the sometimes over-the-top instrumentation, I find that whatever message they're trying to convey often gets buried.

That being said, "Live at Luther College" is most definitely one (or two, if a two-disc set can't count as one) of the ten recordings I'd want with me if I were stranded on a desert island.

There are thousands of recordings that use electric guitar and of which I'm a huge fan, but if I had to choose, I prefer the purity of acoustic guitar. The use of acoustic guitars alone gives this set a huge edge.

And Tim Reynolds is a virtuoso--probably as technically gifted as many respected classical guitarist, but with an equally impeccable ability to reinvent each of Dave's songs so that they have every bit as much groove, humor, emotion, and force (and often more) as they did with his full band backing him up...

And while they take their guitars to the very limits of unplugged rock, Dave's voice is still able to shine through clearly...

Virtually all of the power and emotion is generated by the musicians themselves, not by special effects or gadgets, and you can really feel what a memorable experience it must have been to attend that show.

Amazing
The first time i listen to this album, i was blown away. So amazing how these two men can make daves songs into something totally different. The next time i listened to this album, i was laying in bed at 11 at night, jus relaxin, under the influence of hallucinagenic mushrooms. n it was the most amazing night of my life. the emotion on this album is unbelievable. the whole song tripping billies is amazing, n i still feel like im on the shrooms wenever i listen to the song. easily the best version of tripping billies...this is one of the best albums ever recorded.

simply amazing
The stand out song on this CD is "#41". Dave's voice is filled with emotion and the acoustic solo to close the song is almost haunting in the melody and precision Tim Reynolds gives it. This is the BEST live album ever made. Buy it for a truly amazing acoustic experience.

It doesn't get much better than this
Tim Reynolds and Dave Matthews merge into one being on this album, communicating to such an extent that I would not be scared to compare it with such associations as Coltrane/Cannonball, Parker/Gillespie and more recently DiMeola/McLaughlin/DeLucia or Lagrene/Luc.

Great songs, very surprising sound for a live recording and everything just clicks.

The Cat, Coffee, and Coltrane

Editor's note: This is not your average ultra-liberal blog entry. It's of an entirely different nature. I have made only one similar blog entry.

Woke up this morning feeling sick. It actually started last night at work. Itchy throat led to runny nose led to cough by the time I got home. This morning: full-fledged stuffiness.

But that's OK, because I'm content this morning anyway.

I actually arose earlier than usual today, despite being up till 1:30 last night unwinding and programming my old phone book into my new phone. For some reason when Jenn got up to get ready for work, I just didn't feel like sleeping any more.

So I got up at 7:30 (3 hours earlier than usual) and put on John Coltrane. I've always been vaguely aware that I like jazz, but can't say I know anything else about it. But I'm trying to expand my musical mind, and recently acquired a few Jazz albums (I won't say how...) and thought it would be a good mood setter for a Monday. And I was right.

As Coltrane played and Jenn got ready for work, I got my coffee and prepared to read the 21st-centurty morning paper: SFGate. As I read Ray Ratto's Super Bowl analysis (I surprisingly spotted three errors, the copy editors must have been in a hurry or drunk from watching the game), our cat found her way to my lap. When I'm lap-topping on the couch, she goes into stealth mode, trying to find my lap before I notice what she's doing. It's weird.

I suddenly realized that it was an alliteration kind of day, and this morning was brought to me by the letter C: My Cat, my Computer, my Coffee, and Coltrane. Life is good.

The Cat seems to like jazz. She likes mellow music. As those who know me well know, Jenn and I are unusually enamored with our Cat, who shall henceforth be known as Nana. Jenn will be the first to tell you I take WAY too may pictures of her. But with digital, why not?

And this morning, with the soft sound of the saxophone as ambiance, she and I danced. Her cutest trick -- which I always show people when they meet her -- is to stand up on her hind legs, rising up to meet my hand when I pet her. After that we had a nice little "nuggle session," as Jenn likes to call it, while I drank my coffee and began this entry.

(The difference between casual animal likers and animal lovers is that animal lovers realize that animals can also love back)

Now, at 11:52 a.m., Nana has retired to afternoon resting place -- underneath the wool cover of a living room chair. But John Coltrane plays on, second time through the album.

A perfect morning, really. My head even feels quite a bit better. Too bad I still have to work eight hours tonight. Should I call in sick? It wouldn't be a lie.