The Continuing Music Legends Series: Chrissie Hynde, The Pretenders and "Learning To Crawl" (2007 Expanded Edition)

Hello,

Thanks to Google Play for the several Pretenders CDs I listened to last night. Thanks to Wikipedia for much of the information in this blog. And thanks to all who've influenced me to have such great taste in music. *smirking*

"Learning To Crawl" is The Pretenders third CD. It was released in 1984 and it follows 1980's "Pretenders" and 1981's "Pretenders 2". The band's lineup at the time was Chrissie Hynde (vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica and main song writer), Robbie McIntosh (guitar, backing vocals), Malcolm Foster (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Martin Chambers (drums, vocals and percussion). The lineup likely would have been different if it wasn't for drug overdoses.

The Pretenders are one of the 80's most unheralded bands, but they've had a long distinguished career. Besides the songs on this CD, other songs they're known for include the bone crunching "Brass In Pocket", "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "I'll Stand By You".

Chrissie Hynde was born September 7th, 1951, which makes her a relatively youngish rock icon. She released her first solo CD "Stockholm" in 2014. Good songs on that CD include "You Or No One", "Dark Sunglasses", "Down The Wrong Way" and "In A Miracle".

"Learning To Crawl":

1) "Middle of the Road":

2) "Back on the Chain Gang":

3) "Time The Avenger":

4)"Watching The Clothes":

5) "Show Me":

6) "Thumbelina":

7) "My City Was Gone":

8) "Thin Line Between Love and Hate":

9) "I Hurt You":

10) "2000 Miles":

Bonus Tracks (2007 Re-release)

11) "Fast or Slow (The Law's The Law)":

12) "Tequila":

13) "I Hurt You" (Denmark Street Demo)":

14) "When I Change My Life (Denmark Street Demo)":

15) "Ramblin Rob" (Denmark Street Demo)":

16) "My City Was Gone" (Live)

17) "Money (That's What I Want)" (Live at US Festival)":

(Thanks to Wikipedia)

themusicaddict

The Continuing Music Legends Series: Stevie Nicks, "Bella Donna" and "Rumors"

Hello,

Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks was born May 26th, 1948. which means she'll soon be celebrating her 68th birthday. Nicks is best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac, her relationship with Lindsey Buckingham and her solo work.

Nicks is the ethereal (extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world- thanks to Google) Earth goddess who likes to drape her mike stands in shawls and scarves. With her powerhouse vocals and demeanor the focus of attention is usually on her. Not only incredibly talented, but also incredibly beautiful she can't help but being the center of attention.

After three CDs with Fleetwood Mac, including the best CD about end of relationships ever 1977's "Rumours", Nicks released her first solo CD in 1981. "Bella Donna" had such great guests as Tom Petty and Don Henley to venture out on her own. After "Bella Donna" she has recorded seven more solo CDs and four more CDs with Fleetwood Mac. She's also done a lot of solo touring and multiple reunion tours with Fleetwood Mac.

1) "Bella Donna":

2) "Kind Of Woman"

3) "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (featuring Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers):

4) "Think About It"

5) "After The Glitter Fades"

6) "Edge of Seventeen"

7) "How Still My Love":

8) "Leather and Lace" (featuring Don Henley):

9) "Outside The Rain"

10) "The Highwayman":

"Rumors":

1) "Second Hand News" (Lindsey Buckingham):

"I know there's nothing to say
Someone has taken my place
When times go bad
When times go rough"



2) "Dreams" (Stevie Nicks, she sounds so good in the below video, she has such a beautiful voice.):

Now here you go again
You say you want your freedom
Well who am I to keep you down
It's only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound
Of your loneliness



3) "Never Going Back Again" (Lindsey Buckingham):

She broke down and let me in
Made me see where I've been

Been down one time
Been down two times
I'm never going back again



4) "Don't Stop" (Christine McVie):

All I want is to see you smile,
If it takes just a little while,
I know you don't believe that it's true,
I never meant any harm to you.



5) "Go Your Own Way" (Lindsey Buckingham):

Loving you
Isn't the right thing to do
How can I ever change things
That I feel

If I could
Maybe I'd give you my world
How can I
When you won't take it from me



6) "Songbird" (Christine McVie):

To you, I'll give the world
to you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,
It's alright, I know it's right.



7) "The Chain" (Buckingham, C McVie, Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie):

And if
You don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying
You would never break the chain.





8) "You Make Loving Fun" (Christine McVie):

I never did believe in miracles,
But I've a feeling it's time to try.
I never did believe in the ways of magic,
But I'm beginning to wonder why.



9) "I Don't Want To Know" (Stevie Nicks):

I don't want to know the reasons why
Love keeps right on walking down the line
I don't want to stand between you and love
Honey, take a little time.

10) "Oh Daddy" (Christine McVie):

Why are you right when I'm so wrong,
I'm so weak but you're so strong,
Everything you do is just alright,
And I can't walk away from you, baby
If I tried.

11) "Gold Dust Woman" (Stevie Nicks):

Did she make you cry
Make you break down
Shatter your illusions of love
Is it over now -- do you know how
Pick up the pieces and go home.

themusicaddict

The Continuing Music Legends Series, Boz Scaggs and "Silk Degrees"

Hello,

With so many amazing musicians dying recently, I thought we should highlight some of the music legends before they move on from this world. To highlight each musician I'm going to center the blog about my favorite CD of theirs. Yesterday it was Don Henley and "The End of The Innocence", today it's Boz Scaggs and "Silk Degrees", even I don't know who the next blog will be.

Boz Scaggs was born June 8th, 1944. Scaggs is a singer, songwriter and musician. Scaggs is best known for his songs "Breakdown Dead Ahead", "Low Down", "Lido Shuffle", "Jojo", "We're All Alone" and "Look What You've Done To Me". "Silk Degrees" and "Middle Man" are probably his two best known CDs. "Silk Degrees" peaked at #2 on Billboard's Top 200 CDs.  I spent several minutes looking for what CD it wasn't able to topple. If you know, please let me know. Although he's 71, Scaggs continues to perform. He recently toured with Donald Fagen and Michael McDonald as part of The Dukes of September. (Thanks to Wikipedia for this information.)

"Silk Degrees" (2007 Bonus Version)

1)  "What Can I Say":

2) "Georgia":

3) "Jump Street":

4) "What Do You Want The Girl To Do":

5) "Harbor Lights":

6) "Lowdown":

7) "It's Over":

8) "Love Me Tomorrow":

9) "Lido Shuffle":

10) "We're All Alone":

11) "What Can I Say" (Live):

12) "Jump Street" (Live):

13) "It's Over" (Live):

"The Essential Boz Scaggs" (Full):

themusicaddict

themusicaddict's Not Quite, But So Close Greatest CDs Of All-Time: Don Henley's "The End of The Innocence"

Hello,

I dedicate this blog to the memory of Glenn Frey (1948-2016). R.I.P. Glenn. Coming soon Mr. Frey's 5 best songs.

With David Bowie, Scott Weiland, B.B. King and Glenn Frey dying recently, it reminds me that death comes for us all one day. We don't know when we are going to die obviously, but I want to pay tribute to some of the great old rock legends while they're still alive. One just never knows when the next legend will die. Very few people knew how sick Bowie was and he had just released a new CD, so it came as a complete shock when the announcement came that he had died. With the way that some of these people have abused their bodies over the years it's still amazing some of them are still alive. Looking at you Keith Richards. Other greats that might not have long, and I hope I'm wrong here, include John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Alice Cooper, Phil Collins, Mick Mars, Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx. (If you haven't read "The Heroin Diaries" I suggest you read it. Then tell me how in the hell is Sixx still alive. Not only alive, but he seems to be thriving now.)

Other old rockers that I hope are with us for years to come include Neil Young, Simon LeBon, Boz Scaggs, Sir Paul McCartney, Madonna, Debbie Harry, George Michael, Grace Slick, Billy Joel, Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, David Byrne, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Walter Becker, Walter Fagen, Kenny Loggins, Olivia Newton-John, Cat Stevens, Huey Lewis, Prince, Meat Loaf, The Boss, Cher and Chrissie Hynde.

Even Billy Idol is 60 years old! These aren't young people.

One of the best bands ever is "The Eagles", who've had some brilliant musicians and songwriters over the years. Frey, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit and of course Don Henley. Yes, I've listed the 5 lesser known songs purposely. I'll add videos for the other 5 songs soon.

1) "The End of the Innocence":

2) "How Bad Do You Want It":

3) "I Will Not Go Quietly":
4) "The Last Worthless Evening":

5) "New York Minute":

6) "Shangri-la":

7) "Little Tin God":

8) "Gimme What You Got":

9) "If Dirt Were Dollars":

10) "The Heart of The Matter":

themusicaddict

Songs On themusicaddict's Radar, Sunday, February 7th, 2016 Happy Super Bowl Sunday

Hello,

On this Super Bowl Sunday, I hope your team wins unless you are cheering for the Panthers.

On this Super Bowl Sunday, I'm cheering for the Broncos because:

1) For DeMarcus Ware, who escaped the clutches of any idiot, and now has a chance at Super Bowl glory.

2) For Vernon Davis, who gets to play in the stadium where he won so many games as a 49er.

3) For Peyton Manning, who I would love to see go out with a final Super Bowl title. Plus I'd rather hear about his second Super Bowl win than another word about Scam Newton.

4) Because my oldest boy, Bob, has long loved the Broncos. I failed as a parent in raising him in his football choices. But today I'll be cheering along side him for the above reasons.

Go Broncos!

On to the tunes:

I've recently discovered The Click Five, they have some really cool songs. Here are a couple:

"Flipside":

"Headlight Disco":

Although I loathe RiRi's new CD, "Anti", I still love her as a musician. Here's a couple of her songs that I absolutely love:

"Diamonds":

Why couldn't there be more songs as good on this on her new CD? "Half of Me":

From Elton John's new CD, the title track, "Wonderful Crazy Night":

Halsey's "Gasoline":

Sinead O' Connor "Emperor's New Clothes":

"The Last Day of Our Acquaintance":

The Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get It Started":

Olivia Newton-John's "Magic":



Toto Coelo's "I Eat Cannibals":



I never heard this song before tonight, but I like it. Toto Coelo's "Dracula's Tango":

themusicaddict

themusicaddict's CD Review Blog, February 3rd, 2016 featuring Rihanna's "Anti" (Updated March 13th, 2016)

Hello,

I have two other CD review blogs that I'm slowly working through, they'll be eventually finished. Upcoming CD's to be reviewed:

1) Rihanna's "Anti"- I was excited for this CD, then I heard some of it. My enthusiasm died quickly. Highlights: "Consideration" is the only highlight. This CD has yet another unneeded collaboration with a rapper, "Work" featuring an auto tuned Drake. I love Rihanna, but this song sucks. Drake's addition to this song drags the song down even more. A bunch of songs, like "Desperado" and "Woo" go nowhere. An updated version of the Eagles classic would have been much more interesting than this "Desperado".  Some of the songs are so boring that they're offensive. That would be songs like "Work", "Needed Me" and "Yeah I Said It". "Same Ol' Mistakes" is 6:37 of boredom with too much repeating. "Never Ending" feels as long as the title suggests. Where are the bangers like "(Only Girl) In The World"? This CD is a boring slog, it will be quickly forgotten. Grade: F

Her previous CD "Unapologetic" was much better. A solid mix of ballads and upbeat songs. Why does she not have any more upbeat songs on this CD? "Diamonds", "Jump" and "Right Now" are all solid upbeat songs. "What Now", "Stay" are solid ballads. Even "Nobody's Business", with Rihanna beater Chris Brown, is a pretty solid song. Grade: B-

I know she'll never top "Good Girl Gone Bad", but "Anti" is probably her worse CD by far. Even her first two CDs, when she was just beginning her career, were much better than this depressingly downbeat CD. And I say this as a big Rihanna fan!

2) Chris Stapleton's "Traveller"- For me this CD came pretty much out of nowhere. I hadn't even heard of him until he won a bunch of country music awards.

3) Sia's "This Is Acting": I've already blogged about this CD, so you can probably guess what my grade is going to be. However I still decided to give it an actual review.

4) Girl Band's "Holding Hands With Jamie"- this CD finished #5 on Time's (yes that Time) top 10 CDs of the year. Honestly I'm not sure why.

5) Click Five's "Modern Times and Pastimes": I've listened to this twice already and I'm really liking it. Good grade coming soon.

6) Megadeth's "Dystopia":

7) Bloc Party's "Hymns": Wow, incredibly disappointing. No pulse.

8) Elton John's "Wonderful Crazy Night" (Out February 5th): I read in Rolling Stone that for this CD he decided to go back in time to the 70s. My favorite Elton John 70's song is probably "Island Girl", and a lot of songs on this CD have that same feeling.  This CD starts off with the joyous "Wonderful Crazy Night". Other highlights include "Looking Up", "Guilty Pleasure" and "England and America".

9) Franz Ferdinand Sparks' "FFS" (Deluxe Edition) It's okay. Highlights: "Piss Off" and "Johnny Delusionaly".

10) Panic At The Disco's "Death of a Bachelor":

11) The Cult's "Hidden City" (Out February 5th) At least this CD has a pulse. Highlights include "Dark Energy", "Hinterland" and "In Blood".

12) Ra Ra Riot "Need Your Love" I've listened a lot to this CD in my car and I've quite enjoyed it. A more formal review is on the way.

13) The 1975's "I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it":

themusicaddict

The Best of The Rest of Billy Idol (Finished February 2nd, 2016)

Hello,

Billy Idol is doing a 12 night residency in Las Vegas this spring, it looks like I'll be going. Thanks to those of you going with me.We'll be seeing him at the House of Blues on March 26th, 2016. It's general admission only, don't know if this old man can do that. Of course Billy won't put up with my whining as he's 60. What is happening to the stars of my youth?

We all know Billy Idol's famous songs "Mony Mony", "White Wedding", "Cradle of Love", "Dancing With Myself", "Rebel Yell", "Hot In The City", "Rebel Yell", "Eyes Without A Face", "Flesh For Fantasy", "L.A. Woman", "To Be A Lover" and "Sweet Sixteen".

But Billy Idol has so many other great songs. If you think this list is heavy with songs from "Devil's Playground" it is. Dare I say, although it made very little impact in pop culture, it just may be his best CD overall.

These first eight songs are from "Devil's Playground":

"Super Overdrive":

"World Comin' Down":

"Rat Race":

"Sherri":

"Scream":

"Romeo's Waiting":

"Body Snatcher":

"Summer Running":

These other songs are from various other Idol CDs.

While this is a classic song, I don't know that it's a famous song. But I do know "Blue Highway" is a great song:

"Endless Sleep":

"Pumping On Steel":

"Trouble With The Sweet Stuff":

"Don't Need A Gun":

"Catch My Fall":

"(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows":

"Shock To The System":



"Dead On Arrival":

themusicaddict