V/A: Midnight In L.A. - The Best Of Westcoast Vol. 2 (2013)

For fans of my last 70's-to-modern-day Westcoast compilation, I've assembled a completely new cast of killer gems from the 70's through the present day for the second volume in this series. Whether you like your L.A. yacht rock with a Hammond spiced dash of prog. rock ('Between The Lines'), atmospheric horn-drenched ballads ('You Are The Light', 'No Way Out') or even if you just need a groove to burn the highway down ('Let It Go', 'Simone', the instrumental 'Midsummer Drivin'), there's something here for everyone!

Tracklist

1. 'Between The Lines' by Lake
2. 'Time Out Of Mind' by Steely Dan
3. 'Get U 2 Stay' by Brian McKnight
4. '1978 (Leave The Radio On)' by Ed Motta
5. 'You (Are The Light)'  by George Duke
6. 'Shakin' The Ground' by Ole Børud
7. 'Melanie' by Player
8. 'Reach Out Richard' by Mayer Hawthorne
9. 'Simone' by Boz Scaggs
10. 'The Colours Of Your Love' by Stylus
11. 'Hard Goodbye' by State Cows
12. 'Give Some More' by Solution
13. 'No Way Out' by Paul Anka
14. 'Brother To Brother' by Gino Vannelli
15. 'Let It Go' by Toto
16. 'Midsummer Drivin' by Toshiki Kadomatsu

Get It Here!!

Stεfαn Guииαrsson - S/T (2010)

One of those incredibly elusive post-Y2K debuts that endeavors mighty hard to bring back the age of smooth L.A. pop, Stefan is no stranger to his Scandinavian homeground: he's been featured on T.V. as a musical prodigy at a variety of instruments...and he's got a fine set of pipes to match.

The songwriting he employs is rather classy too: like Stevie Wonder trying to cross over the soul-inflected poppiness of early 90's Go West with a band like Airplay or perhaps Boz Scaggs. Several songs in particular, such as 'Words Are Not Enough' and 'Gotta Find It', feature old school Clavinet soloing, and those horns sound right out of the arrangement modus operandi of David Foster and his ilk. Smooooooove.

Catchy and expertly produced while still hearkening back some to days long past, this is a great modern Westcoast record for the nostalgic among ye...so get to listening!

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Dεniεcε Williαms - Whεn Lovε Comεs Cαlling (1979/2010)

Co-produced by David Foster and featuring an all-star cast of Westcoast luminaries (drummer Jeff Porcaro, Steve Lukather, etc.), this was a transitional record for the underratedly talented Niecy and comes with a couple of really killer cuts ('God Knows', 'Why Can't We Fall In Love', among others) that makes even balladeer queen Whitney Houston seem awfully weak in comparison, lodged amidst the more upbeat, funk-oriented numbers for the jam oriented among thee.

Fans of the soul/funk/Westcoast hybridization of bands like Earth, Wind & Fire...welcome home.

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Smoliк - Smoliк 3

A late summer jazz pop smorgasbord from Poland, featuring lots of cool songs and guests!

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Tαtsuro Yαmαshitα - For You (1982)

My favorite album from this guy by a decent margin. As good as 1983's Melodies is (posted here on TWE eons ago), For You is the king of Japanese Westcoast records: from the infectious guitar line of 'Sparkle' to the shimmering Beach Boys-esque closing number 'Your Eyes', Tatsuro-san pulls no punches. Oceanic surf-pop doesn't get much better than this!

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Piεcεs Of A Drεam - Lovε's Silhouεttε (2002)

One of the groovier contemporary jazz releases of the last decade and arguably POAD's best record from start to finish, Lovε's Silhouεttε is blessed in numerous ways: it has a punchy mix that gives an extra edge to the bass and keyboards and hooky songwriting that engages as opposed to not. On top of that, these guys had been together about twenty years or so by the time this record hit stores, and their chemistry is tighter than a fishing knot -- much to the benefit of the songs themselves.

Style-wise, arrangements fall somewhere between the Brazilian flourished Pat Metheny Group and the late 90's output of The Rippingtons as far as atmosphere is concerned. Cuts like the tempestuous 'Turnin' It Up', the nightwalking Bossa Nova groover 'Mystical Perception' and the spacey beat-laden 'Mission Possible' are prime time displays of excellence, about as good as mood music gets in this genre.

Contemporary jazz is a hard genre to get just right, but Lovε's Silhouεttε would be right at home on any decent chillout mix...and stands fairly strong on the whole as a record too.

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Giиo Vαииεlli - Nightwalker (1981)

The last stone cold Westcoast classic in a five-string album run going all the way back to 1975's Storm At Sunup, this is a remarkable recording from the Canadian captain of all things strange and passionate, Giиo Vαииεlli.

Listening to these awesome songs is strangely comparable to a line in the opening title track: "dreaming at night is like chasing a madman's rainbow": the journey is a nonsensical mess you'll wake up from later, but while caught within it...there's nothing else that matters.

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Statε Cows - S/T (2010)

A dyed in the wool Westcoast classic for the modern age, at times even outgunning the big dogs in the genre from years past like Steely Dan and Toto in the songwriting department. We certainly are living in strange times though -- Swedes and Nords now do everything from jazzy pop to glam metal better than the country those genres originated in!

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Gino Vannelli - 'Man Alive' Documentary

Gino Vannelli, whom Miles Davis once described as "the greatest musician the world", is also an incredibly fascinating guy. Enjoy his documentary below!

Johииy Hαtes Jαzz - Turи Bαcк Tнe Clocк (1988)

One of the unlikely success stories of the late 80's New Romantic FM world and a prime example of that intriguing subgenre known as "sophisti-pop", JHJ's 1988 one-shot is mostly remembered as an interesting footnote here in the U.S. due to the #1 status of hit single "Shattered Dreams", a textured slice of Yamaha-led fun that still holds up rather well today.

That being said, this album is severely underrated within the context of the time period as whole: it's right up there with the best material of Swing Out Sister, Prefab Sprout and even The Blue Nile in sheer sonic crafture. Lead vocalist Clark Datchler is confidence personified and a minor songwriting genius: he wrote or co-wrote every cut here, including the shoulda-been-a-hit-but-wasn't 'Listen' and minor-key curio 'Don't Let It End This Way', which features a strangely haunting keyboard refrain between verses. His smooth tenor gives even the ballads, particularly the title track, a kick they wouldn't have had with a lesser singer.

Bubbling synths, layered guitar, gated drums and plenty of personality: you guys know the drill. Evidently they're due for a brand new record sometime this year after a two decade hiatus: we can only hope it lives up to the commercial appeal that these cuts have in spades.

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Tony Stone - For A Lifetime (1988)

Born Tony Devenport at Battersea, South London (where the famous power plant on Pink Floyd's Animals was immortalized) and growing up with soul, pop and blues at equal lengths, tonight's star player adopted the stage name Tony Stone as a youngster and began something of a solo career at whatever pub might have him, bringing his Steve Winwood meets Bill Withers to many a delighted attendee wherever he happened to be performing.

After making friends with Westcoast luminary Ned Doheny and a number of others through the years, 1988 saw the release of this unusual fellow's one and only studio outing For A Lifetime to little fanfare on either side of the Atlantic despite lots of catchy, intelligent songs that fall in some wonderful space between L.A. and Motown circa 1979.

Crossover territory along those line is best illustrated through songs like 'My Good Friend James', with its soaring bridge and pulsating groove, but there's plenty of fun to be had in the occasional left turn sonically: 'Perish The Thought' is a Hi-Tech midtempo romp that should have put Tony right up there on the art-pop map alongside Yes and The Outfield: smooth as smooth gets, fellas. 

Despite a couple of questionable ballads and R&B elements throughout, Mr. Devenport was certainly more interesting than a lot of crooners from the late 80's, and although he's been fairly low-key musically since this came out, he's welcome back to it anytime!

 

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Coммodores - S/T (1977)

Classic 70's funk milestone, full of zoomin', brick houses like women, and the home of that prototypical lounger that launched a thousand radio plays, Lionel Richie's 'Easy'.

These fellas have done over a half a dozen fine, fine records since 1974, but this is an excellent starting place for anyone new to these guys.

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Go Wεst - S/T (1985)

Led by the charismatic, 70's soul-inflected vocals of Peter Cox and fluid guitar work of Richard Drummie, progressive pop duo Go West were one of the more interesting acts to come out of the U.K. during the robotic mid 80's. Infectiously good and strangely compelling as far as atmosphere goes despite their overtly synthesized take on blue-eyed R&B meets New Wave romanticism, they had a couple of high charting hits via this fantastic debut before falling into obscurity until a few years later when their hit song 'The King Of Wishful Thinking' ended up on the Pretty Woman soundtrack, reinvigorating their prospects.

Although obviously dated in the production department, this synth-pop record is a real charmer from beginning to end, almost to the point where I'd call it a unsung classic.

Recommended to fans of: Level 42, It Bites, Johnny Hates Jazz, or Giraffe (late 80's band started by pop-maestro Kevin Gilbert).



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Bεε Gεεs - Spiяits Hαviиg Flowи (1979)

First of all, R.I.P. Robin Gibb: you were one in a million, and a lot of people out there are going to miss that voice of yours.

This particular post is my dedication to the former B.G. Arriving in 1979 a couple of years after the Saturday Night Fever OST catapulted these disco-savvy brothers into a level of megastardom equivalent to that of The Beatles at their peak, Spirits Having Flown is considered to be not only their last great stamp upon a rapidly changing musical landscape (disco was just about dead), but their most ambitious LP as far as their artistic prowess & execution is concerned. To put it lightly, the arrangements are such that I'd say this is a pop masterpiece up there with Michael Jackson's Thriller and The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds: most of the songs here don't even need an introduction from me, and will most likely persist prominently in mankind's culture consciousness long after I'm six feet under.

Anyway, I'm not going to tell you regulars to stop hating soft rock, post-disco, etc. or whatnot, but I personally think its a shame to hate on this collection of sublime funk-pop crossover deliciousness, especially since the album boasts some of the best three-part vocal harmonizing of all time. Dig it!

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Mizar - Natural Design (2009) [Repost]

Modern contemporary jazz pop classic from Hungary, reposted in higher quality as requested!

This is a sublime little trio project that came out a couple of years ago, an almost Sinatrian take on the exotic cruise-friendly jazz-rock sound that The Rippingtons and Special EFX made famous back in the late 80's/early 90's. Led by the charismatically Brazilian-sounding voice of one Fanni Sarkozy and fleshed out through a variety of instrumentation, Natural Design is a striking array of lush ideas and catchy songwriting: a cool, candy-coated stab toward realms normally privy to the masterful hands of fellows such as Pat Metheny and Michael Franks.

Aficionados of jazz pop, bossa nova and all things chill....welcome home.

Ripped from CD in 320CBR.

 

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Eяic Bεnεt - Loѕτ In Tiмε (2010)

You won't find too many R&B artists out in the field today with an intuitive affinity for the summer blazed soul of the 1970's, but I'd say this guy is one of the rare few who truly know the stuff. The title track in and of itself is the kind of musical ecstasy that only a band like the Stylistics might have been able to pull off back in the stone age, but this is a smooth talkin' record that does the last decade proud amidst a sea of saccharine releases from far too many others in this genre.

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Pαυl Hαяdcαsτlε - Jαzzmαsτεяs VI (2010)

London's resident monarch of mellow has a prodigiously large discography of slick masterpieces at hand for any intrepid explorer in the regions of smooth, jazz and electronica, but this 2010 release from his Jazzmasters project is about as fine a gateway as you'll stumble across in such a search. My nods cutwise go to 'Solar Sky' and 'Touch And Go', which serve as suave and stupidly cool soundtrack material to an ocean sunset watch circa 1998.

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Uиdεя Thε Iиfluεncε Of Giαиts - S/T (2006)

Two bros from Home Town Hero hooked up with Audiovent's drummer and made some funkay music together in 2006, resulting in one of the few quintessential pop/rock/funk albums of the Noughties. Sounds pretty good, capiche?

To put it another way, amalgamating Maroon 5, Earth Wind & Fire and the edgier side of classic Prince into something simultaneously stunning yet cohesive is no small feat, but these boys bring home the bacon with extra munchies to spare!

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Sτylυѕ - Pαяτ Of Iτ All (1979) {Remastered}

Rare classic final LP (for three decades or so) from Australia's #1 pop-soul-funk band, and what a blast it is to behold!

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Joни Mαяtyи - Gloяioυs Fοοl (1981)

The king of U.K.singer/songwriters once again teamed up with drum guru Phil Collins in 1981 to establish a foothold in an era that didn't care too much for men and their 6-strings. Thus, a change in musical direction for mistah Martyn was called for: jazz fusion-rock with an infatuation for synths, a style which would predominate his music for the next couple of releases.

Jam-packed with spellbinding instrumental interplay whilst remaining pop-oriented yet lyrically interesting under the tight reins of a distinctive gravely-toned voice, this is one slick outing that illustrates just how talented the late Joни Mαяtyи was back in his prime, and thus essential listening in more ways than one.

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