sign1  

The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
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Slow Love
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If I Was Your Girlfriend
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Adore
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Album: Sign O’ The Times (1987)

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Most casual Prince fans would peg Purple Rain as their favorite of his albums. But those that have followed Prince’s career would probably pick Sign O’ The Times, his double LP from 1987. I play this record all the time, and picking only a few tracks to share was challenging.

I was fortunate enough to see Prince on the Sign O’ The Times tour in 1988. My high school friend, Adrian, and I had spent the day in Manhattan and we were approaching Penn Station to take the train home to Long Island. A scalper approached us and offered us tickets to that night’s show for $60 each. We were typical broke high school students and bargained him down to $60 for both. Amazing seats, right on the floor. Here are my memories of the show: it was in the round, there was a basketball court on the stage, a huge pipe organ was lowered from the ceiling, Eric B. and Rakim was sitting close to us, and a car actually drove him on and off the stage (talk about extravagant!). Overall, it was among the best live performances I’ve ever seen.

Back to the record. As I wrote earlier, it’s chock full of 5-star classics, so I tried to pick ones that folks may not know as well. And just to be really OCD about it, I selected one song from each of its four sides.

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billwitherslive  

Use Me
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For My Friend
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Let Us Love
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Album: Live At Carnegie Hall (1973)

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In the latest offering from my collection of “live” albums, I selected a double LP from the great Bill Withers. Everyone seems to have a soft spot for Bill. He’s indefatigably earnest, yet I believe if “Lean On Me” was released in 2009, it would be as big of a hit as it was in 1972.

Live At Carnegie Hall was recorded in the fall of that year, and Bill was at the height of his talents. You can feel the love from the crowd, and I couldn’t think of a classier venue for Bill’s honeyed voice, unabashed positivity, and laid-back groove. True heads will be pleased to hear that Bill’s touring band was The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band who, a few years prior, had a big hit of their own, “Express Yourself” (sampled in a huge N.W.A. song of the same title).

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New Feeling/A Clean Break (recorded in 1977)
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Air (recorded in 1979)
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The Great Curve
(recorded in 1980 or 1981)
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Album: The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads (1982)

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Though many are familiar with Stop Making Sense, the seminal 1984 concert film directed by Jonathan Demme, it only came a couple of years after Talking Heads released the concert diary The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads. This record chronicled 6 performances over a 5 year span over the course of 4 sides. Listening to the album from start to finish reveals the breathtaking evolution in Talking Heads’ songwriting and musicianship, as well as the explosion in the number of fans in the audience and musicians on stage.

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