Tag: Columbia
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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan At Budokan, 1979 on Columbia
Third of three live Dylan albums from the 70s (Before the Flood and Hard Rain are the other two), and the second to be 2xLP in format, At Budokan was recorded at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo in February and March of 1978. (The US release was in 1979). Many folks don’t care for the…
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Bob Dylan, Street-Legal, 1978 on Columbia
This was Dylan’s 18th studio LP, made with a band that included Jerry Scheff, Ian Wallace, Alan Pasqua, Billy Cross, Steven Soles, Steve Douglas, and David Mansfield – many of whom were in the Rolling Thunder Revue. (David Mansfield also went on to be part of The Range). Not as many absolutely central Dylan songs…
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Billy Joel, An Innocent Man, 1983 on Columbia / Family Productions
Billy Joel’s ninth studio LP, with the title track, “Uptown Girl,” and “The Longest Time” as big hits. Toots Thielemans joins on harmonica on “Leave a Tender Moment Alone.” Some people might put Billy Joel in the “guilty pleasures” column – I probably did in 1983 – but I’ve really come to appreciate him. Guess…
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Billy Joel, Glass Houses, 1980 on Columbia / Family Productions
Billy Joel’s 7th studio album, produced by Phil Ramone. The house on the cover is was Joel’s own home in Cove Neck, Long Island. A harder rocking Billy Joel here, with “You May Be Right,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me,” and “Don’t Ask Me Why” – lots of big hits – a Billboard…
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Bob Dylan, Oh Mercy, 1989 on Columbia
Dylan’s 26th studio album, produced by Daniel Lanois and recorded in New Orleans. “Political World,” “Where Teardrops Fall,” and “Everything is Broken” make a great opening trio on side 1 – but really a great album overall. My copy—via Waterloo Records in Austin TX—is a Carrollton GA pressing with original inner sleeve from 1989.
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Bob Dylan, Empire Burlesque, 1985 on Columbia
I know some people don’t love mid-eighties Dylan, but I really do. He’s working here with Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Howie Epstein (from the Heartbreakers) as well as Mick Taylor, Sly Dunbar, and Robbie Shakespeare, plus a wonderful set of backing vocalists. The big single here was “Tight Connection To My Heart” which got a…
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Herbie Hancock, Sextant, 1973 on Columbia
1973’s Sextant was the last LP with the so-called Mwandishi-era sextet: Bennie Maupin, Eddie Henderson, Julian Priester, Buster Williams, and Billy Hart. It was also his debut on Columbia after Blue Note and Warner Bros. Columbia would also release Head Hunters later the same year. Great, funky collection – side 2 is one track, the…
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Johnny Winter, Johnny Winter, 1969 on Columbia
Johnny Winter’s self-titled official debut album (The Progressive Blues Experiment came out the year before as a kind of unauthorized debut on Sonobeat, then sold to Imperial). Mix of blues standard covers (“Good Morning Little School Girl,” “I’ll Drown in My Own Tears,” and “Mean Mistreater”) along with Johnny Winter originals. Winter produced, and is…
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Bessie Smith, Any Woman’s Blues, 1970 on Columbia
This is was the second in a series of five 2xLP releases on Columbia in 1970-1972 that covered Smith’s recordings for the label. These recordings were made between September 1923 and March 1930, all recorded in New York. Piano by Fletcher Henderson, Clarence Williams, Irving Johns, James Price Johnson, and Jimmy Jones. Other musicians include…
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Nick Lowe, Labour of Lust, 1979 on Columbia
Second album released under the Nick Lowe name, recorded with the same personnel from Rockpile and in the same year as Dave Edmunds’ Repeat When Necessary. The US and UK versions have different track list – this is the US version, including “American Squirm” as track A4. This has “Cruel To Be Kind” which became…
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Nick Lowe, Pure Pop for Now People, 1978 on Columbia
Issued as Jesus of Cool in the UK and elsewhere, but as Pure Pop for Now People in the US and Canada. this was NIck Lowe’s solo debut. The track list also differs between the North American and European releases. Yep Rock put out an expanded reissue in the US in 2008 under the name…
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Wham!, Make it Big, 1984 on Columbia
This was the second studio album from the duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley – the first, Fantastic!, didn’t make much of an impression in the US, but this album was unavoidable in the mid-80s. “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” seemed to come on MTV every hour for a year. “Careless Whisper” maybe…
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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan, 1962 on Columbia
Dylan’s debut album – what a wonderful record. I’ve had multiple different copies, trying to find the best balance of pressing and condition. My current one is a repressing with the Columbia label with gold type around the outside, which was in use from the 70s into the 90s. The “PC 8579” means it was…
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David Bowie, The Next Day, 2013 on ISO Records / Columbia
Bowie’s penultimate release, coming three years before Blackstar and a decade after Reality. Produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, and recorded at The Magic Shop in New York City in 2011-2012. Musicians include Earl Slick, Gerry Leonard, Sterling Campbell, Zack Alford, and Gail Ann Dorsey. I love the cover, which starts with the cover of…
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David Bowie, Blackstar, 2016 on ISO Records / Columbia
Wow, what a final album. So much to say about Blackstar, recorded more or less in secret in New York with Tony Visconti and some local jazz musicians, and released two days before his death. My copy, like many I’ve seen in the used market, has a tear in the die cut cover which is…
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David Bromberg, Wanted Dead or Alive, 1974 on Columbia
I’m a huge David Bromberg fan – he’s an under-appreciated player in the universe of bluegrass/blues/folk/jazz. This was his third LP. One side was recorded with Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Keith Godchaux and Bill Kreutzmann (of the Grateful Dead) and the other side was recorded live. The opener “The Holdup” was cowritten with George Harrison,…
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Midnight Oil; 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1; 1982 on Columbia
The fourth full-length from Midnight Oil, released in 1982 on Columbia in the US and CBS in the UK and Australia. The album reached #3 on the Australian charts and 178 on the Billboard charts in the US. Having found Midnight Oil via Deisel and Dust I came back to this record but love “Power…
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Leonard Cohen, Songs From The Road, 2010 on Columbia
Leonard Cohen’s output is nothing short of spectacular, across studio albums and live recordings. These songs were recorded on tour in 2008 and 2009 when he was in his mid-seventies. The liner notes catalogue in detail why each performance was selected from across a lengthy tour. He sounds great, as does the band. In Europe…