Maxwell Unplugged Pop Music CD Review

Unplugged is the latest Pop CD put out by the richly talented Maxwell who once again has delivered a brilliant collection of tracks. Im confident Maxwell fans, and Pop fans alike will be pleased with this one.

Unfortunately, its not everyday that I get a CD from an artist that I can just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. There is usually a song or two that I just cant force myself to get through. Not at all the case with Unplugged. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.

One of the refreshingly nice things about this CD is the way all of the participating artists seem to be really enjoying themselves. Combine that with the overall presentation and youve got one of Maxwells most impressive releases ever.

I give Unplugged my highest recommendation. It just plain belongs in any serious music collectors collection regardless of genre preference.

While the entire album is really very good some of my favorites are track 4 - This Womans Work, track 5 - Whenever Whereever Whatever, and track 7 - Gotta Get: Closer

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 - The Suite Urban Theme. Good stuff!

Unplugged Release Notes:

Maxwell originally released Unplugged on July 15, 1997 on the Columbia label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. The Suite Urban Theme (The Hush)

2. Mello: Sumthin (The Hush)

3. Lady Suite, The

4. This Woman's Work

5. Whenever Wherever Whatever

6. Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)

7. Gotta Get: Closer

Unplugged Album Notes Personnel: Maxwell (vocals); G/Mo (guitar); Gloria Agostini (harp); Gerald Tarack, Matthew Raimondi, Veronica Salas (violin); Susan Poliacik (cello); Andre Roberson (saxophone); Russell Gunn (trumpet); Darrell Smith (Fender Rhodes electric piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Michael Neal (bass); Kerry Griffin (drums); Angel Luis Figueroa (percussion); Michael Dickerson, La Tina Webb, Khaliq (background vocals).

Recorded live at The Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Brooklyn, New York on May 7, 1997.

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Daniel Kientzy, saxofoni concerto del'l ottobre (in post Aurel Stroe, "La cit ouverte" from ANALOG blog. More by this artist at Amazont iTunes)

Hold On Tight to Your Dream

Every once in awhile an advertiser will hit on just the right combination of music and video to make a great commercial. (I would say "TV" commercial but that is simply not the case anymore!)

And some of the best of the most recent in this group are using the music from 20-40 years ago. The Jeep Liberty commercial featuring computer-generated wild-life singing Andy Kim's (remember him?) 1974 #1 hit, "Rock Me Gently," is one example.

There's an NBA commercial that utilizes 1970's "Let's Work Together" by the iconic LA blues-rock band Canned Heat. It works. (Interestingly, "Let's Work Together" was written by Wilbert Harrison who himself made a hit by covering someone else's song. He went to #1 in 1959 with Leiber and Stoller's blues classic "Kansas City.")

One of the coolest of all is the Honda Accord commercial that prominently features the ELO 1981 hit, "Hold On Tight to Your Dream."

In this particular case, I think the piece is made more effective by the timing. This is an election year. There's a lot of "Dream Talk" out there. At any rate, the Jeff Lynne (Traveling Wilburys)- penned uplifting song is great, as was the band, Electric Light Orchestra. Very cool old sound.

Music from the 60s, 70s and 80s will get more and more use as an advertising vehicle, as companies see the positive impact these musical memories make on the public.

The music from the 60s, 70s and 80s was largely about GROWING, about making the world a better place. We wanted to teach the world to sing, "in perfect harmony."

Dream talk is on the rise. Music that emboldens our dreams is what we want to hear. That's what I'm playing. What are you playing?

DA Jack Hayford is the editor of the popular music reference website, Events-in-Music.com which features a special section on #1 Songs. Mr. Hayford is also the Program Director and co-founder of DurangoSong.com the online home of the ten-plus-year old Durango Songwriters Expo, a premier annual educational and inspirational event for aspiring songwriters.

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