Last week I was listening to these collaborative CDs. The Chieftains and a bunch of their friends–Sting, Jagger, Sinead O’Connor, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Ry Cooder, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, and The Rolling Stones–produced a satisfying album back in 1995.
I hadn’t heard Mick Jagger’s version of “The Long Black Veil” before and it’s pretty good. Rod Stewart had a hit with his version of Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?” but this rendition is pleasing, too.
Sadly, we won’t have any more music from Sinead O’Connor. The two songs she sings on this CD reminds you of how wonderful her voice was. On the other hand, Marianne Faithfull’s voice is raspy. GRADE: B+
I’ve had Better Together: The Duet Album since it came out in 1991 and only got around to listening to it last week. Johnny Mathis gets played every year at Christmas time. Diane loves his Christmas albums! Mathis and his friends–Patti Austin, Regina Belle, Angela Bofill, Jane Oliver, Take 6, Dionne Warwick, and Deniese Williams–deliver a very listenable album of love songs. Mathis and Deniese Williams had a hit with “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late.”
I really liked “It’s All In the Game” and “In the Still of the Night” with Mathis and Take 6. I’m a big fan of Regina Belle’s voice and she’s stellar on her cut: “Better Together.” If you’re in the mood for some wonderful music, check out Better Together: The Duet Album. Do you remember these songs? GRADE: A-
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Mo Ghile Mear – “Our Hero” Featuring – Sting | 3:22 | |
| 2 | The Long Black Veil Featuring – Mick Jagger | 3:38 | |
| 3 | The Foggy Dew Featuring – Sinéad O’Connor | 5:20 | |
| 4 | Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? Featuring – Van Morrison | 4:40 | |
| 5 | Changing Your Demeanour | 3:16 | |
| 6 | The Lily Of The West Featuring – Mark Knopfler | 5:10 | |
| 7 | Coast Of Malabar Featuring – Ry Cooder | 6:01 | |
| 8 | Dunmore Lassies (Instrumental) Featuring – Ry Cooder | 5:14 | |
| 9 | Love Is Teasin’ Featuring – Marianne Faithfull | 4:36 | |
| 10 | He Moved Through The Fair Featuring – Sinéad O’Connor | 4:54 | |
| 11 | Ferny Hill (Instrumental) | 3:43 | |
| 12 | Tennessee Waltz / Tennessee Mazurka Featuring – Tom Jones | 3:58 | |
| 13 | The Rocky Road To Dublin Featuring – The Rolling Stones | 5:06 |
TRACK LIST:
| 1 | Regina Belle– | Better Together Written-By – R. Bowland* |
| 2 | Patti Austin– | You Brought Me Love Written-By – A. Goldmark |
| 3 | Deniece Williams– | Too Much, Too Little, Too Late Written-By – J. Vallins*, N. Kipner |
| 4 | Take 6– | It’s All In The Game Written-By – C. Sigman*, C. Dawes |
| 5 | Deniece Williams– | Love Won’t Let Me Wait Written-By – B. Eli*, V. Barrett |
| 6 | Angela Bofill– | You’re A Special Part Of Me Written-By – A. Bofill*, L. Gold |
| 7 | Jane Olivor– | The Last Time I Felt Like This Written-By – A. Bergman*, M. Bergman*, M. Hamlisch |
| 8 | Dionne Warwick– | Friends In Love Written-By – B. Champlin*, D. Foster*, J. Graydon |
| 9 | Take 6– | In The Still Of The Night Written-By – F. Parris |
| 10 | Deniece Williams– | You’re All I Need To Get By Written-By – N. Ashford And V. Simpson |
| 11 | Dionne Warwick– | Who’s Counting Heartaches Written-By – I. Wolf |
I loved Johnny Mathis’ Christmas album too. I think I have it still, in fact,.
Patti, my parents were big fans of Johnny Mathis, too.
Never liked Johnny Mathis. Simple as that.
Kent, you are not alone. Many of our friends don’t like Johnny Mathis’s distinctive voice.
I remember his name – but none of his songs, so obviously was not a fan.
The wiki on him though is fascinating in a way.
Wolf, plenty for WIKI to comment on.
Not a huge Johnny Mathis fan, I must confess, though I certainly hear his Christmas songs every year.
Mick Doing “Long Black Veil”? Now that I need to hear. I have Van doing “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” on a Greatest Hits CD and I prefer his version to Rod Stewart’s.
Jeff, when Van Morrison sings “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?” it’s clear he’s singing to God. When Rod Stewart sings it, it sounds like a love song to someone special.
OK, I listened to it (on Youtube) and must admit it was pretty good, better than I expected, and not very Mick-like at all. I’m not prepared to call it my favorite version but he did a nice job.
Jeff, I agree. Jagger surprised me too with his performance of “The Long Black Veil.” Talented guy!
I learned “Long Black Veil” a long time ago and my rendition is the one to judge all others against! The fact that I always come in second just shows the bias out there against hetero white boys!
Bob, I’m hoping that when WORDPRESS upgrades the next version with ChatGPT, we can finally fix your moderation issues!
I like Mathis, and he has one of the least blatantly artificial of high tenor male voices in pop music. And he’s apparently still recording, and presumably healthy enough at an age many of us won’t reach. Faithful apparently did more than her share of hard living that left her voice a consistent rasp by the ’70s. There was a syndicated or ABC radio (since they had 11 networks at that point) documentary on ’60s rock that was written and/or narrated by a man who was Crushing Hard on her in the “As Tears Go By” years, and followed up on the playback of that song with lines to the tenor of “She has become a very different person in many ways.” Pretty sure this isn’t from firsthand experience, though I suppose we can’t be sure (a hand or so involved at some point, clearly). I’d certainly listen to a Chieftans tribute album, unless it was all devoted to a mix of intolerable acts old and new…which would be unlikely, if possible.
Todd, I recall that beautiful Marianne Faithfull was ravaged by drugs during the Seventies.