RSS081: Brandee Younger & The City

Show Notes

In this installment of "Album of the Month Club," Tara and Natalie discuss "Now That Everything's Been Said" by The City and "Brand New Life" by Brandee Younger. Learn more about Record Store Society. 

Creators & Guests

Host

pumashock

Video Game Composer. Other creative stuff.

Producer

Tara Davies

dance floor therapist | @rsspod host | resident dj @mjqofficial | singer in Neutral Palette

What is Record Store Society?

It's time to visit your favorite local record store; a place where music fans spend countless hours flipping through records, discuss the minutia of favorite b-sides, best live albums, and anything else music-related. If you have any questions, you can always find Tara and Natalie behind the counter ready to give a recommendation or tell you about a recent discovery. Join Record Store Society, a music podcast, biweekly to see what’s new or just to hang around for some music talk.

0:00:20 - Tara
Hi Natalie.

0:00:21 - Natalie
Hey Tara, how's it going Good, how are you Doing okay, doing okay, living the dream.

0:00:28 - Tara
Good, good, yeah same. I don't feel as worn out lately for some reason.

0:00:34 - Natalie
Really, because you've sound really busy lately. You've been all over the place taking in all kinds of live shows and stuff. I don't know how you do it.

0:00:41 - Tara
I think what it is is Spring has sort of reinvigorated me or something.

0:00:47 - Natalie
Yeah, yeah. It's that post-COVID surge we talked about.

0:00:51 - Tara
Yeah, yeah, yeah, i did go to a show last night. That was quite great. Really, do you tell Yes? So I went to see Evan Dando solo at City Winery Oh, cool, cool, how was that? It was really good. He gets a bad rap. Sometimes A lot of people say, you know, oh, his voice isn't the same, he doesn't try really hard, etc. Etc. But his setlist was really long. He does a lot of really great covers of legends. You know Grand Parsons, lucinda Williams, black Sabbath even cover. But it was really good. I thought he sounded great. I mean, of course, he does do some funny weird things sometimes on stage and speeds up the songs in certain weird spots, but I think he's very likable in that regard. Yeah, oh, hi, how are?

0:01:44 - Natalie
you.

0:01:44 - Tara
Welcome to this store. Welcome, i'm Tara. I'm Natalie. Let us know if you need anything. The dollar bin is over here. We'll be behind the counter chatting about music.

0:01:57 - Natalie
You've been awesome.

0:01:59 - Tara
So yeah, but a really great fun thing happened to me at that show.

Oh okay, what happened? I was in the very front because we all know I'm very obsessed with the Lemonheads and Evan Dando And also I just think he's one of the most underrated songwriters of our time. I think he could be considered to be another Grand Parsons John Prine, maybe a little less folksy, but I think he's an amazing songwriter. Anyway, all that being said, i was in the very front and he comes down, he bends down low, and I first think, okay, he's about to serenade my bestie, so I get my camera ready, yeah. And then he hands me his guitar pick and I was like, uh, like at first I'm like, oh, this is cool memorabilia. But then he says play. And I just I'm like, oh, my fumble, almost dropped my phone and then start strumming the song that I don't even remember what song it is now. I was so caught up in the moment.

I was strumming to the best of my ability from the very front of his guitar, which is quite awkward of a way to strum a guitar Yeah. And he was like good job And went and ended the song And I was, and then my friend, of course, wasn't recording the entire thing. She did not push record on her phone, So you just missed the whole.

0:03:17 - Natalie
Thing. Did, she did she think it was recording, or she just she thought she thought it was recording.

0:03:23 - Speaker 3
Oh, that sucks.

0:03:24 - Tara
Yeah, luckily, we think somebody near us got it on video, so we're going to hunt it down. But yeah, it was quite the experience. Wow, that's crazy.

0:03:35 - Natalie
See what stuff like that makes me? that's why I don't always sit in front, because stuff like that makes me freaks me out. Or like at a comedy show or something, where you're sitting in the front and you just know they're going to do some crowd work and you're like right in the crosshairs. It's very brave of you. But I guess if it's somebody you admire as much as Evan Dando, you'd want to be right up front.

0:03:53 - Tara
I'm surprised I didn't totally fumble and just mess it all up and drop the pick and freak out. And yeah, And I almost wonder, because I often do the setlistfm So I'm constantly in between songs adding the songs to the set list. Sometimes I'll just add notes and add it later. But I wonder if he saw me on my phone and thought I was bored So he came over to Spice.

0:04:16 - Speaker 3
I make up these scenarios in my head.

0:04:18 - Tara
I'm a little neurotic in that sense.

0:04:20 - Speaker 3
Right.

0:04:20 - Natalie
I don't know. He was going to engage with you one way or another. Damn it.

0:04:25 - Tara
I was hoping. I mean, that is another thing, though, about loving music and being that close with that. You always do kind of dream for some interaction like that.

0:04:35 - Natalie
Yeah.

0:04:35 - Tara
That's awesome. I got my wish and it was not recorded by my friends. That just means it's.

0:04:42 - Natalie
You'll just cherish it more in your brain the way we used to old school before we had phones like that.

0:04:47 - Tara
That's true, it's a great story to tell as well. But yeah, that his solo album we talked about once in the store as one of our album of the month. That's right Albums of the month.

0:05:02 - Natalie
Speaking of yeah, i feel like it's been a minute. I think it's about that time. The month of the month's almost out. We need to need to catch up with ourselves. I'm sure we've got some some cool albums to chat about. What do you think?

0:05:15 - Tara
There's always albums to talk about. Yeah, i think it's time. Another month, another album.

0:05:22 - Natalie
Absolutely. Let's do it, or two.

0:05:24 - Tara
Album of the month club. How about you?

0:05:26 - Natalie
kick it off first.

0:05:27 - Tara
Okay, yeah, actually, the last album of the month that we talked about was Bonnie Rates debut album, self titled, and this month I've chosen a similar album from the late 60s. That was actually kind of forgotten about, and I just learned about it recently. I'm in this music league thing where we all submit songs based on whatever theme And then we vote for each song. Like we give maybe two points to this song, two points to that, one point to another, zero points, and there's a winner. Anyways, someone submitted a song from this album And I was like what I have never heard of this. What is this? Oh my gosh. Oh, that's cool. The band is the city. The album is, now that everything's been said, 1968. Have you heard of this album before?

0:06:32 - Natalie
I had never heard of this album ever. That's wild to me.

0:06:36 - Tara
It's crazy, right? So this is a band that Carol King was in before tapestry.

0:06:44 - Natalie
Yeah, yeah, that's why it's wild. Not wild that I hadn't heard of an album from 1968. But yeah, when I saw that it was connected to Carol King, i'm like what?

0:06:52 - Tara
What is this? Yeah, so I guess, when I was mentioning last month's album of the month Bonnie Rait, a legend songwriter from the late 60s, early 70s this one Carol King totally underrated, secret album It's not secret, but it was just kind of forgotten for a long time. Yeah So, yeah, similar in that sense. A legendary singer, songwriter, who's gone on to do really great things. But there's this album that's been collecting dust in her discography And I didn't know about it, and so I wanted to do kind of a little album of the month exploration.

Absolutely Great pick Sweet And I also gave a little bit of history the last time I talked about Bonnie Rait. I kind of wanted to do the same thing for this one, because Carol King, she's had a really long history with music and songwriting, so it's kind of nice to get a perspective of where does this one fall in her long, spanning career. So we'll start all the way back from when she was in high school. She formed this band called The Cosines and they made demo records with her old buddy Paul Simon for $25 a session.

0:08:04 - Natalie
Oh.

0:08:05 - Tara
And then just my friend, paul Simon. I'm in high school. Then, when she was 16, she had her first official recording. It was the single The Right Girl, and it was released by ABC Paramount in 1958. She wrote the song and she sang to an arrangement that was made by Dawn Costa. Now again, she's 16 years old. At this point She goes to college where she meets Jerry Goffin, who was to become her songwriter partner. But when she was 17, they got married. But this is the guy who, like this, is the guy that wrote all of those amazing hits with her. You Make Me Feel Like a Natural.

0:08:46 - Speaker 3
Woman.

0:08:47 - Tara
Book of Motion, a Little Event, all of those songs. After writing the Charelle's Billboard Hot 100 number, will You Still Love Me Tomorrow that was, by the way, the first number one hit by a black girl group Jerry and Carol gave up their daytime jobs to concentrate on their songwriting And they wrote a ton of amazing hits, like I said. But then by 1968, gauphin and King were getting a divorce and they were starting to lose contact with each other. So Carol King moves out to Laurel Canyon with her two daughters and she forms this band, the City, and it's a trio consisting of Charles Larky, her future husband, on bass, danny Kortzmar on guitar and vocals and then Carol King on piano and vocals.

And this band only produced this one album Now That Everything's Been Said from 1968. And it didn't really perform very well in the charts, didn't really get much love, people didn't really seem to like it so much And there was a change of distributors so the album was deleted. The group broke up in 1969, and I don't think Carol King wanted it to even be reissued or redistributed after that for a long time, until not too long ago. But at one point in the 80s I think, the album was sort of rediscovered and on classic rock radio Snow Queen kind of got some airplay for a few years, which is interesting, but Tapestry then followed and we all know what happened after that. So yeah, i think that this album is kind of like the missing link between her songwriting extravaganza with Jerry Goffin and then her performance career to follow.

0:10:41 - Natalie
Yeah, with this, the Citi album, it probably didn't help matters that they didn't perform or tour with it at all, right, because of her stage fright. So it just got no attention at all. It's wild.

0:10:53 - Tara
But yeah, so let's dive into it here. My favorites on this album are actually more at the top of the album, but some really cool, interesting factoids too here. On all these songs, snow Queen, the first track is I love it, it's great, it's beautiful.

0:11:11 - Speaker 3
And in small filled rooms of electric sound.

0:11:21 - Tara
A legend is built Jazzy drums and really nice bass part. It's hard to hear when you listen to this song, like why wasn't this a success? It's really good.

0:11:32 - Natalie
Oh, i know, this is my favorite track on the whole album. Yeah, their harmonies are just amazing.

0:11:37 - Tara
Yeah, but Jerry Goffin, her ex-husband, and Carol wrote this song. It was originally recorded by this group called Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends Really.

0:11:47 - Speaker 3
In 1966.

0:11:49 - Tara
Yeah, and in small filled rooms of electric sound a legend is built Which sounds like kind of an old fashioned, like early Carpenters meets, like Lawrence Welk type singing group vibe. So this one I think is a lot cooler version Jazzy, soulful, kind of folky at the same time. Yeah, this one I think is my favorite track of theirs. Then we go on to track two, and just for this one I just wanted to note that the birds covered this song I wasn't born to follow for the Easy Rider soundtrack. Oh, wow, yeah, and actually I'll mention this maybe a couple more times. But as much as this album was kind of a failure, a lot of other bands covered songs from this album, so it still made an impact Right exactly.

But yeah, so the birds covered.

I wasn't born to follow track two And then track three is probably my next favorite after Snow Queen And it's the title track. Now That Everything's Been Said, now that everything's been said, now that everything's been done, how come you're not gonna leave me? It's a bit more upbeat, folksy, and the lyrics are kind of about a lover asking their lover why do they want to leave. Kind of it's longing, a bit of longing to this folksy, more upbeat song, and this band called American Spring covered this song, i think in like 1969, brian Wilson produced their only album, brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.

0:13:41 - Natalie
Okay, so somebody's listening to this album. The people who need to hear it.

0:13:45 - Tara
Are hearing it? Yeah, exactly.

0:13:47 - Natalie
I also love this song. This is also my second favorite. Oh good, yeah, we are totally in sync. I love it because I like when songs kind of fake you out with the music, you know having a totally different energy than the lyrics. So you're kind of like dancing to it and singing along, but then you stop to think about the words and it's like quite sad and heavy, you know, yes, but it sort of hints at that at the end when she sings the line how come you want to leave me here for the last time? And like the whole thing just sort of slows down. It's almost as if she's coming to grips with reality in that moment And I just I love little touches like that.

0:14:23 - Tara
For me, that's what really sets some writers and composers apart from the rest 100%, and I think track four is actually another good representation of this same thing. It's called Paradise Alley.

0:14:38 - Speaker 3
Show me around the past. Just a plenty delivery from the rivers of none.

0:14:48 - Tara
And Don Palmer, who actually went on to sing dirty work with Steely Dan, one of our favorites. He co-wrote this one with Carol King.

0:14:57 - Natalie
So that's, really cool.

0:14:58 - Tara
Yeah, but again, this song sounds very hopeful but the lyrics are really sad. It's kind of like being taken out to pasture. you know they mentioned showing them brighter pastures. And then she sings I'm about to be drowned and my cup is so empty. Just let me know when my time has come. She's got to be taken out to pasture, Yeah yeah, paradise Alley, i guess, is the end of the road. But yeah, like you just wouldn't think this is this kind of depressing song, because the music does not convey that whatsoever.

0:15:32 - Speaker 3
Right, right, just the lyrics do.

0:15:34 - Tara
Let's get on to track five, and again, i'm not going to say too much about this one. I just wanted to call out that the monkeys covered this one.

0:15:54 - Natalie
Yes, the monkeys, the righteous brothers also, but Oh really, the version I'm familiar with because I actually knew this song. It sparked a memory as well, and it's not from the monkeys nor the righteous brothers, but from Benny King, the great R&B soul singer best known for Stand By Me. He covers this song as well.

0:16:21 - Speaker 3
Yeah.

0:16:28 - Tara
Oh, no way, That's cool, I didn't know that. Yeah, Super neat Man. All see, yeah, A lot of really respectable musicians legends even are aware of this album and have covered it. Oh, yeah, Took it and made it there, which is really, really interesting. So I feel like that was something we mentioned with the Bonnie Raid album as well. is that that Paul Sybell song? I can't even remember the name of the title now of the song, or, sorry, the name of the song, but is another artist that no one really had heard much about but had been covered so many times by a ton of other just legendary artists. It's so interesting how that happens.

0:17:08 - Natalie
Yeah, i also like this song too, because I think it's Danny that's singing on this one, and Danny and Carol's voices sound so good together again, and she's got a really unique tone to her voice, so it's not at all trivial that their voices would match so well, but it does work it's really pretty.

0:17:26 - Tara
That's a good observation that her yeah, because her voice isn't just like a traditional, traditionally good singing voice. It's a good singing voice. I'm not saying that it's not.

0:17:36 - Natalie
It just has this tone. She's got like this twang to it and it's very unique.

0:17:40 - Tara
Right, it is Cool And I jump forward to track seven. Why are you leaving? and it's just another Lamenting Love song, and why are you leaving?

0:17:56 - Speaker 3
Why are you leaving And what's that secret sorrow that you care.

0:18:03 - Tara
I wonder if some of these Lamenting Love songs are there because of her own personal issues that she's experiencing with the divorce that she's going through with her songwriting partner.

0:18:16 - Natalie
Yeah, that's a pretty song as well. I also like I know you didn't mention this one, but I also like Victim of Circumstance. That one really grew on me too.

0:18:26 - Speaker 3
Oh, I'm just a victim of circumstance.

0:18:32 - Natalie
And I think it's because of the lyrics. The lyrics really resonated with me. It's just this message of like you might be kind of lost and wandering, but at the end she just says do the best you can and the rest will work itself out. It's just, i don't know, it's a good life mantra.

0:18:46 - Tara
That is a good life mantra, and I think she kept going through her circumstances and prevailed, you know. The next one I would like to mention here is track 11, actually and not to say that all the tracks are not worthy of mention, but there's just a lot of great stuff to listen to. There's not a whole lot of difference between a lot of them, but I really think 11 is one that's special And it was also covered by a great band, blood Sweat and Tears. But it's a really bluesy kind of a pop song And I do think this one sticks out for being a little bit different from the others And it's bluesiness.

0:19:27 - Natalie
Is that the?

0:19:28 - Tara
Heidi Ho one, yes, that old sweet roll, heidi Ho.

0:19:33 - Speaker 3
Singing Heidi, heidi, heidi, heidi oh.

0:19:43 - Natalie
People love a good sing along moment, for sure.

0:19:47 - Tara
But yeah, all in all. I mean I don't know if you have more comments to add, but I think all in all, this album is just a really great mellow, folky rock album And it's just been covered in dust over the years and it deserves a little time to shine, Absolutely. So I hope, yeah, I hope, that other people hanging out in the store today learn about it just like I did and give it a few spins.

0:20:15 - Natalie
Yeah. So I will say I do also like I don't believe it, because it's got that feel good melody and that bouncy rhythm. It reminds me of an 80s sitcom intro.

0:20:25 - Tara
Yes there's a few songs that I'm like. Is this like the theme song to welcome back Cotter? Oh my God, i was gonna say the exact same show.

0:20:31 - Natalie
Yes, that's exactly what it sounds like and it made me so happy. I also like the last track All My Time because there's just there's something really beautiful about the composition. Like that bridge in the chorus section is just so big and grand. I don't know if we could call it a power ballad, but I think, relatively for this album, it's the power ballad of the album.

0:20:52 - Tara
Yeah, i think you're right. I think of the album it's probably the power ballad of all 12 tracks. It is the power ballad, for sure. So yeah, that was the city's 1968 album. Now That Everything's Been Said. and Now That Everything Has Been Said, carol King is on to a brand new life. What?

0:21:16 - Natalie
Look at you, segway Perfect. My album just happens to be called Brand New Life from the artist No way, brandy Younger. How'd you know, man, we're like so in sync today. It's crazy. Yes, okay.

So Brandy Younger, she is a harpist who combines jazz, classical, soul and funk elements into her signature style. She's worked with just a host of amazing artists, including Pharaoh Sanders, reggie Workman, the Roots, moses Sumney and Charlie Hayden. Believe it or not? Ooh She, yeah, another store favorite. She recently toured with another store favorite, makaya McRaven, in support of his Universal Beings album. So some quick background on Brandy Younger. She grew up in New York, began studying the harp as a teenager. She earned degrees in harp performance and music business at the University of Hartford And by the time she entered grad school at NYU she already had a pretty impressive resume and had developed working relationships with some big Grammy nominated, grammy winning names, producers, right. And then meanwhile, on the classical side, she's been featured soloist with just a ton of artists the Harlem Chamber players, hartford Symphony Orchestra, waterbury Symphony Ensemble, dumont just the list goes on and on. She's been busy, i tell you, with that harp.

0:22:39 - Tara
Yeah, can I just say in 2020, she and Desaron Douglas had these little pandemic mornings live streams and they made an album of it and it was one of my top five albums of 2020. Stop it, force Major. I love that album so much.

0:22:59 - Natalie
That's crazy, and you got to watch these streams live, or did you like? Oh yeah, and they might still be on YouTube, Oh. I have to watch that. You should go and check it out.

0:23:08 - Tara
They cover a woman's work, which is beautiful.

0:23:11 - Natalie
Oh man.

0:23:12 - Tara
And I saw her playing with Mackayag McRaven for his big years performance.

0:23:17 - Natalie
Yeah, yeah, oh, that's, you're so lucky. I love it.

0:23:20 - Tara
She's so good and wonderful And, yes, i love it so much.

0:23:24 - Natalie
Yeah, i'm so excited about her, especially like now that I'm trying to fumble my way into learning the harp. she's like, she's my muse, So I'm so comfortable about her.

0:23:32 - Tara
Did you get your fancies? six or however many strings harps?

0:23:38 - Natalie
My cross-strung harp. Yeah, my kick-ass X harp. Yeah, that's my baby. You got it, i did, i did. It currently has a broken string.

So I have to. that's such an ordeal. Nobody warned me about the constant like tedium of replacing your strings And you know me, i'm not like the best at to-do lists. So like a string pops, i write it down on my to-do list. I copy it over two weeks worth of to-do lists before I actually get it together and fix the darn thing. But Brandy Younger, she's reinvigorating me and I'm gonna fix it. I'll do it when I get home from work, when I leave the store, do it.

There you go, okay, so Younger's debut EP, called Prelude, was released in 2011. And cool, fun fact it was recorded in an analog studio, which I think was pretty awesome. Here's a bit of the track Hortense ["Hortense"]. So I wanted to play this because this track was actually featured in Beyonce's 2019 documentary Homecoming. In 2021, younger became the first black female artist to be Grammy nominated for Best Instrumental Composition. So far, she's released seven albums as a band leader and she's got a laundry list of contributor appearances on other projects. But today I wanna talk about her most recent album, released in April 2023, called Brand New Life Brand.

0:25:09 - Tara
New Album by Brandy Young called Brand New Life.

0:25:13 - Natalie
Yeah, it's perfect synergy in there, right, yeah? So Pitchfork has a great setup for this album. in its review It reads the community of genre-bending harpists is small. Few have the temerity to tackle the massive but delicate instrument, and those that do must grapple with its tendency to recede into the background. But most who have dragged the harp out of the classical context can trace their roots back to Dorothy Ashby, the pioneering Detroit harpist, whose 1968 album Afro-Harping laid the foundation for the instrument's role in post-bop jazz, and few embody that legacy better than Brandy.

0:25:47 - Tara
Younger. From this album and from learning more about Brandy Younger, i learned about Dorothy Ashby, and I also learned the term post-bop. Yes, sort of an all a catch-all term to describe not what jazz this type of jazz is, but more of what it is not.

0:26:14 - Natalie
Right right.

0:26:15 - Speaker 3
Interesting twist, Yeah, yeah for sure.

0:26:18 - Natalie
Yeah, dorothy Ashby's incredible. I wanna play a bit from Afro-Harping, actually, because her legacy just can't be overstated. This album was so innovative and unlocked a whole new perspective for the harp as the lead instrument, and she was like doing all this at the height of the civil rights movement. Just really amazing. Here's a bit of soul vibrations This album's kick-ass, by the way So fresh, so funky, like totally sly in the family stone energy.

And then you can really hear the influence on modern artists, from Stevie Wonder all the way to Jay Dilla or Flying Lotus and so on. Right, all right. So let's come back to Brandy Younger, who truly is taking up the mantle of this legacy and propelling it forward. First off, i have to read the human resources list for this album, because it's pretty nut bar Rashon Carter, injunius Paul on bass, micaiah McRaven on drums, percussion and overall production, guest appearances from Michelle and Dagi Ocello on vocals, joel Ross on vibraphone and xylophone, dashaun Jones on flute, pete Rock on production and drum programming, ninth Wonder on production and drum programming, moo Moo Fresh on vocals and Yuri Popowitz on strings. So she's coming with the heavy hitters on this one.

0:27:46 - Tara
Yeah, for sure, yeah, so the album Stacked Yeah, totally stacked.

0:27:50 - Natalie
So the album is a combo of Younger's own compositions, reinterpretations of Ashby's music, as well as some of Ashby's unrecorded material. So it really is a tribute to Dorothy Ashby. And I want to shout out a few of my faves from the album. I'm obsessed with the opening track on this. It's called You're a Girl for One Man Only. This is such a mellow, ethereal vibe and the melody is just so pretty. This is one of those unrecorded pieces from Dorothy Ashby with Brandi's twist on it.

0:28:33 - Tara
Yeah, this one's one of my favorites as well. It's so beautiful. Yeah, I love it And what a way to open the album.

0:28:39 - Natalie
you know It just sets the mood, yeah, immediately. Then we have the title track Brand New Life, which features Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Moo Moo Fresh. And from the first line she sings, you just get lost in it, like her voice is just so magical. Let's take a little listen.

0:28:58 - Speaker 3
I see you in my dreams the way you ever really loved. He's the love, he's the light.

0:29:12 - Natalie
What do you think?

0:29:15 - Tara
So when I first heard that, i was like OK, we have variety.

0:29:20 - Natalie
Yes, yes, classic R&B vibes. She just hits you out the gate. It's perfect. I love it so much. So then we get to hear Brandi's harping in a perfectly balanced hip-hop setting, with the track Live In and Lovin' in my own way OK, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, go ahead, ok, ok, go ahead, ok, go ahead, ok, go ahead, ok, go ahead, ok, go ahead.

So this too is a reimagining of Dorothy Ashby's work. It's very trip-hop. The production here courtesy of legendary DJ and rapper Pete Rock, whom you may remember from 90s duo Pete Rock and Seal Smooth, one of the great pillars of East Coast hip-hop. There's a really great clip of the two of them together on Good Morning America where they talk more about the album and Ashby's influence, which is really, really interesting. It's a good clip. If you want to look that up on YouTube, am I skipping? I just saw the video skip like crazy. Then there's a beautiful interlude called come live with me. The original is from Dorothy Ashby's afro harping album. Let's hear a bit of that. So there's an electric organ or something in this track that's got this low Swelling buzz that feels so good in my ears against that smooth harp sound like, and I love it when musicians are Attentive enough and skilled enough to thoughtfully pair instruments like that in a way that really Compliments the other. You know.

Yeah but in Brandy's version It's just the harp by itself, so you can really focus on that gorgeous melody. The chord progressions in the song I just find so satisfying, but I I adore both versions, though in the latter half of the album we have moving target. Here's a bit of that. So this one was written and composed by Younger. The tone of the vibraphone and the xylophone here from Joel Ross is just so Magical. It's buttery and bubbly in your ears. I feel like people who get those ASMR tingles would love this. They'd get those tickles in their brain folds, you know this one is one of my favorites, for sure.

0:31:48 - Tara
I love it. It's so soulful, groovy, the hip drum beats that you can tell has got to be my kind of my craven on drums for this. And the orchestral arrangements are just so gorgeous and kind of remind me again of his, his Most recent album, which I love so much the the just soulful orchestral pieces inside of the song. It's so beautiful.

Yeah it's like a vintage feel. Yeah, one of my favorites before moving target is that track running game and I just love how, how smooth it is it's. It's jazzy and you have those brushed Drums and the bass is just velvety smooth and it almost seems like contemplative in a way, like maybe you're sitting in like a jazz bar and just sort of reflecting on your life or something.

I don't know like it It's. it's thoughtful, it's, it's music for thinking, but not in a snobby way. It's meditative, more and more than like thinking, i guess.

0:32:52 - Natalie
Yeah, that makes sense. No, totally like this.

0:32:54 - Tara
Oh, for sure rather than like Strategic thinking.

0:32:57 - Natalie
I guess This whole album is now these days my go-to for like work. If I need to work and concentrate, there's just something about it that puts me, yeah, wave length where I can really zero in on something that I need to do. So, yeah, i do think it's. I get it. It's like mentally energizing in some way. Yeah, another great track called dust features vocals from Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and bassist, michelle and de Geo cello. This is a cool one too. I like the effect, like the doubling they put on her voice. Yes, it's like a very unique flavor.

0:33:32 - Tara
I love this one. I also love Michelle, so much I've seen her twice. But so sophisticated again, just so full down tempo. Grooves, vibes for days. Yeah, of Michelle's voice, the bass on it too is impeccable. Yeah, this song is. Yeah, this is groovy.

0:33:53 - Natalie
All right, so the final two tracks are covers. First we have the windmills of your mind, which appears on Dorothy Ashby's 1969 album Dorothy's harp also incredible. Listen to it immediately. The original song comes from French composer Michelle Legrin. Honestly, i think this is one of the most beautiful songs ever made. It's just gorgeous. You should listen to the original listen to the grand version as well.

It's just, i love it so much. Okay, in this cover, producer and rapper ninth wonder delivers a chill, light hip-hop beat That's reverently reminiscent of Ashby's recording. Let's hear a little bit of that. Yeah, this is great. This was also the theme song to the Thomas Crown affair. You remember that movie from? I think it was the 90s Thomas Crown affair.

Oh, i don't like that version though It's way too fast, it's insane. Yeah, not a good cover in my opinion, but probably okay. It's not a great cover in my opinion, but it's probably. It's probably the one people would recognize the most, you know, just because it was the theme song to a big movie.

0:35:12 - Tara
There's something for me that feels awkward with the hip-hop type beats with the harp, and maybe it's that I need to listen to it more, so it'll grow on me, or something.

0:35:25 - Natalie
Here's what I recommend Listen to Dorothy Ashby's version because she has. She has a beat, a drum beat, going on in the background And I think that sets kind of sets the stage for being able to Get, you know, get into this, this newer version. But I've heard similar critiques of this, like some people just aren't feeling the drum programming vibe with with the harp and the jazz thing at all. That's cool, that's cool. But I do think if you hear, like the original, that informed this version, it might like bridge that chasm a bit.

0:35:56 - Tara
Okay, yeah, i'll check that out, see how the two differ and and see if my mind changes at all after Hearing the Dorothy Ashby version.

0:36:07 - Natalie
First, Yeah, the version on Dorothy's harp is just perfection. I love it so much I think I'm would say I like it better, even than Brandy Younger's version Interesting. Yeah you know, i guess that's why she was so inspired to work with it, because it's just such a great recording. All right, yeah. So the album wraps up with a lovely take on Stevie Wonder's ballad if it's magic, from songs and the key of life, which actually features Dorothy Ashby on harp in that recording. So I think that's a sweet way to to end the album.

0:36:39 - Tara
Yeah, that's what I wrote too, that this, if it's magic Stevie Wonder is, is a Perfect ending to the album. It's soft, it's gentle, it's like a lullaby Okay, now you can go to sleep. The album is over. Yeah, close your eyes, close your eyes. Yeah, Yeah I agree, really beautiful Ending perfect selection.

0:37:00 - Natalie
And it's also like this, this beautiful metaphor at the end of the album, where Brandy Younger is assuming the role of Dorothy Ashby in the piece, like it's almost like she's Standing in her shoes. Now you know what I mean. Dorothy Ashby did the original recording of the song And now we get to hear it from Brandy Younger and I don't know. I just think this is such a great tribute to her hero, dorothy Ashby. Yeah, so all in all, this is an elegant, polished album. It's mature yet imaginative. I feel like we can really hear the confidence from Brandy Younger in this direction She's taking. It's a great balance of Contemporary jazz, r&b and hip-hop elements, in my opinion, and not once does the harp recede into the background, which I think is quite a feat for her, to her credit and to her great playing. And you know what? I don't really buy vinyl, but I bet this would sound killer on vinyl. It's actually kind of tempting.

0:37:56 - Tara
Oh, 100%, you should do it? Yeah, definitely one of my favorite albums. Can I peer?

0:38:01 - Natalie
pressure you and do that. You absolutely can, because I should do it. I would love to own it on vinyl, yeah, but this is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year. Brandy Younger is currently on tour. She's gonna be at the Atlanta Jazz Festival this weekend, oh Oh yeah. So she's in our neck of the woods, as probably as we speak.

0:38:19 - Tara
Yeah, are you gonna go?

0:38:22 - Natalie
Well, no, because that would require me leaving my house and like standing amongst lots of people. So probably not. But I'm gonna be cheering her on from here. Actually, no, she's performing like early in the afternoon, so that's my jam. When it's light out, you know, i gotta be in the house before dark. It's outside, yeah, and it's outside. So maybe, i don't know, maybe I'll get it together. She's worth it. I would like to see her live.

0:38:47 - Tara
Yeah, if you need a partner in crime, let me know. I'd be down to go to that Hell's. Yeah, there's immediately for me a commonality between both of these albums, in a way of like thinking about change and metamorphosis and becoming a butterfly almost, because I think you know Carol King is not necessarily shedding her husband like a dead skin or a whatever a shell. She's going now on her own, she's branching out and doing her own thing. After this album It's this like in between layer, and I think for Brandi it's more of a like stepping into the shoes of her idol, like she's done so much, she's growing so much in her career that now she is this new icon in the field of harp and jazz harpistry. She is stepping into this role.

You know, I don't know how.

0:39:57 - Natalie
No, I see what you're saying She's stepping into this role. Yeah, i think for me, another connection between the two would be just how prolific they both are at what they do. Like already, brandi Younger has done so much. Carol King has written so many songs and done so much, and I think Brandi Younger is on track to have as full and impactful a career, you know, with just how hard she works and just how much she's doing. That's what impresses me most about both of these women. They just they're just on their grind with their gift. You know, and I think that's really impressive.

And I do, and I do think there's something about these albums that are like transformative, like it's like a necessary bridge to some. The next bigger thing And I know that, brandi Younger really she'd wanted to do this album for a very long time. So now that she's done this thing, she's paid homage to her hero, but who knows what she's gonna hit us with next, you know.

0:40:53 - Tara
But yeah, it's like, but she's also no longer in the background. It's her. It's her. She's now in the forefront. This harp is not just a piece and a band blending in to make one beautiful. I mean, it does blend in and makes beautiful music, but do you know what I mean? Like she, this is her. She's taking center stage. Her art her baby. This is yeah.

0:41:18 - Natalie
I like it. I like it too, man. Good picks, good picks.

0:41:22 - Tara
Good picks Cool. Well, I can't wait to learn more about Dorothy Ashby in the future.

0:41:29 - Natalie
And she's, she's crazy good man. Listen to listen to Eiffel Harping and Dorothy's harp sometime.

0:41:34 - Tara
I will, I shall.

0:41:36 - Natalie
All right.

0:41:37 - Tara
Well, you have something on your to-do list to do, and that is to fix your harp string.

0:41:44 - Natalie
Oh yeah, thank you for reminding me, because I already forgot. Yes, i'm terrible. Okay, when I get home.

0:41:49 - Tara
I say now yeah, but don't forget to pick up this record on vinyl to take home to listen to while you're fixing your harp.

0:41:57 - Natalie
That's a good idea. A double dose of inspiration, yes.

0:42:01 - Tara
I need it Awesome, and I'm going to go listen to Evan Dando again, maybe.

0:42:06 - Natalie
You're going to try to hunt down that video clip so I can see it? Yes, I will.

0:42:11 - Tara
All right, let's get out of here, all right. Everybody get out.

0:42:16 - Natalie
No, let's not say that.

0:42:18 - Tara
Happy trail.

0:42:20 - Natalie
We'll see you next time, bye, bye.

0:42:35 - Speaker 3
Record Store Society is hosted by Natalie White and Tara Davies. If you'd like to contact the show, visit our website at recordsstoressocietycom or you can find us on all your favorite social media sites with the handle at recordsstoressociety.

Transcribed by https://podium.page