Search - Leon Redbone :: Double Time

*REAL* Music!! You'll love it.

05/02/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Only one review listed on this CD. I couldn't pass up a chance to rave about it. I bought the record when it first came out in the 1970s and promptly wore it out along with several other Redbone albums. The songs are classics, the artist equal to the best who ever performed them. If you want a bite of musical history, a relaxing half an hour of pure entertainment and the nostalgic whimsy of real americana, you MUST have this CD!!"

A lot of fun, makes you happy kind of music

06/17/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Uniquely Leon is this jazz trumpet style voice. His tunes are light and easy and lift your spirit with their simple lyrics and fun tempos. If you listen to music for fun, you will love this album."

Most relaxing music from Leon Redbone

jayhikkss | 10/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Released in 1977, "Double Time" was Leon Redbone's follow-up to his debut LP titled "On the Track", which had went gold after its 1975 release (see my review of the latter somewhere on this very site).

This album follows the directions already pursued on the aforementioned debut: Leon Redbone's sources of inspiration remain blues, jazz, country and cabaret songs from the pre-WW2 or even pre-WW1 era.



These great old songs regain all their appeal thanks not only to Leon Redbone's intrinsic talent but also to his always fresh, sometimes "tongue-in-cheek", even irreverent approach towards choice material he genuinely loves and understands. Listen to him whistling through Mamie Smith's 1920 "Crazy Blues" before conjuring a swing jazz depiction of country singer Jimmie Rodgers ("Mississippi Delta Blues") before finding his way through pistol shots (!) on the wonderfully double-entendre "Mr. Jelly Roll Baker" (a Jelly Roll Morton composition). He can also be delightfully tender, but never maudlin, on tunes like "My Melancholy Baby" (a 1912 composition made famous by Judy Garland in the aforementioned "A Star Is Born").



The stellar backing of a cast of high calibre musicians further enhances his rich, throaty baritone and seemingly unassuming finger picked guitar playing. Redbone's varied arrangements are always to the point and bring a lot of contrasts and shadings to the proceedings. In this domain, he gets masterful help from jazzman Al Cohn (horn arrangements) and William S. Fischer (strings). All the while, Joel Dorn's production is a predictably classy affair.



This is, personally, my favourite Leon Redbone recording thanks to, among others, its inspired song selection and sequencing. After listening to it once, I often find myself pushing anew the "play" button on the remote. Of course, some affinity with some of the original artists' music might still enhance your listening pleasure. For other people, Leon Redbone might also well open new paths to the appreciation of the original work of now relatively neglected artists. The music is so relaxingly satisfying that the original working title for this album - "Takin' My Time" - would have been a more appropriate choice.



The sound quality is okay, although the original digital 1988 digital mastering cannot help showing its age. Any hopes for some remastering for an artist who is not only still recording but whose catalogue has luckily remained available through all these years? Are you reading this Rhino?

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