While Percy Sledge didn't have an especially large number of hits, he possessed one of the most identifiable styles of any singer from the golden era of soul, sounding a pure note of deep Southern heartbreak every time he opened his mouth. On the 1967 album The Percy Sledge Way, he performed 11 songs made famous by other R&B stars, and while he doesn't steal any of them away from the singers who first made them hits, there's no arguing that he puts a unique stamp on every one of them. While "You Send Me" and "Tell It Like It Is" may have sounded respectively romantic and coolly defiant in the hands of Sam Cooke and Aaron Neville, here Sledge transforms them into the plaintive cries of a man who knows he's about to lose his lover, and the gloomy undertow of numbers like "Drown in My Own Tears," "Just Out of Reach (Of My Two Empty Arms)," and "The Dark End of the Street" becomes palpable when Sledge covers them. And while Sledge can't outsing the likes of Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, or James Carr, part of the magic of this album is he doesn't really try -- he simply turns each number into a Percy Sledge song, finding a rich vein of hurt and longing in every lyric as producers Quin Ivy and Marlin Greene and the session band (anchored by the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section) give him the simple but dramatically resonant accompaniment he needs. Hardly a typical album of covers, The Percy Sledge Way features a great singer gently reshaping a handful of classic songs, and the results are perfect for a late night, either alone or with someone you hope will stick around.
Percy Sledge-Blue Night full album zip
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Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released in early 1998 by Maverick Records. A stylistic and aesthetical departure from her previous work, Ray of Light is an electronica and techno-pop record which incorporates multiple genres, including ambient, trip hop, psychedelic music and Middle Eastern music, while also seeing Madonna singing with greater breadth and a fuller tone. Mystical themes are also strongly present in both the music and lyrics, as a result of Madonna embracing Kabbalah, her study of Hinduism and Buddhism, and her daily practice of Ashtanga yoga.
Ray of Light was a notable departure from Madonna's previous work, and has been described as her most "adventurous" record.[13] An electronica, trip hop, and techno-pop album,[14][15][16][17][18] it also contains elements of several different types of music, including house, ambient, drum and bass, rock, new wave, eastern and classical music.[19] Vocally, the album was also a marked change from Madonna's previous work; as the singer underwent vocal training lessons for her 1996 film Evita, her vocals exhibited greater breadth and range, as well as a fuller timbre. In many songs, she also abandoned the vibrato which was present in her previous work. Critically, it is said to have Madonna's most full-bodied vocals.[20]
To promote the album, Madonna made a number of televised appearances and live performances of the album's songs. On February 14, 1998, she debuted "Sky Fits Heaven", "Shanti/Ashtangi" and "Ray of Light" at Roxy NYC nightclub.[35] "Frozen" was performed on The National Lottery Show in the UK (February 21),[36] 1998 Sanremo Music Festival in Italy (February 24),[37] Wetten, dass..? in Germany (February 28)[38] and the Rosie O'Donnell Show in the United States (March 13).[39] On April 27, Madonna made an unannounced appearance at the Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City to sing "Frozen". She also joined the other stars of the concert, including Sting, Elton John, and Billy Joel to perform "With a Little Help From My Friends" and "Twist and Shout" with them.[40] On May 29, Madonna appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and sang "Little Star" and "Ray of Light" there.[41] On September 10, she opened 1998 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City with the performance of "Shanti/Ashtangi" and "Ray of Light" featuring Lenny Kravitz on guitar.[42] "The Power of Good-Bye" was sung at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards in Italy (November 12)[43] and Top of the Pops in the UK (November 19).[44] On February 24, 1999, Madonna performed "Nothing Really Matters" at the 41st Grammy Awards ceremony at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.[45]
According to Taraborrelli, the album has been hailed as bold and refreshing in contemporary music of the late 1990s, which was dominated by boybands and teenage artists such as the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.[139] Larry Flick from Billboard said that the album "not only provided the chameleon-like artist with her first universally applauded critical success, it has also proved that she remains a vital figure amongst woefully fickle young audiences."[140] Music critic Lucy O'Brien commented: "1998's Ray of Light certainly rehabilitated Madonna's image. Up to that point she had still been written off as an average pop glamour girl who got lucky, but with this record she reached a whole new audience, proving that she was a good songwriter with an intensely productive talent."[141] Mary von Aue from Stereogum stated that "Ray of Light reestablished Madonna as a groundbreaking artist."[142] 2ff7e9595c
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