Kristina Train’s debut album for Blue Note Records, Spilt Milk, acquired its title honestly: As the final recording sessions were about to begin, a once in a lifetime computer glitch occurred during file backup and deleted much of what had already been accomplished. Instead of crying over the proverbial spilt milk, Train went back into the studio and recut the erased material. “I don’t think anything was lost,” Train says, “I don’t think there was one magic moment that we could never recapture. I love what it is today.” There’s no telling now whether anything was lost to technology, but what does remain is the fact that in its final version Spilt Milk is one of my favorite albums of 2009.
Train was born in New York City, but raised by in Savannah, GA by single mother who kept Kristina from television and pop radio. As a result, she listened to a lot of classical music, opera, jazz, and blues, and took music lessons. Her ability to create the timeless music on Spilt Milk is the result of being raised apart from the influence of shifting trends.
There is a line of female singers that runs from Dionne Warwick and Dusty Springfield, through Aretha Franklin, on to Shelby Lynne, and now to Kristina Train. What all of these singers have in common, in addition to their extraordinary voices, is a thorough grounding in southern soul and gospel music, and an unerring ability to convey the emotion inherent in a song. Each of these artists also had the advantage of working with an empathetic producer who brought out the best in them, whether it was Jerry Wexler with Aretha Franklin and Dusty Springfield, Burt Bacharach with Dionne Warwick, or Phil Ramone with Shelby Lynne. Kristina Train has been fortunate enough to ally herself with producer Jimmy Hogarth, who was also responsible for recent efforts from Duffy, Corinne Bailey Rae, and James Blunt. (more…)
So you say that your finances are under more pressure than Rod Blagojevich and you still have gifts to buy for the holidays? Join the club. When you think about it, books make a really sensible gift. In addition to providing hours of pleasure for your loved ones, they cost very little in the scheme of things, and with online discounters like Amazon offering free shipping for orders over $25, well, it’s somewhat of a no-brainer. I completed most of my list last week by spending less than ten minutes online, and the order arrived at my door two days later. No malls. No lines. No parking nightmares.
This year there are a lot of good book options for the music lovers in your life. None of the books that appear here cost more than $30 on Amazon, and most are considerably less expensive. There are coffee table books, and interesting biographies. Know someone who is not that interested in music? I’ve provided some good choices for them as well, with a couple of excellent novels, a wise and witty look at the first colonists of this country, and a biography of one of the pre-eminent journalists of the last half-century.
The books are listed in order of genre, not preference. Without further ado, here are my gift choices.
It’s good to have friends, and Q has a lot of them. Before his own recollections even begin, there are introductory valedictories from the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Bono, Clint Eastwood, and Maya Angelou. This beautifully put together volume provides extraordinary access to a man who has been at the forefront of the music business for decades, working with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson. There are private notebooks, correspondence, and photographs, along with reproductions of report cards, track sheets, and accounting ledgers. (more…)
Kristina Train’s debut album for Blue Note Records, Spilt Milk, acquired its title honestly: As the final recording sessions were about to begin, a once in a lifetime computer glitch occurred during file backup and deleted much of what had already been accomplished. Instead of crying over the proverbial spilt milk, Train went back into the studio and recut the erased material. “I don’t think anything was lost,” Train says, “I don’t think there was one magic moment that we could never recapture. I love what it is today.” There’s no telling now whether anything was lost to technology, but what does remain is the fact that in its final version Spilt Milk is one of my favorite albums of 2009.
