Day 0747 - Tuesday Night Music Club

Sheryl Crow "Tuesday Night Music Club" (1993)

Sheryl Crow is another of those who seems to have been a lifelong lover of music.  Her parents both played musical instruments, she studied composition and then made a living mixing teaching work, singing with bands at night, and recording advertising jingles.  Crow also toured with Michael Jackson in the 80s and provided backing vocals on his "Bad" tour.   After that she started singing backing for other artists and laid down a few songs of her own for film and TV.

Crow tried to record an album with Police and Split Enz producer Hugh Padgham, but neither she or the record company were happy with the result and it was shelved.

Crow started a relationship with musician Kevin Gilbert and the two of them were involved with a loose group of musicians and songwriters that called themselves the Tuesday Night Music Group.  The group worked extensively on this album and Crow and her record company were much happy with this mix of country, blues, balladry, and even pop (in the shape of the almost out-of-place hit single "All I wanna do").  

Great collection of songs.  I recognised "Strong Enough" though I think that was through a cover.  Pretty sure I've heard "the na-na song" too.

Day 0450 - Off the Wall

Michael Jackson "Off the Wall" (1979)

The beginning of the end of the... beginning, I guess. MJ hadn't had a solo hit in 7 odd years, and while working on the (not particularly successful) film 'The Wiz' Jackson asked Quincy Jones to recommend him a producer. Quincy suggested himself and they began what has to be one of the more commercially successful partnerships in music.

This album combined funk, disco and soul to basically lay out the blueprints for modern RnB (and the blueprint for nearly every Jamiroquai album).  Michael is let loose over these tracks, forming and honing the array of vocal ticks and exclamations that would become one of his many trademarks and would go on to define his vocal style.

Amongst all the upbeat danceable songs, he even has one of the more straightforward heart-string tugging ballads of his career in "She's out of my life".  He's so sincere that by the end of it he sounds like he's more or less in tears... tears of money.