March 29th saw 2 birthdays. First a big happy birthday to Terry Jacks who turned 75. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Terry is most noted for his monster hit, “Concrete Sea”. He also had a major international hit as a member of the Poppy Family with the tune “Which Way You Goin’ Billy’.
Our second birthday wishes go out to Sue Foley, a fine blues guitarist and singer/songwriter. She was born in Ottawa, Ontario 53 years ago. A prolific artist, she has released 15 albums since her debut in 1992. The attached video is an excellent introduction to her work, if you are not acquainted.
First off, let’s be straight. I’m not a fan of the Grammy’s, the show is bloated and uninteresting, the nominees, well, puzzling, at times. Having said that, there is an implied importance to the awards and as such, they must be considered. For further research, google The Weeknd and the Grammy. Please check out as many as you can, some great musicians here, not to mention, producers and songwriters.
First the list, then a few videos of key nominees contributions.
Best Latin rock or alternative album: Lido Pimienta, Miss Colombia.
Best folk album: Leonard Cohen,Thanks for the Dance.
Best remixed recording: “Imaginary Friends (Morgan Page Remix),” Morgan Page, Deadmau5.
Best engineered album, non classical:
Shawn Everett, engineer, Black Hole Rainbow (Devon Gilfillian).
Shawn Everett, engineer, Hyperspace (Beck).
Shawn Everett, engineer, Jaime (Brittany Howard).
Best musical theatre album: Glen Ballard and Alanis Morissette, lyricists; original Broadway cast, Jagged Little Pill.
Best video: Future feat. Drake, “Life is Good.”
Best folk album: Leonard Cohen,Thanks for the Dance.
Best remixed recording: “Imaginary Friends (Morgan Page Remix),” Morgan Page, Deadmau5.
Best engineered album, non classical:
Shawn Everett, engineer, Black Hole Rainbow (Devon Gilfillian).
Shawn Everett, engineer, Hyperspace (Beck).
Shawn Everett, engineer, Jaime (Brittany Howard).
Best musical theatre album: Glen Ballard and Alanis Morissette, lyricists; original Broadway cast, Jagged Little Pill.
Best video: Future feat. Drake, “Life is Good.”
Best classical instrumental solo: Daniil Trifonov, Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Destination Rachmaninoff: Arrival.
Best classical compendium: Matt Haimovitz, Julian Wachner, Luna Pearl Woolf: Fire and Flood.
Best melodic rap performance: Drake feat. Lil Durk, “Laugh Now, Cry Later.”
Best rap song: Drake feat. Lil Durk, “Laugh Now, Cry Later.”
Best pop solo performance: Justin Bieber, “Yummy.”
Best pop duo: Justin Bieber feat. Quavo, “Intentions.”
Best traditional pop vocal album: Rufus Wainwright, Unfollow the Rules.
Best pop vocal album: Justin Bieber, Changes.
Best country song: Ingrid Andress (Sam Ellis, songwriter), “More Hearts Than Mine.”
Best country duo/group performance: Dan + Shay, Justin Bieber, “10,000 Hours.”
Best dance recording:
Kaytranada feat. Kali Uchis, “10%”
Jayda G, “Both of Us.”
Best dance/electronic album: Kaytranada, Bubba.
Best spoken word album: Ken Jennings, Alex Trebek: The Answer Is….
Best new artist: Kaytranada
Song of the year: Julia Michaels, JP Saxe, “If the World was Ending.”
Record of the year:
Post Malone (Frank Dukes, producer), “Circles.”
Dua Lipa (Drew Jurecka, engineer), “Don’t Start Now.”
Album of the year: Post Malone (Frank Dukes, producer), Hollywood’s Bleeding.
Serena Ryder released a new album on March 12, 2021 titled “The Art Of Falling Apart”. This is Serena’s 9th album. Born Toronto, she has become a Canadian institution, know for such hits like “Stompa” and “What I Wouldn’t Do”, both top 10 in the USA and Canada, and platinum. Hit the links to refresh your memory.
The new album contains several very good tunes, but as usual, I post, you decide. Having said that, Serena is just one of many Canadian artists that have taken the world by storm and she stands with the best of them.
The first tune that I am featuring off the new album is “Better Now”. It showcases her range and her strong song writing abilities. Genuinely a song that will grow on you.
The second tune was released as a single in 2020 and is called “Waterfall”. Great song.
Let’s reach deep into the email bag and see what pops out. And it’s Jovani with a song written by an old contact, Max Berga. May I say immediately that he has done a fine job. Very catchy, and, in my opinion, better than a lot of material I have heard in this genre.
I reviewed a song by Max’s previous band, Everywhere. He is now writing and producing and wrote this tune for Jovani, a major star in the Baltics.
Out of Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada, Allanah is an up and coming singer songwriter with a sense for combining rock and pop. Enjoyable tune, recommend you check her out at the links below. The YouTube is her newest release, June 2020.
