musicbriefs
Topic

Therapy

Talking as treatment, and the evidence for it.

3
in music
9:38
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29 min
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10
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9:04

Fontessa

The Modern Jazz Quartet · 1956

Fontessa is the Modern Jazz Quartet’s 1956 Atlantic debut: their first formal guest collaboration (with Jimmy Giuffre), their first album after moving from Prestige, and their first recording following their 1956 European debut tour. The 11-minute title suite was composed by John Lewis and inspired by Commedia dell’arte, with its four characters illustrated on the cover. Lewis described it as a suite whose sketchy plot invites improvisation. The Prelude opens and closes the work. Harlequin is evoked by vibraphone improvisation in older jazz style. Pierrot appears in piano-led 'less older jazz'. Pantaloon emerges in drum-led 'still later jazz', developing the main motif. Colombine is represented by the recurring three-note 'Fontessa' motif. The mono version was issued in the USA on Atlantic’s black label, catalogue number 1231. The stereo release contained technical flaws: mains hum, tape hiss, and reduced bass level.

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10:07

69 Love Songs

The Magnetic Fields · 1999

69 Love Songs is the Magnetic Fields’ sixth studio album, released on September 7, 1999, by Merge Records. It is a three-volume concept album comprising 69 love songs, all written by Stephin Merritt. Conceived as a theatrical revue inspired by Stephen Sondheim and Charles Ives’ 114 Songs, it was composed largely at Dick’s Bar in New York. The album features ukulele, banjo, accordion, cello, mandolin, flute, xylophone, Marxophone, synthesizers, guitars, and effects. Shirley Simms, Dudley Klute, L.D. Beghtol, and Claudia Gonson each sing lead on six songs; Daniel Handler plays accordion; Christopher Ewen serves as guest arranger/synthesist. It is the band’s best-known work.

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9:43

For Your Pleasure

Roxy Music · 1973

For Your Pleasure is Roxy Music’s second studio album, released in March 1973. It was recorded in February 1973 at AIR Studios in Oxford Circus, London. Roxy Music self-produced it with Chris Thomas; John Middleton and John Punter handled audio engineering. The band spent more studio time on this album than on their debut, integrating Bryan Ferry’s songs with more elaborate production treatments. The title track ends with an elaborate fade-out using tape loop effects. Amanda Lear, Ferry’s girlfriend at the time, was photographed with a black jaguar for the front cover, while Ferry appears on the back cover as a dapper chauffeur standing behind a limousine. It marked the beginning of Roxy Music’s long, successful collaboration with producer Chris Thomas. It was promoted with the non-album single 'Pyjamarama'. It is the final Roxy Music album to feature Brian Eno, who departed soon after the supporting tour ended.

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8:42

12 Songs

Randy Newman · 1970

12 Songs is Randy Newman’s second studio album, released in April 1970 by Reprise Records. It features a swampy style of roots music with introspective, satirical songwriting; demonstrates Newman's eccentric mix of traditional pop song structures and sardonic, satirical humor; contains his most mordant character studies, which boast a recognizable humanity; counterposes his indolent drawl against instrumental settings ranging from rock to bottleneck to various shades of jazz; includes several songs previously recorded by other artists; features a stellar trio of guitarists — Ry Cooder, Clarence White, and Ron Elliott; and replaces the orchestra with an Americana rock rhythm section.

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8:43

400 Degreez

Juvenile · 1998

400 Degreez is a foundational New Orleans hip-hop record defined by its production method — lyrics first, live keyboards only, no sampling — and its regional coherence. It is not a crossover bid. It is a local document made with daily discipline and total instrumental control.

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8:06

A Date With The Everly Brothers

The Everly Brothers · 1960

A Date With The Everly Brothers is a 2013 tribute album by the Chapin Sisters. It is not the 1960 Everly Brothers record. No sonic, technical, or interpretive detail is provided in the source material.

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10:02

A Meeting by the River

Ry Cooder · 1993

A Meeting by the River is a 1993 Grammy-winning world music crossover album recorded in September 1992 by Ry Cooder on slide guitar and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on the Mohan veena—an instrument Bhatt created—with Joachim Cooder on dumbek and Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari on tabla. The session was unplanned and unrehearsed: Cooder and Bhatt met less than an hour before recording began. Produced and engineered by Kavichandran Alexander, it features voice-like phrasing, alternating and unison melodic lines, and improvisation rooted in Hindustani classical tradition and blues sensibility. Its four tracks—'A Meeting by the River', 'Longing', 'Ganges Delta Blues', and 'Isa Lei'—are noted for clarity, distinctness, and three-dimensional sound quality.