Double Time

Leon Redbone | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KGI
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,091 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #4 in Music > Jazz > Traditional Jazz & Ragtime > Ragtime
  • #25 in Music > Miscellaneous > Nostalgia

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: REDBONE,LEON
Title: DOUBLE TIME
Street Release Date: 10/25/1988
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars *REAL* Music!! You'll love it., May 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Double Time (Audio CD)

Only one review listed on this CD. I couldn't pass up a chance to rave about it. I bought the record when it first came out in the 1970s and promptly wore it out along with several other Redbone albums. The songs are classics, the artist equal to the best who ever performed them. If you want a bite of musical history, a relaxing half an hour of pure entertainment and the nostalgic whimsy of real americana, you MUST have this CD!!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most relaxing music from Leon Redbone, October 27, 2006

By 

jayhikkss - See all my reviews

This review is from: Double Time (Audio CD)

Released in 1977, "Double Time" was Leon Redbone's follow-up to his debut LP titled "On the Track", which had went gold after its 1975 release (see my review of the latter somewhere on this very site).

This album follows the directions already pursued on the aforementioned debut: Leon Redbone's sources of inspiration remain blues, jazz, country and cabaret songs from the pre-WW2 or even pre-WW1 era.

These great old songs regain all their appeal thanks not only to Leon Redbone's intrinsic talent but also to his always fresh, sometimes "tongue-in-cheek", even irreverent approach towards choice material he genuinely loves and understands. Listen to him whistling through Mamie Smith's 1920 "Crazy Blues" before conjuring a swing jazz depiction of country singer Jimmie Rodgers ("Mississippi Delta Blues") before finding his way through pistol shots (!) on the wonderfully double-entendre "Mr. Jelly Roll Baker" (a Jelly Roll Morton composition). He can also be delightfully tender, but never maudlin, on tunes like "My Melancholy Baby" (a 1912 composition made famous by Judy Garland in the aforementioned "A Star Is Born").

The stellar backing of a cast of high calibre musicians further enhances his rich, throaty baritone and seemingly unassuming finger picked guitar playing. Redbone's varied arrangements are always to the point and bring a lot of contrasts and shadings to the proceedings. In this domain, he gets masterful help from jazzman Al Cohn (horn arrangements) and William S. Fischer (strings). All the while, Joel Dorn's production is a predictably classy affair.

This is, personally, my favourite Leon Redbone recording thanks to, among others, its inspired song selection and sequencing. After listening to it once, I often find myself pushing anew the "play" button on the remote. Of course, some affinity with some of the original artists' music might still enhance your listening pleasure. For other people, Leon Redbone might also well open new paths to the appreciation of the original work of now relatively neglected artists. The music is so relaxingly satisfying that the original working title for this album - "Takin' My Time" - would have been a more appropriate choice.

The sound quality is okay, although the original digital 1988 digital mastering cannot help showing its age. Any hopes for some remastering for an artist who is not only still recording but whose catalogue has luckily remained available through all these years? Are you reading this Rhino?

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lot of fun, makes you happy kind of music, June 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Double Time (Audio CD)

Uniquely Leon is this jazz trumpet style voice. His tunes are light and easy and lift your spirit with their simple lyrics and fun tempos. If you listen to music for fun, you will love this album.