In which we listen to a little music

The initial pairings are ready for States tomorrow morning, so I'm using the downtime before dinner to write this...

Music (audit division): 

• "Wings Deluxe" is a recent compilation, and apparently it’s the definitive one, if the critics are to be believed. I listened to it and by the end realized that Wings had some good songs, but if they hadn’t existed, I wouldn’t have invented them. At least Sir Paul still had his voice back then, compared to his latest recording where he sounds old and raspy because, well, he is old and raspy. More power to him; I’m pretty old and raspy myself. But then again, I haven’t recorded any albums lately.  
• "Lyle Lovett and his Large Band" has some of his best work. He’s on my constant total-oeuvre replay, and I’ve seen him numerous times. In other words, I’m a fan.
• "Another Night" by the Hollies. Yet again the group puts out a couple of really good songs amid a bunch of okay songs. More power to them, too. 
• Maria Muldaur's "Open Your Eyes" was released in 1979, and somehow I missed it. She’s in my Lyle category; I constantly work through all her stuff, and when I get to the end, I start again. And I’ve seen her numerous times. In other words, I’m a fan of her too.
• Next up, Spotify’s playlist of the Essential Gladys Knight. Andrew Hickey, in "The History of Rock in 500 Songs," explains how Knight was, early in her career, poised to be another Aretha. Or vice versa. I don’t remember the details, but his discussion moved me to do a thorough canvass of her work. There’s perfectly good music to be heard, but nothing blew me away. The woman certainly can sing, though…
• "With the Beatles," because they too are on my endless replay. I won’t bother to defend my fandom.
• Redbone, "Already Here." This group, with Chicano and Native American heritages, would have been a big hit with me if I had known them at the time (69-77). I’ve been enjoying going through all their work chronologically, and occasionally popping a tune over to my main playlist. Solid rock. 
• Sanseverino X Lise. That is, Sanseverino and Lise Cabaret (whoever she is). I’ve been a buff of this old-fashioned “gypsy” style jazz (apologies for the use of that word) ever since “The Triplets of Belleville,” which led to Django, which led to Stephane Grappelli, except it really started with Grappelli with his great post-Django albums of swing violin from the 70s. (Okay, I don’t know where it started, but I know I started listening to Grappelli myself in the eighties.) Anyhow, that’s where Sanseverino fits in, and I like most of his stuff, although occasionally he gets a little outre for my blood. This was a good one, with a reprise of his big hit, “À l'enterrement de ma grand-mère,” the bounciest dead grandmother song ever. 
• After that, I ran through another big collection of Fats Waller, because, well, I love Fats Waller. So sue me. 
• I rewatched the whole Beatles Anthology series on Disney+ when the new episode came along, and then I listened to Anthology 4. TBH, it can’t hold the proverbial candle to the first three sets, which had plenty of truly revelatory music on it. The problem is that A4 covers mostly the same stuff, and, well, the best was already taken. So there’s a couple of interesting tracks of just harmonizing, or the background music, but no real rethinking of songs that make you marvel at how they created what they created. 
• I saw him rocking away on some TV show, so I figured I’d try Kenny Chesney’s Greatest Hits. It’s pure country pop, and probably as good as country pop gets. The thing is, I’m not a fan of country pop, so I was disappointed. Bottom line: he’s not making music for me, but the zillions of people he is making music for are getting their money’s worth.

And that's it for now. Excelsior!