Pop Listening Examples for Piano

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CDs

The Fats Domino Jukebox: 20 Greatest Hits by Fats Domino CD 23484 Check Availability
	From allmusic.com: "Released in conjunction in 2002 with the four-disc box set Walking to New Orleans, as well as three other titles in EMI/Capitol's Crescent City Soul series, The Fats Domino Jukebox: 20 Greatest Hits the Way You Originally Heard Them becomes the definitive single-disc Fats collection on the market nearly by default -- it's remastered, it's the one in print, and it has a flawless selection of songs." - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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Ultimate Hits Collection by Ray Charles CD 18746-18747 Disc 1 Check Availability
	From Amazon.com: "This double CD collects not only Brother Ray's best-known '50s and '60s singles, but some choice semi-obscurities (the 1953 jump blues 'Mess Around,' his 1959 cover of Louis Jordan's 'Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin' ') that earn their places next to 'What'd I Say' and 'I Can't Stop Loving You.' The man's originality and infectious feeling bleed through on each of these 36 tracks, whether he's transforming 'One Mint Julep' or 'America the Beautiful' or collaborating (separately) with Willie Nelson and Chaka Khan." - Rickey Wright
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The Specialty Sessions by Little Richard CD 538-540 Disc 1 Check Availability
	From allmusic.com: "Dig it: a collection of all 73 songs that Little Richard cut for Specialty Records from 1955 through 1959, including early working versions of hits including 'Long Tall Sally' and 'Slippin' and Slidin',' may seem like overkill to the casual listener, but if you're thinking of buying this three-CD box, chances are you're not a casual listener. And if you're not thinking about it, then you should be. This set covers only four years in Little Richard's career, but manages to sum up virtually everything you need to know about him..." - Bruce Eder
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Greatest Hits by The Zombies CD 15244 Check Availability
	From cduniverse.com: "This collection, remastered for SACD, covers the Zombies' short and tasteful career, spanning their 1964-1967 years for Decca Records, and their single album, the classic Odessey & Oracle, for Epic Records in 1968. Two versions of 'She's Not There' are included here, one the so-called 'stereo underdub' version that lacks the snappy drum overdub that gives the superior single version its crisp, edgy feel. There are also two mixes of 'Time of the Season,' the familiar version and an alternate mix that features a little more organ in the verse sections." - Steve Leggett
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The Best of Spencer Davis Group: Featuring Steve Winwood by the Spencer Davis Group CD 1799 Check Availability
	From the catalog: Contents: "Gimme some lovin' -- Searchin' -- Keep on running -- I can't stand it -- Strong love -- Every little bit hurts -- I'm a man -- Back into my life again -- Trampoline -- Somebody help me -- When I come home -- Stevie's blues -- This hammer (The hammer song) -- Waltz for Lumumba -- Goodbye Stevie."

Anthology, 1965-1972 by the Rascals CD 8713-8714 Disc 1 Check Availability
	From cduniverse.com: "One of Rhino's exemplary two-disc compilations produced during the early '90s, featuring remastered sound, copious liner notes and more than enough rarities, ANTHOLOGY 1965-'72 is probably the best available (Young) Rascals anthology. All of the hits are here, of course--'Good Lovin',' 'How Can I Be Sure,' 'Groovin',' etc.--but this collection also gathers goodies like early rave-up R&B covers, unappreciated album tracks and unsuccessful but often fascinating singles from the group's later years, when they'd added jazz and psychedelia to their original blue-eyed soul sound. At 44 tracks, these two discs are jam-packed, and both fans and newcomers will be pleased."
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Eli and the Thirteenth Confession by Laura Nyro CD 4748 Check Availability
	From allmusic.com: "Nyro peaked early, and Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, just her second album, remains her best. It's not only because it contains the original versions of no less than three songs that were big hits for other artists: 'Sweet Blindness' (covered by the 5th Dimension), 'Stoned Soul Picnic' (also covered by the 5th Dimension), and 'Eli's Comin' ' (done by Three Dog Night). It's not even just because those three songs are so outstanding. It's because the album as a whole is so outstanding, with its invigorating blend of blue-eyed soul, New York pop, and early confessional singer/songwriting." - Richie Unterberger
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Tapestry by Carole King CD 4679 Check Availability
	From Amazon.com: "Carole King was famous as a writer of girl-group hits in the '60s. In 1971, she became more famous. That's the year Tapestry became one of the biggest-selling LPs of all time. It's easy to hear why--the music is loose, earthy, L.A. session-pop. King is casual, intimate, and tough; she covers all the emotional ground of the post-liberated woman with ease. She brings adult nuance to 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' and comes up with hits ('It's Too Late,' 'I Feel the Earth Move') whose white-soul realism and maturity put pop hits to shame." - Steve Tignor
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Greatest Hits 1970-2002 by Elton John CD 21286-21288 Disc 1 Check Availability
	From cduniverse.com: "...The archetypal singer-songwriter introspection of 'Your Song' kicks things off, giving way in short order to the more glam pop moments of 'Honky Cat' and 'Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting.' The Roy Orbison-like ballad 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me' and the moving, mournful 'Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word' represent the sadder side of the usually sunny popster. The second disc digs into Elton's later work, coming up with such gems as the surprisingly rocking 'I Don't Wanna Go On With You Like That' and the Beatleseque 'I Want Love,' the latter proving that the 21st century found Elton still standing, in artistic terms."
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Piano Man by Billy Joel CD 9813 Check Availability
	From the catalog: Contents: "Travelin' prayer (4:10) -- Piano man (5:37) -- Ain't no crime (3:20) -- You're my home (3:14) -- The Ballad of Billy the Kid (5:35) -- Worse comes to worst (3:28) -- Stop in Nevada (3:40) -- If I only had the words (to tell you) (3:35) -- Somewhere along the line (3:17) -- Captain Jack (6:55)"
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A Night on the Town by Bruce Hornsby & the Range CD 5332 Check Availability
	From allmusic.com: "Bruce Hornsby's hardest-rocking album, A Night on the Town announces that he is heading into a different direction in its first few notes. John Mellencamp's producer Don Gehman gives the sound, especially John Molo's drums, a feel reminiscent of Mellencamp's best work. The material here is among Hornsby's best, and guest players include Jerry Garcia, tenor saxman Wayne Shorter, banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck, vocalist Shawn Colvin (before she was known), and jazz bass legend Charlie Haden." - Jim Newsom
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Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos CD 1279 Check Availability
	From Amazon.com: "Emotionally and musically intense, Little Earthquakes shows that the piano is as much a rock & roll instrument as the guitar. Tori Amos's debut...is at once listenable and challenging; she takes on every topic, from sex to gender to religion, in an uncompromising manner. Her music appears gentle at first, but this appearance is deceiving, as one quickly learns upon listening to the wrenching 'Crucify' or the almost violent 'Precious Things.' By the time the album gets around to 'Me and a Gun,' sung hauntingly by Amos without accompaniment from her piano, the juxtaposition of Amos' sweet voice and the emotional complexity of her lyrics is both familiar and shocking." - Genevieve Williams
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The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner by Ben Folds Five CD 15125 Check Availability
	From Amazon.com: "Simultaneously challenging and accessible, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is a song cycle about death and dying, people, relationships, optimism, innocence--you name it... The production is lush and ornate, with strings and horns embellishing Folds's usual quota of to-die-for hooks (which he seems to dash off as effortlessly as postcards from the beach). An obvious point of reference is Pet Sounds, but Ben Folds Five widen their scope to also include hints of Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, and even Queen, whose influence is front and center on the bombastic opener 'Narcolepsy,' a virtual homage to 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'" - David Menconi
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The Jerry Lee Lewis Anthology: All Killer No Filler! by Jerry Lee Lewis CD 7949-7950 Disc 1 Check Availability
	From Amazon.com: "Elvis may have been the King, but there's no doubt who reigned as the dark prince of rock & roll. Jerry Lee Lewis--a.k.a. the Killer--burst on the scene in 1957, taking no prisoners with his (as it was called) 'pumping' piano and his lust-laden style on such Sun Records classics as 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On,' 'Breathless,' and 'Great Balls of Fire.' This 42-track double CD collection includes all of them, but also features both midperiod Lewis (early '60s tracks such as 'Money'), and, most significantly, his latter hits as a country star in the late '60s and '70s, such as 'What Made Milwaukee Famous,;' 'She Even Woke Me Up (To Say Goodbye),' '39 and Holding,' and the self-explanatory 'Meat Man.'" - Billy Altman
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DVDs

Fats Domino Live! performance by Fats Domino
DVD 1853 Check Availability

From the catalog:
"DVD extras: Interviews with Fats Domino, Mikal Gilmore, Allen Toussaint, Cosimo Matassa; Fats Domino discography; bio's and photos. I'm walking -- Let the four winds blow -- My blue heaven -- I'm in love again -- I'm ready -- Don't you know -- Shake, rattle and roll -- Blueberry hill -- Girl I love -- Blue Monday -- Poor me -- All by myself -- So-long -- When my dreamboat comes home -- I'm gonna be a wheel someday -- The fat man -- My girl Josephine -- Goin' to the river -- Walking to New Orleans -- When the saints go marching in/Sentimental journey. Live performance from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2001."

Ô-Genio Ray Charles, 1963: Live in Brazil performance by Ray Charles
DVD 1427 Check Availability

From Amazon.com:
"Ô Genio: Live in Brazil 1963 is a fairly astonishing document, and an invaluable addition to the catalog of one the great artists of the 20th Century. Here's Ray Charles, 'Ô Genio' ('The Genius' in Portuguese), 32 years old and in his absolute prime, a few years after he essentially 'invented' soul music with his classic Atlantic Records recordings and just a year after he'd transformed popular music again with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. The DVD finds Charles and his orchestra performing two full sets in Sao Paulo; both are in black and white and contain many of the same songs..." - Sam Graham

Keep On Rockin' performance by Little Richard DVD 734 Check Availability
	From the catalog: "Filmed at the Toronto Rock & Roll Revival in 1969. Little Richard was one of the greats of early Rock & Roll. His superb voice and outrageous stage performances captured the world's imagination. Artists as diverse as the Beatles and Prince have acknowledged his influence. In this conert the ultimate wildman of Rock & Roll takes you through his repertoire."

Jerry Lee Lewis: The Story of Rock and Roll a film by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker
DVD 1684 Check Availability

Image:Jerry_Lee_Lewis_Story_of_Rock_and_Roll.jpg

From cduniverse.com:
"A showman at the piano, and a controversial romancer in his personal life, rock 'n' roll great Jerry Lee Lewis is certainly an exciting figure. Legendary music documentarian D.A. Pennebaker...takes a look at this rock pioneer, interweaving full-length performances with headlines detailing Lewis's fame and eventual plummet into a scandal spurred by his marriage to his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gail Brown. Performances--with his usual breathtaking acrobatics and choreography--include 'Great Balls of Fire,' 'Jailhouse Rock,' 'Hound Dog,' 'Whole Lotta Shakin,' and many more."

Steve Winwood directed by Joe Thomas DVD 4171 Check Availability
	From barnesandnoble.com: "This episode of the PBS concert series Soundstage features Steve Winwood performing a variety of songs from his album About Time, as well as performing selections from every phase of his legendary career. Included are songs from his days as a member of Traffic and Spencer Davis Group." - Perry Seibert, Rovi All Movie Guide

Welcome to My Living Room performances by Carole King
DVD 3748 Check Availability

Image:Welcome_to_My_living_room_carole_king.jpg‎

From Amazon.com:
"Filmed in Southern California in 2005, Welcome offers an intimate, unadorned glimpse into the 'living room' of one of the greatest songwriters in history. The set features twenty-nine songs - nearly two hours of music in all - from King's sold-out 2005/06 Living Room World Tour, including an astonishing twenty-one Top 40 hits, seven #1 singles, and eleven songs that weren't on her best-selling 2005 Living Room Tour live CD."

Elton John Live in Barcelona directed by Andy Morahan
DVD 1097 Check Availability

From Amazon.com:
"Live in Barcelona captures the hectic energy of Elton John's 1992 world tour but drops several of the highlights, including a rare live performance of his classic album cut 'All the Girls Love Alice.'... Visually, this was also an historic show: Gianni Versace designed the stage set and Elton's costumes. While not obvious to the viewer, Versace's contribution gets some play in the accompanying 50-minute documentary about John's The One album, videos, and subsequent tour; it includes interviews with Elton, lyricist Bernie Taupin, guitarist Davey Johnstone, and Versace himself, along with rare rehearsal footage." - Kevin Filipski

Billy Joel Live at Yankee Stadium words and music by Billy Joel
DVD 248 Check Availability

Image:Billy_Joel_Live_Yankee_Stadium.jpg‎

From cduniverse.com:
"Mounting the first-ever rock concert in Yankee Stadium, the 'piano man' himself Billy Joel takes on New York as the 'Storm Front' tour comes home. In addition to Billy Joel standards and tunes from the 'Storm Front' album, there is interview and documentary footage expressing the special place Yankee Stadium has in Long Island native Joel's life. The twelve tracks that he performs include (the appropriate) 'New York State Of Mind,' 'Piano Man,' and 'We Didn't Start The Fire.'"

A Night on the Town performances by Bruce Hornsby & the Range
DVD 1050 Check Availability

From barnesandnoble.com:
"Singer, songwriter, and pianist Bruce Hornsby and his band the Range are joined by a handful of special guests -- among them Jerry Garcia, Shawn Colvin, and Bela Fleck -- for this concert video, recorded in 1990 during a special performance on the sound stages of Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. Bruce Hornsby and the Range: A Night on the Town includes the songs 'The Way It Is,' 'The Valley Road,' 'Across the River,' 'The End of the Innocence,' 'Barren Ground,' and more." - Mark Deming, Rovi All Movie Guide

Abnormally Attracted to Sin performances by Tori Amos DVD 3589 Check Availability
	From Amazon.com: "ABNORMALLY ATTRACTED TO SIN, Tori's tenth studio album, is another innovative chapter in the artist's trailblazing story. Every track on the album will be accompanied by a corresponding `visualette,' featuring footage that has been captured over the past year. Shot in HD and Super 8, the visualettes will incorporate a documentary style."

Pop Listening Examples for Piano

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