The Non-Rolling Stones Side of My Record Collection (Part 2)

Hello there! You want to take a look into my record collection again? You are in luck! Here are five  records in my collection that you haven't seen in any other of my blog posts. Enjoy reading a little about each record and what my favorite songs are off that record! 

1. Simon and Garfunkel: Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

Who doesn't love a record that is named after the common herbs used in the kitchen? I discovered Simon and Garfunkel's music through my Mom, and the first song I heard from them was Mrs. Robinson, which was released two years after this album. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme was the third studio album by this American music duo. It was released on October 10,1966 on the Columbia Record Label. My favorite song this album is Homeward Bound. 

2. The Who: TOMMY 

"Listen to TOMMY with a candle burning and you will see your entire future." The 2000 film Almost Famous says. Does this work? I do not know. Why won't you have a go a tell me what happens. I knew of The Who but did not give any of their music a listen until my brother gave me this record because he had two and a half copies in his collection. The Who was a British band that started around the same time as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and The Faces. I like to call this the "The" era because it seemed like every Rock and Roll band tagged "The" in front of their band name. TOMMY was the fourth studio album released by The Who on May 23, 1969 on the record label called Track. My favorite songs off of this album are Amazing Journey and Welcome.  

3. James Taylor: JT 

JT is James Taylor eighth studio album, which was released in June 1977. James Taylor did a cover of "Handy Man" by Jimmy Jones, which charted number six on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in the 1978 Grammy Awards. This record was nominated for Album of the Year but fell short to Fleatwood Mac's Rumours. JT is James Taylor's biggest selling record in his career. My favorite songs off this album are Your Smiling Face and Terra Nova.  

4. Ed Sheeran: + 

Released on September 9, 2011 was the debut studio album for this British singer-songwriter. Before + was released Ed Sheeran independently released five EP's that he would sell out of his rucksack while he was sleeping on friend's couches looking for gigs to play after he dropped out of school at the age of 16. It sold over 42,000 copies within the first week of being release in the United States, which is the highest for a debut album by a British artist since Susan Boyle's I Dreamed a Dream in 2009. The A Team is the well known single that came off of this album. I have a weakness for colored vinyl and clear vinyl so with + being a orange clear vinyl made me very satisfied when I got this record! It is one of my favorite features of this record. My favorite songs on + are You Need Me, I Don't Need You and Give Me Love. Also the hidden track after Give Me Love called Parting Glass, which is a Scottish and Irish traditional song covered by Ed Sheeran. 

5. Muddy Waters: Folk Singer 

I discovered Muddy Waters and started listening to him because of The Rolling Stones. It was when Keith Richards said he saw Mick Jagger carrying Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records at the train station and that is what started The Rolling Stones. So I thought "hmm maybe I should take a listen to Muddy" and this was the first record I bought of his. This is the fourth studio album released by this amazing Blues artist in April 1964,and is the only all-acoustic album released by Muddy. This album did not chart in any country but was praised by listeners for the high sound quality. However, in 2003 this Muddy Waters album was ranked number 280 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. My favorite songs off of this album are Long Distance and Cold Weather Blues. 

Concert Review: Ed Sheeran (X Tour) in Philadelphia

Ed Sheeran hit the stage Tuesday night (26 May 2015) for his X(Multiply) Tour at The Mann Center in Philadelphia with his Martin guitar and Loop Station and had everyone on their feet singing and dancing like there was no tomorrow. 

Looking out across the lawn seating at The Mann

Lets talk about The Mann Center a little. This was the first time I have traveled down to Philly to attend a concert at this venue and I was not disappointed at all! The Mann is located in Fairmount Park and was founded in 1935. This was such a beautiful venue. When you first walked into there was a court yard that had lights stringed all above it which made a great atmosphere. Set up around the court yard was the merchandise stand, open bars, and food stands.  The staff at the Mann were really friendly and help you with any questions that you may have like where your seat is located or where the nearest restroom was. (Might I add that the bathrooms were very clean! Because we know that is important to know when you go to a big venue like this) The ceiling of The Mann is made of wood which is not only for the looks but the made acoustics in that venue sound amazing, and just by me explaining it is not going to do it justice. When the first note of the night was played I was impressed on how loud it was and how you can still hear the singing and it was not drowned out by the bass and other instruments. There are two seating areas one under the covering and the lawn seating. If you happen to sit out on the lawn there are still ways to enjoy the concert with the huge video screens and the sound is just as good as it is under the covering. Now lets get on to the musical acts of the night. 

Looking inside of The Mann.

For this show Foy Vance was opening up for Ed Sheeran and this was his second show on the X Tour. Foy Vance is a folk singer from Northern Ireland. I suggest to go on iTunes and buy his newest album Joy of Nothing. This album is one of my go to album so seeing him in concert for me was just as exciting seeing Ed that night. Foy was joined on stage with his guitars and a drummer and that is all he needed to kick off the night. Foy is one of those artists that does not need auto tune when he preforms. His voice is so clean, the instruments blend well with it in each songs. His set list was wonderful, and he even cracked a few jokes for the city of brotherly love. 

Ed Sheeran on the stage during "I'm a Mess"

The British, ginger, tattooed, singer, songwriter, Ed Sheeran was the main act of the night. Ed opened up the gig with I'm a Mess and everyone was on their feet within seconds and remained on their feet for the rest of the night. My favorite thing he said after this song was "Everyone is looking forward. No one is looking at you. So Philly we are going to have a good time. It doesn't matter if you sing out of tune, dance crazy, or clap out of beat because everyone is looking forward." He did not have to tell me twice that I was going to have a good time that night because I knew the moment I bought the tickets I would. Ed was joined on stage by his Martin Guitars and his Loop Station. Ed used the loop stations to build a song up all live right there on the stage. No band to back him up just the Loop Station, the guitars, and two microphones. Watching him loop all of these different beats and guitar licks together was astonishing. A Stevie Wonder song snuck into Ed's set list for the night. He blended Superstition with his song titled Take It Back. Ed did not loose the audience once during songs when he wanted us to sing along, which takes a lot for an artist to do. His stage design was simple just a few video screens behind him that either played pre made videos or him performing in a different video effect. Non of these pyrotechnics or dancing sharks was needed to make Ed's gig a night to remember. My favorite song that Ed sang out of all he sang the whole night was You Need Me, I Don't Need You just because of the build ups and the songs he incorporated within the one song, which were In Da Club by 50 Cent and I'm So Fancy by Iggy Azalea.

Instagram photo taken by Ed Sheeran on stage of the crowd in Philly. 

Overall the concert was fabulous. I would have to say one of the best I have been too. If you ever get a chance to see Ed Sheeran or Foy Vance in concert I highly recommend it! You will not be disappointed. 

*Stay tuned to this blog to see more concert reviews that I will do in the future.*

Where to find...
The Mann
Twitter: @MannCenter
Website: www.manncenter.org/
Foy Vance
Twitter: @foyvance
Website: www.foyvance.com/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/foyvancemusic
Ed Sheeran
Twitter: @edsheeran
Website: www.edsheeran.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/EdSheeran
Me
Twitter: @ATodero

Ed Sheeran's X

This British singer/songwriter nailed it on the head with his first debut album + (plus) and now he has released his second debut album X (multiply), which is magnificent. X was released in June 2014. The album is coming up on it's one year anniversary of its release and I grown to love this Ed Sheeran album as much as I did his first album.

With + Ed Sheeran had an orange theme that ran through out the whole album and everything he did with, and for X the theme is green. He said he "feel[s] every single one of [his] records should have a theme that runs through it, even if it's just a colour. The first one was orange, throughout, everything [he] did was orange. This one's going to be green throughout, and everything [he does] will be green in terms of artwork." 

X is available in all formats you can think of. The most common now a days is the digital album through iTunes, but it is also in CD and 12'' Vinyl. 

Ed wrote with Pharrell and Rick Ruben on this which brought hip-hop and R&B into some of the songs. His first single off of X was "Sing" which was a hit on the radio and in the charts. Don't worry Ed Sheeran did not forget to include ballads like everyone loved from his first album. Sweetly written "Thinking Out Loud" and "Tenerife Sea" are some of the ballads on X. Then there is "The Man" where Ed raps thought out the whole song and says how he needs to change his cider-drinking, spliff-lighting, bad-loving ways, he might be "writing my will before I'm 27."  All of the types of songs Ed wrote for this album all blend together and make X a good album to listen too.

The track list for X is... 

01 One
02 I'm a Mess
03 Sing
04 Don’t
05 Nina
06 Photograph
07 Bloodstream
08 Tenerife Sea
09 Runaway
10 The Man
11 Thinking Out Loud
12 Afire Love 
Deluxe Edition includes...
13 Take it back 
14 Shirtsleeves 
15 Even My Dad Does Sometimes    
16 I See Fire 
Deluxe Edition Physical Copy includes...
17 All of the Stars

"I See Fire" was played during the end credits of the film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug while "All of the Stars" was featured in the film The Fault in Out Stars. My favorite tracks on X are "I'm a Mess", "Take it Back", and "Afire Love". 

Check out Ed Sheeran's newest music video for the song and current single "Photograph". 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSDgHBxUbVQ


Where to find Ed...
Offical Website: http://www.edsheeran.com/ 
Twitter: @edsheeran
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EdSheeranMusic 
Instagram: teddysphotos 
YouTube: www.youtube.com/EdSheeran