Kenny Rankin....Peaceful... - Great CD, if you like this type of music. Will most likely order more of his stuff.
Easy Listening - Great mix of his favorites. Quality of some of the older tunes isn t too bad, though I thought I would able to hear some of his mumbled vocals a little better.
Kenny Rankin must have - Any Kenny Rankin fan will want this CD in their music collection. He performs a jazz standard or rock tune in his own style and his original works are very upbeat and enjoyable to listen to. He s not only a great singer, but talented musician in general.
The Rankin File - It s been said that, back in his heyday, being championed by Johnny Carson was the key to major stardom . Certainly, that was the case with Bette Midler , to say nothing of any number of up and coming comics, such as Jay Leno himself, for whom an appearance on the TONIGHT SHOW was the Key to the Komic Kingdom. But those were outsized, often outrageous personalities. For an introspective, genuinely low-key singer-songwriter like Kenny Rankin, however, becoming a favorite of the legendary late night-- talkmeister -and appearing on the program 20 times in a three year period--proved to be something less than a major breakthrough. Who knows? The Carson endorsement may have even been a hindrance, at least in certain hip circles. This was the late 60s, after all, and as cool a guy as Johnny Carson may have seemed to some viewers, he was still basically ESTABLISHMENT. Kenny Rankin might have gotten more street cred as the guy who played rhythm on tracks like Highway 61 Revisited. Or maybe it was just bad marketing. He was recording for Mercury at the time, a label which blew it with such talents as Graham Parker (remember Mercury Poisoning?), Tracy Nelson/Mother Earth, Judy Henske and Captain Beefheart. It certainly didn t help that family man and all around nice guy Rankin fell victim to those proverbial personal demons (read, drugs) that even nice guy family men were fated to wrestle with back in the day (and even to this day). That period, obliquely referred to in the liner notes as a time when the singer made some bad decisions, can at best be counted as lost time. Rankin s second (and final) album for Mercury, the uninspired FAMILY was a commercial and artistic setback, and it s significant that this Rhino collection draws absolutely NO songs from that disc.Or is it? Maybe there were licensing concerns involved. There s only one track from MIND-DUSTERS, and that Mercury album, was just about flawless. And in fact, I d have to take issue with the assertion made in the liner notes that the version of Peaceful included here--from the 1972 come-back album LIKE A SEED--is THE definitive version. The earlier MIND-DUSTERS take on the song set the standard by which all subsequent versions (including Helen Reddy s Top 40 hit) should be judged. The take included on the Rhino compilation is beautifully sung, but it is cluttered with ornate instrumentation: harp, penny whistle, strings, kitchen sink--you name it. The arrangements undercuts the song s considerable strengths. The MIND-DUSTERS take was much leaner, guitar and a subtle, tasteful string backing that brought out the vocal beautifully. That s less the case with the later version, although it is certainly beautifully sung (which--when you re talking Kenny Rankin--pretty much goes without saying). One point I would make, however, is that the vocal improvisations Rankin indulges in on this track virtually pre-suppose familiarity with the song. That may be a valid assessment on the singer s part, given Reddy s hit version, but as a track unto itself, this version of Peaceful starts to toy with the melody line almost before establishing it. But that s also the direction Rankin was heading in by the early 70s. The folk tinge of the earliest records was giving way to a jazzier, poppier style. And it was a good fit for a singer with a smooth and silky a tenor as Rankin. The fact that he was a master scat singer didn t hurt either, as several of the tracks included here display to good effect. Try focusing intently on the vocal line to just about any track here and you ll likely agree that they are just about flawless. This is ELEGANT singing. Elegant in a good way. Smooth, polished--but also emotive.Of course, it s one of life s little mysteries , but flawless vocals often fail to sell records. Singers with a bit of grit, rasp or breathiness often are said to have more personality. Hey , I won t argue that there s a place in popular music for the quirky, the rootsy or the conversational singer--many of my favorites have distinctive and less than lovely voices. Sincerity and feeling count for a lot. But if you listen closely to Kenny Rankin s gorgeous vocals you ll find that they too are heartfelt. Great pipes, emotive singing. Take it from me, it doesn t get any better.
Great music! - I had listened to Kenny Rankins music for years in the 70 s and realized that I had not heard his music for awhile. So I ordered the CD from Amazon and I m so glad I did. He has a unique sound that reminds me of the way Stevie Wonder writes some of his music - with unexpected sounds, phrases - I really enjoy it.