Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson | Winter in America

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African American, Gil Scot-Heron, Jazz, Keyboards, Poetry, Vocals

Gil Scott & Brian Jackson

Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson | Winter in America [Jazz-Vocals/Tvt/1973]

One of Gil Scott-Heron’s finest 1970s albums, WINTER IN AMERICA finds the ever-provocative vocalist/poet playing off the surprisingly gentle piano arrangements of Brian Jackson. Whereas other records (particularly SMALL TALK AT 125th AND LENOX) …    Full Descriptionfocus more on Scott-Heron’s spoken-word missives, WINTER highlights the influential African-American performer’s abilities as a singer, particularly on the soulful “Back Home” and the smooth, lyrically pointed title track, which superficially evokes a contemporaneous Barry White tune.

While the first part of WINTER IN AMERICA consists of studio sessions, the final four numbers feature Scott-Heron playing live in Washington, D.C., with the concert recordings easily on a par with the more polished earlier tracks, as exemplified by his stirring medley of “The Bottle,” a funky cautionary tale, and the percussive, chanted “Guan Guanco.” Second only to PIECES OF A MAN as an intriguing mix of melody and rhetoric, WINTER IN AMERICA is required listening for anyone interested in Scott-Heron. ~ CDUniverse.com

ISP Owner Berates RIAA for New Copyright Protection Strategy

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Internet, Technology

Recently, the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) stated it would no longer pursue its fruitless strategy of prosecuting individuals for copyright infringement. Instead, it plans to put more pressure on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for weeding out high-bandwidth downloaders.

Well, now ISPs have responded to that pressure by berating the RIAA for ignoring the expensive costs Internet providers must incur to pursue suspected peer-to-peer downloaders. Granted, although finding and shutting off downloaders saves ISPs necessary bandwidth space, the hunt is not a cheap one.