HWright

I decided to write Ben myself and he (or one of his team) wrote me back the following reply: "Hotel & Farm" ended last year. Some papers have still not finished running the series. I have also been posting the entire series on my website. My new weekly strip, "Shoehorn Technique," is running in the English-language Forward and the Chicago Reader. I will eventually collect "Hotel & Farm" in book form, but the next book collection will be "The Cardboard Valise" series.

A question to all fans of cartoonist Ben Katchor: Is Ben still drawing his strip "Hotel & Farm" (aka "Cardboard Valise," "Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer," etc)? I used to read the strip in the Washington DC City Paper but a few years back they stopped running it. Recently I found Ben's website (http://www.katchor.com/) and the site seems to claim that "Hotel & Farm" is still being produced, but the two strips on the site seem strangely familiar. Unfortunately I have no way of verifying if they are repeats because Ben hasn't put out a book lately and so none of his "Hotel & Farm" series has been reprinted anywhere as far as I know. My current theory is that Ben is currently busy with musical theater (he has worked on two shows: "The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island, or The Friends of Dr. Rushower" and "The Rosenbach Company") and has been running repeats in his strip. Anyone have any idea about this? Whether his strip is on hiatus or not, I sure wish another book of his strips would be published.

Working their way backward...that's sounds like a very probable explanation. I managed to find Rhino versions of the following Deep Purple albums: "Fireball" (1 disc with bonus tracks) "Machine Head" (2 disc version with Roger Glover remixes on second disc) "Made in Japan" (2 disc version with extra tracks on second disc) "Who Do We Think We Are" (1 disc with bonus tracks) "Burn" (1 disc with bonus tracks) All of these are excellent and highly recommended to any DP fans, although obviously those who do not like Mark III with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes may prefer to skip "Burn." As mentioned in my first post, I have not seen a Rhino version of "In Rock," but did manage to find the UK EMI Anniversary remastered edition. Rhino has also not put out: "Made in Europe" "Stormbringer" "Come Taste the Band" (Mark IV) I was able to get European (German, I think) imports of these, but they do not appear to have gotten any special treatment (no new liner notes, graphics or bonus tracks) and do not appear to be part of the same series. There are also two interesting archival releases that further document Mark IV (with Tommy Bolin on guitar): "Days May Come and Days May Go:The 1975 California Rehearsals" "This Time Around: Live in Tokyo '75"

Actually, they did, but the remasters haven't been released individually, only as a box set: Black Box Dave: Thanks for the link to the Sabbath Black Box. I wasn't aware of it. Henry.

Recently, after reading Keith Shadwick's Led Zepplin book I got on a big hard rock kick and started listening to a lot of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. I found that Rhino, together with Warner Brothers, has put out excellent remastered editions of many of the classic Deep Purple albums (too bad they didn't give the same treatment to Black Sabbath, which only got a two-disc retrospective), but although the booklets refer to a Rhino/Warner edition of "Deep Purple in Rock" (they even give a serial number), I can't seem to find any evidence that it ever came out! It certainly doesn't appear to be something one can order anywhere. There is a British EMI remaster which I picked up as an import (quite good), but I just wonder what prevented the Rhino version from coming out... Anyone know anything about this? Side bar: While on the topic of Deep Purple, I found an interesting jazz connection since apparently David Coverdale recommended Tommy Bolin as the replacement guitarist for Richie Blackmore on the basis of Bolin's performance on Billy Cobham's "Spectrum" LP.

I managed to find the Universal Germany site: http://www.universal-music.de/html/index.html Although they don't talk up the reissue program much, they do provide release dates for all of Van's albums in their catalogue. It looks like the remasters came out in two batchs, in 1997 and 1998. "Avalon Sunset" and "Enlightenment" are not listed as remastered, so I must have just imagined that I saw new versions of them, as I said. There is a remaster of "Beautiful Vision," as I thought, so I'm going to keep a look out for that. No mention at all of Van's first three Warner Brothers albums, either in old or new remastering, which seems to support my theory that they don't have the rights... Also of interest is that they have the track listing for what appears to be Van's Next Album "Pay the Devil," with a (tentative) release date of March 3, 2006: 1 There Stands The Glass 2 Half As Much 3 Things Have Gone To Pieces 4 Big Blue Diamonds 5 Playhouse 6 Your Cheatin Heart 7 My Bucket's Got A Hole In It 8 Back Street Affair 9 Pay The Devil 10 What Am I Living For 11 This Has Got To Stop 12 Once A Day 13 More And More 14 Till I Gain Control Again

Recently in Washington DC (where I live) I found German Import copies of remasters of Van Morrison's "Into the Music" and "Common One." Since these are two favorites of mine and as far as I know remasters of these albums have not been released in the USA, I bought them. That got me to thinking about the Polydor/Mercury/Universal Remastering program of Van's catalogue, both from when he was with Warner Brothers and when he was with Polydor after that. The main set of reissues came out around 1997 in the USA, although I don't think I discovered them until 2-3 years later because they weren't very well publicized either in the media or in stores. I just found them in a Borders one day, as I recall. (The same thing happened with the Joni Mitchell remasters that came out around the same time.) Based on an ad I found inside one of the reissues, the initial series seems to have included Tupelo Honey Saint Dominic's Preview Hardnose the Highway Veedon Fleece Too Late to Stop Now Period of Transition Wavelength These CDs could be distinguished by the gold sticker on the case indicating the new remastering and subtle differences in typography on the spine and back tray card. (The European versions seem to also have a fully clear tray, which makes them easier to distinguish from the original CD editions). Recently, I discovered that additional titles from the 1980's had been remastered and I found new editions of the following titles Sense of Wonder No Guru No Teacher No Method Poetic Champions Compose I thought I saw remasters of the following albums, but I may have imagined it Avalon Sunset Enlightenment Even more recently, in addition to the German editions of "Into the Music" and "Common One," I've also seen a German edition of "Inarticulate Speech of the Heart and no doubt a German edition of "Beautiful Vision" exists, although I haven't seen it yet. Since I find these remasters to be a distinct improvement, I think it's unfortunate that they weren't better promoted and that all of the series haven't been released directly in the USA. Three albums, however, are noticeably absent from both the USA and European series: "Astral Weeks," "Moon Dance" and "His Band and Street Choir." Does anyone know why these albums haven't been remastered? Considering that they are among his most popular and well known titles, the only explanation that I can think of is that Polydor doesn't have the rights. However, they were included in the late '80's/Early '90's CD catalogue. Perhaps at some point, due to some buy out or renegociation, the rights were lost? Or is this perhaps connected to American v.s. European distribution rights.... Anyone have any idea about this?

Joe, I'm not a musician, but I thought he was good, although he didn't steal the show in the way that Yahel did. Here's a piece from a few years ago that I found that shows his picture and tells a little about his background: http://www.jazzhouston.com/news/words.jsp?pKey=1&key=547 Guitarist Mike Moreno at the Jazz Gallery, Review by Andrew Lienhard Jul 18th, 2003 Guitarist Mike Moreno at the Jazz Gallery, New York, NY, July 17th, 2003. Personnel: Mike Moreno (gt), Rodney Green (dr), Aaron Goldberg (p), Derek Nievergelt (b), Kris Bauman (ts). Mike Moreno is becoming a hot item on the New York jazz scene. His agile guitar playing has attracted the attention of major artists such as Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Greg Osby, and Kenny Garrett. In fact, by the end of last year the buzz on Mike had grown so strong that he received those once in a lifetime calls from Watts and Garrett on the same day. But Watts got to him first, snatching up one of the dates Garrett had set aside for rehearsals. He recalls "even that was hard to turn down, but it was still cool getting both calls on the same day". In the end everything worked out. Watts flew him to Boston; Garrett booked him for the saxophonist's annual New Year's gig at Sweet Rhythm. Besides a busy gig schedule, Mike can be heard on several albums from up and coming players like trumpet sensation Jeremy Pelt, R&B vocalist Bilal, organist Jesse Chandler and fellow Houstonian, pianist Robert Glasper. Jazz Gallery Show Thursday's performance at the Jazz Gallery demonstrated that Moreno is at once a masterful composer, with a sense of sophistication that belies his age, and an extraordinary improviser. Perhaps these two qualities are related, though it is rare to see an artist excel at both. Despite the band's limited rehearsal time, the intricate and mesmerizing compositions were masterfully executed. Indeed, Mike and his seasoned band mates transcended the music's challenges allowing the audience to savor the fluid characteristics of his writing. The tune "Between The Lines", for example, would be a standout track on any album, as would his grooving "Road Song" (not to be confused with the Wes Montgomery standard). At the same time, the level of playing was extraordinary. As Mike took command of the first solo, he set the standard for the evening. Devouring one chorus after another, his solos were both exciting and maturely crafted, not merely vehicles for bravado or technique. Moreno’s phrasing is impeccable, his time flawless and his ideas utterly endless. These qualities were particularly apparent as he electrified the musician-heavy audience on Joe Henderson's classic "Isotope". The rest of the band proved just as sensational. Pianist Aaron Goldberg, who has worked in both Joshua Redman's quartet (his classmate from Harvard) and drummer Al Foster's trio, scorched the room's Baldwin grand. Using a rich rhythmic palette to construct exciting solos, his interplay with drummer Rodney Green was so delightful, that had the rest of the band dropped out the music wouldn’t have suffered a bit. Goldberg has several albums out as a leader, in addition to his sideman credits with Redman, Foster and Mark Turner. Drummer Rodney Green has the most extensive resume of anyone in Mike's band, having toured and recorded with Diana Krall, Eric Reed, Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Haden, Christrian McBride, Herbie Hancock, Greg Osby and many, many others. One only needs to hear him to understand why. Bassist Derek Nievergelt from Terence Blanchard's band was understated but grooving. Saxophonist Kris Bauman whose beautiful tone is reminiscent of Mark Turner, synced perfectly with Moreno on the complex melodies before launching into his own expansive solos. Mike will be appearing later this month at the Jazz Gallery with John Ellis, Charlie Hunter's saxophonist and a Monk Competition finalist. He'll also be appearing this month at Sweet Rhythm (formerly Sweet Basil) with trumpeter and Mingus Big Band member Jeremey Pelt. Keep your eyes open for all of these guys. They're no doubt going to be a big part of jazz's next chapter.

According to the Blues Alley ad, the line-up was Redman on reeds, Yahel on keys, guitar Mike Moreno and drums Jeff Ballard. Not the same line-up Alex saw, but still quite worthwhile.

I'll have to check my notes and tell you tomorrow. It was listed on the ad for the show in the Post, but isn't on the Blues Alley website. What I can tell you right now is he looked to be under 30 and appeared to be a white guy with black hair with bangs.

I saw Joshua and the Elastic Band at Blues Alley in Washington, DC over the weekend. Great fun. The best part of the concert to me was having the chance to hear Sam Yahel play live. He was amazing. I'd mostly heard him as a sideman on recordings and I didn't realize how much of the organ/keybooard tradition of progressive rock he brings to his playing. This resulted in great solos from Yahel as well as interesting ensemble playing and good duets with Joshua and with the guitarist. I was at the first set on Friday night which included: Sweet Nasty Mantra #5 Nine Lives (tune written by a friend of JR, didn't catch the name) Untitled Yahel piece Make Sure That You're Sure (Stevie Wonder tune) News from the Front Double Jeopardy

Thanks to everyone who replied. More specifically> John L: Thank very very much for the Muddy Discography Acrobat File! That's great, exactly what I was looking for. I'm going to enjoy reading this and combing through the details tonight and in future. Tom 1960: I will be certain to check out the forum you suggested. I could learn a lot there, I think. I may post there my more general query (about all r'n'b and blues singles, not just Muddy Waters). Danasgoodstuff: Thanks for the specific details. Henry.

Recently, after reading Robert Gordon's biography on Muddy Waters, I got to thinking about how until about 1965 most blues and r'n'b artists worked on singles rather than distinct LP projects. Gordon, alas, doesn't include a sessionography in his book and so I've been trying to piece together Muddy's sessions during the transitional period from 1959-1968 when he did singles sessions and LP sessions (I don't need to research his pre-1959 work because I have the MCA/Chess complete sets covering that period). As part of that project, I've been trying to figure out which songs were actually released as singles (either a or b sides). I'm finding that a bit tricky though because the only good discographical resource I have is a book of singles ('78s and '45's) that made the r'n'b charts, but Muddy's singles stopped charting around 1959. My question: does anyone know of a resource (book or online database) that would provide data on the complete list of blues/r'n'b singles released by various companies during say 1920-1970? Failing that, does anyone know about such a resource covering just Chess Records or just Muddy Waters? Just to share my work on 1959-1968, this is what I have so far. I would be grateful for any corrections or suggestions about where to find better data. Notes: (1)the undated tracks marked with "?" are on the Muddy Waters Chess Box set but I don't know exactly what year they are from; (2) In the case of a single that was also on an LP (e.g., I Feel so Good) I have listed it twice if I know it appeared in both formats). ========================================== Muddy Waters Discography 1959-1968 1959 She's Into Somethin' I Feel So Good Walkin' Thru the Park ?: Take the Bitter with the Sweet ?: Blues Before Sunrise Muddy Waters Sings Big Bill Broonzy LP Tell Me Baby Southbound Train When I Get to Drinkin'/Thinkin' Just a Dream (On My Mind) Double Trouble I Feel So Good I Done Got Wise Mopper's Blues Lonesome Road Blues Hey Hey 1960 I Got My Brand on You Tiger in Your Tank Soon Forgotten Meanest Woman 1961 Lonesome Road/Room Blues ?: Twenty-Four Hours, ?: Elevate Me Mama 1962 The Muddy Waters Twist You Shook Me You Need Love 1963 Five Long Years She'll be Coming Around the Mountain [More?] Folk Singer LP My Home is in the Delta Long Distance Call My Captain Good Morning Little School Girl You're Gonna Need My Help Cold Weather Blues Big Leg Woman Country Boy Feel Like Goin' Home My Love Strikes Like Lightning ?: So Glad I'm Living ?: You Don't Have to Go 1964 The Same Thing You Can't Lose What You Never Had Things That I used to Do My John the Conqueror Root Short Dress Woman Put Me in Your Lay Away 1965 1966 Muddy, Brass & Blues LP Corrina, Corrina Piney Brown Blues Black Night Trouble in Mind Going Back to Memphis Betty and Dupree Sweet Little Angel Take My Advice Trouble Hard Loser My Dog Can't Bark [session with Clarinets?] 1967They Call Me Muddy Waters (Tracks from many earlier sessions) LP When the Eagle Flies Crawling King Snake County Jail It's All Over Bird Nest on the Ground They Call Me Muddy Waters Find Yourself Another Fool Kinfolk's Blues Making Friends Blind Man Blues Two Steps Forward Howlin' Wolf 1968 Electric Mud LP I Just Wanna Make Love to You (I'm Your) Hoochie Koochie Man Let's Spend the Night Together She's Allright Mannish Boy Herbert Harper's Free Press News Tom Cat The Same Thing

Jim: I think I browsed Fred's book in the library at one point, but I never bought a copy when it came out. I'll see if I can get one now. Apart from JB's autobiography which seems to be everywhere, books about JB and his band seem to be hard to find, unless one looks on line. Henry.

I think Jim's comments are very well put. Another explanation that I've at times considered is that JB's style of leadership tended to drive away a lot of talented musicians in the long run and while some came back (Fred Wesley and Maceo both quit only to later return), others such as Bootsy Collins would never return. And this represented, ultimately, a great loss for JB. Based on my memory of the credits from the fourth disc of "Star Time," it seems to me that the real breaking point was when Fred and Maceo left JB to join George Clinton and Parliament around 1975. I don't think his band was ever the same after that...and that this was a real blow to JB because outside of being two excellent musicians with whom JB had a great rapport, Fred was JB's musical director. I don't know who replaced him after that, by the way...It's not something I recall having read about one way or another...It seems also that the trend that began in 1971 of using studio musicians (some of them jazz musicians) instead of the touring band continued in the years that followed too and while I don't think the results were always bad, in the long run this must have had an impact on the results and on JB's creativity.

Is that the instrumental set that consited of 2 lps originally on Smash where JB played organ? ← It may contain tracks from those sessions (although I don't think so), but it's by no means a straight reissue of those two lps (one of which is called "Grits and Soul," I think). It's more of a best of collection containing material from all his instrumental albums (many of which he played organ on) and best instrumental tracks from albums that had instrumentals and non-instrumentals...(Strangely enough they did not include JB's version of "The Sidewinder." ) Here is the track listing: Soul Pride: The Instrumentals (1960-69) 1 Hold It Butler, Scott 2:09 2 The Scratch Alston 1:44 3 Suds Kendrick 2:19 4 Cross Firing Brown 2:21 5 Limbo Jimbo Brown 3:13 6 Joggin' Along Brown 2:24 7 Doin' the Limbo Brown 2:27 8 Choo-Choo (Locomotion) Brown 2:53 9 (Can You) Feel It, Pt. 1 Brown 2:54 10 Soul Food, Pt. 1 & 2 Wright 4:05 11 Evil Wright 2:46 12 Infatuation Wright 4:28 13 Headache Wright 2:21 14 Every Beat of My Heart Otis 5:00 15 Try Me Brown 3:06 16 New Breed Brown, Jones 3:46 17 Jabo Brown, Jones 2:57 18 Fat Bag Brown, Jones 4:18 19 Sumpin' Else Brown, Jones 5:58 20 Devil's Den [live] Wright 5:56 21 The King Brown, Jones 6:18 22 Mashed Potatoes '66 Brown 5:04 23 Gittin' a Little Hipper Brown, Ellis, Hobgood 2:47 24 Go on Now Brown 5:51 25 In the Middle, Pt. 1 Ellis, Hobgood 2:41 26 Tighten Up [live] Bell, Buttier 7:16 27 The Popcorn Brown 3:01 28 Soul Pride, Pt, 1 & 2 Brown, Ellis 4:28 29 Sudsy Brown, Ellis 4:41 30 The Chicken Ellis 4:04 31 The Chase Brown, Hobgood :29 32 Come on in the House Ellis 2:30 33 Lowdown Popcorn [buttered Version] Brown 4:29 34 Top of the Stack Brown, Ellis 2:48 35 Ain't It Funky Now, Pts. 1 & 2 Brown 7:11 36 Funky Drummer [The Original Tambourine Mix] Brown 9:27

Yeah, he was in decline during that period. I have the "Star Time" box set and there are some tracks from that period on the fourth disc and I agree with your assessment ("mostly fair to middling, with a few exceptions") Still, I'm always curious about these things...a great artist is at his peak..then he goes into a gradual, irreversible decline...how did it happen? why did it happen? when did it happen? etc. and that's why I like to hear more. I have the 2-disc JBs set and have seen the Funky Divas set. I once had a copy of the instrumental collection (but sold it). It's called "Soul Pride" as I recall and is now pretty rare as well. Don't recall how much it's going for these days though...

During 1996-1998 Polydor/Universal/whatever put out a series of funk reissues under the Chronicles banner. Included in this series were a set of James Brown collections. I have managed to find copies of the first three discs (disc one covers 1964-1969, disc two is 1970 and disc three is 1971-1975) but find that the fourth set (covering 1975-1983) called "Dead on the Heavy Funk" is not only out of print but going for about $60 online. I wonder if anyone on the Board would be willing to trade a copy (used or new) with me in exchange for something else or knows how I could get hold of a used copy for a reasonable price. I would also be interested to hear if anyone knows why this set is rarer than the others from the series. Thanks. "Dead on the Heavy Funk, 1975-1983" Disc: 1 1. Sex Machine Part I & Part II 2. Hustle!!! (Dead On It) 3. Your Love 4. Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved, Loved) 5. Woman 6. Medley: Get Up Offa That Thing/Release The Pressure 7. I Refuse To Lose (7 Inch Mix) 8. Bodyheat 9. Kiss In '77 (Previously Unreleased Live Version) 10. Give Me Some Skin 11. Bessie 12. If You Don't Give A Doggone About It Disc: 2 1. Jam 1980's (Live Version) 2. The Spank 3. Nature Part 1 4. Eyesight 5. I Never, Never Will Forget (Previously Unreleased Long Version) 6. For Goodness Sakes, Look At Those Cakes 7. A Man Understands 8. It's Too Funky In Here (12 Inch Version) 9. Regrets 10. Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses?) (12 Inch Version) 11. Bring It On...Bring It On

Yes, I believe it was in the 1995 edition.

A few months back or so I asked for Board Members' help in remembering the name of a book I remember hearing about in the late '80's. That book was "The Quincunx" by Charles Palliser. Since then I bought the book and have now read it. Research on line has revealed that the author apparently wrote for a UK reprinting of the novel a 16 page appendix which apparently has never been included in any American edition of the book. Does this appendix really exist? Has anyone here read it? and if so, was it of interest? Any other comments about its contents? Has anyone come upon any criticism about the novel that discusses the appendix?

Parkertown: Thanks very much. They must be the same ones I already have then.

Has anyone picked up any of these new Rolling Stones "American Collection" (in outer paper sleeves with the tongue logo on the outside and the plastic case inside)CDs of their post-London Records (Virgin) catalogue ("Sticky Fingers" and beyond) that just came out? Is this just a repackaging job or have they actually remastered the albums themselves? If they are remastered, do they sound improved? Has anyone heard any of them? I'm especially interested in "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile on Main Street".

I've been considering getting the Muddy set too. Thanks for the recommendation!

I did a search and it seems that there are some fans on this board of the soul singer Howard Tate, so I thought I'd share a recent discovery... Ever since 2001 when Howard emerged from obscurity with a new album ("Rediscovered") there has been much talk (on this Board and elsewhere) about Howard's old LPs from the '60's and early '70's. Being a fan of soul music, I became interested. I managed to find CD versions of "Reaction" (Turntable, 1969) and "Howard Tate" (Atlantic, 1972) but discovered that his debut "Get it While You Can" (Verve, 1966), was out of print. Well, about a month ago, while looking for Muddy Waters' CDs on the net, I came upon an interesting website called Hip-O Select ( http://www.hip-oselect.com/catalogue.asp), selling a limited edition of "Get it While You Can." I ordered one about a week and half ago and it came on Friday. The album is great and I recommend it heartily for any fans of Howard. Here is the website link: http://www.hip-oselect.com/catalogue_tate.asp Does anyone know what Hip-O Select is, by the way? Is it owned by Universal or is is an Independent leasing masters owned by Universal? Also, for those who love Motown, the website also has some interesting Motown rarities: http://www.hip-oselect.com/cat_motown.asp

I found a copy of Julian Priester's "Love, Love" in Washington DC at my local Olsson's Books and Records earlier this week. It had on it a sticker that said "Made in Germany." I had already heard large samples of the album on that Dark Funk website that I heard about here on the Board, but I am glad to have my own copy of the album now.