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Will I regret it?


Daniel A

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I suppose you all at some point have regretted selling or trading off a particular LP or CD; at least I have a few times. And sometimes the wish of hearing it again makes me considering getting it a second time. Either the album in question is very hard to get (and in that case I'm still lamenting the loss) or if it's generally available I've had to buy it again (one or two times I've been saved by receiving it as a gift).

At the same time I feel that it's rather pointless to sit on some music which I practically never listen to, except when I'm playing it through to see if I can trade it away, and decides that "well, it wasn't too bad after all...". And then the CDs are collecting dust for yet another year until I think of selling them again...

But now I've finally decided that I'll get rid of a few CDs anyway. I'm holding on to the OOP stuff, so the reaons for trading these away are purely musical. Now I'm asking you, which of these do you think I'll regret trading away?

Wayne Shorter / Herbie Hancock '1+1'

For some reason I never feel in the mood for this one. But Wayne's soprano isn't always easy on the ear...

Lee Morgan 'The Rumproller'

Not that this is second rate, but I'd rather listen to 'The Sidewinder' or perhaps 'Una Mas' than 'The Rumproller' any time. The sound of the RVG doesn't help either. A pity that there are two splendid Shorter tunes in there, though...

Barry Harris 'Bullseye'

A rather recent reissue, but I don't think I'll grow to like it. Dorham is erratic as he could be, McPherson is nice but I think Harris is heard to greater advantage elsewhere.

Freddie Hubbard 'The Black Angel'

The 17 minute 'Space Track' is not the idiom I think Hubbard fits best in. A year later he was stylistically in a different bag alltogether. There are one or two tracks he sounds more comfortable on, but this seems like a waste of time when you can put on any of his Blue Notes instead. On a sidenote: Is it only on my system the room starts vibrating heavily from the bass exactly 5 minutes into 'Eclipse'?

Elvin Jones / Jimmy Garrison 'Illumination'

The personnel is listed as Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons, Charles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones. Let's just say that I appreciate their respective playing on this album in the reverse order. I find tunes á la 'Aborigine Dance in Scotland' to be slightly enerving.

Jaki Byard Quartet 'Live!'

As much as I like Joe Farrell, I seldom listen to this one. I think the problem is that I can't really absorb Jaki Byard's piano playing. The Piano at the Turnpike could've used some tuning prior to the recording, too.

Ornette Coleman 'Forms and Sounds'

Well, this one is OOP, but I saw two used copies for next to nothing last week, so it doesn't seem much of an investment. One of the few albums I've never even managed to listen through completely. A string qurtet and a woodwind quintet with Ornettes trumpet interludes. Does anyone really enjoy this music?

What do you think? Perhaps I should listen to nothing but these CDs for the next month, and I'll realize I can't live without them!

Edited by Daniel A
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I have a hard time getting rid of ANYTHING. Having said that, if I was sure that I'd really never want to hear something again - that I disliked it that much - it really makes sense to get rid it. my view on your list would probably be to keep the Lee, Freddie, and the Wayne/Herbie....just in case...and dump the rest....Joe Farrell would be difficult for me to get rid of too.

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You don't necessarily have to listen to them non-stop to like them, but I would definitely hold on to the CD's. Like Harold, I never get rid of anything (unless it's something I have duplicated, like with a box set or something). I have come back to many CD's after initially not liking them very much, and have learned to enjoy them a great deal. The Mingus 1959 Columbia set is a good example of this, for me. Wasn't too impressed with it at first, but kept it and came back to it a few years later, and now I love it. Sometimes the time just isn't right for a particular artist or style of music, but who's to say the time won't be right later?

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The only CD that I got rid of and bought again later is Jimmy Giuffre - Free fall. I bought it after I got the wonderful 1961 2CD set on ECM. Free fall sounded ugly and incoherent in comparison and I traded it because I was sure I would never like it.

Since then I have become a big Giuffre fan, bought the Mosaic set and many other CDs. When I saw a Sony promotion on amazon.fr (midprice CDs for 7 Euro) I couldn't resist getting Free Fall again, as it was the only important Giuffre album missing in my collection. As I have listened to a lot of avantgarde classical and jazz since I first heard Free fall, I enjoy it now, although it remains one of the more "difficult" Giuffre sessions.

Edited by Claude
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Ornette Coleman 'Forms and Sounds'

Well, this one is OOP, but I saw two used copies for next to nothing last week, so it doesn't seem much of an investment. One of the few albums I've never even managed to listen through completely. A string qurtet and a woodwind quintet with Ornettes trumpet interludes. Does anyone really enjoy this music?

I either still own, or used to own "Forms and Sounds", and I know what you mean. (Most of my CD's are still packed in boxes, and I can't remember if I ended up trading this one in or not. I suspect I thought about it, but in the end - I probably kept it.)

Tough disc, even for those who are big fans of Ornette, or even those (like myself) who really are big fans of modern string-quartets and/or wind quintets!! I can get off on some of the most difficult chamber music by even the 12-tone guys, like Schoenberg, Berg, Roger Sessions, or even Henze (who isn't strickly a 'serial' guy).

But for some reason, I have never been able to get into Ornette's writing for strings all that much. I do mostly like "Skies of America", but I know it's cuz Ornette's actually playing some on it, and on alto specifically. I used to own the "Naked Lunch" soundtrack, and traded it back less than a year after I got it. Now I wish I had it (or so I thought), but then I happened to hear parts of it on some internet radio station, and it didn't do much for me - so I probably was right in trading it back in.

I tend to lump Ornette's string writing in with guys like Morton Feldmen, who do next to nothing for me.

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Wayne Shorter / Herbie Hancock '1+1'

For some reason I never feel in the mood for this one. But Wayne's soprano isn't always easy on the ear...

Same reaction for me too to this one (plus one ;) ). Oh how I wish Wayne had played tenor on "1 + 1". I'm not much of a fan of soprano anyway, in any context, and Wayne's brand is difficult for me to get very excited about. I know others like it, and I'm not saying it's "bad" -- just that it isn't my cup of tea.

As far as whether I traded it in or not - I think I did trade this one in, but again - all my stuff's in boxes, and I'm starting to forget what I have and what I don't have.

=====

On a side note - when I packed up all my CD's (about 3,000 total, about 35% jazz, 45% classical, and 20% rock/pop/whatever), I did have the foresight to put all my Blue Note discs in boxes of their own, which I have already unpacked. One has to have something to survive on!!! :g

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Due to a space problem and my fetish of still buying cds, if I buy something and it just really doesn't move and I think I'll never get interested in it, I'm going to get rid of it. However, I don't try to purposely cull my collection. Yes, there are somethings I may not listen to but I'll let them sit there. Some recordings may not grab me immediately but I'll put them aside. Others I just know in my heart that they're just not for me.

For me, I'd keep the Harris. Never heard anything of his I didn't like. While Bullseye may not be my favorite, I don't think I'm going to get rid of it.

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I think I gave away my copy of 1+1, so you have my blessing to ditch that one. But Illumination is one of my favorite albums that I own, period! How long have you had it? If it's been years and you still don't like it, you may as well find it a new home. If you've had it a couple years or less, I'd suggest letting it rest on the shelf for a while and coming back to it later.

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I think I gave away my copy of 1+1, so you have my blessing to ditch that one. But Illumination is one of my favorite albums that I own, period! How long have you had it? If it's been years and you still don't like it, you may as well find it a new home. If you've had it a couple years or less, I'd suggest letting it rest on the shelf for a while and coming back to it later.

This is an interesting thread. It really illustrates why I hate to recommend jazz recordings to people.

My initial reaction was to dump the Shorter and keep the rest, but I realize that it is a personal decision. Not everyone loves the avant garde stuff as much as I do.

If you think there is a 25% chance that you'll want to listen to any of these cds again, I'd keep the cd. You don't get that much for them when you sell them anyway, so I take the chance and hang on to some items.

Good luck!

:rsmile:

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I keep every cd as long as it has one track I like.  However, if I hate everything on the disc, I will try to trade it for used vinyl. :rsmile:

Man, I love used vinyl.

I spent the weekend listening to lps. They sound so good!

:g

Heck yeah, I know a couple good places with dollar and 75 cent bins. Can't beat those prices! Go with a few bucks and leave with hours upon hours of music...

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I'd want to keep Bull's Eye. I heard it briefly years ago and wasn't that impressed but I really enjoyed hearing it again on the OJC cd. I'd wan't to keep the Lee Morgan disc too. For me the rest would be dispensable.

Edited by JohnS
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Daniel A

I agree with many of he responses already made. In fact, the album of the week, The All Seeing Eye, Wayne Shorter, was one that took me a long time to get into. When I first gave it a listen I did not think it would be anything that I would ever go back to. Now it is probably about third on my list of Shorter CD's, and I am a big Shorter fan. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, my feelings and taste change as life happens, if you know what I mean.

Good luck!

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I only have two of these, so I'll restrict my comments to them. There's no way I could part with Rumproller; I prefer it to Sidewinder. It's probably my favorite of Lee's "normal" (?) stuff (meaning I'd take Search for the New Land, Last Sessions, and Live at the Lighthouse over it, but I like it as much as Cornbread!). As for the 1+1, I can't add to the comments you've already received, except to shake my head in sympathy at Rooster Ties futile wish for Wayne's tenor to suddenly replace the soprano on this. Ah, it could have been a contender...

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Ehem... Thank you all for your comments so far! I suppose I can safely get rid of the Coleman CD. A much as I like the thought of keeping everything, trading is a way to get to hear new albums even when under financial strain. For instance, I traded away a bunch of old useless vinyl (oops! ;) ) for Wayne Shorter's 'Alegria' the other day.

If I'm going to keep anything it might perhaps be 'Illumination' after all. Regarding 'The Rumproller' I'll probably seek out a vinyl copy some day.

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Ehem... Thank you all for your comments so far! I suppose I can safely get rid of the Coleman CD. A much as I like the thought of keeping everything, trading is a way to get to hear new albums even when under financial strain. For instance, I traded away a bunch of old useless vinyl (oops! ;) ) for Wayne Shorter's 'Alegria' the other day.

If I'm going to keep anything it might perhaps be 'Illumination' after all. Regarding 'The Rumproller' I'll probably seek out a vinyl copy some day.

I take it you're keeping your Duke Pearson albums... ;)

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