Royal Oak

Been listening to a lot of late-60s Prestige albums, many of which contain jazz versions of rock/pop songs. Off the top of my head I could think of 3 good ones: Charles McPherson - "My Cherie Amour" Illinois Jacquet - "For Once In My Life" - a sad-sounding rendition to my ears. Sonny Criss did a few, but "Sunny" is terrific. As I remember, Bobby Hebb's original was quite a laid-back groove, but Sonny and Cedar Walton turn it into something altogether more intense.

Anthony Burgess - "1985"

I always liked it for the melody, harmony, and arrangement. I've never been a lyrics person, in fact I'd have to admit I've always been somewhat of an voluntarily apathetic dunce in that regard. Never cared much for poetry, either. At any rate, I would have thought that the dislike that a lot of people have for this song would also have a lot to do with the "bombardment" I referred to earlier. I mean, was there anybody who didn't record that tune back in the day? If you had the radio or the tv on for longer than 10 minutes, I'm pretty sure you would have heard it. And yet I still like it. When I hear it now, it has kind of an (appealing) haunting quality to it. It didn't help that the song featured in an English TV advert for beer in the late 1980s. It was a "return-of-the-prodigal son" scenario. The denouement: A very crowded pub where a lone barmaid is rushing around trying to serve everyone. A trilby hat lands on the bar; a note in the hatband says "The usual. x" (or something like that). At this point the barmaid stops, wets her pants and pours a pint of naff lager for our returning hero.

I was a big fan in my late teens. I had a "20 Golden Greats" album (bought from Woolworths) and played it pretty much constantly for much of 1987. "On A Carousel", "Bus Stop", "I'm Alive" and "Sorry Suzanne" stick out for me. Not listened to them for years now.

Saw the film; never read the book. I've not read the book before. The film is very faithful, but then it was adapted for the screen by the author.

Hurrah! They have arrived, all present and correct. See what you mean about the saw cuts though - ouch!

Barry Hines - "A Kestrel For A Knave". An utterly bleak story made into an utterly bleak film.

I was something of a Fall fan in the late 80s/early 90s. I too sold all my records. Now, if I hear any Fall on the radio, I can't decide whether Mark E Smith was really shit, or the kind of genius/madman NME would have one believe.

I'm in the UK. I was told it may take 30 days!

Now 21 days since order, 13 days since receiving the shipping notice....................I'm hoping you can still buy CD players by the time they get here.

Now finished "Bonfire Of The Vanities". I can't remember enjoying a book as much as I did this. I'm no literature critic (I failed English Lit A level), but this book moved me.

"Grooveyard" from Harold Land's "Harold In The Land Of Jazz". There's a riff towards the end of Carl Perkins's solo which drove me mad for days; couldn't help thinking I'd heard it somewhere. After a while, it occured to me that it sounds a lot like part of "Sighin' and Cryin'" off "Song For My Father". I wonder if Horace meant it that way?

Decoy was a great shop. I used to go to teaching conferences at UMIST in the city - they used to let us out as 3.00 and I'd always sprint to Decoy to make a quick set of purchases. I agree; Decoy was a great shop. Friendly staff on the whole, especially Mike Chadwick and a ponytailed chap who worked upstairs. I always remember him being quite excited when I ordered the Oscar Brown Junior album "Sin and Soul". A good vinyl section also, with a special section for ECMs as I remember.

I tried to buy some a couple of days ago. Some were in stock, but when I clicked on others, I got a message saying they had been added to the "buy later" part of the shopping cart, as they had "sold out". Whether that means they may get new stock weeks down the line I don't know. My first order took 8 days to ship, but it appears to contain all that I ordered.

I have that one on the way from the Oldies sale; also never heard him before in my life

With you on that, Richard! Supposed to be an eighties novel, but I only read it a couple of years ago and thought it was great! Also liked Wolfe's A Man in Full and I Am Charlotte Simmons. I think I may well be checking out more Tom Wolfe after this Bill!

Just read the first couple of chapters of Tom Wolfe's "The Bonfire Of The Vanities". I don't really know why, but I absolutely love this so far.

I've heard diddly from Movie Mars since my order days ago. Since Amazon operate a "Charge When Ship" system which generates an automated email when the vendor confirms shipment, I'm not holding my breath!

My Curtis Amy is ordered from Movie Mars - no word on shipping after 2 days, but they still have it on Marketplace (price increased from approx $44 to $75). Let's hope we're lucky Tom! Similar situation here (different seller) with the Pacific Jazz Trios set... anxiously awaiting some kind of shipping/payment notification! Ordered on Thursday it should have been confirmed by yesterday evening, one would guess... I'm in the the same boat with the Bob Brookmeyer set. After one order no-go, I placed orders at two other under-the-radar retailers. (nice prices at both) Certain signs are good that at least one of them will pan out. Both have sent authorizations to my bank card but I learned that that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I know it doesn't if you use Amazon marketplace - they charge you immediately. The problem with ordering from the US to UK is that some companies (like Movie Mars) take a long time to ship, so you're in limbo for several days. Then all you have to do is to wait for the stuff to actually get here.

My Curtis Amy is ordered from Movie Mars - no word on shipping after 2 days, but they still have it on Marketplace (price increased from approx $44 to $75). Let's hope we're lucky Tom!

I just ordered the Curtis Amy via a US-based Amazon marketplace seller. It's at the same price as from Mosaic, but because of Amazon's set shipping charges ($2.00 for CDs, whether singles or enormous box sets), it worked out cheaper. That said, I wonder if they actually have it in stock...

You may have had quite a wait to find a spot on an NHS dentist's list Allen; a lot of them gave up NHS work as it doesn't pay well.

I suppose I've been lucky to get to 40 without needing anything particularly big, dentistry-wise. The pain has subsided today. I just hope the temporary bond prevents infection until I go back to have it completed in 2 weeks! I could do with the treatment working; an extraction would be a grim prospect, as it's a wisdom tooth. I have bad memories of my sister having wisdom teeth extracted years ago, when she ended up with a face which resembled a green football. The 45 quid does seem a bargain, considering the work involved.

Had the first of my two sessions for a root canal procedure today. The irony is, the tooth didn't hurt when it had a big hole in it. Now, after the treatment it hurts like a mother. Here in the UK, a root canal procedure costs only 45 pounds on the NHS.

That's a bargain ! They were quoting over $200 shipping to the UK when I tried when this deal was originally 'aired'. I gave up... Wow - $200. How many were you buying?