Big Al

Up one last time before going to the CD store tomorrow!

Oh..... well, sure..... I mean, if you look at it THAT way......

Added a couple of LPRs.

Cool! I just never could warm up to it.

All prices include shipping to any US/Canada address. Overseas, we'll work something out. JAZZ GONE Central Park West - Thad Jones/Mel Lewis $7 GONE Consummation - Thad Jones/Mel Lewis $7 GONE Breaking Point - Freddie Hubbard (RVG) $7 GONE Portrait in Jazz - Bill Evans (Fantasy K2, BMG issue) $7 ***HOLD*** Legendary Okeh & Cadet Recordings - Ahmad Jamal (Legacy, BMG issue) $7 GONE Candido with Al Cohn (Verve LPR) $8 GONE Desert Winds - Illinois Jacquet w/Kenny Burrell (Verve LPR) $8 NON-JAZZ GONE Scrubs soundtrack $9 GONE Driving Rain - Paul McCartney $6 GONE Flaming Pie - Paul McCartney $5 PM or e-mail acrearick@hotmail.com

Is it possible that someone who has access to the Political forum could re-post Chris's letter of departure?

Being able to pay for the CDs AFTER you've received them, as opposed to before you receive them. Since I don't buy as much music as I used to, I can wait until a good sale like the "5.99 & free shipping at 5 discs" deal. Helps keep my budget in check.

Maybe it’s a matter of sound systems. When I visited Lon/jazzbo a few years back, we listened to a bit of the RVG on his system, and it sounded wonderful. The same RVG on my system sounded like it was filtered through an aqualung.

I think I'm the only person in the whole world who absolutely despises this show. Ah well...... -_-

Oops! Got too excited and sent a PM by mistake. E-mail sent as well.

PM sent!

I got that for Christmas last year and still spin it regularly! I'm fortunate that both my parents and my in-laws live here in town and we all get along wonderfully. So we did the traditional running from house-to-house, with everyone gathering at the in-laws for the big dinner. My loot: 100.00 gift certificate for a new car radio, to replace the one that was stolen this summer 18-speed bike $20 gift card to Best Buy Complete Chronicles of Narnia Cream Reunion DVD Cordless drill Scrubs, Season 2 Central Market gift card $50 gift card to Barnes & Noble $50 gift certificate to Forever Young Records Some shirts Very blessed this year.

Hey, if there were rules around here forbidding idiotic posts, we'd be... Well, I'd be about 3,000 posts shorter..... Apologies for that, too.

Agree totally. There’s a strong sense of foreboding throughout the whole record, especially on “Theme from Blow-Up.” I could listen to the first four songs nonstop and never get tired of them.

Another one worth checking out is Gabor Zsabo’s Spellbinder Verve LPR. Lives up to its title, that’s for sure, because there’s no piano or rhythm guitar for Zsabo to fall back on; just the bass of Ron Carter and the drums of Chico Hamilton. In a lot of ways, it’s the album Wes Montgomery’s Tequila could’ve been were it not for Claus Ogerman’s strings. This album has the original “Gypsy Queen,” which in its original incantation..... er, incarnation is more of a modal masterpiece of jamming than Santana’s scorching version. There’s even a nice vocal on the forgotten pop song “Bang Bang (She Shot Me Down).” And an exquisitely haunting reading of “My Foolish Heart.” Well worth the bucks!

What Jeff said! I've never heard the Brownie material, but have to assume it's revelatory! The Desmond is pure bliss!

Chaos and Creation in the Backyard by Paul McCartney. Hey, it only took the man 35 years to put together the strongest solo album he's ever made. Up to now, one could be forgiven for forgetting that Paul McCartney was part of the biggest and most influential rock band on the planet. Gone are the silly love songs, the dumb fun throwaways that's plagued every album he's made since..... well, since the White Album, come to think of it. I mean, ever since then, for every "Blackbird" or "I Will," you'd have to put up with "Wild Honey Pie" or "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da." For every "Jet," there was a "Mamumia." There hasn't been one McCartney album that hasn't made you NOT reach for the skip button, or move the needle to the next track on the record. Until now. Credit must go to Nigel Godrich for this one. It's as if he listened to Paul's last couple of records, heard some gems among the throwaways ("Driving Rain" is probably the catchiest single never released by Paul), and forced Paul to concentrate on those gems. Oh yeah, and stop pretending you're not grieving the loss of Linda. Songs like "How Kind of You," "At the Mercy," and "Too Much Rain" show Paul finally probing the depths of his songcraft, something he seems to only indulge when the whim hits him. Plus, this album rocks. The leadoff track, "A Fine Line" reveals that. Not sure if I bought any other new releases this year, so this will suffice for all five spots for me.

And people are STILL talking about playoff possibilities around here. HELLOOO?????

This explains--at least in part--how he did it: unlike previous releases of these tracks, he used the original session masters instead of the masters prepared for the 1957 12" LP, which presumably is why Blue Note issued the RVG only 2 years after issuing the "Complete" edition. The RVG of this session is the reason I've finally warmed up to it. Previous versions did nothing for me; this version feels like the complete picture.

Yay!

"War Games." Maybe that's it. Must've watched the movie a zillion times when it first came out on VHS in the 80's.

Uh oh: better check your thread dedicated to your mom's passing, make sure Chris hasn't edited/deleted his tribute to your mom. (Ahh... this post has nothing to do with the thread at hand. Probably oughta delete it, but what the hell?) **************** Spencer had one of those faces that made you think you've seen him in so many more shows/movies. Hasn't he? I better hurry and post this so Chris can get his retort in to my full post!

Yeah, that Santa hat was pretty cool. Would love to see it again!

Before this gets tossed into the political forum.... The war, it seems, is not a war "on" Christmas as much as it seems to be a war "over" Christmas. Who owns it? The Christians or the pagans? Well.... Oddly enough, I was reflecting on something Christ said while I was out Christmas shopping today (and I am reeeeeeally paraphrasing here): "And why do good and give gifts only to the people you love? Don't even the pagans do that? Do something really challenging: give to your enemies. Give gifts to the pagans, not the other Christians. Love those who curse you." Whooo boy. Guilty as charged here, and you're certainly forgiven for not taking anything else I say seriously. Conrad is right when he asserts that there are wingnuts who are attempting to take Christmas out of the holiday season; those people are called "extremists." However, David is also right when he asserts that there are wingnuts who are attempting to shove their militant version of Christ down everyone's throat at this time of year. Those folks are also called "extremists." To me, their all mixed nuts! Christmas is a part of the holiday season, just as Hannukah and the New Year celebration are all a part of the holiday season. To wish someone a "Happy Holiday" is no more offensive than wishing someone a nice day. And wishing someone a Merry Christmas, when Christmas is right around the corner and that happens to be your belief, is no more offensive than someone of the Jewish faith wishing me a Happy Hannukah, even though I'm not Jewish. What's the big deal? I'd like to think that I can be allowed to celebrate in a Jewish person's joy during this season. Me wishing someone a Merry Christmas is simply my way of inviting that person to celebrate in my joy at this time of year. Nothing more, nothing less. Naive? Probably. Wouldn't be the first time. But I'd rather be hopeful than hopeless. Especially at this time of year. One final note: David is completely on-target when he asserts that O'Reilly and his ilk are doing more harm to Christmas and the meaning of Christmas with their VERY unChristian ranting and raving. Modern-day Pharisees and Saducees, every damn one of 'em.