Big Al

What movie or show is this from? “Like the Canadian Mounties, we always get our man.” “Mrs. Peacock was a man?” The local radio station always plays it, and I can’t remember what it’s from. I’m sure SOMEBODY out there knows who it is!

YES!!! YES!!! YESSSSSS!!!! Who's da man? I'M da maaaan!!!! ← 9.9, 9.9, 9.9, 10, 9.9, 9.9 But seriously Al (not really, of course), you were ALready da maaaan. ← If only I'd nailed that triple axle (popped the clutch too soon), I coulda gotten that much-coveted 10 from the French judge!

Nothing much to add, but to agree with what JSngry said. RIP, and thanks for the good rhythms.

YES!!! YES!!! YESSSSSS!!!! Who's da man? I'M da maaaan!!!! It don't happen often, but when it does (me nailin' a BFT player), I'm gonna dance for all I can!!! OOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!! ← WHO'S PLAYING BASS WITH ETTA? (sorry ) ← I know, I know..... hence my excitement about getting THAT one right!

“Surely you can’t be serious!” “I am serious..... and don’t call me Shirley.”

YES!!! YES!!! YESSSSSS!!!! Who's da man? I'M da maaaan!!!! It don't happen often, but when it does (me nailin' a BFT player), I'm gonna dance for all I can!!! OOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nah, I say this is the year for the White Sox. Of course, I'm not willing to bet a Mosaic on it or anything (maybe an RVG)!

It hasn’t sucked to be a Ranger fan THIS bad since the 80’s. Y’know what I think? The Rangers have given up on themselves because management has given up on them. All this talk from the empty suits about being ready to win in “a couple of years” has GOT to make these guys feel small. The stupid thing is, the talent is there (offensively and for the most part, defensively), but we have ZERO pitching. (How’s Drese doing again? Four-and-something? Like I said, empty suits running this team!) And we have a management that is not interested in rewarding the hard working current players with any chance at winning because they don’t wanna deal. (And if Soriano keeps playing as stupidly as he’s been playing lately, NO ONE’S gonna want him!) So the guys who are busting their asses on a daily basis are caught in a quandary: even if we win, they may think, then management will just say, “See? You guys didn’t need any help.” And if they lose, then management will likely deal their good players for the next Chan Ho Park. Johnny, in terms of dealing with idiotic baseball management, I not only feel your pain but am in the same boat with ya!

And after re-listening to track 4 a few times, still nothing familiar jumps out at me. Which means I'm REALLY gonna kick myself once the answer is revealed.

My pleasure! Glad I could help! Did Freddie Roach ever play with Stanley T? I could SWORE that was Freddie, and not Shirley. Maybe their styles are more similar than anyone's noticed previously?

Well since it ain't you & Dennis, uh........ lemme see what everyone else has guessed! Nothing's really jumping out at me (which I'll regret later, Ijustknowit!)

Listening to disc two reminds me of a quote from Lester Bangs (which I don’t have in front of me; I’m going by memory and hope to place the actual quote here later on), when he was reviewing the Stones’ Sucking in the Seventies (NOT, mind you, a swipe or even a remote comparison to the present BFT): “I mean, you can tell they (the Stones) programmed this for maximum inconvenience. You knew at some point during each song you’d have to get up and move the record needle to the next track to escape whatever annoyance was on at that point. And yet, you gladly do it because it’s THE STONES!!!” Same here: I’d listen to TV static if I knew it was coming from JSngry, there’s gotta be SOME reason for this. So with that in mind, for once, I could care less how clueless I am! Track 1: Mid-70’s Cannonball. Gad, this is bad. Vocals on a Cannonball record? Sounds like an unreleased outtake from Woodstock, and the band invited the audience on stage! OUCH!!! Track 2: Sounds like it’s from some film score. Gato Barbieri on downers? “Last Tango in Paris” played backwards, or worse yet, diagonally? NEXT!!! Track 3: Now this is pretty nice. Sounds like Wayne Shorter. Oh wait, what’m I saying? That’s an alto sax, fercryinoutloud!!! Scott Hamilton, then? :g Seriously, a very nice tune with some lovely orchestrations subtly coloring the background. Track 4: ARRRGHH!!! More vocals! Alright, I’ll try & stick this one out! Ehhhh, it’s okay. I like that sax player, and the drummer sounds awfully familiar. Jimmy Cobb maybe? Track 5: Well now, who could this be? I s’pose a search would lead me to the answer, but what fun is that? Besides, at this point, I’m sure SOMEONE’S already linked to it. Hmmmm, I dunno. Woody Shaw? Sure has his nice brassy tone, and this sounds like it came from sometime in the 70’s. WAIT!!! Check it: there was a little trill in there that tells me this is UNDOUBTEDLY Freddie Hubbard! Maybe DeJohnette on the drums, too! Now THAT sounds like Wayne Shorter on tenor! I’m guessing some CTI date that DIDN’T have strings on it. How did Creed let THIS one slip by? I liked this so much I went and listened to it again. This sounds like a Straight Life outtake! I’ll bet this is OOP, drattit! Track 6: A two-piano drone. If I was in the right mood, I might like this. Right now, it’s kinda boring; or rather, it’s not holding my attention, and the only reason I made it all the way through was because I was distracted by work. Could be anybody, I s’pose: Herbie & Chick? Cecil & Mary Lou? Rowan & Martin? Track 7: Some elemental blues jam during the Africa/Brass sessions that was left off the album? Seriously, I don’t know. Wait, y’know what this sounds like? One of those 1:00 Lab Bands that KNTU is always stuffing down our throats. Heck, for all I know, this is probably from the 70’s and that’s probably Sangrey on the soprano! He can cut up a racket something fierce on that instrument, doncha know! Track 8: HA! This is great! A steel-tuned drum and a conga!!! Who’da thunk it’d be so melodic? Have NO idea who this is, and I don’t care! GIMME MORE!!!! Man, I can’t stop smiling, this is so cool!!! Ah, so there’s a bass on there; I’m at work, so I can’t listen to it too loud, but Itellyouwhat: come this afternoon, I may just put this over the intercom and set EVERYONE a-dancin’ on this Friday afternoon!!! Hmm, and a trombone, too. Well, now my guess is Ray Anderson. I dunno, I was having so much fun with the steel drum that the ‘bone kinda killed the mood. Ah well! Track 9: Sounds like a recent big band. Or the kind of thing Herbie was doing in the 80’s. And there’s ELEVEN minutes of this? Lovely. Where’s my gun? It’s like listening to Styx try and play jazz. Oh GOD make it stop!!! Heck with it, I’m not sticking around for this. Ahhhh, wait a second..... what’m I saying? It’s live Weather Report, who I normally like, but this sounds like when Jaco started taking over its sound. Alright, I’ll try and stick with this one. Is that Chet Thompson on the drums? LOVE his sound!!! Especially on Black Market. Dammit, I wish Zawinul hadn’t foisted that electrophonicphaserdoublerwhateverthehellmakesthatsound on Shorter’s tenor sax. Oh great, vocals. Did Zawinul lose a bet with someone? Actually, this sounds like Mysterious Traveller- or Tale Spinnin’-era, cuz I’m wrong about thinking Jaco’s on this. No wait, maybe this was right AFTER Jaco joined the band, cuz that’s definitely him there. DAMMIT JIM!!!! Why’dya hafta put such a confusing piece on here? I just killed ten minutes trying to figure out the obvious, and I don’t even like this track!!!!!! GEEEEEZ!!!! Track 10: Now THIS sound I enjoy! I’m a sucker for electric piano anyway (you’d never know it from the rant during the previous track). Sounds like one of those Muse things from the 70’s. Maybe Woody Shaw & Joe Henderson? If so, then I’d change my guess to one of Joe’s Milestone-era sides! Nice & fiery! Those two sound like a big-band all by themselves! (Woody’s my go-to guy when I blank out on anyone else!) Track 11: Huh? Lalo Schifrin meets Gil Melle? Sounds like the mothership’s about to leave, and I better get my tail on board! Okay, so it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it when skipping through it the first time. There were some real gems on here, and others that were downright maddening. And I guess that’s what made this THE most challenging disc of all the BFTs: there wasn’t anything that I outright HATED; but at the same time, the temptation to skip to the next song was so great, that the only thing greater was my curiosity to see where it actually went, just so I can say, “Hey! I made it!” Was it worth the trip? You betcha! Thanks for the ride, Jim!

Somebody else noticed it! Amazing!

Well, look at it this way: when our two teams meet, there won’t be any winners: just a contest to see who can play/pitch/hit the worst!

I listened to clips of the Cherry..... I still don't get it. Random sqwawking and howling may be some folks cup of tea, but it makes my head hurt and my ears bleed!

Yeah, I hear that, too. It's like when Charlie Brown was looking to make a trade, and ended up trading his best player (Snoopy) to Peppermint Patty's team just so he could get some decent players. We need pitching. Badly. I guess as far as expendability goes, Soriano's first on the list, cuz we're not letting go of Mench, Blalock, Big Tex, etc. At least, we better not be!!! Soriano's a decent enough player, but he's made some costly blunders here lately, both offensively and defensively. Thankfully, none of them have been game-changing (to my knowledge, anyway); but it's like sending Cordero out there with a lead: you know he's more than capable of blowing it, yet you send him out there because of what he's done in the past, praying that he doesn't blow it THIS time. Thankfully, last night more than justified people's faith in him. But then, with all the homers flying out of the ballpark tonight, Soriano could've played standing on his head and it might not've made a difference. And now the A's are coming back to give us more abuse. I tell ya, John, we may be behind Seattle before this weekend's out after all!!!!

Nobody was more surprised than me that Coco held a one-run lead! Hell, last night was chock-full of surprises: Chan Ho going 7-1/3 innings and only giving up one run (it’s too bad he didn’t get the decision; he sure earned it this time); FINALLY some clutch-hitting when it counts; and, of course, Coco showing the flashes of brilliance that made him the much-trusted/much-feared closer last year! It’s only one game, but who knows? I sure hope it’s turnaround time.

The "Plano Volcano"? (oops, wrong thread) ← OW! OW! OW!!! Stop it!!! Yer killin' me!!!

You're kidding, right? Don't count on my boys for anything right now. Except blowing ninth-inning leads. They're REEEEEEAL good at that right now! ← Well at the moment, I figured, with the Yankee pitching staff and the Rangers offense, they ought to win two out of three, and the Sox ought to sweep the Devil Rays. But what the fuck do I know????? ← Believe me, brother, I hate this as much as you do! I mean, my guys fuckin' HELPED the Yankees into first place, short of laying out the red carpet for 'em. And Chan Ho's on the mound tonight! I predict we'll be in third place before this night's over! ← I predict they'll end the season behind the Mariners. ← I think you may be onto something there.....

9.8, 9.7, 9.9, 9.7 The double-pirouette landing on the perimeter along with the added twist of the addled twist sealed it for these judges!

I'm working on that....

You're kidding, right? Don't count on my boys for anything right now. Except blowing ninth-inning leads. They're REEEEEEAL good at that right now! ← Well at the moment, I figured, with the Yankee pitching staff and the Rangers offense, they ought to win two out of three, and the Sox ought to sweep the Devil Rays. But what the fuck do I know????? ← Believe me, brother, I hate this as much as you do! I mean, my guys fuckin' HELPED the Yankees into first place, short of laying out the red carpet for 'em. And Chan Ho's on the mound tonight! I predict we'll be in third place before this night's over!

Got my computer back, so here we go!!! Seeing JSngry wail last (Wednesday) night put me in the mood to finally sit my lazy butt down and make the usual uneducated guesses! Track 1: Sounds like Brother Jack, Grant Green, Red Holloway, Joe Dukes; you know, one of the greeeeaziest groups to ever invade Earth! PERFECT way to start a BFT! Track 2: Oh LAWD, this is awful! So many things come to mind; this sounds like one of those white guys dressed up in blackface from the 20’s & 30’s. This must be THE point where Louis turned into a parody of himself. Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!!! Track 3: Sounds like a Mongo Santamaria band! Always good for some wall-to-wall percussion. Is that Pat Patrick on the bari sax? Can’t wait to find out who the tenor player is! Very groovy! Track 4: Hmmmm, electric bass, tenor, trombone. Could it be Sonny Rollins from his Milestone era? I mean, that electric bass is SO Bob Cranshaw! If I get nothing else right on this BFT, I am confident that I have this player nailed! Oh wait, now there’s an alto sax. CRUD! Throws off all of that line of thinking. But I still say that’s Cranshaw on bass! Track 5: Sounds like Teddy Wilson on the piano from the outset. Can’t believe I can’t identify the horn player, and at this point I can’t tell if it’s a muted trumpet or a soprano sax! How sad is that? Nawww, wait: now it sounds like Monk on piano. This one’s got me snookered; I think I’ll just shut up and enjoy it! That seems to be the easier course at this point. Track 6: Well, I almost guessed Roy Eldridge on the last track; glad I waited. That’s gotta be Roy wailin’ on this track. No clue as to the tenor player. Herb Ellis on guitar? Don’t know why this track isn’t doing anything for me. Track 7: Ahhh, I love background vamps like this! Should know this tune, but it’s escaping me right now. I wanna say the sax player is Roland Kirk, the player has that kinda edge on his playing. The arrangement reminds me of Blue Mitchell’s Straight Up and Down; in fact, the song itself sounds like “Togetherness.” (Hope I got those titles right; going from memory here) Track 8: Eh, it’s nice enough, I guess. Not really generating enough interest to make me want to figure out who’s doing what. Plus, I don’t dig vocals much to begin with, so...... Track 9: Loud big bad, even louder drums; I’ll take Buddy Rich Big Bands for $200, Alex! Track 10: No clue. I’d like to guess something from the late 60’s/early 70’s. Maybe the Jones/Lewis Big Band. This sounds brassy enough for them! Track 11: Nice vibey version of “Hi Fly.” I wanna say Johnny Lytle; don’t ask me why! Track 12: This is why I love vinyl, and wish I still had a vinyl player (which would only make we wish I had actual vinyl albums to play!). The piano always sounds so present! Man, I reeeeeally wanna say McCoy Tyner, but I’ve been wrong about stuff like this before. Heck, that even sounds like Trane. This sounds like a lost outtake from the Atlantic vaults. I wish!!! Track 13: What is this? A rare guest spot by Philly Joe Jones visiting Mr. Rogers’ “Land of Make Believe?” Track 14: Big Al Sears??? Track 15: Ahhhhh, a nice laid-back greeeeeazy groove! I’ve got nine minutes to figure this out. First impression is Ike Quebec & Freddie Roach, but let’s see if another horn comes in. I don’t hear any bass (I’m at work, so I can’t really turn it up). Now comes the organ solo; that HAS to be Freddie. No one’s as rinky-dinky (for better and worse) as the Big Roach! So I’m positive on that one, almost as positive on Ike, no clue as to the drummer (could be Osie Johnson for all I know). NO wait: I take it back!!! A little rift in there tells me it’s Stanley Turrentine! GEEZ! How could I not notice that? But I still say it’s Freddie and not Shirley at the organ! Great greeeeaze all around! Track 16: This song is two minutes too long! Ehhhh, wait a second, is this an old jingle or something? Jim’s trying to pull a “Who Sell Out” on us! Only we’ll call this “JSngry REFUSES to Sell Out!” Track 17: ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz. Ehhh...... what’d I miss? Anything? Quite interesting stuff, Jim! I like it that most of this is from vinyl, has such a nice sound to it all! On to the next disc!

DAMMIT!!! I had all my answers typed up at work, and then my hard drive crashed this morning (my luck with computers has really SUCKED lately). When I get 'em back, I'll post 'em unedited; for now, I'm gonna check out y'alls answers!

Oh yeah, forgot to add: we will NOT be playing any Styx whatsoever. So there!