Big Al

I'm guessing the lack of responses is due to everyone rushing out to get their own copy and being too mesmerized to respond!

Wow, I just figured it was as simple as saying, "Nope, Alan's only on 'Mephistopheles.'" Maybe not!

The Clash are rightfully regarded as one of the greatest rock & roll groups ever, and the albums people usually name to support that claim are their self-titled debut and London Calling. While those two are majestic, people seem to overlook a ferocious little gem called Give ‘em Enough Rope. Sweet Jesus, why isn’t this one mentioned more often? It has one of the fiercest beginnings of any record, the gunshot/rimshot that starts “Safe European Home,” which also includes probably Mick Jones finest moments as a guitarist. In fact, guitar dominates this record like none of their other albums. This album is filled with killer hooks and hellacious backbeats, but that’s not what makes this record as great as it is: it’s the lyrics. Especially now that Bush is in office for a second term, some of the lyrics are downright scary. Who knew it could happen so soon? Check this out, from “English Civil War,” and see if it doesn’t sound eerily familiar (apologies in advance for all caps, I just copied it directly from the website): WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME AGAIN HE'S COMING BY BUS OR UNDERGROUND A WOMAN'S EYE WILL SHED A TEAR TO SEE HIS FACE SO BEATEN IN FEAR AN' IT WAS JUST AROUND THE CORNER IN THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR IT WAS STILL AT THE STAGE OF CLUBS AND FISTS WHEN THAT WELL-KNOWN FACE GOT BEATEN TO BITS YOUR FACE WAS BLUE IN THE LIGHT OF THE SCREEN AS WE WATCHED THE SPEECH OF AN ANIMAL SCREAM THE NEW PARTY ARMY WAS MARCHING RIGHT OVER OUR HEADS ALRIGHT THERE YOU ARE, HA HA, I TOLD YOU SO SAYS EVERYBODY THAT WE KNOW BUT WHO HID A RADIO UNDER THE STAIRS AN' WHO GOT CAUGHT OUT ON THEIR UNAWARES? WHEN THAT NEW PARTY ARMY CAME MARCHING RIGHT UP THE STAIRS WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME AGAIN NOBODY UNDERSTANDS IT CAN HAPPEN AGAIN THE SUN IS SHINING AN' THE KIDS ARE SHOUTING LOUD BUT YOU GOTTA KNOW IT'S SHINING THROUGH A CRACK IN THE CLOUD AND THE SHADOWS KEEP FALLING WHEN JOHNNY COMES MARCHING HOME What a record, I can’t stop listening to it!!! And it’s only 37 minutes long, too! This is I the stuff great records are made of: get in, speak the truth, deafen ‘em with the guitar, then get the hell out!

This is such a lovely album, on so many levels. The title track is worth the price of admission alone, and I love the chords that Hall plays in those two bars between Desmond’s solo and his own. And then there’s the lovely comping Hall does on “Ship Without a Sail,” and dig that hypnotizing coda! Beautiful! Connie Kay swings so elegantly throughout this album (actually, on ALL the Desmond/Hall albums, but especially this one!). Thanks for bringing this one up, Jim! As lovely and album to listen to on a nice autumn day such as it is today!

Two words: Jackie McLean. It seems like any time I’m in this kind of rut, all I have to do to jump-start the mood again is put on something by McLean. The mood then just kinda branches out from there. F’rinstance, the last time this happened, I put on Jacknife, which then lead to Lee Morgan, which invariably leads to Billy Higgins, which lead back to discovering Charles Tolliver, which took a left turn at Andrew Hill, which lead to……. There’s no other artist who, to me, embodies the adventurous spirit of jazz as McLean!

'salright with me!

Antonio Carlos Jobim TERRA BRASILIS (thanks, Jim R) Herbie Hancock MAIDEN VOYAGE (one of the few that actually deserves the hype) Teddy Wilson Mosaic

Well, I hope he'll participate. The proposed lineup I have in mind is guaranteed to set the feet a-tappin'!

JSngry, Since your PM box is full, I'm asking this here: would you want to trade spaces with me? I was really looking forward to your next BFT, and hope that by the time #28 rolls around, your spirits will be up again. Also, if no one else objects, otherwise, I'll just wait my turn as #27. Thanks!

Jackie Gleason in The Hustler

Voted Friday in early voting. Waited 1-1/2 hours with Chris Moore’s The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove in hand, which made the wait much shorter. AFAIK, I was the only one standing in line convulsing with laughter. I’d like to share my wife’s experience with y’all: she early-voted last Tuesday, and she also had to wait in a long line. She voted at a rec center (as did I), and the line she waited in wrapped around the wall inside the gym. As she waited, there were some small children running and playing, having a good time. At one point, I guess one of the bigger kids decided they should all play “Duck Duck Goose.” So the kids sat in a circle and began playing. There was another child, maybe about two years old, who wanted to play, but was intimidated by the older kids (“older” in this case meaning five or so). The mom walked her child over to the circle (and didn’t lose her place in line either), and the kids made a space for the new child. When one of the kids would choose the little one, they would pretend to “run” only to be caught by the happy two-year-old. Everyone in line was now focusing their attention on these kids, cheering for the chasers, cheering on the runners, etc. After a little while, the littlest one got was chosen to be the “goose” and began running. The child tripped and came crashing down. There was a collective gasp, and my wife said the place fell silent, literally to the point of hearing a pin drop. After five agonizing seconds when everyone froze, the child got up, smiled, and said “I okay!” My wife said the ovation was thunderous! After she told me this, she marveled that here we were in the midst of probably the bitterest, most divisive election in the history of this country (not to mention the added division of voting on the Stadium Tax for the Jerry Jones Cowboys); and yet, for that brief moment, the world seemed to stop, and everyone’s focus was on these children and the wonderful time they were having. Would that we all could be like this.

So, are they hot? They're eight years old. Hence, their nausea at the whole campaign.

Can you imagine how much better the beer would be if they took their advertising budget and spent it on creating a product that was actually drinkable?!?!?!? (BTW, I'm with you, Jim, on that whole "Twins" thing. Some friends of ours have twin daughters, and that commercial/campaign just makes them nauseous!)

Been listening to Sixth Sense and Charisma all day. Great stuff all around. I love these sextet albums that Morgan did in the late 60's, especially when he was working with Jackie McLean and Billy Higgins. And speaking of all three men, they absolutely SMOKE on Jack Wilson's Easterly Winds. MAN, what a fantastic album that is!!!

Yikes! I've had mine for a few days now, and completely forgot about it! Gotta start listening PRONTO!!!!

Happy birthday Greg!!!!

Cal Tjader's Los Ritmos Calientes A great conga-bongo-timbales-everything fest, with some good vibes from Cal and a few jams featuring some tasty playing by Vince Guaraldi!

His tenor playing tends to be overshadowed by his bari playing, but I always enjoyed his tenor playing on those early BN albums. Coulda given Getz a run for his money had he never made the switch! B-)

DRAT!!! He truly was one of a kind. RIP

Co-incidentally, those are the first four words of my biography. And they're followed by a period. Then there are those of use for whom that sentence is punctuated by a question mark.....

Ehhhhh.... a little.....

Well, here’s another vote for the Jack Wilson disc. I like what wesbed said, that it’s a breath of fresh air. The booklet indicates that the Conn was taken from a 2nd-generation master, but doesn’t get any more specific than that. Whatever. The music more than makes up for the lack of fidelity (if there is any; I don’t think it sounds any worse than some of those early OJC’s or McMasters from the 80’s). The horn voicings on the title track and “Frank’s Tune” (which has one of the loveliest chord sequences/vamps I’ve ever heard) are simply exquisite; dig the tinkling of the piano during the fadeout of the title track! I’m so glad Blue Note put this one back in print. Happy music, if some ever existed!

What's the KJV word for..... well, you know......

Happy birthday, youngster!!!!!

Since the server went down, I’ve been listening to this disc a bunch. All I can do is reiterate just how colossally wrong I was about this album. I still stand by my original assessment of the tracks in their original Beach Boys state. Where those tracks seem to reek of jarring paranoia, this album more than lives up to its title. At its essence, Brian Wilson finally sounds like he’s enjoying himself, and enjoying BEING himself. You know..... smiling!