kenny weir

In the years before I turned my ears almost exclusively to jazz for a decade, Tex-Mex was always part of my listening mix. Sure, I wasn’t as deep into to it as New Orleans music of many genres, swamp pop and blues, cajun and zydeco, but it fitted nicely into my passionate interest in most things to do with Gulf Coast music. I had, maybe, about a dozen or so albums – some conjunto anthologies on Rounder, some Steve Jordan and so on. I suspect I’m not alone in having a ready-made empathy for this kind of music. Surely it goes with the territory when you’ve spent time digging, at various times, the Sir Douglas Quintet, the Texas Tornadoes, the Iguanas of New Orleans, Los Lobos and so on. As well, some of the early western swing outfits – Milton Brown and the Tune Wranglers come to mind – also were quite happy to tap into this musical vein. Anyway, recently this became for me an itch that needed to be scratched. After casing out a number of albums at my usual outlet, cdconnection, I signed on to the Arhoolie site. What a pleasure that was! Delivery time to Australia was as fast as I can recall, the system they have for listening to samples is easily the best and quickest I have come across, and they currently have a deal whereby if you order more than three items you get 20% off the whole order. Fantastic – that basically paid for the postage on the seven sets I ordered! I’ll be wanting to pursue this avenue at least a little bit further – suggestions welcome. I suspect anthologies are the go for me, as is Texas music as opposed that of Mexico. Am I right in presuming that Arhoolie pretty much has a lock on this field? In the meantime, it’s just a terrific blast to have this stuff bouncing off the walls again! Various artists - The Soulful Women Duets Of South Texas Oh man, this is the business! I was just about to order one several Arhoolie Lydia Mendoza CDs, when I plumped for this instead. Her sisters are one of six sibling outfits that contribute to the 24 tracks. There’s a nice mix here – from some more traditional-sounding sides to some that are quite urbane, featuring suave percussion and tasty saxophone parts. But it’s the voices that are the thing – a simply wonderful cascade that reminds me nothing other than the Louvins or Delmores. Translations are provided for most tunes, but as the songs are concerned exclusively with affairs of the heart, they’re hardly necessary. Freddy Fender - Canciones De Mi Barrio Much of this was already familiar to me, from having it on a Flyright vinyl album back in the day. It still sounds fantastic! Of the tracks that were unfamiliar to me, a number are of a more traditional kind. Nice, but hardly essential – although I’m happy to listen to Freddy’s voice any old time. But the heart of the matter are Freddy’s Spanish-language takes on tunes such as There’s Something On Your Mind, Since I Met You Baby, I Hear You Knocking and so on. All done in a soulful, simple way, often with Freddy’s guitar throwing off sparks in the process. It’s these cuts, to my mind, that put Freddy right up there in the swamp pop hall of fame – even if, like Jimmy Donley, he hails from outside South Louisiana. El Ciego Melquiades - San Antonio House Party According to Chris Strachwitz’s notes, this is a bit of throwback. At a time (’35-’49) when the influence of accordian was growing in south Texas, Melquiades played fiddle straight-up and simple. This is all instrumental music, so a whole CD of it is a lot. But imbibed in smallish amounts, its charm is undeniable. It has a stateliness that makes it quite different in feel from any of the other fiddle music with which I familiar: old-time, jazz, western swing and so on. Mariachi Coculense de Cirilo Marmolejo - Mexico's Pioneer Mariachis - Vol.1 (1926 – 1936) Mariachi Tapatio de Jose Marmolejo - Mexico's Pioneer Mariachis - Vol.2 Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan - Their First Recordings: 1937-1947 – Vol.3 To tell you the truth, even when, in years past, I had Tex-Mex and/or Mexican music around, I never even considered mariachi, saddled as I’ve no doubt been with all the usual negative baggage that attends the music. These three albums have changed all that. Not that I have much of an idea what I’m listening to! Going by the Arhoolie site, there’s a lot of depth in mariachi, and lot of variety in terms of regional variations. The notes to all these discs – by Jonathan Clark – make fascinating reading. From what I can gather, in these early days of the music’s history – or, more to the point , the early days of its recorded history – the bands were almost exclusively fronted by violins, with trumpet only gradually making its mark. The result here is exquisite, the collegiate violins providing a backdrop for some beautiful-sounding solo trumpets, where they are used at all. To my ears, Mariachi Vargas are clearly the most accomplished of the three outfits. I believe they’re the big cheese of the mariachi world, and the ones who recorded and toured with Linda Rondstadt. Translations are provided, but are hardly necessary to enjoyment of the music, particularly the musicians’ ability to generate terrific momentum – and without drums, just like so much of the jazz, western swing and hillbilly boogie that I love. There is a fourth release in this series - Cuarteto Coculense - The Very First Recorded Mariachis: 1908-1909 – that sounds too crusty even for me! I don’t know if need much or any more mariachi in my life, but I’m very glad to have these three. And I’d be happy to hear tips and opinions of fellow board members. I was real excited about getting this amazing four-disc set – great price, great booklet, cool music. So if I am little disappointed, the blame is none but my own. The problem for non-Spanish speakers is that the four discs – devoted, respectively, to Outlaws and Revolutionaries, Pancho Villa, Local Revolutionary Figures, and Post Revolutionary Corrdios and Narratives – are all story songs. And not just story songs – but story songs with long and quite detailed narratives, ones that frequently took up both sides of a 78. So while it’s quite possible to enjoy the music without understanding the Spanish lyrics, to gain maximum benefit will require detailed study of the booklet and its translations – and probably a better working knowledge of the Mexican Revolution than I currently possess! I suspect this box’s time is yet to come for me.

Roy Lee Johnson – When A Guitar Plays The Blues I got this one just before Christmas, and was subsequently underwhelmed. Lately, however, I’ve been enjoying it a lot. A little while and a few threads back, I recall having disagreed with at least one of my venerable co-forumites: His belief was that ‘60s soul was pretty much a wholly new thing. Mine was that ‘60s soul – while having characteristics, engendered by the the civil rights movement and so on, that were new – was and is R&B. And as such, a continuation of a tradition and sound. Well, to my ears, this music makes it absolutely clearcut. And, of course, it’s damn fine, too! There’s a few tracks that were recorded at Fame with the usual suspects – so they’re straight-up ‘60s soul, pretty good, but in some ways just more of the same. The real interest for me is the rest of it – recorded in a raw sound with varying combos, including Roy’s own bands and even Piano Red. Just when you’re thinking “yeah, yeah - ‘60s soul”, a riff or a turn of phrase or a whole song will have you thinking Hank Ballard or ‘50s James Brown or Little Willie Littlefield. As well, there’s some heavy guitar going on here. Roy crossed paths with Robert Ward early in his career, so there’s some of that tremelo madness to be had (there's even a cool version of Love Is Amazing, along with some even snottier guitar sounds. There’s two versions of a cracker tune called Busybody, the earlier of which (sans horns and with barely audible piano) sounds to me like something that would’ve had pub rock blues bruisers Dr Feelgood leaping around with glee. A fantastic release of ‘60s southern soul music that comes almost completely free of the house sounds of Stax, Dial or Fame et al. Hank Snow – The Thesaurus Transcriptions This five-disc set had been calling to me for a long while, so when I had the chance to secure a promo copy from Bear Family – in return for a small favour – I grabbed the chance with alacrity. Initial plays found me a little disappointed, sad to say, although I’ve since been enjoying a bunch. These sides were recorded by Hank under the auspices of his then label, but with – of course – a totally different purpose. They were recorded with his own band, with a few ring-ins such as Chubby Wise thrown in, and the material ranges far and wide beyond his own official releases. I really, really dig the idea of these sorts of transcription sides, with a road band in the studio instead of the usual hot shots. But therein, too, lies the rub. Over this number of tunes (almost 140), there is a sameness. The pickers are fine, but when it comes to instrumentals such as Orange Blossom Special or San Antonio Rose, the results are, ahem, average to mundane. It'd all sound great, no doubt, in a bar or nightclub some where but ... turns out, there’s a reason for recording with hot shots afar all! But there is an upside to all this: The preponderance of mid-tempo tunes gives the whole set a sort dreamlike quality that is beguiling. I love Hank’s voice, and hearing him turn to the likes of Trouble In Mind, Peach Pickin’ Time In Georgia, I Almost Lost My Mind and The Wayward Wind is a kick. It’s for those reasons that I’ll be keeping this handy, even if it isn’t easily recommended for general consumption. (According to allmusic, BTW, this quite an old set - 1991 - so unsurprisingly, the book and the whole job in general is considerably more modest that we have come to expects from the label in the past decade or so. As well, the recording details provided are by necessity on the slim side ... not that that matters. )

Been a long, long time since I listened to Cold Blood, but the 4-disc set of their first five albums has been on my wishlist for a while. Mainly by way of nailing down loose ends in my San Francisco interests. And I was always interested in the horn-laden aspect of the city's '60s/'70s flowering. Still am. Didn't see them when I first got there (1977), but did see a trio lineup of Stoneground at the Keystone Berkley. Great! Can't abide Janis myself, but I think talent got her and legions more famous - but drama kept them there and made them legends ... Elvis ... Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich for instance. Tina Turner ... Laure Lee, Betty Harris, Shirley Brown and dozens more. ********* Here's the personnel lineup of the Cold Blood box: Pretty cool, eh? Bennie Maupin - Clarinet (Bass), Sax (Tenor) Bill Atwood - Trumpet, Flugelhorn Bill Baker - Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone) Bob Ferreira - Flute, Sax (Tenor) Bobby Shew - Trumpet Bobbye Hall - Percussion, Conga Brenda Gordon - Vocals (Background) Brooks Hunnicutt - Vocals (Background) Carl Leach - Trumpet Chepito Areas - Conga, Timbales Chuck Bennett - Trombone Chuck Findley - Trumpet Coke Escovedo - Percussion, Timbales Danny Hull - Flute, Sax (Tenor) Danny Kootch - Guitar David Luell - Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor) David Padron - Trumpet Don Menza - Flute, Piccolo, Sax (Tenor) Donny Hathaway - Organ, Piano Ernest Diridoni - Tuba Frank J. Davis - Drums Gaylord Birch - Drums Gordon Messick - Trombone Gwen Edwards - Vocals (Background) Holly Tigard - Vocals (Background) Jerry Jonutz - Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone) Jim Horn - Flute, Sax (Tenor) Joe Williams - Drums John Mewborn - Trumpet, Trombone (Valve) Larry Field - Guitar Larry Jonutz - Trombone, Trumpet Lydia Pense - Vocals, Vocals (Background) Max Haskett - Trumpet, Vocals, Vocals (Background) Mel Martin - Flute, Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor) Mic Gillette - Trombone, Trumpet, Flugelhorn Michael Sasaki - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric) Mick Gillette - Trumpet Mike Andreas - Sax (Tenor) Pat Coulter - Vocals (Background) Pat O'Hara - Trombone Paul Cannon - Guitar Paul Hubinon - Trumpet Pete Christlieb - Flute, Piccolo, Sax (Tenor) Pete Escovedo - Conga Peter Welker - Trumpet, Flugelhorn Raul Matute - Organ, Piano, Keyboards, Piano (Electric), Clavinet Rigby Powell - Trumpet Rod Ellicott - Bass, Percussion Sandy McKee - Percussion, Drums, Vocals Skip Mesquite - Flute, Sax (Tenor), Vocals (Background) Smith Dobson - Piano, Piano (Electric), Vocals (Background) Steve Cropper - Guitar The Memphis Horns - Horn The Pointer Sisters - Vocals (Background) Tish Smith - Vocals (Background) Tommy Cathey - Bass

Whats not for me is over-lauded bands. Are you Canadian by any chance? (Canadians are WAAY over-polite.) Or mayhaps you dont feel strong enough about music to criticize? If it counts any, my first post on this forum was praise, not censure. On a tangent: Im rather astounded at the number of posts on this subject considering GD are not a organ band. Canadian? Nope. For me almost all prog rock is "rubbish" - which is why I've never posted on that thread and likely never will. It's just puzzling in general - why a succession of folks, in the long course of this thread, have felt it necessary to post here, make a stand on such a crap band. There's hundreds, thousands of threads on this board that have nuthin' to do with organs. And they WERE and organ band for a very significant part of their history.

Odd it is. Heck - bemusing, too. The number of people who feel obliged to stop by on this thread to tell us how little they rate the band. I see a thread about an artist I don't rate or like, or one I or loathe ... I don't read it, let alone post on it. That's not for you? Hello! Goodbye!

Three reasons to cheer for Uruguay: 1. They're the pariah of the african continent. 2. They're the last 'man' standing of the South American teams. 3. They have a nice looking jersey. Very convincing. Thus I've switched sides.

Without doubt: Lulu - Gimme Some Lovin' Holy shit, what a classic: Great set of pipes, great organ (Winwood?), monster horn riffs, a thumping dancefloor piece of genius.

Fair call! My son's (Aussie rules) team kicked two goals this morning - that makes three for season! I'm cleaning up the kitchen before slathering ripe avocados on freshly bought/baked sourdough for lunch, Billy Jack Wills is blasting away, Bennie's on the Playstation and all is good. Could be a bit warmer here, though. After he goes back to his mom's joint, I'll be settling in with my doorstop tome on Pancho Villa, playing cajun/zydeco and catching what National Rugby League action I can, milking every moment for the joy it can bring ... before starting my very first five-day week for, oh, about a year and a half. Damnit - I done got used to three or four day weekends. But the bills have to be paid.

What a crock! And btw, I'm a Kiwi living in Australia. It's confusing. Who, in your estimation, qualifies to be a true fan? Only those with Latino or European blood in their veins? Please explain ...

It may have all been done by the book, but for me, as a fan of the game, he ain't no hero - he's not so much a cheat as a fucking sleazebag. The reason? Not the foul. Not the red card. The reason is his unbridled delight as Ghana missed the penalty. Geez, I hate that whatever-it-takes mentality. Shameless. I hope they get smashed. Actually, i hope they get beaten 1-0 by a dubious penalty. The punishment fits the crime: Ghana fails to progress, he misses a match. Yeah right ... I'm all for utter caution when it comes to rule changes, but the gamesmanship seen at this WC makes me cringe. Exactly Ghana missed the PK. Thanks for proving my point for me. Lou Prove your point? Whatever ... I've just heard a commentator call it "morally reprehensible". I agree. The argument that every other player/team would have done the same thing? Arguable. But even if it's true, doesn't make it right. To reiterate: My beef is not with the handball, red card, or penalty, but with the unseemly joy consequently displayed by the player. A player, BTW, who will play in the final should his team make it. "Us true soccer fans"? So ... I'm not a true soccer fan? Who gets to decide that? Based on what criteria? (BTW, I am an active supporter of Melbourne Victory). "Acknowledged by most of soccer fandom"? That's just guesswork. My guess is most hardcore fans will be shaking shrugging in resigned acceptance of this incident, the gamesmanshp/cheating and the Thiery Henry shame. But many would be like me - feeling distinctly queasy and disturbed. Please don't paint yourself as the one true fan on this thread.

It may have all been done by the book, but for me, as a fan of the game, he ain't no hero - he's not so much a cheat as a fucking sleazebag. The reason? Not the foul. Not the red card. The reason is his unbridled delight as Ghana missed the penalty. Geez, I hate that whatever-it-takes mentality. Shameless. I hope they get smashed. Actually, i hope they get beaten 1-0 by a dubious penalty. The punishment fits the crime: Ghana fails to progress, he misses a match. Yeah right ... I'm all for utter caution when it comes to rule changes, but the gamesmanship seen at this WC makes me cringe.

Yeah, I'm with you. My hunting has reached new levels of pleasure and intensity; just the tools and resources and processes have changed.

I'm a committed CD personage. I held them at bay for the first 10 years, but since then, I'm with Jazzbo: The sheer joy of finding stuff I've never heard or just plain never heard of, plus catching up on old favourites from various times from my back pages - it's great! I harbour no competitive or resentful feelings towards vinyl freaks and fans - good luck to them! But still, the very premise of this thread - "Collecting......records vs CDs" is in itself an absurdity. All said with the usual "IMHO" proviso. CDs ARE records. Newspapers are records. Photo albums are records.

Good job by Japan. Their team seems to have come of age, and - most importantly - gained a previously lacking nouse for actually getting goals in the opposition net. Bug thumbs up, too, for the Kiwis. Widely expected to be the laughing stock of the tournament, they were eliminated - but without being beaten.

Fair call, Dan. But I'm just playing a little devil's advocate: Let's put it this way - I think anyone who already finds tennis boring would find this merely confirms their thoughts on the matter.

Yeah, they did good. That's redemption, for sure. Oddly, they got the same results as last time - loss, draw, win - but truthfully they didn't really deserve to go through. And I confess to being a bit relieved in a funny sort of way. And how surreal was that? The winner AND loser of one game going through. The loser AND winner of the other going out. What with a fifth set tiebreak going to almost 60 games apiece (to be continued) and Australia's once wildly popular Prime Minister being ousted before even seeing out a first term ... to be replaced by our first ever female PM ... well, I reckon the whole world's gone bonkers. Next time, the Socceroos will be an completely different team - and I'm looking forward to the rebirth process. Blimey, great effort by the US - I reckon they've got a shot of going further. And go you bloody beaut Kiwis, too.

Ha! Stuffy old Wimbledon? I wouldn't count on it. But, oddly, I wouldn't count it out, either. I only watched while flicking between WC games, and only once I realised the 50+ game scores for the fifth were CORRECT. It is, of course, mind-blowing, preposterous, unbelievable. But I found it a bit like a train wreck, a bit creepy. No diminishing the players' stamina and willpower and so on. But FFS, where's the killer instinct? And I don't think it's any kind of positiive ad for tennis.

Whooooooo - NZ two games, two draws.

Kiwis! Blimey ...

By many reports, the Aussie and English dressing rooms have hardly been picture of harmony, either Kenny, who said, "to hell with cooking, INDIAN or otherwise", so hopped in his car and headed for his regular VIETNAMESE pho joint.

And I'm laughing at you. Sweetness!

Your departure from it is eagerly awaited.

Now, you really do sound like a big idiot. I do not not think you want to prove our point by opening your mouth again...on this subject.!!!??? In a little while I'll make some coffee and have some LEBANESE chocolate and almond halva with it. Later still, I'll get the fixings out of the fridge and make myself a nice INDIAN meal.

Ahhhh ... cilly Sunday afternoon. Reading a SWEDISH cop book. Watching AUSTRALIAN football - league, AFL. Nice and warm ... But in the interests of further anti-American solidarity, I may have to switch from alternating deep soul and western swing to ... oh, I dunno ... Reggae? Township jive? Brit jazz? Decisions, decisions ...