felser

That list reads like an SAT reasoning question: "Which two of these reissues dont' belong with the other ten?" HENRY MANCINI?!? THE BRECKER BROTHERS?!?. When, for instance, Woody Shaw still has Columbia albums sitting in the can (except for the Mosaic).

Clem, while I agree with most of what you are saying here, they all quailify as OPINIONS: rather than FACTS:. I know you are the voice of the people and speak the TRUTH, but in the postmodern sense, it's a subjective TRUTH, and other listeners will have different TRUTHs. On live Springsteen, you don't get him, which is OK. But no, he's not overwrought, he's incredible. I could write books on what I learn from him live. I don't get Prince, and don't get whoever you consider the top rap/hip-hop artists, but I don't think that negates the legitimacy of either my opinions or those artists. They aren't speaking to me. Springsteen isn't speaking to you. It's OK, it's a big world with room for plenty of voices.

I've never heard anything live by Parsons (Byrds, Burritos, or solo), and don't know what his reputation as a live performer was. Any insights would be appreciated. I'm more of an "admirer" than a fan (I never forgave him for derailing the Byrds from the space-rock/jazz direction McGuinn meant to take the Byrds in when he hired Parsons, but am really glad he introduced us all to Emmylou Harris), but am something of a late 60's rock semi-completist. Do you learn a lot more about Parsons hearing him live (like you do with Springsteen, the Dead, etc.) or is it really close to the studio stuff?

See McGuinn live some time if you get a chance. At least as of about three years ago, he was still a monster on 12 string. After thinking I'd go to the grave without ever seeing him live, I saw him three times since Y2K. Ends his shows (which are solo and very eclectic) with a long long 'Eight Miles High'. He was a victim of the industry in the 70's, then basically just checked out to live his life and sustain his marriage. Gotta respect that. He is also very dedicated to preserving folk music. Gotta respect that, too, I guess, but the Folk Den stuff is not an easy listen when you know the other things he could be doing. BTW, he answers emails - I've emailed him twice, received answers both times.

I'm with you on the preference for the Gene Clark era. Ironic that both the Byrds and Clark went country after Clark left. 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' doesn't do much for me, and I always found 'And the Gosdin Brothers' to be something of a disappointment (admittedly my expectations were through the ceiling). The Byrds with Clark and Crosby and the Byrds post 'Notorious' were two TOTALLY different experiences, can't even really compare them per se. One thing shocking on your list of album commendations - where is 'Mr. Tambourine Man'? That's THE album, especially in terms of Gene Clark. 'Younger Than Yesterday' is far from flawless ("Mind Gardens", anyone?), but is utterly brilliant in places. "Renaissance Fair" is about the most perfectly realized performance I've ever heard. "Dimension" has "Eight Miles High", "John Riley", and tons of other highlights, though also some filler. 'Notorious' is weak in places, but the whole is so much greater than the sum of the parts due to the seamless production, and "Goin' Back" is utterly gorgeous. 'Turn Turn Turn' has a lot of filler, but has the title cut (which, somehow, I've never gotten tired of) and 'The World Turns All Around Her', which are stunning. And why didn't the put the beautiful "She Has A Way" on there, instead of their teenybopper version of "the Times They Are A-Changin'"? 'v

I have the set on now. It's really a beautifully done box, and it was $45.97 shipped for a five CD set from Amazon. In addition to the Dameron, Elmo Hope, and Ray Draper sessions, it's also missing the Red Garland sessions. Hope the third box with those sessions sees the light of day. This and 'Fearless Leader' were obviously labors of love. These are not missing, as these are "sideman" dates, as opposed to Coltrane taking part in jam sessions (which is the focus of this set). Glad to hear it's a nice box, will have to get it eventually! And here's more hope they'll really bring the third (sideman) box, too! The context of the discussion WAS what would be on the sideman box set. "Missing" didn't indicate that it was supposed to be on the co-leader box set, rather that it was left to go on the sideman box set. I really would like to see this set. Would be much more efficient that a bunch of loose pieces, it's up to each person to decide what's "not that exciting", and the presentation is so wonderful on these sets.

To my ears, the 45 and the so-called "alternate takes" are identical. I suspect that they may have been so identified for copyright reasons. They sound the same to me also. The Beefeaters 45 sides are on the newer of the Byrds Box sets, 'There Is A Season', also on a CD of obscure Elektra 60's single sides which Collector's Choice put out a few years ago. The entire Pre-Flyte Sessions 2CD set is a wonderful listen (and read) if you are a fan. And I'm a huge one. On my bulletin board at work (I'm looking at it right now), I have a review of the first box set, 'The Byrds', written by Steve Simels, which appeared in the February 1991 Stereo Review. He summed it up well when he wrote "...there are moments in 'The Byrds' - the majestic Middle section of "Bells of Rhymney", the wordless finale of "Goin' Back", the solos in "Eight Miles High" - when I think I might be hearing the most beautiful music in the world. On reflection, of course, I realize that's hyperbole, but at other times, even as I type these words, I'm not always so sure."

Two rock box sets for sale or trade. Uriah Heep - Chapter & Verse is a 6CD set covering their entire career. Supposed to have a great book in it as well as excellent remastering. Shadows - The Early Years 1959-1966 is a 6CD set covering the classic period of the famous British instrumental group, who backed up Clliff Richard and made their own records/ Hank Marvin of the Shadows was THE influence on all of the British 60's guitar heros, and was a marvelous guitarist. Cliff Richard and The Shadows, for US audiences, are the missing link between 50's rock and roll and the Beatles. The Beatles make a lot more sense after you hear Cliff Richard and the Shadows with Marvin on guitar, they didn't just suddenly come out of nowhere with a totally new sound. Anyways, the Uriah Heep is new and still sealed, the Shadows is open but in excellent condition. $60 each (includes domestic shipping) or interesting trade.

PM sent on the Machito and the Musselwhite

PM sent on Frank Rosolino - Free for All (OJC/Specialty), 5tet w/H.Land $5

You don't want to get us started on listening backlogs. I just jumped the Bruce to the top of the heap out of principle.

On first listen, I really like it. "Radio Nowhere" is going to sound great on car radios, like "The Rising" (the song) did. Very sobering, thought provoking lyrics on the album, which beg to be paid attention to and revisited. Better music and production than 'The Rising' (the album). In addition to "Radio Nowhere", "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" really caught my ear. Good releases from Mr. and Mrs. Springsteen in recent weeks, along with good ones from John Mellencamp (I REALLY liked that one) and Rickie Lee Jones at the beginning of the year. 2007 has been a good one for the post-50 rock gang. Other thoughts ont this album from anyone who's heard it?

Yeah, but JSngry has to stand over there.

Bit of an overreaction maybe. Two posts out of 30 meet your description to some degree, and one of them is Clem, so it's more a matter of style than anything. Not a bunch of snobs at all here, but you need a tougher hide in this neighborhood. You got a bunch of legitimate responses and discussions, what do you do with those? Just lump them in with the two bad ones and call everybody names?

Corrected, thanks. Larry, what are your thoughts on Alexandria?

That one is the winner for me too. I'll buy it and replace all of the individual Brown/Roach CD's. Some of the other stuff I don't have on CD at all.

Listening to this CD right now for the first time, and pretty blown away by it, and by Alexandria in general (I've heard little of her). What an amazing singer. Why isn't she mentioned with the giants? She's that good to my ears, up there with anyone who ever stepped to the mike. This is a late 50's live date, with the King Fleming sextet, who have some pretty interesting personnel. Charles Stepney, the great 60's-70's Chess arranger, plays vibes. Vernal Fournier, of Ahmad Jamal fame, plays drums. Earl May on bass, Fleming on piano, Cy Touff on bass trumpet, and Paul Serrano on trumpet. Anyone else dig Alexandria as much as me? Or are my ears overestimating her? Also, any other recommendations on her King and Argo albums?

You may well be right, but maybe from the points of view of the characters (and of a lot of people in the South then), there were no Civil Rights if you weren't white, there was no such thing as white-on-black racial injustice, and turbulant social change is a threat to be either denied or fought against. I lived in Huntsville, Alabama iin 1965-67, and there were still two water fountains ('white' and 'colored') and three bathrooms ('men', 'women' and 'colored') in some of the local places, and crosses were burnt on the hill every Friday night. And "Eve of Destruction" was banned where I lived, even though it was a #1 song nationally. I never heard it until I visited the north in the summer. "Ode to Billie Joe" never says WHAT was going on, so purposefully leaves itself open to any number of interpretations. That's some of what was so wondrous about it.

PM sent

Not sure that it matters, but it's "she", not "he". Indeed it is. I was trying to type quickly and continue conversation with my wife on different topic at the same time.

Not hijacked, just a series of individual and collective improvisations on the changes. It all comes back around.

I've never heard it either, but his body was thrown into the Tallahatchie River in 1955, that's fact, and I have trouble believing that and the reference in the song from 1967 are mere coincidences. Anything else is conjecture (the lyrics don't really say).

The hit tune was from 1967 and many (most?) of the covers were well before the movie. There is a major historical allusion in the song which I only realized in the past year from research on a different topic. Remember the key line "He and Billie Joe was throwin' somethin' off of Tallahatchie Bridge?". Well, not pretty, but here it is. Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was a fourteen year old African-American boy from Chicago, Illinois brutally murdered [1] in Money, Mississippi, a small town in the state's Delta region. His murder has been cited as one of the key events that energized the nascent American Civil Rights Movement.[1] The main suspects were acquitted, but later admitted to committing the crime. Till's mother insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to let everyone see how he had been brutally killed.[2] He had been shot, beaten and had his eye gouged out before he was then thrown into the Tallahatchie River with a 75-pound cotton gin fan tied to his neck as a weight with barbed wire. His body stayed in the river for three days until it was discovered and retrieved by two fishermen. Pretty gutsy stuff for a white southern woman to be writing and singing about in 1967, so I hand it to Gentry. The record certainly deserved it's success. Bob Dylan also wrote and recorded a song called 'The Death of Emmitt Til', which is an outtake from the Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album.

And one I've always been fond of, Impressions of New York by Rolf & Joachim Kuhn. and the Marion Brown titles on Impulse! and the John Klemmer titles on Impulse! and Ahmad Jamal 'Outertimeinnerspace" (never understood why that wasn't added to 'Freeflight' as bonus cuts, since they were recorded at the same concert) and Curtis Fuller - Cabin in the Sky and Elvin Jones - Dear John C. and the Gabor Szabo and Chico Hamilton titles that have never been released domestically. So much of the same thing over and over again. This will be their third domestic CD release of many of these titles, while other deserving titles have never been released domestically on CD, and some haven't even been released in Japan on CD.

I've been a Donny Hathaway guy since 1970 or 71, when I heard "The Ghetto". My understanding is that the compilers of 'These Songs For You, Live!' wanted to put everything from the first two live albums plus the unreleased tracks on a 2-CD set, but that the company would only let them do one CD. They didn't leave out anything glaring, given that choices had to be made, but there are enough missing tracks that you'll want the other two live CD's also. 'These Songs For You Live' is probably the best place to start on Hathaway. You get his incredible "What's Going On" (I'd take it over Marvin's if forced to choose only one version), a live version of the beautiful "Someday We'll All Be Free" (covered memorably by Alicia Keys in the concert right after 9/11), a great live version of "The Ghetto", and almost another hour of music on top of that. 'Extensions of a Man', as touted by Mr. Sangrey, has some amazing moments, such as his cover of "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" and the studio version of "Someday We'll All Be Free", though I find the album somewhat inconsistent. But it is truly transcendant in spots, and belongs in all of our music collections, as does every CD this unique artist released, which only amount to three live CD's and three studio CD's.