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Thanks so much for the stimulating BFT, and for turning me on to that Essence All-Stars CD with Gato (which I now own!). I may be the most openly Christian (anti-MAGA variety) regular on the board here, and I was not offended by #14. Didn't agree theologically with what he was saying, but that comes from somewhere (his experiences, his upbringing, his culture, his hopes and fears, etc.) and Lord knows, we all need to learn to listen to and care about each other when we don't agree, rather than getting offended and attacking and cancelling each other. Thanks again.

A certain fascination, like it's being piped in from another galaxy somewhere. Both musically and sonically.

This is the unreleased 1981 album produced by Rodgers/Edwards. It sounds like a cross between Chic album and a good Al Jarreau album (Rodgers/Edwards/Thompson play all the songs, and Rodgers/Edwards wrote them all), and it's pretty great. Columbia buried it against Mathis's objections (he really liked it), and it was not rediscovered for a quarter century. Columbia released it as a RSD special in 2018, and Real Gone Music released it on CD in 2019. I have it in the giant Columbia Mathis box (which is a stunningly beautiful set). Would have been interesting to see what would have happened had Columbia released it in '81.

That Cecil Taylor set is foundational to any jazz collection. Taylor, Jimmy Lyons, and Sunny Murray redefining creative music in real time at the Cafe Montmartre in 1962.

He did it here in 1966.

Never heard of it, will check it out, thanks!

Great story, thanks for sharing it!

Good to know, I'll take a listen.

I agree, loved 'Wichita Lineman' then, love it even more now.

The vocals, I'm sure. What else? Honest question, I want to go back and hear it.

'Galveston' is an incredibly strong song/record in retrospect. Has there been a pop song as good as it written in the 21st century? Jim Webb should get some of the same belated recognition Bacharach received. He also wrote "Up, Up, and Away", "Wichita Lineman", "McArthur Park", "By The Time I Get to Phoenix", "Carpet Man", "Do What You Gotta Do", "Worst That Could Happen", "Paper Cup", "Where's The Playground, Susie" and a lot of other interesting songs, all in like a 4 year period. Powered the careers of Glen Campbell and the Fifth Dimension. For that matter, "Last Train To Clarksville" also sounds really good at this late date when it comes on the radio. Maybe the resonance of the Vietnam-related themes is in proportion to how closely you lived it. I didn't have to serve, but had a lottery number, and knew people whose lives were impacted directly by that war. 'Galveston', to me, is a beautiful song, not a piece of sclock.

Found out something I hadn't realized. "I Say a Little Prayer" was released in 1967 by Dionne Warwick and 1968 by Aretha Franklin (as a "B" side!). Turns out the guy being sung to/ab out, is in Vietnam, not out on the town. So when the woman sings "say you love me too, come on and answer my prayer", she isn't afraid he's out messing around with another woman, she's afraid he's dead in a trench in southeast Asia. Relistening to the song with this in mind makes it a very moving experience ("The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup, I say a little prayer for you... to live without you would only mean heartbreak for me", etc.))

That's the thing about "poetry", I guess. I am very left-brained, tend to be often too much of a concrete literalist. Here is a verse from the song. I agree on the rhythm, thankfully, I am able to hear that sort of stuff: Finding the note Habit of life Denying divorce Club owner's wife Causes strife We are the cause She's got new drugs[?] It's all a joke She's got some smoke Hippies like that[?] Via the Spectrum Road Spectrum Road

The FS has all of 'Soft Winds', where the 2 disc Avid has 5 of the 11"Soft Winds' tracks. But 'Soft Winds' is a very week album compared to the other four albums included in both sets, and the six very short missing songs are not a great loss

That's the one I kept, but Euro PD, so I didn't mention it to avoid the usual firestorm response.

Prestige "In A Minor Groove" CD, combining both her Prestige albums goes for under $15, if you don't have to have it on vinyl.

$250 + shipping interesting? I love Ashby, but really.

Yes, gun deaths, auto deaths, overdose deaths (80,000 in 2021) and suicides (45,799 in 2020) are huge problems receiving way too little concern. So thankful Jim's daughter is OK, and pray that trauma for her and others will not be long-lasting.

Certainly not for everyone. But for a certain subset of us who cut our teeth on the thrill of 'Bitches Brew', 'The Inner Mounting Flame', and such, it is essential.

Here's my source, this site is my go-to for rock/pop reissue news: https://theseconddisc.com/2023/02/21/sit-down-i-think-i-love-you-rhinos-rsd-lineup-includes-grateful-dead-dio-stevie-nicks-todd-rundgren-madonna-and-more-nuggets/ Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era (1964-1968) [50th Anniversary Box] (5-LP boxed set, limited to 10,000 copies) 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking and influential compilation of the first generation of psychedelic artists curated by Lenny Kaye. This box set includes the original 2-LP set, the planned but unreleased Vol. 2, and a single LP of songs that were considered for the original set but didn't make the final cut. Like the original, this set is curated by Lenny Kaye with the full involvement of Jac Holzman - the original pioneers of Nuggets. Lenny has also written new, complete notes.

Which translates to about $45 in today's dollars. Plus the cost (money, time, energy) of getting there, parking, etc. And it's all over in a little more than an hour.

Yes, I agree with every statement above.

Clear enough what he was thinking in "Beyond Games". Some things never change, but that doesn't make it great art or good listening. "Via The Spectrum Road" obviously takes a shot at a certain woman (assume she knew who she was), as well as being a cosmic road-life saga. "Where" must have sounded profound if you were high in 1969. The lyrics make me think Williams was either a very creepy or a very spoiled/entitled dude (so much success at 22 years old), but the drumming certainly is for the ages. To paraphrase the Frank Zappa album title, "Shut Up and Play Yer Drums".

Thanks Mike, nice to be able to share the music.

I'm in favor of whatever the organ player preferred, bass player or no bass player.