The Magnificent Goldberg

Oh, so that was the spindle then? Wow, never saw that before... Was RCA really that gung-ho about the Speed War that they thought that people would want 45s for everything? God, that's just so...recordindustrial! Ok, there's a book I'd like to read - the history of the Speed War. It doesn't cover the speed war, but Brian Rust’s “The American Record Label Book” is a rundown of every record label that existed up to 1942 and is highly amusing in many places. You get the details of which labels used hill & dale tracking, which used lateral tracking, what speeds, what centre hole sizes, disc sizes etc etc. The speed war was nothing compared to the wars between the different formulations of what we refer to as 78s. The speed wars are covered in “The American Popular Music Business in the 20th Century”, by Russell & David Sanjec. Sanjec Sr was the boss of BMI. So you also get the ASCAP/BMI war - though I suspect a certain bias may have crept in There are two versions of this. The original, by Russel, I think, is a two volume opus with tons of documentary detail. The one volume edition was converted by Jr from his father's original to make it more readable. MG

Nice article. I had lunch in a Cameroonian restaurant in Brussels a few years ago, just after raiding the African record store. As I ate, I was conscious that the proprietor's two kids (it was school holiday time) were talking to each other in English. I stopped the older one as she rushed past my table and asked her how she and her younger brother had learned English so well (she was about ten). She said, "I live there." The family lived in London but the parents commuted to Brussels, where there was more money to be made in African food. Bilingual countries are interesting, as M Courteous ( ) says. But they're very expensive in tax money. And for no real return (except that the bilingual intelligentsia manage thereby to get themselves top whack jobs). MG

Just found this thread. Great little piece! You can trace stride into Monk and, if there's an organist more influenced by Monk than Dr L, I don't know of him. Listen to Dr L's piano playing. I don't know about the harmonies and other clever Monk stuff, but the rhythm and phrasing are there. MG

I don't remember when or ffrom whom I heard thses sessions were lost. (I also can't remember saying that they were lost - but I guess I must have, some time ) But Mike's right - Verve would have looked for the stuff when HMKF was reissued. The best bet to reissue the GG material with Johnny Hodges is for a Mosaic set of the Hodges/Wild Bill Davis albums. There were 7 Verve LPs (though Ray Jackson subbed for Davis on some tracks of "Blue Rabbit") and two on RCA Victor. And there is unissued material, as well. I'd think that would make a pretty good 5/6 CD Mosaic box. (Hodges also made a pretty good album for Verve with Billy Gardner on organ, Jimmy Ponder on guitar, Ron Carter, bass & Freddie Waits on drums - "Rippin' 'n runnin'". Wish I still had that one. But it could be added and the Mosaic could be a Hodges & organ box.) MG

Yeah, it's on my list... MG

There is also, on Vault, this LP The Jazz Organs - organ duets with Henry Cain, with Gene Edwards, Leroy V & Donald Bailey and with Genghis Kyle with John Gray (g), Leroy V & Philly Joe. Kind of low key but interesting. But my copy is mono - it would be nice to have a stereo version. Genghis Kyle is apparently still active on the West Coast. Seen him Chewy? MG

Yeah, I should get this album. My mate has Greer's Sittin' in with single on 78. Decades since I heard it. Swings like fuck. I have only one of his RCA 78s - "Let me hold you"/"Tell me so" - less effective. Are these on that CD? MG

Yes. Oh, and I got that album FOR Bryant, not Griffin. I really like Paul Bryant's playing, though his PJ and Riverside appearances don't quite do him justice. You have to find his two Fantasy LPs to get him at his best. (And you also get some superb Plas Johnson on those.) This is a superb set. I had all of it except "Groovin' blue" on LP before I bought it, and "Katanga on CD as well, but wasn't deterred from getting the Mosaic. Decades of wonderful entertainment in this stuff. MG

Lorenz Hart Conrad Lorenz Lawrens Van Der Post

iirc the 10 Euro copy i mentioned above was from Caiman... So you probably wouldn't have got it anyway... I saw on Amazon.fr (and .de for the same price, I think) Viviane's "Le show" this morning for 56 Euros. Astounding. http://www.amazon.fr/gp/offer-listing/B000...4612&sr=8-2 MG

Struth! Get into Heavy Metal, Jim, and you can have a band called Blast Furnace. MG

Freddie McCoy - Spider Man - Prestige blue label orig mono MG

Hey! Where the fuck did you get that, my man??????? MG DG (dustygroove), it's why i check it daily, for gems like that! 13.99 + shipping! and it freakin' burns. A CD? MG No--Used LP. It's weird though because over the prestige design on the cover theres a sticker that says 'Status' with a weird S deisgn under it. And on the back on the upper left it has the same design, and on the upper right corner it says 'Status 7212' and also, on the botton it says.. 'For free catalog send to Status Records, 203 SO. Washington Ave, Bergenfield, N.J.' But the label on the record is a prestige yellow label. anyone have any idea what this is about? Was status records part of prestige?? Ah - nearly had a fit, thinking this had been reissued. Yes, there were a lot of Prestige albums that reappeared with the Status logo - and not jusy Prestige; I've got or had MV and SV and NJ LPs with the logo on them. All NJ series LPs after 8303 were Status. MG

I'd love to see him again. Dr L is the only musician who's ever made me scream at a gig!!!!! YAYYYYY! MG

I'm late, but I'll go fer it! MP3 I think, but is that what I do? Advice someone, please... MG

I like "Bigger and better" better than "Many facets", though that one does have its moments. "Bigger and better was Fathead's first hit album, so he did get SOME commercial success out of it. It was also his biggest hit, made #42 on the R&B album charts. Stan Turrentine's "Look of love" had been a hit a short time earlier. David's album is a LOT better than that! I think "Bigger & better" shows what could be done with a soulful sax and a largish bunch of string and horm players, arranged quite sparely. The real trouble was that, as time went on, more and more effort was put into the backings - "production values" - and this tended to detract too much from what the soloists were actually trying to get over. The only albums of that ilk that comes close to "Bigger and better" are Sonny Criss' "Warm & Sonny" and Blue Mitchell's "Summer soft", both of which were a decade or so later. MG

Larry Goldings (Go Larry! Go Larry!) Morris Hayes Don Pullen

Over here, we have a choice of Asda, Tesco or Kwiksave/Somerfield. (Or an expensive Sainsbury's.) Best of a bad bunch. MG

Hey! Where the fuck did you get that, my man??????? MG DG (dustygroove), it's why i check it daily, for gems like that! 13.99 + shipping! and it freakin' burns. A CD? MG

And no Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson Oh, my heart!!!! MG

While I was off doing other stuff, these turned up from Amazon.de: Nice to get these on CD after so long This is effin’ brilliant! And Clifford Scott is SUPERMAGNIFICENT!!!!!! I’m still waiting for the other Lou Donaldson Cadet coupling. And I’ve 4 Etta Jones CDs on the way… MG

Hey! Where the fuck did you get that, my man??????? MG

Rico George Chisholm Dennis Rollins Nice one for so early in the morning! What were you drinking then? MG

Boy Marone Boy Harlem Harlem Hamfats

Asda stopped doing Ceylon tea a couple of weeks ago, so I had to drink Clpper organic Assam, which my wife likes. It's OK, but a bit strong. So this week, she got Asda Darjeeling for me, and that's too weak for my taste. Life's bollocks, ain't it? MG