Dave James

Long Beach State Dirtbags. Evergreen State College Geoducks.

Thanks Chris. Same to you and to all 3,640 of my Organissimo friends.

Not long enough. Actually, my pre-amp has been on the DL for the last few weeks, so I need to get it fixed before I can even begin to listen.

As I mentioned in another thread, the only music gifts I get are the ones I get from the biggest music fan I know, me. This year, that constituted the 21-LP box of the Complete Keynote Recordings.

The Jazz Crusaders set is consistently entertaining. Although it doesn't rise to the level of the 1960 Blakey Messengers Mosaic, it's in the vicinity. The Benedetti is a genuine curiosity. I could easily argue for and against having it. If you're into Bird at all, it's essential. And, if you're into Dean Benedetti as a musician, this box represents the full extent of what he has available. I find the set fascinating and the booklet is probably as good as Mosaic has ever produced.

In no particular order: 1. Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys. This is the one that let you know there was more to rock than first met the eye. I'd always liked the Beach Boys, but this went way beyond their "fun in the sun" esthetic. There's a reason Paul McCartney thinks this is the best rock album ever made. Caroline, No is a particular favorite. Where does the idea for the train sounds at the end of that one come from? The sort of thing that makes you reconsider the possibilities. I'm not sure some albums that were made subsequent to this one get made if not for Pet Sounds. 2. Wagner - The Ring Cycle. I've long been a WWII nut with a particular fascination for the German experience during the '30's and '40's. I'd never really been into classical music, but this lines up so perfectly with that period of German history and my perception of the German psyche that I was particularly drawn to it. That opened up a whole new side of music for me, starting with the German composers (particularly Karl Orff) and working its way outwards. 3. King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King. This one remains a hugely influential favorite of mine on many different levels. It's the one that led me to Soft Machine, Hawkwind, Pink Fairies and other prog rock bands of that era. I can't think of any album that better defines a particular time in my life than this one. I've gone through three vinyl copies, bought just about every iteration of the album on CD and topped it off with the recently issued box set with studio takes, live takes, outtakes and a DVD of the band performing the music on this album live. 4. Breezin' - George Benson. This is where jazz (although I know now it really had little to do with jazz) began for me. Almost all instrumental (save for the dreadful On Broadway), a leaping, loping, toe tapping experience that led me in more directions than I can begin to count. Certainly where I can trace the roots of my obsession with instrumental music. I wore out the grooves on that one. 5. Santana - Santana. It was the summer before my sophomore year at Lewis & Clark. A couple of classmates of mine from Southern California came up before school started and brought this with them. I was playing drums in a band at the time and I distinctly recall that what Michael Shrieve did on that album made me realize I was wasting my time. The whole percussion thing (drums, congas, timbales) just bowled me over. Soul Sacrifice remains my all-time favorite Santana song. This opened the door to the post-Beatles and Stones era. California music. The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Hendrix, Sons of Champlin, Lee Michaels, The Doors and way too many more to list.

Allen's idea has gotten me thinking. It's one thing to be able to mask Jarrett's lamentations on a recording, but that leaves those who see him live in the lurch. I'm wondering if some sort of gadget might be developed that piggy backs on the original concept. Such a device could distributed to audience members at Keith Jarrett concerts to provide them with retaliatory control over both his obnoxious manners and mannerisms. Here's the kind of thing I have in mind as test driven by Cliff Claven on Cheers.

Wow, this is great news. Too bad you couldn't get this to market before Christmas. I think you're going to sell a fair number of these, but think how many more units you could have moved if folks could have given them as gifts. One quick question. Is there any way the innards of your device can be adjusted to also filter out Oscar Peterson?

The Columbias are not readily available. I bought five of them at one time on vinyl from a seller on eBay. They are uniformly good. He had a substantial budget to work with when he was with the label (I think they might have thought they had another Miles on their hands) and the results reflect that. I agree that it would be a great project Cuscuna Wenzel et al. It's not like Mosaic hasn't dipped into the Columbia vaults before. Although this isn't one of his Columbia recordings, I like this one:

I'm sure many people were introduced to jazz via his pieces on CBS' Sunday Morning. As a musician and an educator, he'll certainly be missed.

My two cents. The guy was an entertainer. His first name wasn't Adolph...he wasn't a terrorist. He sang a bit, lots of people liked him, some didn't. Lots of people still like him, some don't. Why anyone would see Elvis as a prime mover behind the development of Western Civilization in the last half of the 20th century is beyond me. There were so many socio-economic-cultural forces at work during this time that to attribute anything of lasting import to EAP is, IMHO, sticking one's neck out further than it can be safely extended. I've got no quarrel with anyone who doesn't like Elvis, but let's not make this bigger than it really is.

All I can say is that they must not have included Pabst Blue Ribbon in their survey. Out here in Orygone, the nation's number one craft brewing hot spot, we have more beers to choose from than you can count. Everything from Dead Guy Ale to Terminator Stout to Cole Porter. After spending years in the craft brewing wasteland, make mine a cold PBR.

Did I mention that I had a Reggie Bar in my freezer?

I still have a battered, much the worse for wear Reggie Bar in a plastic bag out in my freezer.

Jimi? Still? Really? There is something to be said about the relationship between the early death of an artist and their continuing popuarity.

Yup, and that happened before he went on his home run tear for the Yanks in the World Series. It's a better and shorter nickname than "The Straw That Stirs The Drink." Munson was not Reggie's biggest fan. I always liked the Catfish Hunter story where he said - Reggie's a great guy. He'd give you the shirt off his back. And then call a press conference to let everyone know that he'd done it. Reggie rarely wrote checks that his ego couldn't cash. Upon being signed by the Yankees, he referred to himself in an article in Sport Magazine as "The magnificence of me".

If there are any fanatical Elvis completists out there in Organissimo-land, it may be time to start planning how you'll finance this new box set. From the LA Times: Expectations at RCA Records couldn't have been much lower 20 years ago when a Danish record executive suggested putting together a box set exclusively of 1950s recordings by one of the label's artists who had been dead for more than a decade. Even though the artist in question happened to be Elvis Presley, there was little hope that a significant number of people would have much interest in a set encompassing five hours of music and 140 songs — only a small percentage of which had been hits — from just the first seven years of Presley's recording career. RCA officials cautiously issued the "Elvis Presley: The King of Rock 'n' Roll" package, carrying a list price of $80, hoping it might sell as many as 10,000 copies. more here

Thought y'all might find this interesting: During the World Series against the Dodgers, Munson was interviewed, and suggested that Jackson, because of his past post-season performances, might be the better interview subject. "Go ask Mister October", he said, giving Jackson a nickname that would stick. (In Oakland, he had been known as "Jax" and "Buck.")

At some point, that could be a card that develops some value. Certainly worth hanging onto. With respect to Reggie and the HOF, if you ask most baseball fans the team with which they identify him as a player, I'm guessing it would be the Yankees.

I can't help it if he Yankees used their wins more effectively than the Giants.

I'm going to call and raise. The Giants all-time W-L record between 1883-2010 is 10436-8958, a .534 winning percentage. That's a whole .034 worse than the Yankees.

FWIW, between 1901 and the end of the 2010 season, the Yankees all-time W-L record is 9,670-7,361, a .568 winning percentage.

I was just trying to have a little fun, not start another thread war. In my defense, Dan is absolutely right. I have been a Yankee fan since I was six years old. I am a Yankee fan and I will always be a Yankee fan. As those who have been around these parts will attest, much of what I post is written with tongue firmly in cheek. The "letter" that started all this was completely fictitious, just a way for me to vent at New York's offseason inaction. I take exception to the idea that I have a sense of entitlement. If you've been a Yankee fan as long as I have, you know what it's like to win but you also know what it's like to lose. Sure I want to see my team do well - that's what being a fan is all about - but to call it entitlement is simply wrong.