Brad

Lon, Pm sent on 31.

I’m starting to prefer the Hoffman Forum actually. A lot less BS, monopolization by one person and more diversity of opinion.

I thought the conventional thinking was that vinyl had a warmer sound than cds; that always seemed to be the thinking here. Apparently not anymore. After many years I’m starting to get re-interested in vinyl. Not whole hog but just some stuff here and there because nothing equals the portability of cds. This week I was at two record shops, one here in town and Princeton Record Exchange. Most people seemed to be looking at vinyl. Both shops are split 50-50 between cds and vinyl.

RIP Larry Taylor, bassist for Canned Heat. He was also a studio musician for the Monkees. Canned Heat Bassist Larry Taylor Dead at 77

That must have been an editing or typo error.

Now, that’s a real obscenity.

I have the Billy Ripken card. Had a few and sold them but kept one.

Listened to a few cuts this morning. It IS great stuff.

Sounds something like one of those ads currently running on US where a homeowner, touting a home improvement job, has his neighbor ask him to secure bids on an job and get the job done for him.

This is cool. And that's the way it is. Peace Out. Thanks. Saw this down at the small record store in our town.

Volumes 5, 6 and 7.

I’ve listened through the Airplane, which is the best so far but I was always a big fan so no surprise. Could have been my mood but CCR (and there was not enough of them) and Janis weren’t moving me. Don’t get me wrong, they were good and I probably need to re-listen. Sly were outta sight. So much energy. Following on their heels The Who were everything I remembered them as. The episode with Abbie Hoffman was hilarious. Glad they caught that on tape. I have the Woodstock Experience on the way for the Airplane and will probably spring for the others. Thought the Dead were ok but I was never a huge fan. The electrical fans could have put them off; Weir was almost electrocuted.

This sounds interesting. Will need to listen to some tracks.

I'm going down to Princeton Record Exchange tomorrow so I will look for it. Thanks.

I have to agree about the Incredible String Band but glad I heard it. I wasn't familiar with Keef Hartley before but really liked what they did. I'm not a big Joan fan but I liked her selections, especially her talking about her husband; I thought was cool (groovy, in the words of Arlo). I loved the Canned Heat selections and you could tell the Woodstock Boogie really pumped up the crowd; I knew I was. I've always loved Mountain so their stuff was great. I didn't really like Tim Hardin but different strokes, etc. Haven't listed to the Dead yet but it's not considered a vintage performance.

Listened to the Canned Heat set at Woodstock. I was blown away. I never realized they were this good.

It was difficult to get releases from all the performers at Woodstock and some had to be really convinced to agree; the Hendrix Estate wouldn’t fully agree and a couple of the song on the new set has the 2009 mix. So, I think it would take a long time for a new Monterey box to appear. You can still purchase the old boxes on eBay for almost next to nothing.

I’m a boomer, born in 1950, and glad I was, not that I had a choice of being born then I could say more but don’t see the point.

John, I think there is a lot of nostalgia to it as we are from that time. I suspect it will have less meaning for someone younger. I actually enjoyed the Shankar cut although the big box has more, including an explanation by Shankar how the sitar is played, which goes on and on; someone on the Hoffman forum remarked “shut up already.” Getting back to the announcements: there is an announcement or crowd applause between the second and third Canned Heat songs. Without this transition, it wouldn’t have been as good. At least in this case, I found the talk absolutely necessary.

I have listened to half of the 10 cd set and several hours of the XPN broadcast and have heard few what T.D. calls stinkers. Perhaps he can elaborate what he didn't like. Although I wasn't crazy about Melanie, over at the Hoffman forum, where this has been extensively discussed, there were several people who loved the Melanie set. The stage announcements and the background noise is a very important part of this release, whether in the 10 cd set or big box, because it makes you feel as if you are there. You just don't get that feel in other recorded concerts. Andy Zak, the producer, likened the recordings to field recordings and I think he's right. The more I listen to the box set, the more I'm regretting not having purchased the big box. Going back to the prices for a second, one box sold for $3,000 today and another for $3,500.

I think I had the one after censorship.

I didn’t remember this but the liner notes say the cover was censored because it showed a toilet. That seems strange to me. I mean, what’s bad about a toilet. Different times.

That's a long day.