JSngry

Back in the day, Ella was often noted as being a less than stellar interpreter of lyrics, at least on a consistent basis.

That is the tune, yep. I read that in Cadence, iirc, although I recalled there that it was Coda. Long time ago. But I did read it.

Calling Leonard Maltin!

It was the best of times...

I know most folks hate that cover, but I love it. There's something to it that is just so... spellbinding. Dude - it's an evil-grinning black cat at the end of a neon-lit dead end. Ain't but one ending to that story. If that's not a metaphor for The Legendary Life And Times Of Lee Morgan, I don't know what is.

Not sure, but maybe Tom Cat was one of those things that was first released in Japan (on LP, w/the second cover) and then in America (with the LT cover)? Either way, yes, the LT was the original American cover, and yes, that is another evocative LT cover photo. Yay LT!

Don Herbert Roy Wood L. Frank Baum

Hurry up and blow out those candles. It's hot enough as it is!

Interesting group. Hope y'all get some people out to hear you!

Pliny The Elder The Ancient Mariner Raul Ibanez

Somebody's missing the boat by not opening a dedicated political board with a jazz sub-forum available for a nominal fee...

whoa...

Why was Don Grolnick's arm in a sling? Was that real or a joke?

The only real difference in any of her records is the setting. She's been incredibly technically consistent as a singer. I still find her largely clueless as an interpreter, but I still like her (and those 70s records were hugely important in giving 70s L.A. rock its sonic identity). Cluelessness is a fact of life, I embrace it when it's done well. But I don't love everything I embrace.

Just finished the book, couldn't put it down once fully into it...what a cast of characters, none of them (except, maybe, Barbara) really wise and only some of them really - or even somewhat - smart, all of them trying to direct the world - and actually getting a chance. At once, funny, sad, ironic, and more or less true, eh? Very much enjoyed this book.

You mean "Herb", correct? It's Herb Hancock that's on this record.

"Clueless" and "shallow" as in I hardly ever felt that she was really inhabiting the lyrics, not even on a "show biz" level. It was almost like she was singing phonetically in her native tongue. That's never really stopped me from enjoying her on the radio or anywhere else she popped up to sing. It has, however, stopped me from taking her seriously as an "interpreter". Ever. An excellent "coverer", yes. Oh my, yes. But interpreter? Not for me, thanks.

whad'ya know?

PM sent on SCOTT, TONY AT LAST 32 JAZZ 2CD SET $ 7.00

Not knowingly...not sure what you mean...but I like Astrud just fine. And she's nowhere near as "clueless" as Ronstadt. Flip side of that is that she has nowhere near the raw skill set. She can pretty much do what she do better than anybody, but if the production is not aware of what that is (and isn't), then uh-oh. Whereas Ronstadt can sound equally adept at anything. Adept, and shallow. Not that that's a bad thing, just that as far as "failure" goes, Astrud's "failures" are more of setting, Ronstadt's of understanding. But as far as everything else, they're both deservedly iconic, each in their own way.

My Google shows me that on the original album, Pepper Adams had top billing, for whatever that's worth.

She was preceded by (at least) Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, & Carly Simon. Simon's Trust is actually a nice album if you can suspend disbelief about her vocals and just get into the accompaniment). Also, Motown had a thing about getting their bigger acts to do "standards" as part of the grooming for Vegas. Ronstadt has never struck me as a particularly bright person (but who am I to judge?) or singer (and although she got what was probably Riddle's most uninspired ever "high profile" work out of him and was by more than a few accounts more or less a total dolt about how to "get into" that material, hey, she had the desire and the money, and by god, she made it happen, so, good for her!)), but I always dug her for not letting that get in the way of her enthusiasm and curiosity (remember her doing "Pirates Of Penzance"?). I give a whole lot of the credit to her great run of great-sounding records in the 70s to Peter Asher (and yeah, the Greatest Hits thing is one of the fewer times where that's what I'd prefer over whole albums) but she had the chops to give him something to work with, right? Really, "harmlessly & pleasantly clueless" is perhaps the phrase that keeps coming to mind about her actual singing. She's always had, again, a good, at times great skill set to be clueless with. All of which is just to say that as a "singer", eh...., but as a "voice", somebody you couldn't miss no matter what the context, she's been there since "Different Drummer" and stayed there for all of my adult life, and even if I can't really take her seriously as an "artist", I still like her a helluva lot, and yes, this is sad news.

Or this, which is really weird in many ways...

I love good Ear Candy (which Thicke provides) & Pop Music has the element of Outright Theft built into it (and Thicke also provides this). But this Thicke guy has been bugging me for a while now...just a little too blatant and just a little too shameless and not nowhere near close enough to being Thug enough to say it be like that. But that's my personal reaction. My business reaction (for this is Pop Music, after all) is more simple - Everybody should just make their money and shut up about who "owes" who. And the Gaye estate should be angling to get Thicke to cover a Marvin tune on some tribute album or a charity album where the performers donate their fees & royalties (but not the writers/publishers). Lots of ways to make that motherfucker pay besides filing a losing lawsuit. Laws don't really give a shit about what is being sued over by them. So make him pay some other way. Some "nice" kind of a way where he can look "good" and they still get paid. Because that's what you want in Pop Music - to look good and to get paid, even if it's opposing entities getting theirs each. OTOH - Daryl Hall gave Marvin co-composer credits for this one, which is, at the very least, appropriate (and given the outright melodic/lyrical usage, legally necessary,I'm sure). Whether it was of free will or not, though I don't know. I think Daryl Hall has respect, whereas Robin Thicke probably just has "love". Make mine respect, please. The one I dare somebody to cover is "It's Madness". Go ahead Pretty Boy. Do it.