JSngry

Nina Hartley Nina, who never knew The Virgin Mary

Compilations of any sort are also useful for entertainment purposes, like for background music at parties, or driving with a group.

WHOA! Didn't know that!

Jerome Richardson The Groove Merchant Larry Lavan

Did you hit him directly w/the ammonia, or did you just make a shot in his general area? I'd hope for as non-intrusive solution to the problem as possible, but sometimes that's not an option, unfortunately. Either way, glad that it's over, and hope it stays over.

True - I just gave a musician friend an Earl Bostic compilation. He wanted it to learn some tunes that he might need to know when he plays in an r&b/pop setting. I have a lot of compilations in my collection - not always called "best ofs", but generally they are that. Most of them are r&b or rock & roll, and they tend to be of artists that I don't want to have "everything" by. Just pulled a few: Sonny Thompson, Ivory Joe Hunter, Gary "U.S." Bonds, James & Bobby Purify, The Prisonaires, Freddy Scott, Flying Burrito Brothers I also tend to buy blues comps, especially on Yazoo - Blind Blake, Scrapper Blackwell, among others. In all of these cases, and others, I feel that what's on the comps is enough for me. I realize that someone else is making the choices of what's on them, but I'll live with that. My sentimenst exactly. It's all about personal prioritization. For example, I really dig a lot of the Capitol Louis Prima stuff, but a good comp of it is all I really want/need. Just the highlights is enough for me, as the rest of it seems to be either lesser variations thereof or novelty #s that hold no interest for me. And if I find out about a nugget here and there that's been overlooked, I 'll find it somehow at some point. Same for the Nat Cole pop material, etc.

http://www.dustygroove.com/varfunkcd.htm#428577 Various -- Good God -- A Gospel Funk Hymnal . . . CD . . . $15.99 A killer killer compilation -- the sort we've been dying to own for years! It's a well known fact that there's plenty of funky nuggets hidden amidst 70s gospel recordings -- massive grooves and break-heavy tracks that rank right up there with the best indie funk from the same time. Yet tracking down these tunes has always been plenty tough -- given that most gospel records sold in different circles, had different distribution, and often are less easy to decipher for the crate digger than more conventional funk and soul. Enter the folks at Numero -- who have really gone all out this time around, and dug through piles and piles of rare gospel records to come up with a whopping batch of great tracks! This set is definitely ground zero for getting into funky gospel -- and it's filled with far more obscure work than the Soul Gospel set on Soul Jazz -- all indie numbers from small labels that only got minor distribution at the time. As usual with Numero, the notes and package match the soulful depth and righteousness of the music -- and the set is one of the most perfectly wrapped-up genre compilations we've ever seen! 18 tracks in all -- with titles that include "I Thank The Lord" by Mighty Voices Of Wonder, "This Old World Is Going Down" by The Modulations, "Look Where He Brought Us" by The Apostles Of Music, "Thoughs (sic) Were The Days" by LaVice & Company, "Bad Situation" by 5 Spiritual Tones, "God Been Good To Me" by Mighty Walker Brothers, "O Yes My Lord" by Voices Of Conquest, "We Don't Love Enough" by Triumphs, "Heaven On Their Minds" by Sam Taylor, "God Will Dry My Weeping Eyes" by Horace Family, and "I Call Him" by Masonic Wonders. We'll see if it really is all that, but it's definitely worth a shot.

Yeah, I understand what you're saying. I would only add that the element of playing all out having "gone out of style" in Sonny's vs Cecil's case is as much an element of their respective audiences as it is anything else. Sonny's general audience from the 70s on isn't nearly as "adventurous" as the one he had in the 50s & 60s. Cecil's otoh, is the same type he's always had - people who expect all-out playing and who would be disappointed by less. We still hear a lot of Rollins fans saying that Rollins' best work was in the 50s and that everything since has been lacking, which is ridiculous. You don't hear that out of Cecil's fans. So, I think that Cecil has a "built in" external support system that Sonny doesn't. Nor does he seem to have been inclined to "challenge" his audience as overtly as a lot of us wish he would. But that's a differnt matter altogether than saying that he's "lost it", or some such rot. We can say that such things shouldn't matter, and perhaps, in a better world than this, they shouldn't. But they do. As for the physicality issue, I do believe that there is a difference between piano & wind instruments, and that difference is breathing & breath. "Blowing" sets up a set of physical strains and stresses that "hitting" (used objectively here) doesn't. It involves the strain of abdominal support, resistance from the mouthpiece/reed, the pacing of inhalation/exhalation that is different from regular breathing, and the cumulative wear & tear on the facial muscles. No doubt that Cecil's way of playing is extremely physically demanding, but it's more akin to a good, healthy workout than exerting the same energy on a wind instument would be.

Best-Ofs, etc. are useful when one is playing in a pop band and one needs to learn tunes.

Actually, I'm not surprised, although I'd never have guessed it. The Geils band was a major cult fave for years before dreaking throuh into the Top 40. I remember reading a Down Beat profile of them from sometime in the early/mid 70s where Geils mentioned his (and most of his band's) interest in (and, iirc, in playing) all types of blues and jazz. What I am surprised at is how well they captured that groove. Like I said in my comments, Western Swing is a very unique style. It's not just "jazz played with a country accent", it's a lot more rooted in bluegrass than any jazz would be. These guys got there!

Elliot Sharpe Bea, who apparently had a flat Mr. Natural

I'd like to think that the "best" artists have no boundaries, but that's more often than not wishful thinking. The ones who really don't (or, the ones who eventually realize that they don't, and run with it) are my truest heroes.

Stretching, breaking, and never looking (or going) back.

Dean Jones D.C. Cat Cora

Rod Roddy was lookin quite the Liberace sort in those days. Do you remember when Rod Roddy was a "hip" DJ on KLIF (The Mighty 1190, The Flagship Of The McLendon Broadcasting System), back in the late 60s?

Barbara Hershey Candy Barr Marianne Faithful