JohnJ

Anybody else own or heard a CD called ''Les Enfants Du Velvet" which consists of six French Velvet Underground covers. They concentrate on the softer, more melodic side of the Velvets's and there is something rather magical about these versions in French.

I don't own any and I live in Japan! I prefer regular CD cases and do own quite a few TOCJ's, most of which I bought used in the $5-7 range. I really like the sound on these.

Thanks jazzbo, perhaps I should just wait until I find the US version at a good price. Still tempted though.

Thanks Aggie87. I'll definitely check out at least one of the Zweitausendeins.

I saw the 7 CD Japanese version of this set, which I believe was released in 1992, at a pretty reasonable price in a used CD store and was wondering how this compared with the later 8 CD US version. Presumably the US version has more music, is this correct? Also, being later, does the US version have better sound? Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I will be there for three days at the end of this month and wondered if anybody had any recommendations for CD stores or live venues. Also, any thoughts on restaurants and sightseeing would be welcome. Many thanks in advance.

I just wanted to add my name to the long list of people who greatly admired Johnny Cash and loved his music. He will be greatly missed and, as Kris Kristofferson said, it is hard to imagine that we will see his like again. As others have mentioned, he transcended genre and, more than just a country music singer, he was one of the most important artists of the 20th century. Anybody who does not have any of the American Recordings should pick up at least one of them, listening to the last one now is a pretty moving experience. I just watched his final interview with Larry King on CNN and was very impressed by his humility and integrity. Goodbye Johnny and R.I.P.

There is also 'Pizza on the Park' in Knightsbridge. What is it about pizza and jazz? I beieve Claire Martin will be there next week.

Another great soundtrack is "Taxi Driver". I even like the snippets of dialogue.

Picked up a sealed copy of the 2cd conn series Byrd/Watkins "Transition Sessions" for less than $10 in the HMV summer sale. Pretty good price I thought.

brownie, I agree. Mary Astor is fine in 'The Maltese Falcon' even though I don't find her particularly attractive by my early 21st century standards (Lauren Bacall on the other hand was gorgeous). The movie itself is, for me, one of the all time greats and maybe the finest film noir ever made. Bogart, needless to say, is his usual magnificent self, surely he is the quintessential noir actor. Speaking of Bogie, choosing my favorite movie of all time is very easy, as others have said it has to be Casablanca. Apart for a cast made in heaven there are so many truly memorable scenes and it seems at times that almost every line of dialogue from the movie has entered into popular culture.

Normal. It's nice that at least one thing about me is normal.

Happy birthday Wayne. Without a doubt my favourite living tenor, and maybe composer too. Still disappointed that I was out of town for the Tokyo Jazz Festival last August when he appeared with Herbie Hancock.

Rooster Ties, congratulations on becoming the first 'Master of the Groove'.

Big Wheel, be sure to contact me before you come to Japan, I would be happy to guide you around the used stores of Tokyo. That goes for anyone else on this board too.

A very recent secret listening pleasure is Roger 'King of the Road' Miller. Does he qualify?

For what it's worth, and in case anyone is heading this way, HMV Japan is currently selling a wide range of JRVG's at 40% off in the summer sale at its Tokyo stores (and presumably elsewhere in Japan). Thus the prices are 1500 Yen or $12.

Rooster Ties, the first Macy Gray album "On How Life Is" really is very good, well worth picking up. Some great, catchy soul songs and a wonderful voice, in a strange Billie Holiday sort of way. Highly recommended, and it is not a genre I listen to much either.

Like Chaney, Sinatra is probably number one. Not only do I listen alone, but whenever we have visitors he is always in heavy rotation. Also Trane and Miles and constant companions.

DrJ, I think you would do well to follow your own advice and listen again to the four studio releases of The Velvet Underground. As rock albums, they are at least the equal of anything else recorded in the '60's, IMHO. The critics just might be right.

Brad, I received the same e-mail and two additional ones all purporting to be from Ebay. I forwarded all of them to spoof@ebay.com as I do now with any e-mail claiming to be from Ebay, whether I think it might be genuine or not. You really cannot be too safe; even the properties of the e-mail addresses would make you think they really were from eBay. I also finally changed my user ID so that it is no longer my e-mail address. Hopefully that will help. Anyway, as you say, people really should be very careful and never give any information in response to an e-mail. Just go to the website.

Although there are a couple of fairly recent greatest hits compilations, it seems that neither of them contain "Abonimable Snowman in the Supermarket". It is probably true to say that there is no inprint CD containing this song although "The Beserkely Years" should not be too hard to find. Ever since seeing Jonathan live in England in the mid '70's I have been a big fan. His outlook on life is definitely somewhat unusual, eccentric even, but he is a wonderful writer of strangely evocative and powerful songs. I think he deserves the box set treatment.

Two Lou Reed recordings spring to mind. Don Cherry on "The Bells" and Ornette Coleman on the recent "The Raven". Lou obviously has an affinity for the free jazz giants.

Very easy poll for me. Coltrane by a wide margin.

Does anybody have the OOP 3CD set on Blue Note 'The History of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers'? I saw this used for $20.00 and, in the absence of a more comprehensive Blue Note box, it seems to be the best overview available. Any thoughts would be welcome.