Quincy

I doubt I'll be rushing to get it as I've had it on cassette for 20+ years and upgraded to disc a few years ago. Then again, they'll likely improve the sonics and there is the fat booklet, so maybe I will. But make no mistake about - it's a must have. Dylan manages to mix humor and powerful performances of some of his finest work. It just has a terrific feel that will suck you into the show. I'm curious where they'll go next. I've always preferred the Blood on the Tracks outtakes to the official versions, but they have released a few of those on the first Bootleg box. I would think the '62 Gaslight Cafe, or perhaps a collection of shorter shows from '62-63 might be released. Then again you get about a disc's worth of that material on the 1st Bootleg release as well. Probably the biggest payday for them would be to release the 5 discs worth of Basement Tape material. The 1st bootleg set of Basement Tape material had pretty poor sound quality which since been "remastered" by another bootlegger. Assuming Columbia/Legacy could top that (I haven't heard the latest version) I'd be happy to part with my cash for it.

The usual answer is one of the following: In A Silent Way, Nefertiti, My Funny Valentine...oh, a few more too. But over the past year or so whenever I play Modern Jazz Giants I think it must be the most beautiful album ever recorded. It might be easier to list your least favorite. Unless you're couw.

Yup, that's who it is. I get the warm fuzzies for that industry spokesman (yes, he's all man) as I used to see him on signs on the way to my grandparents. He's just such a strange little cuss too. I'm also somewhat jealous of him as he has wall sockets built into his head. However, they come at a heavy price, as they are a substitute for ears! Unless he can hear through them too, then he's one up us. Here's a link about his creation. And here's a picture from the Lileks site that I once used for the back cover of Grateful Dead show. One of Phil Lesh's nicknames is Reddy Kilowatt, and though a I'm big fan of the group it has nothing to do with my choice of avatar. More of a Jerry fan myself.

Not easy pickings. The Beatles was the first rock I heard playing with my Matchbox cars listening to my parents' copy of Hey Jude & Abbey Road. The Who ruled my life from my mid-teens thru early 20s. As much as I love The Who Sell Out, my favorite album is Quadrophenia, and that's from the '70s. My favorite Stones is Exile and the very end of the '60s stuff. Love the U.S. psychedelic bands, VU, and so many more. But as far as what I play today that still sounds the freshest, it's gotta be The Kinks. Something Else & Village Green are my 2 absolute favorites (don't make me pick!) along with the others nearby. I also love Muswell Hillbillies from '71. I'll 2nd (or third?) the advice about getting the imports. The are a ton of extra cuts and the mono mixes are terrific.

I didn't know that Ravi Shanker played with Yes, let alone fathered any members!

Think higher! I'm pretty new as I just ordered my 1st last December. I'm 139,XXX. Yowsa!

I'm not seeing anything either, but on another (non-jazz) board I saw some strangeness relating to dates. It seemed to be related to failure to program for leap days.

Yup, it's scaring me too. And they're just supposin'. I think I'll be ordering it tomorrow.

I bought my first Mosaic last Christmas and picked up another when the Blue Mitchell was running low. I'm still pretty early in my jazz obsession. I've had some albums for 20+ years but it's really only been in the past few years that jazz has become the primary music choice. I have about 400 titles...which comes out to just under 500 discs. Huh, those 2 discers and box sets add up! I really hadn't been aware of Mosaic until about a year ago, and I held off as I felt I still had a great deal of other things that I needed to hear (Getz, Art Ensemble of Chicago, all sorts of things I should have heard earlier in life, but better late than never!) first. However, by not having been a big buyer of jazz for all this time Mosaic can fill the bill quite nicely. After a dozen or so Ellington albums I went for the Hodges as I greatly enjoyed Back To Back and Side By Side, and the only Hodges I had away from Ellington was with Mulligan. So aside from a few songs from Side By Side, the rest of the Hodges was new to me. I picked up the Blue Mitchell as I had been enjoying his playing on a the Horace Silver discs I had, and I was intrigued that it included him with Henderson/Hancock and Cook/Corea (plus the Duke Pearson material.) So it was a nice fit. Being a newbie has it's advantages (though I've missed out on years of enjoyment of the music.) Thus far I've made Japanese purchases off limits, and in comparison the Mosaic pricing is better. Assuming you want all the box includes that is. And actually, as many older CDs seem to have mastering issues (old Columbias for example), I feel pretty safe in trying Mosaic as the Patton Select aside, most of what I've read about them (and the little I've heard) they sound nice. I've given up some expensive vices in the past few years and along with better earnings I'm at the point where I have a regular music budget and then a special purchases budget, and just about every month is special now. Maybe it's midlife crisis (or having a parent with Alzheimer's), but I'm not assuming any longer than I'll live a long life with great hearing, so I figure I might as well pick it up a notch in my music spending while I'm in my prime listening years. Anyway, some of the sets provide the music I'm after. And while I'm not sure I really need 6 discs of J.J. Johnson in one fell swoop (haven't bought it - yet) it isn't easy material to get, especially if you factor in time. And since I have 2 music budgets , I'm making an effort to cast a wide net and explore other artists while feasting in box set gluttony. Despite the fancy booklet and the big box packaging, so far I play my Mosaics more than I play other box sets. I think this is because they come in regular old jewel cases which I file alongside other discs, while sets like the metal banded Miles boxes are harder to get into to. Especially if you've been drinking. Ed Swinnich once noted in a thread that he's willing to buy Mosaics of artists he barely knows just because he knows Mosaic does quality work. I don't know if I can be that bold, but I know what he means. They put a great deal of care into their work, and it's nicely packaged.

Perhaps a dangerous thing to say 'round here, but ya know - at least from '72-'74 - the Dead could be downright "jazzy." B) There is something about ole Jer's sound that helps (or rather, helped me & some other folks, but obviously not everybody ) during times of upheaval. I got through quitting cigarettes (and I really really really really really liked smoking) and some more serious sadder family matters through both their music and the mad mind occupying obsessiveness that happens to Dead traders/collectors. I ended up purposely leaving a few holes in my favorite years in case I need something "new" in the future. Whenever you choose to dip back into jazz, it will sound sooooooo wonderfully fresh to your ears after the layoff.

He mentioned in late January that he hadn't been listening to much jazz lately. He also said he had been on a "Grateful Dead bender." As someone who has 881.25 of tradable hours of Grateful Dead on my etree list, I can understand what he might be going through. But yeah, I enjoy his posts (and miss the cat too), so I hope everything is fine & dandy.

Harold McGee's On Food And Cooking is a terrific book. If you ever wasted a year or so in a chemistry lab you can pretend that you even understand what he's talking about in the more complicated passages. And though my Mom loved buttermilk, I just use it for recipes. And yup, I marinate chicken in buttermilk (with extra salt added) for frying. I too was happily surprised in recent years to see it pop up in pint sized containers, cause it seems like any extra you poured down the sink could clog it! One use for buttermilk hasn't been mentioned yet. Here in the rainy part of Oregon moss will grow on about anything, but sometimes it needs some help. I have a neighbor who has lawn statues (frogs, a Fu dog) who wanted them to grow a mossy coat. He poured buttermilk on them, and lo & behold, within a few weeks the statues started sprouting moss on their backs. Such a trick would probably work on humans too in case your budget gets tight for clothing after spending too much on CDs.

I have only bought two so far, but each time I ended up buying a set that I didn't think I would. Or I guess I bought it in less time than I thought about buying a different set, if that makes sense. Before buying the Hodges, I was sure that my first would be the Tristano/Konitz/Marsh. And I spent months thinking about it. Then it was definitely the Django. Nope, Hodges it is! Before I bought the Blue Mitchell I was pretty sure that Django would be next. Or perhaps J.J. Johnson. So right now I'm pretty sure my next will be the Mobley, but lately it seems every time I play something that J.J. is a part of I'm really keyed in on him. And now other sets not mentioned above are "moving up," never mind the Selects! In the end I figure no matter what I pick out, the odds are great that I'll be picking up something that's mighty nice!

Back to the only thing we really care about, the metal spine, I believe the reason why In A Silent Way didn't have one was because there were only 3 discs, so it didn't require that extra solid metally construction. You think they slap those on as decoration? Hell no! If Jack Johnson didn't have a metal spine it would explode, sending shrapnel everywhere. It'd be a bloody mess. But actually, this is a good thing - the Silent Way not having a metal spine that is. For if lightning ever strikes your CD collection in the "D" section, In A Silent Way might be spared! The one Columbia I don't have is 7 Steps To Heaven. I've put it off as I knew it would be reissued eventually and I thought I should save it for the day when I really needed a "new" (or unheard) Miles studio album. I'm not sure I can imagine how My Funny Valentine/Four & More could sound better, but if it can I'd love to hear it!

I'll combine AfricaBrass & BFrank's picks. Rainy Day, Dream Away - I live in the Pacific NW! 1983 (A Merman I Should Be) - I love side 3 of Electric Ladyland. Ezy Ryder - Far too dangerous to play while driving. Yup, there are too many good ones, and other favorites have been listed. At the risk of catching the wrath of the Hulk, I'll nominate the acoustic apartment tape version of "Angel" as the prettiest song.

Janet flashed the wrong thang!

And another for Osby's Inner Circle. Though if you had asked this before last December I could have answered Banned In New York. Whether I would have I'm not sure. Moran's Black Stars or Modernistic (heck, the others too) are greatly enjoyed too.

I started to look up Electric Bill on AMG. Didn't want to be missing out (glad I'm not!) Les Paul hit the top of the most likely matches by the way. The Blue is great. But so is electricity...

I just got it for Christmas. I previously had Back To Back and Side By Side and decided I wanted more from this period. I haven't been disappointed. I'm still in the getting familiar with it stage with a few of the discs as 6 discs is a lot of music! There's enough variation in the personnel and the size & instrumentation of the groups to keep it interesting, although I have yet to play more than 2 discs in an evening. (The couple times when I wanted to hear more Hodges I switched to Ellington.) I think a prime consideration is that there is fair amount of music that is available nowhere else, and so if you love the sound of Johnny Hodges (and Ben Webster), you run the risk of not being able to hear it once it sells out. Well, I guess there are always imports, but the Mosaic mastering is terrific. And it's a wonderful luxury to be able to choose amongst so many discs when you're in the mood for Johnny Hodges.

For those of you who don't own the vinyl, the double live classic The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads is going to be released on CD by Rhino sometime in the future. The whole catalog is getting the re-issue treatment btw. The news announcement was posted by Chris Frantz on the Tom Tom Club message board according to the Talking-Heads.net. As the double live LP was just a shade over 80 minutes long, the big question is whether they add bonus tracks or just trim applause.

I'll say what Morganized has been saying. If you're willing to order $99 worth of music (including books or DVDs too) to get the free shipping, then alldirect is the way to go. RVGs go for $7.99 and Conns go for $11.88. Sorry to say they apparently don't accept international orders.

I've used both H & R Block/Kiplinger and TurboTax over the years. For at least the past 4 (and maybe a couple more) I've used the H & R Block/Kiplinger program. H & R Block is usually $10 to $15 cheaper than TurboTax. I get the basic version for about $10 to $15 after rebate. I never noticed any significant difference in ease of use between the two, though I suppose I should mention I've had a year of tax law in some post-bac classes long ago. I do my taxes on a PC as the Mac versions are usually more expensive. I still do my state taxes by hand as I'd rather use the extra money to buy a (music) CD than give the state a fancier looking return. I guess if you don't have some flavor of Quicken or other type of personal finance software then you should probably check and see what features you'd like in such a program in case the Basic version doesn't do enough for you. Although MS Money & Quicken claim to be able to read each other's data once you start with one program you often are stuck with it for either your life or the life of your harddrive (if you don't back up your data.)

The Blue box is an absolute delight from start to finish. I find it very difficult to just play one disc as I want to hear more. From the material with Henderson & Hancock to Cook & Corea and the Duke Pearson arrangements and everything in-between, it's terrific with nary a piece o' fluff on there. I think I'm going to have to make Mosaic purchases not part of the music budget but take it out of something less essential, like clothing. Oh wait, I don't have a clothing budget. Well, I'll figure out something. The Blue Mitchell box has me playing more Horace Silver, so the next Mosaic might have to be Mobley. #3506.

Like Sal I have about the same number of jazz discs and just 6 weeks ago or so finally picked up some Stan Getz. Looks like the letter "G" will keep expanding on the shelf. I started with The Steamer and knew within a minute I'd want to hear more. I'll third (or fourth it) about The Complete Roost Recordings. I found a used copy for $22 and it felt like stealing. It's well worth it at a new price. It has an advantage as an early selection as once one disc is played you have 2 more to listen to. I've come to the conclusion that there's going to be a lot that I'll want to hear so I've been basing "the next one" on price as much as anything else. The latest additions have been the Jazz In Paris release and I also snagged a used copy of At The Shrine that should arrive today. After a bit of time digesting what I have I'll be hunting for more again (and borrowing suggestions posted here.) I jokingly call 2003 the year of white saxophonist, as I either "discovered" or expanded my collection with Desmond, Konitz, Marsh, Woods, Tabackin, Zorn, Potter & Getz. I think I'm forgetting a couple too, as it was a pretty busy & wonderful year of listening & discovery!

And it looks like the turntable in Rooster's avatar can play 24 rpm.