GA Russell

Is the Mosaic production without the reverb used for the single CD reissues?

I placed my order on Saturday the 28th, and it was shipped today the 31st (the first day the mails were open). Now we'll see how long it takes to get here.

Also new this week is Stan Kenton's Sketches on Standards, which features a half dozen Bill Russo (Mosaic box) charts.

I've just ordered five. My shipping charge was $2.95 for the first CD, and $0.50 for each CD thereafter. That averages a dollar per CD, which is fair enough. My picks: Shelly Manne - At the Black Hawk, Vol. 1 Soft Machine - Third Lee Morgan - Search for the New Land Miles Davis - Highlights from the Plugged Nickel Herbie Mann - At the Village Gate None of these was an impulse buy. I've wanted each of them for a long time. Four are new to me. I bought the Soft Machine album back in '71 when it was a year old after I was impressed by its follow-up; and I've wanted to play it along with my CDs for some time.

Let's top this one for the J&R sale.

So let us know what you got! I hope everyone who places an order tells us what it is, because there is so much to wade through. I didn't see anything about shipping. How much more do they charge for that?

It's the Sony CD rather than the Mosaic LP set, but I'm listening to the Miles Quintet, Disc 5.

Happy Birthday Jim!

My Beach Boys album, which I was going to welcome in the warm weather with, was shipped on the 10th, but I still haven't received it. They tell me I need to wait four weeks to complain. How come you guys only needed to wait three??? Anyway, I picked up a few albums in anticipation of the price hike, so I'm set for the time being. As a grand gesture, a few days before May 13 I plunked down the money for Miles' Seven Steps box. I decided to leave a few that look interesting in my queue, to ensure that my monthly selections are ones that I want, even at the higher price. But with the new availabilities, I switched my queue order around, and placed at the top... Tina Brooks - True Blue. I bought Jackie McLean's Jackie's Bag to hear Brooks, and unfortunately for me Brooks stays in the background the whole album. So True Blue will give me the opportunity to hear why Mosaic thought the guy was worthy of a box. Anybody else decide to hold off and leave some goodies in his queue?

Thanks guys! It looks like another one to put in my queue, but I don't think I'll wait until its turn comes up to buy it.

BMG is offering this one. Their website quotes Scott Yanow's AMG review. I think you'll agree that this is a pretty obscure album for BMG to offer, as they usually pick albums that are best sellers. Has anyone heard it from start to finish? What's your opinion?

One of the advantages of liking an unpopular form of music like jazz is that I only hear the music when I want to. Thus, nothing gets beaten to death!

I'm sure that for some of us, YourMusic.com's promise to raise its price May 13 didn't help us break the habit of buying more than we can consume!

Happy the Man This was the first album of a prog rock group of the same name, recorded in '77. I bought the LP in about '81 from Wayside Music, a prog rock cutout mail order house operated by Steve Feigenbaum, who now operates Cuneiform Records.

Years ago when I worked at Borders, Monday was a slow day, and the record department would spend the day getting ready to put out all the new product first thing Tuesday morning. At the close Monday, everything would be on carts ready to roll out onto the sales floor.

I voted for the only one I've heard, 1966. Have a feeling you won't get too many votes for this one!

'...as had been fraudulently reported for decades" - What are you referring to? Just curious. Regarding the album behavior on the charts, the slide down is certainly true for the hot shot debuts but there are many who still climb the charts for whatever reason. ← Chandra, I remember reading about the industry's response to Soundscan when it started up. The industry massaged its numbers and its promotions with the Billboard charts to give the impression that a record was growing in popularity. It would climb the charts. The idea was to give the record the aura of a winner. After weeks of climbing the charts, it would peak and then quickly fall down and off the chart. Soundscan measures the actual sales, so the promotions departments could no longer play their little game. In actuality, most record sales occur when the record is brand new. Most records do not increase in popularity. I am referring to popular rock and country and R&B albums. The sort of music that makes up the industry as measured by Soundscan. It probably is also true for Wynton Marsalis and Joe Lovano, but jazz sales are so miniscule that if the sales pattern for jazz differed from the norm it wouldn't surprise me.

Is that directed to me Mr. Russell? ← Hi Free For All! Nope, not at all. I was testing the quote function. Sorry if I gave you the impression that you might be on my ignore list. (I'm still wondering where you got that still from Where the Boys Are!)

I read somewhere about that, but I can't remember what the answer to the question was. I do remember that it became important that everyone wait until the same day to start selling an album. Why, I don't remember, but perhaps mail order had something to do with it. I remember that retailers who were near the point of shipping received their stock a few days before those who were far away, and for some reason that made a difference to those who were far away. Nowadays with Soundscan tracking album sales, the public now knows that albums do not climb the charts as had been fraudulently reported for decades. Instead, they start at the top the first week of their release, and then slide down the chart.

Test - It looks like the quotes only come in the order they originally appeared, unless you go to the effort of changing the order in your reply. Now that I have the opportunity to ignore someone who was getting under my skin, he has greatly reduced his posting to the point that he doesn't bother me anymore!

I didn't have the money for the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis at the time. My regrets are more for the ones I've purchased that aren't really my cup of tea. I tell myself that I should give them more time, and I will, but for the money I spent I would prefer more immediate gratification. I'm thinking of the Herbie Nichols and Charles Mingus Candid Mosaics and the Coltrane Village Vanguard set.

Aggie, I just bought Black Stars last month, so it will be quite a while before I get Same Mother. But I'll let you know!

← Free For All, I'm amazed that you found that photo! Bravo!

I have received an email stating that the removal of Jason Moran's Same Mother from my queue was a computer error, and that it has been returned to my queue.

As I recall, he played a bass-playing jazz musician in Where the Boys Are.