AmirBagachelles

Agreed. (And didn't Shaq play with Penny Hardaway in Orlando? He really dealt for a few yrs there.)

Only Jordan, and maybe Isiah in the last few decades have gotten the whole thing done nearly by themselves (without co-dominators), but I really don't mean to demean those great Bulls years/teams. The Pistons last three championships have been paragons of five-man ball, intense defense. Other teams don't seem to be able to use the same success formula. The record shows that Shaq's teams win when there is at least a dominant guard teammate for him to pair with. Spotty record without.

Four John Carter - Bobby Bradford LPs: two on Flying Dutchman incl seldom heard (never on CD) Self Determination Music, two on Revelation, including seldom heard Secrets, liner notes of which talk about good unused alt take(s). MC said he would look into this in an e-mail earlier this yr.

Neil Young, Poco, Pure Prairie League, Fairport Convention. (Dan Fogelberg? I won't go there.) Fast fwd 10-15 yrs, how about REM 1st few? I'd also look around for some Timbuk 3 records.

Great thin-crust pizza is mouth watering, makes me want more, and some beer too. Thick pizza makes me want to nap.

New Haven/Springfield is volume #25, Rochester is #34, the most recent. New Haven was my second show, my friends and I bought at least a hundred tickets on the floor and sold them to friends, mostly our fellow high school seniors looking for a night of good clean fun. For most of a two and a half year period from April of '77 to early January '79, Northeast Deadheads were blessed with a ton of really good high energy shows to attend (and later trade and argue about). CDRs: You probably know that for every good Dicks Picks, there are 5-6 good shows on CDR from that same time/tour to check out. As for capturing some late 70s lightning in a bottle, I would say get 7/8/78 above all, and try to find the amazing audience tape that circulates, its better than the board tape. Hopefully someday we will get a vault release, or a good leaked sbd on CDR, of what I believe to be the real "best show" from that era: 12/30/78 from UCLA Dan

I think the hottest playing on the recent 70s DPs would be New Haven 5-78, and Rochester 11-77, those are excellent shows going by my "tape memory". Many folks love the 5-77 Fox Theatre DP, though I haven't heard that in years; accompanying Lakeland FL show is merely a good setlist, not a burner imo. I'm willing to bet that 8-82 show from Alpine Valley is worth getting, there has to be a reason they picked that one -- PITB, Wheel, and Morning Dew were pretty good right in there and I'd love a scorching Althea (anybody know if that is the case?). Healy was making some amazing tapes of the band in 1982 and Jerry's singing was really good, maybe the last good year on that score (no pun intended). I mailed in for my first DPs in 4-5 years last week, waiting on DP26 4-69, and DP28 2-73 to make my weekend!

As long as you are eating fresh ingredients cooked in a coal oven, you shouldn't miss the glory of pizza, lots to enjoy in lots of cities. I would take a six hour flight to try that pie though.

I was at J&R today, I haven't seen so many excellent jazz and rock CDs for $7 in a long time, not the usual stale greatest hits sale. Extraordinary opportunity for Christmas and gift shopping.

SANTA'S COMING!!!!!!!!! Elf is all I have seen with Will Ferrell. Really funny dude, a natural. Co-workers say check out Old School, so I will.

As much as I hate the idea of the ringtone craze, I must say Jamster.com has done OK by jazz fans, with several good realtone choices including Straight No Chaser and what sounds a little like a loop of So What. So if it has to be a custom ringtone, please let it be jazz.

Live Dead

Steppin' Out is really fine, many favor it above all or among the best of the vault releases. My favorite is Hundred Year Hall, also from Europe 72. You can't go wrong with much of anything from that era.

The '96 edition OOP, I'll pay $20 plus mailing for a clean used copy (no cut-outs). Thanks, Dan

I have now experienced this on two of the Blue Note CDs: almost inaudible bass, from Ron Carter on Contours and from Cecil McBee on Dimensions and Extensions. How does the Mosaic sound, particularly the vinyl set? Was there a problem at the session or have the tapes eroded? Thanks

It was old and peeling and the car it was on was pretty beat, but it was cool: Chicago Cubs - World Series Champs!!!

You go Stanley, if only you could have been their Colonel Tom. Reading that fine piece, I am reminded of Leggy Mountbatten's admiration of the Rutles' trousers.

Dissing Desmond and Bill Evans here, while nothing like the offense of the skinheads up in Boston yesterday, it does seem like a similar type of provocation. Sensational untruths, a new thread perhaps.

This Irish boy is practically bawling, all choked up reading this. I would love to make a direct contribution to many great jazz musicians. How could you not? Thanks for the heads up. And how come Mr. Braxton doesn't own the material by now? We need new laws on this!

I think DeFranco sounds like heaven. His music as collected on the Mosaic set will probably always be my favorite jazz. It just hit me hard at the right time in my life. Jimmy Hamilton's music and tone too.

If there is no mechanism to pay the artist, and the artist or the estate is not OK with the situation, then it is most likely theft, I don't give a shit what the law says. These European labels, and their customers, seem pretty scummy on this point.

Stevie Wonder music enriched my teen years (and beyond) for sure. I would like to hear some unreleased Stevie with zits etc, the outtakes, and some live stuff.

bring back the sixties man

Damn straight Big Al!!! One of my first trips to the movies without my parents was to see a matinee triple: Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, and Animal Crackers. This was in Scottsdale in 1973, in a mall theatre, so the whole thing was unusual, even then. What a gas! I couldn't get enough of Groucho for quite awhile. Fortunately, You Bet Your Life was broadly "rediscovered" by rerun TV not long after. (And then there would be Python on PBS...) It took me years though to finally see the other greats A Day at the Races and A Night at the Opera. A plug for my favorite movie of the era: W.C. Fields in "It's A Gift"

I would spend $400-500 on a player, $600-800 on an amp, and $600-800 on speakers. Pick a small bookshelf speaker/minimonitor with stands, I would say. (I spent $1600 for my gear, $400 each on a player, pre, amp, and used bookshelf speakers.) For speakers: www.nsmaudio.com I believe Cadence can let you buy and trial these speakers or anything they sell on easy-return terms. Talk to Cadence about your budget choices, they also have good used/demo gear.