Noj

Listening to my copy now! Great to see a few of the regulars amongst the Executive Backers thanked on the inner cover: the names Kevin Bresnahan, Ed Swinnich, and Larry Kart stand out immediately. Too cool for school.

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/6937782528/h58FE8F29/

Are we too late to get this going?

OK, took a second listen this morning and jotted down some replies. Fun listen, thanks Jim. 1. I love you for this weirdness, Jim. Cholesterol...what? 2. Smooth in a positive way. I don't know her voice. The little sparkly noise is sort of cheesy. 3. Funky. That's more my bag, but still smoother than I normally venture toward. Another voice I don't know. 4. Even funkier. A Grant Green formula, but not Grant. Me likey. 5. Quite a story. It must be terrible to have someone die in one's presence. I haven't experienced it. 6. Jazz singers really aren't my area of expertise. Sinatra-ish. No guess. 7. Funky again! With all these singers, one would think I'd be able to muster a guess, but I don't know this voice either. I like the electric keys. 8. Nice latin groove. Digging it, but don't know it. It sounds like some boogaloos on Blue Note. With the flute I might guess Leo Wright or maybe Joe Thomas. An American/latin hybrid. The muffled honking announcing the horn soloist sounds familiar. I should know that...dang. 9. Whoa, a commercial. Pepsi. Since I was a child at the time, that was really my first exposure to Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles. It would be many years later when I would appreciate them for the outstanding musicians they are rather than the Pepsi pitch people. 10. Short and sweet. Swinging. Nice. No clue. 11. A little wah wah. Different sounding keys make me think of electric Kenny Barron. I like this. 12. Bluesin'. I like the funny male background vocal. Another female vocalist outside my scope. Fun track. 13. Ha! Great interlude. 14. A slow melancholy outro. Pretty and playful. Can't say I know who it is. Now, on to read everyone's guesses and then the answer thread! Whoops, I didn't listen to the Coke commercial twice, and remembered it as Pepsi. Oh noes. Me too.

It would be great if Led Zeppelin shared their tribute by listing all the American blues artists they "borrowed" from. That's what I'd like to see Page and Plant do, share their influences with everyone and try to reflect some of their abundant glory toward the blues musicians (and British folk musicians) who helped make it possible. I've used Zeppelin's discography and those of other blues rock acts as a primer for building my blues collection. Others can do this as well, I'd just like to see Page and Plant encourage it. For what it's worth, their taste in blues was impeccable.

My local bar for craft brews: http://tonysda.com/ Burbank also has a Barney's Beanery, which has a boatload of beers from all over the place.

It's funny, while I totally notice the extreme style difference between the Donald Byrd of Ethiopian Knights and that of Black Byrd, and while I understand why the Mizell stuff would turn away a strict jazz listener, some of the Mizell stuff such as Places & Spaces and Street Lady are cool from a Roy Ayers-type funky soul/disco perspective. It's like you've got to put on a different set of ears for 'em. I've never really warmed up to the title track on Black Byrd, but I like "Love's So Far Away."

There's plenty of very tasty American craft beers. It's probably that they don't export all that much of it. The watery beers are better for drinking all day long (like tailgating or hanging out in the hot sun by the river/beach/etc). One can drink 25 Coors Lights and still be standing. A stronger dark beer will put a man to bed after 8. Sam Adams Boston Lager is one of my favorite brews, and it holds its own against any mass-produced beer from anywhere. Delicious with a nice punch.

Dude, human beings + Boone's Farm = disaster. I won't miss a one of these beers if they disappear.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Happy Birthday, SS1! P.S. you neglected to make your picks in the football pool again. I hope everything is OK!

Congratulations, Jim!

For what it's worth, my brother is exclusively a rock and metal listener (will NOT listen to anything else that I've tried to share with him), and he LOVES both Rush and Heart.

Speaking of losers, the Raiders are so bad they can make a win feel like a loss. 5 field goals. Football doesn't get more boring than that.

That was before San Diego decided to spot Carolina a 3TD lead.

vajerzy in the hunt for a perfect week!

Scratching my head as to why I picked the Giants. I'm just not a believer in the Hawks, and I keep expecting the Giants to start playing like the team that's been to the Superbowl so often lately.

Peyton Manning's got me believing in Denver, but that was definitely a tough pick.

Haha, I've actually considered something similar. Like furniture slip covers, but cube shaped to go over the crates.

Dang. Time to get out the leaf blower.