mjzee

The passion and interest that Benson arouses fascinates me. He's a good guitar player, has chops and all that, but there are lots of good guitarists, many of whom have a more personal sound. When Benson's discussed, it's always "what he could have become." OK, he didn't take that path, or really any sort of innovative path - he just wanted to please his audience. Nothing wrong with that. But why the fascination? In other words, what did he do early in his career to create expectations of greatness? This is not meant as a diss on Benson. He's a good musician who's made some very enjoyable records. But so has, say, Lou Donaldson. I accept Lou for who he is, but I don't expect greatness from him.

Don't forget "With A Girl Like You"...ba ba ba pa pa, ba ba ba pa pa!

More excitement: the postman just arrived with the vinyl GD Winterland 5/30/71 release for Record Store Day.

"Wild Thing" was written by Angelica Jolie's uncle.

Only a handful of American roots-music recording labels have lasted decades. And in the whole arena's welcome evolution—away from a pre-1960s emphasis on highbrow folkloric preservation and from a related preference for decorous music strikingly lacking in rhythm, wit and sex—no label has made more of a difference than Arhoolie Records of El Cerrito, Calif. The little Bay Area label established in 1960 would find, record and spotlight such working, stomping artists as Fred McDowell in the blues, Clifton Chenier in zydeco, BeauSoleil and the Doucet family in cajun, the Campbell Brothers in sacred steel, and Flaco Jiménez in Tex-Mex Tejano, while bringing to the fore older, legacy acts, live or from recorded archives, in the same muscular, zestful mode—the Maddox Brothers and Rose, the Hackberry Ramblers, Mainer's Mountaineers, Big Mama Thornton, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lydia Mendoza. The range and focus on underexplored musical flavors were groundbreaking. More here: WSJ

Wasn't this part of your childhood? It was of mine. Reg Presley, British rock singer of 'Wild Thing,' dies

Got my Dave's Picks 5 today. Boy, these CDs are tough to extract from the packaging.

I once owned a Stanko album called Almost Green. Sold it long ago; would love to hear it again.

The first thing that came to mind is the Revolutionary Ensemble's "Invasion" (26:22) from their album "The Psyche."

Out-of-phase? I didn't know that.

That may be so, but like I said before, perspective is always different from a distance. And, as you've demonstrated, your perspective on Giuliani is inherently (and unavoidably) slanted by your experiences. The city is, and always has been, what one makes of it. Koch was a character, no doubt, but a true opinion of him could not be formed from the suburban communities of Long Island or Westchester, or the tony/shielded communities of Northern Connecticut. Both of us are at an equal distance from the years we're discussing. It's irrelevant where I live now - I lived through those years in NYC, same as you. My perspective on Giuliani is slanted by my experiences - and yours are not? And by the way, we're both entitled to our opinions. It's not that "it may be so" - it actually is.

I think we're both entitled to our opinions.

Living in "New Jack City" may explain some of your exposure to "victimhood". Gee...what you call "victimhood," I just call "crime and mayhem." And where did you live, pray tell?

I love the Dinah sessions, esp. the one where she's just one of the musicians in the jam session. Sarah's in fine voice, but it's really a Sarah album with Clifford's solos. I don't have much use for the Helen Merrill session, but I know there are some vociferous defenders on this board.

A good summary by the Post: NY Post

I second the recommendations in this thread. It's a very special package, lovely. Almost something more to display than to play, though the music is good too.

This is a great deal Allen's offering; if you don't have this set, you need it.

I grew up in Brooklyn. Not the "cool, hip" parts of the Brooklyn of today (Williamsburg, Dumbo) or what I used to call the "Manhattan annex" (Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope), but in East Flatbush and Midwood. In the mid-80's and all of the '90's, I lived in Washington Heights in Manhattan.

You were never mugged? I was. You never had your apartment broken into? Many, many people in my building and my parents' building did; the only reason I didn't is that I put bars on all my windows that could be accessed by the fire escape (it looked like a prison) and reinforcements on the inside of my apartment door, including a police lock. In 1977, the battery in my parents' car was stolen about once a month. And, of course, I lived through the blackout of 1977. I saw many, many small businesses looted. The chaos of NYC during that time cannot be overstated.

A good summary by the Journal: WSJ

I was there - a lifelong New Yorker by that point. I stand by what I wrote - Giuliani really turned the city around. Koch was a great starting point, but let's not forget the ground we lost under David Dinkins. You know times were bad when NYC - the bastion of the Democratic Party - elected a Republican.

He was a good mayor, started NYC's turnaround. The real turnaround had to wait for Rudy Giuliani. But Koch lifted people's spirits and gave them a "can-do" attitude; he was the necessary tonic after the disastrous Abe Beame. And he was a New Yawkuh through-and-through. His administration was also a great patron of the arts. I remember arts in city parks bloomed under him.

Just saw this on Amazon; release date February 19. Never heard of the label (Ato Records), and no mention of it on dead.net, but it could be legitimate. 3 discs, $19.76:

On most of these, the prices now on Amazon are crazy. Perhaps they didn't actually come out? They are real I got them all. Bought them new when they came out for about €13,- a piece You bought them new in the last week or so?