BFrank

I have the Carmell and Patton Selects. Both are good. After listening to Carmell a lot when I first got it, I'm finding that I don't go back to it as often as I thought I would. If nothing else, it's a good companion piece to the Gerald Wilson Mosaic. Patton is Patton - if you like him, then this would be a "must-have". Next on my "buy" list would be Moncur, Weston or more probably Paul Chambers.

I guess the bottom line is that the V.V. Laserlight set is mislabeled and is basically the same as the live 1968 stuff on the Mosaic set (which I have). Good thing the CD only cost $3.95. Thanks for the follow-up.

Upright Bill, if this film comes to your town (and you DO live in Michigan - it should), you should definitely check it out. Here's a review from the local paper: 'MC5: A True Testimonial' Documentary. Directed by David C. Thomas. (Not rated. 119 minutes, Roxie Theater through March 18). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "MC5: A True Testimonial'' is the kind of "Behind the Music" rockumentary that VH1 would never show. It's not just that the '60s Detroit hard rockers fall outside the target demographic of the cable channel, but, more important, the young musicians dared raise the specter of rebellion in their rock 'n' roll. Famous for the rallying cry "Kick out the jams, mother -- ," with their open embrace of radical politics, MC5 brought down on themselves the full wrath of the forces of oppression. The band's manager, John Sinclair, founder of the White Panther Party, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the possession of two joints. The band's original record label dropped the group after the MC5 used the label's logo in an advertisement demanding that fans boycott Hudson's, the huge downtown Detroit department store. The film carefully documents the joyous rise and despairing fall of the five-man band, letting the surviving members, guitarist Wayne Kramer, drummer Dennis Thompson and bassist Mike Davis -- tell the story with help from the widows of vocalist Rob Tyner and guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, Sinclair and a handful of others. A surprising amount of vintage footage -- sources ranging from television appearances to home movies and even including some FBI surveillance film -- bring those heady days vividly back to life. Formed in 1965 by five teens, MC5 took the forefront of the rock scene that grew up around the Grande Ballroom. Instead of the blues-based peace-love- flowers approach of the San Francisco psychedelic bands, however, MC5 led a more aggressive assault that was echoed in the music of the other Detroit bands of the day -- Iggy and the Stooges, Alice Cooper, SRC, the Frost and even Grand Funk Railroad. By 1968, the members of MC5 had completed their transformation into fist- waving radicals, although they wore ruffles and lamé instead of denim work shirts and blue jeans. They lived together in a political commune and backed Sinclair's White Panther Party. "We were LSD-driven, total maniacs of the universe," said Sinclair. After MC5's original label booted the band, Bruce Springsteen's future producer Jon Landau, making his first record, supervised the arduous sessions that produced the band's second album. Finding their welcome wearing thin on this side of the Atlantic, the group started working extensively in Europe. At the end the band opened a European tour in Helsinki, Finland, with a guest drummer, a British bassist and only two remaining original members. Back in the States, the band tried one last performance at the Grande, but junk- sick and miserable, Kramer walked off the stage in the middle of the performance before a slim crowd. "I looked in the faces of the audience," he said, "and they all knew I was a fraud. ... That was the end of MC5." The film is a touching, detailed portrait of an important and often overlooked band. Filmmaker David C. Thomas has done a wonderful job of stitching his filmed interviews together with the extensive vintage footage he scrounged. -- Joel Selvin

... and, on an entirely different note: MC5 kicks out the jams, motherfuckers! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just got back from seeing a film about the MC5. Some of those guys had serious junk problems. It wasn't just limited to the jazz community.

I saw him at least a couple of times with Blakey. That was a very tight band that didn't get much recognition. The front line of Valery, David Schnitter and Bobby Watson was first-rate.

Geeeeeeeeeez....that reminds me. How could we forget THESE two???

I just picked up a Laserlight CD called "Village Vanguard Live Sessions" which might be the same as "The Second Race" album previously mentioned. It's got 7 tunes recorded Nov. 15-17, 1970. Don't Git Sassy (8:40/7:19) Little Pixie (10:35/10:30) The Second Race (14:45/9:36) Willow Tree (5:00/5:02 - alt. take 4:46) Ah' That's Freedom (9:23/7:00) Quietude (5:00/4:44) Bachafillen (8:50/7:15) I was about to say that this stuff was NOT in the Mosaic box, but now that I'm listening to it, this may be mis-labeled. Without A/B-ing it, this is possibly (probably?) the same as "Session E" of the Mosaic - recorded at the VV on 4/28/67. These tunes are all part of that session and the lineup of musicians is exactly the same. Hard to believe it's a coincidence. A little later ... Now I'm getting confused. The times that are listed are different on some of these tunes. I'll put them into the list above. The Mosaic times are in RED. And later, still ... "The Second Race" just finished playing and my CD player clocked it's time at around 10:26 - NOT 14:45.

Sorry, there was some sort of licensing issue and they pulled it from the catalog. I think there's a discussion about this here somewhere. Might be worth a search.

Just got "Blow Up" and "The Conversation". Both really good, understated films. Also, BU has a separate "music only"audio track - music by Herbie Hancock + one by the Yardbirds. (Amazon has a "bundle" price on the two of them, BTW)

Same number of cuts. I dumped my LP and picked up the CD last year.

This has been a really interesting adventure. Forget the rediculous "manned Mars initiative" by our 'appointed one', this is exciting and it is happening NOW! It's really great to go to their website - Mars Exploration Rover Mission - and look at all the latest news. Not to mention pictures......LOTS of them. If you dig into the site, you can find a page that gives you the opportunity to see every single picture downloaded from Mars. There are literally thousands of them.

Only half of this disc is ultra-cheesy. The other half is pretty decent. Give it a chance sometime. Oh, yeah. I'll get to it, for sure...............it's just kinda nice having something "on ice" for later on.

Hmmmm.........yeah.........I think that would work.

It's kind of amazing how consistenly BAD "Best Songs" tend to be. What's up with THAT??

... or Jimi for that matter!

The only thing I have that's unopened is disk #5 of the Gerald Wilson set (the one with the pop tunes that most people complain about). I'll get around to it eventually......when I'm in the mood.

All those tunes were pretty awful, I thought. Even though I really enjoyed Eugene Levy & Catherine O'Hara (as "Mitch & Mickey") doing their Mighty Wind tune, I don't think it is a great song. Otherwise, not much to say about the show tonight. Pretty boring this time around. Too much LOTR, if you ask me (not that any one did ... )

Sssssssssssshhhhhhh......don't tell anyone!

Yeah, I only liked the early stuff, myself - "Yes Album", "Fragile", etc ...

One of 'em better be that Bartz album!!