Blue Note never-ever titles

[JSngry]

I think it's an in-between-er. And the arrangements are rudimentary in the extreme. Totally uninspired.

[Dan Gould]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

The backings are the work of Monk Higgins.

 

I don't love the backings but I don't hate them. They support and set off Gene's piano which is given lots of room to do his thing. The title track is fine by me - and I recall they set off the supposed transitions inherent in the concept of the tune. The shorter tracks don't work as well as the long one, IMO, just because they feel a little time-bound and trying for airplay.

Mileage.

 

[danasgoodstuff]

I concur with JSngry on Monk Higgins, although I do own some version of Stanley T's Flipped/Flipped Out.  I dislike the Mizell brothers even more - slicker not better to me.  I'd buy All That's Good in a flash, I've come to dig all those weird wordless vocals BNs - Byrd's 2, Andrew Hill's too. I'd buy F Roach's unissued BN just to hear him do King of the Road. Freedom might not be KB's best work for BN, but I'd buy that too.  I think there's some interesting repackaging that could be done with BN 78rpm and 10" material.  I may not be absolutely a completist on vintage BN, but darn close.

[felser]

Three more apparently never issued on CD:

Joe Williams - Worth Waiting For

Jimmy McGriff - Something to Listen To

Jack McDuff - To Seek A New Home

All of those are Liberty era releases, I'm shocked that the Japanese never got the McGriff and McDuff reissued.

[JSngry]

The Joe Williams was done with Horace Ott at the helm, so it's "that kind of thing". But Joe himself is excellent all the way, at times majestic.

Of its time, as they say.

[Son Of Ice Bag]

On 5/28/2025 at 5:20 AM, bertrand said:

I posted this elsewhere:

Many years ago, I would call Blue Note asking about certain titles and if they would ever come out on CD. One was Wayne Shorter's Etcetera. The person said they had a list of titles that would NEVER come out on CD (Etcetera was not on it). That was mysterious to say the least. What was on the list? Maybe a bunch of titles from the George Butler era?

Are there any Blue Notes that have never been on CD in any country? I am sure there are some. I am referring to titles that did exist on LP, not unissued dates.

Of course, there are more Blue Notes out there that have never been on CD.

I'm thinking of Lee Morgans "Popi", recorded in 1969 - Blue Note 45-1951.

Never seen this track on CD.

 

[bertrand]

That is an obscure one. Does Lee even play on it? I vaguely recall that he does not.

[Dan Gould]

3 hours ago, Son Of Ice Bag said:

Of course, there are more Blue Notes out there that have never been on CD.

I'm thinking of Lee Morgans "Popi", recorded in 1969 - Blue Note 45-1951.

Never seen this track on CD.

 

I have this courtesy of former board denizen Stereo Jack.

Anyone who wishes to hear it can DM their email and I will send an MP3.  (the A side was Midnight Cowboy, I guess that did come out on a comp?)

[bertrand]

6 hours ago, Dan Gould said:

I have this courtesy of former board denizen Stereo Jack.

Anyone who wishes to hear it can DM their email and I will send an MP3.  (the A side was Midnight Cowboy, I guess that did come out on a comp?)

I think it was called Blue Note at the Movies.

Edited 12 hours ago by bertrand

[felser]

1 hour ago, bertrand said:

I think it was called Blue Note at the Movies.

'Blue Movies: Scoring for the Studios'.  I had to look it up, never heard of it before!

9 hours ago, bertrand said:

That is an obscure one. Does Lee even play on it? I vaguely recall that he does not.

Doesn't sound like he does.  Unless it's Lee Morgan & His Tijuana Brass.   Surely a bunch of UA studio artists.  He does play well on the A-side, "Midnight Cowboy", which has some merit to it.

[JSngry]

I would even question his being on the A-Side. One can "straighten", one's tone only so much...

I mean, ok, maybe. But that must have hurt.

Remember, "Tami Terrell" wasn't always Tami Terrell...

[Daniel A]

16 minutes ago, JSngry said:

I would even question his being on the A-Side. One can "straighten", one's tone only so much...

I mean, ok, maybe. But that must have hurt.

FWIW, I think it actually sounds like Morgan between 2:21 and 2:28, but the rest is sort of anonymous.

[JSngry]

49 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

FWIW, I think it actually sounds like Morgan between 2:21 and 2:28, but the rest is sort of anonymous.

I concord.

[felser]

2 hours ago, JSngry said:

Remember, "Tami Terrell" wasn't always Tami Terrell...

Not aware of this, tell us more (about Terrell/not Terrell!  BTW, her sister-in-law Jean Terrell was my favorite Supremes lead singer.

[JSngry]

43 minutes ago, felser said:

Not aware of this, tell us more (about Terrell/not Terrell!  BTW, her sister-in-law Jean Terrell was my favorite Supremes lead singer.

After Tammi got really sick, a lot of people claimed that Motown used Valerie Simpson to complete (in whole or in part) some product that was released as being by Tammi.

It's a contentious subject, and Valerie denies it (but in such a way that allows for it being a wee bit true).

Google will point you to a lot of fan forums, where the discussion is mostly emo type fancrap  For me, the most likely scenario is that Valerie did guide vocals on some tracks, Tammi came back when she could and did what she could. What she couldn't do, Motown used Valerie to finish the job.

For me, that's a reality-based speculative conclusion, and AFAIC no harm no foul, considering the circumstances.

[danasgoodstuff]

FWIW, I kind of enjoy this Turrentine 45rpm single, it might be the only tune he and Jeff Beck both recorded

Edited 6 hours ago by danasgoodstuff

[bertrand]

Rufus Harley also recorded it.

[JSngry]

 

[bertrand]

For some reason, I always want to sing 'blue, blue, my love is blue, my dispositions's dependent on you' just as Billie Holiday would.