Jools Holland and Friends CD

Sound quality issues aside,try the first volume Small World Big Band.

I find the "freinds" on the first album to be far better then the ones on the second.

Chris

Thanks Chris - my local Tesco had that one at £4.99 last week - I will check it out today.

On a similar note I picked up copies of Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue and Cassandra Wilson's Travelling Miles for £4.99 a piece from HMV's sale last weekend. The Kenny Burrell one is a 1998 24 bit re-mastering and I think is well worth the money. Cassandra Wilson - enough has been said in the past but I'm happy to have this one in my collection, not least because Dave Holland is on some of the tracks.

Thanks Gizmogirl - youur 500/DBLs provides a lot more muscle than my 250/Mission 753s - maybe thats the answer? I used to have Buddy Holly on vinyl years ago - perhaps I look him up again also.

Jools Holland is currently on Radio 2 on Monday evenings from 9.00 - 10.00. I never thought I would succumb to R2 but there's a lot of good stuff on there in the evenings - have a look in the Radio Times schedules - another good one is Steve Harley's Sound of the 70's, mainly for his interesting ad-libs and anecdotes about the artists.

Incidentally Andy Kershaw is also worth a listen on Radio 3! - 10.15pm on Fridays - I especially liked his recent live recordings from Mali's "Festival in the Desert" where he introduced Robert Plant to Salif Keita for a jamming of "whole lotta love", apparently watched by Tuaregs sat on camels - some blokes get all the best jobs. Radio 3 quality is usually very good, particularly for live broadcasts although Andy's home-made Mali recordings are no acoustic gems but still make very rivetting listening.

Good listening

Willie B

I was playing JHSWBB vol.2 last night and thinking the recording and production quality was not of the best. I find it difficult to pin down the exact problem, but lack of bass and excessive brightness do seem to be major contributors. It also seems a bit 'muddy' to me.

I think its probably just a typical 'In-Car Stereo and It's Got to be in the Shops for Xmas Mix'. Interesting to note also it was recorded in many different sessions spread over the period 01/05/02 to 15/10/02 and a lot of engineers contributed, so perhaps it was a 'committee' or 'too many cooks' problem.

Its also far from being the worst I've heard though (that dubious honour would have to go to John Hiatt's 'The Tiki Bar Is Open'. That sounds like it was recorded in his bathroom on a compact cassette recorder.

David

"Opinions are like belly-buttons, everybody's got one"

quote:

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Originally posted by Willie B:
...or has the Jools recording been doctored, compressed or otherwise Bu--ered up?

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IMHO yes. I think this is a perfect example of some exellent work ruined by bad (use of) technology. Having, like you, seen him live I agree with your comparison.

Wicked Humber Hawk on the cover, though. Also, the printing on the CD itself is intriguing -- looks like it could be a "secret portrait". I've tried with rolled-up foil, but you might need a cylindrical mirror to see it.

Best;

Mark

The Buddy Holly tracks are great 4 track studio and 2 track "home" recordings. I've an original "Band on the Run" LP pretty crappy condition but it's original 4 track mix is a lot better than the 25th aniversary CD mix IMHO.

Roy KR what Buddy Holly CDs did you recomend to Gizmogirl?

Regards

Howard