What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XI)

Listening to the new Steely Dan CD which arrived today, Ellis Auditorium, April 30th 1974 which is 14 tracks live from their first 3 'rockier' albums. SQ isn't bad, lightyears better then the 'Rotoscope Down' bootleg LP in the 1970s which is truly awful. A rare chance to hear them from this period. Great gig too.

Equally good is the recent double CD Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart which is an entire gig from 1975. Beefheart actually features very little (unlike Bongo Fury) and the SQ is rather raw but most of the mid-range is there. Unlike a lot of other recent FZ live output he is on fire on this one, some really stunning guitar play. Both releases seem 'European' and I bought mine from Amazon UK. 

bootleg:

Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons

Mt Tabor Theatre, Portland, Oregon

Friday, March 13, 2001  3 discs

Excellent album, dayjay.  Having borrowed a few, I'm just about to order the twelve extended play CDs that Nerina released monthly during 2014.

I've only heard the one album to be honest but I really enjoyed it last night and will be playing it again tonight.  I'd be grateful for any recommendations on other music she has released too MDS

Rush, Hemispheres,  24 bit flac streamed via Hugo.  A real classic album that is as 'Rush ' as it gets. You don't hear the majority of the songs on this in their live set anymore because the key is too high which is a real shame because its a wonderful album

Refreshing and elegant French keyboard pieces.

Duke Ellington at Cotton Club live broadcast in 1938.

Fascinating slice of history and this remastered LP doesn't sound that bad and surprisingly life like. ( released in '75 so this is not digitised 'yet'. )

This gig ends with a tune called 'Riding on a Blue Note'. 

Here's his lead singer Ivie Anderson and Duke.

Mono (1960 UK)

First spin, but requiring a dozen or more additional spins to form an opinion. My first impression is: take a cup of Schoenberg, add a spoonful of De Falla, mix in a few other avant-garde composers, and you might get an idea of how this sounds. I certainly appreciate these works for the craftsmanship that went in, and I think I might grow to like it  - but this hits the absolute limit of what I'd call music. Maybe it's a case of 'you had to be there' in the early 60s, when this music represented the frontier of intellectual/musical  rebellion  development.

EJ

Brilliant album. Try listening to The Lowest Pair whose first album is brilliant IMHO and also The Stray Birds. Think you might quite like them both.

The Lowest Pair have a new album coming out on 24th Feb.

John Mellencamp. The Lonesome Jubilee. On original CD from 1987. Brilliant SQ and dynamics on the nearly 30 year-old silver disc. Rivals the black stuff.

Staying with the Ellington theme for the duration, this is a Grammy winning Duke's famous The Crystal Ballroom Fargo Live.

Two amateurs recorded the event with a portable turntable which cut the the recording into a 16" maser disc. The master just sat in his basement for 38 years before it was released as a 2 record sets. A few years ago one of the guy who recorded this even passed away and here's a fascinating background story.

Jack Towners dies at 96.

Jack Towers later said, "When Dick and I recorded this Fargo performance, we did it just for the excitement and pleasure of it all. We had no idea that people all over the world would be listening to it 60 years later."

Here's the track listing:

Side 1

1. "The Mooche"
2. "Sepia Panorama (theme)"
3. "Ko-Ko"
4. "There Shall Be No Night"
5. "Pussy Willow"
6. "Chatterbox"
7. "Mood Indigo"

Side 2

1. "Harlem Air Shaft"
2. "The Ferryboat Serenade"
3. "Warm Valley"
4. "Stompy Jones"
5. "Bojangles"
6. "You Took Advantage of Me"
7. "Rumpus in Richmond"

Side 3

1. "The Flaming Sword"
2. "Never No Lament"
3. "Clarinet Lament"
4. "Slap Happy"
5. "Sepia Panorama"

Side 4

1. "Boy Meets Horn"
2. " 'Way Down Yonder in New Orleans"
3. "Oh, Babe! Maybe Someday"
4. "Five O'Clock Whistle"
5. "Rockin' in Rhythm"
6. "Sophisticated Lady"

Side 5

1. "Cotton Tail"
2. "Whispering Grass"
3. "Conga Brava"
4. "I Never Felt This Way Before"
5. "Across the Track Blues"

Side 6

1. "Honeysuckle Rose"
2. "Wham"
3. "Star Dust"
4. "Rose of the Rio Grande"
5. "St. Louis Blues"

Second play (as I'm typing). It's getting there.... Other two albums just ordered :-)

Great Aussie Rock, Ivor Davies what a voice

On vinyl 

   Some 1961 Brit Jazz from The Dick Morrissey Quartet.

Why? One of best recordings ever in terms of SQ and performance of the artists

Last day of my long holiday, starting with this....

FRANK ZAPPA  - YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE  Vol.2 -  2 c.d.

full concert from 1974 at Helsinki.

2nd run of this one, it's indeed a different version than all other version I have. Less dreamy but still with beautiful tone. Recommended listening when you can accept a bit of breathing of the player especially at the beginning of the album...

   Freshly cleaned this morning, sounding good

Leadbelly - The Leadbelly Box (1966 Mono)

Original vinyl