A Lark Ascending

I thought talking endlessly about the weather was a British affliction! The hot spell broke a bit today. Looks like its going to get more disturbed from now on:

That's what happens in pub discussions - even cyber-pub discussions. I actuallly think all of the six CD reissues are made stronger by the systematic attachment of contemporary singles, even if some are versions of the same song.

HEATHEN!!!!! Yup!

Have a look here for a Gordon Beck website with a ggod discography: http://www.enter.net/~rainsong/gordonbeck.html There was a thread about last years reissues from the 60s a few months back but I can't seem to get any joy out of the search engine!

Funny, because I don't hear much 'edge' on the first CSN album. There's much more, to my ears, on 'Deja-Vu', a far less perfect record. I do understand what you mean by the edge lying inside Joni Mitchell's music even if it might seem to be quite smooth on the surface. I suppose 'edge' is something I like in music some of the time but it doesn't have to be there all the time. Cloying sweetness all of the time I too find pretty unpalatable. But I don't feel a lack of edge to necessarily mean that music is deficient. And I think a fair bit of 'edge' in rock music is cosmetic. What I look for is ambiguity, asymmetry. This is quite interesting as it may explain the often extreme differences of view on ECM recordings. To those raised on the jazz mainstream ECMs output is often lambasted for its lack of 'balls'. Yet I've always been a great supporter of ECM. Its recording may not have the energetic 'edge' of Mingus or Roland Kirk; but in a quiet way they move in an ambiguous, asymmetrical world that has the same impact of defying expectations.

I'm probably talking through my socks on The Who as the only two whole albums I've ever listened to are 'Who's Next' and 'Tommy'. I've tended to hear them in individual tracks.

danasgoodstuff, I'd still say it's down to the alignment of your antennae. I understand the energy rush people get (got?) from 'The Who'. But I always found them a bit black and white in musical terms. Now I accept that ws probably the point - the no frills, reduced down to the bone approach, focussing in on the buzz. They rarely stray far from the rock/blues model. (You'll not be surprised that I've never really cared for the Velvet Underground!), But there's another way of hearing music. For me it's always been nice key changes, rich timbres and harmonies, breadth of instrumentation that has appealed most. A sense of going somewhere else. Which is why 'The Byrds' appeal to me more. Yes, there are clinkers on their albums and after 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' I'm only really taken by a few tracks here and there. If anything there's too much ordinary rock from that point on. I'm not trying to say one is better than the other. I think they were just approaching music rather differently and will inevitably draw different supporters. Neil Young's an interesting point. He tried to do both! Sometimes on alternate albums, sometimes on the same album. In the end I'm happy that the 60s left us such a rich legacy of music that could encompass both approaches.

It's not been shown yet, Andy. This Wednesday!

I can see your point DrJ and you express perfectly why The Who appeal to you more than The Byrds. But I think that you are continuing a fallacy of rock music when you refer to them as 'tame'. The 'official' history of rock values the ragged and raucous in rock over the melodic and reflective. I've always felt that's little more than received opinion, probably encouraged by rock critics who idolise their (I suspect frequently mythical) wilder youth and find it hard to leave behind. There is another world of rock typified by The Byrds, Joni Mitchell, CSN&Y, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention etc that is equally valid. Now if it's that side that draws you most...and I fall into that category...then the deification of the 'bad boy' side of rock makes little sense. Of course many (most?) rock drew from both sides. I'd argue that they both have their value and preferences to either side will vary according to the listener. As a consequence a listener with a preference for one side is going to hear lasting value in that side; the other side will seem to have lost its lustre. [i tend to feel that the appeal of the rougher side of rock is not because it is more 'real'; more because it allows the largely law-abiding listening public to indulge in some frission that they wouldn't go near in real life.]

What sort of angles is he going to come up with to do with obsession? I'd imagine we'll get the Church of John Coltrane thing. Jazz fanaticism is ripe for a bit of fun-making just like train-spotting. Some listeners obsessions with their heroes can get well out of proportion. Let's just hope that he can say something interesting and positive rather than turning it into another reality TV show about peculiar people (The man with ten thousand Coltrane records instead of the man with ten thousand Elvis suits!). I'm not holding my breath, however!

And on BBC1 too! Imagine... Wed 16 Jun, 10:35 pm - 11:15 pm 40mins Saint John Coltrane On the 40th anniversary of John Coltrane's most famous record, A Love Supreme, Alan Yentob examines the life and work of the legendary jazz saxophonist, whose obsession with music is matched by an equally obsessive following all over the world. You can then flip to BBC4 at 11.15 for: Coltrane: Sounds of Jazz A rare chance to see this classic 1959 US TV Jazz performance featuring Miles Davis, the Gil Evans Orchestra and the legendary John Coltrane. All at the top of their game at this point in their careers, they perform So What, The Duke and Blues for Pablo. Wed 16 Jun, 23:15-23:40 25mins Stereo Widescreen

Which goes to show how much lies in perception. I can enjoy odd Who songs ('Won't Get Fooled Again' is great) but as a whole they do little for me. The Who sound very much of 'Swinging London'. Whereas those Byrds harmonies still sound fresh to me. I think it's accurate to see those Byrds records as collections of individual tracks rather than coherent 'albums'. But The Byrds were at their peak before the idea of the album had really caught on. Those bitty albums were the norm in those days.

Even though I've been listening to jazz for over 25 years I've never been a serious listener. Jazz makes me happy! Too many other things to be serious about.

Hard to pinpoint. There were jazzy things happeing in rock that attracted my interest from about 1971. I bought my first Jarretts in 1975. But maybe 1976 should be the start where I consciously decided to investigate jazz more fully through Mike Westbrook, Stan Tracey, S.O.S. (Surman, Osborne, Skidmore), Ralph Towner and Miles Davis. Coltrane rolled in the following year, Ellington the year after. And then there was no going back.

John Surman (though I don't think he plays it much these days). Gianluigi Trovesi

My dad was in the RAF (he joined just as the war ended). I spent the first 21 years of my life either on RAF bases, near them or travelling to and from them during university vacations. I was raised on the whole Battle of Britain mythology. To this day the sight of a Lancaster or a Spitfire brings a lump to my throat.

Glorious, Tony. Where is that? Looks like the vale of York. It's certainly been a gorgeous day. Sadly a week late. I could have done with this weather in Wiltshire last week. Instead I've had a day of fractious overheated children in poorly ventilated classrooms!

I've never been to the Normandy sites, but have visited the First World War battlefields in Flanders many times. Every time the places get to me. Its also extraordinary going to these places with parties of schoolkids who are always taken aback by the scale of the suffering. I wish it was possible to get every schoolkid there once! Watching the various programmes yesterday made me want to visit Normany in the near future. One rather sad thing I heard today. We have local and European elections coming up on Thursday. A couple of 20-somethings were saying how they couldn't be bothered to fill in their slips (we're experimenting with postal voting in my region). Yesterday we have men running into the face of murderous machine gun fire to defend a democratic way of life. Today some can't even be bothered to tick a box and post a letter. As I said before, we have life very easy!

Marvellous 2 hour drama-documentary about the lead up to D-Day and the day itself just went out on BBC 1. Very moving and a fitting tribute. This is the sort of the thing that the Beeb can do so well. Popular TV at its best. As has been commented on throughout the day one of the most moving things has been the sheer humility of the veterans.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned here but these two marvellous mid-70s recordings on the great Ogun label have just been reissued on one disc in the UK. The Oguns are very slowly seeping back.

Very moving to watch the veterans commemorating the Normandy landings this morning. At a time when news of just one death in the current conflict chills you it is hard to imagine a time when casualties could happen in their thousands on a single day. The courage of those who fought is something way beyond my understanding. The resilence of the populations at home (wherever home was) when every day was likely to bring more grim news. Brings home to me just what an easy life I've lead.

HMV online has both Impressed II and the 5 reissues slated for 21st June. However, they've been listing Impressed II for some time and kept moving back the dates...I seem to recall April 1st being the initial date!!!!!! (clearly some wag in the offices!) The fact that there are half-page colour adverts in the press would suggest that this time its real. I'd imagine there'll be some sort of high profile campaign in the shops that sell jazz. I'm just hoping they keep it going long enough to get all those Garricks out. The history of UK jazz reissue series seems to parallel some of those magazine partworks that do so many issues and then give up for lack of interest. Let's hope Impressed has generated enough interest.

Aaahhhh!!!! Note "You could argue that jazz is all swing." I've no wish to box jazz into 'swing' but there are plenty of jazz fans who'll tell you that it don't mean a thing... My point was merely that 'Fusion', 'Swing', 'Bebop' etc are useful, general labels to denote a significant trend in jazz at a specific point in time.

The five initial 'Impressed Repressed' reissues are now being advertised in the UK magazines alongside Impressed 2: Mike Taylor Trio - Trio Michael Garrick - Troppo Amancio D'Silvia - Integration Neil Ardley, Ian Carr, Don Rendell - Greek Variations Mike Westbrook - Celebration. Please everyone go and buy one copy ove each. That way we're more likely to get the next five!!!!

I always found this 'foreign' release strange: