T.D.

I bought that same Harper album in my preorder. It's a really good one! Due to the ongoing demise of the CD medium, most of my CD purchases are now Japanese imports. Pricey, but I'm buying fewer.

I haven't totally gotten into Bley yet, which is surprising. As Peter said, I do perceive a "coldness" in some recordings (Solo in Mondsee (ECM) and 12 (+6) In A Row (Hatology) come to mind), so I haven't collected that many. Ramblin' is my favorite so far.

Thanks, John. Enjoyed your BFT as always: some shared tastes plus interesting less familiar directions. I like Brian Auger. I bought a couple of his Soul Bank Productions (which seems to be his enterprise) box sets. I gradually drifted away from rock in the '70s and '80s, but consistently enjoy his work from that period. He seems like an interesting and simpatico individual, based on interviews I've heard/read. Good to hear Callier, I couldn't ID the track but could have if I'd thought harder. I generally like witty lyricists, though he sometimes is a little *too* clever and arch. IIRC he (with Stepney) was in your last BFT. Well said on Murray and #2. As stated upthread, whiffed on the Santana album, even though I probably owned it once. Caravanserai is my favorite, though. Strangely drew a blank on Cowell despite owning the album. Considered him but rejected it as unlikely. 🤣The Hannibal track is even funnier: I'm a fan, had preordered that album from The Bastards. It arrived shortly before you posted the BFT, but I peeked at the thread (and saw the ID) before I'd had time for careful listening. Rest of the tracks were good, but I was in listening rather than guessing mode. Alicia Keys is the big surprise there.

This is excellent. This is weirder but I like it.

For some time, I haven't seen Harper included in Cookers gig announcements / promos. I didn't/don't know any details. Thought it could have been for health reasons rather than a "split". [All I know health-wise is that he had to be helped off a NY stage in 2021...there's an old forum thread.]

Indeed! 🤣 Honestly, I'd expect to find little but misinformation on Facebook. And reading Facebook comments is akin to masochism, I've no time for that.

Thanks. Reminds me in some ways of the tune (from her last recording?) you included in a recent BFT. I should get more familiar with the (both?) album(s).

Thanks. That is indeed interesting. Even though it's a pretty radical deconstruction of the tune. I'm going to listen to the whole album.

It might be good for the seller. 😁 I no longer have LPs or a turntable, and am completely out of touch with the ongoing vinyl boom. But it seems like buyers of the premium vinyl reissues prefer facsimiles of the original albums w/o bonus tracks. That's OK with me.

Isn't there a weird sonic artifact on that album? On one of the tunes (I forget which, haven't listened in a while), you can faintly hear a broadcast of a sports event. As if somebody (in the control room?) was listening to a ballgame on the radio and forgot to pay attention to the session. I'll have to pull that one off the shelf. Maybe the episode is on the CD's "bonus track", which would be more excusable.

I have more live Rahsaan '70s recordings than I need, but this one is primo. This is an excellent reissue.

I'd buy one of those "CD laser lens cleaner" discs. They only cost $10-15. If that doesn't help, then it's probably time to get a new one. Unless you want to take the top off and try to clean the lens yourself...worst case is you mess it up and have to replace it anyway. I saw some links estimating the effective life of a laser unit at 10,000 hours playing time. So if the player is more than 10 years old, there's a good chance the laser is dying.

If you google cd lens cleaner, you can find: Products (discs with brushes) that claim to clean the lens; Videos on how to clean the lens manually. I think the former work to some extent (on at least some players), have never tried the latter. I also think that laser units sometimes just die, which in the price range of players I use means "get a new one". I'm not sure about high-end models...maybe those lasers get replaced.