patricia

You have that on vinyl? I am sooooooo jealous. I'll be completely green with envy if you tell me it's a mono copy. Much as I would love to make you jealous, Big Al, it's the stereo issue [they call it visual sound Stereo] on the Dolton label. It has a nice picture of three guitars and a pair of drumsticks on a Christmas wreath on the cover. But, it's early stereo by the Ventures which always seemed to me be a conscious effort by this group, particularly in their surfing albums, to always have the jumping across the room feature. But, that aside, it's a favourite. On some old record players (and even some hifis, I think) you could (or had to) press a button to turn the amp on to stereo or mono. Pity, when you get records like that, that you can't do it on modern ones. Same for the electronically rechannelled stuff. MG MG do you know if anything bad actually happened if you played a mono record on the stereo setting? There seemed to be actual fear of playing the wrong kind of record on the wrong setting at the time. Then, it seems to me that there were some records in the transitional period that assured us that they could be played on a stereo system without damaging it, which re enforced the fear that it was possible to damage your brand new system by playing your old monos on it. I remember a certain sense of relief on reading the serious note to that effect on the label.

You have that on vinyl? I am sooooooo jealous. I'll be completely green with envy if you tell me it's a mono copy. Much as I would love to make you jealous, Big Al, it's the stereo issue [they call it visual sound Stereo] on the Dolton label. It has a nice picture of three guitars and a pair of drumsticks on a Christmas wreath on the cover. But, it's early stereo by the Ventures which always seemed to me be a conscious effort by this group, particularly in their surfing albums, to always have the jumping across the room feature. But, that aside, it's a favourite.

On Vinyl: A Very Special Christmas - Hagood Hardy The Ventures' Christmas Album Wishing You A Merry Christmas - A classical album compilation featuring the Morman Tabernacle Choir, The Philidelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. To Wish You A Merry Christmas - Harry Belafonte Merry Christmas - The Mills Brothers

Christmas Cookin' - Jimmy Smith Christmas Piano - Bryan Tey Verve Presents the very best of Christmas Jazz - Ella Fitzgerald, Kenny Burrell, Billy Eckstine, Ramsey Lewis, Joe Williams, John Coltrane, Mel Torme, Louis Armstrong, Shirley Horn, Bill Evans, Count Basie, Jimmy Smith, Dinah Washington and Oscar Peterson. [i brought this to work and everybody loves it.] In The Christmas Mood - Glenn Miller Orchestra

The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole - This played in my house when I was growing up. Still love it.

A collection of jazz, in order to be described as essential, at least to me, would include good examples of the genre from it's inception at the turn of the last century to the present day. If it doesn't it's probably not better than the collections most of us here have now. Jazz certainly didn't start in the 1950s, although a lot of it was recorded during that decade. Most of the rare recordings come from way before that and in order to present a full view of jazz's evolution, a collection worth paying big bucks for would have examples of the entire history of jazz. So, pass.

Bill Doggett - Soft Jimmy Smith - The Boss

The Best Of The Stan Freberg Shows [Capitol label] - 2 record set Billy May did the music. Talk about nostalgia!! I remember these bits from when I was a little kid. My favourites? The Abominable Snowman and the bit called Literary Giants Of Our Time [about a little man who writes the words of wisdom contained in fortune cookies] and Grey Flannel Hatful Of Teen-Age Werewolves. ["...when the sun came up, I could not control this grey flannel thing that came over me."] And, of course, Herman Horne On Hi-Fi and Son Of Herman Horne On Hi-Fi. These comedy bits were before there was stereo, much less audio-tapes and certainly not CDs or music videos. It was all script, sound effects and musical accompanyment, live and they all were, may I say, brilliant!!!

I suspect that unless the complaint is something approaching legally prosecutable fraud you'd be better off to solve your dispute with the seller if you can first. Although it's noble to attempt to protect the rest of us vinyl hunters from bad buys, do you have enough actual evidence to defend yourself legally, should the seller choose to hit you with a lawsuit? It's always chancy to buy anything, particularly records, without seeing, examining and even playing them first. So, we are all taking a chance by buying records on-line. Would you describe a record as scratched, dented and virtually unplayable, if there was a chance you could unload it for money? That's the difference between somebody, like I assume we are, and someone who sees a chance to make a profit on old records rather than just trekking them down to GoodWill. Caveat Emptor has never been more apropos than it is when shopping online. The only thing you can do is make sure that the seller offers a refund and paid S&H if you aren't satisfied with your purchase. If they do, then there isn't a problem, even if the record turns out to be absolute trash.

Last time I went to my favourite vinyl emporium there were eight copies of Born In The U.S.A. on the shelf. I thought at the time that most people bought it for the title track and then discarded it, having little or no interest in the rest of the album. The one thing that I miss about vinyl is the '45. When you bought a '45, you weren't stuck with a whole album if you only wanted one song which was popular at the time. Sometimes even the "B" side was never listened to. I actually think that a more clear picture of what was being listened to, particularly during the fifties and early sixties could be seen if '45s were better looked after, which, unfortunately they weren't. They cost 99 cents, versus around five dollars, so weren't treated as gently. Too bad. You can find '45s in good condition. But, not that often in my experience.

I suspect that for the albums mentioned in this thread, the owners got tired of them and got rid of them. But my hunch for both USA and Aja is that their owners upgraded to CD and then disposed of the LPs. We shouldn't forget that most people consider CDs to sound better than LPs. Yeah, I think it has less to do with people wanting to rid themselves of the music, and more to do with the fact that they just don't own a turntable anymore. They got rid of the records because they don't listen to them. "Aja" is one of the best Steely Dan albums (probably THE best late period album). I can't imagine someone not liking it. Now one album I see ALL THE TIME in used bins (on CD) is Joe Henderson's "Lush Life." For the life of me, I can't imagine WHY anyone would get rid of that album. I think that a lot of people bought it because it won a Grammy, and it was the only jazz album they owned. They got rid of it because they never listened to it... Although that's a good point about people replacing their LPs with CDs of the same library, I also think that they took the opportunity to just junk their crappy stuff too. The good stuff, old jazz albums in good shape fly out of my vinyl sources, while Neil Diamond, Zamfir, Lawrence Welk and other similar artists are always there. I also think that there are many people, like me, who thought that CDs would be more durable and easier to store, not to mention that replacement parts for our turntables would become difficult to find. Turns out that that isn't really true, although for a while it was a real concern as LPs disappeared from music stores. During that period, I did in fact cull my record collection in favour of CDs, to my regret. It took about seven years to re-build my record collection, which is now about 3,000 titles. I, of course, do have hundreds of CDs, as well as audiotapes. But, my vinyl is the jewel in my mucical crown. To me, there IS a difference in the sound of a record in good condition and a CD, or an audiotape.

But, wouldn't the plentiful supply of certain albums in used record bins be more of an indication of the titles being culled from collections, rather than their popularity? If the albums were loved by their owners, they would not be in the bins it seems to me.

Alan I'm amazed at how rich the sound is on this album. There are NO scratches on either side. The nuances are all there. The front of the cover is fine, only because whoever had this used clear tape over the entire front, with the electricians' tape firming up the edges. Thank goodness the booklet was there. That's where the tracklist was. Funny, kind of embarrassing thing. I had this record for several months before I noticed that the booklet was tucked into the cover.

Jazz In Transition - Transition label Donald Byrd Art Blakey --------------Paul Chambers Horace Silver-----------Philly Joe Jones Doug Watkins-----------John Coltrane Joe Gordon--------------Pepper Adams Dave Coleman----------Curtis Fuller Dick Wetmore-----------Jay Migliori Herb Pomeroy-----------Tommy Ball Sun Ra-------------------Cecil Taylor A couple of hisses at the beginning of Side A. Otherwise the sound is perfect. The cover is totally ratched, held together by electricians' tape. The back of the cover is gone down to the rough paper, so there is no tracklist. But the booklet [complete with a coffee-cup ring] was included. It contains terrific photographs of the artists involved, as well as writeups on all the tracks. I love this.

Fifty cents! That's even less than I paid for Baba Maal's "Nomad soul". I was rooting around the back of a record shop in Senegal and the proprietor came back brandishing this album. "You must buy this! It was specially made for white people!" "Oh no, I don't want anything like that," I said. He kept insisting; I kept insisting. He kept lowering the price and eventually I bought it for about 30p. It's fuckin' awful! MG Always keep in mind my late mother's philosophy for bargain-finding. She said that if you want something enough, any amount is the right price. If you don't place any personal value on something, if you pay anything at all for it, it's too much. The Bugsy Malone album is actually quite charming and, if you saw the film and enjoyed it, brings it back to you. I have tons of records that are a pleasure to listen to, for various reasons. But this one has sentimental value. But, you're right, even something you get for practically nothing, if you don't want it, wastes your storage space and you should get rid of it at the first opportunity.

Does anyone remember the film which Robert Stigwood did, I think, as a follow-up to his huge success with Saturday Night Fever? It was Bugsy Malone, a gangster flick, with an all-child cast. The machine guns shot whipped cream. The only two I recognized were a very young Scott Baio and an equally young Jodie Foster. But, the entire cast was amazingly good. Well, I was routing around at a second-hand store and found the soundtrack. It was by Paul Williams and the film was directed by Alan Parker, who went on to do "Angel Heart, another out-of-the-mainstream project, which is one of my favourites. In any case, all the music and lyrics for Bugsy Malone were original compositions and were based on the typical music of the period in which the film was set. The liner notes were written by Alan Parker and were an explanation of just why he would take on such an unusual project. This is a really interesting album. Not quite authentic jazz-age music, but it does have the right feeling. Many of the scenes are set in a speakeasy called Fat Sam's Grand Slam. My oldest daughter, who is now twenty-seven, loved this as film as a kid, as did her younger sister. They still remember much of the music. Fifty cents well-invested.

Watching the game now. The score is 16 - 3 for B.C. at the end of the first half. And I was worried about your stipulation that the CD won't be sent out of the U.S. Montreal better get their ducks in a row if they are going to avoid embarrassing themselves. A win is one thing. A drubbing is quite another, especially in a Grey Cup game.

Lions win. 29 - 27. Total points, 56.

...Or ministers, or coaches, or counselors, or nice guy who loves kids whom you trust... Move away from the stereotype. The hell of it is the breach of trust. They could be anyone who has any interaction with kids, even an uncle, father or grandfather. That's why it's such a heinous crime. They walk among us and look just like anyone else. Religion has nothing to do with it.

How is this boxed set in terms of both selection and sound quality? A local store has this one, and several others priced at $8. All in great shape. They also have Ben Webster. I can't think of the others right now... Don't think I've got any Pee Wee...would this be a good introduction? Edit: I remembered and just found the thread about these boxed sets. Seems they're worth the bucks. Not that $8 is that much. I scanned through the booklets and they seem to be cross-licensed. You have no Pee Wee??? I have tons and never tire of them. I don't have the Jazz Giants box, but I know where I can get it. This weekend, if I can make it downtown. I am amazed at how many boxed collections were released in the late fifties, early sixties by mail-order. And, they were relatively inexpensive. But, the best part is that when I find them now, many of them are as close to mint as I've seen any records. It seems as if people bought them because they were seduced by the great prices, but once they had them, didn't play them, or played them very seldom. Sometimes one of the records has been played, judging by the slightly more wear on the paper sleeve. So, I guess that some people bought the sets for just part of the track list. Jazz Giants are a relatively low-cost, good introduction to the featured artist, if you're not familiar with their work, I think, before committing yourself to individual records.

Jimmy Smith - "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?" Interesting cover photo. [Verve label]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. I remember my mother being totally put off by that question, which seems standard still, "How do you feel about ... ?" I still remember her saying to no-one in particular that if the mother being asked that question were her, she would punch the reporter in the face. It was funny at the time, considering Mother was 4'10" tall and didn't weigh more than 85 pounds, never raised her voice and was totally non-violent. Then she said that it was even more disgusting when the cameras would zoom in, hoping to get a shot of grief and even better, real tears. TV has been tabloid for years now. They show you, because that's what they're best at doing.

I'm late so I guess the cake's gone. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAREN!!! and thanks again.

The History Of An Artist - Oscar Peterson - 2 record soft-gate-cover set on the Pablo label. Oscar is magnificent, and the pants he's wearing for the cover photo are a ground breaking fashion statement. They look like the flannel pjama pants my daughter and her friends wear now. Oscar was way ahead of them in 1974.

Memorial Album - Lee Morgan - Blue Note label.