Bill Nelson

Along with his blindfold, perhaps Noj's handcuffs are too tight and his gag is keeping him quiet. (Who knew the rules of the game would be so strict?)

The first single I bought was 'Just Like Me'. Ya gotta love Paul Revere's greezy keyboard. Played that 45 until the grooves turned white. As a neo-garage punk band, the image of PR & The Raider's colonial outfits made them acceptable to Middle America and got them a TV variety show on ABC. Have to thank Terry Melcher and their handlers for that.

Florence Henderson Phlorescent Leech Cloris Leachman

Same here. I'm stumped and don't know where to go. Could this be an early symptom of Topic Thread Exhaustion ? How about 'Album Covers of Interesting Infections'.

On too many occasions I'll buy a ticket for a club performance directly from their sidewalk ticket window and pay with cash. After 30 minutes to park ($2) and walking to the window, the minion inside informs me "there'll be a $5 per ticket convenience charge". WTF? Hey, I'm the one being inconvenienced, not you, squirt!

For a former 'teen star' who hit it big for five or six years until drifting downward, Astrud looks fa-aab-ulous at 48. There are moments her pitch teeters ever so slightly but she never leaves the rails. Glad to see her 'on form'. .

For those of us who don't already own the movie, please give us a clue re: Jimmy's cameo one-line. Clue #1 - is it one syllable ("Damn!") or two (Shee-it!"). Clue #2 - is the effect of this 'word' enough to ensure Chet Kincaid goes to hell or, at least, can look forward to the trip?

By upgrading Burton's RCA albums with Japanese CDs, y'all will bypass the warp and wobble of RCA's Dynaflex pressings -- the thinnest vinyl of the 20th century. If the Dynagroove process of the mid-1960's wasn't bad enough, RCA's Dynaflex pressings easily surpassed it as the worst patent adopted by a major U.S. record company. The hardly-deep grooves produced a discernible low 'rumble' during quiet passages on all of Burton's RCA output.

The cub reporter has leaked some of the notes from his interview: "Putting my questions to Mr. Nessa was like addressing an elaborately wired security system. "The man is an enigma -- answering my queries with a parable or posing a riddle.

Call me jaded or world weary -- but this 800+ album prospect overwhelms me with inertia.

While I was Music Director at my college radio station (WRIU-FM) in the 70's, we received a flood of promo LPs from ABC/Impulse and Arista produced by Steve Backer*. Most of these albums were cutting-edge, free jazz that were all the more amazing coming from a major label. "Whoever this Backer guy is, he's got insight and chutzpah." I'd say 95% of them got added to our station's jazz library. By shipping to so many college stations, Steve Backer helped open-up the minds of an emerging generation. * with creds to Ed Michel for his fine jazz productions at ABC/Impulse

Yes, the 'Sunday, Monday,Always' on my Rhino U.S. 'Handmade' is in stereo thru 2:42 when the strings pause briefly... then there's a shift/splice to a mono track for the remaining 45 seconds. This song is so lame, the ending doesn't bother me (if it ever did).

As Dave so aptly put it just prior to his announcement: "You know, people always ask me, "Hey Dave, when you gonna call it quits?" And my usual reply goes, "When it stops being fun -- I'll keep doing it another ten years." Thanks Dave, for making us suffer nine 'un-fun' years of your boorish and rude self -- plus one more.

Erratum to my above post: the version of 'East Side, West Side' I said "appears on Side 2 of the 'Sound of Feeling'" is a different track, 'The Sidewalks of New York'. 'Sidewalks' should've been included on 'Jazzhattan Suite' (Verve V6-8731) but was instead added to fill the above 'Sound of Feeling', Verve V6-8743. Also of interest: Vinyl copies of 'Jazzhattan Suite' had a small, oval yellow sticker applied to the front jacket: "Music Conducted by Joe Newman", which makes one wonder who insisted.

Let me add Phil Moore's 'New York Sweet' (Mercury SR-60783) from 1962 to the above jazzy interpretations of Gotham. Back to TTK's query about Oliver Nelson's 'Jazzhattan Suite' -- yes, five of six tracks were included in Verve's 'Jazz Masters #48 'Oliver Nelson' CD: 'A Typical Day in New York', 'Penthouse Dawn', 'One For Duke', and 'Complex City'. ('East Side, West Side' gets a 6:28 version versus the 4:10 on vinyl.) It also appears on Side 2 of 'The Sound of Feeling' (Verve V6-8743) with a running time of 5:45, so pick your take.

Still, the premise of Gilligan's Island' continually strained audience's credulity and realism. Examples: If the S.S. Minnow was only on a three-hour tour, why would Ginger ("the movie star") bring along her extensive wardrobe and costumes? Are Mr. and Mrs. Howell so distrustful of banks that they bring loads of cash on a brief boat tour? As for The Professor, unless his PhD. arrived from a diploma mill, he should've been bright enough to devise some means of off-island communication. These are but a few of the 'Gilligan' inconsistencies which have been simmering on my back burner for nearly 50 years. On the advice of my life coach, "Get one first, then call me for an appointment."

Seriously following any recording artist is comparable to subscribing to a magazine -- you gotta get every issue when it comes out (and back issues, too). Pat Metheny provides a perfect example of my own realization of the consumption law of the diminishing marginal utility of each additional item acquired. And his product release schedule is way too prolific for me to keep up. The moment hit me in 2006, when I got 'Metheny-Mehldau' -- bringing my total to 22 Metheny CDs sitting in a row. I looked at the shelf and said, "Basta". Enough already. I've since thinned the herd by removing 'Rejoicing' and 'Beyond the Missouri Sky'. (Metheny and Haden are too polite and the playing is precious.) Until there's something brilliant and sensational, I'll stay with what I got.

Jimmy Lunceford: re-assessing the Decca Jazz GRP vs. the Decca Jazz Heritage series 'enhanced stereo' vinyl (1969): Since writing #8 above, I've A/B'd the Jimmy Lunceford tracks on both and consistently arrived at a surprising conclusion: If you can handle the slight reverb of its 'enhanced stereo', the Jazz Heritage vinyl provides more clarity, open air, and detail. The computerized NoNoise of the Decca GRP CD not only dampens the total sound but also muffles the instrumental solos and vocals. The result of this processing and re-equalizing depletes the ambient air so the Lunceford band sounds like it's in a closet full of clothing. While the seven bonus tracks on the CD are nice, the overall playback does not reward close listening.

And in the realm of physical media in this world as we know it -- "That's all folks!" For the bulk of these Decca GRP Jazz masters, they ain't happening again.

Yes, Decca's Legendary Masters of Jazz series of 59 titles (listed above) was released thru GRP from 1992-95 and was a quality CD reissue endeavor. The one most Organissimo's have in hand is Hal McKusick's 'Now's the Time' (GRD-851, issued 1995). On this and the three others I've got (Lunceford, McShann, McRae), Orrin Keepnews was the project coordinator and producer (probably for the entire series). Each CD booklet is thoroughly researched with historical perspective and discography with details of each track. The CD era of the early 90's was one of boundless destiny and most major labels green-lighted reissue projects from their holdings but few were this good. With the exception of McKusick, each of the 58 other titles was perhaps given a run of 2,500 copies. If 5,000, then I would've seen 'em appear in cut-out bins (Music For A Song) and discount merch catalogs (Daedalus). Maybe they were and I didn't get busy when they got dumped. Wish I had more but am happy with what I got.

Of course, of course. Or as my mother-in-law would say, "So, whose fault is that?"

Buff it. Puff it. Stuff it.

It officially becomes a 'hat trick' when a third label repeats this ruse. (Andorran pirates, start your engines.)

Old School: Carol Sloane and Sue Raney New School: Stacey Kent (with heavy Joanie Sommers influence)

"He (the assailant) lives less than a half-hour from my house and that concerns me." So when Brutus makes his bond and gets parole... he'll have lots of time to wait for the right moment to 'thank' Mr. Rescue.