jazzbo

Hey, you'll dig it . . .I can tell! If not, that's cool too. I just think they are all of a consistently good level, and not so different that I can dislike one a lot more than others. It's cool how we all hear things differently and have different tastes and standards and reactions. I find it all so fascinating and enjoyable to discover! For me, Alligator is one of the really good ones; it's got some of the baddest drumming there is on a Blue Note souljazz date as far as I am conerned! Leo / Idris is killin'!

I just totally ignore the stars in AMG. I use that site for discographic information. . . most of the time it's helpful along those lines (though they are not to be considered a thorough source of information, and do have some strange entries!) My honest appraisal of Lou's souljazz work is that it is some of the best of the type on the label! Even sessions not yet on cd such as Say It Loud and Cosmos I enjoy a lot! Then again, if you traded away Alligator Boogie. . . still you've kept Mr. ShingaLing. . . I'm confused!

Sure looks like the History box! I've heard not great things about the sound on that box. But the price is incredible!

Tony, yes, the material we had of the Gales were cdrs from tapes of lps. . . not the best sound possible! These Water reissues sound fantastic. I think they are more successful because they have such a variety of percussion and voices, and the musicians (singers included) are usig a broader palette of styles to choose from. I really like Natural Essence for succeding using a tighter weave from fewer thread colors. . . . And I really respond to Washington's playing, in every instance that I have heard it, but here on his prestigious label leader date it's front and center and satisfying. Anyway, I'm betting you'll really like the Water reissues.

Thanks Chuck. Roques eh? Interesting. I may try to find out more from this label ABOUT this label, though not getting an email response back from their website is not encouraging!

Well Chuck. . . what was the end result if you don't mind my asking!

I think you would dig them Late! Pimpin' my review of Eddie Gales

Water Records web pages

I can't speak for their rock and "folk" reissues. . . but Water Records' jazz reissues are da bomb! I've picked up all their jazz releases (well, if you want to stretch the definition that includes Ayler, Gale, Lancaster and Sharrock!) I love them all. Not just the music, but the remastering is FANTASTIC---in my opinion better than the remastering done by most of the majors. The cover reproductions are beautiful, and the original liners are reproduced in readable form. The whole package speakes of "love" for the music, not of "product." I'm won over to this label, wholeheartedly. I did a review of the Eddie Gales for AAJ to try to get the word out about these, which I think are great Blue Note releases. . .not reissued by Blue Note, so maybe a bit under the radar. The Ayler I picked up last, and was shocked at how wonderful the sound is and how much I enjoy the music now, when in the past it was not among my favorite Aylers. And the Byard Lancaster is BEAUTIFUL. Wonderful sound both from the musicians and the recording. The Sonny and Linda Sharrock cd, "Paradise," is very interesting. It grows on me more and more. A fusiony band that grooves along, and Sonny and Linda work their unusual magic over the top. . . . I don't think I would have grabbed this cd so quickly if I hadn't learned to value Water releases highly. A real testament to this label, to get you to buy a release because their name is on it. . . sound familiar? Anyway, I welcome others' comments about this label, and I invite y'all to give them a chance. I'm looking forward to what they may release NEXT!

It would be nice to see this album come out as an RVG or perhaps a Conn. I really like the blend here of the mainstream and the beyond the mainstream. On this and the other lps of his that I have heard Tyrone tries this type of mix with a success for ME. Not for everyone, sure, but it works for me very much. If it were more available (maybe through Water, which has done a great job reissuing the Eddie Gale Blue Notes, and the Byard Lancaster Vortex, and I hope more to come) I could enjoy seeing if this mix worked for some of these other fellow travelers as well. (The Eddie Gales were a similar attempt at a mix, which I also find works well for me). That time and beyond, when rock artists were filling stadiums and Elvis was king of Las Vegas . . . how bleak it must have seen for anyone seriously considering jazz as the focus for their art and a part of their identity. Pressures certianly damped the possibilities that a Dialog or Judgment would appear. . . . Jazz players and producers must have really felt at sea, and not liking the options they saw ("Look of Love" or "Super Blue" anyone?) The times they were a-changing, and things changed. . . .

Verve is sitting on some very very good George Lewis. . . the dogs!

The New Orleans and the Chicago series that Chris produced are excellent and well worth seeking out. The New Orleans Jazz Sessions Mosaic set is overall an excellent set. Different than those on Riverside, it's hard to explain it really, it seems to me to be honest and serious music that fans for New Orleans style jazz would surely love.

Tony, the remastering is decent enough. . . I think having all this material under one roof is a blessing. . .I think you'll enjoy it.

Conn, I get the opposite from Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. I can skip the title tune, but I can replay the album over and over and just revel in the sheer energy and the flow of ideas from Cannon.

I'm just very happy that Tyrone Washington strove to play a lot more like Tyrone Washington than Joe Henderson. Which may have been Chuck's point!

Many more happy returns!

Fired one back at ya. Keystone 3 is the one that I don't have. 100 bucks! I'm not that hungry for it!

Well, I guess the title track may be the one I play least often! I just think that this one is brimming with ideas from Cannon. Makes so many other albums sound stale.

Brad, cool avatar! I found that image on the web about six months ago and used on a cdr cover (from videotaped performances.) Really nice (odd, but in a way fitting) painting!

I'm with SHR on this one, exactly: the first three discs suck soundwise!

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy by Cannonball Adderley, on Capitol. This one SMOKES so many others and BURNS like a welding torch.

B)

AAJ mentioned above is the bulletin board on the All About Jazz site: http://forums.allaboutjazz.com/index.php?s= May find an answer there (I'm not revealing whether I would lay any money down on the odds!)

Fantastic two cd set. Great price too!

I'm exactly with you, I like the vocals. . . the bagpipes I wish weren't there. I'm just not a fan of bagpipes PERIOD!