Buying a CD on the strength of one number ...

[neveronfriday]

Have you ever bought a recording by someone who you'd never heard of before on the strength or appeal of one number alone (not because someone recommended it)? And what were the results?

Example: The other day I was listening to an Internet jazz radio station and a tune came on: Summertime. Because it was one of those stations that reruns a certain selection of tunes all day long, I heard that number several times and it just grew on me.

The same evening I looked up the CD and bought it:

Herb Pomeroy & Donna Byrne. Walking on Air. Arbors Records, 1997.

Musicians: Herb Pomeroy (trumpet and flugelhorn), Donna Byrne (Vocals on 7 of 12 songs), Dave McKenna (piano), Gray Sargent (guitar), Marshall Wood (bass) and Jim Gwin (drums).

In have to admit that besides Dave McKenna I had no idea about the other players.

Today I got the CD, I love the version of <i>Summertime</i> on it and there are other good/very good tunes as well, but I still haven't made up my mind. I know it's nothing I would have picked up like that, ever, but now that I have it (it was also a cheap purchase) I'm quite happy with it. Pomery is quite a good player.

So, how about your experiences? Maybe also with musicians mostly unknown to you? Hits? Misses?

Edited December 8, 2004 by deus62

[David Ayers]

The way that jazz recordings are set up is to mix and match artists who sell in order to obtain a crossover effect of sales. If you tried, you would probably find that every musician in your collection could be linked to every other by virtue of a chain of who recorded with who.

That means to buy on spec is rare and only my earliest purchases were (occasionally) that under-informed! Actually I sampled an Andrea Bocelli CD before I knew who he was and quite liked it. Little did I know how monotonous he would turn out to be. I regretted that purchase!

The one track sampling thing seems to have been a staple of the BN post-Sidewinder ethos and of the jazz-rock era. Jazz rock (or -pop) albums were often found to have one vocal track designed for airplay, combined with other instrumentals of doubtful interest to the general punter (e.g. Breezin').

So personally I don't go much by the odd track. I would have to be absolutely rivetted...

In the old days I bought things just for the cover or obscurity value - oddly enough, that worked very well...

Edited December 8, 2004 by David Ayers

[sheldonm]

Have you ever bought a recording by someone who you'd never heard of before on the strength or appeal of one number alone (not because someone recommended it)? And what were the results?

....many times, with great results for the most part! Maybe I'm just easy !

[Jazzmoose]

Have you ever bought a recording by someone who you'd never heard of before on the strength or appeal of one number alone (not because someone recommended it)? And what were the results?

....many times, with great results for the most part! Maybe I'm just easy !

Same here; I have quite a few CDs that were purchased after hearing a track on KCSM. With jazz, the method seems to work quite well. With other genres, not so well...

[neveronfriday]

Does anyone have any examples?

[David Ayers]

Does anyone have any examples?

No. We prefer to generalize.

[John L]

....many times, with great results for the most part! Maybe I'm just easy !

In jazz, the results are usually great. The vibe of one piece is typically present at the whole session.

But I tend to do this purchase bit on the basis of one track more often for pop music. Now that is a mine field. Now that I have an iPod, I have started selling back all of my one-track wonder discs.

[neveronfriday]

....many times, with great results for the most part!  Maybe I'm just easy !

In jazz, the results are usually great. The vibe of one piece is typically present at the whole session.

But I tend to do this purchase bit on the basis of one track more often for pop music. Now that is a mine field. Now that I have an iPod, I have started selling back all of my one-track wonder discs.

I bought a Journey CD once because of one drum hit (Lovin', Touchin' Squeezin').

A mine field, indeed!

The rest sucked.

Cheers!

Edited December 8, 2004 by deus62

[Big Al]

Does anyone have any examples?

I heard “Go, Red, Go” on KNTU and had the whole Keep That Groove Goin’ CD ordered by lunchtime. The rest of the album lived up to its title!

That said, these days, it’s getting easier to go from that “one clip” directly to Amazon or some other place that has sound clips, so you’re not really taking too big a chance on music purchases anymore.

[Jeffro]

I don't do this too often, but I bought the Mr. Scruff Keep It Unreal CD because it had the song Get a Move On (the one we hear all too often in the Lincoln Navigator commercials).

Edited December 8, 2004 by Jeffro

[A Lark Ascending]

I bought 'Kind of Blue' on the strength of hearing 'Blue in Green' on Jazz Record Requests one afternoon in Jan or Feb of 1978.

I suspect I normally buy recordings based on hearing only one track - there's so little opportunity to hear anything more, given the limited broadcasting of jazz.

Why, I buy many recordings without hearing any tracks. A review, an interesting line-up, a recommendation on a bulletin board...

If I only bought what I was certain of liking then I'd be far richer and have more wall-space. But I can't imagine I'd get anything like the pleasure from music that I get from roaming free and wide, being able to constantly stumble on something quite unexpected.

[scottb]

Back in 1980 I bought an 8 track of Lipps Inc. based on the strength of Funkytown. Overall, I guess I was disappointed.

[neveronfriday]

Back in 1980 I bought an 8 track of Lipps Inc. based on the strength of Funkytown. Overall, I guess I was disappointed.

I waited and bought a disco compilation.

[scottb]

I remember my sisters were pissed that I wasted my choice on that instead of a compilation.