DMP Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 There were some pretty sad Impulse LP's near the end... Oliver Nelson playing "Flowers On the Wall," those albums with the "California Dreamers"... And Blue Mitchell had a bad run in there about that time. But who didn't? (I always wondered what Lee Morgan might have done if he'd lived a little longer - would he have gone the Donald Byrd route?) And I never cared for Charlie Parker with voices ... Quote
robviti Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 i admit the whole album isn't sommercial, but i think it deserves a mention for the title song alone. Quote
ghost of miles Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 I haven't heard this one, but imagine that it could be pretty bad: Guy I've heard it and yes, it should definitely be in the running. I should've mentioned it the other day, but evidently I'd repressed it from my memory... Quote
ghost of miles Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 I'm surprised not to see mention of Eddie Harris. ...not that I'm advancing his Hall of Shame nomination here....But, as I recall, he had albums entitled "I Need Some Money" and "Why I'm Talkin' Sh*t" and "Plug Me In" I don't recall offhand which had the lowest musical integrity. OTOH those album titles at least speak a certain honesty. Quote
catesta Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 I know Miles is considered by most a genius and all, but he also put out some real commercial shit in my opinion. Do these qualify? Quote
Hot Ptah Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 (edited) I know Miles is considered by most a genius and all, but he also put out some real commercial shit in my opinion. Do these qualify? I think that they contain genuine playing and some attempt at artistic merit. For example, Miles' solo on "Code MD" on "Decoy" is a decent jazz solo. The long blues near the end of "Decoy" is not a commercialized cut. "You're Under Arrest" is a mess, in my opinion, but one can discern some artistic vision behind the efforts, as muddled as the results of the vision turned out. An album like Freddie Hubbard's "Splash" is far worse than these Miles efforts. "Splash" is pure schlock--disco lite, annoying even as elevator music or dental office music, with no redeeming value. If there is an album where Miles veered into over-commercialization, I would cite "Amandla", which to me has an almost easy listening sound to it. Edited June 7, 2007 by Hot Ptah Quote
ghost of miles Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 Here's another--I came across this on vinyl in the station library a year or two back & posted about it--then actually listened to it, and yikes... Quote
Hot Ptah Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 John McLaughlin's "Inner Worlds" is another contender. It also brought this immortal question to the forefront of human consciousness: "Are you ready to be a planetary citizen?" This was sung by bassist Ralphe Armstrong on "Inner Worlds". About two years later, I saw Leon Thomas in a small club and Armstrong was his bassist. A member of the audience kept yelling to Armstrong to "sing 'Planetary Citizen'!" Armstrong kept shaking his head hard, looking distressed. Quote
Noj Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 I was shocked that Stanley Cowell threw his hat in this ring, too. I just heard this one, initial reaction was not positive. Quote
Guy Berger Posted June 7, 2007 Author Report Posted June 7, 2007 John McLaughlin's "Inner Worlds" is another contender. It also brought this immortal question to the forefront of human consciousness: "Are you ready to be a planetary citizen?" This was sung by bassist Ralphe Armstrong on "Inner Worlds". About two years later, I saw Leon Thomas in a small club and Armstrong was his bassist. A member of the audience kept yelling to Armstrong to "sing 'Planetary Citizen'!" Armstrong kept shaking his head hard, looking distressed. I have this album, and while I agree that most of it is pretty bad, there are a few good tracks. Guy Quote
Claude Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 (edited) Concerning Miles, "Doo bop" would qualify most, but as it was released posthumously, Miles isn't entirely responsible for the result. I think that "Decoy" and "Amandla" are good jazz albums. "You're under arrest" is much weaker. Edited June 7, 2007 by Claude Quote
catesta Posted June 7, 2007 Report Posted June 7, 2007 If there is an album where Miles veered into over-commercialization, I would cite "Amandla", which to me has an almost easy listening sound to it. I've never heard "amandla", but the easy listening/smooth jazz vibe is what I got from "You're Under Arrest". Maybe "decoy" is better, but I'm not that deep. Quote
Kreilly Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 Jackie McLean - Monuments. It's painful from start to finish. Quote
Big Al Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 Grant Green's THE MAIN ATTRACTION on Kudu/CTI. Anything but. The word that came to mind rhymed with Kudu, however..... Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 Here's another--I came across this on vinyl in the station library a year or two back & posted about it--then actually listened to it, and yikes... I love GG's playing on this. It's one of my favourite GGs. MG Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 Grant Green's THE MAIN ATTRACTION on Kudu/CTI. Anything but. The word that came to mind rhymed with Kudu, however..... That's pretty poor, but compared with a lot of other stuff... MG Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 There were some pretty sad Impulse LP's near the end... Oliver Nelson playing "Flowers On the Wall," those albums with the "California Dreamers"... And Blue Mitchell had a bad run in there about that time. But who didn't? (I always wondered what Lee Morgan might have done if he'd lived a little longer - would he have gone the Donald Byrd route?) And I never cared for Charlie Parker with voices ... Blue's "Summer soft" was a lot better than "African violet". "Summer soft" is a classic of the genre. MG Quote
king ubu Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 Jimmy Smith's "Stay Loose" is about as horrible as it gets when it comes to lame words and a basic "let's try and cash" in mentality. That said, the track is groovin'! Just the words are horrible...the refrain of "Freedom, Freak-out & Free for all" is about as mind-numbing as it sounds. Cool album cover! I think it's silly really. So silly that it's cool again, but still silly. The album or the cover? It's out as a digipack "LPR", right? I find lateef's two CTI efforts duff. But then again they were a lot better than other stuff from the same era. It's just that he had a long way to fall. I held the guy (and still do) in such esteem before that it exaggerated the the incline of the decline if you see what I mean. This one below I found unlistenable but not in a sell out way - it's not commercial in the sense that it makes your head hurt when you listen to it. I'm wondering if I win second prize in Teasing the Korean's contest ??? ... Got an earful of this in a store last week - I don't have the knowlege of it's surroundings so I can't really make a statement if it's better or worse, but I *love* Lateef and this came as quite a shock, I'm afraid... I know Miles is considered by most a genius and all, but he also put out some real commercial shit in my opinion. Do these qualify? I think that they contain genuine playing and some attempt at artistic merit. For example, Miles' solo on "Code MD" on "Decoy" is a decent jazz solo. The long blues near the end of "Decoy" is not a commercialized cut. "You're Under Arrest" is a mess, in my opinion, but one can discern some artistic vision behind the efforts, as muddled as the results of the vision turned out. An album like Freddie Hubbard's "Splash" is far worse than these Miles efforts. "Splash" is pure schlock--disco lite, annoying even as elevator music or dental office music, with no redeeming value. If there is an album where Miles veered into over-commercialization, I would cite "Amandla", which to me has an almost easy listening sound to it. I agree with Claude here. "Amandla" has a couple of very good cuts (Mr. Pastorius, anyone?), so does "Decoy". "Under Arrest" never interested me much - too many bits and pieces (plus one of the worst album covers I've seen...) As for Eddie Harris, I'm not familiar with all his Atlantic albums, but "Plug Me In" or "Sylver Cycles" for instance have lots of great moments, and EH somehow just could pull this thing! His sound, you can even detect it on varitone very much, always was fitting for this kind of "sweet" stuff - his first hit, "Exodus" is where it all began, I think. In between he did those great quartet/quintet sessions with Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins, but even there, on some ballads, the side of his that's deemed "commercial" is there, I think. Anyway, I love him and think you can't blame him, with all the hardness and lack of recognition he had all through his life. Quote
robertoart Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 Here's another--I came across this on vinyl in the station library a year or two back & posted about it--then actually listened to it, and yikes... I love GG's playing on this. It's one of my favourite GGs. MG Love this album too. Grant plays great. Quote
robertoart Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 James Blood Ulmer Blues Allnight (In and Out) Black and Blues (DIW) Quote
king ubu Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 How are Wes Montgomery's A&M albums? I never heard them... Quote
couw Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 Cool album cover! I think it's silly really. So silly that it's cool again, but still silly. The album or the cover? cover Quote
Shawn Posted June 8, 2007 Report Posted June 8, 2007 How are Wes Montgomery's A&M albums? I never heard them... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz............ Quote
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