Soul Stream Posted October 11, 2003 Report Posted October 11, 2003 As the Blue Note reissues seem to be coming fast and furious...Conns, RVGs, Rare Grooves, ect. We've all been able to hear for the first time many albums that we only dreamed about before. For me some have been better or not-as-good as I'd imagined. Not to keep it on the negative side. Feel free to give us one that blew you away. For me...I guess one of the bigger letdowns was Lonnie Smith's "Turning Point." I got this as a TOCJ a couple of years ago after drooling over the lineup for a long time.... Think about it>Lonnie Smith, Julian Priester, Lee Morgan, Maupin, Idris Muhammed, Melvin Sparks. Man, that sounds like it should SMOKE!!!! Well, it really never goes anywhere. I couple of nice things but, no cigar. A big letdown for me. On the upside of Lonnie Smith and Blue Note. "Live At Club Mozambique" was a revelation. Lonnie's best 60's stuff imho. A cooker from start to finish. Why "Turning Point" was released at the time and "Mozambique" sat on the shelf will always be a mystery to me Quote
mikeweil Posted October 11, 2003 Report Posted October 11, 2003 Grant Green - Am I Blue? Was excited about the presence of Coles, but found it pretty dull and uninspired. Quote
mikeweil Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Hank Mobley - Reach Out even got me a vinyl copy! But it turned out to be the only Mobley that disappointed me. Quote
Matthew Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Donald Byrd's Slow Drag. An absolutely overrated session, and having Sonny Red on sax didn't help a bit. Just NEVER liked the way Red plays, it's like a hamster running in its wheel -- a lot of action but it's not going anywhere. Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Freddie Redd, "Shades of Redd" did nothing for me. I like these kinds of honest dissing threads. Acts as a counterweight to all the passed around on reissues. Quote
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Was Freddie Roach "Good Move" a re-issue? I dunno....but even with the Mobley/Mitchell duo on board this one filled me with the urge to drain a quart of bleach. Quote
John L Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Yea, I agree that "Good Move" was a disappointment. I had high hopes for Stanley Turrentine's "Rough a Tumble" a few years ago. Lots of talent, few sparks (IMO). I was expected the new Charlie Rouse to be a bit more interesting. Quote
davef Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Jimmy Smith - Live at Small's Paradise... it seemed bloated to me, may have liked it better if they had issued it as individual RVG's like the original albums. The only 1500 series that I bought and sold back. IMO, they should have reissued the Baby Grand live LP's instead. Quote
Big Wheel Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 "Live At Club Mozambique" was a revelation. Lonnie's best 60's stuff imho. I agree. So good for the '60s, in fact, that they waited until May 1970 to record it! Quote
Soul Stream Posted October 12, 2003 Author Report Posted October 12, 2003 (edited) "Live At Club Mozambique" was a revelation. Lonnie's best 60's stuff imho. I agree. So good for the '60s, in fact, that they waited until May 1970 to record it! Hey.... \ Oh, and Lonnie's "Drive" is also a disappointment. Hope I don't sound like a Lonnie hater. Quite the opposite. He's a genius. Maybe that's why I found most of his solo 60's stuff a drag. Outside of the "live" stuff like "Move Your Hand" or "Mosambique", I never really warmed up to "Think" and the rest. He's one of those guys that always shown better as a sideman. It's still the case imho. But I LOVE Lonnie. He's THE guy! Edited October 12, 2003 by Soul Stream Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Jimmy Smith - Live at Small's Paradise... it seemed bloated to me, may have liked it better if they had issued it as individual RVG's like the original albums. The only 1500 series that I bought and sold back. IMO, they should have reissued the Baby Grand live LP's instead. For your blasphemy, welcome to the banned list. Quote
mikeweil Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 I also found the "latin" series of recordings the did in the early 1960's somewhat disappointing: Ike Quebec's Bossa Nova Soul Samba Grant Green's The Latin Bit Charlie Rouse's Bossa Noca Bacchanal Even the album titles are hard to take! The Green is the best of them. To me they sound as if Alfred Lion tried to hit in the middle between jazz and latin but used the wrong means: Garvin Masseaux is a great shekere player, but this instrument tend to sound obtrusive withou t a conga underneath. Perhaps the budget was too low to hire a full Cuban rhythm section, or maybe he really didn't like it. Many jazz producers - even musicians - had only limited knowledge of "latin" rhythms at the time, mixing up Brazilian and Cuban concepts all the time, and this rarely works. On the other hand, the relatively few Blue Notes with conga player added - Candido Camero on Burrell's first LP, or Ray Barretto on most of the others, are very well done. As are Blakey's and Solomon Ilori's drum ensembles. Quote
Claude Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Freddie Redd, "Shades of Redd" did nothing for me. I'm still looking for this Conn. I like the session a lot. Does anyone know where to find it or have one for sale? Quote
Eric Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 I know this is going in the "wrong direction" of this thread, but I would highly recommend "Think" to Lonnie Smith fans. I had this on an old BN cassette for years and it is a definitely ass-shaker Lee Morgan and Fathead Newman are the horns. After loving this for years, I tracked down "Turning Point" ... and yeah I was disappointed too. Eric Quote
jazzbo Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 I guess I'd have to say that many of the Freddie Hubbard's have been disappointing to me. I'm just not a fan of his style, his soloing seems full of sound and fury signifying nothing to me. I always enjoy the lineups and wish another trumpeter were there instead. Perhaps this is blasphemy, but that's just how it is for me; his work doesn't really grab me. Gotta also say the BabyFace Willettes don't disappoint me, but I never had high expectations for them and I don't reach for them much. Quote
vibes Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Dizzy Reece - Star Bright I bought the "Comin' On" Conn and really liked it, so I searched around for and bought the "Star Bright" JRVG. This album is a major snooze, and the sound on the JRVG didn't help things, either. Quote
Rooster_Ties Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 I would highly recommend "Think" to Lonnie Smith fans. I had this on an old BN cassette for years and it is a definitely ass-shaker Lee Morgan and Fathead Newman are the horns. After loving this for years, I tracked down "Turning Point" ... and yeah I was disappointed too. Different strokes... I bought "Think" as much for my interest in Lee Morgan as any other reason, and was relatively disappointed by it. It's fairly good at times, but Lee sounds like he's half-asleep on the date (at leat as I recall - but I haven't listened to it in 10-12 months - which is about when I first got it). But I got the TOCJ of "Turning Point" about a month ago (my first time ever hearing it) --- and Lee's playing, and 'overall' too - I think I much prefer "Turning Point" over "Think". But I'll have to dig "Think" back out and see if I missed something. Quote
Dan Gould Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Dizzy Reece - Star Bright I bought the "Comin' On" Conn and really liked it, so I searched around for and bought the "Star Bright" JRVG. This album is a major snooze, and the sound on the JRVG didn't help things, either. I'm positively stunned at this. Hank and Wynton are superb on this album, IMO, and Reece sounds as fine as he ever has. I also dig the Reece originals. Must be a different "Star Bright" you heard. Quote
Brad Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 (edited) I hated the All Seeing Eye. It just did nothing for me. I got rid of that one as fast as I could. However, Adam's Apple pleasantly surprised me, and I was expecting the worst. As far as the best, how about Blakey's Bohemia or Night at Birdland? Even though I had them in Japanese, those are the best in my opinion. Obviously, opinions differ but I like those stabs at latin jazz, especially the Latin Bit. I held off for awhile on getting that but liked it quite a bit after I did. Claude, are you interested in Redd's Blues. I've seen it in JRVG locally. If you want me to pick it up for you, please let me know. Edited October 12, 2003 by Brad Quote
Matthew Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Jimmy Smith - Live at Small's Paradise... it seemed bloated to me, may have liked it better if they had issued it as individual RVG's like the original albums. The only 1500 series that I bought and sold back. IMO, they should have reissued the Baby Grand live LP's instead. For your blasphemy, welcome to the banned list. Actually, I can understand what Davef is saying. "Smalls.." is not one of those things that knocks you over the first listen, at least it didn't for me. After awhile though, I've really started to like this cd, and now I love it. It shows Smith in the midst of changing his style, remember, this was recorded in November of 1957, so the Smith that was heard on "At The Baby Grand" is no longer, he's changed into a better player, who is exploring different facets of the organ. It's not a session that will stun you the first time you hear it, but it a great one none the less. The sound on this cd is strange also, it sounds like there's only two peole in the crowd, and they could care less what's going on. Quote
Late Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 (edited) Most, but not all, of Hank Mobley's 60's work leaves me unmoved. When A Slice of the Top came out as a Connoisseur, I bought it, played it, and eventually sold it. I haven't purchased a Mobley reissue since. Sometimes I think: What if Joe Henderson had been given the same recording opportunities (meaning sheer number of sessions) at Blue Note that Hank had? Mobley's 50's work I have a much stronger affection for — Curtain Call seems a diamond in the rough. Edited October 12, 2003 by Late Quote
GA Russell Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 I was disappointed by Wayne Shorter's Super Nova. Of course there's much I haven't heard, but I find it his least interesting Blue Note work, including his work as a sideman. Quote
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 I hated the All Seeing Eye. It just did nothing for me. I got rid of that one as fast as I could. However, Adam's Apple pleasantly surprised me, and I was expecting the worst. Same here. I wonder if Lon misses his "Adam's Apple" TOCJ? Quote
BruceH Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 Got to agree that Am I Blue and Slow Drag don't do much for me. However, I had low expectations for Bossa Nova Baccanal so wasn't dissapointed by it. Also, The All Seeing Eye and Hub-Tones don't do much for me either, but I'm hanging on to them, for now at least. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted October 12, 2003 Report Posted October 12, 2003 In my never ending effort to alienate as many as possible, I feel compelled to leap in here and say that The All-Seeing Eye is my favorite Shorter disc. Oh well... Quote
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