[GearMe]

@GearMe . . . totally awesome. Shades of rhythm from straight ahead to straight Latin to great effect for contrast and lots in between and the playing is absolutely dazzling. The level of concentration on Eliane Elias's face and yet her dancing make such a great contrast. I had no idea she was such a great musician in addition to being a singer. The whole band is dazzling and the second I see her fingers hit the piano keys in a straight-ahead groove I'm like what? That's astonishing, that's great. And the bowed vibrato double-bass solo in the middle of all of this, what a great thing.

Spotify's algorithm must have thrown Bobby Broom's Summer Breeze out at me as a suggested new promotional pre-release track yesterday morning. Scary. It knows me too well. It's from the very new in-the-process-of-being-released Bobby Broom's Soul Fingers. It just hadn't made it to YouTube. It looks like a legit link on YouTube now. You can be the second person to view it on YouTube (whoever is reading this now)! Google hasn't even aggregated a picture to go along with the track yet, from what it seems. Listings of all of the tracks-to-be are on the Interwebs here and there. It's all pop tunes, I'm sure with a jazz treatment. Should be a nice gateway release for people interested in jazz.

It looks like they publicly let out one more track from Bobby Broom's Soul Fingers today, Come Together. It's got a total of something like 10 tracks. I guess they are trying to create some buzz or something by letting the tracks out one by one or maybe someone paid for first-release rights, or who knows what.

To copy and paste from my prior apparently pre-release post (with one correction as per @GearMe to reference Seals & Crofts a little more definitively):

So I heard a song for the first time this morning, Summer Breeze as played by Bobby Broom, just as I was waking up, and it challenged my ears. I picture a guy playing the jazz organ and playing the bass-line in the pedals. It's the song Summer Breeze, I think Seals & Crofts might have done it and the Isley Brothers did a nice cover of it. It's modern jazz fusion so I have to pry open my mind a little to give it a chance. It's by someone named Bobby Broom and I imagine he's the guitarist (I'm not Googling!) It challenged my ears because the bass line is good but it's also jagged and puts kinks in the beat, the drumming is the same type of thing. . . its not just gliding along. And the guitarist took the melody and did unique things with it. It reminds me of Willie Nelson's quirks. This band makes it so I don't feel like I am just listening to "Summer Breeze" for the upteen millionth time. I'll be listening to more Bobby Broom! It's a nice connection for those who like the song to hear some good jazz if they are not used to jazz, and with today's current of jazz influences.

Thanks for posting the video...nice!

 

[bigshot]

Steve999 reminded me that I haven't had enough Johnny "Guitar" Watson in my life lately, and since I have most of the CDs, I searched to see if there were DVDs available. I ordered a few and the first one arrived tonight. He doesn't play guitar as much as I'd like, but the band is red hot and he's definitely on his game. The concert was shot in Norway or something like that and the audience looks quite different than his normal crowd. But you can't resist the Gangster of Love once he gets going. There was an interesting technique that I hadn't seen before. The concert starts with just the band playing a song by itself, and it's as if they are deliberately lethargic and hitting clams. Then the star comes out and the whole thing snaps into overdrive and never slows down. It worked really good. I initially thought "The concert is from 1993, so he must be almost 60 years old." I was expecting a slow trot around the track, but it wasn't that at all. He kicked it out with incredible energy and the band was spectacular, especially the bass player, drummer and sax man.

The aspect ration was 4:3 and the sound was in 5.1. A very good live mix. Worth getting if you're a fan of funk blues. As we said before JGW is probably the most underrated musician who ever lived. He had tremendous influence with other musicians from rappers to rock. Check him out. Here is the DVD I got... https://amzn.to/2OyR7eZ

 

[Steve999]

Just ordered it! Thanks! This includes the big hits from the height of his popularity in the mid 1970s, which, I guess, is how you get people to go to your concerts and buy your records, no matter what your pedigree. . . I'll be fascinated to see what treatment he gives them well over a decade later. With 20/20 hindsight it is very clear from his recordings from the 1970s when I was a kid that he was holding back on his instrumental prowess to hit the charts big, including with comically stereotypical funk guitar riffs. But that's when I was introduced to his stuff, over the R&B radio station WOOK in Washington, D.C. I'd sit by the radio and wait for certain songs to come up, including his. I managed to get "A Real Mother For Ya" off the radio on a cassette and played it a million times. It'll be fun to see what he did several years later in front of an audience without the big record label looking over his shoulder.

Steve999 reminded me that I haven't had enough Johnny "Guitar" Watson in my life lately, and since I have most of the CDs, I searched to see if there were DVDs available. I ordered a few and the first one arrived tonight. He doesn't play guitar as much as I'd like, but the band is red hot and he's definitely on his game. The concert was shot in Norway or something like that and the audience looks quite different than his normal crowd. But you can't resist the Gangster of Love once he gets going. There was an interesting technique that I hadn't seen before. The concert starts with just the band playing a song by itself, and it's as if they are deliberately lethargic and hitting clams. Then the star comes out and the whole thing snaps into overdrive and never slows down. It worked really good. I initially thought "The concert is from 1993, so he must be almost 60 years old." I was expecting a slow trot around the track, but it wasn't that at all. He kicked it out with incredible energy and the band was spectacular, especially the bass player, drummer and sax man.

The aspect ration was 4:3 and the sound was in 5.1. A very good live mix. Worth getting if you're a fan of funk blues. As we said before JGW is probably the most underrated musician who ever lived. He had tremendous influence with other musicians from rappers to rock. Check him out. Here is the DVD I got... https://amzn.to/2OyR7eZ

 

[Steve999]

I referenced what I think was the most serious look into Sun Ra's musical mind earlier, his Solo Piano Vol. 1 (there is no Vol. 2, in case you are wondering. . . typical Sun Ra. . . I'm surprised he did not call the first one Vol. 2 so that everyone would search out the non-existent Vol. 1). It is dense music though and requires a lot of the listener.

Anyway, there was a request for the least untethered Sun Ra and his Arkestra music. So here is a straight-ahead cut (or as straight ahead as his band would get). . . the first cut from the LP "Mayan Temples." It is called "Dance of the Language Barrier," which, upon reading some recent Head-Fi threads, I thought was very timely and apropos in any event.



Another fairly straight-ahead cut from the Mayan Temples album is "I'll Never Be The Same." Those two cuts will show you what the band could do when Sun Ra and the band could stay serious (at least from the interplanetary perspective of 20th century earthlings) for more than 4 or 5 minutes. I do recommend the album Mayan Temples very highly, but if you venture that way be ready for some stuff to go way way out there. Perhaps in a good way, depending on your mindset.

And a warning: Do not, under any circumstances, do a google search one of Sun Ra's earlier works, using the terms "sun ra hot skillet momma," and then click on the arrow in the middle of the picture of the 45 RPM record. I repeat: DO NOT DO A GOOGLE SEARCH ON "SUN RA HOT SKILLET MOMMA"!

 

[Steve999]

I’ve listened to this several times now, The lyrics are strange and ambiguous. The hooks in the song are really infectious. It’s not simple and it stands up to repeated hearings. The drums are really strong, the guitars give off a great vibe, the bass lines are really good and are melodic and not repetitive, the horns really add to the mix. Everyone’s playing real instruments at a high skill level. The band really hits the second beat hard for much of the song which really gives it some kick. Hey dude, FWIW to you, I like it!

As far as leaving space for good but simple, and not treating art as sport, I’m with you 100 percent. I’m just saying you can listen to the music like you can look at that picture—look at the details, ask why (in the largest sense), step back and see if you just like it, all of that. As you get used to listening for details it may become more interesting and you might get some insight into the craftsmanship.

I personally am taking the introductory course, “Not writing a treatise” 101. Now I am going to listen to the song again. Just for fun.

 

[Jaywalk3r]

"On May 8, 1977, at Barton Hall, on the Cornell University campus, in front of 8,500 eager fans, the Grateful Dead played a show so significant that the Library of Congress inducted it into the National Recording Registry. The band had just released Terrapin Station and was still finding its feet after an extended hiatus. In 1977, the Grateful Dead reached a musical peak, and their East Coast spring tour featured an exceptional string of performances, including the one at Cornell.Many Deadheads claim that the quality of the live recording of the show made by Betty Cantor-Jackson (a member of the crew) elevated its importance. Once those recordings—referred to as 'Betty Boards'—began to circulate among Deadheads, the reputation of the Cornell '77 show grew exponentially.With time the show at Barton Hall acquired legendary status in the community of Deadheads and audiophiles.Rooted in dozens of interviews—including a conversation with Betty Cantor-Jackson about her recording—and accompanied by a dazzling selection of never-before-seen concert photographs, Cornell '77 is about far more than just a single Grateful Dead concert. It is a social and cultural history of one of America's most enduring and iconic musical acts, their devoted fans, and a group of Cornell students whose passion for music drove them to bring the Dead to Barton Hall. Peter Conners has intimate knowledge of the fan culture surrounding the Dead, and his expertise brings the show to life. He leads readers through a song-by-song analysis of the performance, from 'New Minglewood Blues' to 'One More Saturday Night,' and conveys why, forty years later, Cornell '77 is still considered a touchstone in the history of the band.As Conners notes in his Prologue: 'You will hear from Deadheads who went to the show. You will hear from non-Deadhead Cornell graduates who were responsible for putting on the show in the first place. You will hear from record executives, academics, scholars, Dead family members, tapers, traders, and trolls. You will hear from those who still live the Grateful Dead every day. You will hear from those who would rather keep their Grateful Dead passions private for reasons both personal and professional. You will hear stories about the early days of being a Deadhead and what it was like to attend, and perhaps record, those early shows, including Cornell '77."'​

Source: http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100240440

I've discovered Grateful Dead three times in life.

The first time was when I sent off for 11 "free" CDs from Columbia House, one selection was Skeletons From the Closet. That was like a greatest hits album, and had all of the songs I had heard on the local classic rock station, plus some others. Even as my CD collection grew, it stayed in the rotation through the next couple decades, though it was never a favorite.

The second time was on a 3200 mile solo bicycle tour through Southeastern USA. I had listened to my favorite live Bob Marley albums several times each and wanted something different. I found a couple live Grateful Dead albums that I picked up somewhere along the way (in life, not the bike tour). I quite enjoyed them, and they became regulars in my playlist going forward. That was when I learned that Grateful Dead were more enjoyable live than in studio.

Fast forward a few years, and I stumble across the 3-CD set for the May 8, 1977 Barton Hall show on Amazon. Remembering how much I enjoyed those live albums on my bicycle tour, I picked it up. It was the best Dead I had heard yet. It was also when I discovered the difference between a Grateful Dead live album, like you might have found in Tower Records or Sam Goody, and a Grateful Dead live show. I watched Long Strange Trip, and down the rabbit hole I went.

I now have 150-200 shows, mostly lossless, mostly 2.5-3.5 hours each, and overwhelmingly from the first half of their career, from 1966-1980.

 

[bfreedma]

Going to change it up a bit and recommend something for it's engineering/mixing/production rather than purely for music content. It's electronica, which isn't necessarily my cup of tea, though I did enjoy the listen.

Booka Shade - Galvany Street Atmos Mixes - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B5Y8S31/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I find this to be a very interesting mix and a great demo disc for surround. Unfortunately, I'm not Atmos enabled yet, but the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core is still a very interesting take on what can be done with surround when built from the ground up. A pleasant surprise was also finding an audio setup option titled 3D Headphone Surround - currently ripping that and will add some commentary if it's interesting. It's 2 channel LCPM, so assuming there was some processing done to create a headphone specific "surround" experience.

Couple of notes:

1. There is a LOT of content in the center channel - perhaps some could have been pushed out to the L/R mains. Because of this, a full range center is almost a requirement to get the full effect of the mix
2. There is some very deep bass, so having one or more competent subwoofers will, again, be necessary to get the full effect.

 

[bigshot]

Ordered. thanks! The Atmos Kraftwerk Catalog disc has headphone surround too. I couldn't detect that it did anything at all.

 

[bigshot]

Thanks for the tip bfreedma. I listened to this last night. It has some nice rhythms. I actually will probably listen to this again. The mix was certainly active. The sounds went from speaker to speaker like ping pong. It would be a good album to check channel levels. There were parts where the sound circled the room. That would show up level problems clearly. There wasn't a lot of immersive stuff. It stuck pretty much to the walls, but there were a couple of tracks with nice ambiences. Fun stuff! Thanks!

 

[bfreedma]

Thanks for the tip bfreedma. I listened to this last night. It has some nice rhythms. I actually will probably listen to this again. The mix was certainly active. The sounds went from speaker to speaker like ping pong. It would be a good album to check channel levels. There were parts where the sound circled the room. That would show up level problems clearly. There wasn't a lot of immersive stuff. It stuck pretty much to the walls, but there were a couple of tracks with nice ambiences. Fun stuff! Thanks!

Glad you enjoyed it. Agree that there wasn't much immersive there, but I'm not sure that genre or at least that particular recording lended itself to that. As you suggest, it the mix was very active and if your speakers aren't level matched, this recording will show it.

Any suggestions recordings with more immersive surround sound? Steven Wilson has a new concert release next week, so hoping for something there.

 

[bigshot]

Fore electronic music, the Kraftwerk Catalogue concerts are quite immersive. That is one of my favorite surround mixes. There is a single disc best of and a multi disc box set. I have the multi disc box. The Beatles Love album has some really immersive stuff, and Sgt Pepper too if you correct for the level calibration error. A lot of the Elton John SACDs fill the room too.

 

[bfreedma]

Fore electronic music, the Kraftwerk Catalogue concerts are quite immersive. That is one of my favorite surround mixes. There is a single disc best of and a multi disc box set. I have the multi disc box. The Beatles Love album has some really immersive stuff, and Sgt Pepper too if you correct for the level calibration error. A lot of the Elton John SACDs fill the room too.

Can you post the link for the single disk Kraftwerk? Seeing a lot of versions on Amazon and the one that appears to be what I’m looking for is labeled for the wrong region. Amazon frequently mislabeled region compatibility, so want to make sure I’m ordering the correct BR.

 

[bigshot]

Here is an eBay listing for the single disc sampler. Can't find it at Amazon any more.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Kraftwerk-3D-The-Catalogue-2D-3D-Blu-ray-disc-New/253899528835

The UK two disc version at Amazon would be PAL for the DVD, but the blu-ray would be region free. I don't see the point of buying both DVD and blu-ray, but I guess that way they don't have to have separate DVD and blu releases. There is a German version that someone online said was sung in German, but I don't believe it, because they would have had to either dub or record the live concerts twice. They sing in German in the English version too. I think they're all the same. (However the CDs might be different in Germany.) Confusing!

 

[AKGForever]

Time-Life's The Swing Era is a remarkable recreation of the music from the Big Band and early Jazz Era. It was made in the 60s and early 70s. Most of the music was conducted by Billy May and Glen Gray using musicians from the earlier era. The recordings are great. Not sure if that was because Time-Life controlled the process and since they would be selling at a premium, greater care was given. The vocals the weakest part, as the singers were older. I have the 14 set (28 disk) CD edition, which while not without flaws, is a joy to listen to.

 

[bigshot]

I agree with you 100%. Those Glen Gray Casaloma Orchestra recordings are beautifully recorded. I think the reason they sound so good is because they were recorded at Capitol Records. The sound quality of the early stereo coming out of Capitol was unmatched. If you like those, check out Billy May's solo stuff too. Lots of his signature slurping brass! Another great recording like this is Benny Goodman in HiFi. Lately I've been going through a Buddy Rich phase. He has a lot of great recordings too.