New (to me) this week!

Brand new Om record!!!  And still in the wrapper... what a sight to behold!

And Longmire!  Is there a better new show on TV this year?!

Can't wait to start listening and reading on these...

Weekend playlist

The playlist for this weekend was jazzy...

John Coltrane - Complete November 19, 1962 Stockholm Concerts
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman [self-titled]
Miles Davis - Miles Smiles
Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
Sonny Rollins - Tenor Madness and Saxophone Colossus

Proggy...

Porcupine Tree - The Incident
Rush - Clockwork Angels
Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning

Eclectic...

Heavy Blanket (J. Mascis)
Om - God is Good
Grails - Deep Politics

..and freaky!!!

Melvins - Nude with Boots, The Bride Screamed Murder and...

... Freak Puke!

Great jazz reads...

Wonderful article in this month's issue of Jazz Times, detailing the fusion work by drummer Tony Williams and Spectrum Road's efforts to pay it homage.  Being a jazz fan, and a former drummer, I couldn't let the article go by without a few comments on the old blog...

Williams was an incredible drummer, one of my favorites in fact, and one whose name should be mentioned with the likes of Elvin Jones, Rashied Ali and Max Roach when it comes to serious discussions concerning great jazz men who played the drums. 

As most of you will surely know...  He played on a number of Blue Note sessions, including Dolphy's iconic Out to Lunch, as well as Herbie's Empyrean Isles and Maiden Voyage.  Great stuff!  He was also the drummer for the second great Miles quintet - yes the one with Hancock and Wayne Shorter - the same group featured on Miles Smiles and In a Silent Way.  Even better stuff!

The same group also featured on last year's Live in Europe 3 cd/1 dvd set...  And marked right there on the cover, "Bootleg Series, Vol. 1"  Can't wait for the next one! 

Still, it almost overshadowed Domino's 3 disc release of 'Trane's Stockholm Concerts.  If you can, try to pick up both, starting with the Davis set!

Also in the realm of recent great jazz reads....  A nice article in LA Weekly this week by Henry Rollins, commenting on the greatness of Miles and the recent decision to honor the trumpeter's legacy with a postage stamp.  I know the USPS has had its troubles lately, but this is one thing they've gotten very right! And Rollins does a nice job celebrating that fact in his column!

As a random thought... another jazz album that's really been working for me lately is 'Trane's album with the ultra-smooth vocalist, Johnny Hartman.  It's a different record than one typically expects to hear from Coltrane.  There are few solos, and the ones that are present are extremely tame by Coltrane standards.  To hear him playing and sounding so restrained - for lack of a better term - seems almost like a waste of the saxophonist's immense talents.  And yet... there's a not a bad song on the whole album.  Every note falls into perfect place, making it a wonderful soundtrack for a Sunday afternoon.

So often, we forget just how many albums there are where 'Trane did not receive top billing.  In Miles' earlier quintet, he definitely holds his own, but those are definitely Davis' albums.  And yet sometimes we even forget that there are albums where the legend wasn't wasn't even the featured saxophonist.  On Tenor Madness, he rightly cedes the spotlight to Sonny Rollins.

Madness wouldn't be my favorite Rollins record (that would of course, be Saxophone Colossus), but they can be very interesting when paired together.  Colossus is by far the better album, but 'Trane's appearance on the Prestige set makes for an embarassment of riches that definitely deserves more attention!

Other miscellaneous goodies...

New Om cd/lp this week...  Advaitic Songs!  Spent some time this morning with their last one, God is Good, as well as the last Grails album, Deep Politics.

I consider myself a pretty big Om fan (and of Sleep before them), but of these two, I kinda prefer Deep Politics.  I'm not saying that Cisneros turned in a subpar performance -- in fact, I'm not sure he's capable of anything less than stellar outings! -- but everything seems to have really come together for Amos and crew on the last few Grails records.

For a while, I would have said my favorite Grails disc was either Burden of Hope or Redlight...   In terms of an internal debate, that's a good one to have.  One could also wage a similar argument between Om's Conference of the Birds and Pilgrimage, but I digress....  

Then in '06, Grails compiled the Black Tar Prophecies on cd and I found I had a new favorite.  In '08, Emil and crew released Take Refuge in Clean Living, and I found myself with another new favorite.  Think you can see where this is going...  Along comes Deep Politics, and I find myself repeating a similar mantra:  This is the best Grails release yet!

Don't snicker -- it's actually quite serious praise, because in my humble point of view, a lot of bands degrade as time goes by and the number of releases begin to accumulate.  I mean let's face it...  for most artists, their first few releases are always filled with creative energy and sort of build to an apex, then something happens, either internal struggles arise or they sign to a major label, but inevitably, the whole spirit of the thing recedes over the next several albums. 

And it's only a rare few artists that are able to recapture their initial groove.  As one example of the latter, I offer another album I've spent some time with recently...  For anyone who wonders what happened to Wino after Saint Vitus, they need to check out The Hidden Hand releases.  Whiskey Foote is my favorite, and while I'll happily concede that Born Too Late is the most important Wino album out there, I find myself listening to this one just as much.

So why the big trip down memory lane?  Well, it's a fun little game I like to play whenever I hear that a band I like, Om in this case, has a new cd/album coming out. 

Typically when I hear the good news, I like to take that opportunity to re-visit some of their back catalog in anticipation.  I recently dusted off my Wino cds/lps to get ready for the new Saint Vitus disc.  I also visited several of the last few Melvins records to prep myself for Freak Puke.  I listen to a lot of music, and I find this practice really helps me get my head to a good place for enjoying the latest offering by one of my old faves. 

If nothing else, it serves as a good excuse to dig out some "oldies" every now and then for a good listen and maybe some related discussion...

Miscellaneous photos...

Some photos I found interesting:

Rain drops on a sweet gum leaf, just after an early morning shower,

"Ghost image" of sun room window just before sunset (really surprised this one came out like it did!),

And the reflection of light through the blinds while photographing the last J. Mascis album.

Some days are meant for Metallica!

More great tunes…    

“Them Bones” – Alice in Chains, Dirt

“Never Say Die” – Black Sabbath, Never Say Die!

“Since We’ve Been Wrong” – Mars Volta, Octahedron

“Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound” – Mars Volta, Noctourniquet

“Coil” – Opeth, Watershed

“I Drive the Hearse” – Porcupine Tree, The Incident

“BU2B” and “The Garden” – Rush, Clockwork Angels

“Raider II” – Steven Wilson, Grace for Drowning

“Heart of the Sunrise” – Yes, Fragile

… and just because some days are meant for Metallica!

“For Whom the Bell Tolls” – Metallica, Ride the Lightning

Somebody asked...

...which specifc songs were working for me from the albums I listed in an earlier post. 

I realize it's popular these days to pick one or two favorite songs from an album and listen to those, sort of discarding the rest.  In general, I don't like to experience my music that way.  Call me "old school", but I still like to think of an album as just that, an album.  Put another way, I rarely hit the "skip" button when listening to music, whether it's a cd (or the iPod) in the car, or the iPod/laptop at work.

But oddly enough, I will go the other direction however, and hit "repeat" for a really good song, when I come across one.  The following tunes definitely warrant the occasional "repeat"!

“Untouchable, Part 1” and “The Lost Child” – Anathema, Weather Systems

“The Sheltering Sky” (Alternate Mix by Steven Wilson) – King Crimson, Discipline (40^th Anniversary Edition)

“Unfamiliar” and “Trail of Fire” – Oceansize, Frames

 “Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Parts I – V) – Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here

“Anesthetize” and “Sentimental” – Porcupine Tree, Fear of a Blank Planet

“Prodigal” – Porcupine Tree, In Absentia

“Halo Effect” and “Headlong Flight” – Rush, Clockwork Angels

 “Red Barchetta” – Rush, Moving Pictures

“Parabola” and “Reflection” – Tool, Lateralus

A mostly "Porcupine" playlist

Been listening to a lot of things "Porcupine" this week...

Newer stuff
Storm Corrosion
Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning (This is one of the best albums I own, period!)
Pink Floyd Remasters...  especially Wish You Were Here and Animals

Slightly older stuff
Mars Volta - Octahedron
No-Man - Schoolyard Ghosts
Opeth - Watershed
Porcupine Tree - The Incident

Classics
King Crimson - Discipline
Rush - Farewell to Kings, Moving Pictures and Signals

More fun with the new iPhone!

It’s the packaging!

One of my best friends and I have a long running discussion concerning the packaging of certain CD releases and how it enhances the overall buying experience.  Yeah, I know CDs aren’t cool.  Vinyl is back, etc., etc.  I get it, but still, I feel like I’ve posted enough about my vinyl collection to warrant enough cred to do a CD only post by now, so here goes…

For the last several years, the classic albums re-issued on CD have been at least as interesting (if not more so!) than the new stuff coming out on the major labels.  Thought it was time somebody did a top 10 of those, highlighting some of the great re-issue packages available on compact disc.  So looking at my collection, and limiting it to re-issues only, my countdown starts with:

10.    The Beatles – [White Album]

Got this one years ago, when double disc sets came in a big bulky plastic box that opened on each side (yes, like two CD cases glued together in the middle).  The booklet just sort of “floated” in the little tray in between.  It was awkward and oddly conceived, but it was the Beatles and one of my favorite albums!

9. King Crimson – 40^th Anniversary Reissues (Starless and Bible Black and Discipline shown)

Just a quick reminder, this list is not about what album is better; obviously I consider the Beatles' White Album to be better than the King Crimson reissues shown here, but in terms of deluxe packaging, how can you beat the pervasive red of the Discipline package, the pastel pseudo-cammie background on Starless?

 

8. Queensryche – Empire (20^th Anniversary Reissue)

I can remember buying this one on cassette way back in 1991.  (Yeah, it was ’92 before I started making the switch to CDs.)  It was a disappointing follow-up to Operation:  Mindcrime, but in time, and with a few more listens, it came in to its own for me.  Now, I think of it as a classic, and love the treatment it received here (complete with fold out tour poster, for the real geeks!).

7. Tortoise – A Lazarus Taxon

Really like the concept photos on the packaging…  they show an auto accident in various stages, and compiled together like this, sort of work like a zoom-in, zoom-out type thing.     

6. John Coltrane – The Complete Recordings by the Classic Quartet

It’s ‘Trane!  It’s an eight CD set!  It’s practically everything by the “classic quartet”.  That means Love Supreme, Quartet Plays, the best of the Coltrane on Impulse! catalogue.  What more do I need to say?  Get this one, while there are still some available.  And while you’re at it, The Complete Village Vanguard set is also a must have.

5. U2 – Deluxe reissues (Boy through Joshua Tree only)

These are just amazing!  Each one is a CD booklet (two discs) with a mini-cardboard slipcase.  Together, they look incredible on the shelf.  Six little duckies, all in a row!

Still not sure why they went a slightly different direction with the packaging for Achtung Baby.  That one felt a little over-done to me (in terms of reissue packaging, not the music itself).  For those interested, also check out the deluxe version of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, same general concept, bigger book and slip case.  And… the last few Nick Cave/Grinderman CDs got this treatment for their original release.  Now that’s doing it right!

4. Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Brain Salad Surgery

This is one of my all time favorite album covers.  It presupposes H. R. Giger’s vision for the Alien movies by a mere six years.  For the uninitiated, he did the cover art here and sketched the design for the lizard-like creatures in the movie.  The only things that come close to this level of sheer coolness are Tool’s packaging for Lateralus and 10,000 Days, with their psychedelic art by Alex Grey. 

3. The Fall – Multi-disc reissues on Beggar's Banquet (The Wonderful and Frightening World… shown)

Like my comments on ‘Trane above…  It’s The Fall!  It’s a four disc set, filled with BBC Sessions, outtakes and live cuts!  Get it while they are still available! 

This Nation’s Saving Grace is my favorite in terms of music, but this is my favorite of The Fall reissue packages.

2. Miles Davis – Complete Jack Johnson Sessions

Huge, five CD set, with detailed book, recounting Davis and team’s efforts to bring this recording together.  I love Mahavishnu Orchestra, but this is probably my favorite album where John McLaughlin is featured.  Almost forget that some guy named Miles Davis is playing trumpet in there somewhere.  Incredible stuff!

1. Led Zeppelin – The “Crop Circles” Box

Didn’t get this one when it first came out simply because I owned nearly every Led Zep album on both cassette and CD at the time.  It just seemed redundant and honestly, quite a bit expensive for my budget.  Years later, the buddy I mentioned at the beginning of this post bought a copy and raved about it; so I finally broke down and coughed up the change to procure one myself.  Glad I did!  In my not always humble opinion, there is nothing out there -- in terms of overall packaging -- that beats it.

 

Feelin' prog-gy...

The playlist of late has been a bit prog-gy...

Newer stuff
Anathema - Weather Systems
Dream Theater - Dramatic Turn of Events
Flower Kings - Banks of Eden

Slightly older stuff
Oceansize - Frames (can't get enough of this one at the moment!)
Porcupine Tree - In Absentia and Fear of a Blank Planet
Tool - Lateralus

Classics
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Yes - Fragile

and of course...

My early pick for album of the year...

Rush - Clockwork Angels