JohnnyB

Ben Webster, See You at the Fair, recorded soon after the 1964 New York World's Fair. Webster is on the short list of legendary tenor saxes who made their mark in big bands, in there with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. Webster was discovered and featured by Cab Calloway. Webster has a big, fat tone and a melodic style that tends to explore the lower reaches of the tenor sax. He has a sound like a big warm blanket, and he's a very melodic improvisor. Of interest (to me) is that the primary pianist on this album is Roger Kellaway, who wrote a lot of TV and movie music, including the opening and closing songs in "All in the Family." Also, my first fiance babysat his kids when she was in high school. He had a collection of mid-'50s 2-seater Thunderbirds I saw when she took me on a tour of her old neighborhood. From about the same era I later spun: I was 10 when the Beatles recordings hit the USA, but we didn't hear this album at the time. It was released March 1963, but we didn't hear The Beatles until December that year. By that time, The Beatles had already released two albums in the UK. Anyway, for a freshman effort, this is a very well-developed band with tight rhythm section, dense and accurate vocal harmonies, excellent original material, and mastery of interesting covers. Best of all, finally. after 51 years EMI went back to the original ANALOG mono master tape and made a world class heavy vinyl reissue. I hear all kinds of richness and skill I missed in the thin sounding Capitol stereo pressings. As popular as the Beatles were anyway, I wonder how apeshit we would all have gone if we could have heard their recordings this way from the beginning. Great time.

Reveling in nostalgia and my advancing age. It's a bright sunny day here in Seattle, so on an errand run I opened the sunroof and all the windows on the Town Car and blasted this from the CD changer in the trunk: It's all 27 of the Beatles' #1 hits.

Finally getting around to spinning this 2 LP set. All new songs written by Rod. Recaptures the pub rock vibe of his early Mercury albums.

Toots just retired last year at 92... Belgium's pride. Retired already? Early quitter! He just turned 93 a few weeks ago. For Christmas 1969 my oldest sister gave me a Quincy Jones album that featured Toots on harmonica on one song and a guitar+whistling solo on another. The fascination never left and I remember the joy of discovering this Toots album where he's fronting and not a sideman. Although many people are unaware of Toots, they have undoubtably heard him. He did the famous harmonica solo in the opening theme on Sesame Street, the harmonica solos on Peckinpah's "The Getaway," and the harmonica theme in Midnight Cowboy. Thielemans' filmography is pretty extensive, with over 50 film credits. You're totally right; a national treasure for Belgium.

I've been a busy spinner today. Spinning BB King made me think of Sinatra, BB's favorite singer. So I stumbled across this (didn't know I had it): It's a tribute to Sinatra's time with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. There couldn't be a more apropros tribute. Dorsey taught things to Sinatra that defined him as a unique vocal artist, both related to phrasing that defined him and the seemingly supernatural breath control that made it possible. For phrasing, Dorsey told Sinatra to listen to Bing to learn how to phrase a song. Then Dorsey let Frank in on a secret--how he could play long passages on the trombone by (I don't know how he got this to work) breathing in at the corners of his mouth while blowing the trombone through the mouthpiece. Frank learned the technique and adapted it to famously singing phrases that served the lyrics instead of being limited by a normal human's need to take a breath. Then I stumbled on another album I didn't know I had: Toots Thielemans, Joe Pass, and bassist Neils-Henning Orsted Pederson, Live in the Netherlands, recorded in 1980 and released 1982. We all know Joe Pass, but Thielemans is a triple threat--a very melodic jazz guitarist, a wide range whistler who can double his own solo lines by whistling his improvisations an octave higher, and the ne plus ultra in playing the chromonica. Listen to him and you'll know where Stevie Wonder learned to transition from blues harp to chromonica. Toots is the master. I played this while flipping burgers in the kitchen and it made drudgery into a pleasure, as good music does.

In honor of BB King's passing, I'm finally getting around to spinning his eponymous 1964 recording, "Live at the Regal." On the left is the cover best known for that album, but the pressing on the right is the one I have, rescued from a vinyl bargain bin for a buck. BB didn't come up on my radar until around 1968; by then he was about 43. This recording was made when he 39, probably at the absolute height of his vocal power and range, though he managed to hang onto that for a long time. Anyway, this thing is pretty definitive from when he was known and popular, but not crossover famous yet. Fast forward a few years to 1970. Now spinning a meticulous remaster 180g pressing of Van Morrison's His Band and the Street Choir. Opens with "Domino." Early Rod Stewart solo albums are sometimes described as pub rock. In pub rock, you usually have guitars, bass, and drums, possibly keyboards, but the only consistently ampflified instrument is bass guitar. Sometimes you'll hear mandolin, squeezebox, and other acoustic instruments. You could say the same of same-era Van Morrison. You could further delineate them as Scottish Pub Rock (Stewart) and Irish Pub Rock (Van Morrison). Morrison is particularly deft with R&B-based tunes. This makes sense as he got his start playing sax in R&B bands and handles the sax parts and solos on this album. Regardless of category, it's great stuff, catchy tunes, precisely and sharply performed and powerfully delivered. Lots of fun.

I wanted something a little different (for me) to wind down with last night so I picked out a '70s classic I had plucked from a vinyl bargain bin for 75 cents but hadn't played, Paul Simon's first solo album, "There Goes Rhymin' Simon." I was in college when this came out and opening song "Kodachrome" was all over the airwaves back then. I had heard cuts from this album throughout '73-'74. I'd heard 'em on my first stereo rig. I'd heard'em on state-of-the-art equipment at the stereo store I worked at. I poured myself a Jameson's & seltzer and sat down to spin the record. Holy Crap! This thing, besides being a clinic in good songwriting, is also a master class in studio production and musicianship. Many of the songs were recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, produced by Phil Ramone. On my present rig, I heard these songs as I'd never heard them before. Then it occurred to me that--with 42 years of further electronics and speaker evolution--I was probably hearing better playback than the Phil and the engineers heard in the control booth. When CD sales overtook LP sales in 1987, playback equipment--and especially mass market turntable technology--had never reached the full potential of LPs as a playback medium. We really didn't know what he had. Now I know, and it's simply amazing. Many of these songs have a dense production, with multiple acoustic guitars, a bangin' rhythm section, and great vocal backups, superbly performed, recorded, and mixed. This album is a lot of fun, and the more you can hear into it, the better. Although I couldn't afford one myself in 1972, a typical popular rig of the day was a Dual turntable ($150), Marantz 2245 receiver ($500), and a pair of JBL Century L100 "bookshelf" speakers ($580). This totaled about $1200 in 1972 money. That would be $6800 in today's money. My playback system comes to less at $6K and there's no way a '70s Dual/Marantz/JBL dorm system could come within sniffing distance of my LP-based system. $6K seems like a lot of money today, but we routinely spent that and more on music gear back then (as well as about $25 per album, adjusted).

The energy captured from that concert is incredible. My favorite is "I Want You to Want Me," with Petersson's 12-string thrum driving the song and the audience shouting responses in time to the music.

Spun this one a day or two ago. Got it cheap in a batch of classical albums offa eBay last Fall. Dvorak's Symphony #9 (The New World) has a high level of accessibility. It has drama, luscious orchestrations, and at least three themes that have made their way into our cultural landscape. One theme was adapted for the 1984 Ken Russell film, "Crimes of Passion." Another was adapted into a folk hymn, "Goin' Home." Lennie was the first American-born conductor of stature in the 20th century. When he was on his game in the '50s and '60s especially, he conducted a lot of kick-ass recordings, including this one. Lennie was so popular at the time, a close-up headshot was sure to sell the album, as you see here. Great performance and great sonics.

I was sifting through my LP overflow shelves downstairs and came across this; didn't know I had it: Giving it a spin now and having a good time. Oops, a bit too dusty. I'll have to put it aside to clean. Next I tried Chick Corea's "My Spanish Heart" from 1976. A bit too mid-'70s for me, with too much trippy Aarp Vark, although the straight-ahead jazz is good and it's really well recorded. Back to the stack I brought up from overflow... Now I'm on to "The Twain Shall Meet" by Eric Burdon and the Animals. It has their hits, "Monterey" (about the iconic 1967 Monterey Pop Festival) and "Sky Pilot. This is another discovery in the overflow shelves. It's an original from 1967. It turns out it was just reissued on vinyl in February. A lot of groups swung for the fence in 1967; The Beatles with Sgt. Peppers, Moody Blues w/Days of Future Past; Jefferson Airplane with Surrealistic Pillow, The Doors with ... The Doors, and this effort by Eric Burdon. Quite a departure from "House of the Rising Sun." And if Brian Wilson had gotten any cooperation from the rest of the Beach Boys, his "Smile" opus would have joined this 1967 burst of creativity.

Is that the real deal, an original 6-eye Columbia pressing? This morning I got the urge to hear Mussourgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," and came to realize that I have seven eight different versions on LP. I picked out one I'd never played, Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic on Columbia Masterworks, plucked from an antique pavilion for $1. Huzzah! This thing is fantastic and is now my go-to "Pictures" recording. Great performance--now I understand why Zubin makes the big bucks. But the recording is also stunning, with sparkling clarity and knock-you-down dynamics. Mussorgsky toward the end was a hot mess, starting compositions he couldn't finish, his life chaotic and disorganized. Heavily alcoholic, he died at 42. In fact, he only completed "Pictures" for piano. After he died Maurice Ravel arranged the piano piece for orchestra, which is part of the standard repertoire today. This shows how much he slid downhill in his last five years.

How's this for eclectic? Yesterday it was: and plus a side of

So far today I got in side 1 of Sanata III and Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. I just got around to side 2 of Santana III while I was making taco filling from fresh-ground sirloin. The opening song, "Everybody's Everything" is one of my all time favorite Santana cuts. In fact, the first time I heard it in 1971 on the car radio, it got me so wired up I was driving so fast I almost lost control of my trusty Dodge Dart on a tight curve. That settled me down for the rest of the ride.

I have a nice pressing of "Blue" courtesy of Santellavision when he cleared out his LPs. I'll have to spin it today for Joni. My stepson recently got the Hozier LP. I like what I've heard. I'll see if I can borrow it from him.

I spun several vinyl platters yesterday: I started with Speak Low by Boz Scaggs, his take on traditional ballads and songs, and one of the better latter day ones. Fabulously recorded on 2 LPs. This got me into a bit of a Boz mood, so I followed it with "Hits," which contain his signature songs that charted from 1972-1980. This in turn prompted me to spin some '80s rock, so on went Vacation by The Go-Go's. After 40 minutes of Belinda Carlisle I fast-forwarded to the end of the '80s for kd lang's Absolute Torch & Twang. Wow! What pipes with great pitch control! Her delivery of the second song, "Three Days," reminded me of Patsy Cline. It turns out that it was written by Willie Nelson, who also penned Patsy Cline's identifying song, "Crazy." I plan to do some more spinning today, and I don't mean on a stationary bike.

I like the atmospheric effect when Hendrix brings on the wah-wah in his solo in "All Along the Watchtower."

Road House may be the best bad movie ever made.

Jeff Healey Band's Live at Montreaux 1995 film/video includes Hoochie Coochie Man. Concert DVD vailable on Amazon and from Netflix. If it weren't for Road House, I wouldn't have seen him in action up to now.

You really need to check out 11s on thinlines and semihollows. The extra downforce creates a better transfer between the bridge and the top, which then energizes the tone chambers or hollow body. My Newport really lit up when I tried Elixir 11-49s, and with that substantial neck, the action was still very easy.

Plenty of competition here, but I gotta nominate Santana, not just for the face, but the posture, too: He's 67 and could probably use some stool softener.

There are over 1100 known compositions by by J.S. Bach. I heard somewhere that it would take someone 65 years to copy all his works by hand.

Partridge Family was inspired by The Cowsills, and the Cowsill kids were considered for the TV roles, but they had no acting experience and were too old by then for the roles anyway. The Cowsills had pretty much run through their hits before the series came out. Here's a curiosity: The Cowsills on average aren't too long-lived. Both parents have been dead for a long time, and three of the "kids," baby boomers, are also deceased. Barry drowned in Hurricane Katrina at age 50.

Yeah, and that one cost Harrison a bit of money and a loooong legal slog. He also pinched the opening line of James Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves" for his own hit, "Something." Concerning the Zep suit, did somebody from Spirit put down his bong 42 years later and go, "Hey!"?

Even back in the day, the British pressings on EMI/Parlophone had a richer, more immediate sound than the Capitol remasters and pressings for the US market. This current release was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in an all-analog signal chain. Here is a description of how this release was EQ'd, master, cut, and pressed on top quality 180g vinyl. As for this release, it exceeded my expectations pretty much in every way. Sound is honest, transparent, rich, and very dynamic. There was no compression and minimal EQ on the mastering. The tonal balance is richer than the stereo Capitol releases we're used to. The dynamics on "Within You Without You" on Sgt Peppers would knock your socks off, especially the tablas. The head engineer said the White Album displays the most new clarity and insight, but really, they're all good. The noise floor is very low, not just for 50+ yr-old tapes, but low on an absolute scale. These are some of the quietest records I own. I'm not alone on that opinion. Here are some excerpts from the thread on Audiogon by nerds like me who took delivery within a couple of days of the official release: Had a chance to listen to Sgt Pepper yesterday. Vinyl is very quiet, voices sound clearer ... I... listened to "Please Please Me". ..., this is the best I've heard of this title. Listened to Please Please Me last night with Grado mono cartridge on Technics 1200 mkII. Dynamics and clarity are all there. Surface is very quiet. Vocals have never been clearer on any pressing of this album I have, ... I just received my Mono box set. ... The vinyl is all pristine and flat. The LP's are quiet and clean. ... I have NEVER heard the Beatles sound better. The new Beatles mono set is, in a word, fabulous. ... The pressing quality is as good it gets. An absolute must for any Beatle fan with a turntable. Better than the Japanese monos by a country mile. I cleaned and played the first record in the box last night, dead quiet surfaces, sounded great. ... I just bought the mono version of MMT. IMO, it is the best Beatles pressing that I own of any of their albums. I also want to point out that much of the surface noise we remember is not the fault of the records; it's the turntables of the '70s and '80s. Most TT mfrs were clueless about noise management and how to drain the extraneous noise out of the signal chain. Even a current entry-level turntable keeps the noise out of the signal path more effectively than a wide range of reputable turntables from the '70s-'80s. If you're starting fresh, I strongly recommend the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon at $399-ish.

The best new reason to buy a turntable: These just-released analog-mastered LPs sound incredible. Sgt. Peppers and White Album are a great place to start.