AL to Zero - Every Official (CD) Release In The House

I'm often doing this sort of thing, but rarely get terribly deep into the alphabet before I change things up and start doing things differently.<<

We'll see.

But it's not exclusive.  I'm still doing the This Day In History GD thing on LMA (Fillmore E 1/3/70 streaming now) and still playing a ton of fingerpickers' YooToobs to steal what I can, guitar-wise.

At work, it's been mostly streaming for the past year-plus, so the [who knows how many?] live CDs have been mostly dormant.

I actually killed a CD/DVD drive at my last job.  Might've here as well, if they hadn't updated workstations.

So slow here at the moment, I may actually watch some TV.  Up to seaon 3 of VIKINGS (a/k/a "Bjorns of Anarchy"). It's like Games of Thrones without dragons, boobs or an SFX budget.

As long as I know where that  particular CD is when I want to hear it I'm good.<<

I'm hoping to get back to that point as a by-product

A lot of stuff is filed "in the neighborhood".

If adding something required shifting CDs at the the beginning/end of a section(s) of storage space, I'd frequently stick it on top of CDs in the same section.

And some are just where they happened to end up for whatever reason.  There's a small desk near our door that's sort of a Limbo for mail, CDs, lighters, thumbpicks . . .

When it starts getting layered or unstable, I reach in and pull stuff out at random to toss, file, whatever.

Onward . . .

Same players as yesterday; new game.

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS - Dreams CD2 (skipped the material from Fillmore E, 'cuz I just heard it)

JOAN ARMATRADING - Show Some Emotion (some familiar names to heads (David Kemper does roughly half the drumming) and English rock fans (Mel Collins on sax) among the personnel)

LOUIS ARMSTRONG - What A Wonderful World (bought this for Lily; title track is her favorite song.  Some tracks appear on other collections, but not the one in my first post, which seemed to be from an Italian gig, judging by the intro.  Band on fire on that disc, BTW.)

Yesterday:

ALL ACCESS - Music From The Motion Picture (Yeah, I never heard of it either.  A CD that never actually made it into a rack.  It was in my desk for years.  It's actually pretty good.  Some interesting combos: Sting w/ Cheb Mami; BB King, Trey and The Roots; PFunk & Mary J. Blige.  Maybe it's on Da Netflix?)

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS - Dreams CD3 (Stuff I either didn't have or have on scratchy vinyl)

JOAN ARMATRADING - Walk Under Ladders (Primo Joan.  Featured heavy hitter: Tony Levin. But the other bass player (Mick Karn(?)) is pretty killer, too)

JOAN ARMATRADING - Hearts and Flowers (Pino Palladino on some tracks)

Today, time allowing:

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS - Dreams CD4

JOAN ARMATRADING - The Shouting Stage (Pino on bass throughout. Mark Knopfler on two tracks)

LOUIS ARMSTRONG - Gene Norman Presents An Evening With Louis Armstong and his All Stars in Concert at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium (A title so long I felt compelled to play with the formatting a little. Pretty sure I bought this one when I bought Wonderful World. Pretty standard setlist from what I've seen on other collections.)

Fortunately, I'll be doing the bulk of listening while on the clock.

If the Petulant-Elect doesn't crater the global economy:)

JOAN ARMATRADING - Into The Blues (her "latest", possibly. 2007)

LOUIS ARMSTRONG - The Word of Louis Armstrong/Mack The Knife (10 live tracks.  I may have some of them on other collections.  More seriously hot playing on the uptempo tracks)

LOUIS ARMSTRONG - The Best Of Louis Armstrong (Another one!) 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection.  (From Mom's collection.  10 studio tracks, a few of which I hadn't heard before. A rather slick package from '99, as opposed to a few of the collections noted above, which were pretty weak. Like hearing vinyl pops, or CD insert cards that look like they were cut by hand. Features Lucky Old Sun, not that most heads would recognize the arrangement)

EDDIE ARNOLD - Pure Gold (Not sure if it's a greatest hits thingy.  Another of Mom's. Didn't think I knew any of his catalog, but I recognize two tunes from either Mom's WNEW-AM days, or maybe talk shows or old movies.  Some great production, tho'.  Strings faced off against vocal harmonies, tasty pedal steel or Hawaiian guitar.)

AZTEC TWO-STEP - Live & Rare (a 30th anniversary collection I bought for Lily.  She and her college roomie used to hitchhike to see these guys. They opened for David Bromberg Band the first time I saw either.  With an ill-advised Joisey joke, in Jersey City.  Killer harmonies and and smoking acoustic leads. I think Neal finally got away from playing Ovations, thankfully).

More Satchmo:

LOUIS ARMSTRONG - The Very Best of Louis Armstrong (Another from Mom's stash.  A slick, double-CD collection (40 tracks) with extensive liner notes.  All pop, studio cuts, so far, but most of the titles I haven't played so far (CD2) are from his live repertoire, so I'll see.

This concludes the "A" Section

B

THE B-52'S - Cosmic Thing (A "What the hell? I'll keep it" CD club purchase.  One of several)

BACKBONE - (Billy K's Hawaii trio release.  Didn't love it; didn't hate it.)

ERYKAH BADU - Mama's Gun (Shit to move?  Call Tyrone!)

THE BAND - Rock Of Ages (one of those abridged 1CD releases.  Looking at the tracks, I can't tell which tune(s) they left off.  Not sure if I bought this, since I didn't have it on vinyl, or if Da Boy bought it during his School of Rock years. I don't think SOR got around to an all the Band show while he was there.  I do remember one performance of Cripple Creek that he didn't play on. )

ERYKAH BADU - Live (My bad.  "Tyrone" is on this release.  Two versions)

BARENAKED LADIES - Gordon (A classic, sublime album. If your knowledge of BNL is limited to "One Week" and "If I Had $1,000,000", do yourself a favor and find this on Yootoob.  The whole album is there. Great songwriting, killer harmonies, funny stuff and one of the most under-rated bass/drums combos going.  Haven't heard a great deal since Stephen Page left, tho'.)

BEAT THE RETREAT - Songs By Richard Thompson (Not quite ALL-Star collection of RT covers.  Great stuff.  David Hidalgo's solo on X's version of "Shoot Out The Lights" alone was worth the price)

BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED - Music of Day Jams (Before Da Boy went to School of Rock, he did this rock'nr'oll day camp thing for a week. they split kids into bands, which then wrote their own songs and made their own cover artwork.  BNI was Ian's band. I can't remember any of the music, but I remember liking the cover art better.  Front shows a sad, dejected "AA" battery/back shows a  prone Energizer Bunny with its eyes X'd out. They also had T-Shirts made, since a classmate's dad is a bit of a T-shirt kingpin -- had the ABB among his clients for a long time. I may not actually make it thru this whole disc and it may not make it back into the rack)

I doubt he's heard it since it was burned.  Maybe we'll break it out if/when we meet the GF

BARENAKED LADIES - Maybe You Should Drive  (More great songs and singing.  And one of the more "WTF?" cover photos, with or without reference to the title.)

Adrian Belew - Inner Revolution (My first Belew CD.  Had the other stuff on vinyl or cassette copies of vinyl.  Looking at the track list, I can only recall one song, "Birds".)

BRIAN BELLEW AND THE LODI HOMEBOYS (Jersey Rocks! I got this after a night of post-performance drinking. The bass player, John Rado, had CDs and cassettes in his trunk, and passed them out to the cast of Godspell, which I was in, and for which John was playing bass in the pit.  John also led the band Boxcar Mary, and released the solo disc, "See You Next Tuesday" (Bitter? Why,  yes!).  John is a funny guy.  Whenever his Dad would go to one of his gigs, John would tell the crowd it was his Dad's birthday. Dad would drink free all night. The keys player from the Godspell run, Steve Cuniff of the band 58K (long-time DeadHead until bailing on a '94 Giant's Stadium show--maybe you know him), appears on three tracks.  I think I still have a cassette copy of this release in the VERY small collection   -  less than 20  -  of cassette releases I have.)

BARENAKED LADIES - Rock Spectacle. (Pronounced "Rock Spectack".  French-like.  Live collection of hits and . . . I dunoo . . . maybe they were all hits up north.)

ADRIAN BELEW - Side Two  (A signed copy, to boot.  Didn't even know we had it.  Haiku-like lyrics, as opposed to verses/choruses.  A few other musicians this disc, unlike some of his other work.  I assume Ian picked it up when AB did his clinic at School of Rock.  At the time, Belew was pushing guitars that supposedly came preset with "all" the guitar tones you could want: Strat, Les Paul, etc.  Don't know how they sold.)

BARENAKED LADIES - Born On A Pirate Ship  (So many great songs. So F'n hard to sing.  Some knee-buckling harmony on a couple tracks.  Very few bands I like this much that don't have a "guitar hero".)

BARENAKED LADIES - Stunt  (The album you know, with that song you hate)

BARENAKED LADIES - Everything To Everyone (The last one with Stephen Page, I think. Not sure if Lily or Ian bought this one. The empty case was in our last car for years. No idea where the disc was.  I assume Lily found it after the car got the death sentence and was being cleaned out.  Not sure if anything from this disc got any real traction on US radio.)

TONY BENNETT - I wanna be around . . . (One of Mom's.  Mid-90's re-release collection hand-picked by Mr. Bennett, according to the jacket.  Seven tracks of filler from another release, "This Is All I Ask".  The filler is stuff with the Ralph Sharon Trio, while the main material is older, "big-production" stuff.  Songs are all short, running 1:45-3:22.  More Tony to come.  Like the Satchmo stuff above, not sure if I'll keep all I have or just pluck a disc or two and give away the others.)

THE BLACK CROWES - Shake Your Money Maker (A "What the hell, I'll keep it" BMG purchase.  Before I realized how much Chris Robinson irritates me)

BLUE TONES - The Latest From Blue Note Records (Latest circa 2006, that is.  Not sure how we came by this. A dozen tracks; a few from names I recognize, such as Cassandra Wilson and Don Byron.)

TONY BENNETT - Tony Bennett's "Something" (Another of Mom's and another hand-picked "Master Series" release like the above.  Beatles, Satchmo, Jimmy Webb among the folks covered)

BLUES PLAYLIST -  (Promotional disc (Concord Music) with some familiar names: Robben Ford, Johnny Lang, Otis Taylor, Keb' Mo', Bonnamassa)

BLOTTO - Collected Works (Possibly all of them? Includes all the Blootto tunes I was aware of and then some. Three versions of "I Wanna Be A Lifeguard", including "karaoke")

BLUEST TRAVELER - Four (Our earliest memories of Ian dancing on his wobbly own baby legs are to "Runaround".  May not have been the first tune, but it's what I remember.)

^BLUEST TRAVELER<<  Ha.  Typo.

First up, an overlooked "A" from the "Mom Stack":

JULIE ANDREWS - Broadway/Richard Rogers (Julie w/ London Musicians Orchestra-Ian Fraser conducting.  As expected, big, lush recording with killer orchestration.  Liner notes longer than many magazine articles.  On the one hand, the sound of Music is one of my earliest musical memories. On the other hand, I never performed, or even saw, another Richard Rogers show. The song are mostly chestnuts, tho', covered by everyone, even our dear Jerome Garcia (My Funny Valentine)

BLUES TRAVELER - Straight On Till Morning (I remember hearing the first two tracks, Carolina Blues and Felicia, each exactly ONCE on the radio, and that was it.  Don't think this collection spawned a "hit".  I could be wrong)

BOXCAR NANCY -  Turning 'Round (Led by John Raido, whose name I mis-typed in the post about BRIAN BELLEW AND THE LODI HOMEBOYS, above. I went to see a former, now late, co-worker's band, and John was in the house.  Laid BOXCAR NANCY and his solo effort, "See You Next Tuesday ", on me while we were having a, um, safety meeting.  Impressive writing, playing and production throughout.  Liner notes, even.  I've hung with John fewer than a dozen times, after rehearsals or performances. Always laughed my ass off.)

TONY BENNETT - Steppin' Out (Of the four Bennett discs we have, this is the only one I purchased. Another "What the hell?" BMG CD Club keeper.)

EDIE BRICKELL AND NEW BOHEMIANS - Shooting Rubber Bands At The Stars (Ur you whut you ur, ur whut?  The "Is that Jerry?" guitar solo of all time, no? Another band I saw exactly once.  Great double-bill with John Hiatt and The Goners.  'NEW-FM Xmas show, maybe?)

DAVID BROMBERG - Try Me One More Time (The only DB CD I have (plenty o' vinyl still), and the first he'd released in a loooooong time, at the time.  I think he's dropped one or two more since.  This one is all solo, acoustic tunes.)

All three from the Mom stack:

SHIRLEY BASSEY - Sassy Bassy (One of those two-LPs-on-one-CD dealios.  Don't know who the players are but they kick ass.  Killer charts, as well.  The live stuff disappoints a bit, sonically.  Sound like AUD recordings, and crowd/clapping is way up in the mix.  This disc is a keeper, tho.)

TONY BENNETT - Unplugged (Great stuff.  I thought I saw this at the time but I don't remember Elvis Costello sitting in.  I do remember KD Lang and TB, but its possible I saw them together on another outlet.)

THE BODYGUARD - Soundtrack (So much plastic crap!  If anyone remembers "The Simpsons Sing The Blues", there's a bit before a tune where Lisa requests "No synthesized instruments, please."  If only....  There is a sorta decent Joe Cocker track, and Curtis Stiger's take on "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace . . . " sounds a bit like Nathtaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, but this is otherwise some real caca. I left the disc on a counter at work with an Up-For-Grabs note.)

GFY.

EDIE BRICKELL AND NEW BOHEMIANS - Ghost Of A Dog (The usual "sophomore slump" critically and sales-wise, but I like it as much as their debut, mostly the guitars and bass.)

JAMES BROWN - The CD of JB Sex Machine & other soul classics (Just like it says)

CHARLIE BROWN - Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown! ('89 release with some serious talent: Chick, BB, Gerry Mulligan, Joe Williams.  Then there's Kenny G)

JUNIOR BROWN - Junior High (More of an EP, with only 5-6 tunes.  I'm not sure at the moment, because this disc is MIA.  It got a lot of play pre-ECZJ16, since I was doing a tune included on it. Could be in the car somewhere, but I don't think I brought it for the ride, unlike the Van M CD.  There is also a chance I put it on a flat surface and then buried it.  It'll turn up.)

BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY - Soundtrack (Another from Mom's stash. Never saw the flick. Have no idea what's on it.  Was Josh Groban a thing when that movie was made?  If so, I'll bet he's on itMost important, I don't have it with me.  I saw it on top of the Mom Stack and left the house without it. I'll bring it tomorrow.  I'm assuming it's horrendous.  Any different, I let yas know.  I imagine I'll be leaving it for grabs here at work.  BTW, someone DID snatch up The Bodyguard soundtrack CD over the weekend.)

JACKSON BROWNE - Running On Empty (Never owned it until I bought the CD; probably via BMG. But pretty much everyone I knew (or their sibling) had a copy on vinyl.  Played that version of Cocaine a handful of times around the turn of the 80s, at least once with my friend Bob "Hawke" Morffi plucking out the fiddle part.  It takes a clear mind . . .)

BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO - Taking It Home (My friend M.D. went on a Cajun kick years ago.  A lot of Cajun/Zydeco tunes as gifts, serving gator at parties, etc.  A nice collection, and the cover of Why Does Love Got To Be So Bad? features EC himself on the lead gee-tar.)

BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB - (You already have this. What? You Don't?  WTF?)

Wow.  Totally wrong about Bridges of Madison County.  I was expecting terrible, contemporary music.  But it's all killer, old-school standards; heavy on Dinah Washington and Johnny Hartman (think Joe Williams, but DEEPER) Great stuff. Kudos to Clint.  Maybe I'll even watch this some day.)

A few more "B"s from the Mom Stack, and I'm keeping 'em both, I think.

MICHAEL BUBLE - (This is a CD-R in a paper sleeve, so at least one of Mom's friends was burner-savvy.  Holy Shi*t!  This thing smokes.  One great song after another, from Smoky to Sinatra, and the charts are killer.  Don't know if one person arranged the entire album, but props to 'em.  My prior exposure to Buble is him being really F'n funny on SNL, playing a psycho version of himself.)

JIMMY BUFFET - Fruitcakes (He covers UJB on this one.  I've still never seen him but I imagine it would not suck.  Like a Carib version of a Willie show.  Dude can write a song. Band can play)

GARY BURTON - Cool Nights (Vibes master, backed by a serious band, including Will Lee on bass.  Four cuts written by former Burton sideman Pat Metheny, plus the most awesomely titled track ever composed for a vibes record: With Mallets Aforethought.  NyuckNyuck!)

Found the JUNIOR BROWN disc buried waaaaaay back in the ludicrously deep glove box of our Versa.  Unless I missed something, this concludes the "B"s.

"C"

CAJUN MUSIC AND ZYDECO (Another gift from M.D. -- see BUCKWHEAT ZYDECO above.  1992 Rounder Records.  A rather scholarly collection.  About half the material is the big names most of us probably know: Dennis McGee, Buckwheat, Boozoo; the rest I'm not familiar with.  Extensive "forward" and liner notes.  Inspired by a book of the same title.)

CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS - Leaving Eden (A Xmas gift from Da Boy. Banjo/Fiddle offerings that the wife cannot deride as "white-people music" (funny boy!).

TRACY CHAPMAN - Debut. Is she still out there? I hear Gimme One Reason, from her second album, occasionally but that's about it.

Doh!  Overlooked "B"s.  All from BIG STONER CREEK, a SC (Charleston/Folly Creek) band that featured my late friend Bob"Hawke" Morffi.  All "Hawke" tunes, whether discs or the original cassettes of older stuff, are stored apart from the "general population" (as are GD and related (Compilations, Tributes) stuff).  There are three BSC titles: "Froggy Style", "Altered Perceptions" and "Cambio".  While all three feature some of the same tunes, I think they all from distinct sessions and may feature different bassists/drummers. Cambio also features a badass keys player.  Upside: he was badass.  Downside: fewer Bob solos.  Props to George Fox on the songwriting.  Bob had a knack for hooking up with a strong pen-man.

Three in a row from the Mom Stack:

RAY CHARLES - The Genius Of Ray Charles (Can't overstate how good this is.  Great tunes, stellar band (including Ellington alumni) and arrangements by Ralph Burns and Quincy Jones.  Liner notes by Nat Hentoff.)

THE CHIEFTAINS  -  The Long Black Veil (Guests aplenty!  Mick Jagger on the title track. Van, Sinead O'Connor, Sting, Stones, Knopfler, Ry F'n Cooder! Maryanne Faithful, Tom Jones. Still has the "In Store Play Copy" sticker from some store in CT.  Guess they sold out.)

HARRY CONNICK, JR. -  "25" (Haven't heard this yet, but looks to be a bunch of songs written before this guy was born. I recognize 10 of the 13 tracks.)

ERIC CLAPTON - Unplugged (A "keeper" from BMG CD Club, but I don't know whether it was "active" (knowingly not sending that card back on time) or "passive" (just keeping it after the sent it). It was in style to dog Clapton at the time, but there's some great stuff on this disc.  First-rate band (Chuck Leavell, and Ray F'ing Cooper, who makes EVERY lineup better).)

BRUCE COCKBURN -  Humans (I don't think it's his debut, but it's pretty early  - '80.  Simply a great songwriter and guitar player.  That droning-bass thing is harder than it looks.)

JOE COCKER  -  Greatest Hits (Most of 'em, anyway.  He had a few after this was compiled.  A real Who's-Who of 70s studio/tour sidemen in the credits.)

BRUCE COCKBURN - The Trouble With Normal (More great songs, great guitar and Hugh Marsh's spooky violin.  The title track got a bit of FM play, if I recall.)

JOE COCKER - Live (Overlaps with the greatest hits CD above, as one might expect.  We saw him around this time, dead-center last row of The Beacon.  One of the best shows I ever saw. An even better band than the one on this disc, which is pretty damn good. Add Earl Slick and Allan Toussaint to TM Stevens and Chris Stainton...  I think the drummer was a big-name hitter, too.  Like a Keltner or Steve Jordan-level guy.  Long time ago, pre-parenthood brain.  Disc also includes a couple of studio tracks which I don't recall having any commercial success. But (see previous sentence.))

THE CODETALKERS - Now (The last release, I think.  Definitely the last with The Colonel.  Kind of weird hearing all these tunes boiled down to 3-4 minutes.  They were all 8-12 live.)

BRUCE COCKBURN - Stealing Fire (Possibly Cockburn's popular peak? It's got "that Rocket Launcher song," another one that Barenaked Ladies had a hit with, and "Peggy's Kitchen Wall," which I'm gonna do if I can ever get five backup singers together.)

THE CODETALKERS -  Dee-Lux Uh-dish-un (Badass Banjitar abounds!)

MARK COHN - Mark Cohn (His debut.  Dude can write a song.  And take a bullet to the head.  I think he married a movie star, too.  Impressive all around. Another BMG CD Club keeper.)

BRUCE COCKBURN - World Of Wonders (More great stuff. They Call It Democracy and People See Through You seem newly relevant in the Age Of Orange Twitler.)

NAT KING COLE - The Capitol Collectors Series (20 tracks, most of which I'm familiar with.  Extensive liner notes by Nat Kelly Cole.  Once I read them, I may know who Nat Kelly Cole is. Track info shows master number, take number and chart history, which is cool.)

ALBERT COLLINS/ROBERT CRAY/JOHNNY COPELAND - Showdown! (I think you get the idea.  A gift from by buddy Paul.  Something I never noticed:  the drummer's name is Casey Jones. I know, right?)

I have "T-Bone Shuffle" on now.<<

That's the first track

BRUCE COCKBURN - Nothing But A Burning Light (Big names all over this.  Keltner, Booker T., Mark O'Connor, Edgar Meyer, Larry Klein, Jackson Browne.  Plus, perhaps the best Christmas song of the latter 20th Century, Cry Of A Tiny Babe.  Also, in the back cover photo, Bruce looks a bit like Jack Casady.)

NAT KING COLE - The Greatest Hits (22 Tracks. Haven't done a direct comparison, but probably the 20 tracks from the disc a few posts up, plus the Unforgettable duet and one other.  Not as deluxe as the other release; no liner notes and less track info.

JOHN COLTRANE - A Love Supreme (My go-to airplane CD.  It's good on the plane with red wine and Trane.)

Affirmative on the Alligator label, JD

BRUCE COCKBURN - Breakfast In New Orleans; Dinner In Timbuktu (Ho-hum. Just another Cockburn gem.  Features BG Vox by Lucinda Williams and Margo Timmins - not too shabby.  Also, some very tasty kora (Google it) playing.  The thing looks kind of complicated.)

COLUMBIA RECORDS RADIO HOUR - Volume 1 (A gift from a couple of friends who are no longer a couple.  A pretty amazing collection culled from a very unlikely source: a live radio show that was taped on Sunday mornings.  Great artist crossovers/ sit-ins.  Such as the last track, Cry Of A Tiny Babe, with Bruce Cockburn, Rob Waserman, Lou Reed and Roseanne Cash.  Lou's verse is so cringe-worthy it's great. When I hear it now I think of Lites' "Bobby just took a $70 shit in my mouth" line.  I don't know if they ever put out a Volume 2.  This is more than 20 years old, so the whole thing is probably on the yootoobs.  Highly recommended.)

THE COMMITMENTS - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (I love the the montage with all the prospective drummers coming to the door. Fun flick with great tunes.  Like Hot Tuna, everyone should see this every 5-10 years.)

TOM CONSTANTEN - Nightfall Of Diamonds (Anyone else have this? I'd say 5-10% of you, tops. Deadheads are so guitar-centric)

HARRY CONNICK, JR. -  Blue Light, Red Light (Another from the Mom Stack, and it's another keeper.  I'm about halfway through, and this is scary good. HC Jr. wrote all the songs and the charts.  16 horn players in the credits, playing 20 instruments.  The way the solos mesh with the charts is pretty sweet.)

RY COODER - Bop Till You Drop (The first Ry I ever heard, and probably the one I'd have if I could only have one. Sublime.)

ELVIS COSTELLO - Spike (The Beloved Entertainer) Very strong work, with a semi-hit (Veronica, co-written with some McCartney guy who used to be famous).  I was hoping EC would borrow the Steely Dan horns and do some of this material (like Stalin Malone) when they toured together, but it was more of a hits thing.  I'd love to cover Baby Plays Around, but it sounds like it has those chords that hurt. Pads, Paws and Claws could be fun, too.)

DANIELIA COTTON - Small White Town (My brother turned me on to her.  Saw her at The Recher in Towson.  She rocks pretty hard and can write a song.  Covers Prince pretty well and always (or used to, anyway) encores w/ AC/DC. Solid.)

RY COODER - Get Rhythm (Very strong work.  This is pretty much all the same personnel as the first time I saw Ry.  There's an '87 Catalyst show out there with this band.  I think it was a PZ Vine at one point. Have a ball!)

ELVIS COSTELLO/THE BRODSKY QUARTET - The Juliet Letters (Another one which I imagine very few Zoners have.  Bein' that it's classy 'n all.)

Wasn't Bop Til(l?) You Drop the first digitally mastered album?

I believe so. "AAD" in the digi-nomenclature.

Analog/Analog/Digital

Forget what each refers to.  Maybe Recorded/Mixed/Mastered?

Next up, another gift from my buddy, Paul. In fact, I think Paul gave me all my remaining Ry CDs.

RY COODER - Music By Ry Cooder.

Ooh! Side project!  I'm gonna go through the credits and put anything I haven't seen in my Netflix cue.

ELVIS COSTELLO - Mighty Like A Rose (Like "Spike", a very ambitious piece of work.  Big, dense, and layered.  Sh*t-ton of great players, including Rob Wasserman on one tune and Marc Ribot on everything.  Apparently, EC's (or maybe Mitchell Froom's) answer to every question was "Needs more keyboards."  It takes a Ribot to cut through that.)

RY COODER & V.M. BHATT -  A Meeting By The River (Improvised music, an instrument conceived by the guy playing it, and, maybe coolest of all, Ry having his 14-Y.O. kid being a part of the experience (dumbek).  Not the disc I reach for when I'm craving Ry, so I'm glad to give it a spin.)

ELVIS COSTELLO & ALLEN TOUSSAINT - The River In Reverse (Sublime.  Released 11 years ago and still The Album Of The Century, IMO.  'bone solo for the ages on Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?)

COUNTING CROWS - August And Everything After (Another passive BMG CD keeper.  Great songs that are really hard to sing along to without hurting yourself.  A well-produced album, and the only one of theirs I've heard in its entirety.  Never saw them live, but the two shows I've heard suggest those guys need the studio.  Some bands sound "loose" live.  They sounded sloppy.  If that singer has a bad night, they're probably fucked.

COWBOY JUNKIES - The Trinity Session (MMM, Margo)

ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS - Momofuku (The new Attractions? Pretty much.  He played with these guys on the dates with Steely Dan, but didn't do any of this material.)

COWBOY JUNKIES - The Caution Horses (I really need to check out their later material. Their stuff is so well-crafted.  The restrained quality of it puts me in mind of "Wake Of The Flood".)

HUI COX PROJECT - Reality Check, Please! (Hui was my boss at the last job where I worked directly for BIG-ASS LAW, INC.  If "Keep your night job!" was a thing, it would apply here. GREAT guitar player.  Manager, not so much.  Hui plays these gorgeous, custom-built, seven-string axes.  This disc features a guy named Corrin Huddleston, who may be the best harmonica player I've ever heard (and I've seen Toots).  Hui was (maybe still is) the guitar player for that Temptations/Four Tops bill that still tours. I also found some vids of him backing a very dramatic woman with a thing for scarves, on stuff like Greensleeves and show tunes.  Hope it's a paying gig, 'cuz it looks like an SNL sketch.)

JIM CROCE - His Greatest Hits (So. F'n. Good. Question for folks older than 40: True or False: You have attended a wedding where the couples "song" was Time In A Bottle.)

CROWDED HOUSE - Crowded House (Another BMG keeper.  Good songs, well-produced.  Just missed a free Finn Bros.show on our first visit to SF in '91 -- that's right, this band had already broken up by that point.  We were about a block away from the show when we heard a big finish and cheers.  We still had a nice walk in the park.)

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - The Concert (1/31/70, to be specific; something I just noticed in the liner notes. This is definitely from BMG CD, and may be one of the original 13 for a penny or whatever the deal was. Rock 'n roll.)

CROSBY-NASH - Another Stoney Evening (Actually a CD-R given me by a Zoner known occasionally to sing and hit a dumbek.  A bit of digi-caca on Teach your Children, but it's the last tune, so no biggie.)

DAVID CROSBY - Croz (Another CD-R from my Zoner pal.  This is a great record.)

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH & YOUNG - Looking Forward (This is not a great record.)

"D"

MILES DAVIS - Birth Of The Cool (Hell, yeah.)

No CSN and Y Four Way Street?

4WS is on vinyl.

MILES DAVIS - Amandla (This is practically a Marcus Miller record.  Which, y'know, ain't bad.)

DEADICATED - Various Artists Salute GD (Yeah, I skipped right over that Chris Robinson track)

ROBERT DEBELLIS - Parallax (My son's HS sax teacher/bandleader.  Great stuff.  Badass sax and bass clarinet and a kickass band.  If Phil still has the charts for Finnegan's Awake, he should get them to someone like Bob DeBellis.  He could give 'em to the Stanford band, but there's a better chance the HS kids'll be sober.)

ALEX DEGRASSI - Altiplano (Man, forgot how good this is, especially the percussion.  Don't have a lot of Windham Hill stuff on CD; mostly cassettes from my buddy's LPs.  I could actually play some of theses tunes now, thanks to the innerwebz.)

DEREK AND THE DOMINOS - Layla (For you, Disco Stu!  Full disclosure.  Da Boy bought this one. School of Rock was big on Classic Rock.)

Great hearing the tunes that never got any airplay.  Also, just noticed the co-credit on I Am Yours is the same name as a co-worker across the room.  A "pretty common name in Iran" sez he.

NEIL DIAMOND - His 12 Greatest Hits (Another from the Mom Stack.  Listened to it, then turned around and handed it to a co-worker.  I'd have freebied it to Chance if he was still around.  But he's a fan, and probably has all the originals.  Seems so unusual to hear Sweet Caroline without a bunch of drunken Irish cops singing "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" while "honking" imaginary breasts.  But, hey, schmaltz remains popular.)

DIRE STRAITS - Flat-out one of the best debut albums ever.  You may even remember where you were the first time you heard Sultans of Swing.)

DIRE STRAITS - Communique (One of the first two CDs I purchased.  Bought my first CD player at J&R, then walked over to the Music Section to buy "Brothers In Arms," which was out of stock.   Picked up "Communique" and "Learning To Crawl" instead.)

DIGA RHYTHM BAND - Diga (Happiness IS drumming.  Ask Charlie Murphy.)

DIRE STRAITS - Love Over Gold (Always felt like this album could have used another track or two.  Or maybe just to have subbed out "Private Investigations" for another song.  My least fave DS song; of course, they've played it every time I've seen them.  It was a pee break by the third time.  I never did get around to buying the "Making Movies" release, in any format. )

Djam Karet - Reflections From the Fire Pool (Anyone else ever buy music from the bands that advertised in the back of Relix?  I bought a couple of cassettes by these guys that blew me away.  Spacey Power Fusion?  Not sure how to describe their sound.  Some angry-sounding guitar, for sure.  Looking at the back of the CD case now, and the credits list instruments such as BOTTLED BASS (wtf?), MIC STAND and CHAIN).   And the "Thank Yous" list someone or something named SPLATT WINGER.  Pretty sure they changed some personnel between my cassette and CD purchases.)

DIRE STRAITS -  Brothers In Arms ("That's the way you do it!"  One great F'n record.)

DIRE STRAITS - On Every Street (More great stuff.  With pedal steel!)

DOOBIE BROTHERS - Cycles (Part of some BMG CD two-fer, but I don't remember the other disc involved. I'll assume it's better than this piece of shit, though.  To be fair, there are 2-3 tracks that recall better days, and sound like China Grove or Takin' It . . .  The rest sound like rejected Toto cuts.  Bad enough that Lily asked,"What is this ("shit" implied)?)

DR. JOHN - In A Sentimental Mood (Niiiiiiiiice!  Loves me some Rickie Lee Jones.)

DR. JOHN - Goin' Back To New Orleans (Can't believe this album is 25 years old.  Go get it, if you can.  The players are a Who's Who of hoodoo, with great notes by Mac himself.)

DIRE STRAITS - On The Night (The "other" live album.  I'd have swapped out a few songs, but no one asked me.  This is the big, 9-piece lineup from the last time I saw DS.  Probably the best concert sound I've ever experienced.  Every note from the second the lights went down.  Made one wonder why the GD needed half a set to get things dialed in.)

THE DRAGONFLYS - When We All Come Home (Hmm.  Wonder where my band-signed copy of this is.  I had ordered the CD and bought a pair of tix to Mexicali.  Then I won a copy and a pair of tix to Mexicali.  Maybe I propped it up for display and it slipped from it's perch.  Anyhoo, some fine lyrics by Mr. Hunter.  And Rob sure sings and plays purty.)

DREAD ZEPPELIN - Un- led -Ed (I was curious, after seeing all those ads for their gigs @ The Wetlands.  A fun goof backed by real chops.  Wonder if they're still out there.  Just noticed "Porn Bass" in the credits.)

DREAM 6 (Who?  An EP, I guess (6 tracks), from 1983.  The weird thing is that is was thrown into my bag with some CDs I bought at a ...hmm...Wiz, maybe(?)  in 200[something].  One of those promotional discs in a cardboard sleeve.  Didn't see it until I got home.  Girl singer/bass player in a tight dress and two dudes with toned-down Flock Of Seagulls haircuts.  It's not terrible.  Sort of like Pat Benatar.)

DUBIOUS SOUL - Life's Not A Paragraph (A bunch of guys my brother went through Catholic school with. I went to school with the sibs of a couple.  I think it was conceived as a way to record some songs by our late friend Dan (DT) Tierney, which comprise half the tracks.  The rest are by Bobby Keane or Joe (Not THAT Joe Jackson) Jackson, including Blonde-Haired Bitch, which I covered at one of the Gitmo Jams.  I'd heard Joe play a very drunk version in the Jackson basement around '79 or '80.  I actually played it from memory, in the original key; whereas this version was put in a more horn-friendly key. Sadly, Joe passed away after this was recorded.  I ended up with two copies, since my bro brought his up on a road trip.  Kudos to Bobby's kid Sean on the trippy cover art.)

BOB DYLAN - Empire Burlesque (Lots of great personnel on this record.  I'm partial to Clean Cut Kid.)

DYLAN & THE DEAD (I think that take on Watchtower might have been the most smokin' thing on the radio that year. Could have done w/o Joey, IMO.)

BOB DYLAN - Down In The Groove (Again, lots of big names playing understated stuff. GD, Clapton, Knopfler, Woods.  But I'm most impressed Dylan got Willie Green & Bobby King.  You Cooder fans know what I mean.)

E

THE DUKE ELLINGTON ORCHESTRA - Digital Duke  (They did this one right.  Conducted by Mercer Ellington; guests including Branford, Clark Terry. Composition, Charts & Chops = SUBLIME.)

OVERLOOKED "C" ( Same reason as in "Doh! Overlooked Bs" above.)  The calendar turning to APRIL served as a reminder.)

JOHN CUSATIS -  April Days  (Charleston-area heads may actually be familiar with Cusatis.  This record's 20 years old and he was gigging there long before that. It's a sentimental favorite, since my late friend Bob "Hawke" Morffi is "all over this thing", as Cusatis put it when I got in touch with him.  Cusatis is a funny guy and Bob plays his ass off (fiddle, mando, slide-mando, percussion).  The lead guitar and harmonica are pretty kickin', too.)

http://www.cusatis.com/music.html

Don't know if those links work, but the page lists the whole album plus a few other tracks.

********************************************************

F

That's right.  I have exactly one "E" artist on CD, apparently.  I'm surprised too.  But, y'know eph ELO and the Eagles, amiright?

DONALD FAGEN - Kamakiriad (I love it, but I'm not sure why it's not just another Steely Dan release.  If you're a Dan fan, you know all the names in the credits.  Plus Amy Helm!)

58K - Circles (There's a decent chance someone on the old PZ knew Steve Cunniff (keys/production) from GD tour.  He'd had enough after Giants' Stadium '94, between the sloppy playing and one too many CORRINNAs (or "Purina", as he mocked it).  He played in the pit for at least one show I did, probably GODSPELL. It's kind of a shiny, happy collection of songs; not quite Up With People, but positive.  Don't know anyone else who was in the band, but I worked with two of the back-up singers.  Judith Moss is a kick-ass singer and one of the funniest people I ever worked with.  One of the other two played my wife in a production of The Foreigner, but I can't remember which one.)

ELLA FITZGERALD - The Early Years - Part 2 ("Part 2" on the packaging; "Part II" on the discs, which irritates the proofreader in me.  Another from the Mom Stack.  Impressive collection, centering on her transition to more mature material, according to the extensive liner notes by one of her biographers.)

ROBERTA FLACK - Roberta (Another Mom Stack-er, but definitely a keeper.  I had to wrack my brain to come up with three songs of hers.  K-Tel commercials made one easy.  An album of "interpretations", this ranges from cabaret-style trio and small combo stuff to awesome F'n funk. Even in arrangements that aren't overtly funky, the bass, guitars and keys are playing these twisty little runs. Some big studio names (Steve Jordan, Hiram Bullock), but I'm equally impressed by some folks I never heard of.  Good stuff.)

BELA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES - Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo (Victor. Lemonte. F'n. Wooten. And Howard Levy!)

BELA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES  - UFO Tofu (See above)

BEN FOLDS FIVE - Whatever And Ever Amen (Featuring the worst-ever "Christmas" song (Brick) and one of the best-ever break-up songs (Song For The Dumped) Well, F___ you, too! And give me back my black tee shirt! I recall Chef Bill didn't care for Folds too much.  Dunno why.)

BELA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES  - Outbound (Exit Howard Levy; enter Jeff Coffin.  Which is cool.  It's just not as cool.)

STEVE FORBERT - Streets Of This Town (My only Forbert CD. I have his first two releases on vinyl.  Don't know if  Running On Love was his first hit since Romeo's Tune, but I can't think of anything in between.  May sound funny, but Forbert remains one of the best shows I've ever seen ('80, maybe?).  His band had cowboys, hillbillies and glam/punk types, all of whom could play.  The accordion player made it sound like a giant blues harp.  And a freight train.  Side note: this disc is produced by Garry Tallent.  No Boss, but he brought Nils in on one tune.

BELA FLECK & THE FLECKTONES  - Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Oops.  This post-Levy, trio release was out of order in the rack.  Good stuff, makes you wanna buy a delay unit or something MIDI.)

BELA FLECK - Tales From The Acoustic Planet (Like Outbound above, this is all about the guest artists.  One of my favorite quotes ever, from the liner notes. Bruce Hornsby to Bela, upon hearing that Chick Corea agreed to play:  "You'd better start practicing now!")

FILLMORE - THE LAST DAYS (A pair of CD-Rs given me by a late co-worker, John Hirtle, who founded THAT GROOP (picture it in that "Beatles" font), which played 60-70s rock in Hudson County area. He even made up labels saying "Bill Graham Presents in San Francisco."  John was always the smartest guy in the room.)

REX FOWLER - Gettysburg: Reflections on an American Life (I got this for Lily, a big Aztec Two-Step fan in her early days.  We're about due to see those guys again.  Once every two decades or so.)

ARETHA FRANKLIN - Lady Soul (We also have a 30-track greatest hits collection.  This whole album should be on it.  Of course, I can't hear "A Natural Woman" without picturing PZ's Charlie Murphy in a skullet wig.)

FREE REIGN - Lumberfunk (NY-area heads may have actually caught these guys at Wetlands.  They did a great Bertha, especially for a band with only one guitar.  Wish it was on this disc.  There is a nice cover of Walkin' The Dog.  They wrote some great originals, as well.  I love Chinatown -- "Is this love, or just another 50 bucks?" Nice, guys, too.  I met them at a friend's party ( they weren't playing). They also made a DVD of their retirement show, which was emcee'd by Al Lewis.  I know, right? Not sure how that came about.  Oh, yeah:  these guys could sing, too.  Nice thing in Jambandland.)

PETER GABRIEL - So (Another "Eh, why not?" BMG keeper.  Good stuff, and I don't listen to enough commercial radio to be sick of it.)

Is it  . . . Next Tuesday already?

CONNIE FRANCIS - Among My Souvenirs (Overlooked Mom-Stacker.  All I knew about Connie Francis was the three words "Who's sorry now" from the K-Tel (or whatever) commercial that played after  school when I was a kid.   So now I've heard the whole thing.  There's an Elvis tune (...Lonesome Tonight), one called "Hurt" (No. Not that one THAT would have freaked me out.  I was surprised to learn that "Torn Between Two Lovers" (more K-Tel!  And some shitty jukeboxes) was written by Peter Yarrow.  I know, right?  The first two tracks actually had some kickin' sax work, but the CD booklet was missing, so I couldn't check the credits. I left it up for grabs here at work.  Somebody scooped it.)

ARETHA FRANKLIN - 30 Greatest Hits (Nice!  Mostly.  PRO: Track listings show release date and both pop and R&B chart position.  Six columns of what I assume is scholarly liner notes.  Plus a page that breaks down personnel (F'n all-stars) by era. CON:  Those six columns are in 3 pt. type.  The personnel page is in 5.  WTF?  I read the 5 fine.  The 3 was vibrating on the page by the end of the 1st paragraph.)

I've got a Fahey double-vinyl release.  "The Essential", maybe?  It's got a few brutal scratches (we had a dumb dog in the 80s) but I didn't toss it.  I occasionally can get a Fahey-ish thing going when I improv in alternate tunings (G; Dropped-D; Double Dropped-D).  Invariably, the phone rings or my nose gets itchy or something.  If I like it (and can remember it), I assume I've unconsciously lifted it from someone.

JERRY GARCIA - All Good Things (You know all the titles; I ain't typing 'em out. Aside from Compliments, I only had the rest on vinyl before Lily bought me this collection.  Especially love the last disc, but it's fussy about which machines it's played on, skip-wise. I'll be mixing in other Gs (and likely some Hs) in what will be a lengthy JG stretch.)

MARVIN GAYE - 15 Greatest Hits (Compact Command Performances. Are there little marketing blurbs for downloadable packages?  But I digress. No track info beyond the legal minimum stuff.  Track 5 was our wedding dance song.)

No worries, plf.  I'm not on a time line.  And with the exception of a disc or two on the weekends or in the car, I'm pretty much doing this on the clock.

JERRY GARCIA - More Of The Best (One those those "bonus" throw-ins, I guessing with The Very Best Of Jerry Garcia.  A gift from Lily that became the official always-in-the-car fallback CD.  Seeing as how it was all material I already had in the house.  I THINK it still lives in the 2nd Versa.  I remember moving it from one car to the other.  I'll have to check the ludicrously deep glove compartment. As for the disc, only 3 tunes.  A LOM TWLWMYD, a '77 JGB ...Dixie Down and an '84 Garci/Kahn Dire Wolf.)

MARVIN GAYE - Marvin Gaye's Greatest Hits: A Motown Compact Classic (I don't remember how we came to have this one.  I remember buying the one three posts up for Lily after moving in with her, but not this one.  Only 10 tracks on this one, most of which are on the other one.  One that isn't is a live track.  Note that the Motown collection has five fewer tracks than the one they licensed out.  Lower production costs on one and more fees on the other.  Mercy me.)

GERSHWIN - Rhapsody In Blue/Piano Concerto In F/An American In Paris - Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/Andre Previn (I was knocked out by Gershwin when I did a college production of My One And Only.  Pretty intense to have a full orchestra playing that stuff at your feet.   Also, I saw a cast mate from another show perform Rhapsody In Blue, backed by a full orchestra, around the same time. She was better at that than acting.  Same year ('88), I saw the GD at the Spectrum, and the house music was Rhapsody In Blue, played at band-volume level, which was also pretty intense to the electrified mind.)

DAVID GILMOUR - On An Island (I think I could listen to Gilmour noodle for two hours.  Also, I love the "book" format of this release. But I also wonder how it affected production costs.  Not that I worry Gilmour needs to turn a profit.)

RUBEN GONZALEZ - Introducing Ruben Gonzalez (Stellar. I love Ry Cooder's description of Gonazalez as a cross between "Thelonious Monk and Felix The Cat.")

JERRY GARCIA/DR. DEMENTO - Twisted Radio Waves (This was a throw-in with something released by the Garcia estate.  Interviews inter-cut with tracks from the Garcia album.  I think Bobby was there.  Waiting to see if he chimed in at all.)

JERRY GARCIA BAND - After Midnight (2/28/80.  Went to late show.  17 and fully electric by the time Tore Up kicked off.  A fine night tempered by the discovery that my buddy was about to drink his way out of that very same college.)

JERRY GARCIA BAND - Way After Midnight -  (A mighty fine throw-in.  Five tracks from 2/29/80.)

JERRY GARCIA ACOUSTIC BAND - Almost Acoustic (Glad we got a NY run from this line-up.  And this release.)

GOV'T MULE - Mulennium (Woody. Not at all tinny.)

JERRY GARCIA BAND -  Jerry Garcia Band  ( The '91 - recorded in '90 - double-CD dealio.  Pretty, pretty good.  I'd have preferred another up-tempo tune or two, or another Hunter-Garcia song or two.  Anything in place of  Dear Prudence, really.)

JERRY GARCIA BAND - How Sweet It Is (Abysmal version of Tears Of Rage aside, not bad for tracks rejected from the double release.)

Re the Broadway run, we only caught one show (the "synth" matinee, when Melvin's B3 sh*t the bed).  The sound in the bar lobby was better than some clubs I've been in.

GOV'T MULE - The Deep End, Volume 1 (I highly recommend both volumes AND the bootleg, so you don't miss a note.)

JERRY GARCIA/DAVID GRISMAN - Garcia/Grisman  (Just. So. F'n. Tasty.  I never did pick up Shady Grove or So What.  But I probably will, eventually.)

An alphabetical detour, as I recently remembered these are stored with GD:

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN - Reggae Celebrates The Grateful Dead Volumes I & II (Just listened to both back-to-back.  Have a permanent bass drum/high-hat combo clicking through my brain.  Reggae seems to come in two or three tempos, tops.  Some very cool stuff.  I like how some of the "signature" riffs and phrases are moved to the horn section or wherever.  Interesting that the guy who covered Franklin's Tower turned one verse into a bridge.)

And, on the other side of the interpreting GD wheel:

JOE GALLANT AND ILLUMINATI - The Blues For Allah Project (I have some of this on cassette, though probably from a different run, from either the GD Hour or 'BAI's Morning Dew show.  Was there ever another "Project"?  I seem to recall plans for Terrapin Station?  Or maybe I just thought he should do that?)

JERRY GARCIA/DAVID GRISMAN/TONY RICE - The Pizza Tapes (Damn!  What fun.  Wish they'd have done something like this 3-4 times a year for 5 years.  "Jeez, Tony...control yourself." )

GOV'T MULE - The Deep End, Volume 2 (I like Volume 1 better, but this one does have Phil and Jack.)

GOV'T MULE - Deja Voodoo (I think I'd seen the bulk of these tunes live before this was released. Nice bonus disc of live cuts thrown in.)

STEPHANE GRAPPELLI - Young Django (One of two discs in my second-ever CD purchase.  I went back for Brothers In Arms, which was out of stock the week before - I picked up Communique and  Learning To Crawl when I bought my CD player - and grabbed this as well.  Killer.  Larry Coryell and Phillipe Catherine braiding together theses amazing runs.  And Stephane is peerless.) 

STEPHANE GRAPPELLI - Live At The Blue Note (Recorded in '95, when he was down to a trio.  The two times I saw him in the early 80s, he had two guitarists, including Bucky Piazzrelli.  Like one of those shows, Bucky's son, John, sits in on a few tunes.  Unlike those shows, Stephane does not play that boogie piano tune he used to.  Or it didn't make the cut.  SO glad I got to see the man play.) 

GRATEFUL DEAD - Two From The Vault (One of the few GD Records/Merch items I have that doesn't have some sort of quality control issue.)

STEPHANE GRAPPELLI - Plays Jerome Kern (Familiar with most of the songs, even tho' I don't think I've ever seen a musical featuring any Kern tunes, and I don't think we did any in my college Jazz Workshop (I was in over my head) class.  This collection - '87 - features two guitars. And drums!)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Live Dead (Is it weird that I remember how Feedback goes?)

MACY GRAY - On How Life Is (Was there ever a full follow-up?  I seem to remember an EP, or maybe a single, but she's dropped off my radar.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Dick's Picks Vol. Two   (Very close to perfect, this.  Gorgeous jam post-Dark Star, and string of good ol' rock-n-roll to follow.)

AL GREEN -  I Can't Stop ( Al + Willie Mitchell = effinawesome!  Al's voice not as smooth as it was, but just as sweet.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Anthem Of The Sun (Might be a challenge to work with this pounding in my ears We'll see.)

AL GREEN - More Greatest Hits (Plus a sweet duet with Lyle Lovett on Funny How Time . . . )

GRATEFUL DEAD - Bear's Choice (GOGD)

GREGSON & COLLISTER - Change In the Weather (I'm thinking Hoover, and maybe Furious E, know who these two are.  They were in the band the first time I saw Richard.  First-rate harmonies and bad-ass guitar.)

"You give all the good ones to Metheny, maaan."

Hornsby, doing Jerry.

GRATEFUL DEAD - Workingman's Dead/American Beauty (Some road music for a quick Sunday trip to Brooklyn.)

Nanci Griffith - Storms (You hear some songs for the first time and just know you're gonna be a fan of that artist.  For me: UJB/GD; Sultans Of Swing/Dire Straits; The Way It Is/ Hornsby:Ship Of Fools/World Party; Wonderin' Where The Lions Are/Bruce Cockburn.  Same goes for Drive-In Movies And Dashboard Lights and Nanci Griffith.  Heard it early one Sunday morning and that was it.  She's kind of impossible to sing along with.  Watcha gonna do?  Big fan, though.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - "Skull & Roses" (Still one of the best Berthas ever.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Hundred Year Hall (Another excellent Bertha here, and very tasty Comes A Time.)

NANCI GRIFFITH - Flyer (Great songs and some surprising personnel. Tony Levin, David Mansfield, some Chieftains, lesser U2 dudes.  Re: Tony Levin , excuse me while I Google "Bubble Bass".)

DAVE GRUSIN  -  Collection (This may mark where I switched my BMG-CD preference to "Jazz".  I think I decided to keep this based on the featured artists: Sanborn, Gadd, Rittenour, Eric Gale, Marcus Miller. Kinda poppy (the guy wrote St. Elsewhere and On Golden Pond themes), but far from crappy.)

Wow. Dave Schools is on that Griffith disc, too.  Not too shabby.  And Mark Knopfler!

GRATEFUL DEAD - Europe '72 (What can I say?  Never gets old.  And Keith was just so F'n good.)

NANCI GRIFFITH - Late Night Grande Hotel (Ho hum.  Another brilliant Nanci Griffith album.  Substitute his name for hers, and that's a verbatim review of a Richard Thompson album - maybe Daring Adventures.)

VARIOUS ARTISTS - CTI MASTERS OF THE GUITAR (I suppose this could have been filed under "C" or "M' instead of "G".  A collection of tracks from CTI Records roster of guitarists, most of whose  material I don't otherwise have.  I did see Joe Beck ages ago, but don't have any Kenny Burrell, Eric Gale or George Benson. John McLaughlin's on here, but him I gots.  Or, rather, haz.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Wake Of The Flood (I'm not sure I ever noticed Matt Kelly's harp on the vinyl version of Let It Grow.  And I definitely don't recall seeing Doug Sahm's 12-string credit before. I remember my brother having the "All New Stuff" raven sticker.  Hell if I remember what it was stuck onto, tho'.)

NANCI GRIFFITH /THE LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA - The Dust Bowl Symphony (Pretty ballsy to match such a  little pea-shooter voice against a full orchestra.  There's a nice duet with "Hootie" included.)

BUDDY GUY - Feels Like Rain (Some classic songs, like the title track, Bill Payne and Richie Hayward, Bonnie Raitt...Lots to like.  Buddy's brand-new overalls for the photo shoot kinda crack me up.  I feel like there must be some shots among the negatives showing tags or a staple or something .)

GRATEFUL DEAD - From The Mars Hotel (The Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab CD release.  I remember buying it in The Village, then burning one in Washington Square Park in what turned out to be 100+ degree heat.  I also remember thinking "WTF?" when I played it and the first three notes were missing from U.S. Blues.  That's right. There's no (de-doot-dah), just (doon doon doon doon chord, chord).  And that's Onomatopeia for today.)

GEORGE HARRISON - Cloud Nine (A latter-day classic, and the answer to the question: "What is Jeff Lynne good for?".)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Dick's Pick's Volume One (12/19/73 Tampa, FL. Good stuff.  But I need to transfer this to a new double case  -  I have leftovers from the burning/B&P/PZ Vine days. Broken "spokes" on the hubs for both discs, like the majority of GD Merch CDs I've purchased.  What's up with that?)

JERRY HARRISON - Casual Gods (For a while, Harrison was the only one in Talking Heads who could play.  Some great stuff here.  Love Rev It Up and Man With A Gun. And, of course, the spooky Bobby.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Blues For Allah ("It's like Pink Floyd, but re-ee-aly slow" said a 6th-grade classmate who'd heard it before I had.  He would go on to be a badass jazz bassist - took his GED to Berklee.)

MICKEY HART - Rolling Thunder (So many musical hippies on one record.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - One From The Vault (NICE! Performance, recording and actual product are first-rate, IMO.  Nice to have no QC issues for a change.)

THE JEFF HEALY BAND - Hell To Pay (Took me a while to remember the "hit" from this record.  Forgot it was a Knopfler tune. ...Guitar Gently Weeps got some airplay at the time, as well.  Never saw him play, and have no idea what became of him.  Might be Google Time.)

Bluelight: I'm also a big fan of that Mystery Box album.  Could have used some guitar, maybe.

GRATEFUL DEAD - Dick's Picks Volume Three (Wow.  Between this and watching Long Strange Trip last night, just a huge wave of "I miss Jerry" this weekend.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Terrapin Station (Love the saxes on Dancin'.  Not sure why they didn't make the vinyl version.  Oh, that's right:  Horns don't belong . . ..  This is weird:  Y'know that little data readout you see on WMP? Artist,disc/track titles, authors, etc.  I look up and see "Bonus tracks".  WTF? "Catfish John".  I think my TS disc was coded with data for stuff that ended up on All Good Things.  Or maybe there was a "special edition" of TS that I missed?)

MICKEY HART - At The Edge (My kid loved this stuff when he was a baby.  Pigs In Space made him crack up.  Some very cool stuff, particularly the track that's Mickey, his two boys, Jerry and future Riddim Schmuck Sikirou.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Shakedown Street (Let's see . . . GD + John Khan + Lowell George . . . carry the one . . . = one hell of a rugs budget, I'm guessing. You know those end-of song jams that fade out?  I'd really like to hear the whole "France" outro.)

MICKEY HART - Planet Drum (LOVE this. Twice as good with headphones.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Go To Heaven (Songs  we love.  Songs we love to "hate".  Some weird stuff on there.  Like that weird little patch of Far From Me that seems lifted from a Queen song.  Brent's concept? Or the producer?  And the odd, cut-off ending to Feel Like A Stranger.  WTF?  Wonder if anyone ever asked...well...anyone how that came to be.)

MICKEY HART - Mickey Hart's Mystery Box (Love this record.  Only got to see them at the first Furthur Festival, but would have liked to see them again.)

MICHAEL HEDGES - Watching My Life Go By (Had no idea the guy could sing (and how!) until this album came out.  I wouldn't own it until years later but the late Bob "Hawke" Morffi had it on vinyl.  I may have a cassette of it buried somewhere.  Only got to see him once.  Just flat-out amazing, silly, white-guy dreads aside.  RIP.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - In The Dark (TouchHeads, maaan!)

MICKEY HART -  Spirit Into Sound (I did not read the book.  I like this, but not as much as the stuff that preceded it.  BONUS! (Sort of)  When I pulled the booklet out of the jewel case,  the disc to Amy Winehouse's "Frank" fell out.  I'd seen the empty case kicking around the house a while back.  Figured the disc was at the bottom of one of the wife's handbags or work backpacks.  Now to find the case again.)

MICHAEL HEDGES - Oracle (The guy was a freak.  I remember an interview where he talked about some of his tunings being based on "texture" or "tension" rather than pitch.  An added attraction to listening to Hedges (and some of those other Windham Hill guys) is Michael Manring on bass.  GARGANTUAN tone and just so, so mighty low.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - For The Faithful (A/K/A Reckoning, condensed to fit on one CD. If I recall, they sacrificed Oh, Babe, It Ain't No Lie, which I play fairly frequently myself if the guitar is in standard tuning.  Damn glad to have caught one of the RCMH shows, plus that H'ween simulcast.)

LEVON HELM - Dirt Farmer (Took me a while to get around to this, and I never did get around to Electric Dirt.  But I probably will.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Dead Set  (Was never crazy about them editing Little Red Rooster so drastically, but it's distinctly possible they couldn't find a Bobby slide solo they were willing to commit to vinyl.  That said, Jerry's tone on his solo is fugginunblivable. "Hounds begin to howl," indeed.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Built To Last (I remember two reviews of this when it came out.  One questioned "the new guy" having more song than either Jerry or Bob. and the other bemoaned "John Cutler's icy clarity" as producer.  I think the title track is a clunker at the far low end of Jerry's output.  I do like Hunter's bridge lyrics, but wish they were in a better song.  YMMV.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Without A Net (IMO, an excellent representation of that era's GD.  Wish they'd swapped in a live Shakedown Street  for Victim, but they never asked what I thought.  Kudos to Cutler and Phil, 'cuz it sounds great.)

WARREN HAYNES w/ Railroad Earth - Ashes & Dust (Kind of a dream combo for me, and I thought the Ashes & Dust Tour Band kicked ass, too.  Damn...forget what they were called...Shadowboxer??? Something with a shadow or a box, I'm thinking.  Anyhoo, this one's out of order because it never actually made it into a storage rack.  It was in or near a machine for months after I got it.  Great stuff in  different medium for WH.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Truckin' Up To Buffalo ((7/4/89) I got the package deal (CD/VHS/Tee) as a gift.  The shirt is still in good shape.  Ugly-as-F and uncomfortable, it doesn't get much wear.  Good show, tho'.  We went the following year, which was also a good show.  Have not driven that far since.  PhllCo Rochester '08 would be 2nd-farthest.)

THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - Are You Experienced?  (Da Boy bought this one, likely for School Of Rock purposes.  Aside from playing with him, my two favorite Ian musical events are Hendrix-related.  One was him playing guitar on Purple Haze with SOR at a street fair in Hackensack - they opened for The Village People.  The other was his "Senior Solo" choice on sax in HS.  Very cool big band arrangement of Crosstown Traffic.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Dick's Picks Volume Nine (9/16/90 MSG.  Only caught two of this run.  This was not one of them.  More Bruce shows, please, and thank you.)

GRATEFUL DEAD - Infrared Roses (Fun with headphones.  Glad not much concentration required on this shift so far.  Side note: Bob Bralove's sister was my kid's science teacher in HS.)

JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE - Live At Winterland (A CD-R, actually.  I know I got it from John Hirtle--see FILLMORE - The Last Days, above.  I have no recollection of listening to it, tho' I'm sure I must have the same night he gave it to me.  Nothing like a little Jimi to blast one's eyes open on the graveyard shift.)

JOHN HIATT - Y'all Caught? The Ones That Got Away 1979-1985 (A "Greatest Misses" collection? 13 tracks and two of them seemed marginally familiar the first time I heard them.  But they're all great. Another great songwriter straddling parts of two centuries. Spot-on, pithy liner notes by Ry Cooder, too.)