No comments about Magical Moods of Mantovani.

3 comments about Costello & Nieve (Ltd. Ed. Live 1996 5-disc box set - LA/San Francisco/Chicago/Boston/New York).

1. Picked up this somewhat hard to find live collection from a used-like-new vendor on Amazon for under $30...an excellent value. It's surprisingly well produced for the most part, though I do find myself tweaking the volume control occasionally.
   
   Only some narrowness of song selection and a couple of 'clunkers' keep this from 5 stars. 'All This Useless Beauty' tunes are the centerpiece. If you don't like ATUB, you'll be wasting your money here.
   
   'It's Time', 'Man Out of Time', 'You Bowed Down', 'Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes' and 'I Want to Vanish' are among the best cuts. However, the versions here of 'Little Atoms' and 'All This Useless Beauty' far exceed their studio-brothers and are the real finds for Costello completists looking to embellish their desert island best-of collections.



2. Excellent stuff, better than I expected. They play almost all of Useless Beauty (a favorite of mine) and a bunch of older tunes. The commentary between tracks is funny and insightful. Grab this if you can find it!



3. Unsurprisingly these songs sound fantastic stripped down to guitar and piano (Pete Thomas plays drums on a few cuts). Only 30,000 of these were pressed ... 5 eps from 5 different concerts that the duo played in 1996. Your EC collection is incomplete without this one!

5 comments about Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas (Box Set).

1. I struggled for months over which cycle to pick as my favorite. I grew up listening to Kempff, although I find his way of playing too brittle for my taste. I love individual moments in Arrau and Barenboim, although their liberties with the tempi can drive me nuts some times. Brendel's third cycle No. 15 is one of my favorites for all time.
   
   But FOR THE ENTIRE CYCLE I find O Conor the most satisfying.



2. Last night I was in my car and there was a recording of Beethoven's Sonata No. 11 on the radio. I didn't know who the pianist was and was struck by how unimaginative and dull the performance was. Having grown up listening to recordings of Arrau, Richter, Kempf, and Brendel in this repetoire I was bemused that such a dull performance as the one I was hearing would be broadcast nationally. Beethoven should never be uninteresting!!! It's such great music! Well, the pianist I was listening to turned out to be John O'Coner. I have heard O'Coner before and had the same reaction but listening blind only strengthens my opinion that his playing is pedestrian. Avoid this set. Get Arrau's or Brendel's instead!



3. Well, I am not very good at describing the joy of things so see the other positive reviews if you want an intelectual response. For me I just enjoyed every minute of every CD. I have listened to it several times and there is something that cannot be described present that I have not heard in any other recording.
   
   If you are looking for a complete set this is the one to get. Any one of the CD's in this set can hold its own against any single recording to date.



4. I've been a fan of Irish pianist John O'Conor ever since I picked up a used copy of his Telarc recording of the Schubert Impromptus, plus I think a Trout Quintet with the Cleveland Quartet. I think getting Schubert right on a modern piano is quite difficult. Too many repeated notes that tend to come out clunky sounding and percussive, when actually Schubert was using them to keep the harmony going while he played out his long, lyric motives. I am happy to put O'Conor on my Schubert shelf, right along with Lili Kraus and the absolutely phenomenal Arcadi Volodos.
   
   I read in the booklet that Mr. O'Conor won first prize in the Vienna Beethoven competition (1973, by unanimous jury vote) and first prize in the Bosendorfer Competition, after. Equally to the point he has performed complete cycles of the Beethoven sonatas in New York, Boston, and London.
   
   I agree with the other reviewers who like this set. Let me explain my positive responses.
   
   First off, the sound is superior. The piano as it happens is difficult to record well as an instrument, partly because of the challenge of striking just the right balance between the immediate sounding board resonances from whatever instrument is being played, and the intermediate air space right around that chosen piano, and finally the remainder of the room or hall acoustic. Large halls usually don't help, just because the large modern concert auditorium is a Late Romantic/Modern expansion, and most of the earlier rooms or halls were much more intimate. Like expanded palace salons or ballrooms or conservatories.
   
   Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, helps return us to this smaller venue; but the challenges of recorded balance are still there to test the recording engineer. The piano in question is a fine example of the Hamburg Steinway, and the engineer does as good a job as I have heard lately of getting the three zones of articulation and ambience in good order.
   
   Now a good instrument and a workable recording balance are not much unless the player knows what he wants to do, relative to his repertoire. Happily again, my ears tell me that Mr. O'Conor has an intelligent, warm, and incisive musical view of Beethoven in these core keyboard literature sonatas.
   
   Though the pianist studied with Wilhelm Kempff, he is not simply an extension of Kempff when it comes to Beethoven. He does achieve a similarly clean and direct approach as I think I recall from the Kempff sets; but he brings additional warmth and even a playful wit that perhaps we don't often enough link to Beethoven's style. Conductor Eugen Jochum supposedly once remarked to an orchestra, The sforzando is the key to playing Beethoven. Neglect the sforzando and the vigor tends to droop.
   
   Mr. O'Conor is not a droopy sounding Beethovenian. He has a smiling and deft way with inner voices, always in keeping with where Beethoven's harmony is going next. He can play loud, but never gets metallic or percussive in a modern sense. In the first rounds, I thought maybe I would find his playfulness eventually too arch, too much imposed on the music from the outside; but I'm almost all the way to the last disc in this set, and I think I can safely conclude that the wit of Beethoven is drawn out successfully here, reminding us that making music is at least as fun as it may be deep.
   
   I hear this approach as giving me a wonderful sense of Beethoven the human being, rather than the larger than life Romantic Giant that a later era perceived and dramatized. This reminds me, if anything, of Bruno Walter's approach to Beethoven - plenty of punch, but not just only muscularity.
   
   I think this set goes way up toward the top, along with my other great favorite (whose sound is not quite so good as this one), i.e., Anton Kuerti. I have never finally warmed up to the Goode set, partly because to me the piano sound comes through as so relentlessly grey-toned. I suspect that if Bruce Hungerford had been able to finish his cycle of the 32 sonatas, I would have had a third candidate, while as it is I must make do with he could leave behind for us. Lili Kraus didn't do the Beethoven sonatas on disc, so far as I know, but I imagine that if she had, her approach might have sounded a bit like John O'Conor. Brilliant, but nevertheless very warm, full of heart. Playful, but capable of communicating the deeper intelligence of Beethoven's harmonic plans.
   
   Five stars. I think Mr. O'Conor must have been happy to record this set, and I for one am quite happy to be able to hear it.



5. One man's view:
   Mr. O'Conor plays with great fluidity, speed--if needed--and a kind of light touch, like dancing fingers if that's needed. Where did this man come from as a Beethoven player? He's astonishing! I like his work in the ways I like Brendel's: the rhythms are always sure and steady - and notes are not slurred over at all, even in the fastest runs. How's he do it? Every note is sounded with clarity - and the all important PASSION and SINCERITY.
   I'd recommend this set to anyone! Great, resonant playing of brilliant works! *** And my thanks to all the positive reviews here which convinced me to buy this set! You guys were right....

4 comments about Legendary Harry Nilsson.

1. Legendary Harry Nilsson is a marginally comprehensive 3 disc Nilsson set that is inexpensive--it's got a lot of music but isn't really comprehensive because the music choices focus really on 3-4 records instead of his whole cannon. Therefore it likely isn't a very good starting point for people trying to dive into Harry's great work.
   
   While it contains a lot of Nilsson's best: One, Everybody's Talking, Without You, Down, 1941, Me and My Arrow, Cuddly toy.....etc.
   
   It also has several significant flaws that might turn away a novice Nilsson fan......
   
   For one, the music is not presented chronologically, which for a guy who's star burned so brightly his first 6-7 years and then flamed out so quickly can be a major problem. His styles also changed rather significantly over those years too, which further exemplifies why a chronological presentation is the best way to compile Nilsson.
   
   Another major problem is that it focuses much too heavily on the very dated and sloppy Pussy Cats record, and leaves one of the better/best songs from Pussy Cats off of this release (Old Forgotten Soldier, in lieu of the overproduced Subterranean Homesick Blues--which pales significantly to Dylan's and Rocking Around the Clock--which might have been fun to be there for, but it's less fun to listen to). Perhaps the thought was those 2 famous covers (along with the disappointing Save the Last Dance for Me) will help sell some extra copies).....As well as having the Pussy Cats record because of the Lennon connections (Even though it might be amongst the lesser works either of them ever did)...
   
   Another mistake that is typical of compilations--but a shocking shame for a 3 disc set is all the GREAT Nilsson songs that are omitted, some of which are his BEST WORK: Think About Your Troubles, Are you Sleeping, Girlfriend, Love Story (You and Me), Yellow Man, Living Without You, You Can't Do That, Remember Christmas, and several more).
   
   Finally, this disc includes the entire A Touch of Schmilsson In the Night in lieu of some of the classics above.....now I think A Touch of Schmilsson....is a fabulous album, but it's also such a specialised album that doesn't really fit with the rest of Nilsson's catalog....I think it's ok to add maybe 3 songs from this set ("As Time Goes By","It Had to Be You", "Makin' Whoppee" at least to get folks interested (especially when this album is 3 discs and then if interested have them buy that record individually (with all the bonus tracksAs Time Goes By).....but to include the entire record and not include the bonus tracks like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow and "It's Only A Paper Moon" does another disservice. At least they presented this stuff in the 3rd Disc all in a row, so that it stands out less, but even that disc with One, then Jump Into the Fire and The Puppy Song starting off makes little sense in terms of flow....
   
   Overall, the music is strong for the most part. The Pussy Cats album in retrospect might turn off more "new to Nilsson" fans than it creates new fans, so I would really have skipped quite a bit of that and represented albums like the Point, his debut, and Nilsson Sings Newman far far more.
   
   Basically while the price is ok and some of the music is fabulous, the issues with track listing, track editing from Nilsson's catalog and track presentation really make me say AVOID this disc more than say buy it.
   
   Instead start with the fabulous 1 disc Nilsson's Greatest Hits Harry Nilsson - Greatest Hits which is easily the best 1 disc anthology out there (and better than Personal Best because of it's conciseness). Then add the 30th anniversary of Nilsson Sings Newman (Which is less than $7 today Nilsson Sings Newman: 30th Anniversary and that might be one of the best albums ever released.....these two alone are still cheaper than the 3 disc set above, and are materially better and should/will likely make you more a fan of Nilsson than this hodgepodge set.



2. I have all of Harry's albums in vinyl and then re-purchased them in the CD format, but this is the best, most eclectic and definitive sampling of his musical catalog. Nilsson was fabulous and is so under-appreciated today, though I can't figure out why. His voice is timeless and his songs are treasures. I loved him as a child in the 70's and grew up on his dulcet-toned voice filtering through the house. I figured anyone that hung out with Ringo and John Lennon had to be the apex of cool, and he certainly was that.

   This double album encompases his greatest hits as well as some of his lesser known ballads. Not only could Harry write beautiful songs, he sang some awesome cover versions, such as "Over the Rainbow," which would give even Judy Garland a run for her money. A stellar, poignant performance.

   I think the most lovely track here is "Remember," which had a brief revival when it was included in the trivial Tom Hanks movie, "You've Got Mail." This introduced Nilsson to a generation who was robbed of his talent through his premature and untimely death. This is a good collection of his work. I can't imagine anyone with good taste not appreciating this man's body of work. Beautiful stuff.




3. The previous reviewer did a great job of summarizing this Australian collection. I assume its not remastered, however the sound quality is fine. It is a rather haphazard, but unique collection of Nilsson's work with strong emphasis of material from Schmillson and A little touch (in fact both entire albums, the majority of Pussy Cats and miscellaneous cuts from early and later albums. Not bad at all - especially as an introductory purchase.



4. I am no hardcore Nilsson fan. I'll say that right off the bat. I've always liked the songs of his that I knew, like "Jump Into the Fire"(brilliantly utilized by Martin Scorsese in "Goodfellas"), "Coconut"(featured prominently in Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs"), "Everybody's Talkin'"(used in the great film "Midnight Cowboy"). Being a huge Beatles fan, I knew that he was pals with John Lennon and Ringo Starr. But I never bought any of his albums.
   
   Getting to the point, I've established my status as 'casual fan.' Usually that means I'll buy a 'best of' disc rather than run out and buy the whole catalog. IF YOU HAVE EVEN A CASUAL INTEREST IN HARRY NILSSON-- this is the package to buy. It's THREE CDS, and it'll cost you about the same as a single disc. Among these 3 discs are the ENTIRE "Nilsson Schmilsson" and "A Touch of Schmilsson in the Night" albums, and most of the tracks from the Lennon-produced "Pussycats" album are here also.
   
   There is a two disc Nilsson Anthology called "Personal Best" which has a significantly different track listing, BUT it's also almost twice as expensive. If you want a cheap way to get into the music of Harry Nilsson, you can't beat this set. The only downside is the lack of any real liner notes- the insert is about as basic as you can get, it has songwriting credits and a short essay. NOTE-the price has been raised since the review was originally written - 12/15/06

5 comments about Many Moods of the Mantovani Orchestra.

1. Mantovani has gained a reputation in some quarters for producing "beautiful" orchestral versions of standard pop songs; in others, his arrangements have been compared to "elevaor music" - the kind of material once used in institutional settings like malls, elevators, and dentist's offices. In short, we have lifeless, bloodless cover versions of pop standards that by themselves have been regarded with disdain by many listeners.
   
   This impressive compilation contains a bounty of those sweet violins and voices in a style that has long since passed its usefulness. The best moments are campy and unintentionally funny, as when Mantovani attempts "contemporary" hits by Nillson his ilk. This is orchesetral music for people who have never benefitted from a grounding in the classics. Compared even to outfits like Sounds Orchestral, the sound is drab and musty. It's hard to imagine anybody listening to this kind of thing anymore.



2. This music is great for unwinding after a long and stressful day at work , the 3 disc set give you a variety of great music.



3. I had some old Mantovani LP's that I loved. This CD set is nice listening, but it sounds like it was recorded with an orchestra half the size of the originals. They are OK, but not what I had hoped for.
   
   Why do another recording? Why not just reissue the LP originals on CD?



4. I have an original recording C.D. of Mantovani and i expected this to be the same.Good listening but not like the real thing i will be more careful in the future to make sure it is the Maestro



5. I am looking for the album that has the song Man and Woman.

5 comments about The Fats Navarro Story.

1. No less a person than Dizzy Gillespie said of Fats: "Fats was the best all round trumpeter of them all. He had everything a trumpeter should have: tone, ideas, execution and reading ability." Considering that that comes from one of the true greats of jazz, that is high praise indeed.
   
   This 4 CD compilation spans Fats Navarro's short but utterly brilliant career, from the legendary Billy Eckstine Orchestra through his Savoy and Blue Note studio recordings, a great selection of his session work and broadcasts for and with people such as Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell and Charlie Parker. Also included are his two legendary 1947 Saturday Night Swing radio show tracks. Anyone can pick fault with any compilation but this is as good a compilation as I've ever seen for a jazz artist.
   
   The sound quality is uniformly excellent throughout, the 40 page booklet well-written and impeccably researched, and the packaging tastefully done. In short, an outstanding box set. That said, it's what I've come to expect of the Proper label (I will buy anything they put out, sight unseen).
   
   Oh, did I say that it's dirt cheap for what you get? It is. Buy it before it goes OOP.



2. I agree with all of the above reviewers that the material is great. Navarro has always been one of my favorite trumpeters. I wonder what he would have been doing if he lived through the 1950's. We might have heard some wonderful music in even better sound. I don't have a problem listening to old recordings with limited sound. If the music is really good, you tend to forget the circumstances of the sound.
   
   My problem with the set is that the sound is a bit muddy. I have all of these sides on lp and have heard them on Blue Note and Savoy discs. The sound is livlier on Savoy and Blue Note. I suspect that Proper Box did some sound filtering which probably cleaned up the sound from whatever their source was, but it seems to have lost some of the treble. You do not hear any crispness from the drumset--especially the cybals.
   
   The price is certainly right and the material is wonderful. I would recommend spending a bit more to get the Blue Note and Savoy issues. I do not think that you will regret spending the difference for the "greater presence" of the other editions of the same music.



3. Too bad ...what a trumpet and tone...and the greats he played with...this compilation is an important one and does justice to him and his short life...unlike a "student" of his, the great Clifford Brown who died in a car crash,Fats was an emotional case of excess..his vulveribility was felt in his music and this generous collection does a service to Jazz history as far as quality and price. Proper records did a great one here..it seems nobody reviewed this one in years...Too bad.



4. There are many reasons one would not want to invest in a
   reissue box set of an artist already in your collection. This
   set overpowers all concerns and then some! The evidence here
   indicates Fats Navarro was indeed a heavyweight in his chosen field of Bebop trumpet. Really, there is no filler on these
   meaty sides. This set captures not only Fats but also numerous
   Pre-Bop and Bop players in their prime-stunningly so. I will
   let you discover each disc's delights on your own but am compelled to suggest that you get this set to hear how master improvisors work quotations into solos (My favorite so far:
   Fats starts his "Fats Blows" solo with a hilarious Howdy Doody
   reference). For music lovers, Jazz fans, or music students
   worldwide...indulge your ears with this inexpensive but valuable
   set. The second version of Move on Disc four is simply Bebop ecstacy- on par with the trumpet/percussion Gillespie version of
   Caravan or the transcendant "Donna Lee"solo by Clifford Brown. A perfect gift for any trumpeter.



5. Fats Navarro had a sweet, flawless technique which few trumpeters of his generation possessed. It is, on the one hand, unfortunate that
   Navarro's discography is s0 small. On the other hand, except for the recent Savoy reissue of Navarro's best -- which is generous and remastered with great skill -- Proper's FATS NAVARRO STORY is probably the best summation of Navarro's achievement on record. The final sessions with Charlie Parker alone are worth the investment, but for those who shun Parker's brand of bebop, there are ample cuts to soothe and inspire, from a lavish rendition of "Gone with the Wind" to "A Night in Tunisia." The value of the set is simply extraordinary, with four discs, 87 cuts -- most beautifully remastered to capture the warmth of Navarro's tone-color, and an illustrated booklet which provides a brief, but educated, history of an American legend who worked for just a few years, but prepared a new generation of trumpeters for the promise of modernism. All this and a sturdy slipcase, too and you can't go wrong at this price. As someone who respects Miles Davis (especially for his Plugged Nickel set on CBS), I fear too much attention has been paid to Miles and too little to Navarro and Clifford Brown. As usual, Proper Records has developed a package that delights as it educates. And there's absolutely nothing like it in the catalog. Warmly recommended.

No comments about All Of Me: Sing The Songs of Frank Sinatra (karaoke).

4 comments about Tempus Fugue-It.

1. For all true jazz fans, the night of May 15, 1950 was one of the peaks of live music. (The box calls it June 30, but most evidence points to May 15th - see online discographies for the full discussion). But the personnel that night at Birdland was:
   Charlie Parker, alto sax
   Fats Navarro, trumpet
   Bud Powell, piano
   Curley Russell, bass
   Art Blakey, drums
   Live in New York, and Bud takes over the show - with five of the greatest piano solos ever recorded. Other songs were recorded that night and can be found on various other releases. But five of the best are on Disc 4 of this amazing box set.



2. I own almost 40 Bud Powell albums, and try to learn as many of his compositions as time permits. I have the Complete Bud Powell on Blue Note and on Verve, and even most of his Mythic Sounds LPs from France and New York in the early '60s. As much as I love late Bud Powell, I can state that this is the one box set to have if you're having only one. If you're interested in later Bud, get the complete Blue Note Box or find Live in Lausanne and Blues for Bouffemont. Proper presents a very informative booklet about Bud's brilliance and troubled career. This was issued right after British copyrights expired on Bud's first recordings for Vogue, Savoy, Blue Note, Prestige, and Verve expired there. Nothing after 1950 is included. Still, this contains his first recordings (with Cootie Williams) and all the sides that initially made Bud famous (Webb City, Off Minor, Indiana, Nice Work If You Can Get It, plus the Fats Navarro/Sonny Rollins sessions for Blue Note, early Dexter Gordon sessions, some collaborations with Charlie Parker, the Sonny Stitt/J.J. Johnson sessions for Prestige, and some of his first Verve classics).



3. This box set of Bud Powell focuses on the early recordings from 1944-1950,displaying the great bebop pianist at the very height of his career.The box set includes four compact disc(86 recordings) and a very nice 48 page illustrated booklet.If you've never really heard this genius of a pianist, this is wonderful introduction to the man who in my opinion was equal to or dare I say better than charlie parker!Powells playing on this set is nothing short of incredible in its creative flow and spontaneity, a must have for any bebop connoisseur.



4. This boxed set is full of incredible gems by Powell with many other giants of jazz (Cootie Williams, Dexter Gordon, Sarah Vaughan, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stit, Fats Navarro, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Buddy Rich, etc.). There are cuts on this collection, especially on CD#4, that are up there with the best piano playing I have ever heard (that from a listener, not a player). My collection includes many great piano players - Evans, Tatum, Hines, Wilson, Peterson, Tyner, Garner, Brubeck and many others, but listening to this cd along with the Blue Note Best of Bud Powell (which picks up where Tempus Fugue-It leaves off - acting as a fifth CD in the set) convinces me that Powell ranks with the very best.

   I have noticed that some reviewers complain when the sound quality of old recordings is not very good (eg: Okeh Ellington - which is one of my favorites). I am no expert on modern digital sound magic, but I do know that the sound quality varies on this collection. Some cuts have fairly poor sound quality.

   Also, I have found two errors on the set. One is on track 19, disc 1, where a fragment of the end of the song is left floating between tracks - an editing error. The other is the reverse listing (booklet and CD jacket) of the songs "Dance of the Infidels" and "52nd Street Theme" - tracks 15 and 16 on disc 4, which actually play in the order of 16 then 15.

   However, despite the poor quality of a few of the cuts, and the minor errors, the music is so awesome, that it makes little difference to this listener. It is clearly a 5-star set!

5 comments about Dick's Picks, Vol. 10: Winterland, San Francisco, CA, 12/29/77.

1. It certainly is all opinion when the Subject is Live Grateful Dead. There are Heads that list their Favorite Year of Dead Shows as 1969, there are many Folks that tend to like the Jazzier/Jammier 1973 Shows, and 1985 was a Popular Year to find on Trader's Tape Lists back in the Late 1980's. Well, because of those Tape Lists, I was able to explore lot's of Different Years of Live Grateful Dead Music and for me THE Year that has stood out as being my Favorite is 1977. The reason that 1977 is my Favorite is because of the SOUND of the Band, and during this year the Sound is Rich & Warm, and it transports to Tapes and CD's (Thank You, Dick} in very Cool Colors & Texture. The playing of The Group {For Me, remember it is all Opinion} of 1977 has that Extra X-Factor, that Soars above most other Great Years of these Special Concerts.
   
   The Most Popular Grateful Dead Show of 1977 is by far 05/08/77, the Barton Hall Performance from Cornell University. If we had a High Quality Tape of 12/29/77 way back in the 80's, this Wonderful Show from Winterland, {THE Place to see The Dead in the 1970's} would have been right up there with Barton Hall or Buffalo {05/09/77) or Englishtown, NJ {09/03/77}. But, Dick has brought this Gem Out of the Mists, and now we can drink this Great Night in!
   
   From: "Jack Straw" thro to the Encore of: "Terrapin Station", this Show is ON, Jerry adds something Extra to the Music throughout the Entire Show, And if you don't know about Keith, and WHY he is so Special, then you need to start here to see what all the Fuss was about. The Piano is mixed right up front, {A Crime on other Dick's Picks, when it is not!} and Thank the Gods that is! Keith was having a Night here, as this Show features some of his Best Playing that I have ever heard...Well, anywhere. And We Shant Forget Bill & Micky, On this Night they are a Percussion Force of Might {Much like a Runaway Train, that is about to Jump the Tracks, but doesn't}.
   
   
   The Second Set From the Smokin': "Bertha" thro to the rap up "Playing in the Band" Sequence is Pure Magic and Must Be Heard to be believed...This Music has the X-Factor Plus 10, it has been often said that you could have heard a pin drop in Winterland during this Famous Set of Music. Well, now you can hear it in all it's Glory, and you will know just WHY those Jaws were dropping during this Famous Second Set from San Francisco.
   
   Yeah, I'm a little biased in my opinion of Live Grateful Dead Music {And after hearing 1,500 Hours of it, YOU would be as well}. But, when something stands out as Special, your Ears certainly take notice, and of this Winterland Show, you will again realise WHY we are called: "Dead-Heads" in the first place.
   
   This is Some of the Finest Live Grateful Dead Music, that you are gonna be Lucky Enough to hear....Buy This One...Nuff Said.



2. This Pick would be the ideal show to select (of the officially released live recordings anyway) to break someone else in to The Dead. To introduce them to the world of the Dead, so to speak. Why? Because while this is one very well played, and at times intense, performance, it is also a very accessible show. It is certainly more "beginner-friendly" than any of the picks from the 73-74 period, or even the easygoing shows of the 70-Euro 72 era.
   
   I'd agree with the previous reviewer's comment that much of the show sounds like a typical first set for the band, in that it was much more song oriented than it was jam oriented (although there are some great jams included, such as the PITB>CHINA CAT>RIDER>CHINA DOLL>PITB and a wonderful Terrapin Station, as well as a beautiful Eyes of the World added from the next night's performance). And The Dead's first sets were notorious for their easy-going vibe resulting from the usually country-rock-blues flavor of the usual first set selections. Most Deadheads considered the first set as the perfect warm-up for what was to come in the dark, spaced out, and even mystical, marathons that comprised the second sets.
   
   But this is still "The Good Ol' Grateful Dead", just a much more rocking and rolling version as by this point, they were very well dialed in to yet another phase/stage of their art and were putting the finishing touches on to perhaps their most magical year, 1977.



3. Faced with all the rave reviews, I figured I couldn't go wrong -- after all, Bobby opens the show by saying the band is going to "play everything just exactly perfect, on account of our new name is the Just Exactly Perfect Brothers Band." But I have to offer a different take on this one. Yes, it's energetic, but to my ears the magic is missing. It sounds like an AOR mainstream version of the Dead. It's not bad, but it's not what I am seeking in the music of the Dead, not what they are capable of at their best. Even when jamming (and there are no spectacularly long improvised jams here), the whole show sounds like a first set. I haven't heard much '77 Dead, but if this is indicative, I can't join those who say it was of the band's best periods.
   
   For better Picks, see my reviews of DP16 (1969), DP4 & DP8 (1970), DP23 (1972), and DP19 (1973). DP31 (1974) is outstanding as well, but as of yet is only available direct from the Dead. For more, see my complete lists of Dead recordings on this site for 1968/9 (PRANKSTERS & OTHER ONES), 1970-1972 (COSMIC COWBOYS), 1973/4 (EYES OF THE WORLD), and 1975-1977 (ESTIMATED PROPHETS).



4. A five star rating would be granted only if I were present, in the flesh, at this incredible '77 show (it was a very good year...). Every performance is epic in an of itself. If there were only one Dead album I had on my shelf, this would have to be the one!!! I've heard some wierd stuff about this show changing people's lives. I can almost buy into it....almost...



5. Pure power. Seamless transition. A complete musical group-mind. All the pieces were in place a few days after Christmas in 1977, and the Dead were at their home, the Winterland in San Fran.
   
   The rest is history.
   
   In the annals of live Dead shows, this one is truly memorable. From the very first note, everyone is in peak form. Jerry's not stumbling on leads out of the gate, Bob isn't forgetting any words, and it seems even Donna is singing in tune consistently.
   
   But it's the second set re-emergence of "China Cat Sunflower," in the middle of a mind-melting "Playing in the Band" that really cements this as a classic set. They hadn't played "China" in 3 years, and suddenly it emerges. You can hear people in the audience literally freaking out.
   
   Obviously, this album is for Dead freaks like myself, but if you're looking for a totally solid live recording of them, this is a great place to start. Very little pretentiousness, mostly meat and hardly and filler. This is the sound of a rock band that had transformed itself into a psychedelic hurricane, unleashed on the California coast.

5 comments about Bebop Spoken Here.

1. The reviews above just about sum it up: great collection, nice selection of songs, and I hear the booklet is great. I bought my box set from another seller and it came without the book. Anyone wishing to sell one or know of a place to get it, please contact me!



2. Se você está interessado em conhecer o bebop, esta é uma boa oportunidade. A coleção traz um apanhado geral do estilo e no mínimo vale como curiosidade para quem quer se iniciar no tema.



3. Like eating really good filet mignon for the first time, and feeling slightly sorry that you deprived yourself up that point. But otherwise, just smiling, swaying to the beat and scatting along.
   
   A good friend of mine who is a semi-professional musician attempted to teach me about modes, how jazz is often constructed. I'm just an appreciative music fan, but clearly the artists on this collection were high adepts, skillful in weaving together some of the most complex yet unpretentious music ever heard. Too many fabulous artists to single out; they're all good. I hope jazz fans back in the day enjoyed this music as much as I do.
   
   BUY THIS COLLECTION AT ONCE!!!



4. As a long time jazz fan, you'd expect that I would have most of the material on a box like this. And I do. But there are quite a few gems I've found nowhere else and, in any case, it's wonderful having all of this amazing music in one place. "Bebop Spoken Here" is indeed a perfect introduction to this challenging subgenre of jazz, but it is also a wonderful set for the connoisseur of jazz. All the greats are here, both the famous and the obscure. If you haven't picked this up yet, do so!



5. This huge compilation casts a wide net, capturing the classic recordings of the giants of bebop: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Bud Powell, the early recordings of future stars like Dexter Gordon and Stan Getz, the popularizers who made it accessible to a larger audience: Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet and Charlie Ventura and the rarities by now-obscure musicians: Freddie Webster, Sonny Berman, Tom Archia, Tony Fruscella and many others.
   
   Why buy this set? You won't hear this music anywhere else as radio these days won't play anything made before the LP era.
   You will discover that although this music was far-out, Dizzy Gillespie was popular enough to have his own big band and a
   major-label record contract. Charlie Parker could play any style,
   his first record with Tiny Grimes is pure swing and Parker plays superbly. You'll hear Trummy Young, Louis Armstrong's trombone player, play superbly on "Good Bait" with Dizzy Gillespie and Dexter Gordon. You will hear so much rare and excellent music, otherwise completely unobtainable, by musicians, like Tadd Dameron, so influential and yet now forgotten. You will hear the
   greatness of those who died far too soon like Wardell Gray and Fats Navarro.
   
   If you want to experience and understand this music, this is essential listening. Reasonably priced, excellently documented too!