Easter Saturday Night Listening

After quite a gap, we went back to playing a couple of records while we had dinner on Saturday – and I picked out a couple from the various charity shop purchases earlier the year, which we’d not listened to yet. First up was this one – picked out at the charity shop’s jazz section. I think it must have been £1, especially given the torn sleeve, but the disc was in good condition. Jackie Continue Reading

The Modern Jazz Quartet – LPJT56

I found this in my dad’s collection a couple of weeks ago, and I’d bought one of their LPs earlier in the year – fortunately not the same one. This is rather pleasant listenable jazz, recorded in the mid 1950s. The main difference is that while it has your regular piano, upright bass and drums, they also have a virtuoso vibraphobe player. Vibes have a unique sound – warmer and fuller than a glockenspiel or Continue Reading

Charity Shop Pickings

Aretha Franklin: I picked this up at a charity shop today and it’s just as good as you’d hope – the disc is in tip-top condition too, not a pop or click on it. A definite keeper. I also took a punt on this – I’m not a huge fan of big band/swing stuff but I’d heard of Gene Krupa and an album by two drummers sounded interesting. And it’s great, unchallenging listening, drums to Continue Reading

An Evening’s Listening

And we’re back – I’ve been digging through my dad’s vinyl today and cataloguing, so we’re listening to some of it to see if we want to keep it. First up this evening, Peter Paul and Mary. Yeah, not great. Anything with a song called “I dig rock and roll music” is trying too hard to be down with the trendy hepcats. We’re hanging on for Puff the Magic Dragon… Not a keeper. Average of Continue Reading

Mahavishnu Orchestra – Birds of Fire (1973, CBS 32280)

Ah, one of the non-classical albums in my dad’s collection. Most of the non-classical stuff is folk (and most of that is already in boxes for disposal), but there are occasional ones you might not expect. The Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix for example – but at least they’re renowned and classic albums. Then we have this – John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, 70s noodling at it’s worst. I didn’t have high hopes for this – Continue Reading