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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 14, 2009 9:33:25 GMT
Last FM. From the listener's point of view it is similar to radio, but with the added advantage of being able to choose what you want to hear and when you want to hear it.
What I love about radio is hearing music selected by presenters whose tastes and choice of music interest me. If I was choosing their playlists I would very rarely get to hear anything I haven't already heard. I listen to the radio a lot and I enjoy not knowing what is going to be played next. I also enjoy (and this is a big part of listening to the radio) listening to the presenters. There are some presenters whose musical taste are not to my liking at all, but I enjoy their presentation. Last FM cannot offer me any more than I could have got 30 years ago by making a mixed cassette on a TDK C90.
When a track from a CD gets played on the radio anywhere in the world, the artist, record company, writer and publisher receive a royalty. It is this royalty (money) that keeps the wheels of the music industry turning and puts food on the tables of the people who work in it. Without any income the industry cannot survive. Last FM does not pay royalties on tracks played.
I have nothing against downloads as a way of buying music, but downloads and radio stations where there are no royalties paid, are a large part of what is destroying the industry.
This may appear at first to be an old fashioned viewpoint. But consider this; would you like to see the world enjoying and using your professional skills and not paying for it. I can't see my dentist giving me a free filling, but I do know that my dentist downloads free music.
The industry has changed over the years and is on a very rocky road. On one hand in the pop industry more music is being sold than ever before, but it is being sold by fewer artists than ever before. The rest of the industry is selling less music than ever before. The statistics of average sales of a non pop album these days is frightening.
I wish I could download my dinner for free. Until that happens there is an unfair situation that is out of control.
RANT OVER > ;D
Shine On Michael.
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Post by Gerry C on Nov 14, 2009 9:34:40 GMT
I got the John Hammond CD a couple of weeks ago and fully endorse what Honeyboy said. Not only is the sound quality fabulous (and I don't even have a SACD player!) but all the songs on the CD were recorded 'live', ie no overdubs, editing, drop-ins etc. Chesky Records say this on the inlay: "We give the purest, most natural recordings made today, captured with a single point microphone, using the world's finest custom-made electronics: no overdubs, no compressors in the signal path, no multi-tracking, no large mixing consoles."
The notes also give details of the instruments JH plays (even down to the make of his harp rack!) and info about the songs. Most of these he has recorded before on various albums but the quality of this one really does make one feel as if the guy is in your living room doing a show just for you. Tremendous stuff.
BTW, when I played the Dentdale Music Festival back in June, a guy came up after my set on the Saturday afternoon and very kindly said how much he'd enjoyed my stuff. We chatted for a while and he asked if I knew John. I said I'd never met him but was a big fan: the guy turned out to be Vinnie Smith, who built John's six-string acoustic! Really nice guy and clearly - on the basis of the acoustic sound on this CD - a darned fine luthier...
Cheerily,
Gerry C
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Post by oldmanblue on Nov 14, 2009 10:32:13 GMT
chris smither time stands still first play so reserve comment at the moment
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Post by honeyboy on Nov 14, 2009 12:21:35 GMT
Having spent a large proportion of my life 'browsing' in record shops, I'm concerned at the rapid demise of the 'independent' record shop. Large swathes of the country are now served by 'identikit' chains, run by accountants that all stock the same limited range of 'product'. I'm sure this is a large contributor to the truly puzzling phenomenon Michael refers to of 'More music being sold, but performed by fewer artists' when there is more 'potential' choice than ever before. When you look at places like Amoeba Records in LA, the experience of browsing through acres of 'physical' music is an unbeatable one. In comparison, the online experience is somewhat limited. On the plus side you have recommendations and reviews for mainstream purchase, (but frequently the non-mainstream artists have no reviews). On the minus side, browsing online mostly only works if you already know what you are looking for. That is why both exploration and recommendation is so important I would probably never have come across 'Strummin' With The Devil:Bluegrass Tribute To Van Halen' and it's ilk (which I'm ashamed to say form the bulk of my music collection !), without access to spaces like the one below.. Amoeba records - Occupying an entire city block, this independent store houses the biggest, broadest, most diverse collection of music and movies ever seen on under one roof. Altogether, our 2 shopping floors and our Jazz room boast millions of titles on CD, DVD and vinyl, new and used. www.amoeba.comJust one of the several 'departments'.. Hear my guilty 'bluegrass' secret here.. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/recsradio/radio/B000CEV4RM/
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2009 13:06:55 GMT
That's a fun album. Some great slide by Mr. Ickes.
B.
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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 14, 2009 13:16:54 GMT
No need for Bluegrass records to be filed under 'guilty secrets'. I love bluegrass music and over the years have spent time in Nashville and elsewhere playing with some the great musicians of the genre.
I saw Bill Monroe in Nashville and the experience was as powerful as seeing Muddy Waters. Giants are giants.....no matter what style of music they play. Hank Williams, Bob Marley, Lennon & McCartney, Miles Davis, Robert Johnson, Otis Redding.....etc..
I love stores like Amoeba, but sadly no matter how much they try, they and others like them will not be around for long.
Shine On Michael.
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Post by Gerry C on Nov 14, 2009 15:37:53 GMT
Another recommendation if you have not already heard it*: just arrived to my door from the States is the CD reissue of Sam Mitchell's Bottleneck/Slide Guitar, first issued on Kicking Mule in 1976. I still have the vinyl copy but the CD has four extra tracks from the original sessions at Livingston Studios AND is enhanced with a pdf containing tablature/music for quite a few of the tracks. Wonderful, wonderful stuff.
Cheerily,
Gerry C
* And if not, I shall want a proper explanation of precisely why!! ;D
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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 14, 2009 18:06:17 GMT
Hi Gerry,
That is a great record, and as time has gone by has become an important part of the history of acoustic slide guitar playing. A lot of players learnt from that record.
What are the extra tracks on the CD?
Shine On Michael.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2009 19:25:05 GMT
Hello. Good to read that this "record" can be bought again. Because, my story on this: when I was a kid I bought the Kicking Mule record "How to play the blues guitar" by Stefan Grossman, and specialy liked the slide songs by Sam Mitchell (and the picture on the back of the album with somebody holding a shiny guitar I had never seen before). I read about the album by Sam Mitchell and went to a recordshop to order it. But this shop only liked (and knew) top-40 songs and artists, so whenever I came in to ask about my lp they just said something about it being on order, etc. At one time the salespersons asked me if Sam Mitchell was a brother of Joni Mitchell, and they had a good laugh together, very funny. Never went back there. So, guess now is the time to order this album after all. By the way, Mr. Messer, I found some info about the bonustracks here: guitarvideos.com/cds/SGGW123.htmRegards, John.
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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 14, 2009 19:49:06 GMT
Thanks John.
Yours is a good story. I used to buy my Kicking Mule records via mail-order from Sonet I think.
Here is the track listing:
1. Ambidextrous March* 2. Roll and Tumble* 3. Laguna Luna* 4. Paddlin' Madeline* 5. Hambone* 6. Earl Blues 7. Pile Driver* 8. Dark Was The Night Cold Was the Ground 9. Crossroad Blues 10. Livingston Blues 11. Let Me Play It First Before I Aloha* 12. Come On In My Kitchen 13. Tribute to Elmore 14. Sunshine in Houston* 15. Two Step Swing Thing* BONUS TRACKS: 16. Nobody's Fault But Mine* 17. Jubilee Jamboree* 18. Motherless Children* 19. Rainy Day Blues
I have these bonus tracks on other albums.....somewhere!
Sam was a great musician & fun to hang out with.
Shine On Michael.
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Post by honeyboy on Nov 14, 2009 21:04:17 GMT
Agree about Liverpool's Sam Mitchell. Many people have heard his playing (including myself) without realising who he was... How many people have listened to the 'Every Picture Tells A Story' or 'Gasoline Alley' albums by Rod Stewart, and thought 'WHO IS THAT playing slide'? (and mistakenly assumed it was Ronnie Wood) I know I did the first time I heard it..
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Post by percythewonderant on Nov 15, 2009 13:11:38 GMT
Sorry to lurch back to the top of the page but strange to tell -
On the Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, album 'Together' there is a story told about musicians practicing dentistry on each other, the very reason that the album was recorded - A benefit for the 'Interfaith Dental Clinic' a community Dental practice!
Townes lost his gold tooth shooting dice, when they tried to pull it out with a monkey wrench they got the wrong tooth. Tom Underwood of the 'Interfaith Dental Clinic' had to fix the mess.
There is a moral there!
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pugsley
Serious MM Forum Member
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Post by pugsley on Nov 15, 2009 18:01:20 GMT
Some of the artists that i'm really digging at the moment are: ASH GRUNWALD I really can't pimp this guy enough. If you like blues then his first two albums 'introducing' and 'I don't believe' should do something for you (his later material is more commercial). For me, he really captures the spirit of the blues. Here are a couple of clips. DON HAUPT Again for blues lovers. I stumbled across Don when searching on CD Baby, and it was a real nice surprise. There isn't much info on him on the internet, but he's a truck driver that hollers and stomps the blues, really putting his heart into it. You can listen to a few samples here www.cdbaby.com/cd/hauptJOHN BUTLER TRIO Australian band with a funky side. John Butler is a nice guitarist and likes to use effects with an electro-acoustic. MOFRO Laid back, funky, swampy, and soulful. The album 'Lochloosa' reminds me of when I was driving a 1961 VW Beetle across South America, so it has a special place in my heart. www.mofro.net/music/DALLAS FRASCA Another Australian artist, she's got a belter of a voice. COLLARD GREENS AND GRAVY One more Australian band? Why not. Bluesy, featuring lots of harmonica. www.myspace.com/collardgreensandgravyTHE BLUE METHOD And for something totally different, here is some jazz funk soul. They always make me smile.
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Post by Gerry C on Nov 15, 2009 19:22:02 GMT
Hi Miichael - sorry I didn't respond to your post about the bonus tracks: been sharecroppin' on Best Beloved's allotment today... This is just to inform all and indeed sundry that the tracks on the listing marked with an asterisk (*) are those for which tab/music is supplied on the CD's pdf file. Apart from Track 1 the tab seems pretty 'bare bones' but it might be found useful by some; I know I'm going to enjoy working through Ambidextrous March (even if it takes me three goes to spell it correctly!!). Cheerily, Gerry C
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Post by oldmanblue on Nov 15, 2009 20:17:17 GMT
Agree about Liverpool's Sam Mitchell. Many people have heard his playing (including myself) without realising who he was... How many people have listened to the 'Every Picture Tells A Story' or 'Gasoline Alley' albums by Rod Stewart, and thought 'WHO IS THAT playing slide'? (and mistakenly assumed it was Ronnie Wood) I know I did the first time I heard it.. just listened to a live version of make me a pallet by Jo Ann Kelly with sam mitchell on slide.omb
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