mikeymad

Four! Hampton Hawes 1958 https://album.link/i/1442854333 Example: Okay, looking past the whitest white guy cover ever. This is a very good album, lots of swing and well recorded. I should not have doubted it much when I read who was playing. An enjoyable listen.

Happy birthday Todd.. Cheers!

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Live) Joni Mitchell 2023 https://album.link/i/1686570727 Example: Nothing to say.

Cheers Antonio -- Happy Birthday --

What? - Do the actual work!?! hehe And of course that is what I should do, and probably will. Pick the 7ish tools that I would like to have around and then look at those for features and build. With an eye on what else they have in the line that I might want to expand to. It is hard for me not to just dump $1k and just but one of the big sets on sale. Yeah I know that they come with a flashlight and a crappy bluetooth speaker, but it comes with a bag. 🤓

Diamond Mine Jubilee Edition King Creosote, Jon Hopkins 2012 https://album.link/i/519264618 Example: Kind of a sweet album overall. Simple melodies that are lyric forward. And lots of environmental sounds.

So the soundbar is your left channel and the subwoofer is the right, and you point it away from you. Well okay then... (unless there is a plot twist and it is an AI render)

Thanks for the input - yeah, I come from the land of corded tools, so you just bought what you wanted and the right tool for the job. But the ecosystem thing is new to me - maybe a reason I never jumped to apple. But I am drawn towards the 18V Milw Fuel system (nice selection), and the 20V DeWalt system as well. My first thought was Makita, but that was based on my brother's tools, and that was 10+ years ago. They seem to be playing catch-up a bit, in the wireless camp that is. It will be a little bit before I buy, so any further comments opinions are more than welcome. cheers

Not strictly woodworking - but tools related. Question - if you were going to buy into a wireless ecosystem for a tool set these days - what would you choose? I am thinking things that are widely available and selection (think - yellow - red - green - etc. - not festool). To put together a nice basic project/repair set. Impact/drill/circular/jig/sander/angle/etc. Any advice is welcome - thanks in advance.

Time to catch-up on my musical Blog.. I have been listening, but have not been taking the time to post, I hope that my schedule will slow down in the future to keep on top of it. So much to listen to. Anyway. Study In Brown Clifford Brown, Max Roach 1955 https://album.link/i/1434889869 Example: This '55 Mercury recording is really good and catching the Cliff and Max combo pack in a good place. Other than the possibly racist 'Cherokee' track, a very fun set. Dusty In Memphis Dusty Springfield 1969 https://album.link/i/302307350 Example: Such a pretty voice. We all know Preacher Man, but this album has a lot of great tunes and highlights Dusty's talents. And Many thanks to the members of The Memphis Boys making the sound so good. Mo '69 The Allman Brothers Band (Deluxe Edition) The Allman Brothers Band 1969 https://album.link/i/1469577513 Example: I added this to my queue (along with Brothers and Sisters) a while ago after hearing a track off the youtubes. I never owned any of their albums, I just heard radio play back in the day. I have to say I really like the brand of blues and rock that they put out there. Good recording. Also be careful when someone asks for what to wear for the photo shoot, and you say, whatever you want. RoundAgain Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Brian Blade 2020 https://album.link/i/1502112092 Example: Just an awesome quad. I hope that they continue to do some colabs while they are in this groove, I need more, and to see them play live. Leonid Kogan Plays Brahms & Khachaturian Leonid Kogan, Philharmonia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra 2012 https://album.link/i/570710062 Example: I am not sure how this got into my queue. Maybe a stereophile testing track? Anyway, really a good recording, for what I was expecting to be a more historical recording (1958,59). I was not familiar with the Khachaturian piece, but something that I will look for going forward. Good balanced recording for orchestra and soloist. Ah, a little research later - turns out that the second work was recorded by RCA and released originally as Red Seal 'Shaded Dog' label. So, yeah - good recording. It is a little tricky when looking through a list and you see 'Guild Historical' as the label on the cover. So, I am glad that I got to listen to this one. And Speaking of happy listening. Revolver (Super Deluxe) The Beatles 1966 https://album.link/i/1643394501 Example: It has been a while since I have listened to this album. The 2022 mix came up somewhere, and there was a lot of chatter and some controversy. People getting all but hurt about this version verses that version and original bla bla. Putting all that aside. I listened to this diligently. And yup, frickin amazing. I go back between this and Rubber as my fav albums of this era for them. The exploration of song format and the introduction of instruments really pushed these froward. Do I need the other 50 tracks of outtakes and false starts? Not really. But what those really point out is how much George Martin was there to piece together all these cuts and tracks into pretty cohesive songs. They were not a one take live to tape band. Also like that there are rough edges and studio artifacts left in. Anyway - back to listening.

RIP Tony. You did well.

Had to happen sometime.. Right?

Night Beat Sam Cooke 1963 https://album.link/i/304822017 Example: Saturday Night Soul.

^^ saw that yesterday and liked it. I then added her recent Chopin album on DG to my queue. There is always one more album to listen to.

Hmmm. I think that there is something going on there. There was a release in April of last year, to your point, but TIDAL shows last month. So I turn to the best source that I know - Discogs. So it looks like TIDAL has picked up this release and format push that Anti has released. Regardless - I like. Yeah it is a compilation, but what better way to get to know an artist? - thx Ric.

Wild Creatures Neko Case 2023 https://album.link/i/1616250367 Example: Very enjoyable outing from Neko in 2023. Playing with different sounds and moods a bit more.

The Abyss (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Alan Silvestri 1989 https://album.link/i/1510646817 Example: Finally getting back to this soundtrack after seeing the movie again earlier this year. I like it.

Undiscovered Vol.2 Ludovico Einaudi 2023 https://album.link/i/1676434349 Example: A nice collection of old and new tunes from Ludovico. He writes some lovely melodies and with minimalist styles. Like Hania Rani, Ludovico can produce some sense of longing that is rare.

Us Three Horace Parlan 1960 https://album.link/i/1361703727 Example: Oh look a 1960 Blue Note recording, that sounds amazing, and has incredible playing, and great swing. Who would have thought? yeesh. Other than that it is fricken great. Cheers to Horace, George and Al.

To mimic one of the commets - Wow, just wow.

Stereo Mind Game Daughter 2023 https://album.link/i/1659524944 Example: Newer release from Daughter. I know that they have been around for ten years or so, but I have not been following them. I really appreciated the overall mood and vibe of this album. Not standout songs, But takes me on a slow journey that I really enjoyed. I will have to go back and take a look at the lyrics to see how the messages match-up. I am not great with lyrics for the most part on a first listen.

Live In Australia (Remastered 1998) Elton John 1987 https://album.link/i/1435044337 Example: Simply one of my favorite live albums of all time, up there with Billy Joel's Songs in the Attic. Full blown arraignments of tunes with orchestra in mind, not a gimmick (I am looking at you metallica). It is recorded well, not perfect, but the rest makes up for it in spades with performance and scale. I first saw this performance on HBO or something like that at the time, and was blown away by it and ordered up the album soon afterwards (thank you Columbia House Music Club). I still have it but it has been packed away for so long, so I was very happy to have a good version on Tidal to bring it all back to me (and be portable). I think I am on my third listen in a few days, I will not let it stray that far away again.

Dang. I will just stick with my old standard (with a pile of upgrades) LP12.

Escape (2022 Remaster) {but should be ESC4P3} Journey 1981 https://album.link/i/1640102583 Example: See Eric Hutchinson, this is how you do it! Such a good album for the hits of the time. Now that I follow a few vocal reactors on YouTube, I can appreciate Steve's singing even more. It almost makes up for 'Open Arms'.... almost that is. I had to skip the track after about 30 seconds. But the rest of the album remains worthy.