Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 8, 2024 11:10:52 GMT -5
#7 - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, 1959-1968
 Very cool choice! Nine discs is certainly a whopping great set.  I love Stax and Atlantic soul -- I even made a point of visiting the Stax museum, which is on the former site of the studio, when I was in Memphis (and it's in a pretty dodgy neighbourhood!). That said, this is probably overkill for me at 9 discs. But I love the fact that such sets exist; this stuff absolutely should be properly documented and curated like this. I bet the musical quality of the music is very high right across the whole set. Myself, I have a measly two-disc Stax set, titled Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration, which came out in 2007. It's much more manageable and has still got a lot of great stuff on it, even though it's nowhere near as cool as the exhaustive set you have...   |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 8, 2024 11:17:58 GMT -5
#7 - The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, 1959-1968
Very cool choice! Nine discs is certainly a whopping great set. I love Stax and Atlantic soul -- I even made a point of visiting the Stax museum, which is on the former site of the studio, when I was in Memphis (and it's in a pretty dodgy neighbourhood!). That said, this is probably overkill for me at 9 discs. But I love the fact that such sets exist; this stuff absolutely should be properly documented and curated like this. I bet the musical quality of the music is very high right across the whole set. Myself, I have a measly two-disc Stax set, titled Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration, which came out in 2007. It's much more manageable and has still got a lot of great stuff on it, even though it's nowhere near as cool as the exhaustive set you have... I really wanted to get to Memphis when we drove my middle son to DC to start law school, but it was just a bit too out of the way. That and I knew there was no way that I could see everything there I wanted to see in a half a day or so. That's a nice two-disc set. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 8, 2024 12:12:56 GMT -5
OK, another of my favourite box sets... #7 - Dust on the Nettles: A Journey Through the British Underground Folk Scene 1967-72 by Various Artists (2015)  Beware, there's witchcraft and faerie magic in this box! This 3x CD set charts the period in the late '60s and early '70s when some British folk musicians began to dabble in psychedelics and subvert the homegrown folk tradition into a sub-genre that is today known as "acid folk". It was The Incredible String Band who kick-started this movement, and they are of course represented here, along with other flagship acts, such as Pentangle, Fairport Convention, and Steeleye Span. But the most interesting music on this set is often the stuff made by much more obscure acts like Comus, Trees, Bridget St John, Synanthesia, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Anne Briggs, Agincourt, Oberon, and Vashti Bunyan. The names of some of those acts alone will tell you a lot about what kind of music this is. Surprisingly, most of the tracks from these obscurities or cult acts are excellent and quite staggering in their quality. It's mostly acoustic-based, folky music and, while it's sometimes playful and twee, it's more often than not dark and elemental, with flashes of psychedelic weirdness. There's a Pagen strangeness to this music that hints at nasty, supernatural things happening in nasty, overgrown places. If you've ever felt like you needed more of a Wicker Man vibe in your life, then this is the box set for you! Here is Pentangle with the traditional "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme"… Here's Comus with the magical, but rather sinister-sounding "Winter is a Coloured Bird"... And here's the band Magnet with "Willow's Song", which was written for The Wicker Man and featured in the scene where Britt Ekland memorably dances naked in her room… |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 8, 2024 14:19:20 GMT -5
OK, another of my favourite box sets... #7 - Dust on the Nettles: A Journey Through the British Underground Folk Scene 1967-72 by Various Artists (2015) I have clearly never heard of this box before. Very interesting stuff. Not something I can see myself ever buying, but I'm glad it exists. |
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Post by Rob Allen on Aug 8, 2024 17:53:35 GMT -5
For the vinyl generation:  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2024 19:50:59 GMT -5
OK, another of my favourite box sets... #7 - Dust on the Nettles: A Journey Through the British Underground Folk Scene 1967-72 by Various Artists (2015) I needed to spend a little time taking this in before posting, I was not familiar with this music at all. While the general folk aspect is apparent, overall this is still something very new sounding for me. I'm not quite sure yet how it hits me, I'm not the biggest folk person in general, but there are some musical ideas that permeate some of this I do find interesting. It may be something that sticks in my head a bit and I go back and explore, or it might be more as Slam mentioned that it's more I'm glad music like this exists (definitely that is the case at a minimum). Either way, really interesting selection, I definitely learned something here! |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2024 20:51:52 GMT -5
A bit of an aside but still box set related, not sure if anyone here is into George Duke, but this set is getting released in 2 weeks. I've been catching some performances of his later material recently that I wasn't as familiar with, so the broader timeframe really interests me here. I've always loved his mix of jazz, funk, and soulful R&B, can't wait to grab this one.  |
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Post by tartanphantom on Aug 8, 2024 22:32:44 GMT -5
Ok tartanphantom (and anyone else interested), my turn to post some toys. Some of these are newer, some I've had for a bit and are just favorites I felt like posting. Not the whole collection here, but these get a fair amount of play time. Let's start with my nylon string acoustics. These are my favorites, I started on a nylon string model as a kid and I still love them, that softer but elegant sound just hits me the right way. The first one below is a Contreras model (or more accurately, a Manual Contreras II), and these came on my radar due to Strunz & Farah who included these among the models they play. This is a cedar topped full scale model, very nice resonance and kicked a nice Ramirez classical I had to the curb.  But as it sometimes goes in the instrument world, the one that gets the most play time is a more modest proposition, and below is my true #1 that gets more play time than any other guitar I own. It's an inexpensive 3/4 scale Cordoba I purchased for my son when he was young, and he didn't end up gravitating towards the guitar, but I kept it anyways. It's just insanely good for the price, and the 3/4 scale is super comfy for stuff like faster scale runs.  Next up is another "tale of two scales" with big sister/little sister Fender basses. While I'm a guitar player first and foremost, bass is a huge second love, especially for funk. This is my full scale Jazz in a buttercream finish, and sounds particularly great for slap technique:  But much as I love it, in truth my hands are getting older and I thought I'd give a shorter scale model a try that might be a little less work getting around on. Below is my 30" scale Mustang and it is a delight to play. It has a "PJ" pickup configuration with a Precision pickup in the neck and a Jazz pickup in the bridge. I find the sweet spot to be the middle position, and while this bass can slap just fine, I particularly like it for finger picked method (it loves Jaco style runs). My bigger Jazz bass does seem to favor the auto-wah though. Since this is my smaller buttercream finish model, I call it "Butter Pat".  I'll save my electric guitars for the next post, but I'll wrap this up with a Deering Goodtime banjo. During the pandemic with being home more, I decided to finally give the banjo a go, something I had wanted to do for a long time. This is their very simple entry model, but built in the USA and great value for the money. No resonator which is what I wanted since I just play at home and don't need the extra volume. I'm no Earl Scruggs or Doug Dillard, but I sure do enjoy trying! EDIT: No love for the electrics it seems, c'est la vie! We'll leave it here. 
Sorry about breaking up the box-set fest with such a tardy reply, but I've not had much time for internet this week.
So-- re: the classical guitars-- It's one area of guitar that I've never really ventured into, perhaps in part from intimidation. While I've played nylon-string classicals, I've always had a tremendous problem in getting used to the flat fretboard on them, and my fingerstyle technique is sorely lacking even on steel string guitars (a Chet/Merle picker, I am not). Nevertheless, I love the sound of a classical guitar in the right hands, as is probably the closest to the original intended natural tone of the guitar. Looks like you have a nice one, plus a little parlor-sized companion for workhorse use. However, with the difference in size (and, I am assuming, scale length) between the two, do you run into issues with left-hand positioning? I would think this would be particularly noticeable on a classical guitar due to the differences in the way one approaches the instrument.
Love BOTH of the basses! While I have a slight preference for the P-Bass, Fender did it right a second time when they introduced the J-Bass, and it has a recognizable sound all its own. I've used J-Bass models before, but I do not own one. Even so, I had a hard time adjusting to the tone from the bridge pickup, and usually kept it in the mix, but turned down a bit further so as not to get so much of the nasal honk in the overall sound.
The Mustang bass is just straight-up fun, and I absolutely love short-scale basses. While you don't get nearly as much in terms of overtone warmth, you do get more accentuated fundamental note tones, which really suits my finger-style of playing.
Also good to see that I'm not the only banjo owner in these parts. And the Deering Good Time might be a budget model, but it is still quite a decent build. I used to be in a band where the banjo player swore by his Good Time model (with a pickup installed) for stage work, especially when we played dives-- if it got damaged or stolen, it's not like replacing a Gibson or high-line Deering.
And please re-post the electric section-- I saw it briefly and intended to reply to it as well. Like I said, internet time just hasn't been in surplus this week for me.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2024 6:53:58 GMT -5
So-- re: the classical guitars-- It's one area of guitar that I've never really ventured into, perhaps in part from intimidation. While I've played nylon-string classicals, I've always had a tremendous problem in getting used to the flat fretboard on them, and my fingerstyle technique is sorely lacking even on steel string guitars (a Chet/Merle picker, I am not). Nevertheless, I love the sound of a classical guitar in the right hands, as is probably the closest to the original intended natural tone of the guitar. Looks like you have a nice one, plus a little parlor-sized companion for workhorse use. However, with the difference in size (and, I am assuming, scale length) between the two, do you run into issues with left-hand positioning? I would think this would be particularly noticeable on a classical guitar due to the differences in the way one approaches the instrument. I didn't have a full appreciation of fretboard radius when I was starting out, I actually started on a classical because there was one at the house when I was a kid and one day just decided to give it a go (my parents didn't actually play but somehow had one). For the next year and a half as I began to seriously study the instrument and take lessons, that was the only guitar I had and simply didn't know anything else. As my musical tastes developed during that time, I decided I really wanted to try an electric and was able to get a nice Strat copy. The rounded radius and slimmer C profile neck felt like moving to a sports car! But I noticed something as I started shifting between the two instruments (I was still using the nylon string for actual classical studies). Whenever I played the classical for awhile and then shifted to the Strat, it felt like the baseball "weighted bat" warmup, and much like you take the weight off the bat and your swing feels great, same thing picking up the Strat at that point. So I adopted this practice routine where I would do about an hour of warmups (scales/modes, chromatic runs, etc.) on the classical and then shift over to the electric. Regarding scale on these two, yeah, it seems like it should be a big adjustment. A full size classical runs around 650mm, or about 25.6" which is what the Contreras is, and I've seen classical players post thoughts on going between that and the slightly smaller 640mm or ever 630mm (roughly like electric players shifting from a Strat scale to PRS to LP), and even those differences throw some players off. So my smaller Cordoba is 580mm, which is around 22.8", and is a particularly big difference indeed (and I agree with you, especially with playing approach on a classical). It's actually fairly seamless for me, which is one of the things that really surprised me when I picked up the smaller one for my son and was trying it out. So much so that I actually questioned if that wasn't just a more natural scale for my hands, and maybe in hindsight should have been what I was playing all along. And given I've been playing the full size models for coming up on 40 years, maybe that has become so natural as well that both scales are comfy and easy to adjust to back and forth for very different reasons. Adding to this theory is around that time, I had picked up a Gibson Byrdland for jazz which is a very short 23.5" scale and similarly felt so natural from day 1 (jazz chords in particular never felt so easy). Love BOTH of the basses! While I have a slight preference for the P-Bass, Fender did it right a second time when they introduced the J-Bass, and it has a recognizable sound all its own. I've used J-Bass models before, but I do not own one. Even so, I had a hard time adjusting to the tone from the bridge pickup, and usually kept it in the mix, but turned down a bit further so as not to get so much of the nasal honk in the overall sound. The Mustang bass is just straight-up fun, and I absolutely love short-scale basses. While you don't get nearly as much in terms of overtone warmth, you do get more accentuated fundamental note tones, which really suits my finger-style of playing. Perfect description of short-scale basses! Yeah, I'm noticing it really suits finger-style for me as well. Hey, if it works for Stanley Clarke with that short Alembic he plays (very close to Mustang scale), works for me haha. Also good to see that I'm not the only banjo owner in these parts. And the Deering Good Time might be a budget model, but it is still quite a decent build. I used to be in a band where the banjo player swore by his Good Time model (with a pickup installed) for stage work, especially when we played dives-- if it got damaged or stolen, it's not like replacing a Gibson or high-line Deering. Oh yeah, I've always been addicted to the banjo sound and so happy to finally be playing one. I agree on the build quality, I was really surprised by it! I like not investing too much money if I'm not certain how far I'm going to take something like a new instrument, but sometimes if you cheap out too much and you end up fighting the instrument, that can defeat the point. But not the case here fortunately! I thought the bigger adjustment for me might be playing in open G, but the left hand work has been no problem, very natural feeling and the tuning quickly felt intuitive even with that high G string thrown into the mix. But I've been playing three-finger Scruggs method with my picking hand, and I play plenty of fingerstyle with the guitar but those banjo finger picks I can't get used to. I keep taking them off and playing it more like a guitar (and as a result three finger even turns into four finger at times). So I need a lot more work if I'm going to get the real technique down. But fun as heck, every time I pick up the banjo it's hard to put down. And please re-post the electric section-- I saw it briefly and intended to reply to it as well. Like I said, internet time just hasn't been in surplus this week for me. Yeah, I'll put those back up. I actually missed some stuff as well so I'll give it another go when I have all the content assembled. Appreciate all the gear chat as always! |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2024 8:08:40 GMT -5
And speaking of Earl Scruggs and the banjo, quite a coincidence as I had already planned this selection for today: #6 Flatt and Scruggs - 1959-1963
Flatt and Scruggs is just "music comfort food" for me, after hearing the live Carnegie Hall recording for the first time over 20 years ago I quickly made my way back to their earlier material including when they were with Bill Monroe. And while Scruggs' banjo is the biggest draw for me, that is no knock on Lester and what he brought to the duo, they were a great team. Box sets are really helpful here simply because of all the albums that are out of print (though now this one is as well). My biggest debate was the range of years on this one versus the 1948-1959 collection which is wonderful as well, so much so that I was tempted to cheat and post both as a package deal. But I'll stick to one for today, and I gave a slight nod to this 5 disc later set because it has Foggy Mountain Banjo material on it which I personally enjoy just a tad above the Foggy Mountain Jamboree content you get on the earlier set. Plus you get the Carnegie Hall material on the later set, and it was just a really strong period overall. Both have essential content though in my opinion. |
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Confessor
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Post by Confessor on Aug 9, 2024 9:50:26 GMT -5
Carrying on with my Top 10 favourite box sets... #6 - Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys by The Beach Boys (1993)  I outed myself as a bit of a Beach Boys obsessive in the favourite albums of 1964 discussion, so it's probably no surprise that I've chosen a box set by the group for this run down. This 5x CD set has a whopping 142 tracks on it, including a very generous selection of previously unreleased demos and outtakes, including over 30 minutes of music from the legendary unreleased album SMiLE. This "lost" album was Brian Wilson's 1966/67 magnum opus and the first official release of some of the material intended for it was a major selling point for this box set among Beach Boys fans. It was certainly the main reason why I purchased the set. Discs 1–4 chart the band's entire career from 1961 through to 1989 in chronological order. The first 3 discs are mostly great, with all the band's big hits and stand-out album tracks making an appearance, along with plenty of rarities for the hardcore fan. And of course, the SMiLE material on disc 2 is essential – I absolutely cannot be objective about that at all: this is some of the greatest music I've ever heard in my life. Unfortunately, things get decidedly patchier on disc 4, as the band's music from the mid-70s to the late '80s makes an appearance. The fifth disc is comprised entirely of studio session tracks, demos, complete vocal/instrumental tracks, and rare live performances from the '60s. If you're not into the Beach Boys or only have a passing interesting their hits, this set is almost certainly overkill. But if, like me, you are a big fan of their '60s and early '70s output, then this set is a must. Here's an early mini-masterpiece from the pen of Brian Wilson, the achingly sensitive "In My Room"… And here's "Wonderful", a gorgeous slice of baroque pop from the SMiLE sessions… |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2024 10:09:44 GMT -5
Carrying on with my Top 10 favourite box sets... #6 - Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys by The Beach Boys (1993) Awesome choice! I was VERY late to the bigger Beach Boys party, while I generally knew material up to and including Pet Sounds (so not entirely a neophyte I guess), it was a complete void after that until recently (like in the last year). This is another case where my son educated me on so much of their later material through one of the retrospectives he put together, and I've since had a much bigger appreciation for what a creative force Brian Wilson was (despite how hard some of his personal challenges made all that). And completely feel the same way about SMiLE. I could not believe how much I didn't really understand about the Beach Boys, better late than never! Great stuff, I don't have this particular set but looks fantastic. |
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Post by Confessor on Aug 9, 2024 10:27:59 GMT -5
#6 Flatt and Scruggs - 1959-1963
I like bluegrass fine, but I'm not a huge fan, you understand. I do have a double CD compilation of old Bluegrass tunes by the likes of the Stanley Brothers, Mac Wiseman, the Louvin Brothers etc, and there are a handful of Flatt & Scruggs tracks on that ("We'll Meet Again Sweetheart", "I'm Going To Make Heaven My Home", "My Cabin In Caroline", and "God Loves His Children"). I also have a few albums by Bill Monroe, the Kentucky Colonels, and the Bluegrass Cardinals, but I digress. To be honest, a 5 CD box set of Flatt & Scruggs is definitely too much for me – I'd probably struggle with a single disc! But I do enjoy the songs that I know of theirs...and I absolutely get what you mean about it being "music comfort food"; there's something about the cadence of Lester Flatt's voice that evokes some fantasy old-timey Grandpa singing to you in his log cabin. Is it possible to be nostalgic about a past you've never known? I've long thought it is, and this kind of music makes me nostalgic for life in the Appalachians in the 1940s. EDIT: Typing this reply has inspired me to pull out that bluegrass compilation I just mentioned and give it a spin.  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2024 11:25:13 GMT -5
But I do enjoy the songs that I know of theirs...and I absolutely get what you mean about it being "music comfort food"; there's something about the cadence of Lester Flatt's voice that evokes some fantasy old-timey Grandpa singing to you in his log cabin. Is it possible to be nostalgic about a past you've never known? I've long thought it is, and this kind of music makes me nostalgic for life in the Appalachians in the 1940s. Yes, that's a perfect way to say it, that captures it for me well! Totally get that "nostalgia" sentiment as well, I know exactly what you mean. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 9, 2024 12:41:59 GMT -5
#6 - The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 - Miles Davis
 So, going in to this I knew there had to be some Miles Davis. Realistically I could have damn near done an entire list just with Davis' groups. But, which one? I went back and forth a lot. The various "Complete Albums" were interesting, but if you already had most of those albums, not essential. I gave a lot of consideration to The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions. Yes, over The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions. Yes, I know the latter is considered more important and more evolutionary. But I love In a Silent Way in a way that I just don't love Bitches Brew. For a while I had In Person: Friday and Saturday Nights at the Blackhawk, Complete slotted in. Those performances had been released in pretty haphazard manners over the years and that box finally (mostly) got them straightened out and done justice. And I really do love that iteration of Davis' band (though I prefer the slightly earlier iteration with Trane and Cannonball). The problem is that I don't really think that Miles was at his best those two nights, though Hank Mobley ably filled the shoes of two of the greats. Ultimately, deciding to stick to one Miles Davis box, I decided it probably had to be a live performance and that the best all-around option was the complete 1965 performances at the Plugged Nickel. This eight CD box covers the second classic quintet's two nights at the Plugged Nickel in Chicago. If Miles isn't always 100% his creativity can't be faulted, and Wayne Shorter is everything a saxophonist should and can be. This is just a monster set for Shorter. And Tony Williams propels everything with his drums. Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Williams are simply sublime. The rhythm section was as good as it got at the time. Listening to live jazz is an entirely different experience than listening to studio jazz recordings. There is a training that has to go on in your brain to accept the improvisation that makes the song you know so well from the record you've listened to so many times so very different in that live performance. Hearing those songs over two nights of live performances is an eye-opening experience. And this box simply is a must have for jazz fans.
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