Thanks for the info. It's a little concerning to hear your comments about volume 2 because, if I do buy volume 1, I will definitely want volume 2 as well (some of my favourite Lee/Ditko Spider-Man stories are in the second volume).

However, I've watched a couple of unboxing/review videos of the Spider-Man volume 2 book and, from what I can see, the interior pages look very much like they do in volume 1 to my eyes -- certainly they appear to be scans of the original comics, like volume 1, and don't remotely look to have the over-saturated Masterworks/Omnibus colouring. Check out this unboxing video (skip to 4:14 or so to start seeing the interior pages)...





I'd also be very interested in a link to that Facebook discussion about volume 2 you mentioned, if you can locate it easily and if its public.





This is exactly how I tend to read my Omnibuses and Artist Editions. Luckily, even though I'm 50, I'm still pretty supple and can comfortably lay on the floor like that. Chances are that's exactly how I would read these oversized Spider-Man collections if I take the plunge and buy them.

They were the band Paul McCartney was in before he hit it big with Wings.

OK, finishing up my rundown of favourite albums from 1964...



#1 - A Hard Day's Night and Beatles for Sale by The Beatles




I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to anyone that I've put The Beatles in the #1 spot for my favourite albums of 1964. They released two albums that year and I've had to choose them both because they are both utterly fantastic.

A Hard Day's Night is the soundtrack to the band's first movie, although the film was very much written to fit around the band's new songs, rather the other way round (with perhaps the exception of the title track). This is the only Beatles album to consist entirely of Lennon/McCartney originals – all their other LPs had at least one cover or a song by George or Ringo on them. The quality of the songwriting is a noticeable notch up from their two preceding albums, great though they both were. One of the reasons why I love A Hard Day's Night is because it carries the excitement and youthful energy of Beatlemania like no other record and is simply one of the best pop albums of all time, as far as I'm concerned.

Beatles for Sale is more introspective overall and also features several cover versions alongside the eight new Lennon/McCartney compositions. Much of the original material has a slightly weary, downbeat feeling to it, with more thoughtful and reflective lyrics – something that ties in with the four unsmiling faces on the album cover. Again though, there's a noticeable jump in the quality of the band's melodic inventiveness and songcraft on this album. Interestingly, much of the album has a more pronounced country and rockabilly feel to it than had been usual in the Beatles' repertoire before. Lennon even jokingly referred to Beatles for Sale as "the Beatles' country and western LP."

Since I've chosen two albums as my joint #1, I'm gonna post two tracks – one from each record. But I'm gonna kinda go for deep cuts instead of the obvious well known hits (is there really such a thing as a Beatles "deep cut"?).

First up, here's "Things We Said Today" from A Hard Day's Night, a great song with a cunningly complex melody and unusual chord changes…






And next up is "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", a country-flavoured song from Beatles for Sale, which jogs along briskly, with superb harmonies from John and Paul, though its melody and lyric are tinged with melancholy…

You can't go wrong with Sam Cooke. It's just excellent soul music. My wife walked down the isle to "You Send Me" when we got married.

There's a great single CD compilation called Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964 that came out about 20 years ago, which has a well chosen track listing and fantastic digitally remastered sound. That's a really good gateway into his music.

Hope you feel better soon. I'll hold off posting until you're back in the game.

More top albums of 1964...



#2 - Another Side of Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan




Bob Dylan released two albums in 1964. The first, The Times They Are a-Changin', continued his socially conscious, folk protest period and, while it's certainly an excellent album, I do find it gets a little bogged down under the weight of its own seriousness. Another Side of Bob Dylan was his second LP of the year and is by far my favourite of the two records.

This was Dylan's first album to eschew topical material since the protest movement adopted him as their spokesperson. Instead, the record features 11 songs with interpersonal themes, highlighted by highly poetic lyrics that are peppered with surrealistic or whimsical turns of phrase. The whole album was recorded in one marathon evening session and, as a result, there's a spontaneous, ramshackle feel to much of the material (Dylan even fluffs the odd lyric, on occasion). The fact that he would choose to present his newest and most experimental material in such a slapdash fashion speaks volumes of his faith in the strength of the songs.

It's difficult to pick standout tracks because, frankly, they're all standouts! I guess the most famous compositions here would be "It Ain't Me Babe", "All I Really Want to Do", "Chimes of Freedom", and "My Back Pages" (the last three of which were all later covered by the Byrds). But I'm gonna choose "To Ramona" to showcase the album; it's a pretty song, in which Dylan comforts and advises a distressed woman against the advice of her friends and family...

supercat - I checked out Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage tonight on Spotify (boooo...!!). Really nice album, I like it a lot. Will definitely have to see about picking up a copy.

I also listened to Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell, just because it came up next. I'd not heard it before (though I recognise the cover), but it's a really gorgeous album. I'll probably pick that up too!