Away We Go to the Record Shelves... ( #AtoZChallenge )( #BOTB )

       And so we begin another Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. It will be my 13th Challenge and maybe my favorite theme:   My vinyl record collection.  It won't all be vinyl--there will be a few surprises here and there--but it will all be music I currently own.   Along with perusing my record shelves will be stories about the music, how I acquired some of the albums, and links to the music itself.  There will be hours of music ahead. Maybe you can click a link and let the music play while you read or whatever else you might be doing.  I think it's all worth a listen.  I've been enjoying hearing these albums again as I've been compiling my posts.  I hope there is some music that you will also enjoy.  And away we go...

      Gone from my collection are great albums by America, the Association, and Brian Auger.  They are missed, but even more I miss the rarities of the two albums by David Ackles and the strange psychedelia of Autosalvage.  Those are all but memories now, but I still have some good music under the A category...

          

  Larry Adler "Again!"(1968)    The harmonica to me can be gratingly annoying at times, but in the right hands it is an instrument of great beauty.  Larry Adler is one such harmonica player.  In the early seventies when I saw this album advertised in a mailer catalog that specialized in clearance of cut-out mostly classical albums, I was not familiar with the artist, but the songs were all classic pop tunes that I had grown up listening to.  And the price was right so I ordered it.  This record was a great addition to my collection and one that I felt the need to hang onto.  Jazz fans take heed.  Beautifully presented popular standards by some outstanding players...

 

Darol Anger  "Fiddlistics" (1979)  I'm not sure the exact circumstances of my buying this album, but I know I bought it for full price in a standard record store.  If my memory serves me right I think I had heard about the album on an NPR radio program.  I was already familiar with The David Grisman Quartet of which Anger was a founding member and the fiddle player.  Since I had grown up playing the violin I had always been interested in violin music. You will be seeing this recurring theme throughout the coming weeks of A to Z posts.  There will be many albums that feature violin players.  I'd call this music of Darol Anger "jazz grass" or "new grass" or something like that.  It's a fusion style played by top notch instrumentalists.  Worth a listen!

Allman Brothers  "Dreams"  Box Set (1989)  So I got rid of my Allman Brothers "Brothers and Sisters" album as well as the Power of Love album by Hour Glass (an early incarnation of the brothers), but I replaced those with several Allman CDs and cassettes as well the tremendous Dreams box set.  The four CDs of the set give a overview of the history of Duane and Greg Allman with several hours of cuts from their various bands with primary focus on the most famous line-up.  Some great Allman classics as well as interesting nuggets of Southern Rock history are found in this set.  Not vinyl, but still a CD set that I'm proud to have in my collection.  The link takes you to disc 3, but if you want to hear more I think it can all be found on YouTube.

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass "Whipped Cream and Other Delights"   (1965) What can I say about this album that you can't see with your own eyes?   Just about any male who was an adolescent in the sixties likely had this album and daydreamed about that whipped cream covered woman.  But the real delight is the music.  At one time I owned just about all of the Tijuana Brass albums, but this is the one I kept.  It's probably Herb Alpert's best.  And the cover is a must for any respectable record collection.  And the music is fabulous fun for everyone.  This is among the earliest albums I owned. 

Do you own any of these albums?   What type of music do you mostly have in your own collection?   Which letter A albums are your favorites?   

Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

Stormy Monday Blues

        This old blues standard written and first recorded by T-Bone Walker dates back to 1947. Since then it has been recorded by many artists and is a staple of any blues rock artist.  You might know best the version by the Allman Brothers.  I'm going to use versions by artists who will appear later on in my A to Z series.  Yes, both of these versions are on albums that I currently own.  Which do you like better?

The Candymen   "Stormy Monday Blues"   (1967)

The McCoys   "Stormy Monday Blues"   (1969)

Time to Vote!
        
         Which artist do you enjoy the most?   Of the two versions, which do you like better?  I hope you'll at least give the versions a listen to discern your favorite.    Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 



Winner of this Battle Announced Friday April 8th

   

           I'll be posting everyday (except Sundays) during April so I know that's a lot of blog reading and all, but for those who want to know the outcome of this Battle please be sure to stop back by on Friday.  But really I hope you'll be checking every post in April.  I've got a lot of music to share and talk about during this month.  Come on all you music loving folks!

My Last Post (until A to Z begins) ( #BOTB Results )

       Yes, it's almost upon us!   The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge!   I've been getting my posts ready and there's a ton of great (and sometimes weird) music heading your way.  For an overview of what I'll be doing you can visit my Theme Reveal post now--or be surprised when those April posts go on line.  Compiling the posts has been interesting and entertaining to me and hopefully will be to you as well.  Stay tuned, but for now here are some...

Battle of the Bands Results

One Crazy Three Way Battle!

       My most recent Battle was an odd one as I had indicated when I presented it.  I figured it would be kind of a throwaway Battle, but it had an unexpected outcome for me and probably for some of you.  The take away from the results is that with BOTB there are no solid rules for predicting who the winners will be.

        I mean, really, how can something by Dave Brubeck be beat out by some other less serious pop artists?  For me there was no real question as to who I would vote for--Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la Turk" of course!  This recording is a work of true art--a masterpiece.  Some of you agreed while others just prefer anything else to jazz.  That's no surprise actually, but still...

Final Vote Tally

Dave Brubeck       3 votes

Alice Cooper         4 votes

Eiffel 65                 3 votes

Coming April 1st!

         Please join me in April for my musical extravaganza A to Z.  There should be something for just about anyone who enjoys music.  I'm putting a lot of work into this year's theme so I hope there will be an appreciative audience stopping in to enjoy the music and the memories...

Regressive Titles (#BOTB) Blue Again

       Seems I've started a "Blue" theme for my March Battle of the Bands posts.  And since it's a mid-month pre-A to Z Challenge post, I'm going for something odd.  Like I never do odd on this blog.  So on with the "blues"...

Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

Blue Titles in Descending Length and Depth

          I'd been toying with doing some sort of Battle using Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la Turk" for quite some time.  At first I figured I'd be messing with the territory of the rules described by Stephen T McCarthy in his recent Battle.  In other words, using a legendary piece like I was thinking about might not be a good idea.  Then I figured, what the heck, not everybody likes jazz.

            So here I go tampering with the fabric of time, space, logic, or whatever powers might be in the BOTB universe.   In keeping with the theme I began in my previous Mr. Blue Battle, here we go with the bluest of the blues Battles yet...

  Dave Brubeck Quartet   "Blue Rondo a la Turk"  (1959)

          This amazing piece of music is a tour de force of time signatures and exotic melody inspired by Turkish music that Brubeck had heard.  Try to keep up if you are able to attune your ears to this style.  It's pretty great stuff, but not everyone's cup of Turkish tea...





Alice Cooper  "Blue Turk"  (1972)

       Moving on a decade later after the Brubeck classic:   From a jazz master to a shock rocker jazzing things up a bit with some fairly credible results, here is a side of Alice Cooper that you may not think of when you think of this theatrical rocker....







Eiffel 65   "Blue"   (1999)

      Descending to a point in music history more than 25 years after Alice Cooper, here is an award-winning dance hit that took the world by storm after it was released.  Does this song excite you, incite you, or make you kind of blue?   Maybe it's your earworm for today.  Listen if you dare...






Time to Vote!
        
       Whether this contest "blue" you away or not, I still hope you vote on it.    Which artist do you enjoy the most?   Of the three songs, which do you like better?  I hope you'll at least give the versions a listen to discern your favorite.    Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 



Winner of this Battle Announced on Tuesday March 22nd

           This is kind of a throwaway Battle as I prepare for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge coming up in a couple weeks.  But I think it's a fun one so I'm doing it anyway.   Vote, vote, vote!