Grace Slick - Software [RCA 1984]

I had few expectations of Grace Slick's Software [RCA 1984]. My Jefferson Airplane completism is kicking in, and this appeared on the surface to be a new low, a symptom of where completism goes terribly wrong. The LP had the added allure of being sealed and $1.

After unwrapping, the dead wax revealed "TML" The Mastering Lab, and the liner notes confirm the excellent Doug Sax as the mastering engineer.

AllMusic didn't seem to rate the LP highly, only 2.5 stars, but upon reading the extensive review, the writer considers this album the strongest Airplane side-project. And to compare "Bikini Atoll" to my favorite Airplane song "Lather", well I had to hear it through. And it ends with a bang.

The album is standard early 80s pop on the one hand - lots of synths and drum , but Slick adds a surreal quality that transcends the period flourishes.

Latest vinyl haul like no other

Once again, my daughter Maddie was a champ, and we traded off, one toy store for one record store, and traipsed around Manhattan for most of the day with this happy rhythm. The haul was from Gimme Gimme Records. With hindsight, the condition of much of the vinyl was not great. A bunch had clearly been discarded by an audiophile after a clean and left in their VRP rice-paper sleeves. Many of the older titles shared the symptom of the top seam being completely split.

Gene Clark's No Other
(Elektra 1974) $1
VG-, but hoping it cleans up well. I expect the alternate takes will eventually prompt purchase of the 2003 CD.
Edit: 3-21-06. I've cleaned the LP and it plays pretty well. In between tracks there's a intermittent, light crackle, but it doesn't bother me. Bizarrely, the cover is pristine.

Sonny Rollins' Our Man In Jazz
(RCA reissue on Classic Records). $4
Retails at $33, so this was a steal. And a pleasure to hear too. Just three tracks, but Rollins hold my attention. I'm regretting parting with the RCA Rollins box now, but perhaps album by album is the easier way to explore this era.

The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Franscico
(Riverside Stereo blue/silver VG-) $7
Having given this a spin now, I'll stick with the SACD, although the Analogue Productions 2x 45RPM version will no doubt remain the definitive. Underneath the crackle is some formidable action, but it may not get another listen (sad).
Edit: 3-21-06. I cleaned the LP, but the marks are definitely damage and not dirt, so I don't expect much of an improvement.

Michael Murray playing the Great Organ in the Methuen Memorial Music Hall
(Telarc Germany 1977 direct to disc). $1

Cat Power's The Greatest
(Matador 2006, mastered by Kevin Gray onto RTI 180g vinyl). $9
Surely this is Matador's cost price for the pressing, given how much RTI must charge. The first side of the LP sounded great, but didn't engage me.

Gaite Pariesienne
(RCA LM-1817). A second copy, but this time the earlier pressing with original cover art. Washed and rice-papered, if an audiophile dumped it they were upgrading, or this particular one sucked.

Grace Slick's Software
(RCA sealed) $1.
The Airplane kick continues, having watched the documentary film last night, I'm gearing up to investigate even the more dubious stretches of Airplane member catalogue.

Keely Smith's Politely
(Capitol rainbow logo at 12pm) $3
Top seam split all the way and vinyl VG, but may clean up. Hmm. Overpaid here. I'm looking to pick up all her material, particularly with Louis Prima.

Big Bill Bronzy and Washboard Sam
(MCA 1986 mastered by Steve Hoffman). $6
At last, replaces an inadvertent Italian MCA pressing.

Bruce Springsteen's Greetings from Asbury Park
The bazillionth opportunity to buy this for a $1 raised its head after all the hype around the Born to Run 30th anniversary, and I buckled. Could have held out for a 1A pressing, ah well.

Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection
I could say this was a $1 audition for the $6 SACD, but the tumbleweed may stop here. Yet to see.
Edit: 3-21-06. Disappointing. No upgrades for this title.

Charlie Parker The Verve Years 1952-54.
(Verve) $4
Remastered by Bob Ludwig. I have the St Nicks set that was the original issue of one of the two discs, and the sonics are muddy to the point of being unlistenable. I'm curious to see if Ludwig managed to make improvements.

Junior Mance's Harlem Lullaby
(Atlantic mono) $4
Giving this a spin now. The monos from this era are hard to find in decent condition, so this VG++ copy is a rarity. Mance plays bluesy jazz on harpsichord. Yowzer. Just wrapping side two. I had thought "St James Infirmiary" would be the draw, but the funkier piano tracks are the stand outs.

Charlie Parker The Complete Savoy Studio Sessions
(Arista 1978) $15.
Rudy Van Gelder remastered, but nagging doubt tells me the latest CD version will be the winner (after the 78s of course).

Jethro Tull's Warchild
(1974 Chrysalis). $1.
George Peckham mastered in UK, and scrawl is in the deadwax on this US version, so I expect that they're similar. Supposedly the MFSL is strong. This LP was strong in places, but not as consistent as Passion Play (my current favorite).

Count Basie's King of Swing
(Clef) $5.
VG. Hard to find any Clefs, let alone any not completely gouged, and this one looks to have promise. Cleaning up vinyl from the early '50s has become something of a pet project. It is so satisfying to see the gunk that comes out of the grooves, and then hear the difference.
Edit: 3-21-06. Upon further inspection, the vinyl didn't really need much of a clean, but got one anyway. No smudgey crud coming off the grooves...shame really.

Ella Swings Lightly
(Verve) $3

Stan Getz - The Chick Corea /Bill Evans Sessions
(Verve twofer remastered by Bob Ludwig) $3

Television Personalities - My Dark Places

Eight years since the last album, The Television Personalities new LP - My Dark Places (due 2/27/06), has really grabbed me. I had read about the band for years, but am hearing their music for the first time today. I knew they were willfully shambolic, and am familiar with various spin offs and bands that cited them as influences. I get the sense that they were so influential that coming late to their music, it sounds derivative of devotees like The Beat Happening, Felt, Mark Stewart, and The Pastels, but also something boldly silly.

"She Can Stop Traffic" recalls The Beat Happening "She's a Godsend" - a longtime fave. The whole LP has a raw honesty.

I also have the pleasure of hearing it 5 days before release, having picked it up for $0.49 in a local store, the CD housed in a plain white sleeve with only the cryptic scrawl "TVP My Dark Places" to identify it. Luckily, I'd read a rave review, and was on the lookout.

Frontman Dan Treacy has a curious story, trouble with drugs, believed dead, then writing a harrowing blog from prison before this comeback. Not sure where the prison posts are, but he's still blogging. And his fanbase seems committed.

Shopping for ballet on vinyl with Maddie

My daughter Madeline (3 years old) has been staging performances of the Nutcracker in our living room twice a day, every day, for months now. There's the matinee before "quiet time", and then the late afternoon performance. She asks for cues, like "who's that?" and given the storyline, expresses the story in concord with the music. Maddie is quite professional. She'll insist that she wear her leotard, tights and ballet slippers. Between each movement, she'll exit the stage.

Every week after her ballet class, she incorporates the latest moves into her performance. Her regular audience is her 4 month old brother, who sits transfixed in his bouncy seat or Exersaucer (as the mood takes him).

Maddie started performing to Bernstein's Nutcracker on SACD, and has progressed to the unabridged Dorati on Mercury Living Presence (original pressing). Of course, as her Dad, I'm convinced that she's a genius, and brimming with pride.

More recently, she's been picking up tips from the Kirov Ballet DVD of Sleeping Beauty, which she doesn't tire of watching, despite being 3 hours long.

This evening, we had plotted together to shop for more ballet on vinyl (with Mum and little brother conveniently off to Berlin). I prepped her on the difference between good dogs and bad dogs (RCA Shaded Dog vs. Dynagroove), which she quickly caught on to, also identifying many titles when she spotted a ballerina on the cover.

We spent two hours in the store, and only near the end did she suggest for the first time, that perhaps it was time to move on. Adda girl!

Jefferson Starship Family Galactic Reunion

[Photo of Grace Slick]

The Jefferson Airplane kick continues. Last week, walking past BB King's Blues Bar on 42nd Street on the way home from work, I saw that Bo Diddley was playing. I'd missed him last year, and his set was almost over. I got to watch through the glass for a couple of minutes and get a flavor of his set and band. Hopefully he'll survive long enough for me to hear him close up.

Looking at the club's upcoming shows, The Jefferson Starship Family Galactic Reunion and Country Joe are slated to play on February 17. Wow. Just after blogging about hearing them in 1992, here they are, just a few blocks away from home.

Given commitments at home, its unlikely that Friday of next week, I'll be at the concert, but its comforting to know that they're close at hand.

Tonight I'm listening to Surrealistic Pillow (DCC vinyl). Ah, wonderful. Certainly a contender with Crown of Creation for their strongest album.

I've relistened to the debut, and am still non-plussed. Then my beat up copy of Volunteers was just too crackly to play. And The Worst of Jefferson Airplane really doesn't work for me. Their material really works best in the original album context. The mastering of this compilation (vinyl original) didn't impress either, and my copy is pristine (another $1 bin find).

The mono After Bathing at Baxters underwhelmed, but tonight my VG condition stereo original 1S Hollywood pressing is actually sounding great. The album's status as pyschedelic masterpiece is making more sense now. I'm just getting to the end of "Won't You Try Saturday Afternoon" as I write. Somehow I picked up a beat up Airplane collection (four titles) from one particular $1 bin, and despite the damage, the music is shining through on all but the orange label Volunteers. Testament to RCA engineers and the sturdy late '60s vinyl...oh, and the music too.

Next stops will be their live material, then the remaining studio albums: Bark, Long John Silver, Bless its Pointed Little Head, and the Jefferson Airplane Loves You 3 CD set for the unreleased material.