Since I hadn't checked out the latest batch of $1.99 X5 classical samplers I indulged in Handel and Vivaldi this morning but also found this - 250 Minutes of Bach:The Harpsichord and Brandenburg Concertos by The Wurttemburg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, which at a whopping $0.69 cents I figured I go for. Samples sound OK.
EDIT - As surmised below this was a pricing error, as of 1/19/12 this is now $5.49 which still ain't too bad.
While I'm at it, I've found this version of Don Giovanni very pleasing, and it is still $2.97.
BigD, once again thanks for the bargain recommendation. I purchased the Bach concertos and won't download them, I'll just leave them in my Amazon player and when I'm stuck for a weekend somewhere I now have over four hours of Bach to get me through the day.
$0.69? That's just silly. A third of what I would expect to pay from the crate at my local thrift store. Makes me wonder: Why charge anything at all at that price? I've been wanting to grab the Brandenburg Concertos from somewhere - this fits the bill nicely. Thanks!!
It is interesting that 7 digital prices are generally very similar, itunes' are more often than not comparible, but Amazon prices vary a lot this side of the Atlantic from over there
I have neither the time nor strength to evaluate this offering this morning but at 22 hours worth it must be the heavyweight of classical samplers - Top 200 Classics - The Very Best of Classical Music(Without Having To Leave Your Armchair), $5.00. Wait, I thought I heard Billy Mays....Billy?
The dotd is that kid from Idol who got eliminated in the Daughtry round - James Durbin Memories of a Beautiful Disaster - I downloaded just as my small protest against the pablum that got promoted to the finals. I keep saying I'm done with this show but end up watching.
BDB - you mean you can't resist Simon Cowell? He skipped X Factor (our equivalent) this year to concentrate upon American Idol. Viewing figures dropped by 20% and it was even being beaten by Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars) regularly in viewing figures. I must afmit I gave up on X Factor several years ago when it becameobvious that he was only interested in who would sell most records in the short term, not in helping to build a career on muisc.
Er, greg, Simon isn't on Idol anymore, including last season. He was over here doing the American version of X Factor which we tried watching and couldn't get into - too much glitz, the singing/dancing routines going on all around the contestants - just too contrived. One of the attractions of Idol was that the contestants might either excel or really crash and burn any given week - song selection, song selection - often against the advice of their handlers.
If you like The National, you might want to get this 14-song sampler album from their original label Brassland, which is free for a limited time at Amazon MP3. Brassland 2012 Free Sampler
Frisell is hard to categorize but very talented , love some albums, luke warm on others - but at $3.99 it's a keeper for me.
Edit - so far it's likewise a love/lukewarm thing for the album which is why I hadn't picked it up until now, but I'm satisfied I did - Working Class Hero may be worth price of admission alone.
I'm a huge fan of Frisell and he's done some amazing covers of Beatles songs live. If you have money to burn, I say get it. But it's not his best effort (though, admittedly, I haven't given it a sufficiently fair listen). If you're only gonna buy one Frisell album, don't choose the Beatles album. For four bucks, it's a great deal, and since you're clearly an intelligent music listener, I'm sure I don't have to worry about you not liking the album much and then never exploring any other Frisell; that would be my only concern.
But if you're looking to keep your Frisell collection low, here's the albums to get:
P.S. I'm in the process of writing a series of articles for BitW that covers the entire expanse of Frisell's output. It'll be weeks before it's done, but I expect you to hold your breath until it's completed. Until. It's. Completed.
Very interesting release (just came up at eMu recently as well - $0.21 cheaper at Amazon) The Soul Of Minit Records, one of those great R&B labels. I'm putting it on my eMu SFL with that little addendum - Amazon.
Jonah, for my tastes, you give incredibly short shrift to Frisell's earlier years. TETO, of course, but only QUARTET (surprise, the earliest you list, and the only one before 2000!) from yours would be in my top 5 list. UNSPEAKABLE would be near the bottom. I suspect our differences at least partially stem from when we were introduced to Frisell, but I'm more in tune with the Kevin Whitehead writeup you complained about earlier.
ETA: For reference, WHERE IN THE WORLD? is probably my nominated highwater mark.
Put another way, I think a critical list should be more representative of his entire career. And particularly for amclark2, who would probably enjoy Frisell' earlier, edgier work more than his later stuff. Regarding amclark2's original question, LENNON doesn't strike me as a good introduction.
Speaking of my beloved Bill Frisell Band, I'm very much looking forward to Hank Roberts' upcoming Everything Is Alive on Winter & Winter, with Frisell, Jerome Harris, and Kenny Wollesen. I thought Robert's last one, Green, with Marc Ducret and Jim Black, was pretty great.
Yeah, I skipped on the Lennon. Where's that Whitehead piece? Is jonah's out yet?
Anyway, back to thread: Harlem River Drive is $4.99 on amazon - not a deal of the day or month or anything, but a good price for a well regarded album. I think I'm getting it.
Speaking of Naxos, I was poking through my SFL's to attempt some more decision making. I had an album called Guitar Music From Cuba in one, and since my laptop won't play samples off I go to Amazon to listen to some, and I then see they have the CD (via Newbury Comics) for $7.19, so for $1.20 more I get another CD to clutter up my man-cave, and 2 more Naxos guitar CD's for $6 something to boot. So what's the morale of the story, Mr. Robinson? Well, children, first, fools shouldn't be allowed internet access and a credit card, and secondly, with the prices at eMu these days it does pay to shop around.
Bah humbug etc.... I've just been searching for the Bill Frisell recordings on both Jonah's and Kargatron's recommendations. Not one available on emusic over here. But I could get the aforementioned Lennon album!!!
Well, greg, what's available for you? I'm sure Jonah and I will pick different recs from what's available.
Btw, amclark2, Kevin Whitehead's writeup: Bill Frisell's Pan-Americana. Iirc, Jonah complained he didn't talk about Ron Miles, who's a latter-period Frisell collaborator. Obviously Whitehead formed his allegiances to Frisell early on (as did I), so editorially skews toward the earlier half of his career. My introduction to Frisell was in 1985-6, iirc, and I still bear deep love for those early years.
Well, my allegiances to Frisell began in 1992 (or maybe 1993) with the Hal Wilner Meditations on Mingus. My next album was the ECM compilation series Works, which led me to immediately buy In Line. I got Rambler shortly after that. I didn't much care of Rambler either at that time or even that much now. In Line is beautiful. I sometimes forget how popular it would probably be on emusers considering the fan base for ambient drone. In any event, by '94, I was living in Denver, and I would catch Frisell play at this little coffee shop occasionally up around 35th in Northwest Denver. I also often caught Ron Miles play while I was out there, most often at this wine bar in LoDo (lower downtown Denver). While I also was interested to hear what Frisell was doing with Zorn and the other NY downtown scenesters, most of the stuff like Naked City and LuLu didn't really start appealing to me until most recently.
I gave a quick five of some favorites. Each of those albums has a very distinct sound and don't really compare to anything else he does. I also noted it was a starting point. Yes, I could've included In Line or Where In the World or This Land. I think his collaboration with Vincius Cantuaria on Tucuma is worth of mention as his participation on Latin vocalist/guitarist Gabriela's trilogy of albums, the best IMO being "El Viaje". I could've mentioned his underrated treasure "The Sweetest Punch", and if it were more available, I might've also mentioned his double-album with Ron Miles "Stone/Blossom." I could've named lots of albums. His discography (and participation on others) is quite varied in sound and concept. Alternatively, you can't go wrong with any of the five I mentioned.
My Frisell overview probably won't go up on BitW for another month, maybe more. I'm struggling to find the time since we're in the process of moving to a new city. But I'll get there soon enough. Besides the sheer volume of Frisell albums to cover, I'm also struggling with how I want to present them.
It just struck me what I found so distasteful about your post... the utilization of the word "allegiance". Like you're challenging me over who was Frisell's best friend first, lol. Good grief.
Huh, I didn't mean it in a competitive sense - it was about the characteristics of the period one first felt attached to. Same as how many remain particularly attached to music from their teenage years - the question is what defines the formative years (of the listener). It's not about who got there "first", but rather, what (Frisell's music) sounded like when they were introduced.
In any case, I do think you should be wary about introducing someone to an artist with selections only from one half of their career. You say "favorites" now, but earlier, you said "here's the albums to get". I hope you can appreciate the difference there.
I might've also mentioned his double-album with Ron Miles Stone/Blossom.
I haven't heard that, but I see no mention of Frisell on that release. Are you confusing that with the duet album Heaven, or is Frisell an uncredited presence on S/B?
I liked Heaven well enough, but it's been a while since I heard it and I take it as a sign that it doesn't still resonate with me like it once did that I probably wouldn't rec it now without hearing it again to see if the magic was still there.
And, yes, those previous albums are "albums to get". They're all really fantastic, and that was the basis for my recommendations. My goal wasn't to give an objective overview of Frisell's career, nor did I attempt to portray it as such. In fact, if I recall, I believe that that list wasn't even meant to be an introduction... just five albums that would be better choices than the new Lennon album.
You be wary. Me, I'm just gonna rec albums I love and that I think others might too.
Comments
EDIT - As surmised below this was a pricing error, as of 1/19/12 this is now $5.49 which still ain't too bad.
While I'm at it, I've found this version of Don Giovanni very pleasing, and it is still $2.97.
The dotd is that kid from Idol who got eliminated in the Daughtry round - James Durbin Memories of a Beautiful Disaster - I downloaded just as my small protest against the pablum that got promoted to the finals. I keep saying I'm done with this show but end up watching.
Anybody have any thoughts on this? Pitchfork? If I don't have any Frisell albums, is this a good or bad place to start?
Edit - so far it's likewise a love/lukewarm thing for the album which is why I hadn't picked it up until now, but I'm satisfied I did - Working Class Hero may be worth price of admission alone.
I'm a huge fan of Frisell and he's done some amazing covers of Beatles songs live. If you have money to burn, I say get it. But it's not his best effort (though, admittedly, I haven't given it a sufficiently fair listen). If you're only gonna buy one Frisell album, don't choose the Beatles album. For four bucks, it's a great deal, and since you're clearly an intelligent music listener, I'm sure I don't have to worry about you not liking the album much and then never exploring any other Frisell; that would be my only concern.
But if you're looking to keep your Frisell collection low, here's the albums to get:
1. Quartet
2. Intercontinentals
3. Ghost Town
4. Disfarmer
5. Unspeakable
And then build from there.
ETA: For reference, WHERE IN THE WORLD? is probably my nominated highwater mark.
Anyway, back to thread: Harlem River Drive is $4.99 on amazon - not a deal of the day or month or anything, but a good price for a well regarded album. I think I'm getting it.
Btw, amclark2, Kevin Whitehead's writeup: Bill Frisell's Pan-Americana. Iirc, Jonah complained he didn't talk about Ron Miles, who's a latter-period Frisell collaborator. Obviously Whitehead formed his allegiances to Frisell early on (as did I), so editorially skews toward the earlier half of his career. My introduction to Frisell was in 1985-6, iirc, and I still bear deep love for those early years.
Well, my allegiances to Frisell began in 1992 (or maybe 1993) with the Hal Wilner Meditations on Mingus. My next album was the ECM compilation series Works, which led me to immediately buy In Line. I got Rambler shortly after that. I didn't much care of Rambler either at that time or even that much now. In Line is beautiful. I sometimes forget how popular it would probably be on emusers considering the fan base for ambient drone. In any event, by '94, I was living in Denver, and I would catch Frisell play at this little coffee shop occasionally up around 35th in Northwest Denver. I also often caught Ron Miles play while I was out there, most often at this wine bar in LoDo (lower downtown Denver). While I also was interested to hear what Frisell was doing with Zorn and the other NY downtown scenesters, most of the stuff like Naked City and LuLu didn't really start appealing to me until most recently.
I gave a quick five of some favorites. Each of those albums has a very distinct sound and don't really compare to anything else he does. I also noted it was a starting point. Yes, I could've included In Line or Where In the World or This Land. I think his collaboration with Vincius Cantuaria on Tucuma is worth of mention as his participation on Latin vocalist/guitarist Gabriela's trilogy of albums, the best IMO being "El Viaje". I could've mentioned his underrated treasure "The Sweetest Punch", and if it were more available, I might've also mentioned his double-album with Ron Miles "Stone/Blossom." I could've named lots of albums. His discography (and participation on others) is quite varied in sound and concept. Alternatively, you can't go wrong with any of the five I mentioned.
@amclark
My Frisell overview probably won't go up on BitW for another month, maybe more. I'm struggling to find the time since we're in the process of moving to a new city. But I'll get there soon enough. Besides the sheer volume of Frisell albums to cover, I'm also struggling with how I want to present them.
In any case, I do think you should be wary about introducing someone to an artist with selections only from one half of their career. You say "favorites" now, but earlier, you said "here's the albums to get". I hope you can appreciate the difference there.
I haven't heard that, but I see no mention of Frisell on that release. Are you confusing that with the duet album Heaven, or is Frisell an uncredited presence on S/B?
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=23613
I liked Heaven well enough, but it's been a while since I heard it and I take it as a sign that it doesn't still resonate with me like it once did that I probably wouldn't rec it now without hearing it again to see if the magic was still there.
And, yes, those previous albums are "albums to get". They're all really fantastic, and that was the basis for my recommendations. My goal wasn't to give an objective overview of Frisell's career, nor did I attempt to portray it as such. In fact, if I recall, I believe that that list wasn't even meant to be an introduction... just five albums that would be better choices than the new Lennon album.
You be wary. Me, I'm just gonna rec albums I love and that I think others might too.