I’d also hesitate on the (legitimate perfect) Harlem Square Club because it technically wasn’t released until the ‘80s. Great ballot, btw. Think you’ll do any listening while we’re on the year?
That's true. Live albums are sometimes tough to slot into certain years in that respect. And yes, going to aim for at least one a day.
I’ve legit only heard one album with Blakey. At one point that was about representative of where I was in jazz listening but now is probably a little lacking
1. The Beatles - Please Please Me 2. The Beatles - With The Beatles 3. Dick Dale and His Del-Tones - King of the Surf Guitar Just Missed/Honorable Mentions (alphabetical): The Beach Boys - Surfin' U.S.A. The Beach Boys - Surfer Girl The Beach Boys - Little Deuce Coupe Sam Cooke - Night Beat Miles Davis - Seven Steps To Heaven Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan Duke Ellington & John Coltrane - Duke Ellington & John Coltrane Duke Ellington - Money Jungle Roy Orbison - In Dreams Other Singles: Peter, Paul and Mary - "Puff, the Magic Dragon" Gerry & The Pacemakers - "You'll Never Walk Alone" Jack Nitzsche - "The Lonely Surfer" Franki Valli & The Four Seasons "Walk Like A Man" The Surfaris - "Wipeout" Johnny Cash - "Ring Of Fire" The plethora of non-album singles/b-sides by The Beatles: "She Loves You" "From Me To You" "I Want To Hold Your Hand" "Thank You Girl" "I'll Get You" "This Boy"
Carrying on with Duke Ellington and I listened to his album with John Coltrane, which was really lovely. For want of a better word, it's classic late night jazz, the sort of thing played in a film noir with our weary detective nursing a whiskey at the end of his rope. I perhaps didn't find it quite as engaging or revelatory as yesterday's Duke album (Money Jungle), but this is 35 minutes in the company of two geniuses, with a great band band behind them, so it's obviously time well spent.
Before 1963 is gone forever, stroll through this one too. As breezy moody as Coltrane and Ellington I think:
I love this album. Coltrane is known for his power and his ambition and experimentation, but he could be insanely melodic and I feel like that’s mostly where he lives on this one
This year is why going Monday-to-Monday would be much more convenient. Gotta try and squeeze in a bunch of listens today.
i think i'll probably announce the year winners sunday nights and then put the post up for the following year at like noonish mondays
Thanks for being open to switching it, man. Adult life is a pain in the ass and sometimes a couple days get away.
Herbie Hancock’s My Point of View is killer. I miss Hubbard and Gordon from the debut, but the presence of Grant Green on guitar definitely makes up for a little less soul in the horns. The Crystals’ He’s a Rebel is, as I sort of expected, good not great. Only about half the album is in the Spector girl group lane and it all rules. The more simple stuff kinda disappears on you a bit. Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall is a blast. Though tbh I think I might have liked the original album track list even better? As a historical document, having the full concert is better, but it makes it a MUCH longer listen
I'd heard 4/5 of the Grammy noms for Album of the Year from '63 so I figured I'd finish it off. Andy Williams' Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests is a very good album. His voice is just utterly insane. There are a couple dud tracks that make you think he lacked a little subtlety/precision (or they banged the song out quick), but there's only one or two of those. The title track is an obvious knockout, as is the version of "Falling in Love with Love" he opens with. That said, it can't sniff Lonely Street, which is not just his best, but one of the best albums of the '50s for my money.
it was close between bob and sam but The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan takes it this week and will move on in the bracket also, regarding the bracket, I think it probably makes sense to do all the years from 60-20 in a row, and save the bracket stuff for the end, if that works for everyone? then I was thinking we could do the brackets by decade, giving the two years with the largest margin of victory a "bye" to make up for there being 10 years and brackets tending to work best in 4-8-12etc. formats. thoughts?
Finished off the year with Back at the Chicken Shack by Jimmy Smith. Love his whole vibe. The exact center between soul and jazz. Stanley Turrentine shines again, but Kenny Burrell lands some body blows this time too
Am I being silly, or will that format not work? You have 10 records, 2 get a bye for the first round, so 8 in the first round, which then leads to 4 in the second round, plus the 2 that got a bye, so 6 in total for the second round which won't work for a bracket? I'm probably missing something and will feel foolish in a sec, but not sure that'll work. Alternatively, by the time we finish, there'll be 61 records from 1960 - 2020, and that's pretty close to 64 which works perfectly for a bracket (32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1) - we could give the three highest second place finishes to make up the 64, or you can put your three favourite records that didn't make it to make up the 64 etc?
Good point on the bracket math there. Not to overcomplicate, but we could make it 14 records each decade (Maybe 4 highest 2nd place finishes). Top 2 in total points get a bye.... 12 face-off in the first round, 6 move on. 6+2 byes is 8, then lowest vs. highest seeding and regular bracket from there.