elvis costello/attractions, this year's model--listening to this thru really good headphones i grasped how sonically excellent this record is. ec's got a lousy voice, though he knows how to sing, and his guitar is merely functional here, though he's smart enough to underplay. his band, however, really kicks it. steve naive (who tended to overplay badly on subsequent records) sounds great and the drummer swings. the real mutha here is bruce thomas on bass--he's front, center and everywhere else. the bonus tracks are just as good as the main album--"big tears" may be his best ever.
paul griffin, a blowing session--at first blush just another 50s blue note date, but listen closer and you'll hear some of the best drumming ever on record. no great revelation, i suppose, but art blakey isn't human--he's simply on another plane. i once saw a video of him in a "drum-off" with ginger baker and it was like watching michael jordan play one-on-one with herve villechaize.
paul griffin, a blowing session--at first blush just another 50s blue note date, but listen closer and you'll hear some of the best drumming ever on record. no great revelation, i suppose, but art blakey isn't human--he's simply on another plane. i once saw a video of him in a "drum-off" with ginger baker and it was like watching michael jordan play one-on-one with herve villechaize.