Whats on your turntable tonight?

Last night -

Jenifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat. I bought this on vinyl last week and received it Friday. It's a UK pressing on the RCA, and even though it's light weight vinyl, it's a superb pressing. It is so much better than my CD which I've had for some time, but was never all that happy with the sonics, especially comared to other Jennifer Warnes cd's (The Hunter, The Well).

This morning . . .
Bruckner - 9th symphony
Hubert Laws - Rite of Spring
Earl Klugh - Late Night Guitar

. . . digging out more old LP's that haven't been played in a while. Rite of Spring is an amazing record - incredible players (Ron Carter, Airto, Jack DeJonnette, Bob James) all playing Starvinsky and Bach.

Pulled out to hear later today on a friend's recently updated system:

Son House, Father of the Delta Blues, Pure Pleasure reissue of Columbia CS 9217

Mississippi John Hurt, Today!, Pure Pleasure reissue of Vanguard VSD 79220 (I've liked all the Pure Pleasure reissues I've heard thus far; interested to hear these two)

Creedence Clearwater Revival 45rpm box set from Analogue Productions, we'll probably listen to anything except Susie Q!

The Royal Ballet Gala Performances, Classic Records 45rpm box set reissue of LSC 6065: have pulled out the Adam Giselle and Rossini-Resphigi La Boutique Fantasque to listen to.

Elton John, Self-Titled, Universal 73090, a U.S. first pressing to compare to the later MCA.

Widor, Sym 6: Allegro, Speakers Corner reissue of Mercury SR 90169 (a great organ recording!)

Loius Armstrong, Louis Under the Stars, Classic Records 45 rpm reissue of Verve MG V-4012

Mendelssohn, Sym 3 (Scottish) / Hebrides Overture, Maag/LSO, on Speakers Corner 45rpm reissue of Decca SXL 2246-45 (a great Kenneth Wilkinson recording!)
.

Aimee Mann - Lost in Space - MFSL edition

ELO - Time

Holst - Planets

Donald Fagen - The Nightfly

D Visser

Nothing yet, but last night I did the "monthly ear recalibration" by attending a performance by the Haddonfield Symphony Orchestra. The program was Shoshtakovich "Symphony No.11 (the year 1905)". Sixty-five minutes spead across 4 movements. It never ceases to amaze me how the evocative power of music can paint a picture every bit as clear as a portrait.
Symphony No.11 tells the story of the 1905 revolution, which set the stage for the 1917 revolution that brought down the Czar. What started out as a peaceful protest by peasants in front of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, ended that cold January day with the deaths, at the hands of the Czar's troops, of 1200 mostly women and children. Their deaths only took a matter of an hour or so, at which time a soft heavy snow began to fall, eventually covering over all the bodies, erasing the grisley scene in the square. Very moving.

A 2-CDR comp I made of my favorite Walker Brothers featuring Scott Walker. Kinda like Spector/Righteous Brothers but sans most of the 'blue-eyed soul' pretentions, transplanted to England and injected with pretentions of pathos and Brel instead.

The latest ('03) CD by The Romantics (yes, that Romantics, they never went away). Bought the disk, entitled "61/49" (supposedly a reference to the route numbers of the Mississippi Delta crossroads of blues lore), at their great show here a couple weeks ago. There's some really outstanding stuff on here, showcasing their prime 60's influences but minus the 'new-wavey' inflections of their '79-'84 heyday, resulting in a heavier Detroit meets British Invasion power-pop rock'n'roll. Guests include drummers Johnny "Bee" Badanjek of Mitch Ryder's Detroit Wheels and Clem Burke of Blondie fame.