|
Great Googlies, this site has been up for three years. At one time, I’d thought about making it look snazzier, but considering the content, it’s best to keep the layout nice and simple. This site will also remain free of advertisements, because I don’t know what ocean cruises, online colleges, or whiter teeth have to do with my music ramblings. (And don’t you detest those nefarious ‘mouseover hoverbox’ ads and/or links, whatever they’re called?) I’m all for the free market, but it’s nice to escape ads in cyberspace. Rare, too. In the past six months I’ve added a couple of Bill Evans boxes, a small Booker Ervin page, and a few other jazz entries, along with new Police and Genesis collections in the rock pages. I also made the Miscellaneous Page more navigable. Sad news: many Blue Note titles are soon to be deleted, if they haven’t been already. Several of those doomed albums are reviewed here, including personal favorites from Sam Rivers, Joe Henderson, Jackie McLean, the complete Herbie Nichols three disc set, and more. I understand business concerns and the financial impossibility of keeping everything in print. There are necessary disappointments in the record business, even when the participants have the best intentions. But when a number cruncher with no jazz knowledge at all decides what stays or goes, then hearts can be broken. Maybe these recordings will be available online somehow, but then they’re not really Blue Note albums anymore, with liner notes, cover art, a specific running order...an integrated experience. The music is the important thing, but I think many readers know what I’m talking about. If you’re on the fence about buying this or that obscure album, go for it while you can. The good news is that Blue Note is still reissuing older titles (RVGs, etc.) on disc, so it’s not like the tub is completely draining yet.
Best wishes to everyone for 2009, and thanks for reading.
|