Incredible!

Incredible!

ASIN: B00004TYKH

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It would be hard to think of a disc that could stir as much anticipation among fans of the Hammond B-3 as this pairing of Joey DeFrancesco and Jimmy Smith--two kingly figures on the big keyboard. The good news is that Incredible! lives up to its billing in a way that will make even the most jaded listener agree that its title is just about the only adjective that applies. Incredible! was, incredibly, recorded on one night during the 1999 San Francisco Jazz Festival, and as the aural evidence proves, what a night that was!

The four tracks that start the disc feature just DeFrancesco and his supertight backing band of guitarist Paul Bollenback and drummer Byron Landham. Consider it a more than satisfying appetizer before Smith sits down at the table, proving once again that DeFrancesco is a B-3 titan by anyone's standards, as he rips through "The Champ" and wrings some gut-wrenching sounds out of his organ during "The Good Life." But the main course comes when DeFrancesco sits in with organ legend Jimmy Smith and his band on the two medleys that close the set. They spark in a way that makes it hard to believe they'd never performed together before this night. They prod each other through a beautiful unaccompanied duet that segues from "Yesterdays" to "My Romance" and trading licks during a heated "St. Thomas." Incredible indeed. --Ezra Gale

Tracks:

Heard It Through The Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
Respect - Aretha Franklin
Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself
Stop! In The Name Of Love - The Supremes
In The Midnight Hour - Wilson Pickett
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher - Jackie Wilson
Rescue Me - Fontella Bass
Soul Man - Sam
Sweet Soul Music - Arthur Conley
But It's Alright - J.J. Jackson
Try A Little Tenderness - Otis Redding
Green Onions - The MG's
Knock On Wood - Eddie Floyd
Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett
Under The Boardwalk - The Drifters
What'd I Say (Part 1) - Ray Charles

Tracks:

Stand By Me - Ben E. King
Midnight Train To Georgia - Gladys Knight
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
Me And Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul
When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge
Tell It Like It Is - Aaron Neville
Rainy Night In Georgia - Brook Benton
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding
A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like) - Aretha Franklin
I'll Be Around - Spinners
Show And Tell - Al Wilson
Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites
You Are Everything - The Stylistics
La-La-Means I Love You - The Delfonics
Love On A Two-Way Street - The Moments
Love Won't Let Me Wait - Major Harris

Album Description

The Incredible Soul Collection mines 32 definitive tracks, including #1 pop & R&B classics from Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, and Aretha Franklin. Slipcase. Rhino 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Incredible Soul Indeed!!.......2007-06-27

I have always enjoyed the pure rush I feel when listening to the great hits of Motown, and this CD set is one of the best.
I actually asked for this set as a Christmas gift & enjoyed it so much that I ordered the same CD's for a good friend of mine.
The collection of songs is outstanding and makes road trips or just an afternoon of kicking back an absolute blast.

Super Soul.......2007-03-09

This CD has a super anthology of songs that you loved from the 60's & 70's, all the great artists, Marvin Gaye, the Commodores, Otis Redding, the Supremes, Aretha. If you like the Motown Sound, this is a great collection.

Great CD!!!.......2006-08-25

I love this CD. It has so many of the songs I love all on one CD. It is great!

Great Collection of 60's and 70's Soul .......2006-06-01

The Incredible Soul Collection is an awesome 2-CD collection of some of the best songs from the 60's and 70's. Aretha, Marvin, Ray, Otis, Sam & Dave, and Gladys Knight and the Pips are just a few of the great artists on this collection.

This set is great to put in on a long drive, or on a lazy weekend afternoon. It makes you nostalgic and wistful on one hand, and grateful on the other hand that this music still lives and breathes in the hearts and minds of those of us who first experienced it so long ago.

Well its soul all over again.......2006-05-10

I can only say that it is the best of the best
I just have to tell u that walk down memory lane wowowow
just listen just listen just listen!

The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery

Average customer rating:

5 Star - No Brainer!
Must have for Wes Montgomery fans
Wes: Great player and composer
So Sweet
The Best Wes

The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

Hard Bop | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Soul-Jazz & Boogaloo | Jazz | Styles | Music
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Smokin' at the Half Note
Midnight Blue
Virtuoso (20 Bit Mastering)
Smokin' at the Half Note
Boss Guitar

ASIN: B000000Y27
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

Airegin
D-Natural Blues
Polka Dots And Moonbeams
Four On Six
West Coast Blues
In Your Own Sweet Way
Mr. Walker (Renie)
Gone With The Wind

Amazon.com

This 1960 record solidified Montgomery's reputation as the most important jazz guitarist to emerge since Charlie Christian in the 1930s. His two most-distinguishing traits---the mellow thumb-picking approach and the soft and round use of octaves--are in full bloom here. Montgomery tackles two standards, one tune each from Sonny Rollins and Dave Brubeck, plus four originals, including the classics "West Coast Blues" and "Four on Six." His solos are remarkably fluid and melodic while still capturing the essence of the blues idiom. He achieves a near-perfect balance of technique and emotion. On "Polka Dots and Moonbeams," his approach is unhurried and delicate; on the original "Mr. Walker," he produces lengthy, bop-inspired runs without ever losing control. Tommy Flanagan's gracefully understated piano proves a perfect match. Rather than compete with horn players and their styles, Montgomery relished the distinct and unique qualities of the guitar. --Marc Greilsamer

Album Details

Part of the 'masters of Jazz: The History Series 1949-1969'. 20 Bit Digitally Remastered.

Customer Reviews:

5 Star - No Brainer! .......2007-06-26

I challenge people to turn off the lights, pop this one on, lay down on your bed and really focus and concentrate on that guitar playing of Mr. Montgomery. You will be mesmerized. For it's beyond amazing! This is one recording a jazz guitar player doesn't want to miss. However, any fan of the guitar, no matter what your favorite category of music may be, will still thoroughly enjoy listening to this legend. The man was arguably the greatest jazz guitarist ever. He is my personal favorite among many favorites (i.e. Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny, et al... et al...). Out of all of the many great Wes Montgomery recordings I would put this one, along with "Smokin' at the Half Note", as my all-time most revered.

As Ralph J. Gleason, a very highly respected jazz writer, was quoted as saying in the original liner notes: "He (Montgomery) has the electric quality, that special gift of making whatever he does come alive, that marks the true artist. He has terrific swing, the ability to build solos dramatically (and) beautifully climax after climax, and everything he plays has a sense of rightness about it."

And what really makes this one even extra special is the trio behind Wes, backing him up are - Tommy Flanagan on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and his brother Albert Heath on drums. The swinging trio plays loose and always in perfect flow, each one of them turning in terrific performances. This is a definite must own for every fan of jazz out there. As you can see, the Amazon reviewers have spoken (as of today, this will be review #43) and it is rightfully holding a five-star status. I can't believe anyone would give this less.

Must have for Wes Montgomery fans.......2007-05-12

This was my first Wes Montgomery CD, I listened to it for years, it was then stolen from me, but I still remember the sounds on the recording now. I will definitely but the tracks again. This CD shows what Wes Montgomery is all about, all the different elements in his playing are showcased and each track is enjoyable and intriging to listen to.

Wes: Great player and composer.......2006-12-31

Wes Montgomery is the father of modern jazz guitar. His style sounds fresh today. But, he also composed some incredibly catchy tunes in this hard-bop style. "D-Natural Blues", "Mr. Walker", "West Coast Blues", and my favorite "Four-on-Six",have all become standards and are played here with elegance, logic and a tremendous sense of swing. You'll never tire of this great music.

So Sweet.......2006-11-05

Reminds me of those late, after-hour joints in Chicago when I was living a happy, smokey jazz lush life in that great city. It's three in the morning, the music jumps, every foot is tapping to his sweet, solid sound and I'm young again. And what a great time Wes and his fellows are having -- Tommy Flanagan on piano, Percy Heath bass and Albert Heath on drums. A perfect mix of exceptional talent and chemistry. For you newcomers, pay attention -- this is music!

The Best Wes.......2006-10-28

Years ago I had read in a jazz magazine how some top jazz guitarists were influenced by this album, so wanting to find out more about Wes I bought it. This was also my first Wes album(CD), and I was blown away!
All I had heard before was some of his more "pop styled"songs. I started buying a lot of him, but I still don't think there's a better one. Every song is great, the band is great, and I like the sound of his guitar better than a lot of his others. This is got to be in the top ten of all guitar records! In my opinion, an essential jazz recording.

5000 Spirits / Hangman's Beautiful Daughter

Average customer rating:

2 psychedelic classics
diggin it
Two most important albums. Toghether for the first time
Double Magic !!!!
Damn hippies...

5000 Spirits / Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
Incredible String Band
Manufacturer: Collector's Choice
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Wee Tam / Big Huge
Changing Horses / I Looked Up
Be Glad for the Song Has No Ending
U
Liege & Lief

ASIN: B00006BC4Z
Release Date: 2002-08-13

Tracks:

Chinese White
No Sleep Blues
Painting Box
The Mad Hatter's Song
Little Cloud
The Eyes of Fate
Blues for the Muse
The Hedgehogs' Song
First Girl I loved
You Know What You Could Be
My Name is Death
Gently Tender
Way Back in the 1960's

Tracks:

Koeeoaddi There
The Minotaur's Song
Witches Hat
A Very Cellular Song
Mercy I Cry City
Waltz Of The New Moon
The Water Song
Three Is A Green Crown
Swift As The Wind
Nightfall

Album Description

2CD set combines '5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion' with 'The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter'. Highlights include 'Chinese White', 'No Sleep Blues' and 'Nightfall.' Originally released in 1967 & 1968.

Customer Reviews:

2 psychedelic classics.......2005-12-29

Of the ISB's dozen or so albums released between 1966 and 1974, 5000 Spirits and Hangman's Beautiful Daughter rank as the two most essential, if not the most accessible (5000 Spirits is more accessible than Hangman, and that's saying something, anyway). Psychedelic silliness aside--and I'll admit it took me some time before I completely warmed to The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (I had to rediscover Robin Williamson through his more recent work to really "get" what the Incredibles were about)--these are real classics of the period, and have stood the test of time far better than many other psychedelic albums.

The Incredible String Band have often been called the "first world music band," and given that they beat Kaleidoscope (whose most famous member is David Lindley) to the punch with their first LP by a year (the ISB's eponymous debut appeared in 1966, while Side Trips, the first Kaleidoscope album, hit the racks in '67), this claim is not exaggerated. Nor is it unjustified--there are many styles and instruments represented across the band's albums; you can hear sitars and Moroccan bowed gimbri on these tracks, along with raga, Balkan and Middle Eastern stylings. Later albums would feature the group steering a bit more toward their Celtic roots, but here, you can see the flags of many nations flying colourfully throughout the music. Personal favourites for me include "Chinese White," "No Sleep Blues," "Little Cloud," "The Hedgehog's Song," "Painting Box" and "First Girl I Loved" on 5000 Spirits; then "Koeeoaddi There," "The Minotaur's Song" (for the sheer silliness of it), "A Very Cellular Song," "Mercy I Cry City," "Three is a Green Crown" and "Swift as the Wind" on Hangman's Beautiful Daughter.

And I must disagree strongly with the reviewer who said that Robin Williamson's more recent work is that of a minstrel--that's most disingenuous. Williamson is a *bard*, thank you very much (he's even an honourary member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids). It is my fond hope that he'll eventually return to the U.S. and tour here; that's one show I'd gladly pay admission for.

diggin it.......2005-09-24

I am what you would call a newbie to the string band, and a newbie to english folk rock in general. but i am really diggin it. it's zany, psychadelic and folky all at once. there really is no other sound like this. it's like a bunch of minstrels strung out on drugs.

Two most important albums. Toghether for the first time.......2005-06-02

`The 5000 Spirits or The Layers of the Onion' (5000 Spirits) and `The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter' (Daughter) by The Incredible String Band (TISB) in a single package gives you the opportunity to get the two albums which put this band on the 1960's musical map.

The easiest way to point out the company this band was in is to cite a 1968 newspaper review of the `5000 Spirits' album which compared it favorably to the very summit of pop music at that time, the Beatle's epochal `Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. On the one hand, there is no question in my mind that this album is NOT as good as `Sergeant Pepper...'. And yet, we are still listening to both albums today.

`The 5000 Spirits or The Layers of the Onion' and that review was strong enough for me to look out for the TISB's next album (Daughter) and I was appropriately rewarded when I first heard this work on vinyl about 35 years ago. For starters, it simply hangs together much better than the earlier album. `5000 Spirits' seems to be just a collection of imaginative songs, most of that are probably considered `novelty songs'. `Daughter' is tied together by several parallel themes, the most important of which is linked to the album title and consists of stories admonitions, and entertainment's for an adolescent girl. The second theme running though most of the songs is the classic ancient elements of earth, air, fire, and water.

Oddly enough, these are TISB's second and third albums. The first presented the group as a trio of men, which slimmed down to just Williamson and Heron for the second album, to grow to the pair of men plus a healthy chorus of women and children backing them up on all sorts of oldish instruments.

The very best thing about these old albums is that they are so much better than the material Williamson and Heron are doing today. Williamson has largely become the traveling minstrel of Medieval days whose material he transformed into highly original songs for a decade, starting in the late 1960's. It is also appropriate to see these and other albums released in pairs, as TISB did more than their share of double albums, starting with their next release, `Wee Tam & The Big Huge' which puzzled me when they were simultaneously released by Elektra in 1968 as two different albums.

See my reviews of the individual albums for more details.

Listen and enjoy, Listen and enjoy...

Double Magic !!!!.......2004-03-30

I have these records in single cd's, but having this double is double magic!!
These works (specially Hangman's...) fulfilled my life over eight years ago, when I finally found it on cd. The Incredibles are so unique, a lot of people trying to imitate them with fabulous and theatrical worlds, but this mysticism is in many ways the most sincere, with that naif flavour and gayness and pure "joie de vivre"...
"The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter" it's a kind of an Ancient Magic Compendium...also one of the most brilliant records of the sixties...to me in a very high place...
I love them, Robin and Mike and the childish girls Licky and Rosie...I bound to them...

Damn hippies..........2004-03-20

Like Pentangle on acid. Way too much acid, and without the girl singer most of the time. Makes Donovan sound like Johnny Cash. In some ways, these guys' talents were better used as sidemen on Shirley and Dolly Collins' record The Power of the True Love Knot. They really can play, but, my god, the singing...the songs...although sometimes it's so psychedelically ridiculous, so over the top, so shameless it's kinda fun...kinda...if you have a very high tolerance for this sort of thing...

Average customer rating:

OFF THE CHAIN
Simply Incredible!
Yahoo's Launchcast Radio
Can it get any better?
Mary-Mary Rox my Sox!!!

Incredible
Mary Mary
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Gospel | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

Christian Contemporary Music | Christian & Gospel | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music
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Thankful MaryMary
Mary Mary
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Purified

ASIN: B000065V1U
Release Date: 2002-07-16

Tracks:

Incredible
God Bless
He Said
In The Morning
Ordinary People
Trouble Ain't
Little Girl
This Love
I Try
Hold On
God Has Smiled On Me
You Will Know
So Close
Thank You
Give It Up Let It Go

Amazon.com

On this follow-up to their groundbreaking debut, Thankful, Mary Mary continue their crusade to hip a new generation to the Gospel. Their gift for making the Word accessible to the masses has something to do with their secular R&B sound (with Warryn Campbell's knack for hip-hop beats adding that radio-ready feel). But there's a great deal more to these sisters than their ability to sound like Whitney or Mary J. Erica and Tina's phenomenally powerful voices are served and met admirably by their writing skills--resulting in some highly inspired yet street-credible material. "Give It Up Let It Go" has elements of funk (and sounds a bit like Nikka Costa's "Everybody Got Their Something"). "He Said" takes youth culture's apathetic "wherever, whatever" attitude and flips it, soaring to unexpected heights with the message that God will always be there for you, wherever you are and whatever happens. And the chorus of "In the Morning" is a particularly striking example of lyric and melody perfectly matched--the key change at phrase's end is a stroke of brilliance. Mary Mary can successfully cover Stevie and hang with Darkchild; this album is a testament to why. --Laura Etling

Customer Reviews:

OFF THE CHAIN.......2005-10-19

THIS CD IS BETTER THAN THE LAST CD AND LET ME TELL YOU THE LAST CD WAS OFF THE CAHIN. LIKE I SAID IN THE LAST REVIEW FOR MARY MARY. THEY ARE ONE OF THE BEST GOSPEL SINGER IN THE WORLD AND THIS ALBUM JUST PROVES THAT ONE THING. THERE IS NO ONE LIKE THEM. THESE SONGS THAT THEY COME UP WITH IS JUST AWESOME. THE BEATS ARE HOT. THIS IS A MUST HAVE. YOU ARE GETTING YOUR MONEYS WORTH. MARY MARY IS OFF THE CHAIN. AND EVERYBODY NEED TO HEARS THIS. RATHER YOU ARE A BELIEVER OR NOT YOU NEED TO HEAR IT. I PRAY THAT THIS REVIES WAS HELPFUL BUT LIKE I SAID THIS CD IS HOTT AND OFF THE CHAIN!!!!!!!!!!!

Simply Incredible!.......2005-09-22

i am usually very sceptical about christian albums and although i first heard the album through a friend, it was not long b4 i bought my own copy. one thing that i have always found lacking in gospel albums (personally) is a lack of artistic originality. i think because most gospel artists are good singers they don't put in a lot of work on the rest of their music (lyrics, production etc) but this album does all that. Not only are the lyrics of great quality and highly uplifting, the production and dark child are fantastic, and obviously the sisters are always excellent. All in all it makes for one of the best gospel albums i've ever heard and now i'm going to get all their other ones!

Top 5;
1.) Incredible
2.) So Close
3.) God Bless You
4.) You will know
5.) Trouble Ain't

Yahoo's Launchcast Radio.......2005-09-12

I think it is a wonderful CD, very uplifting and continues to draw me closer to God.

Can it get any better?.......2005-07-12

Mary Mary has the most soul-reaching lyrics I have ever heard. I explore so many different Christian artist. From gospel to contemporary, but no one ever touches my heart like their music. I feel that Heaven opens up when I hear their songs. It's like their singing everything I want to pray to God but don't know how to express it in words. This CD also touches on every emotion you go through as a Christian. It talks about the happy days and the down ones. I am so thankful to God for ministering in song through Mary Mary. I HIGHLY recommend anyone buying this CD. No matter what your music taste, I think you'll enjoy it.

Mary-Mary Rox my Sox!!!.......2005-06-15

They are soooooooo great. Their music has a good beat, and is very inspirational!!

Average customer rating:

This does nothing for me
A ONE-OF-A-KIND GROUP
The definitive TISB album. Buy It!!
Adorable
haunted

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
The Incredible String Band
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

British Folk | Traditional British & Celtic Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Folk | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion
Wee Tam / Big Huge
Liege & Lief
U
Basket of Light

ASIN: B0000263JN
Release Date: 2006-02-28

Tracks:

Koeeoaddi There
Minotaur's Song
Witches Hat
Very Cellular Song
Mercy I Cry City
Waltz of the New Moon
Water Song
Three Is a Green Crown
Swift as the Wind
Nightfall

Amazon.com

Credited with being the first artists to fuse folk and psychedelic sensibilities, the Incredible String Band benefited from having two very complementary frontmen. Robin Williamson and Mike Heron were also extremely versatile musicians, as this, their third album, indicates: he two of them play 17 instruments here, including harpsichord, water harp, sitar, and oud. While Hangman's is a fascinating record dense with exotic rhythms and instrumentation, it also suffers in spots from the airy excesses of its creators. --Steven Stolder

Album Description

Credited with being the first artists to fuse folk and psychedelic sensibilities, the Incredible String Band benefited from having two very complementary frontmen Robin Williamson and Mike Heron. Includes the songs 'Witches Hat' and 'A Very Cellular Song'. Warner. 2006.

Customer Reviews:

This does nothing for me.......2006-09-16

In the world of English folk, this is supposed to be a landmark album. I like Steleye Span, Richard Thompson, Nick Drake and the Strawbs but I do not like this. It is too weird and has nothing in common with conventional popular music.

This is way too English, way too folkie (in a middle ages/minstrel way!) and not aligned with any aspect of conventional rock and roll. I listened to it once, put it away and have not touched it in 5 years.

You know when you go to one of those "Renaissance fairs", drink and have a great time. This is for the eccentric people that act in the Renaissance fairs.

A ONE-OF-A-KIND GROUP.......2006-06-24

Although this is not my very favorite ISB album, Hermester Barrington has described in his review of this CD, and in a delightfully creative way, the music contained in the entire Incredible String Band catalog. This may indeed be one of the best in an unbroken string of fabulous works, but I believe that each Incredible String Band lover's sentimental favorite is whichever album they heard first (my first exposure was to WEE TAM & THE BIG HUGE; it remains an all-time favorite, rivaled only by the band's later, very different album, LIQUID ACROBAT AS REGARDS THE AIR). Reading the other reviews of THE HANGMAN'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER, I can only nod my head in agreement with most of what has been said. This album IS one of the definitive ones, but I should add that it is but one stop on a long, artistically successful journey that includes virtually no aberrations, and which is rich with unexpected twists and turns on and off an unpaved path. No other group of artists has been more independent of trends, fads or commercial considerations. Although the group might be lumped in with Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention and Pentangle, if it must be categorized, it is really almost an entire genre unto itself, with the aforementioned groups, as great as they are, much more conventional in both material and musical approach. Even when ISB made later forays into rock, pop and country, they did so, it seems, only to expand their palette of colors, growing and developing according to their own peculiar and beautiful vision. HARD ROPE & SILKEN TWINE, in my opinion, is at least as good as their self-titled debut recording (I actually like the later one much better; and come to think of it, the first record may be their weakest) and we are talking several years separating the two. I would not necessarily recommend HANGMAN as a place to start for beginners, as it is one of ISB's most musically and lyrically challenging efforts, but I could easily be wrong, as other reviewers fell in love with the band because they first heard this record...

The definitive TISB album. Buy It!!.......2005-06-02

`The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter' (Daughter) by The Incredible String Band (TISB) is the album which established my affection for their music. I first became aware of the act with a newspaper review of `The 5000 Spirits or The Layers of the Onion' (5000 Spirits) which compared the album favorably to `Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'. See my review of this album for my full assessment of this album, but rest assured I do not agree that this album is in the same league as one of the most important music albums of the 1960's.

`The 5000 Spirits or The Layers of the Onion' and that review was strong enough for me to look out for the TISB's next album (this one) and I was appropriately rewarded when I first heard this work on vinyl about 35 years ago. For starters, it simply hangs together much better than the earlier album. `5000 Spirits' seems to be just a collection of imaginative songs, most of that are probably considered `novelty songs'. `Daughter' is tied together by several parallel themes, the most important of which is linked to the album title and consists of stories admonitions, and entertainment's for an adolescent girl. The second theme running though most of the songs is the classic ancient elements of earth, air, fire, and water.

Many of the songs on `Daughter' still have the novelty flavor about them, but are ennobled by their role as children's entertainment. The centerpiece `entertainment' is the song I committed to memory way back then, `The Minotaur's Song', which is a classic TISB blend of myth and (Gilbert and Sullivan) parody, including references to `the earth', in keeping with the four elements theme. If it were not for the reference to Gilbert and Sullivan and the song based on microbiology (`A Very Cellular Song'), one can almost imaging these songs being written by traveling minstrels out in the hinterlands in a squire's manor house before the advent of either gas or electric light.

In fact, one theme which seems to run through much of the TISB work is the notion of homemade entertainment, based on the beatnik / hippie culture of 1960s.

The Incredible String Band does much that is very good in later albums, but this is the one I always think of first when I come back to listening to them about once every year. This is the album that captures their style, subjects, and themes much better than the highly praised earlier album.

If you are roaming around recordings of obscure 1960's Scottish performers, this is the album to try if you have an interest in The Incredible String Band!

Adorable.......2005-01-12

They don't make them like this anymore! 'The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter' is a great 60's album filled with a creative openness, authentic feeling and an unrestrained experimentation.

The opening track 'Koeeoaddi There' encapsulates all of these qualities. Williamson tells an evocative tale of childhood, backed with melodic, inventive chord and tempo changes. 'The Minotour's Song' is a startling contrast of music hall and greek mtyhological lyrics, highlighting the ISB's influences. 'Witch's Hat' has a beautiful folk melody, again the song structure packed with incident. Mike Heron's 'A Very Cellular Song' begins as an old gospel hymn before it travels the world in its wonderful array of instruments, an early bridge between western music and world music in general. Heron's Dylanesque 'Mercy I Cry City' is a poetic rant against the unnatural prison of the urban landscape. 'Waltz Of The New Moon' harks back again to the Romantic poets in its ode to the wonders of the natural landscape. Here the harp sound is at once lilting and glorious. Like 'A Very Cellular Song', 'The Water Song' sings a hymn to the evolutionary power of the natural world using strange and unusual instruments to create the onomatopoeic sounds of water. The most Eastern-tinged of the tracks on the album is 'There Is A Green Crown' telling another tale of natural wonder that I can't help thinking would be frowned upon and scorned in today's irony-laden culture. On 'Swift As The Wind' Heron tells of how the grown-ups around him tried to make him give up his childhood imagination, something that has obviously remained with him throughout his musical career.

Williamson's 'Nightfall' closes this adorable album mixing Eastern sounds with the American south, prefiguring Ry Cooder by a number of years.

haunted.......2004-12-28

This album has haunetd me for 35 years. If your mind is open you will be rejoicing..if its not been opened do not pass this offering.

Average customer rating:

Ground-breaking music, but hard to categorize
Overrated
Sends Shivers Down my Spine
Stunning Peek at the Magic to Come
Dave and Tracy, the formative years

When I Go
Dave Carter with Tracy Grammer
Manufacturer: Signature Sounds Recording Company
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Drum Hat Buddha
Tanglewood Tree
Flower of Avalon
Seven Is the Number
Unsung

ASIN: B000065C6S
Release Date: 2002-05-07

Tracks:

When I Go
Don't Tread On Me
Annie's Lover
Grand Prairie TX Homesick Blues
Kate And The Ghost Of Lost Love
The River, Where She Sleeps
Lancelot
Frank To Valentino
Little Liza Jane
Elvis Presley

Customer Reviews:

Ground-breaking music, but hard to categorize.......2005-01-20

Dave and Tracy are hard to classify: a little bit country, a little bit Celtic, a little bit Native American--but every part good.

"When I go" a life-affirming eulogy, which could be used for Carter himself, is the star of this very eclectic collection. It's serious, moving, and amazing. Just when you think you've got that pinned down, Dave comes up with "Little Liza Jane" an anthem from a trucker to his truck.

There are only 3 Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer CDs in print, because Carter died 2 years ago at 49 of a stroke. He'll definitely be missed in the music business. Do not miss the opportunity to buy this CD.

Overrated.......2004-12-23

This may be a sentimental favorite for true fans, but Tanglewood Tree is a much, much better album.

Sends Shivers Down my Spine.......2004-11-22

An absolutely stunning debut CD, far superior to what followed and I rate those as some of the best I own. The lyrics and sparse raw musicianship shines. Pretty darn good for being done in Tracey's kitchen. The title track is especially effective considering that it was just a few short years and Dave would go. Way too soon, way too soon.

Stunning Peek at the Magic to Come.......2003-10-23

This is the first and sparest of all Dave and Tracy's work together, which was purposely crafted in the kitchen of Tracy's apartment in order to capture the "live" sound of their performances together. But from the moment I heard my first Dave and Tracy song, the title track to this album, I was utterly hooked. My spine tingled as the stunning, sad beauty of the melody washed over me. I found myself haunted by the vivid, lushly poetic lyrics ("...I will crumble down, uncountable, in showers of crimson rubies when I go..." or "And should you glimpse my wandering form out on the borderline/Between death and resurrection and the council of the pines/Do not worry for my comfort, do not sorrow for me so/All your diamond tears will rise up/And adorn the sky beside me When I Go), and was compelled to find the album and buy it immediately. Once I got it, I wept at the exquisite intricacy of this devastatingly beautiful song. It is at once joyous and tragic and I have simply never heard another song like it (and doubt I ever will).

No other song on this first album is quite like When I Go, a singular anthem to the journey that awaits us all, but there are true gems. It's almost unbelievable to those familiar with subsequent works that Tracy's voice is brought to the fore only on "Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love" except for backing Dave, who fronted the rest of the album. Perhaps it was because this was their first musical pairing and therefore only a "toe in the water", but there is much evidence of the magic to come on their next two LPs. In this work, Dave's extraordinary storytelling style is gently revealed on a bed of fine guitar work and buoyed by Tracy's supportive, resonant violin and sweet vocal accompaniment. Overall, this album has an intimate vulnerability to it that tends to bring out a protective quality in myself and other ardent Dave and Tracy fans. It's almost like the baby of the family of their work together-a tiny herald of the immensely impressive musical force yet to come. Even though this has its own special place in my personal all-time favorites and is every bit worthy of a 5-star rating and even despite the jaw-dropping mastery of the title song, this may not be the best album for those looking for a first introduction to the world of Dave and Tracy. I would actually recommend to the newcomer to work backwards through the three albums-starting with "Drum Hat Buddha" and "Tanglewood Tree", and after you've been thoroughly enchanted by the spellbinding body of their work, sit down and listen to this sweet little acorn of an album. It isn't until you know their later work that you can appreciate the raw appeal of this first offering.

Aside from the aforementioned "When I Go" and "Kate and the Ghost of Lost Love" (you don't have to be a musical theorist to appreciate the craftsmanship and brilliance of this seemingly simple song of loss and being lost--but you will find yourself singing it to yourself later), the following tracks also stand out after a listen or two: "Annie's Lover", "The River, Where She Sleeps", "Lancelot", "Frank to Valentino" and "Elvis Presley".

Dave and Tracy, the formative years.......2003-10-21

Their first widely available album, this is one fine work. You need listen no further than the first song to be utterly drawn in (and possibly crying). I cannot say I liked all the songs on this CD. I feel that as they searched for an identity (well established in Tanglewood Tree and Drum Hat Buddha), they tried to sound like other folk artists. The result is somewhat fakey in a couple of the songs (where Dave gets a pretty wheezy southern-ish accent), but that is what 'song blocking' on your CD player is for! However, the good songs on this CD are incredibly good and worth the price to complete the all too small selection of Dave and Tracy recordings out there.

Average customer rating:

SOME OF ISB'S BEST MADE BETTER STILL
TISB-Wee Tam/Big Huge
Wee Tam and the Big Huge
The ISB at their very, very best in this SINGLE album
A High Water Mark of the ISB

Wee Tam / Big Huge
Incredible String Band
Manufacturer: Collector's Choice
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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5000 Spirits / Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
Changing Horses / I Looked Up
U
The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter
Be Glad for the Song Has No Ending/Liquid Acrobat as Regards the Air

ASIN: B00006BC50
Release Date: 2002-09-10

Tracks:

Job's Tears
Puppies
Beyond The See
The Yellow Snake
Log Cabin Home In The Sky
You Get Brighter
The Half-Remarkable Question
Air
Ducks On A Pond

Tracks:

Maya
Greatest Friend
The Son Of Noah's Brother
Lordly Nightshade
The Mountain Of God
Cousin Caterpillar
The Iron Stone
Douglas Traherne Harding
The Circle Is Unbroken

Product Description

Disc 1: Wee Tam:
1. Job's Tears
2. Puppies
3. Beyond The See
4. Yellow Snake, The
5. Log Cabin Home In The Sky
6. You Get Brighter
7. Half-Remarkable Question, The
8. Air
9. Ducks On A Pond

Disc 2: The Big Huge:
1. Maya
2. Greatest Friend
3. Son Of Noah's Brother, The
4. Lordly Nightshade
5. Mountain Of God, The
6. Cousin Caterpillar
7. Iron Stone, The
8. Douglas Traherne Harding
9. Circle Is Unbroken, The

Format: CD

Customer Reviews:

SOME OF ISB'S BEST MADE BETTER STILL.......2006-08-06

While the remastering is expert and reveals even more of the human warmth of this work, it's difficult to write about the music of Robin Williamson and Mike Heron for the simple reason that they pretty much created their own genre. Who will we compare to the Incredible String Band? The sources and reference points of and in their music are many and widespread. Typically filed under "FOLK", the music of The Incredible String Band was and is much more. A few years after the band broke up, Robin wrote of his interest in creating a "fusion" of different musical cultures, traditions and styles. Seen from this perspective, "Wee Tam / Big Huge" must be one of the first fully-realized examples of that fusion.

In a seemingly simple, quiet framework, ISB delivers a dazzling array of ideas about music and about humankind and our perceptions of the worlds in and around us -- what are we and what we are -- with diverse and complete musical authority. How else could you possibly pull off a song titled "Puppies" without being accused of creating kitsch? This is profoundly ambitious stuff. "Wee Tam / Big Huge" allows us to witness nothing less than the patchwork creation of a being in "Maya" who is comprised of the many archetypes of the human race: "businessmen his nervous system, no-hustle men his stomach" and, my personal favorite, "opinions are his fingernails". Here, as throughout this record, small metaphors create greater metaphors, leading to saturated meanings. Throughout, the lyrical content matches the musical innovation. Always poetic and illuminating, I'd question the typical "psychedelic" conclusion: this stuff is too aware and well worked out. Remember: "At bath time the hippies, in chains, they are crossing the hall..."

As a contrast to the long and almost tone-poem-like pieces such as "Maya" and "Job's Tears" and rollicking fiddle tunes like "Log Cabin Home", there are a pair of very short, haiku-like pieces that are as pure as they are beautiful. "Son of Noah's Brother" and the more remarkable, myth-imbued "Yellow Snake" demonstrate that condensed and concise poetry can be as powerful as the more elaborate and extended work.

There is also a sense of the sacred throughout, from the every day in "Air" and the wonderfully inventive "Duck's on a Pond" to the collage of religious and literary phrases that comprise the lyrics of "The Mountain of God". Through a rich mix of musical and cultural ideas, "Wee Tam / Big Huge" makes the monumental accessible, and the miniature profound without ever resorting to cloying sentimentality, cliche or the dead ends of blind faith. This is music of approachable, constant and everyday beauty. Music as easy to love today as it was when the world was new.

TISB-Wee Tam/Big Huge.......2006-02-22

The other reviews correctly describe the richness and beauty of these albums. Mystical yet fun, fascinating musical concepts, still fresh after so many years. Highest rating...BUT...while wonderful on the ears, terrible on the eyes. Bad job on the lyrics insert, which are truly microscopic to the point of being unreadable. I'm lucky to have the original vinyl for reading. Otherwise, get a high-powered microscope. Still, a gorgeous recording, as are all their early releases.

Wee Tam and the Big Huge.......2005-08-10

I had not heard this for thirty years. Many of the songs have stayed with me. The best recordings they ever did - before they got too self conscious. Still a classic - modern bands are just too cautious. They all want to be cool.

The ISB at their very, very best in this SINGLE album.......2005-06-03

`The Big Huge' and the `Wee Tam' are nominally two different albums by The Incredible String Band (TISB) when actually; they were released simultaneously in 1968 as if they were a double album where you could buy the two disks independently. The sense with which the two titles can be combined as `The Big Huge Wee Tam' is one small sign of how these two albums were always supposed to be seen as a single work, in much the same way as Dylan's `Blond on Blond' and the Beatles' `white album' are two phonographs in a single album.

It is due to this title combination that I always considered `The Big Huge' as the first of the two recordings. The second reason is because the first cut on this album, Williamson's `Maya' so completely captures the style and spirit of both albums. It also clearly connects TISB with the style of Donovan Leitch as exemplified in his song `Atlantis'. There must be some name for this kind of song in song writing circles, and I wish I knew it, as it is so distinctive in construction. Basically, it enumerates between eight and twelve things, generally people, in a group where each type serves a particular person or fits a role in the whole. The simplest example of such a song might be the `Do-Re-Mi Song' from `The Sound of Music'. Both `Maya' and `Atlantis' are much more complicated, but fit the same basic pattern.

`Maya' is doubly interesting in that it is almost certainly based on the famous illustration on the frontispiece of Thomas Hobbes' great work `Leviathan' on political philosophy, where the head of the sovereign sits on a body composed of smaller bodies.

This pair of albums may have been the high point of the TISB recording career. At the very least, together with `The 5000 Spirits or The Layers of the Onion' and `The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter', it created a body of work which at the very least insured the durability of the groups modest popularity well into the 21st century. And, I believe it is the last set of recordings they did in the style of original writing they established in `5000 Spirits...' With their next works, I detect definite changes in style and more independence from Mike Heron, as he released a solo album around this time.

I made the observation in a review of `The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter' that many of the songs can be heard as evening entertainment for children on their way to bed. I can strengthen this analogy with this album with the references to Tolkien's fiction in one or two of these songs. Add to this references to A. A. Milne's `Winnie the Pooh' and songs about caterpillars and I rest my case. Very few of their songs relate to that most favorite song subject, romantic love. Much more time is spent on adventure, discovery, tall tales, and nonsense rhymes.

For those of you who may be coming to TISB from encounters with Fairport Convention and The Pentangle, I suggest that TISB is the gold standard of original writing based on Celtic and other world folk traditions. Fairport Convention, especially Sandy Denny may have written some great songs and Jansch and Renbourn of `The Pentangle' are probably greater instrumentalists, but TISB conveys a folkish charm that is truer to the great 1960's counterculture spirit than any other band.

A High Water Mark of the ISB.......2003-12-16

This is a magical album (and yes, it is one album, as a reviewer below noted). There are songs here which feel simultaneously ancient and totally innovative, achingly beautiful and unfathomably mysterious -- at this moment I am thinking of the songs "The Circle is Unbroken" and "The Iron Stone." But really everything here is amazing. This is one of those albums where you feel that the artists were stretching every nerve and muscle, reaching out beyond themselves to grasp something which they had glimpsed. A masterpiece is made when they succeed, and that's what happened here. And the beauty is not just conceptual. Sure, these guys were picking up a bewildering variety of instruments they had never learned how to play, but they pull it off; it all works. And Williamson's voice... a careless listener will think he's just tunelessly jibbering sometimes, but he's not, he's not... His voice glides and modulates all over the place, always exactly where he wants it to be. This work was really a transcendent, watershed event. For myself, I find it has an intensity unrivalled by any of the Incredibles' other albums, though "U" and "5000 Spirits" and "Hangman's" are all essential listening as well. But this is really something special.

Average customer rating:

This Is Real Music
Jeremiah Was A Bull-Frog, Was A Good Friend Of Mine, Never Understood A Single Word He Said, But I Helped Him Drink His Wine
Most likely a bootleg
long time fan
I really, REALLY like these guys, BUT ...

Lake Shore Drive
Aliotta-Haynes-Jeremiah
Manufacturer: Quicksilver
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Songs
Lake Shore Drive at Twenty Five
Chicago Songs
Wanted! Mason Proffitt
One Toke Over the Line: The Best of Brewer & Shipley

ASIN: B000000I5K
Release Date: 1992-04-29

Tracks:

Lake Shore Drive
For Eddy
Midnight Plane To Nairobi
Uppers And Downers
Snow Queen
One Night Stand
Shot Of Gold
Last Of The Night People
I Am A Robber
Money Talks
2000 Miles
Beam Me Up Scotty
Slippin' Away

Album Description

John Jeremiah, Mitch Aliotta, Skip Haynes, Aliotta Haynes & Jeremiah is the 1970s Chicago trio with good vocal presentation! Is it just a coincidence that the initials L.S.D. have been used to denote this major St. Louis classic song? From Quicksilver Recordings.

Customer Reviews:

This Is Real Music.......2006-11-22

They don't "warble" and you can actually hear the lyrics....First heard it on WBBM-FM during the short period of time they played non-teenie bopper music...Bought two phono discs as my then young son constantly played one...lol..Mine was in pristine conditon when cdr's came around...Guess what????..Only saw them live once but we still remember and talk about it...Had to go to a conference in Chicago a few months ago and on the way back to Wisconsin, went a few miles out of my way and took LSD all the way north...and I don't think you have to guess what was playing overly loud on the cd player....One of music's real hidden treasures....Spread the word..."Free The Music" (With thanks to WUSP..105.5 in Central Wis)...David

Jeremiah Was A Bull-Frog, Was A Good Friend Of Mine, Never Understood A Single Word He Said, But I Helped Him Drink His Wine.......2006-10-02

The song "Lake Shore Drive" and the band called, Aliotta, Haynes and Jeremiah is 60's-80's cultural Icon, that transcends the years into today. This band captured the essence of what it was like to be young and living in that era.

Today, the song "Lake Shore Drive" has not lost it's appeal with the young or the "Boomers." When you listen to the key-board player on this album, John Jeremiah, you are listening to a man playing the key-board with the fingers of an angel and the determination of the devil......"and there ain't no key board just like it, anywhere I've found, running south on Lake Shore Drive, heading on into town, just slipping on by on LSD, Friday night heaven bound." Yes!

Did the band "Three Dog Night" write the opening to "Joy To The World" about John Jeremiah?-----Yes! " ..Jeremiah was a bull-frog, was a good friend of mine, never understood a single word he said (southern Illinois accent) but I helped him drink his wine. Joy to the world---yes he is.

Peace

Most likely a bootleg.......2006-09-19

Having grown up near Chicago hearing this music, it was great to discover this on CD and I'm glad to have it. However the sound quality is enormously variable. Some tracks sound pretty good, including thankfully the title track, but others have definitely been recorded from a (very scratchy!) LP. That plus the minimal artwork and lack of a legit UPC bar code tell me that this has got to be a boot, unfortunately.

long time fan.......2006-03-17

I had two copies of this album on LP growing up. One that my big sister stole (later recovered), and the replacement, which came with a plain white cover; story was that the warehouse containing all the originals burned down. Was delighted to find it on CD these many years later. However, the song Long Time Gone from the original was dropped, which bummed me out. New add ons are OK, but not in the same league as Long Time Gone.

I really, REALLY like these guys, BUT ..........2005-03-30

As a Chicago native, the song "Lake Shore Drive" has a very, very special place in my heart, so I'm glad to have it in my collection at long last. It's difficult to put into words what magical summer memories the song evokes.

But ...

The sound quality is abysmal on at least one cut on this CD: "For Eddy" includes an intermittent hiss that sounds like it was recorded directly off an LP. I checked - you can't hear it on the song sample here at Amazon.

And the CD includes no liner notes of any kind. Surely *something* could have been written about this group's career.

For those reasons, and believe me, it pains me deeply to do so, I give this CD three stars.

Average customer rating:

Bongorama
ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS EVER
Full Of Breaks

Bongo Rock
Incredible Bongo Band
Manufacturer: Mr Bongo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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What It Is! Funky Soul And Rare Grooves (1967-1977)
Sound of Silver
In My Own Time
Sound Grammar
Ys

ASIN: B000G1T072
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Tracks:

Apache
Let There Be Drums
Bongolia
Last Bongo in Belgium
Dueling Bongos
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Raunchy '73
Bongo Rock
Kuburi, Pt. 1
Sing Sing Sing
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Wipeout
When the Bed Breaks Down, I'll Meet You in the Spring
Pipeline
Okey Dokey
Sharp Nine
Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley Your Tie's Caught in Your Zipper
Apache [Grandmaster Flash Remix][*]
Last Bongo in Belgium [Breakers Mix][*]

Customer Reviews:

Bongorama.......2007-06-09

First heard this on a college radio station and thought it was a new re-mix club/dub mix that was the bomb. Scored it on Amazon only to find out it was the Original. Some cuts I think are great but the overall style is too repetitive with the bongo solos for all the songs. I think the purchase was worth it for Apache alone but many won't like the stylings of 70's funk with the Mancini like strings and the bongo flavorings. For collectors mostly.

ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS EVER.......2007-01-27

FROM MICK JAGGER TO MARTIN SCORSESE THIS ALBUM HAS INSPIRED MORE PEOPLE THAN [PERHAPS] ANY EVER RECORDED. ALWAYS IMITATED , NEVER DUPLICATED THIS IS THE ONE.I AM SO HAPPY THAT IS FINALLY BACK IN RELEASE.

Full Of Breaks.......2006-11-14

The Incredible Bongo Band is probably not a band most people have heard of, but one of their songs, "Apache" is one of the most sampled songs in hip-hop especially by old school acts of the 80's. Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Nas, The Geto Boys, The Ultramagnetic MC's, Grandmaster Flash, KRS-One, Kool Moe Dee and countless others have used the drum break from the song (The Sugarhill Gang had a minor hit with "Apache Rap"). The group wasn't really a group at all, but a studio concoction of session players who were quickly assembled in 1972 to round out a soundtrack album (the less than memorable The Thing With Two Heads) with two tracks. Those two tracks, "Bongo Rock" & "Bongolia", led to the full-length album Bongo Rock and the follow-up Return Of The Incredible Bongo Band. If you are a fan of 70's style funk music, then this is an album for you, but mostly it is only notable for the breaks some of the songs provided.

Average customer rating:

Only live recording between two B3 giants
It's like the album says...
Defrancesco outplays the master...
DeFrancesco Rocks!
Incredible! it finally happened

Incredible!
Joey DeFrancesco & Jimmy Smith
Manufacturer: Concord Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Legacy
Organic Vibes
Joey DeFrancesco's Goodfellas
Ballads & Blues
Organ-Ized: All-Star Tribute to the Hammond B3 Organ

ASIN: B00004TYKH
Release Date: 2000-06-27

Tracks:

The Champ
When You're Smilin'
The Good Life
Back Home Again In Indiana
Medley #1: The Reverend/Yesterdays/My Romance
Medley #2: The Skeezer/St. Thomas

Amazon.com

It would be hard to think of a disc that could stir as much anticipation among fans of the Hammond B-3 as this pairing of Joey DeFrancesco and Jimmy Smith--two kingly figures on the big keyboard. The good news is that Incredible! lives up to its billing in a way that will make even the most jaded listener agree that its title is just about the only adjective that applies. Incredible! was, incredibly, recorded on one night during the 1999 San Francisco Jazz Festival, and as the aural evidence proves, what a night that was!

Customer Reviews:

Only live recording between two B3 giants.......2006-02-12

Critics both in Jazztimes and DownBeat rated this CD only as a average good recoding from the two masters, I think they where dead wrong in their critics. When Joey kick's off with "The Champ" in a murderous speed backed excellently by Paul Bollenback (guitar) and Byron Landham (drums, you feel that something special is going to happen that night at the San Francisco Jazz Festival. Joey knows that "The Incredible" is sitting behind the curtains waiting for their first ever live encounter - so why not start with Jimmy Smith's trademark tune for 13 halleluja minutes! Next the trio turn into a joyous version of "When youre smilin'" before they slow down for the beautiful ballad "The good life". With Jimmy still behind the curtain to listen and prepare, Joey's trio makes a uptempo soulful bluesy version of a not-to-often B3 recorded "Back home again in Alabama".

With a smokey voice (just still in his 30's?!?) Joey introduces "his hero, mentor and The incredible" to join him on the same bill. Now be prepared for the two last medleys on the CD - in the right channel DeFrancesco with leslie chorus ON and the left channel Jimmy Smith with leslie chorus OFF. With Jimmy in command the two kick's off with a up-temp bluesy "The Reverend" before they make individual chord changes into the best organ battle ever recorded...the tune "Yesterdays's". Turn the volume up high and enjoy their intro before Joey plays his solo part on solo organ in different keys and organ turns that blows your mind off. The question you ask yourself - can the 70 year old master keep up with this phenomenal youngster??? Don't worry, when Joey hand over his solo part to Jimmy to continue his solo organ performance, you realises why Jimmy still is the "Muhammed Ali" of organ jazz. God, what a night it must have been to be on that concert! The last medley round "St. Thomas" is just great with calypso, straight 4/4 and blues combined. Joey and Jimmy played with great respect for each other on this recording, and I guess that today Jimmy smiles in heaven surround by organ freak angles by this recording! Jazz organ history was made that night in San Francisco.

It's like the album says..........2005-09-03

this recording is truly INCREDIBLE!!! Get it, you won't regret! The first track alone makes the CD worth it! Happy listening.

Defrancesco outplays the master..........2004-09-29

Joey Defrancesco head to head with the original B3 master, proving that no-one leads the pack forever. Defrancesco, fantastically accomplished technician; wildly fast delivery, easily and sadly outperforming a somewhat lacklustre Jimmy Smith.

A Guitar solo performed with a broken pick-up marring an otherwise excellent "When you're smiling".

"The Good Life" - virtuosic improvisation, 90 seconds of "live" magic making the entire CD a must for any Defrancesco fan.

DeFrancesco Rocks!.......2000-09-16

As a fan of the Hammond B3, all I can say about this live performance is wow! DeFrancesco really brings it in this live performance. In sports athletes are often told to leave it all on the field and win, lose, or draw, if you did your best you win regardless. Well, DeFrancesco leaves it all on the stage with his performance on this cd. Simply put, he rocked the house with this performance. From the first track through the last this cd was smoking! My favorite track is the old Diz tune "The Champ." If you love the Hammond B3 and are a DeFrancesco fan, this cd is a must for your collection.

Incredible! it finally happened.......2000-07-05

October 28, 1999 will go down in jazz organ history as one of the most electrifying nights on record. That was the night Joey Defrancesco and the grand master of the Hammond B-3 organ Jimmy Smith were captured live at Bimbo's 365 club during the San Francisco Jazz festival. The disc starts of with Joey and his trio of guitarist Paul Bollenback and drummer Byron Landham with a burning version of "The Champ", a tune which made Jimmy Smith a force in the jazz world. He puts his own spin on the tune, lovingly quoting Smith's original solo.

Paul Bollenback shares the spotlight on "When You're Smilin" playing an interesting solo which sounds like he is playing really close to the bridge of his guitar. The runs through "The Good Life" and for a set closer a jackrabbit fast take on the standard "Indiana". (a Jimmy Smith version at a similar tempo appears on "Groovin At Smalls Paradise") featuring an excellent drum solo by Byron Landham. Then comes the main event: Jimmy Smith takes the stage with his band to jam with Joey on two extended medleys.

The first medley includes a beautiful duet of "Yesterdays" and "My Romance", where both men display torrid fireworks. Joey stuns the audience with an amazing run, and the then 73 year old Smith bounces back with an equally impressive display which reaffirms his title of "The Incredible" Jimmy Smith. The two men proceed to burn through Smith's "The Skeezer", and Sonny Rollins' "St. Thomas" trading hot phrases back and forth. Mere words can not describe the excitement that this recording captures. It is truly history and an instant classic.

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music