6 Comments

Yeah, I find Spotify's chronology very frustrating and they often use digital or CD release dates rather than the original release. And then there are the artists with a million fucking live albums clotting up the whole thing. Regarding Gary Burton's RCA days, his 1968 album, A Genuine Tong Funeral was definitely a departure from your characterization of those years. . It was written by Carla Bley who played on it as well as some of her JCOA cohorts at the time like Gato Barbieri augmenting Burton's regular group of Coryell, Swallow and Moses. Plumbing the Cooder ouevre, where to you find the time?

Expand full comment

So true re Spotify -- they're a data company and they don't care to create context for the "data" of music. Insanity. Agreed re Tong Funeral -- yow that's a departure for sure. Swallow playing so great there.

Re: Cooder: I don't have time! I intended to write this about the Cooder discography so I could hear and understand which among the soundtracks remain essential, and I had to bail -- too many and they're looooong! then landing on something like Get Rhythm was so cathartic, and I have lots to say about my favorite later ones like A Meeting Across the River. music is endless.

Expand full comment

It can indeed be frustrating to use Apple musics interface. I always need to find a workaround just to locate some albums. It would be nice to have a complete chronological version as you mentioned.

Expand full comment

Amen! Homework always pays you back if done correctly. Thanks for another insightful read.

Expand full comment

And some artists make it harder than others, like Michael Chapman. I'm working on a career-spanning playlist/writeup and there are so many repackages, re-recordings, live albums, etc. that it was quite difficult getting this far: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3FUz34QhEBYhUydaJyhzam?si=32f5fe37d76f4ccb. And at least 7 albums are still missing from the platform, making completism impossible!

Expand full comment