Lee Marshall

Sorry to the Catholics in the crowd...it's more of a priest/Michael bashing rather than ANY kind of swipe at either 'flock' So I am sorry for THAT....if you took it personally. It's about the perpetrators not the by-standers. But as one who was abused by one of those sob's...I stand my ground.

I didn't mind the first two McC lps. But Ram wacks 'em both to the curb...by comparison.

Can he still sing? Can he still dance? If one goes...one would be advised to leave one's young sons at home. The guy is an out and out child molester. He should have been a priest.

Which Drifters? Every time they complained about the lousy money they were getting...they were replaced by new faces. There must have been anywhere from a dozen to maybe 15 Drifters during their significant recording days. Who was there Muzza?

The "best"??? For some obviously. And if they work for you GREAT. No problem. You're fortunate to have found a sound that rings your chimes. We all have...It just doesn't happen to be U2 for everyone. In fact for me...they don't rank in the top 500. [well...maybe in the 490s]

Oops...Guess I screwed up spending 4 months transferring vinyl into my computer and then out onto cd. But...I want to HEAR the stuff and playing records is A LOT of a schlep for me. Vinyl OR cds sure wack the poop out of mp3s though. Too much info and nuance LOST if it ain't the whole 9 yards. And once again radio...who used to fight to establish the best quality now seem to favour computerized unattended programming and mp3s over serving an astute and demanding audience.. Why? Cause the kids don't seem to care. But then why would they when they listen to computer generated music? No record stores left anywhere near where I live anyway.

To be honest...I have seldom, in fact never, really 'GOT' the fascination with/popularity of U2. I have 4 of their cds including the 2 greatest hits releases...but that is in order to have a well balanced and complete rock oriented library. That said...I think that the new single is pretty blinkin' good. As for the album...I don't trust them. They have a sound...and to me it's ALL sounded the same. This latest release is the freshest thing I think I've EVER heard them do. Meanwhile...I still haven't found what they're looking for to be up to the standards set by ALL those who came before them. In a nutshell...I could give a rat's bottom. -------------------------------- I almost never read other comments before I post as I don't want to be swayed, influenced or pushed toward falling in with the masses. Then, after I post...I do read the other points of view. Seems I'm not alone. U2 must be pretty good. Seems they have elevated themselves into the position of being a love 'em or hate 'em group. And it IS mainly because of Bono. For me because of his sound. His politics and opinions don't bug me really. And he has as much right as anyone else to express them. Thank gawd he [seems to have at least] has a good and decent heart. He lives right across the road from the Canadian consul general's home...just outside of Dublin. That's how he came to know Paul Martin [former Cdn Prime Minister] I drove past their almost adjoining driveways [and houses] one afternoon some 4 Februarys ago. No one invited me to stop for a wee nip. ----------------------------------- One more thing...hard to decide who I've listened to less...U2 or Manilow. Neither have contributed any music that I would personally miss if it just up and disappeared from our collective memory.

I can smell your feet a mile away. A far superior lp to the first 2 'solo' ventures...PM and Wild Life. No 'junior' jinx here.

Thanks for all of the input...not to mention the lively discussion. A dead end street I guess.

I thought they were terrific...from the get-go up until and including Lola, Apeman and of course the 'Powerman/Money Go Round' lp. After that...not so much. Ray's Workin Man's Cafe solo lp was pretty decent though. They started with a bang and then lost their DRIVE as far as I was concerned. Tried to get too artsy and forgot about ROCK 'n' roll. But what do you think?

I don't mind Barry's stuff. Even his big band/standards album is OK. But has my life been improved by his contributions? No. Would I miss his songs if he had never recorded? No. To me there is nothing special about him. He is very accomplished at sitting right smack dab in the middle of the road. That doesn't make it for me. I need more oomph with my music. AND...David Cassidy's [along with backing vocals and a superb arrangement from Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston, who actually wrote the song and won the grammy] version of 'I Write the Songs' eats Manilow's version for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all snacks in between.

Of course I was not referring to LIVE performance videos TT. Pretty sure Ed Sullivan never did the Beatles or scores of OTHER acts any harm. But back then it was all about the song... Those Saturday night Concert shows...Don Kirshner's Rock Concert etc. were cool too. It's the pre-fab tomfoolery of these past 25 years or so which has little to do with MUSIC that has finally killed the industry and destroyed their chance at an ongoing healthy bottom line. [not to mention the permanent damage to our eardrums]

I certainly agree with 'The Wild the Innocent and The E Street Shuffle'. A HUGE jump from lp one. But for a quantum leap...from garage band to a sound for all time...How about The Beach Boys' progression from Surfin' Safari' to 'Surfin' USA'? As a result...the rest was "history". Surfin' USA was the #1 album for a couple of months...back in an era when lps didn't really sell a lot. They helped forge a trend. And if Nat King Cole built the Capitol Tower...the Beach Boys certainly helped furnish it. The gold siding came courtesy of some group from Liverpool. [The Searchers? No. Gerry and the Pacemakers? No. Some other guys...a quartet I think...] Elton John's 2nd lp was 'Tumbleweed Connection' wasn't it? A gigantic step forward...and still my favourite Reggie Dwight release. Then there's 'Deja Vu'. Mind you C.S. & N. had to add Neil Young in order to make that happen. [cheaters] Then there was 'More of the Monkees'. No wait....that one wasn't an improvement.

Kind of a pompous proclamation from old Sammy. But...if they've written 8 or 9 NEW songs...that would put them on close to equal footing with the king of pagerization...Jimmy Page. I wonder who Sammy has in mind for the group's vocalist? Someone to rival Robert Plant... He's surely not referring to himself.

Don't really know where to go yo get those links...so Ira...off the top of my head...without the actual song to back me up... The Beach Boys do a really nifty 'Peggy Sue'. Then there's Linda Ronstadt's 'It Doesn't Matter Anymore'. The Stones' 'Not Fade Away'. Terry Jacks' 'I'm Gonna Love You Too'. And the Beatles' 'Words of Love' Those covers all bring back memories for me. Buddy died just as I was beginning to listen to top 40 [actually top 50 back then] radio. Of course I heard all of his songs as oldies...but didn't actually live the initial experience as it happened. The plane went down just as I was 'finding' Rock 'n' Roll.