ok, Phil, I've pulled the trigger on this, thanks for letting me know it was out. I'm a huge P-Funk fan, and I've never heard this, so I'm optimistic, but if this is a dud like some of your other raves that I've followed through on picking up (that Grachan Moncur BYG twofer being the first that comes to mind, I wanted to sell that before it finished playing once), I'm done listening to you. just a little consumer feedback for you...

and $25 including tax and shipping for a single CD is rough, but I understand the Rhino Handmade business model, so we'll see.

Two questions. Are there means of ordering this bad boy other than direct thru Rhino? And is it similar in sound to his JAMS FROM THE HEART EP? Gracias en adelante.

You didn't like the Moncur stuff, John? The second album wasn't brilliant, but New Africa's a killer.

Derek -

As far as I know, Rhino Handmade stuff is only sold through them. As far as the sound, it's basically early-70s Funkadelic, with backup vocals by the Brides of Funkenstein. A little more rock than funk (as the twin cover tunes probably hint), with tons of solo space. Plus, look closely: Jams From The Heart is appended at disc's end.

Thanks for the info, Phil. I dig JAMS quite a bit- nice to see it added to the package. Fwiw, I’m with you on NEW AFRICA (bet Jon’s not the least bit surprised).

it's from 1977, I'll believe it sounds like early-70s Funkadelic when I hear it.

New Africa is OK, the second album was awful, waste of money for me. you're a very convincing writer, but I rarely agree with your taste (even with artists I like or genres I like). but sometimes the passion in your prose makes me forget this, and I always seem to regret it. if I'd seen this listed without your rave, I'd probably guess that it was just another mediocre side project from this crew, and by 1977, they're already more miss than hit, so I would have likely passed on it. so, again, we'll see...

Derek, I understand your taste as a critic, and how it relates to my own (not much) much better than I do with Phil's.

I've seen SOME -- not sure of the criteria for this -- Rhino Handmades show up in brick-and-mortar stores. E.g., the recent Doug Sahm Atlantic sessions (collaborators include Dylan, Flaco Jimenez, Dr. John, Fathead Newman, and others) reissue... which, BTW, is highly recommended.

Understood, Jon, but I do take some comfort in knowing that we share a sliver of common ground (Curtis Mayfield, P-Funk, Minutemen, Pharoah Sanders, Fela, etc.) no matter how minute the parcel might be :)

yeah, if I had to dump 90 percent of my collection, a lot of records by those artists would survive the cut, all among my faves.

you didn't hear the recent Fela CD that Dusty Groove was selling, did you? not on MCA, a previously unissued one on a UK label called Why Black Men Dey Suffer. DG was out of it by the time I tried to order it...

What year's that from Jon?
Haven't heard the Hazel but saw a copy in London for £150 a while back. Blody hell. Same question for you Phil - year of recording please. Brides of F were OK; I prefer Parlet meself.
And what was the 2nd Moncur you were on about, so I can throw my hat in the ring

Fela's allegedly from 1971, Hazel from 1977, second Moncur is One Morning I Woke Up Very Early.

Sounds like good period for the first two, never heard of the Moncur.

thought i'd add my half cent - had the Hazel on vinyl for some years and very rarely play it, and i'm a major p-funk fan as well.
just feel its kinda ordinary.
moncur's new africa is very good but i love moncur's playing & writing and that period of free jazz. i'm intrigued by the Fela and am checking it out…

here's some info on the Fela, looks like Ginger Baker is on it…

http://www.sternsmusic.com/disk_info/AS001

I cancelled my preorder of this, I read too many comments calling it mediocre in the time while my order was sitting at Rhino waiting to be filled, so you're off the hook with me, Phil.

I think we read the same comments Jon. HEY Baganauts, WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO REVIEW THE THREE (now not so) NEW ERSTWHILES???

I don't know that anyone asked (I could be wrong).

Nobody VOLUNTEERED? Not even Brian? Oh well at least Walt & I did 'em for PT..
What's the press reaction been like elsewhere Jon? The one I keep coming back to is Good Morning Good Night - how is that going down?

I wrote 'em up for AMG. Not crazy about doing separate reviews if I can avoid it. Suffice it to say that they're all fine. GMGN and View are two of my favorite releases of the year and the first half of LU kicks butt.

the first wave of reviews seemed pretty baffled by all three, but some of the recent ones have managed to crack into them a bit more, Joe Panzner did them for Grooves and our boy Nate did nice ones for Coda.

listeners, on the other hand, generally love them, particularly A View From the Window and Good Morning Good Night, and they've all sold reasonably well. I spent most of yesterday listening to the record release sets of the two trios from the Berlin fest, neither of which seem to come across as well as they did live, but I might have just been listening too quietly. the Stangl/Kurzmann set that ended the fest sounds amazing, though, if I can get permission from those guys, that'll be the third ErstLive release, hopefully out by the end of the year.

the Stangl/Kurzmann set that ended the fest sounds amazing, though

hi jon, i would like to hear this to contrast with my memory of it. it was the most surprising thing of that evening for me

how did the events in nyc go over the weekend?

In consensus, the secret is never broached/breached (entame).
(Derrida, author of Politiques de l'amitie/Politics of Friendship)

yeah, Jeff, it was by far the most surprising thing of the festival for me. I thought it was enjoyable live, but I love the recording, I played it three times yesterday.

ErstQuake went pretty well, all in all, good music, good venue, nice atmosphere in the room, and a pretty wild range of music. Tim and I hope to follow it up with more events in the future...

I thought it was enjoyable live, but I love the recording, I played it three times yesterday.

i liked hearing burkard high-wire it over all those styles & abysses--i recall feeling the drone part was dull, maybe a re-listen will reveal it--how did those womens' vocals come across?

I'd actually like to keep the content a bit of a surprise if possible, and not talk much about specifics until people get a chance to hear it for themselves. if those guys do let me release it, I'm sure they'll work more on the mix, this is a rough mix from Mr. Amann.

Gents (& ladies)
Can anyone recommend a really good (and free) utility for detecting AND getting rid of Trojan Horses? I have AVG Antivirus but there's still something screwing up my system here. Just be careful if you get any mail from me with strange attachments.. dunno what the fuck's going on but I don't like it.
Sorry to panic everyone

Dan, I hear tell ZoneAlarm is pretty decent & it’s smack dab within your price range. Here’s a link page to it & a few other possibles: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/collection/0,collid,704,tk,picks,00.asp

Re: mail- my box has been devoid of Warburton correspondence for quite some time. You don’t bring me flowers anymore.

Dan's asked me to post a note saying that if people are wondering where he is he's still struggling with a nasty computer virus....

Let's all pray for a speedy computer recovery, not least because so many people the world over need their Paris Transatlantic fix at the start of the month...!