From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 DIGEST) Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 _ ____ _ ____ _ _ ___ // //__ // / //__ // /__// __// //__ //__ \\_/ //__ //__ // /__ D I G E S T Level42 DIGEST Volume 95 : Issue 2 Today's Topics: Random Comments Hurray! Lindup's Changes CD Re: CD Prices in Canada Re: Level42 Digest V95 #3 Funky DataBASS Look, it's the new person... BobC Tapes Just the Facts Responses and administrivia ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: lolita @ interserv.com Date: Thu, 17 Aug 95 11:27:20 PDT Hey LevelHeads: A few random comments to a couple of folks. Martin - I would love it if you could pick up some CDs for me. Pursuit of Accidents, Standing in the Light, True Colors and Staring at the Sun are all I need to round out the collection [I have all the cassettes and all the other CDs (except Physical Presence - the CD is missing all the good instrumentals so I won't buy it.)]. If you can find any or all of the above, I will send you a check. Whoever commented that even though the prices are high, you can find anything, is correct. I even found a copy of The Early Tapes on CD, which was completely unexpected. I just couldn't afford to get more than four CDs at that time. Randall - I have Wally's Chief Inspector EP, and I love it. You can really tell which L42 songs were influenced by him once you hear his solo stuff. Huw - In New York, CDs average about $12.99. Discounted ones are usually $7.99-9.99. Imports are around $18.99 and up. Japanese imports tend to be even more because of the bad exchange rate (I paid FORTY DOLLARS for my copy of Forever Now. _That_ sucked!). These are solely NY prices and could be a lot less or a lot more in other regions of the country. Alex - Which tape was the lip synching mishap on? Speaking of the tapes, no one answered my question. Do any tapes besides one and three have a lot of older footage, i.e. pre-True Colors, of live gigs? They tended to play a lot more of the jazzfunk stuff back then like Sandstorm and 43 (both of which I had never seen live before these tapes) and I would like to see more. Tape three has a really good gig after the first half (which is taken up with Guaranteed stuff - blah!) where it is all older material, and it rocks. Also, on the first tape there is some excellent concert footage from the Standing in the Light tour and from the Pursuit of Accidents tour. Not to be missed. That's all for now. Later y'all! Lolita ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: akb02 @ rs1.rrz.uni-koeln.de (Dirk Pilat) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 14:24:58 +0200 CHEERS FROM THE CONTINENTAL EUROPEAN SECTION! How wonderful to have all the Levelheads back in my email, and as I just saw we even have now a brewery-employee (how very nice! .. :-) ) with us. Well, nothing new really from germany, so I 'll be glad to give the word back to my more literate colleagues ( Hi Kim!). Nice work, Eric! Bye now, Dirk Dirk Pilat : Medical Student : University of Cologne, FRG : "Love leads to Isolation" Fax: ++49 221 2408310 : http://www.rrz.uni-koeln.de/~akb02 : Phil Collins in "Seperate Lifes" ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: friminj @ GAS.UUG.Arizona.EDU (Johnathan Frumin) Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 18:02:00 Hello Everyone! First of all, Eric, the list looks better than ever! I spent sometime traveling this summer and was really shocked. I was in Israel visiting my girlfriend and in the process of helping her and her family move into their new home I was suddenly bombarded with "Children Say" blasting throughout the neighborhood! I immediately wandered through the streets looking for the house responsible, but it was just so loud that the echo prevented me from finding out which house it was. It's really a shame, I wanted to go and meet this person of exceptional music taste! Oh well, at least half of Tel-Aviv got a good dose of L42 for the day! Then, two weeks ago, my brother and I were at the Michigan State University Summer Fest to see Martin Page perform, and while the stage crew was setting up, the Level Best CD was blasting on the system to entertain the awaiting audience. My brother and I went up to the front of the stage, to find out who was responsible for this and were informed that it was the sound engineer. It turns out that he worked for L42 a few years back and loves the album! So there you have it, two seperate countries bounded together by one terrific group! My brother and I also spent some time in London this summer and had the chance to do a little music shopping. While I was able to check off a few items on my want list, I was really surprised that I could not find two albums anywhere, Mike Lindup's "Changes" and Nik Kershaw's "The Works." I really want these two CD's, if anyone has any advice, or if any of my fellow Uk readers happen to come across these discs, please let me know! Thanks. Regards, Jonathan ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: huwmill @ cix.compulink.co.uk (Huw Millington) Date: Thu, 17 Aug 95 16:04 BST-1 In-Reply-To: <199508170950.FAA21061 @ worldmachine.com> Cliff, > First of all, an interesting way to spell Huw (it sounds > like the Cockney version that I grew up with in Stratford, > East London. Actually it is the Welsh spelling, but I won't take offence at being called a Cockney :-) Thanks for the info on CD prices, too. Its hard to see how the record companies can possibly justify such a price difference on the 2 sides of the Atlantic. Perhaps UK music lovers are perceived as being richer, with more disposable income :-) And Lolita - your comments about it being hot in London - we are apparently having the 3rd hottest summer since 1659, and the driest (so far) since 1727, according to the weather man. So on that basis it would be hard for London Transport to justify air conditioning their stations and trains :-) Huw ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: Rack1SPC @ aol.com Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 23:49:29 -0400 Hey y'all- Great to be talkin' L42 from Cincinnati again! Hats off to Eric!! I was finally able to get a hold of Forever Now from a local shop which special ordered it from England. It took some persistence since the owner said the first importer claimed that the latest release from L42 was Guaranteed!? Naturally I pointed out to him that on our "digest" it was common knowledge that the CD FN existed. 24 dollars and two weeks later I was listening. Some initial comments... FN needs to be listened to approx 3 times to begin to appreciate. In my opinion its very different from most of their other work, tho "Talking in Your Sleep" reminds me of "Its Over". There is not a strong guitar presence on this album (other than on the song "Don't Bother Me") like Guaranteed or Staring at the Sun. I mean listen to "All Over You" with it's live overdubs-it absolutely kicks, yet it's not a song that I would instantly associate with the group. To me the entire album reflects this and I've really come to enjoy it. ***Why RCA didn't release FN to the US theory #233: This album requires more than one quick listen to appreciate and the stations in the US want simple hook driven 3 minute songs (ala the "Friends" song). More on FN later... When I was in California I had picked up the album "A Physical Presence". You guys are right-Mr Pink is just a jammin' song! The guitar and bass work are some of the best. I also like Follow Me-does anyone know if this song was released anywhere other than live?? Enough for now. Later! L42L42L42L42L42L42L42L42L42 Sean ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: Nigel.Collier @ ncl.ac.uk (Nigel Collier) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 12:17:50 +0100 Hello fellow Levelheads. It was comforting for me to know that there was a worldwide fellowship of committed Level 42 fans, the years of derision and taunts of my friends and relatives all seem worthwhile now, now that I know I'm not nuts and that Level 42 are indeed the supreme meisters of Funk I always thought they were (although I had little defence when 'Tracie' was released). Like many people what hooked me into L42 was Saint Mark of King's thumping, staccato bass playing, isn't there something groin-tinglingly exciting about funky slap-bass? ( I also love Saint Mike of Lindup's keyboard riffs, my only regret is that he wasn't unleashed on a clavinet or Hammond - but then I'd probably have O.D'd on Funk). I suppose this plants me firmly in the 'earlier stuff' camp and I still think that L42 can hold their own against any other jazz-funk bands that I've come across since becoming a Levelhead in my early 'teens. For years I have been listening to L42 (I saw them at Leeds University) and other bands without knowing that there was an official term for that type of music. All I knew was that I liked a sound which was like a cross between elevator music/cop theme tunes and porno-film music. Hey-Presto I find out later that I`ve been listening to Acid Jazz. This brings me onto the main subject of other bands... Could the Digest be used to swap names of other funky bassists or other good jazz-funk bands/albums or even specific tracks? There is a lot of chaff out there and it can take a lot of time and money to weed out the good from the bad so could we Levelheads confer? Here's a few to start with: By FAR the best album I bought last year was 'DADMANCAT' by Corduroy, other notable finds include Mother Earth, Bobbi Humphrey (track- 'Jasper Country Man'), Lou Donaldson, Lonnie Liston-Smith (track- 'Expansions'), Stanley Clarke (earlier live stuff ie. 'I Wanna Play for You', avoid his late 80's stuff like the plague), Jaco Pastorius (the late great Jaco, bass player for 'Weather Report' - often too much jazz and not enough funk but technically brilliant bassist), Curtis Mayfield, The Meters, Tom Watts (early stuff - by the way, does anyone know where I can find Watt's theme tune for Starsky and Hutch?), Lalo Schifrin (Dirty Harry, Bullitt etc), James Taylor Quartet (JTQ live album brilliant, especially 2001 theme), Jamiroquai, The Brothers Johnson (check out the HUGE collars and Afros), Fishbone (excellent slap bassist, try 'Truth and Soul'), Average White Band, Stevie Wonder ('Do Yourself a Favour' etc), Kool and the Gang. EYES DOWN FOR A FULL HOUSE ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: "MARQUEZ-RICAH" Date: Fri, 18 Aug 95 08:57:06 CST Hi...I just want to introduce myself! I'm Ricah Marquez and I love L42's music. The first time I heard them was on my way to church in Atlanta, Georgia. The song was "Something About You" and I remember just bobbing my head to the tune. It was good pop music for that time especially when the radio was dominated by glam rock and aging new wave. From there, L42 became one of my favorite bands. They turned me on to music and I learned to play with the guitar, piano, and the drums (my current instrument). Note: I am not a virtuoso. Anyway, I think this digest is a swell idea, Eric! Maybe someone can tell me how I can obtain a copy of Forever Now in the Chicago area. I would gladly appreciate it...Ricah. ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: JAZZKAT42 @ aol.com Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 18:59:20 -0400 Hello L42 fans... I'm desperately seeking out BobC tapes as well as other live videos tapes. Can anyone out there help? How about just getting in contact with BobC? Your help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks to those out there who have responded to me in the past days. Turn it on...You know that you can - Jerry ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: "Friesen, Alex" Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 09:01:51 -0500 Just the Facts 95/08/17 08:50 When Eric writes: >we have a high-quality subscribership with exclusively cool people -- >undoubtedly due to a genetic pattern of righteousness that is >inherent in all Level 42 fans! he is, obviously, just stating an indisputable fact. ;-) Never before has such a stellar group of friendly, open, sharing, morally uplifting, cheerful, tasteful, non-prejudiced, free-thinking, aurally refined people been assembled, electronically or otherwise! (If you don't feel good about yourself now, check for a pulse.) The Real Point of This Message: Eric, I seem to be getting the list rather late in the day (after 17:00 Toronto time), but the time stamp on each issue reads 04:50. The previous list had no such lengthy delay. Any clues? This delay makes it difficult to respond to others' comments in a "timely fashion", as they say. ...Alex... "...my only access / to the outside world..." ------------------------------ Subject: Level42 Digest V95 #2 From: "Eric J. Hansen" Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 23:51:01 -0400 (EDT) Hey y'all! (Sorry this is so long!) First off, it seems that there were some strange SmartList problems that resulted in the digest not being sent out Friday morning. Sorry about that. While it looks like this mailing list software package will eventually work out (read: win my confidence), it is only resonable to expect some problems. Second, the timing of the list is such that all digest email messages are distributed at 6am, EST daily. By about 6:15am, the messages are queued on my Internet service provider's mail gateway, where it then "takes over" the responsibility of connecting with all of _your_ mail gateways. All I can say is that if you aren't normally receiving the digest until the afternoon, then there is a problem somewhere (fortunately, I can be pretty sure that it is not on my own machine!) As you all may know, mail delays can be the result of a myriad of problems ranging from high Internet traffic to faulty connections and backbone outages to lack of resources (i.e., CPU or storage) on local and connecting machines... the Internet is definitely a *complicated* assemblage of crud :-) If anyone seems to be consistently getting delayed digests (or worse, not at all -- i.e., you get "Digest X" and "Digest Z", but not "Digest Y", then please email me directly and I'll look into the problem. Third, regarding "acceptable" topics for the list... While I _am_ the list administrator, the list is _not_ moderated, so I will almost always condone any discussion that the group cooks up. The only time I would "step in" is if a rediculous flamefest started, or there were messages posted that I considered offensive or inappropriate. Note that none of these situations have ever happened, and based on the individuals that are on the list, I would not expect them to. I think everyone in our group appreciates the high signal-to-noise ratio of the digests and would like to keep them that way. As far as topics that are not wholesomely L42... Not only do I not mind non- L42 topics being discussed, I totally encourage it. To be honest, it wouldn't take too long for me to get bored with the list if _all_ we ever talked about was "what's your favorite L42 song", "where do I get this B-side", etc. IMHO, some of the most useful information that has ever been posted to this list was in regards to other bands and music. With the breakup of the band, it is especially important that everyone discusses the alternatives! Based on the advice of others on the list, I have bought literally dozens of non-L42 CD's and albums that have proven to be downright phat. Re: video tapes. I bought my copy of Live at Wembley at an HMV Record Store here in Harvard Square, Cambridge. I picked up "Fait Accompli" at Tower Records, but I am pretty sure that I've seen all of the videos there. Also, I've asked this question numerous times before, but I'll throw it out once again: does anyone know of a video for Physical Presence? I could swear that I saw a listing for it years ago in an NYC 47th Street Photo catalog. Oh well! -Eric "Generating square waves while computing new games..."