MUSIC: CDs OR DOWNLOADS? THAT IS THE QUESTION.

On Tuesday the following 5-CD box set arrived from Amazon.

It cost me £24.99. A download, which did not include a bonus 5th CD (stuck on the front of the box) but just the four CDs in the box would have cost me £14.99. Was I so desperate for the extra CD (with a running time of less than 40 minutes) that I'd pay a tenner for it? Actually, no I wasn't. However, as I immediately copy music to my computer and then on to my Ipod Classic and never listen to the CD again, yesterday (Wednesday) I put up the box set on Amazon Marketplace for two pounds less than Amazon's price with the description played once from new, sold it today and have just got back from posting it. After Amazon's cut and the postage, I got £18.00 back which meant that the music effectively cost me £7.00 and included the bonus CD.

Now this was what I consider a good bit of work but it doesn't always come out as well. Sometimes the download is considerably cheaper as when I recently bought So Many Roads by The Grateful Dead as a download when the original box set was out of print and fetching over £130.00 new.

But mostly my CDs end up in the loft where every so often I weed them out on the basis of -do I really want to keep this? I'm now starting to ask myself the question -how few of my CDs do I really really want to keep? I won't lose the music unless the house burns down while I'm and haven't taken my Ipod with me which is pretty unlikely and then the CDs would have gone as well. Apart from keeping the music on my Ipod, I also regularly make an external backup copy of all data on my hard drive to a 1 terabyte Toshiba hard disk which fits into my pocket. I hope I'm not tempting fate by saying this, but effectively the music lasts forever.

In theory, any new CDs I buy I should just copy and then put up for sale immediately on Amazon Marketplace where I could recoup about half the cost which is still cheaper than the download. Unless, of course, the cost of a download is still cheaper than that which does happen occasionally. In practise it doesn't neccessarily work out like that as there may not be a download available or the CD is just too damn cheap as in the case of-

This one, including postage from an American marketplace seller, new cost me £4.06 with the Amazon UK price being over a tenner. At that price it's just not worth selling it.

And then there's the box set which includes a DVD. This isn't always worth as in an older post I mentioned saving over £20 by buying just the download of a Rolling Stones box set. And then there's this which only arrived this morning so I haven't a chance to listen to or watch it-

 

This amazing piece of work by the brilliant guitarist Rea consists of a music CD of the above title, a documentary DVD about bullfighting plus a CD of Chris's soundtrack to it, a second DVD which appears to be a sort of spiritual journey plus, again, a CD of Chris's soundtrack to it. For, and you'll laugh, only £12.99. For a Chris Rea fan like me that's just a no-brainer. A string of five star reviews also suggest it's pretty damn good. I only came across it by accident on Amazon as it wasn't included in my recommendations.

So the answer to the question -CDs or Downloads? -is, for me: Yes, please.

BOOKS, CD: RECENT SHORT AMAZON REVIEWS

Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection (Audio CD)

The Jimi Hendrix Starter Pack -a 5 star review.

 

This isn't all the Jimi Hendrix you'll need but it is the best place to start listening. If you don't like this then you just won't like anything else he's done. Hard to believe but there are some people who don't like Jimi Hendrix but then they probably don't like rock and blues electric guitar anyway  

40 years after his death and he is still the most amazing blues and rock guitarist who ever lived and his influence is still being felt and all that in a tragically cut short four year career. Anything before Are You Experienced was basically his apprenticeship when he was learning his craft. After that he exploded.

As an introduction to Hendrix this can't be beaten, though it can be argued that various alternate takes of famous tracks which, while attractive to the hardcore fan, do the official versions (i.e. those that appeared on his albums) a disservice. I certainly prefer the original All Along The Watchtower to the alternate take which appears here. That said, CD1 can't be faulted as a comprehensive selection of his studio work. 

CD2 is a sampler of the many live recordings which have been released since his death. There's no doubt that Hendrix was brilliant live. Rougher is undeniable and understandable as his studio material was meticulously put together. There are only two live versions of tracks on the first CD and, like the rest, are noticeably longer with a whole lot more energy. Hendrix was as good live as he was in the studio, just in a different way.

After this, the only way to go is to his official studio albums and after that dive in to the plethora of live albums. Me, I rather like the compilation Blues which, surprise, focuses on his bluesier side. Me, I'd like a Blues vol.2 but sadly there's no sign of one.

I must mention the brief but fine liner notes and reasonably detailed track listing.

So, here you are: an excellent introduction to one of the greatest rock artists of all time. How can you resist? 

 

Deadtown by Nancy Holzner (Paperback)

Sparky! A 4-star review.

Other reviewers have given an adequate plot summary, so I'll spare you that. Well, not you, the Amazon readers. You get the synopsis. A mutant virus has turned thousands of Bostonians into zombies -just not the cannibalistic kind of George Romero- so other supernatural creatures have come out of the woodwork, including our heroine.

To be honest, this isn't that much different from all the other paranormal adventures/romances going around. It's set firmly in the genre of attractive and powerful female in the modern world plus supernatural entities, handsome men who may be heroes/villains/romantic interest candidates, etc. No different, just that little bit better which makes it a good read. The author is currently at work on a sequel and I'll be in line when it's finally published. Read this and I'm sure you will too.

 Darwinia  by Robert Charles Wilson (Paperback)

  A E Van Vogt for the 21st century, a 4-star review.

If that means nothing to you, let me explain. Van Vogt was part of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, a term that tends to refer to the 1940's and 1950's which was essentially a period in which modern SF as we know it was born. Writers who emerged then include the greats such as Asimov, Heinlein, and Sturgeon. And A E Van Vogt. Van Vogt was known for his mind-boggling concepts and galaxy-spanning stories and this is where Wilson resembles him. Except that Wilson writes very well, has characters who act like believable human beings, and his stories make sense.

Start to read Darwinia and you think: aha! this is a parallel world novel. When actually it's nothing so simple and what it's actually about is one of those mind-boggling concepts which, unlike old VV, makes sense and really does boggle the mind. This is the third novel of Wilson's I've read and I have three more on a table next to me. While they do vary in degrees of satisfaction, I've enjoyed every one and eagerly anticipate the next book of his I'm going to read.

Mr Wilson, you're terrific. 

MUSIC: RECENTLY ARRIVED CDs

An appearance here does not preclude a later review, as they say.

The Very Best Of Sheryl Crow.

Rock. Hot chick. Good tunes. Good voice. What's not to like?

Seasick Steve: I Started Out With Nothin And I Still Got Most Of It Left.

Blues. Authentic old white guy. £2.99 from Amazon. Why not?

Jimi Hendrix: Blues.

Rock and blues guitar god. Original and blues covers compilation. Hasn't everybody got this CD and if not, why not?

ncho Texicano

Rancho Texicano: The Very Best Of ZZ Top.

Everybody should have at least one ZZ Top album in their collection and it should be Eliminator. Then once you've played it to death, go out and buy this 38-track 2-CD set of sheer iconic blues/rock/boogie.

Could it be I'm a blues fan, ya think?