It's A Mystery To Me too

[doodyhead]

The cover art is amusing

In the Vinyl version martin Birch did a nice thing and included the lyrics.
This is a fine tradition which unfortunatly most early Rock Albums were too cheap to put in the sleeve.
The recording is a little muddy.

I hope the CD transcription is better
I got this from spouse and bandmate's collection. and had only dim recollections of it so I needed a re listen to answer snoot.

good musicians, christine's songs are getting better. Bob Welch is trying to keep pace with the post fusion mellow jazz/rock groups ala doobie bros, peter frampton/ yes/ george Bensonesque, mathenyized stuff . splitting with metal but not toward return to forever.
Journey lite?





needs some soul here I think

[snoot]

We'll make a true Mac leaguer out of you yet. :D

Don't forget to look this one over :: read it and weep
http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=15690&page=2

Muddy recording? No chance. You need to change your needle. The Mac have certainly run their rigs in muddier waters. That was all done on the ROLLING STONES MOBILE RECORDING UNIT! Uh huh. :thumbsup:

needs some soul here I think

Soul my butt vinnie. Getouttahere!

[doodyhead]

Im not leaving

i figured you to be a more tolerant sort.

It's good.I don't have to love it . There is obviously enough love to go around.

Welch's competition back then was Steely Dan.

*^)

cheers'

vinnie

[snoot]

We're glad to have you.

Return often. Barricading yourself in the blues, and blues alone, is not good for anyone's health. ;)

[doodyhead]

We're glad to have you.

Return often. Barricading yourself in the blues, and blues alone, is not good for anyone's health. ;)

I got hooked on the blues when I was a pre-teen in 1964.

and it has coloured my thinking ever since.

vinnie c

i'm on myspace/melandvinnie

[snoot]

You may find this hard to believe, but I love the blues too. Peter Green style ones have always been plenty fine in my eyes, but then so are Alvin Lee's and Stevie Ray Vaughan's and .. and .. [-]. But in regards to my musical reach, both regarding FM and beyond, there is so much more than the blues for the sake of the blues alone.

I can just as easily spin up an old Mac album as a J.S. Bach or Grieg one, ditto with IABD or the Carpenters. I pity those who can't, due to self-imposed baffles. That doesn't connote I like every bloody thing produced, far from it. Discriminating tastes have their place! I actually feel there is as much bad or ho-hum music out there as worthy stuff, perhaps more. But after a healthy shot of the blues, I prefer a little sunshine too.

Katrina & the Waves anyone? :D

[SteveMacD]

I gotta say that blues post-1970 and C&W post-1980 kinda suck.

The blues kinda lost it after Chess. I've tried to like stuff on Alligator and other post-Chess blues labels, but it just doesn't work for me. B.B. and Buddy have done stuff that I've liked, but really not as much as the pre-1970 stuff. I can't tell you how many more times I'd take a Little Walter over a Stevie Ray. But people seem to forget that. All the kids today wanna be SRV. I honestly haven't seen a "new" blues act that has impressed me.

[chriskisn]

I honestly haven't seen a "new" blues act that has impressed me.

Coco Montoya? (well not that new really). Rick Vito? ;)

[dino]

Coco Montoya? (well not that new really). Rick Vito? ;)

Derivative. A lot of blues is just too derivative of the old stuff.

[slipkid]

This all ties into the Sirius/XM debate over the Blues channel. Back in November, the two companies merged their music channels, and Sirius Blues became B.B. King's Bluesville which was the XM version.

As a Sirius subscriber, I happened to like Sirius Blues because they were open minded to playing Paul Butterfield, John Mayall, and yes even PG FM. The XM version now plays less of these artists, in fact no PG FM at all. I heard "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues" on Deep Tracks the other day, so I guess that's where I can listen to original FM. Deep Tracks is a great addition, way better than The Vault.

Anyway I involved myself in debate on the XM forum over what should be on the Blues channel, and I was stunned by the responses. I was told that the british blues movement is not real blues because it was performed by whites who aren't american. Apparently, I'm a "Rockin' Blues" fan. Oh, and Eric Clapton is the antichrist (that may not be far off :laugh:). I was also told that the Blues is a living breathing genre, and the classic artists shouldn't be emphasized over what's current. That's my beef with the jazz channel (XM version over Sirius). I want to hear Charlie Parker, not some 20 year old wunderkind who can play like Charlie Parker. I want to hear Otis Rush, or Howlin' Wolf. I can't stand how modern blues is produced.

[slipkid]

I gotta say that blues post-1970 and C&W post-1980 kinda suck.

I agree with the above with one exception, Johnny Cash's American Recordings series.

[snoot]

Anyway I involved myself in debate on the XM forum over what should be on the Blues channel, and I was stunned by the responses. I was told that the british blues movement is not real blues because it was performed by whites who aren't american. Apparently, I'm a "Rockin' Blues" fan. Oh, and Eric Clapton is the antichrist (that may not be far off :laugh:). I was also told that the Blues is a living breathing genre, and the classic artists shouldn't be emphasized over what's current.

The "purity" of the blues is overrated, to almost mythic proportions now.

[Wouter Vuijk]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD View Post
I honestly haven't seen a "new" blues act that has impressed me.

Try to find Carl Weathersby, he's OK

The "purity" of the blues is overrated, to almost mythic proportions now.

Well, I wouldn't say that Sleepy John Estes is overrated, more likely underrated.
;)

[stubbie7]

You know. a bunch of years ago I went totally off the blues. Anytime I heard any it just grated on me. I decided I was over it and it was time to move on. I was wrong. I needed to get away from it to see it in a new perspective. I can listen to the old stuff just as easily as the new. The one thing though is how it makes me FEEL. Real passion, real depth is my only requirement. For example, I have to turn the radio off when Blues Traveler comes on; that harmonica playing drives me up the WALL! 150 notes for the six PG would have used. More notes is not better. More notes is not passion or depth. It is just more notes.

For those who are not aware there is a wonderful, old fashioned type radio station available worldwide on the internet or on several am/fm stations in the SF bay area called KPIG. You can hear old county or new country/ old americana/new americana old blues/new blues. It is wonderful. They have a huge library and an ear for interesting music. DJs still pick what is to be played. The afternoon dj left recently and I miss him; I could always count on PG FM every day. They still play FM (though BW periods) but not as frequently as they used to. I highly recommend them. They have live performances and interviews in the studio that are wonderful. kpig.com

Anyway, just wanted to say that Mystery to Me is still one of my favorite albums. I still play the vinyl a lot.


r

[snoot]

Good points Stubbie. I've sort of "turned away" from the blues at times, only to invariably return for another healthy dose. I just never "overdo" it, if you know what I mean. On any musical genre for that matter. There's a place for balance, as in every other aspect of life. At least in the long haul.

[chiliD]

Welch's competition back then was Steely Dan.

It's interesting you say that...Jeff "Skunk" Baxter produced Bob's 1983 Eye Contact album.

Plus, I thought Journey was a much better band pre-Steve Perry. (Listen to any of their first three albums...they'd give both Return To Forever and the Mahavishnu Orchestra a run for their money. Plus, I've always thought that Greg Rolie was a better singer than Steve Perry anyway. (Steve Perry always has reminded me of a mosquito on helium)

[snoot]

It's interesting you say that...Jeff "Skunk" Baxter produced Bob's 1983 Eye Contact album.)

He's also a close friend of Welch's into the bargain. Bob considers him his best producer (though surely John Carter has to be a close second).

Plus, I thought Journey was a much better band pre-Steve Perry. (Listen to any of their first three albums...they'd give both Return To Forever and the Mahavishnu Orchestra a run for their money. Plus, I've always thought that Greg Rolie was a better singer than Steve Perry anyway. (Steve Perry always has reminded me of a mosquito on helium)

LOL, yup. A few of Perry's chips for Journey weren't bad (Lights, Wheel In The Sky) but overall too much was squeaky and overly sentimental (borderline maudlin) - even if he could carry a note. And of course those two I cited still had the early principals aboard. Journey so resembled Santana on those early albums with Rolie and Schon, it was darn near amazing. I too regret their passing. Such a nice groove back then, with much better emphasis on extended instrumentalization. Too bad, as in so many things.