Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish listening to one of the greatest albums ever made – Days of Future Passed by The Moody Blues – man, I played that record to death back in the day. I loved the symphonicness of it all and the tunes and the orchestrations. When I got the CD twenty or more years ago I loved it all over again although I didn’t think it sounded quite as good as I remembered. Later, I found out the original stereo mix hasn’t been used in 1972 as there were problems with the tapes – so a new mix was done then and that’s what all subsequent releases have used. But last year they issued a new 2-CD set that finally has the original mix, a DVD with DVD 5.1 audio, so I need to have that and compare. It’s amazing, really, when you think about it, how much of a hit this thing was given its narration and symphonic music with Peter Knight’s lush orchestrations, but it was a time in the music business when anything could become a hit, any unlikely thing. Can’t happen today, but the music world was beyond adventurous back then and I don’t know that we’ll ever see a time like that again. But even this remix sounds great in the orchestral stuff – where it sounds weird is the songs part – so I’m anxious to hear the old mix that we all knew and loved.
Oh, wait, I have to write these here notes in a hurry because she of the Evil Eye will be here all too soon. Yesterday was sort of a day – an irritant or two that I knew about in advance, but it all passed quickly. I got seven hours of sleep, got up, and thus began a series of people stopping by to pick up stuff. I printed out not enough orders (hopefully more coming soon), I listened to some music, and then I went and had my meal o’ the day, my favorite grilled sandwich at Corky’s – excellent. I had a little dinner salad with it, and some potato salad. I was happy.
Then I came home and the visits began and ended quickly, thankfully. I did some work on the computer, never went to the mail place, listened to a lot of music, some great, some good, some bad, some ugly, and I do mean UGLY. I can’t really remember much else that happened, but something must have happened, after which I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night I attempted to watch something on the Flix of Net – some Israeli thriller – I lasted about three minutes before promptly falling asleep for about forty-five minutes. Once up, it was back to music. Some later Peggy Lee from the end of her Capitol era – I love her, but some of the tracks are just so corny trying to be pop sounding. And isn’t it funny, her big hit of that era sounded nothing like pop – Is That All There Is. But in that mish-mash you get two or three incredible tracks, none more incredible than the Cy Coleman tune, Then Was Then and Now Is Now, with Coleman conducting his own chart – that’s one of my all-time favorite Peggy Lee records. I shaved and took a hot shower and that was about it.
Today, I’ll be up early and out of here. I’ll eat a light breakfast, hopefully pick up some packages, do some errands and whatnot, then I’ll come home and other than locking down our two women for the Kritzerland show, that’s going to be it – I must relax and clear my head before the onslaught of the crazy week ahead.
Tomorrow starts the crazy week ahead, a week filled with rehearsals, meetings, meals, organizing, all heading to our crazy show day, and then our show. I have to do a lighting cue sheet, write the off-stage voice introductions, but hopefully from here on in everyone involved will be doing their jobs so I don’t have to. I now have to only concentrate on the show itself and my stuff.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up early, eat a light breakfast, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up packages, cast, and then relax and clear my head, listen to music and perhaps watch something. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite Peggy Lee tunes, and who are your other favorite singers of her ilk? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have had a sort of day.