Lonestar Shawn, yup....that's insane playin alright. But that's one of the things that really distinguishes TR; I've lost count of how many of his cuts you could say that about. And that's really my point on the Collection CD; just cut after cut of awesome playin.

BTW, I agree with you on Church Street Blues. The Bluegrass Guitar Collection is all instrumentals, and you want to also hear some of Tony's vocals as well (Cold on the Shoulder is another great one of those)

OK, one last TR reference, then I'm off to work. How about the trio of TR, Norman Blake and Doc laying it down on Lost Indian on Norman Blake and Tony Rice 2 (also included on the Collection CD). Imagine being there and seeing THAT summit conference of flatpickers. If only that one had been filmed and available on YouTube! Think I'll fire that one up on the car CD player and put a smile on my face.

The main thing I noticed about Rice last night is that he doesn't play clichés (like most of us). Every note is fresh and his fingering is deceptively efficient. His left hand hardly moves, but boy, can he stretch those long spider-like fingers. Beppé is very good but he didn't play anything I haven't heard a million times before. Tony reminded me of T-Bone Walker in that they both have the ability to surprise the listener with licks that are original. Church Street Blues sounds right for me as I get tired of instrumental music very quickly. I just love lyrics punctuated with great guitar, which is the best of both worlds.

Tom F. (and all),
A philosophical question. We all know stealing music is wrong, but if you purchase a CD, do you feel that you have license to burn yourself a copy to play in the car or at work? I'll start by voting yes.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Randy Carone,

Randy,

Of course it is fine to make copies for yourself. I hold it is fine to make copies for your friends, as long as you do not profit from it. Once a CD is in your posession, I believe it is your property to do with as you please. Should I not loan my tools to my neighbor because that "robs" tool-makers of the opportunity to sell my neighbor their tools? Raising my shield now....

B

Well, I have to disagree with the part about copying for friends. Sorry, but you have stolen from the artist. You can lend them your CD but not copy it and give it to them. Let's say an artist has signed with a label and the record company says they'll give the artist the opportunity to make a second record if the first sells 50,000. Now a few thousand copies are made by buyers, for their friends, and the artist now only sells 48,000. See where this is going? I think Radiohead has the right idea with their new album that is available for download and YOU decide how much to pay them. That way, they eliminate the execs and get all the money and everyone's happy. You can rationalize the copy you give away, but please don't think it is not stealing. Your turn.

Call me old school. I've never burned a CD. Well, gotta go, a carrier pigeon just arrived.

Tom - you're old school. I'm just old. I guess it's safe to say you don't buy and download to iTunes. Great program.

If I had my way, all releases would still be on vinyl Remember my comment about Miles. I've got an original LP pressing of Kind of Blue, as well as an audiophile presssing by Acoustic Sounds. You put those on a good analogue system and it will blow away the sound of a digital system costing three times the price. Not to mention what happens when you listen to audiophile LP recordings of classical music. I know, I know, new releases are virtually all CD, so I'm with the program to the extent necessary, but I'm not one to sing the praises of digital recordings.

I am on the same page as you, I've just accepted the digital stuff with regrets. I have 3000 albums in my living room with another couple of thousand in Rubbermaid totes in the basement. The vinyl is along side over 1000 CDs and then I have 20GB of music (a lot) on my hard drive. I have some Mobile Fidelity vinyl pressings of a couple of Beatle albums, Dylan, Hall & Oates, VSOP, and the very limited boxed edition of Sargent Pepper put out by Mobile Fidelity and a few others I can't recall at the moment. Amazing quality. Just as CDs came out I thought that if all vinyl was produced using ½ speed masters, that would be the way to compare CD to vinyl. Vinyl wins that one.

Randy,

I think burning an extra copy for personal use is okay, as well as making my own compilation CDs of songs culled from a number of CDs that I own.

Back to Tony's playing: I love it...his chords, his notes, his spaces, his rhythms, his tone. But if you listen to all of his music, you'll hear his own cliches repeated throughout. For lyrics punctuated by guitar, you should listen to both albums by Peter & Tony. (And Scott Nygaard's album with the Webster Sisters.)

If Beppe sounded cliche, then he must not have played any of his original material. You were robbed! He does some very untraditional stuff, and his ethnicity shows through while he's paying tribute to tradition. He can imitate some of the great flatpickers, and does some amazing DDU and crosspicking stuff.

I just don't see the "stealing" thing at all, re burning cd's to pass on to friends. I didn't ask any performer to make and market cd's. They do that of their own choice. If I purchase one, it belongs to me to do with as I wish. Again, I shouldn't be able to profit from the fruits of their labor, but in no way am I profiting by sharing with friends.

I also don't feel that the argument necessarily holds that by burning a copy for someone, that means the recipient won't buy a recording they otherwise would. I have a number of CDs friends have burned for me that I never would have purchased on my own, not knowing the artist or not knowing how much I might like the recording. I still have the first Blue Highway CD a friend made for me. I hadn't heard of them, but as a result of hearing that great CD, I became a fan, have purchased several other recordings, have used their presence on several festival bills to help decide to go to those festivals, and have encouraged many other friends to check out the band. Not that I do this on a daily basis, but I recently have burned several copies of Eva Cassidy's "Songbird" recording to give to friends, because I recently have "discovered" what a fantastic singer she was and I want to share with friends who otherwise might not ever be introduced to her. And, if they like her, there are five or six other CDs they might purchase. (I do see this as a somewhat gray area however, and, somewhat defensively, I will say that if there is an album I know I'm going to want, I will purchase it rather than ask someone to burn it for me. Nor do I actively offer to burn CDs for friends who would likely buy the CD otherwise.)

Again, I think the tool analogy is a good one. Business enterprises make and market tools, and many people make part or all of their living from these endeavors. If my neighbor wants to rake his leaves, he can go buy a rake, or maybe if we are buddies, he'll come borrow mine. But if I loan him my rake, autumn after autumn, the tool industry and all the people related to it incur the negative effect of the loss of the sale of a rake. Are we therefore "stealing" from that industry? I just don't see it. The rake is mine, and I should be able to do with it what I want to do, including share it if I choose. If that means the industry looses a sale, so be it. This is the way the world works, and I believe everyone in the tool industry understands that this is the way the world works, and makes their decisions accordingly.

Them's my thoughts, anyway.

B

Oh, and Randy, glad to hear that you got to hear Tony. When he doesn't show up, Peter just goes ahead and does his thing. Yep, Tony's definitely awesome, truly one of a kind. How'd he get so good without tab or guitar camps?

B Woods,
It was a special night.
If you lend your friend your rake that's like lending him your CD. You don't magically reproduce the rake, digitally, and hand him his own rake. I think it's a better idea to lend CDs and then get them back after you've exposed your buying friend to a new artist.