Adcom GTP-500 II.

Mr. All-American. Hope you had gravy to go with that? Guinness, steak and mushroom pie. Peas and carrots and pearl onions. Salad of butterleaf lettuce, tomatoes, cranberries, watercress, pine nuts and burrata. Hunk of crusty sheepherder's bread. Bottle of Abita Purple Haze beer.

Congratulations! My local Amoeba still has numbered editions of I, III, and IV on the shelves. Didn't see any II or HotH. So if you are one of the unnumbered classes, maybe you can return your unnumbered box and order thru Amoeba.com? Hahaha! Yeah, no doubt. I have to say that was very unprofessional on JB Hi-Fi's part. Makes you wonder how many people got stuck with unnumbered boxes due to their incompetence?

Once I speak my peace, I usually leave it at that unless someone asks me a direct question or directs a comment towards my post, but I know I am on here somewhere defending "In Through the Out Door". You and Juxtiphi are not alone by any means. By the way, when I mention the mix, I am not saying the entire album doesn't sound good. For the most part, instrumentally it sounds a-ok. My issue is with how buried Plant's vocals are on some of the songs...in particular the songs in which Plant wrote some of his best lyrics, i.e. "Carouselambra". A lyrics sheet would have been helpful to include with this album. Much more so than "Houses of the Holy", the only Led Zeppelin album with the lyrics included. Ironic, since "Houses of the Holy" features possibly the most clear vocals Plant recorded with Led Zeppelin. Merry Christmas.

Joe Cocker's first album, "With A Little Help From My Friends"...as a kid I loved seeing the picture of Jimmy on the back cover. And Chris Stainton reminds me a little of Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes. "Just Like A Woman" is a very underrated track from this album...and another one that features Jimmy on guitar.

Always cool to get new information on Led Zeppelin gigs. Especially from the murky 1968-69 period pre-Led Zeppelin I, when they were sort of flying under the radar and record keeping and media reports weren't always accurate...or even available.

Musical Monday at work... 1. "Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" OST 2. Judy Garland "Meet Me in Saint Louis" OST 3. "Damn Yankees" Original Broadway Cast Album 4. "Mame" Broadway Cast Album 5. Judy Garland "A Star is Born" OST

I guess he wasn't feelin' alright, but did he die with a little help from his friends? Strangest singer I have ever seen. R.I.P. Joe Cocker.

Double Breakfast today: Watermelon and honeydew melon slices. Bowl of Greek yoghurt and granola. Two cups of coffee, two tall glasses of orange juice, and two tall glasses of water.

Lamb is good. Lamb chops. Lamb curry. Lamb vindaloo. Crown rack of lamb. I'm on my fifth bloody mary watching football...and munching on onion rings and vegetable crudites and roasted pepper hummus.

I may be garbage but I assure you Darlene Love is not.

Duck and rajas con queso tamales. Shot of tequila and beer.

Bully for Walter, Jr.! Swimming is great fun...one of my favourite activities and I loved being on the swim team when I was a kid. Good luck to him in future meets. Already been to three Christmas parties myself in the past week...with one more to go. Bon Voyage, Holly! Sincerely, Fred.

Bloody English. I guess the BBC was too busy shoving Cliff Richard down your throat. Bloody Aussies. The people who gave us the didgeridoo. Finally, someone who knows a classic when he hears one. Sure, much of the holiday music played in offices and on the radio is treacly garbage. But Phil Spector's Christmas album "A Christmas Gift For You" is a stone solid classic, along with "A Charlie Brown Christmas", and the Christmas albums from Nat King Cole, Mel Torme, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald. It is a shame Darlene Love and the Ronettes and the Crystals and other artists that were in the Phil Spector stable aren't more known outside the U.S. But that is what is great about the documentary "20 Feet from Stardom". It shines a light on those like Darlene Love who have been out of the spotlight for too long. And Jay Thomas once again knocked the meatball off the Christmas tree! Most excellent, indeed, ebk...and fortunately, I also caught the last Craig Ferguson show with that great opening bit (with Sex Pistol Steve Jones on guitar). I wasn't even aware that it was Craig's last show...I knew he was leaving but I thought it would be next year around the same time as Dave. I'll miss the wacky Scot...and his robot Geoff. Jay Leno once again showed he is much better as a guest than a host of a talk show. It was reminiscent of his funny appearances on Dave in the 1980s when Dave was on NBC. Oh, and thank you, ebk, for posting Darlene's first performance on Letterman from 1986. Love how bare and stripped down it is compared to now...and Sid's and Will's hair. The end of an era.

You mean our Sam? Well, hip-hip-hooray and glory be. Happy Birthday to the Webmaster Sam! For all you've done and continue to do, this birthday toast is for you. May you have a most excellent Celebration Day, eh!

You're awesome dude! Now I have something to listen to while wrapping Christmas presents later tonight.

This thread is dedicated to ebk, who shares my passion for Darlene Love. For those of us that have been watching for the last 30 years, Darlene Love's annual performance of "Christmas(Baby Please Come Home)" on David Letterman's Holiday show the Friday before Christmas is just as much a treasured Christmas ritual as "A Charlie Brown Christmas", "It's A Wonderful Life", and Glühwein. Tonight is the Friday before Christmas, which means it is time to set your tivo or dvr for the Late Show with Letterman on CBS tonight. Alas, David Letterman is retiring next May, which means this will be his last Holiday show and Darlene Love has intimated that she won't do this for anybody else's show. http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/12/15/watch-darlene-love-sing-christmas-baby-please-come-home-on-letterman-over-the-years/ CBS has posted a nice tribute video to Darlene Love comprising all her past appearances on Dave's show: http://youtu.be/RfurmGiKZ5k I can guarantee you I will be crying buckets tonight.

I haven't even heard the Tempe '77 show and yet it has been ingrained in my brain as being terrible so I avoid it, haha. I don't like many of the 1980 shows because I hate the stage gear the band was using at that time and the coldness of the soundboards...and the raggedy "White Summers" that kill all momentum. Jonesy's Alembic basses and Yamaha keyboards really sound cheesy and dated...but not as dated as Plant and his harmonizer. Cringe. Horror. Bonham's drums sound the best out of all four musicians...his technique was really tight by this point. When he wasn't falling down-drunk, that is.

Fleetwood Mac's legendary Boston Tea Party shows of February 5, 6, and 7 1970 have had various releases over the years since first coming to light in the 1980s, most of them only partial and incomplete. Finally, a three cd box set has been released by Snapper that collects all the known tracks in the proper order and with great sound. http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/fleetwood-mac-boston-3cd-set/ I am listening to disc one right now, which has stunning versions of "Jumping At Shadows" and "Rattlesnake Shake". I have said it before and I will say it 'til the day I die...if all you know about Fleetwood Mac is the mid-70s pop era when Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the band, then you don't really know the real Fleetwood Mac. The Fleetwood Mac of Peter Green and his guitar cohorts Danny Kirwin and Jeremy Spencer. Out-of-this-world playing. http://youtu.be/ZTBppNm1tKc

Oooh, my ears. Good god, it is like bad Asia. Oh wait...that's redundant.

A 3-piece? I guess that eliminates Kansas, Electric Light Orchestra, Shooting Star, and Dexy's Midnight Runners. It's not Jean-Luc Ponty, is it?

^^^Me too, Deborah...Elvis Presley's Christmas Album is a perennial on my stereo. Christmas is also Nutcracker time...as in Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" ballet. Yes, that is Kevin Kline narrating.

Not all of it...mainly the post-DLR Van Hagar era. And they were a total force of nature in concert at their peak, which ended around 1982. But yeah, this guy is hilarious. Reminds me of the websites and bloggers that will write any gibberish, no matter how outlandish or inane, just to generate page views and chase "controversy".

And neither is your guitar. Treat her well, young grasshopper. Nice to see you, Andy.