Inner Urge

There are a number of albums on the Blue Note label, but few of them mean as much to me as Inner Urge, by Joe Henderson.

It's easy to see why: it has McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, with Bob Cranshaw on bass.  You've basically got the Coltrane Quartet rhythm section with some genius alterations for good measure.  And it's Joe blowing his best.

It's funny, but back in my CD craze days I bought tons of Blue Notes, but somehow missed Inner Urge.  Only when Tower Records was going out of business did I nab it up.  Now it's among my "lesser known favorites."

Is it blasphemy to like Joe Henderson more than John Coltrane?  I don't think so.  Coltrane was his own unique thing, for sure.  But Joe is everything--speed, tone, overblowing, ballads--all of it beautiful.  I'll even listen to some of his lesser known stuff in awe.

I "discovered" Joe originally through his playing with the other Blue Note musicians--Horace Silver, Pete La Roca (Sims), Grant Green, Bobby Hutcherson, Andrew Hill, Eric Dolphy.  It didn't take long to realize he was the secret ingredient that made all of those albums great.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Last night I got to listen to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, one of my birthday presents from Rachel.

I don't always abide what "remastering" does, but on 180 gram vinyl, it's hard to find any fault--it sounds absolutely amazing.  The sound effects, bass, keyboard, drums--and David Gilmour's guitar work is at his absolute best.  This was Pink Floyd's "jazziest" album, probably their most musically rooted in tradition--from Roy Harper's outlandish vocal on "Have a Cigar" to the soulful saxophone solos of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond."  You can read about the legend of the making here.

As for what the album means to me personally, mostly I remember listening to it in high school.  It's an introspective album that commands introspection from its listener.  It isn't gloomy or maudlin--there's no "Goodbye Cruel World" or "Comfortably Numb" here--instead, it is pure blues, reveling in the sounds and making each note last.  I never thought of it as my "favorite" Floyd album, but there is no doubting its place in Floyd's best.  It's the kind of thing you can hear thousands of times and still hear something new each time.

There is also something about the artwork and packaging--"Hipgnosis," aka the recently departed Storm Thorgerson, created something very special.  The 180g vinyl reissue includes a poster, interior art, and original sleeve (as well as a protective sleeve), giving something visual that only enhances the album, without taking anything away.