>..was a collection of outtakes from sessions dating back to 1975, buffed to
a
>high gloss by remixer Bob Clearmountain who made it all sound like it was
>recorded at the same studio.


Nice floor scrapings! But then again, what is an album really if not a
collection of songs? Dan Baird has an album of outtakes and odds and ends
out this year that sounds pretty cohesive, as did Graham Parker's LOOSE
MONKEYS a few years back. If the end result works, I don't care about how
the kitchen was run. I also think FLOWERS rules, and that's pretty much a
patchwork quilt (albeit in a much faster turn around time).

As for the boys in their current state, they are rocking hard and rocking
well (including a revitalized Woody, thanks to sobriety after 30+ years of
indulgence), and "Charlie's good tonight, in'ne?" But I do wish they'd mix
up the setlists more often, ala Dylan, rather than play about 85% of the
same songs in the same format (rock-keith set-rock-side stage-rock) every
night. The small club shows on the 40Licks tour seem to be where the real
chestnuts emerged.

b