Been working these last few days on My Everest discography, adding lots of info. It has now turned into an Everest CD and other audiophile reissues discography, since I’ve added lists of audiophile LPs and downloads. I’ve been in touch with a number of people who had or have brought out those reissues. I took the opportunity to complete my Omega/Everest collection – found the few that I was missing for reasonable prices.
I tend not to listen to any music when I’m working on such minutiae, because I can’t concentrate on two things simultaneously. I did write a review for Ethel Smyth’s Quartet and Quintet on cpo the other day, and am posting it only now. Beautiful works, all-out lyrical.
While I was at it, I also brought over from Amazon my review of the CD I had previously heard with a work of Smyth – the not very memorable Overture to her opera “The Wreckers”. It’s on “Music of the Four Countries”, performed in 1968 by the Scottish National Orchestra under Alexander Gibson, with works of Hamish MacCunn, Hamilton Harty and Edward German, reissued to CD in 1988 by EMI. Importing those reviews from Amazon is never is simple process of copy-paste, because I add a lot of information, precise references to other editions, cover photos etc. So it takes a helluva lot of time. It’s going to take ages to bring everything over here. Oh well, I can always hope to live to 200… with a strong daily diet of music, I might do it.
I wanted to send someone links to my Amazon reviews of the three Mercury Living Presence reissue boxes. Had the very unpleasant surprise to discover that my review for vol. II – the mammoth essay, more a doctoral thesis on Mercury Living Presence and Robert Fine than a review – had disappeared from view. I first thought Amazon had deleted it, but no: it turns ou that they just hid it, and you’ve got to know that it’s there and really look hard for it to make it appear. It used to be the featured review (I posted it on day one of the set’s release!) and it garnered many positive votes and glowing comments, and I find it extremely frustrating and unfair to me and music lovers to have hidden it as Amazon did. It’s here, for the time being. But this reminds me – if ever I need a reminder – why I got fed up with posting reviews on Amazon. Now that I’m about done with the Everest review, I should take the time to carry over here all my work on Mercury. In a private correspondence, Jerry Gennaro, whose request gave me the incentive to exit Trump (yuk!), return to music and publish the Everest discography, also suggested that I do a Vanguard and a Vox CD-discography. Well, I have already very extensive ones for my own needs, just need to clean ’em up for publication…
Yes, I need to get really serious about this website. It’s gonna take a helluva lot of time. Need to prioritize, but the trivial before the essential – stay off Trump.