Cole Porter Songbook, The - Charlie Parker

Advantages: Charlie Parker of course.
Disadvantages: None.

...Crazeology - Charlie Parker Jazz time again folks, well bebop to be precise (mostly). I make no secret of being a huge Charlie Parker fan. Not just because he was arguably the greatest alto saxophone player ever, but because he was a pioneer. At a time when black music was seen as something that was somehow less accomplished, and the musicians somewhat less worthy than their white counterparts (in fact it was thought that hardly any black musicians could read music, a common myth), Parker broke the mould. He wrote, he practically invented a new genre (be bop), well maybe I exaggerate, he was certainly one of the leading lights. He also played with chord structure and melodies and harmonies, tearing up the rule book and inventing his own style. His sound is incredibly distinctive, despite the fact that he played... Read review

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Advantages: It's got the original; it's a bit of group history
Disadvantages: Whose biggest hits?

...The opening song "Bittersweet Symphony" from the album "Urban Hymns" by The Verve was one of the most haunting sounds of 1997. It dominated the charts and airwaves that year and has continued to be used as background music in television programmes and advertisements, including those for Nike and Vauxhall. It is one of those tunes that you will surely have heard even if you cannot place its origin. The song became a bittersweet experience for its author Richard Ashcroft. The refrain he used was taken from, at that time, a little known arrangement of a Rolling Stones song (NOT the original) which had appeared on an album long since deleted from the catalogue. When it was first released in June 1966, "The Songbook" was the fourth in a series of albums recorded by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra. It was subtitled "Instrumental versions... Read review

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Advantages: Cheap, Parker, Quality
Disadvantages: Mine looks unprofessional, MArks through the paper

...I seem to have recently started my own Parker fan club having owned 4 pens in the last few months, I'll admit it's the vector rollerball that's been getting the most use from myself. Costing just £1.99 from the works when I got it, the pen has a ?street map? graphic across the barrel which seems rather childish but yet likeable, even more so when you realise you're getting a Parker at that sort of a price. It's not the most professional of the Parker's out there, pens like the jet black M2 are much more ?business? modelled than this one but it's hard not to like it's charm even if it does look more like it'd feel at home in a 13 year old girls pencil case. The pen, as all Parker's with lids seem to have, posses a metal ?butt? to place the lid on when the pen is in use. When compared to other Parker pens it's incredibly light, mainly... Read review

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