Mapleshade, anything worth buying?

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

No I didn't buy the flat interconnects wire or the 4" thick block of wood they sell as an amp stand.

I've bought a few CDs from the Mapleshade label, but have been disappointed more oft than not. Don't get me wrong, the sound quality on all the CDs I've heard is 1st rate (a drumset sounds like a drumset! Amazing!), but the most "music" has been pretty 'blah'.

Some highlights from what I bought (mostly on a whim). Mind you I purchased from their Classical & Rock selections.

Mapleshade's Music Festival - This was actually a very good sampler. I liked alot of the material. A good $7.50

Douglas Allanbrook: Songs Of Love And Death - Wow this is bad. The vocalist Heather Craw is a very good vocalist, but the musical composition is downright awful. Spotty and doesn't carry a tune. Seriously "I took 3 weeks of lessons" bad.

Yucca Flats: Garden Of Weeds - The music (acoustic rock) is pretty mediocre, without a single "great" song. I've certainly heard worse songs selling platinum albums, but the frontman just does not have a good voice. Bob Dylan got away with it by having amazing writing. Yucca Flats does not have amazing songwriting.

The C-Nuts: Blitzkreig Bop And Other Jazz Mutations - This is my favorite group on the label so far. The songs (all are covers of 80's tunes) all sound like they could have been Jazz standards for decades (I actually prefer their cover of Dire Straight's Sultans Of Swing, the lyrics lend to the effect). The musicians are all very skilled and the vocalist is also good. I'd recommend the album to more people.... but how many people want jazz covers of 20 year old Top 40?

Midnite: Ras Mek Peace - OK I just don't get reggae. I can't tell you if its a good album of the genre or not. Its just so sloooooww. Good album to do housework to IMHO. Maybe a reggae afficianado can write a better review than me.

Anybody else have an album or two they'd like to talk about?

 

[WmAx]

I have tried several Mapleshade albums, and the only one that[I remember] I liked was the opera titled Ethan Frome. Sound quality is 1st class, of course. But I really liked the piece as story/music. But that might just be me....


-Chris

 

[Dan]

I've bought a bunch of the music (not the overpriced gear). It all depends what you like and I don't have a good feel for that from the purchases you listed. I do like the C Nuts but they are just dumb fun. And yes, that reggae group isn't very good.

If you like straight small combo jazz there is a lot to choose from. Did you like the A la Carte Brass and Percussion on the sampler? Both of their discs are fun and excellent (the first is a little better). Sweetman and the Southside Groove Kings is fun and raunchy. The one bluegrass album of the Willamsons is also quite good. The Irish stuff is not IMO.

If you want to try the jazz, tell me what you like and I'll tell you what I know.