Another month, another batch of Recycled Goods, posted up at Static Multimedia. Almost got jammed this time, having worked up to the last few days of April on Jazz Consumer Guide. Turns out that the word count this time is higher than any since January's 2005 recap. The feature on Adventure Music had been planned, but came in handy in that I was able to construct most of it from old notes files. One thing I forgot to mention there is how attractive the packaging and artwork are.

A couple of records this time are far from new. The Bruner box has been sitting on my shelf for a while. I finally felt like tackling it after listening to Bruner's part of the JSP Wetern Swing box, and figured it was worth reporting. The old Mott the Hoople compilation is still worth noting. I had already forgotten about the previously reviewed Greatest Hits, which might seem like a good idea but misses too many great ones from Mott and The Ballad of Mott. It only pays to be selective when you select right. One thing I had thought about reviewing but never got the records for is a complementary batch of Nina Simones on Verve. I wrote a rather indifferent request letter to Regina Joskow over there and never got a response. Too bad, but the Phillips Simones aren't all that much better than the RCAs -- just a bit more consistent, as far as I've been able to tell.

I feel like I'm thrashing a bit with this column these days. I have plenty of stuff to fill it, so I don't work hard at getting new items, then find myself not getting the ones I most want. World music continues to fit in awkwardly. This month has much more than the last few, and there's more on the shelf, but coverage seems to be very hit and miss. Same thing is true for rock and rap, and for that matter everything but jazz. Curiously, not much jazz this time, especially if you discount Adventure Music and Nina Simone, which some do. But that's partly because that's most of what I held back for next month.