Hi again Stephanie, Wow. You really get to the heart of the matter with these questions. Not to be flippant but the "best" stuff is whatever is playing on the stereo at the time. I mean, it's one of the greatest pleasures of my life to be able to sit in my living room and CHOOSE from 21 official titles, not to mention at least that many boots. My idea of fun is an evening with a collection that spans Louis Armstrong to Plow On Boy playing on $4,000 worth of high fi gear at close range.
But I digress. I guess my short answer is that first question, pointing at identifying "best creative material" is kind of meaningless to me. What does "best" mean? I have *my* favorites but I've heard Don Rowe and Marcel Deste make vigorous, impassioned, articulate, & convincing arguments for titles that don't mean much to me. I guess I'm contrary tonight cause I'll even argue with categorizing HOSL and Mingus in different periods. To me, the middle era, (my favorite if I have to pick) is C&S, MoA, HOSL, Hejira, DJRD, Mingus, S&L, and WTRF. That last one is agruable until you give me this point: imagine Crazy Horse trying to play those tracks. (And I love Crazy Horse, I'm just saying.) It's "wide like jazz" not rock. [SIDE QUESTION: LET'S SEE HANDS OF ANYONE WHO CAN NAME A STRETCH OF 8 ALBUMS IN A ROW OF THIS QUALITY FROM ANY OF THE SOLO BEATLES. GET THOSE HANDS UP!! OKAY, NOW WHO CAN NAME 8 DYLAN ALBUMS IN A ROW OF THIS QUALITY? ANYONE? NO ONE? NO ONE?!?!?] But like I said, choosing one era over the others is impossible. I mean, my favorite *period* is what I call the 'jazz' period but my favorite *album* is "For The Roses". How can I defend that contradiction? I mean how can I defend it with intellect? I can't. So, I'll answer the question you didn't ask. I was thinking about this today. I watched a video by Roy Clark. In his youth, he was a very fast player and had lots of charisma. He was alternately funny, sincere, and hammy but it reminded me that my favorite part of music has nothing to do with flash. Nothing to do with speed. It's about those rare moments when the singer and song disappear. Sometimes I'm struck motionless, suspended, comfortably numb as Roger Waters observed oh so long ago. I love the Quincy Jones arrangement of "One For My Baby", sung Frank on "Sinatra At The Sands" in front of Count Basie's orchestra. And a kinky obscure Steely Dan track called "Brooklyn". And "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder. And Paul McCartney's "Junk". And Eddie Sauter's "Night Rider" with Stan Getz blowing over the top. What do these tracks have in common? I don't have a clue except that they all produce quickened pulse, dialated pupils, and hair-raising expectation. That brings me back to where I began. My favorite period is the one I'm exploring at the moment. The one that's reconnecting me with the wordless wonder we all came from. And to which we will all finally return. Lamadoo ps, Would you ask a mother, "Is your favorite child from your early, contemplative, naive experiences or your later, wisened, mature relationships?" We can't settle this tonight. Enough. Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com