The first thing I did with my new receiver was listen to this Willie Dixon record I own:

Apparently, it’s the first record that he did all the singing. Dale Wright’s liner notes are embarrassing: “[T]here is no attempt here to interpret the blues with sophistication in the manner of, for example, Joe (Everyday) Williams, or Dinah (The Queen of the Blues) Washington. Willie’s slapping, strong bass and uninhibited lyrics are dominant throughout and his style is only a ‘holler’ away from the Mississippi corn and cotton country where he was born.”

Sheesh. Willie (Back Door Man, Hootchie Coochie Man, Built for Comfort) Dixon seems to hold his own to me. I do like listening to this record.

After playing a bit of Charlie Parker and both sides of my Dave Brubeck, I indulgently put on

This record is a series of unique arrangements of standards. Nilsson sings. Gordon Jenkins arranged and conducted. Schmaltzy with tongue firmly in cheek a lot of the time. Great record.