I'm surprised by how many of those I own. What a fun hobby.

Little closer look.

That Yachts box is one of the last things we talked about.

What a thing of beauty.
Check those Eno boxes. I'm sure Jimbo already did, but there was a glue in the box that spread out over time and stuck the digipacks in the box

I would buy a coffee table book with a complete list of Jimbo's music collection (CDs, LPs, cassettes, 8-tracks, 45s, 78s, etc.), fully illustrated with Dr. Jack's and others' photos, and filled with reminiscences and anecdotes about and tributes to Jimbo. If only...

Great idea! I'm in!!

Fabulous idea!

Answered my own question thanks to Jack's additional pics. The Treasures of The Who book. Nice!

Man, a lot of familiar looking stuff on those shelves!

May be my favorite part of the collection so far. 40th anniversary editions of each album which includes 80+ page book that puts you right back in the year of the release and brings you into the recording and performing aspects associated with it.




Beautiful craftsmanship and very sturdily produced.
Check out the side view. I really love these! Probably the band that me and Jimmy saw most frequently because they seemed to be constantly touring. We’d talk about the shows with such affection.

And all of these were remixed by Prog God Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree fame....a band that I turned Jimbo onto over the years.

These shelves are the working area where items are placed as they come out of a box. Check out the “Porcupine Tree” DVD at the top right of the first picture!







Library shelves for whole collection coming soon.

Love that he had all the Tull boxes as I. What kind of home stereo system did Jimbo have, did he decode the 5.1 Wilson mixes? They are unbelievable.

I know it seems odd, but Jimmy had no real interest in the fidelity of playback equipment. He spent endlessly on collecting, seeing every band you can think of live countless times, never missing a Friday movie release and being unbelievably generous to all his family and friends.

I did occasionally try to spur him on to fun gear purchases and he would yawn in response. Gear just didn’t excite him. He actually looked at me weird when I bought him a Blu-ray player after my brother Mick bought an HD TV. He didn’t believe me when I told him not only would it play Blu-ray discs, but also was great for all his SD DVDs. Of course Blu-rays represent the majority of his thousands of DVDs now.

It actually was kind of a funny thing we shared after a while. Forget about satellite radio. He’d look at you like you were from outer space! (See what I did there?)

Heaven knows I tried to expose him to the power of a good home entertainment system as did Bill Levenson (we experienced his just one month before Jimbo's fall when we went down to Georgia.)
Not only is a HT good for old fashioned stereo CDs but also movies (Blu-rays, DVDA's and SACD's) and all those music videos in our collections.
And you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a very decent system.

But your right, he just didn't care. He had that massive collection but nothing to play it on.

Yeah, I remember JohnG saying the same thing with demonstrations of iPhone playbacks and of home gear demonstrations when Jimbo would visit.

Gear has their own addicts, I have met people who would have shown off their $25K stereo systems but maybe only have 50 Greatest hits CD's in their collection. WTF!

Interesting. so like many of us (and I definitely included) are an obsessive collector (at least according to my girlfriend and I will not debate this, I would lose) in that I was not playing as much of what I had purchased and Jimbo fits that definition exceedingly. No disparaging meant here.
Just an observation of the massive collection that had been accumulated and again I personally fit somewhat with that description.

Being a collector for over a half a century and fortunate in the allowance in retaining most of my accumulation it has become very sizeable.
I think most of us music lovers scratch our heads and say "Wow, look at all this".

I personally get down on myself for not listening as much as I should and would like ( near pending retirement will change that, believe me) and with his so many time consuming hobbies and friend/family engagements as mentioned his music collecting was just kind of a "Rain Man" kind of thing.

Jimbo had an encyclopedic knowledge of music and engagement as you mentioned with concert attendance and music research and collecting can bring an abundance of music. But listening to music can also be a solitary kind of engagement and not for everyone.

Let me just finish with this. I find him to be an enigma and that is one of things that made him just a wonderful individual. And he also was just as fu*ked up as much as all of us because let's all simply admit it, we are all mentally ill and that's OK, it allows us to have a grasp of sanity in this insane world.

And now I will play my recent purchased vinyl of "Honk" by The Stones because Jimbo would have recommended it.

90% right. He played his music at home through his computer speakers and his massive cubicle collection on a boombox which he listened to all day long. I guess that can be characterized as nothing. Believe it or not he thought we were the crazy ones. Lots of people have never heard music on expensive equipment but still believe there love of music is as important as the affection of those who listen on audiophile gear. He never felt sorry for the poor folks who couldn’t listen to over a thousand CDs he’d have the pick of during any work day.

Here are the boxes of CDs lovingly packed up by his boss and sent to the house. Listened to them all day long on that cheap boom box!


By the way Jimmy never got to use the wheelchair ramp that my brother Mick and his retired cop buddy built for him. Doesn’t look to bad for short notice!

Some of the best music I ever ever heard was on a transistor AM radio listening to the British Invasion, Motown and one hit wonders.

No person can listen to all of his collection. There aren’t enough hours in a day. But he listened all the time, on admittedly crappy equipment. How did he know all the words to all those songs if he didn’t listen to them. I just don’t understand the viewpoint of if you don’t listen on my level of gear it’s somehow sad. Raise your hand if you had 1,200 CDs and boxed sets on your desk at work. Don’t lie. He listened to the days new purchases there and then cycled some home. He would chuckle if he heard folks pitying him for his crazy level devotion to this stuff cause they looked down on his playback choices. And believe me. He could have afforded any amount of cash for the best gear. He just thought it was a waste.

For the record. I love gear and spend a lot of time in my favorite guitar shop. Just took down my PA with the JBL Eons for my mains that I had in the living room to use for karaoke on Emma’s Birthday with her five friends at the slumber party. That was in January. (Two days before Jimmy’s birthday). Three SM52s on mic stands for the girls. We be Crankin’!

Stereo gear is like porn to me, I love to just look at stereo amps and speakers, they are objects of beauty for me and also serve a purpose, creating great memories all of my favorite bands and movies.

Kind of like guitars, also objects of immense beauty that also serve a purpose.

All of my collecting would mean nothing to me without my wonderful Denon products.

No person can listen to all of his collection - Exactly, were all guilty.

How did he know all the words to all those songs if he didn’t listen to them.

How did Rainman know all the phone numbers of people he never called?

Now first understand there is no disrespect and I am in no-way implying he was in anyway autistic or whatever in any sense of the word but Jimbo was blessed with a very, very retentive memory. I mean, look at Mick Jagger, one of Jimbo's favorites, he still remembers every lyric of every Stones song and hundreds of other songs. That's a gift of a special mental ability of memory. Geez, I wish I can do half of that.

I just don’t understand the viewpoint of if you don’t listen on my level of gear it’s somehow sad

The specific is a comparison of a boombox to a stereo set-up, of any level, low, mid to high end.

By your posting he accumulated many high end Japanese CD pressings, 5.1 mixes and the likes and if playback is not possible for full effect as intended that is where it is sad coming from a avid music listener.

Because of the nature of my work (a computer programmer) when I did listen I personally only listened to soundtrack and classic music for the courtesy of fellow workers and for the ability of concentrated thought.

Dr. Jack, I will no longer converse on this topic because it is extremely personal to you, he's your brother and you are in mourning which is very understandable. I lost a sister two years younger than I in 2001 and to this day there is a hole in my heart which has not or ever be filled until the grace of God we will be rejoined. Your emotional wound is so very fresh I am sure the unexpected loss is so so painful. It's very evident.

Just continue what you are doing, enjoy the wonderous gifts and who knows, it may also be supportive to nieces and nephews in so many ways in the near/future times that not have been unveiled.

I heard an interview with Pete Townshend where he said that after he smashed up his gear at the end of a show he would go to the shop where they knew him and literally run in grab a guitar of the wall and run out. He’d just say “no problem, talk to you later” and leave without paying.

My friend Bob Coffey, owner of Coffey music, will see me playing a PRS or using a Blackstar amp and say “bring it home, see if it grows on you, and if you like it come in and we’ll write it up.” No money exchanged, and then he’ll let me pay it off on my own schedule. I really cherish that relationship.

Even though I’ve been playing for 45 years Jim never really saw me play. Other than borrowing one of his albums to figure out a song for the band in HS. I was fanatical about my love for the instrument but it wasn’t his thing. The last time he came down to visit I was up to 29 guitars and he wasn’t really interested in seeing them. Then when Walter Becker died I sent him a video of me playing the lead from Kid Charlemagne and asked him how to post it. I heard him pull it up on his phone and while it played he said “Wait a second....oh wow...this is very good.” One of the most beautiful moments for me because he was never really in to guitar wanking. That’s why I was amazed that he actually went to the G3 concert with John.

Yes we are all a little disturbed when it comes to this music thing. I left from NY for college in LA in ’84 with a duffel bag containing a tooth brush, a hair brush, three changes of clothes and my Les Paul Black Beauty. I absolutely remember thinking I’ll be OK cause I have my best friend with me......The guitar, of course!