Tag: Vinyl Me Please Essentials
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Joni Mitchell, The Hissing of Summer Lawns, 1975 on Asylum
Mitchell’s seventh studio LP and third on Asylum – continuing to draw on more jazz-rock influences and more synthesizers (Moog, ARP). Some find it a step down from 1974’s Court and Spark but I really love this record and this presing. My copy is the 2024 Vinyl Me, Please reissue by Rhino in the Vinyl…
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Nilsson, Pussy Cats, 1974 on RCA Victor
I first came to discover Harry Nilsson via The Point!, the fable accompanied by an animated film adaptation that aired on ABC in 1971. (I was too young for it at the time but came upon it later). I then came to realize all the songs he was responsible for and how deep and broad…
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Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Texas Flood, 1983 on Epic
Hard to believe given how fully formed the sound is, but this was the debut album for Vaughan and Double Trouble. Said to have been recorded in two days with no overdubs. What a fantastic debut: “Love Struck Baby,” “Pride and Joy,” and the title track lead off side one. The band here is Vaughan…
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Broadcast, Tender Buttons, 2005 on Warp Records
This was the third studio album from Broadcast, at this point largely a proect of Trish Keenan and James Cargill as a duo, credited on the album as James & Trish. Tender Buttons was also a book of poetry by Gertrude Stein that came out in 1914 – I took a flyer on the album…
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Willie Nelson, Phases and Stages, 1974 on Atlantic
This was Nelson’s 17th studio album and second (and last) of the Atlantic era, following Shotgun Willie, produced by Jerry Wexler and recorded at Muscle Shoals in Alabama. As the listening notes explain, while Nelson disclaimed the autobiographical elements of the record, “when you make . . . the most devastating divorce record of all…
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Gus Cannon, Walk Right In, 1963 on Stax
Jug Band leader Gus Cannon started recording in the late 20s as “Banjo Joe” and reappeared as part of the folk revival in the 50s on Folkways. This was his first and only Stax LP released in 1963. “Walk Right In” the song became a hit for the Rooftop Singers – who were credited with…
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Creedence Clearwater Revival, Willy and the Poor Boys, 1969 on Fantasy
This was the fourth LP from CCR, and the third released in 1969 (one in January, one in August, and this one in November) – talk about striking while the iron is hot / saturating the market. John Fogerty, older bother Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford are in fine form, including “Down On…
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Jim Sullivan, U.F.O., 1969 on Monnie Records
im Sullivan’s U.F.O. originally came out on Monnie back in 1969 (basically a self-funded pressing), and then was reissued with the title Jim Sullivan (with a different mix) by Century City Records in 1970. It was out of print until Light in the Attic reissued it in 2010, forty years later. Sullivan famously disappeared in…
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Herbie Hancock, Sextant, 1973 on Columbia
1973’s Sextant was the last LP with the so-called Mwandishi-era sextet: Bennie Maupin, Eddie Henderson, Julian Priester, Buster Williams, and Billy Hart. It was also his debut on Columbia after Blue Note and Warner Bros. Columbia would also release Head Hunters later the same year. Great, funky collection – side 2 is one track, the…
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Labelle, Nightbirds, 1974 on Epic
Labelle were a trio including Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash, and grew out of Patti Labelle and the Bluebells. They are the original “Lady Marmalade” power trio – and this was their best-selling album. Allen Toussaint produced and The Meters supplement (replace?) Labelle’s usual band. My copy is the January 2024 Vinyl Me…
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Grateful Dead, Anthem of the Sun, 1968 on Warner Bros / Seven Arts
Second LP from the Dead, assembled together by Garcia and Lesh out of a mixture of live and studio recordings to make a new hybrid. Very much a psychedelic and experimental record, as the cover and song titles would suggest. My copy is the Vinyl Me, Please reissue from 2023, which was manufactured for Rhino.…
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Sly & The Family Stone, There’s A Riot Going On, 1971 on Epic
Fifth studio LP from Sly and the Family Stone, recorded in 1970 and 1971. Includes “Family Affair” and the title track. Generally gets cited as a kind of turning point for the bad into darker and more experimental direction – more drum machines, more overdubbing, with Sly playing most (all?) of the album’s instrumentation. Whatever…
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Bruce Springsteen, Nebraska, 1982 on Columbia
Springsteen’s sixth studio album, which he recorded himself on a four track to use as demos but then decided to release them directly. (Somewhere in the vaults exist at least some of these songs in full band versions, but they’ve not surfaced yet). Springsteen has cites as inspiration both the story of Charles Starkweather (who…
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Ray Barretto, Acid, 1968 on Fania
Barretto played with Charlie Parker, José Curbelo and (for four years) Tito Puente. His debut on Fania records, it’s a great boogaloo recording bringing latin jazz to rhythm & blues. “Deeper Shade of Soul” was sampled by Urban Dance Squad on their debut single back in 1990. My copy is the 2023 Vinyl Me Please…