Author: John EckmanPage 12 of 102

The Zombies, Begin Here, 1965 on Decca

My copy is a later reissue (2013) on Repertoire Records, half-speed mastered at Abbey Road Studios from HD 24 bit audio – the original was on Decca in…

Gil Evans, Gil Evans & Ten, 1957 on Prestige

My copy is the 2023 reissue by Craft Recordings for Record Store Day. Players: Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, this was Gil Evan’s fist recording as a pianist….

Echo and the Bunnymen, B-Sides and Live (2001-2005), 2022 on Demon Records

Released digitally in 2007 by Cooking Vinyl, but reissued on vinyl by Demon Records for Record Store Day 2022, on clear vinyl. A number of songs from Live…

Jolie Holland & Samantha Parton, Wildflower Blues, 2017 on Cinquefoil

Holland and Parton were the original core of the Be Good Tanyas, later joined by Trish Klein and Frazey Ford. I was (and still am) a massive fan…

The Magnetic Fields, i, 2004 on Nonesuch

All the songs on the album start with the letter i, a very Stephin Merritt thing to do. (Is this also related to the “i” in his first…

Fugees, The Score, 1996 on Columbia / Ruffhouse

Very hard to find original pressings of this – my copy is a 2021 reissue. This is an absolute must have, alongside The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which…

INXS, Listen Like Thieves, 1985 on Atlantic

This was INXS’ fifth studio album, but had their first US breakthrough hit with “What You Need.” Recorded at Rhinoceros in Sydney and produced by Chris Thomas. Includes…

Bonnie Raitt, Takin My Time, 1973 on Warner Bros

Raitt’s third full length album, produced by John Hall. Great versions of Mose Allison’s “Everybody’s Cryin’ Mercy” and Jackson Browne’s “I Thought I was a Child.” Guests include…

John Mayall with Eric Clapton, Blues Breakers, 1966 on London Records

This was the debut studio album for Mayall and the Bluesbreakers but credited to John Mayall with Eric Clapton. The band here includes Mayall, Clapton, John McVie, Hughie…

Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder , Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, 2022 on Nonesuch

How could you possibly go wrong with Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder together? Joachim Cooder joins on drums and bass. Produced by Ry Cooder; recorded, mixed and mastered…

The Chesterfield Kings, The Berlin Wall of Sound, 1990 on Mirror Records

The Chesterfield Kings were a garage-rock band from Rochester NY fronted by Greg Prevost. i randomly found a single of theirs in the mid-eighties (“She Told Me Lies”)…

Dead or Alive, Youthquake, 1985 on Epic

Dead or Alive sometimes get put in the one hit wonder category, based on the massive success of “You Spin Me Round” but this is really a great…

Waylon Jennings,Honky Tonk Heroes, 1973 on RCA Victor

I grew up with Waylon & Willie commonly playing around our household and in the last decade have come back to appreciate and collect their albums after a…

Jack Elliott, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, 1961 on Prestige International

One of the few duplicates I hang onto, as I have a repressing (Hard Travelin’) but this is the Vinyl Me Please reissue (as part of VMP Country)…

Sharon Van Etten, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, 2022 on Jagjaguwar

Van Etten’s sixth full length and fourth on Jagjaguwar, this was one of my favorite albums of 2022. Van Etten produced along with Daniel Knowles, with musicians Devin…

John Coltrane, Sun Ship, 1971 on Impulse!

Recorded in August of 1965 at RCA Victor studios in NYC, and released (posthumously) in 1971. Jimmy Garrison (bass), Elvin Jones (drums), and McCoy Tyner (piano) with Coltrane….

Otis Redding, The Immortal Otis Redding, 1968 on ATCO

The second posthumous releases after Redding died in December 1967 – recordings made during the spring, summer and fall of 1967. Atlantic owned the rights to Redding’s catalog…

Various Artists, Bills & Aches & Blues, 2021 on 4AD

Compilation 4AD issued in celebration of their 40th anniversary. It’s a bit hit-and-miss, as such collections often are – for some reason the two Breeder’s tracks (Tune-Yards take…

Kristin Hersh, Crooked, 2019 on Fire Records

Crooked actually first came out in 2009 (digital/online) or 2010 (CD), but this Fire Records issue for Record Store Day 2019 was the first vinyl issue. Hersh wrote…

R.E.M., Green, 1988 on Warner Bros.

R.E.M.’s sixth studio album, which came out my freshman year of college – I believe the last time I saw them live was on the Green tour at…