Author: John EckmanPage 17 of 102

Sturgill Simpson, High Top Mountain, 2013 on High Top Mountain Records.

This was Sturgill’s solo debut, self-funded and produced by Dave Cobb, with an outlaw country feel and some Nashville session players like Hargus “Pig” Robbins on keys and…

Various Artists, Newbury Comics 30th Anniversary, 2008 on Rhino.

Promotional record originally handed out at Newbury Comics on Record Store Day in 2008. I found a copy at Vinyl Destination in Lowell, MA. Not sure what the…

James Blood Ulmer, Free Lancing, 1981 on Columbia.

A happy and accidental find at Academy Records in New York. Ulmer had played on several Ornette Coleman releases before going out on his own – this was…

Brinsley Schwarz, Silver Pistol, 1971 on United Artists

Brinsley Schwarz is one of those acts that challenges discogs users, because there is both an individual named Brinsley Schwarz, bottom right photo on the rear jacket, and…

Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’, 1964 on Columbia

My copy (via Beverly Coin & Jewel) is a later reissue – the red and gold Columbia labels from the seventies rather than the “2 eye” version in…

Various Artists, Magnolia Record Club Presents NPR Tiny Desk Concerts, 2022 on Dualtone

Sadly, heard last week Bob Boilen is retiring from NPR Music. This record collects some strong performances from the Tiny Desk concert series – but really there are…

Charles Bradley, Victim of Love, 2013 on Dunham / Daptone.

Charles Bradley is a great story – picked out of relative obscurity into a music career in his early 50s. Sadly he died (of stomach cancer) in 2017….

Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel (aka Peter Gabriel III, or Melt), 1980 on Mercury

The third in the series of self-titled releases Gabriel put out between 1977 and 1982, Melt features lots of complex synthesizer and percussion work, with guests like Robert…

Al Kooper, Naked Songs, 1973 on Columbia

I’m a big fan of Al Kooper‘s work throughout his long career: from the Blues Project and the first Blood, Sweat and Tears album to Super Session and…

Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, 1963 on Columbia

Makes sense following Llewyn Davis and Billy Bragg to have an early Dylan album – definitely one of my favorites and an iconic cover. This is from the…

Billy Bragg, Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy, 30th Anniversary Edition, 2022 on Cooking Vinyl

Record Store Day 2022 release on Cooking Vinyl, combining the original Spy Vs. Spy EP from 1983 with a live set at Union Chapel London June 5th 2013….

Mary Gauthier at Fruitlands

Mary Gauthier singing Drag Queens in Limousines, at Fruitlands in Harvard MA My wife first saw Mary Gauthier in the off season at the Mews in Provincetown at…

Various Artists, Inside Llewyn Davis (Original Soundtrack Recording), 2013 on Nonesuch

My copy is the 2023 Vinyl Me Please reissue on “Seaglass Wave” vinyl. Wonderful soundtrack from the Coen brothers movie, with lots of star Oscar Isaac but also…

The Blasters, Non Fiction, 1983 on Slash

I had (and wore out) a cassette copy of one of the Slash records compilations that had Red Rose and Long White Cadillac on it, so hard to…

David Bromberg, David Bromberg, 1971 on Columbia

To me, David Bromberg is a hidden gem – he’s not exactly unkown, but people don’t realize just how great so much of what he’s recorded is. This…

Clark Terry, It’s What’s Happenin’: The Varitone Sound of Clark Terry, 1967 on Impulse

Clark Terry with George Duvivier, Dave Bailey, and Don Friedman. Liner notes by Nat Hentoff, produced by Bob Thiele. Impulse was an imprint of ABC Records: “The New…

The Replacements, Unsuitable for Airplay: The Lost KFAI Concert, 2022 on Twin/Tone.

Recorded live at the 7th St Entry on January 23rd, 1981 and released on vinyl as part of Record Store Day in April of 2022, this was also…

Nikki Lane, Highway Queen, 2017 on New West

This was Nikki Lane‘s third studio album and her second on New West. Not sure where she first got called the “First Lady of Outlaw Country” (or whether…

Archie James Cavanaugh, Black and White Raven, 1980 on Black and White Raven, Inc.

Self-released in 1980 but reissued by the Numero Group, Black and White Raven mixes Yacht Rock, Disco, and Gospel with some flavor of Cavanaugh’s native Tlingit heritage. Lots…

Neil Young, Harvest, 1972 on Reprise

Definitely one of my desert island discs (unless I can cheat and count Decade as one release), Harvest came out in 1972. This would be an absolute classic…