Author: John EckmanPage 19 of 102

Peter Schilling, Error in the System, 1983 on Elektra

Most well known for “Major Tom (Coming Home)” which was a top 20 hit in the US. Unfortunately the runaway success of that single relegated Schilling to something…

Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On, 1971 on Tamla.

My copy is a late 90s reissue on 180g vinyl with replicated artwork, which I picked up at a record fair at Mill No. 5 in Lowell. This…

Johnny Hodges and Earl “Fatha” Hines, Stride Right, 1966 on Verve.

Produced by Creed Taylor, and recorded January 14th, 1966 at Rudy Van Gelder’s in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Hodges (alto sax) and Hines (piano & organ) are joined…

Gerry Mulligan Quartet, Paris Concert, 1955 on World Pacific Records

Great find via Mel’s Record Shop in Amesbury MA. Recorded live at the Pleyel Hall June 1st, 1954, with the valve trombone of Bob Brookmeyer replacing Chet Baker’s trumpet,…

Various Artists, AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex, 2020 on BMG.

Hal Wilner produced tribute to Marc Bolan & T. Rex, featuring a wide variety of artists and styles. Wilner was also said to be working on a documentary…

Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park, 2013 on Mercury

My copy is the 2023 Vinyl Me Please reissue (in the VMP Essentials, not VMP Country track) on “green galaxy” vinyl. Love Musgraves’ songwriting – this was her…

Ball and Pivot, Ball and Pivot EP, 1984 on Z Club Records

Ball and Pivot were a self-described “glam-rock” band in the early 80s in Boston, featuring Tom Hauck, B Wilkinson, and Paul Caruso (all of whom had also played…

Willie Nelson, Country Willie: His Own Songs, 1965 on RCA Victor

Nelson’s third LP, and his first for RCA Victor. Look how clean cut he is here, long before outlaw Willie. My copy is part of the Vinyl Me…

Chrissie Hynde, Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, 2021 on BMG

I’m a sucker for a cover album, especially one dedicated to a specific artist. I’m also a huge fan of both Bob Dylan and Chrissie Hynde, so it…

Alison Krauss & Union Station, Paper Airplane, 2011 on Rounder Records

You really can’t go wrong with anything Alison Krauss touches. Got this one directly from Rounder online. Great versions of Lori McKenna‘s “My Love Follows You Where You…

Michael Jackson, Thriller, 1982 on Epic

I remember listening to this right when it came out. I was young enough to not yet know I was supposed to reject Michael as too popular or…

The Isley Brothers, 3+3 featuring: That Lady, 1973 on T-Neck

The Isley Brothers is one of those bands i didn’t know well but have started to appreciate more as I collect vinyl – whenever i find a record…

Nancy Sinatra, Boots, 1966 on Reprise.

Sinatra’s debut full-length on Frank Sinatra’s Reprise label, produced by Lee Hazlewood and arranged & conducted by Billy Strange. My copy is one of the Light in the…

Angel Olsen, Big Time, 2022 on Jagjaguwar.

I’ve long been a fan of Angel Olsen, going back to Burn Your Fire For No Witness in 2014. This release was a Secretly Society selection in June…

Billy Strings, Home, 2019 on Rounder Records

This was the 4th LP from Billy Strings (the first two with Don Julin) and his first on Rounder – it won Best Bluegrass Album for 2021. I…

Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend, 2008 on XL Recordings.

Debut album from Vampire Weekend, including Oxford Comma and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. How could I not love a band with grooves like this and references to punctuation?…

Various Artists, Ruby Trax: The NME’s Roaring Forty, 1992 on New Musical Express.

This was a 3xLP box set issued to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the New Musical Express – which ran in print from 1952 to 2018 when it…

Null and Void, Happiness and Contempt, 1980 on M.A.O. Records.

Null and Void were a self-described “early 80s SoCal synth wave band.” This was their debut EP, recorded at Devon Sound – it’s been reissued by Medical Records…

Muddy Waters, McKinley Morganfield A.K.A. Muddy Waters, 1971 on Chess Records.

2xLP collection of songs from 1948 to 1964 – hugely influential post-war era Chicago blues. Liner notes by Pete Welding. There are a ton of Muddy Waters compilations…

Johnnie Taylor, Wanted: One Soul Singer, 1967 on Stax

Taylor replaced Sam Cooke in The Soul Stirrers before becoming a solo artist, and went on to have a big it in the mid-seventies with “Disco Lady” (1976)….