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Ry Cooder, Boomer’s Story, 1972 on Reprise
I love Ry Cooder’s career – so many different threads, all of which are wonderful. This was his third studio album in a roots/Americana/blues tradition. Randy Newman guests on piano on “Rally ‘Round The Flag” and Sleepy John Estes on “President Kennedy.” The title track gets credited to “Traditional” here but is actually “The Railroad…
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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 the UK . Wonderful to hear their on Muddy Waters’ “I Got My Mojo Working” and Ellas McDaniel’s “Road Runner” – great quality pressing. My copy via…
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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. Not sure if Lee Konitz couldn’t appear under his own name for contractual reasons (he was recording with Gerry Mulligan Quartet and solo at this same time).…
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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 at Reading Festival 2005, a remix of “Rescue,” and some acoustic versions. Great pressing and package. My copy via the discount rack at Newbury Comics in the…
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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 of the Be Good Tanyas, often letting their albums Blue Horse and Chinatown run all day while working. Here they reunite on an album via Cinquefoil Records,…
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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 name?). The front page of the insert lyrics and credits sheet, which shows through the die cut “i” in the cover, is Fred Tomaselli’s Gravity in Four…
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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 followed 2 years later. How Many Mics, Ready or Not, Killing Me Softly, No Woman No Cry – so much of this album is just perfect. It’s…
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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 “This Time” and “Listen Like Thieves” which are also great. My copy via Beverly Coin & Jewelry in Beverly MA.
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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 Taj Mahal, Bill Payne, Jim Keltner, and Lowell George. My copy via a record fair at Mill No 5 in Lowell MA
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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 Flint, Johnny Almond, Alan Skidmore, and Dennis Healey. London Records was the US distributor for UK label Decca. Clapton left to form Cream with Ginger Baker and…
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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 by Martin Pradler. Gets its name (and inspiration) from Smithsonian Folkways FA2028: “Get On Board: Negro Folksongs By The Folkmasters” – which you can still get as…
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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”) but this is the first time I’ve seen a full length LP. By 1990 they were leaning a bit more heavy / hard rock than their earlier…
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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 record. I had the 12″ single of “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)” when it came out, but didn’t find the full LP until recently –…
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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 long time away from them. On Honky Tonk Heroes most of the songs are Billy Joe Shaver songs and the record was Jennings’ first after renegotiating his…
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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) which looks and sounds great.
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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 Hoff (bass), Jorge Baibi (drums), and Charley Damski (keys) joining on most tracks (along with a few others). My copy via Newbury Comics in the Natick Mall
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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. All song s written by Coltrane. Produced (“Prepared for release”) by Alice Coltrane and Ed Michel. Engineered by Bob Simpson (not Rudy Gelder like the other quartet…
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Otis Redding, The Immortal Otis Redding, 1968 on ATCO
The second of a number of posthumous releases that came after Redding died in December 1967 – recordings made during the spring, summer and fall of 1967. Atlantic owned the rights to Redding’s catalog and all unreleased masters, so issued these albums under the ATCO label in the US. Personnel not credited on the release,…