Category: music
-

Big Red Machine, How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?, 2021 on Jagjaguwar
Big Red Machine, How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?, 2021 on Jagjaguwar My copy via Secretly Society on red, white, and blue tricolor vinyl. What a great new album from the combined efforts of Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Aaron Dessner (The National) with guests including Robin Peckold (Fleet Foxes), Anaïs Mitchell, Taylor…
-

Jessica Pratt, Quiet Signs, 2019 on Mexican Summer.
Jessica Pratt, Quiet Signs, 2019 on Mexican Summer. She has a really idiosyncratic voice – this was her first studio recording but it avoids becoming overly polished
-

John Prine, Fair & Square, 2005 on Oh Boy Records
John Prine, Fair & Square, 2005 on Oh Boy Records My copy is the “Irish” edition on green and orange vinyl (2xLP) put out this year via the Oh Boy store directly Amazing how great a songwriter Prine was all the way up to the end.
-

Simple Minds, Once Upon A time, 1985 on A&M.
Simple Minds, Once Upon A time, 1985 on A&M. Great mid-80s album from Simple Minds: followup to Sparkle in the Rain. Alive and Kicking, Sanctify Yourself, All the Things She Said Produced by Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain via Anntiques in Ipswich MA
-

The Psychedelic Furs, Mirror Moves, 1984 on Columbia/CBS.
The Psychedelic Furs, Mirror Moves, 1984 on Columbia/CBS. This was the fourth LP from the Butler brothers and company – The Ghost In You, Heaven, Heartbeat. They’re out touring now – coming to the Cabot in Beverly in mid-November (sold out). Via The Record Exchange in Salem MA
-

Phil Ochs, Chords of Fame, 1976 on A&M.
Phil Ochs, Chords of Fame, 1976 on A&M. Political folk in the tradition of Seeger Guthrie et al, 2xLP gateway with great liner notes by Ed Sanders via Everything But The House
-

John Mayall, Back To The Roots, 1971 on Polydor.
John Mayall, Back To The Roots, 1971 on Polydor. 2xLP collection – I think this was the first record I heard from John Mayall – hooked from the beginning of Prisons on the Road (good sone for commuting in traffic). Includes on some tracks Larry Taylor, Eric Clapton, Mick Taylor, Sugarcane Harris, Johnny Almond. All…
-

Cannonball Adderley and the Bossa Rio Sextet with Sergio Mendes, Cannonball’s Bossa Nova, 1963 on Riverside.
Cannonball Adderley and the Bossa Rio Sextet with Sergio Mendes, Cannonball’s Bossa Nova, 1963 on Riverside. My copy is a Capitol Records reissue from 1968 without the “Cannonball’s Bossa Nova” title from the original Riverside edition. Gets criticism for jumping on the Bossa Nova bandwagon but I think it’s a lovely LP Via Light of…
-

Thelonious Monk, Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington, 1956 on Riverside.
Thelonious Monk, Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington, 1956 on Riverside. My copy is an 1982 pressing in the Original Jazz Classics series – jacket reproduced from the 1958 reissue.
-

Durand Jones & The Indications, Private Space, 2021 on Dead Oceans
Durand Jones & The Indications, Private Space, 2021 on Dead Oceans Via Secretly Society for August 2021 Lovely retro soul for the times
-

Painted Palms, Horizons, 2015 on Polyvinyl
Painted Palms, Horizons, 2015 on Polyvinyl Second full length from chillwave duo of Reese Donahue and Christopher Prudhomme Definitely 80s new wave influences here – I dig it via VNYL
-

Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest, 2009 on Warp Records.
Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest, 2009 on Warp Records. My copy is the 2021 Vinyl Me, Please reissue and sounds wonderful Named after an island in the Elizabeth Islands near Martha’s Vineyard Artwork by William J. O’Brien
-

The Blasters, Hard Line, 1985 on Slash / Warner Bros.
The Blasters, Hard Line, 1985 on Slash / Warner Bros. Dave and Phil Alvin and Co – great album with “Dark Night” (“people sitting on porches / thinking how things used to be”) and a version of Sampson & Delilah
-

Simple Minds, Sparkle in the Rain, 1984 on A&M.
Simple Minds, Sparkle in the Rain, 1984 on A&M. Produced by Steve Lillywhite – Up on the Catwalk, Waterfront, Speed Your Love To Me. They’re not just the band that did that song from The Breakfast Club or the one with the lead singer who was married to Chrissie Hynde (they divorced in 1990).
-

The Knack, Get the Knack, 1979 on Capitol
The Knack, Get the Knack, 1979 on Capitol Debut album – great late seventies rock/pop, trending into New Wave – My Sharona, of course, but also Good Girls Don’t Lyrics don’t necessarily hold up as well as the music via Light of Day Records in Jamaica Plain
-

Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye, Diana & Marvin, 1973 on Motown.
Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye, Diana & Marvin, 1973 on Motown. Triptych sleeve opens from the center in front. Duets LP from two superstars of the early 70s
-

Merle Haggard and The Strangers, I’m A Lonesome Fugitive, 1967 on Capitol.
Merle Haggard and The Strangers, I’m A Lonesome Fugitive, 1967 on Capitol. My copy is the Vinyl Me, Please Country reissue from 2021. Harmony vocals by Bonnie Owens and guitar by Glenn Campbell (and others). Great pressing
-

Ray Brown, This is Ray Brown, 1958 on Verve
Ray Brown, This is Ray Brown, 1958 on Verve My copy is an 80s Japanese pressing by Polydor K.K., part of the Original Verve Jazz Classics series. Includes Oscar Peterson (playing organ rather than piano on some tracks), Herb Ellis, and Osie Johnson plus Jerome Richardson on flute My favorite bassist in any genre Via…
