-
Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy, 1973 on Atlantic
As many record collectors know, it’s increasingly rare to find a reasonably priced Led Zeppelin LP in original pressing – I found this one at Thread & Groove record fair at Mill No. 5 in Lowell – in pretty decent shape. Monster album – the fifth full length, with Over the Hills and Far Away,…
-
Don’t Step Out Of This Area
Shot of the Manhattan skyline from Queens during takeoff from LaGuardia, at Sunset.
-
Doris Day, Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera), 1968 on Harmony
Harmony was Columbia’s “budget” label, first from 1925-1931, but then revived in 1957 into the mid-seventies. While some of the budget labels from that time created poor quality LPs, Harmony’s were the same quality as equivalent Columbia releases – I love finding these. Worth it for the title track alone, there’s a lot of great…
-
Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra, Afro, 1954 on Norgran Records
While this came out in 1954 on Norman Granz’s Norgran Records, my copy is a Vinyl Me, Please reissue from 2022, via UMG Recordings/Verve. When Granz formed Verve in 1956 he carried over the Norgran (and Clef) catalog. Verve then was sold to MGM in 1960, Polydor in 1972, and then became part of Universal…
-
Raia Was, Angel I’m Frightened, 2021 (Self-Released).
Raia Was is a New York City based songwriter, vocalist, producer, and pianist. The record was produced by Autre Ne Veut and Raia Was, and the A side was released online back in 2019, but this vinyl edition came out in 2021. I got my copy via VNYL but it’s also available directly from Raia…
-
Tower Defense covers “A Forest”
-
Giant Sand, Heartbreak Pass, 2015 on New West Records
Giant Sand is an Americana / Roots band out of Tucson, AZ who formed originally back in the 80s. My copy, direct from New West, is the 180g limited edition on grey marbled vinyl – sounds great. Songs written by and produced by Howie Gelb, who has recorded with all kinds of bands and performers…
-
Fiona Apple, Extraordinary Machine, 2005 on Epic / Clean Slate
My copy is a 2022 reissue by Vinyl Me, Please. This was Apple’s third LP. The album was initially completed in 2003 with production by John Brion, but the label shelved it. Various tracks and versions started to leak online, but Apple went back into the studio and the record came out in 2005 with…
-
AIR, Moon Safari, 1998 on Caroline/Source.
The debut album from AIR (labelled as “AIR French Band” on the cover – originally released on Source in France and Caroline in the US. My copy is a 2023 reissue on Parlophone via Vinyl Me, Please. (25th anniversary edition, with listening notes by Sophie Frances Kemp). Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin are the core…
-
Translator, No Time Like Now, 1983 on Columbia / 415 Records
Second LP from San Francisco based Translator, most well known for the single “Everywhere That I’m Not” (which was on their debut album in ’82). “Un-Alone” is probably the best known from this LP. Many of the members of Translator (Larry Dekker, Steve Baron, Dave Scheff, Robert Darlington) are still active as solo artists or…
-
David Bromberg, Demon in Disguise, 1972 on Columbia.
Second full length from Bromberg. Love the version of Mr. Bojangles here maybe even more than Jerry Jeff Walker’s original. Also a great version of Tennessee Waltz. With Andy Statman, Tom Sheehan, Ken Kosek. Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann and Keith Godchaux join on Sharon, plus Phil Lesh on Demon in Disguise. My copy from a…
-
Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow, 1967 on RCA Victor
Classic with Somebody to Love and White Rabbit. My copy is a mid-seventies reissue based on the labels. Found at a record fair at Mill No. 5 in Lowell MA
-
Session at Riverside, 1957 on Capitol
Follow up (of sorts) to 1956’s “Session at Midnight” recorded in Hollywood – this one recorded at the Riverside Plaza ballroom in New York. A dozen top jazzmen join forces in a free-and-easy session that swings solidly all the way Bill Coss (liner notes) Players include Coleman Hawkins, Jerry Jerome, Earl Warren, Charlie Shavers, Dave…
-
Songs: Ohia, Live: Vanquishers (Tilburg, Netherlands. Oct 9, 2000), 2022 on Secretly Canadian
Jason Molina with Dan Sullivan, Dan Macadam, and Jeff Panall. This was the Secretly Society release for March 2022 – a 2xLP version on blue vinyl.
-
The Texas Gentlemen, TX Jelly, 2017 on New West
Debut album, recorded in FAME studios in Muscle Shoals. The Texas Gentlemen are (is?) something of a collective of studio musicians (Meet the Texas Gentlemen). My copy direct from New West Records.
-
The Magic Numbers, The Magic Numbers, 2005 on Heavenly / Capitol
The debut self-titled album from The Magic Numbers, which came out in 2005 on Capitol in the US, but on Heavenly in the UK and EMI in other parts of the world. My copy is a 2020 reissue by Heavenly / [PIAS] for Record Store Day, on clear vinyl with a bonus 7″ single. The…
-
Go-Gos, Talk Show, 1984 on I.R.S. Records
Third and final LP of their glorious 80s run, with Head Over Heels and Turn To You. Found my copy at a record fair at Mill No. 5 in Lowell.
-
Deodato / Airto, In Concert, 1974 on CTI.
Brazilian Jazz greats Eumir Deodato and Airto Moreira, recorded at Madison Square Garden April 20th, 1973. That’s the Steely Dan “Do It Again.” Engineered by Rudy Van Gelder. Found this copy in a local thrift shop – not sure what happened to the copy I had growing up but lost somewhere along the way –…