Tag: Columbia
-

Leonard Cohen, Songs of Leonard Cohen, 1968 on Columbia
You don’t often find Leonard Cohen LPs in record stores as people tend to hold on to them to the end. Even if you haven’t had a turntable in years you’re reluctant to give these up. Cohen is one of those artists I came to a bit later in life but feels like he’s always…
-

Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Almost Blue, 1981 on Columbia
Recorded in Nashville, this is Costello’s covers album of country greats – including Hank Williams and George Jones. I love Costello in his Americana / roots / country incarnations, and I love cover records, so this is among my favorites from him. My copy via Academy Records in New York City.
-

Weather Report, I Sing The Body Electric, 1972 on Columbia
Joe Zawinul, Wayne Shorter, Miroslav Vitous, Eric Gravatt, and guests, in a foundational fusion album from the early 70s. This was their second album after a self-titled debut. Side A is new studio work, Side B is live from a concert in Tokyo. I’m certain I actually had a copy of this back in 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 his third solo LP and first on Columbia.
-

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 the sixties and marking suggesting it was pressed at Carrollton with metalwork from Terre Haute. This was Dylan’s third LP and is often seen as his turn…
-

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 was his self-titled debut, including “The Holdup” (cowritten with George Harrison) and (apparently) uncredited Harmonica by Bob Dylan on “Sammy’s Song.” There’s also great versions of “Dehlia,”…
-

Bob Dylan, Blonde on Blonde, 1966 on Columbia
Dylan’s catalog is so extensive and so amazing it’s hard to keep track. Most of it just feels like it’s always just been there – part of the atmosphere. Blonde on Blonde came out in 1966, which feels impossibly early, even given Dylan started releasing albums in 1962. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (aka…
-

Simon & Garfunkel, Bookends, 1968 on Columbia
I’m not sure there are any missteps anywhere in the Simon & Garfunkel songbook (or even across Paul Simon’s solo work), but if there is it isn’t on this LP. I didn’t ask to be an old man Produced by Simon, Garfunkel, and Roy Halee who also Engineered. My copy via a record fair at…
-

Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, and Steve Stills; Super Session, 1968 on Columbia
Really one of the opening salvos in the “supergroup” trend of the late sixties and early seventies, after Al Kooper left Blood, Sweat & Tears and Stills was in transition out of Buffalo Springfield. It features Kooper throughout, with Bloomfield on side one and Stills on side two. Not sure why the cover credits “Steve”…
-

Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home, 1965 on Columbia
This was actually one of the first Dylan albums I heard end to end, so I was glad to find a good copy at Looney Tunes II in Kingston RI. Fun to find vinyl older that you are that is still in good shape. (Maybe better shape than I am?). Look at that track list:…
-

Adele, 19, 2008 on XL Recordings / Columbia
Her massive debut album, originally released in 2008. My copy is a later reissue but I’m not sure what year it was issued. Included the hit “Chasing Pavements” as well as a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” that many think is her own. Hard to believe how fully formed she came…
-

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…
-

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…
-

Herbie Hancock, Quartet, 1982 on Columbia
Hancock with Ron Carter on Bass, Tony Williams on Drums, and Wynton Marsalis on Trumpet – recorded in 1981 at CBS Sony Studios in Tokyo. Great versions of ‘Round Midnight, Parade. A “digital recording” then mastered back to vinyl – I don’t necessarily seek those out but have a few from the 80s Via a…
-

Bob Dylan, Nashville Skyline, 1969 on Columbia
Produced by Bob Johnston, liner notes by Johnny Cash – Dylan plays here with Nashville musicians including Bob Wilson, Charlie Daniels, Charlie McCoy, Kenny Buttrey, Norman Blake, and Pete Drake. Via Mill No. 5 record fair
-

Bob Dylan, Another Side of Bob Dylan, 1964 on Columbia.
Bob Dylan, Another Side of Bob Dylan, 1964 on Columbia. My pressing in an early 70s reissue (based on the labels). Wonderful early folkie Dylan with Chimes of Freedom, It Ain’t Me Babe, All I Really Want To Do, and My Back Pages. Found via a record fair at Mill No. 5


