Titled as The Oscar Peterson Big 6, this is Peterson with Milt Jackson, Joe Pass, Toots Thielemans, Louis Bellson, and Niels Pederson – produced by Norman Granz, and recorded at the Montreux Jazz festival on July 16th, 1975.
My copy—via Fin Du Vinyle in Montréal Québec—is a Canadian pressing (Made in Canada by RCA Limited from master recordings owned or controlled by RCA Records).
First of two Mose Allison LPs out on Elektra Musician (the other was Lessons in Living) and (per the jacket notes) the 19th Mose Allison album. Allison plays Yamaha electric piano as well as traditional acoustic piano.
Allison is supported by Joe Farrell (tenor sax, flute), Phil Upchurch (guitar), Putter Smith (bass), John Dentz (drums), and Ron Powell (congas, percussion). Produced by Esmond Edwards.
My copy—via La Fin Du Vinyle in Montréal Québec—is a Canadian Cinram pressing (CR on label, Mfd and Distributed by WEA Music of Canada Ltd).
This is Rockpile’s one and only studio album released under their name in 1980. The band includes Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams – though other material from Rockpile’s repertoire would come out under the name of Dave Edmunds or Nick Lowe solo albums.
The whole constellation of Nick Lowe / Dave Edmunds / Elvis Costello / Brinsley Schwarz created some really amazing music – pub rock is the label sometimes attached but that can be a bit limiting.
My copy—via La Fin Du Vinyle in Montréal Québec— is a Canadian pressing (Manufactured by CBS Records Canada Ltd).
Recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival July 21st, 1982 with Jack Bruce (bass), Billy Cobham (drums), Lou Donaldson (alto sax), and Eric Gale (guitar) joining Allison.
Elektra Musician was a jazz oriented subsidiary of Elektra/Asylum, and started in 1982 – it was absorbed into Nonesuch in 1994.
My copy—via Aux 33 Tours in Montréal QC—is a Speciality pressing with a promo stamp and printed promotional use label.
San Francisco / Bay Area new wave / rock band including Jack Casady and (my former colleague) Nick Buck (from Hot Tuna) with Brian Marnell and Paul Zahl (who replaced founding drummer Bill Gibson, who went on to be in Huey Lewis and the News).
This was out of print for a long time but was reissued on CD in 2005, and a reissue of all of SVT’s work (“Always Comes Back – The Authorized Recordings”) was recently reissued in 2020 on Liberation Hall.
My copy via Aux 33 Tours in Montréal Québec. A bit surprised (but happy) to find a rare-ish Bay Area record in francophone Canada. I’ve since scored a second copy locally as well at the Record Exchange in Salem.
Not entirely sure on the year of release here, but “Pleins Feux Sur” (which translates as “spotlight on”) is a series of early 70s Canada releases on Philips. You can see some of the other releases in the series (“egalement disponible dans la même série”) in the gatefold.
My copy via Cheap Thrills in Montréal, Québec. I was concerned about some of the sun damage on the cover (it was originally all one consistent yellow) but it is in pretty good shape – some light edge warp but nothing that makes it unplayable.
Recorded in October 1985 in Monster Holland, this was released on the Timeless label. Baker is joined by Michel Graillier (piano), Ricardo Del Fra (bass), and John Engels (drums). That means it was recorded after Baker’s “re-emergence” at the Free Jazz Festival in Rio in September 1985.
The dedication is “Thanks to Peter Huijts, without him this recording had not been possible” (though Huijts is not one of the credited producers, which are Makoto Kimata & Wim Wigt).
My copy—via the Worcester Record Riot—is a 2022 reissue by Music on Vinyl, a numbered limited edition on pink 180g vinyl.
Third studio full-length from New Jersey’s own The Smithereens: Pat DiNizio, Jim Babjak, Dennis Diken, and Mike Mesaros. Belinda Carlisle guests on “Blue Period” and Maria Vidal adds background vocals on “A Girl Like You.”
Apparently the title is inspired by Spinal Tap and Ocean’s 11, but there are only 10 songs. These 10 go to 11? This is the same band that named a song “Especially For You” on their second album, after their first album was called Especially for You. I love all of them.
My copy—via the Worcester Record Riot—is a Speciality Pressing on Capital rainbow-edge labels from the 80s, with original inner liner.
Sometimes just referred to as Stan Getz & Bill Evans, this was recorded in 1964 but not released until 1974. Ron Carter (A side) and Richard Davis (B side) on bass, with Elvin Jones on drums. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Englewood Cliffs NJ and produced by Creed Taylor.
There’s a whole series of “Previously Unreleased Recordings” advertised on the rear jacket. Beautiful sounding LP well packaged.
My copy—via Worcester Record Riot—is of the 2024 UMG/UMe reissue, overseen by Chad Kassem from Acoustic Sounds.
Seventh studio album for satirist/songwriter Randy Newman, including “I Love L.A.” and “The Blues” which was a duet with Paul Simon. Produced by Lenny Waronker and Russ Titelman and recorded in North Hollywood.
My copy—via the Worcester Record Riot—is an Allied pressing from 1983 with the “lined” WB labels and inner liner. Its got an original hype sticker promoting the duet with Simon, a “promotional use only” gold stamp, and one of those St. Mark’s sounds stickers that are notoriously difficult to remove (so I’ve not even tried on this one).
Debut album from Athens GA indie band the B-52’s. So amazing how fully-formed they were on this debut LP, with “Rock Lobster” and “Dance This Mess Around.” This is a must have for an 80s music fan.
The original line-up here: Katie Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson and Ricky Wilson. Sadly Ricky Wilson died of AIDS-related illness in the mid 80s.
My copy—via the Worcester Record Riot—is a Winchester pressing on the tiled WB logo labels and the printed inner.
First live album from Bowie, recorded at the Tower Theater outside Philadelphia, on the first leg of the Diamond Dogs tour.
Reissued in 2005 (on CD) with a new mix by Tony Visconti (with a 2017 3xLP version).
My copy—via the Worcester Record Riot—is an RCA Indianapolis pressing on the orange labels.
Seventh UB40 full length, on A&M in the US and DEP International / Virgin elsewhere. Love the title track as well as “Sing our Own Song,” with the rallying cry of the African National Congress (“Amandla Awethu”).
Got to see them around this time in Minneapolis – what a fantastic live show they put on, including many of the songs here.
My copy—via the Worcester Record Riot—is an Indianapolis pressing on A&M labels with the original inner liner.
One of the foundational albums of my youth – not just the “In Your Eyes” boombox scene from Say Anything, but really every track here. Sounds fantastic on vinyl. Definitely one of my desert island discs, provided I can bring a turntable.
In the UK this was issued on Charisma (PG5) and Virgin but in the US it was out on Geffen. It was reissued as a multi-CD / box set in 2012. On the basis of how great this album is I went back and learned the whole Peter Gabriel solo catalogue and even the early Genesis – on top of all the Womad / world music stuff he was also part of.
My copy, via the Worcester Record Riot, is an RCA Music Service club pressing from the RCA plant in Indianapolis.
Second studio LP from Lauper, following the massively successful She’s So Unusual which had already gone four times platinum.
Covering “What’s Going On” was, well, a choice. But I love the “Iko Iko” and the originals: the title track still makes me have all the feels, and “Boy Blue” – which was released as a single, raised money for AIDS research. (The whole album is dedicated “with love to my beautiful boy blue” – Gregory Natal.
Lots of guests here, perhaps as a result of her stratospheric success on the first LP: Billy Joel, Aimee Mann, The Bangles, Pee Wee Herman, Anton Fig, Adrian Belew, Nile Rodgers, and Robert Holmes.
If you haven’t seen it I recommend Let the Canary Sing, a documentary on Lauper (currently on Paramount Plus).
My copy—via the Worcester Record Riot—is an early Pitman pressing on the Portrait labels with the original printed inner.
Third LP from Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, which included Stephen, Sharon and Cedella plus Ziggy, all children of Bob and Rita Marley (who also adds backing vocals). Guests include Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth. Chris Franz and Weymouth also produced.
Loved this album when it came out – fairly certain I had a copy on vinyl in 1988, but jah knows where it ended up. This copy—via the Worcester Record Riot—is a Specialty pressing (see the E A S T around the spindle hole) with the original printed inner liner.
Third album in the so-called Berlin trilogy (after Low and “Heroes”) in collaboration with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti. Recorded in Switzerland and New York city, and the first Bowie album to feature Adrian Belew alongside Carlos Alomar.
A remastered Lodger came out in 2017 as part of the box set A New Career In a New Town (1977-1982).
My copy—via the Worcester Record Riot—is an early 80s reissue for the European Market, on RCA International, pressed by Sonopress in Germany.
Third studio album by the Jeff Beck Group, in this case with Clive Chapman (bass), Bob Tench (vocals), Cozy Powell (drums) and Max Middleton (piano).
Bob Tench recorded with Peter Green, Beck, Van Morrison, Freddie King, Ginger Baker and others – and was in Humble Pie, The Gass, and others. Sadly he passed in 2024.
My copy, via the Worcester Record Riot, is an early Terre Haute pressing with the yellow Epic labels. It has track A4 as “Raynes Park Blues” attributed to Beck – later versions credit it as “Max’s Tune” to Max Middleton.
Divine Symmetry was first available as a box set in 2022, with 4 CDs and a Blu-Ray disc (or a 72 track digital download). This single LP vinyl edition, with the subtitle An Alternative Journey Through Hunky Dory was released in February 2023.
Hunky Dory is one of my all time favorite albums, so getting an alternative version was a no-brainer. Four of the tracks are from the BOWPROMO mixes, six are 2021 alternate mixes, one (“Andy Warhol”) is the original mix, one (“Life on Mars”) has the original ending restored, and “Bombers” (an outtake) is added.
My copy via the Worcester Record Riot. I love the replacement of the labels with BOWIE where RCA would have been in the type style of RCA.
Credited (as you can see on the cover and the labels) to Neil Young but also to Neil and the Shocking Pinks, this was Neil’s rockabilly album, with a band assembled just for this purpose.
I realize I’m something of a Neil Young completist, but I really enjoy this album, short as it is.
My copy—via Worcester Record Riot—is a 1983 Carrollton pressing from the Columbia House Record Club (noted on the rear jacket).
