Tag: vinylfinds
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Django Reinhardt, Nuages, 2017 on Jazz Images
Nuages was first issued under that name in 2002, as a reissue of The Great Artistry of Django Reinhardt, a 1953 10″ record on Norman Granz’s Clef label, plus 4 bonus tracks that had been issued as singles by Decca (also in 1953). This vinyl issue was produced in 2017 by Jazz Images, presumably a…
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The Suburbs, Poets Party, 2021 on Suburbs Music (Self-Released)
Before there was The Tortured Poets Department, there was a Poets Party – the most recent release from reliable Minneapolis art-rock stalwarts The Suburbs. I’ve been a fan since the early 80s, and happy to say they keep making great albums. Recorded and mixed at Dream Hog, which is Steve Price’s studio, and produced by…
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Screaming Blue Messiahs, Bikini Red, 1987 on Elektra
Bill Carter and the Screaming Blue Messiahs put out four major label studio albums in the 80s – this was the third, in 1987. Some great and funny songwriting here: “I Wanna Be a Flinstone” and “Jesus Chrysler Drives a Dodge” as well as “I Can Speak American.” Power rock trio of Carter on guitar…
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Eagles, The Long Run, 1979 on Asylum
Fun fact: even though virtually everyone calls them The Eagles, it’s really just Eagles. (There was already some soul band called The Eagles). This was their sixth (and penultimate) studio album, their final one for Asylum records, and the first with Timothy Schmidt on bass (replacing Randy Meisner). They wouldn’t release another studio album until…
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Sonny Boy Williamson, The Real Folk Blues, 1966 on Chess
This album was first released in the UK in 1965 as In Memorium, (Williamson died in May of 1965). In the US it was retitled to The Real Folk Blues and released in 1966. Later reissues have appeared with either title in different regions. This is one of my favorite blues albums of all time…
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Jens Lekman, The Cherry Trees Are Still in Blossom, 2022 on Secretly Canadian
“This is a reconstruction / reimagining / excavation of the album ‘Oh You’re So Silent Jens’ that originally came out in 2005″ Jens Lekman is a very intriguing independent Swedish musician who has put out a series of imaginative releases since 2004. This release is a revisit, 17 years later, of an earlier compilation which…
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Safety Last, Safety Last, 1982 on Twin/Tone
Safety Last only put out two records – this self-titled “mini-album” and Struck By Love, both on Twin/Tone and produced by Paul Stark. On this EP, recorded at Blackberry Way (in Minneapolis) the personnel (many of whom went on to other MNPLS bands) are: Rusty Jones on bass & vocals, Jim Tollefsrud on drums, Sprague…
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Steely Dan, Katy Lied, 1975 on ABC Records
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen on the fourth full length studio album from Steely Dan. This was the first album after the departure of Skunk Baxter and Jim Hodder and the shift into studio albums with session musicians. (One of the session musicians here is Michael MacDonald providing backing vocals.) Apparently Becker and Fagen were…
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Fleetwood Mac, The Pious Bird of Good Omen, 1969 on Blue Horizon
This is the earlier, Peter Green led, British Blues Fleetwood Mac, and collects their first four non-album UK singles and their B-Sides. It serves as a pretty good intro to what that first-stage Fleetwood Mac was all about. Eddie Boyd guests on “The Big Boat” and “Just the Blues” – and there are covers here…
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S. Carey, Break Me Open, 2022 on Jagjaguwar
S. Carey (aka Sean Carey) is the drummer and backing vocalist from Bon Iver – he put out a solo album All We Grow back in 2010. Break Me Open is his fourth full length under the S. Carey moniker, all on Jagjaguwar – though he has put out some EPs as well. It’s a…
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The Getz/Gilberto Collection: 20 Golden Greats, 1985 on Deja Vu
Italian release of tunes recorded between 1958 and 1964 by Stan Getz with Joao and Astrud Gilberto – varying recording quality from track to track. Classic bargain bin find – the music is wonderful as you’d expect. My copy via Pleasant Village Records in Marblehead MA
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Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, 1970 on A&M
Technically the soundtrack to the live movie of the same name, a sprawling live set with a tremendous band including (led by?) Leon Russell, across rock, soul and R&B. If you can only have one Joe Cocker album this probably ought to be it. Great renditions of “Cry Me A River,” “Bird on a Wire,”…
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Ella Fitzgerald, The Harold Arlen Songbook, (originally) 1961 on Verve
I miss this trend from the 50s and 60s where great singers like Ella (as well as folks like Oscar Peterson) did “song books” of great composers. My copy of this one, with Ella doing the songs of Harold Arlen, is an 80s reissue of what originally came out in 1961, with 2 additional tracks…
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Superchunk, Wild Loneliness, 2022 on Merge
Twelfth studio album from Superchunk on Merge, the label founded by McCaughan and Ballance back in 1989. Superchunk came out of Chapel Hill in the late 80s and were one of my favorite bands through the 90s. They’ve mellowed a bit but love this album. Guests include Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley, Andy Stack, Mike Mills,…
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Howard Jones, One to One, 1986 on Elektra
Howard Jones was one of my first concerts I saved up for and bought tickets to myself. I don’t think he was the first, but he was certainly an early one. I especially loved his early-80s output: Human’s Lib and Dream Into Action. One to One was his third studio album – for some folks…
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David Bowie, Young Americans, 1975 on RCA Victor
Mid-Seventies Bowie, with guests like Earl Slick, John Lennon, David Sanborn, abd Luther Vandross (who also did the vocal arrangements). Bowie called this “Plastic Soul” and he recorded in Philadelphia and New York. My copy via Todd’s Farm Flea Market in Rowley MA – as I gradually complete the full Bowie catalog up to 2016.
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Bill Evans, Spring Leaves, 1976 on Milestone
2xLP release from 1976 which collects two previous Riverside releases: Portrait In Jazz (1960) and Explorations (1961). This one includes two takes on “Autumn Leaves” – one which appeared in Mono (Riverside 315) and one in Stereo (Riverside 1152). This also includes “The Boy Next Door” which was left off of Explorations originally. Milestone records…
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Chet Baker, Big Band, 1957 on Pacific Jazz
A ton of great musicians here, including Chet Baker but also: Norman Faye, Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Bill Perkins, Phil Urso, Bobby Timmons, James Bond, Lawrence Marable, Bob Burgess, Bob Graf, Fred Waters, Bill Hood, Bobby Timmons, Peter Littman, Jame McKean. Produced by Richard Bock, the “chieff panjandrum” of Pacific Jazz…