Tag: vinylfinds
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Peter Schilling, Error in the System, 1983 on Elektra
Most well known for “Major Tom (Coming Home)” which was a top 20 hit in the US. Unfortunately the runaway success of that single relegated Schilling to something of a one-hit wonder – too bad, as it is really an interesting album and suggests he might have had a more interesting career. My copy had…
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Marvin Gaye, What’s Going On, 1971 on Tamla.
My copy is a late 90s reissue on 180g vinyl with replicated artwork, which I picked up at a record fair at Mill No. 5 in Lowell. This is a must-have in every collection – find an older pressing if you can or a modern quality reissue. If you don’t know this album, go get…
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Johnny Hodges and Earl “Fatha” Hines, Stride Right, 1966 on Verve.
Produced by Creed Taylor, and recorded January 14th, 1966 at Rudy Van Gelder’s in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Hodges (alto sax) and Hines (piano & organ) are joined by Kenny Burrell (guitar), Richard Davis (bass), and Joe Marshall (drums). My cop via Beverly Coin & Jewelry, which has a surprisingly strong and curated vinyl selection.
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Gerry Mulligan Quartet, Paris Concert, 1955 on World Pacific Records
Great find via Mel’s Record Shop in Amesbury MA. Recorded live at the Pleyel Hall June 1st, 1954, with the valve trombone of Bob Brookmeyer replacing Chet Baker’s trumpet, with Red Mitchell on bass and Frank Isola on drums. I especially love the sequence of Moonlight in Vermont followed by The Lady is a Tramp and…
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Various Artists, AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex, 2020 on BMG.
Hal Wilner produced tribute to Marc Bolan & T. Rex, featuring a wide variety of artists and styles. Wilner was also said to be working on a documentary but died in 2020 after assembling the album. The film was made by Ethan Silverman as one that “Celebrates the life and work of glam rock pioneer…
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Ball and Pivot, Ball and Pivot EP, 1984 on Z Club Records
Ball and Pivot were a self-described “glam-rock” band in the early 80s in Boston, featuring Tom Hauck, B Wilkinson, and Paul Caruso (all of whom had also played in The Atlantics). I picked up this record on the basis of that description and the cover at Island Records on Martha’s Vineyard. You can find more…
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Chrissie Hynde, Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, 2021 on BMG
I’m a sucker for a cover album, especially one dedicated to a specific artist. I’m also a huge fan of both Bob Dylan and Chrissie Hynde, so it should not be surprising I was excited to find this record. Hynde is joined by The Pretenders‘ James Walbourne and engineer/producer Tchad Blake, but the instrumentation and…
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Michael Jackson, Thriller, 1982 on Epic
I remember listening to this right when it came out. I was young enough to not yet know I was supposed to reject Michael as too popular or unclear and instead just loved the grooves and the videos. My copy isn’t one I’ve had since then – I don’t think I even had a turntable…
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The Isley Brothers, 3+3 featuring: That Lady, 1973 on T-Neck
The Isley Brothers is one of those bands i didn’t know well but have started to appreciate more as I collect vinyl – whenever i find a record of theirs in decent shape I just pick it up. Picked up this copy via a vinyl fair at Mill No. 5 in Lowell. In addition to…
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Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend, 2008 on XL Recordings.
Debut album from Vampire Weekend, including Oxford Comma and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. How could I not love a band with grooves like this and references to punctuation? For the English major (and PhD) to have an indie rock band come out of Columbia with a pedigree involving Dirty Projectors and touring with The Shins…
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Various Artists, Ruby Trax: The NME’s Roaring Forty, 1992 on New Musical Express.
This was a 3xLP box set issued to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the New Musical Express – which ran in print from 1952 to 2018 when it went digital-only (though it is said to be coming back). The compilation was full of contemporary artists covering songs that had been covered in the NME during…
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Null and Void, Happiness and Contempt, 1980 on M.A.O. Records.
Null and Void were a self-described “early 80s SoCal synth wave band.” This was their debut EP, recorded at Devon Sound – it’s been reissued by Medical Records along with Montage Morte, their second LP from 1982. This may have been MAO Records’ first releases – catalog number MAO 1001 and 1980 release suggests so.…
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Muddy Waters, McKinley Morganfield A.K.A. Muddy Waters, 1971 on Chess Records.
2xLP collection of songs from 1948 to 1964 – hugely influential post-war era Chicago blues. Liner notes by Pete Welding. There are a ton of Muddy Waters compilations including a dozen plus just on Chess records, but I was really happy to find this one in good condition. My copy via a vinyl fair at…
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Lucinda Williams, Happy Woman Blues, 1980 on Folkways (FTS 31067)
My copy is a 2019 reissue on what is now called Smithsonian Folkways (the Smithsonian acquired Folkways in 1987 from the estate of Moses Asch). This was Williams’ sophomore album, after Ramblin’ On My Mind. I didn’t come to know Wiliams until much later – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road in the late nineties…
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Les McCann, Talk to the People, 1972 on Atlantic
This comes a few years after Swiss Movement (with Eddie Harris) and the success of “Compared to What” and opens with a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On.” Lots of early seventies jazz/funk/soul Fender Rhodes and clavinet here. My copy via Vinyl Destination in Lowell MA
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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”…
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Tears for Fears, The Tipping Point, 2022 on Concord
I was such a huge fan of The Hurting, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith’s 1983 debut album – I think it was the first CD I ever had (and it was recorded at such low volume I had to crank the CD player to hear it). After Seeds of Love, Orzabal and Smith split, and…
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Dawes, Nothing is Wrong, 2011 on ATO Records
My copy is a 2021 reissue on two 45rpm 12″ records plus a bonus 7″ single (Strangers Getting Stranger / Rest Easy) and a die-cut jacket that shows one of the custom sleeves from inside, which I picked up direct from Rounder Records last year. I love this album, which has a couple of my…