Tag: Worcester Record Riot
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Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Zuma, 1975 on Reprise
Seventh studio album from Neil Young, and the first credited with Crazy Horse after Danny Whitten died in 1972. The individual song credits have two songs not attributed to Crazy Horse: “Pardon My Heart” (credited just to Neil Young) and “Through My Sails” (credited “with Crosby, Stills & Nash”). “Cortez the Killer” is a 7…
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Michelle Shocked, Captain Swing, 1989 on Mercury
This was Shocked’s third LP and the follow up to the massively successful Short Sharp Shocked which came out in 1988. It’s (deliberately) all over the place in genre but wonderful. The “hidden” track is also present on the vinyl – “Russian Roulette” is not listed on the labels but plays after “Must Be Luff.”…
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Tom Waits, The Heart of Saturday Night, 1974 on Asylum
Second studio album from Tom Waits, following Closing Time, and the first produced by Bones Howe. An absolute must have. Much of Waits’ catalog is now being reissued but I love a chance to find early pressings of these in good shape. It’s amazing to me how timeless he is – this could come out…
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Public Enemy, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, 1987 on Def Jam
Debut studio album from Public Enemy, recorded at Spectrum City Studios and produced by Bill Stephney (of The Bomb Squad, with co-producers Carl Ryder and Hank Shocklee) with Rick Rubin credited as Executive Producer. Still looking for a good vinyl copy of It Takes a Nation of Millions. Def Jam was distributed by CBS/Columbia (thus…
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John Prine, Diamonds in the Rough, 1972 on Atlantic
This was Prine’s sophomore album, following the self-titled John Prine. Prine is joined by Steve Goodman, David Bromberg, Steve Burgh, and Dave Prine. I just love Prine’s songwriting: “Souvenirs,” “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You” and “Late John Garfield Blues” on this LP. He also does “Diamonds in the Rough” by…
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David Byrne, Rei Momo, 1989 on Luaka Bop / Sire / WB
David Byrne’s first “solo” album which “transforms and pays tribute to the music of Latin America.” (Solo in the sense of not with Talking heads, but with a ton of talented musicians). The vinyl releases omit three songs that were on the CD – would be a great candidate for a deluxe vinyl reissue 2xLP…
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Maggie Rogers, Surrender, 2022 on Capitol / Debay
Rogers’ second studio album on a major label, Surrender was a component of her thesis at Harvard Divinity School. Kid Harpoon (aka Thomas Edward Percy Hull) produced along with Rogers and gets cowroting credit on most of the tracks, sometimes with others (Del Water Gap aka S. Holden Jaffe). My copy via the Worcester Record…
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Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, 1958 on Blue Note
Fantastic late 50s “hard bop” jazz record, with Clark joined by Art Farmer (trumpet), Jackie McLean (alto sax), Paul Chambers (bass), and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, liner notes by Nat Hentoff. This should be in everyone’s vinyl collection whether you think of yourself as a Jazz fan or not.…
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Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington, Ella at Duke’s Place, 1966 on Verve
The album is divided between “The Pretty, The Lovely, The Tender, The Hold-Me-Close Side” and “The Finger-Snapping, Head-Shaking, Toe-Tapping, Go-For-Yourself Side.” Recorded by Val Valentin and produced by Norman Granz (those are his black & white photos), this is Verve at its mid-60s best. In addition to Ellington and Fitzgerald, personnel included Louis Bellson on…
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Art Farmer, Portrait of Art Farmer, 1958 on Stereo Records
“Stereo Records” was a jazz label made by Contemporary Records in 1958 to push records made with the new-fangled stereo technology: Stereophonic two-channel disc recording utilizing Westrex 45-45 “StereoDisc” cutting system. To be reproduced only with stereophonic cartridge. Warning: use of conventional monaural cartridge without sufficient vertical compliance may well result in damage to this…
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Milt Jackson, Ballads & Blues, 1956 on Atlantic
Jackson’s most well know as the vibraphonist in the Modern Jazz Quartet but he also collaborated and recorded with many other bop musicians. Here he is joined by Lucky Thomson (sax), John Lewis (piano), Skeeter Best (guitar), Oscar Pettiford (bass), Kenny Clarke (drums), Barney Kessel (guitar), Percy Heath (bass), Lawrence Marable (drums), and Barry Gailbraith…
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Herbie Hancock, Empyrean Isles, 1964 on Blue Note
Early jazz Herbie Hancock – this was his fourth studio LP for Blue Note, backed by Freddie Hubbard on cornet, Ron Carter on bass, and Anthony Williams on drums. Recorded on June 17th, 1964 at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. The most well known track here is “Cantaloupe Island” which became something…
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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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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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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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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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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…