All I can say is Nice! Eric. I have that The Dillards lp, bought years ago only I paid $20 for it. At the time I thought it was bright but will listen again. Thanks for sharing.
The birth of a new thread dedicated to sharing our newly-acquired "old" LP's.
The Audiogon Forum thread of most interest and use to me is the one entitled "What’s on your turntable tonight?" It was started on 03-04-2004! Reading about the music the contributors to the thread are listening to is a real pleasure, and as I drove home from my visit today to a Vintage Collector’s "Mall" (just a storefront, but with individual spaces for independent sellers, some of whom in my past visits had a milk carton filled with mostly trash LP’s sitting next to a rack of old clothes), the idea to share today’s incredible haul with fellow Audiogon LP lovers came to me. And later in the evening, the idea that others might want to do the same seamed plausible. I don’t expect this thread to be as long-lived as the one referred to above, but that’s up to ya’ll.
I have been to this mall numerous times before, occasionally finding an LP of both interest and in as close to Mint condition as one could reasonably expect from such a source. But today---my first visit in over a year---was a very different story. There was a new vendor, one whose space was devoted 100% to items related to music: LP’s, 45’s, CD’s, magazines, posters, etc., etc. As I started flipping through the LP’s, I realized this was not just random records the vendor had acquired, but rather the collection of an owner with a particular taste in music. In addition to that, the number of promo copies and rare items suggested the owner may have been in the record business. The vendor’s inventory was better than most record collector stores I’ve ever been in! All the LP’s were in plastic outer sleeves, with a hand-written note describing the record: details about the band or artist, backing musicians, etc. The vendor is VERY knowledgeable about music and records.
But dig this: the LP’s were not only very desirable titles, but every single one was in Mint condition! And I mean New/Unplayed Mint, even the LP’s from the 50’s and 60’s! Some were still factory-sealed, others still in shrink wrap but slit open. And the prices! Most in the $5-$10 range, a few $12 or $14. So with that introduction complete, here’s what I brought home with me, in alpha order:
- The Alpha Band (T Bone Burnett, David Mansfield, Steven Soles): Spark In The Dark. $5
- Jim Capaldi (Traffic drummer/songwriter): Oh How We Danced, a title I have been looking for for quite some time. $10
- David Crosby: If I Could Only Remember My Name (original pressing), on Harry Pearson’s Super Disc list. $12
- Delaney & Bonnie: Home (Stax original). $12
- Delaney & Bonnie: Accept No Substitute (first Elektra album). $12
- The Dillards: Mountain Rock (incredible sounding Direct-To-Disc on Crystal Clear). $10
- Dion: Yo Frankie (produced by Dave Edmunds). $6
- Durocs (Ron Nagle and Scott Matthews): s/t. $5
- The Everly Brothers: A Date With (mono). $10
- Red Foley: Greatest Hits (Decca Records). $5
- Ellie Greenwich: Let It Be Written, Let It Be Sung...(legendary album by this incredible Brill Building songwriter). I have been looking for a clean copy for YEARS! $10
- Marti Jones: Used Guitars (guest artists Marshall Crenshaw and Janis Ian). If you don’t yet know about Marti and her husband/partner Don Dixon, get with it! $5 (sealed!)
- Marti Jones: Unsophisticated Time. As is the album above, produced by Don Dixon. $8
- Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind. $5. Background story: On my maiden visit to a newly-opened hi-fi store in Livermore, CA in 1972, the owner (Walter Davies, later of Last Record Preservative fame) was being visited by Bill Johnson of ARC. Bill was a pilot, and flew himself and a complete ARC/Magneplanar Tympani T-1 system to install in the fantastic listening room of his newest dealer. Keeping my mouth shut and my ears open, I got a real education that day (I had just discovered J. Gordon Holt/Stereophile, and the emerging high end scene). Walter used this LP as demo material, and upon hearing Gordon’s version of "Me And Bobby McGee" (bottleneck guitar by Ry Cooder) Bill said: "That IS a great sounding record." Walter gave it to him. I bought my first copy when I got back to San Jose, and still have it. This copy is just for back up ;-) .
- Gordon Lightfoot: Sundown. $5
- Gordon Lightfoot: Summer Side Of Life (German Reprise pressing). $5
- Lone Justice: Shelter (with singer Maria McKee---whose older brother was in the band Love. LJ’s original drummer was Don Heffington, heard on many Buddy and Julie Miller albums. Produced by Little Steven.) $6
- Manassas (Steven Stills, Chris Hillman, Al Perkins, Dallas Taylor, and Bobby Whitlock. Guest guitarist Joe Walsh.): Down The Road. $5
- Henry Mancini: Music From Mr. Lucky (RCA Living Stereo, black label). $6
- The Morells (legendary Springfield, Missouri band beloved by Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, and myself. I even saw them live ;-) : Shake And Push (backup copy): $8
- Buck Owens And His Buckaroos: Carnegie Hall Concert. $6
- Leslie Phillips: Beyond Saturday Night. You may know Leslie better as Sam Phillips, one-time wife and musical partner of T Bone Burnett. This album (on Myrrh Records) is from when she was a Contemporary Christian Artist. This is the only copy I’ve ever seen. $8
- Jimmie Rodgers: The Best Of The Legendary Jimmie Rodgers (RCA mono, black label with Promo stamp on cover). $8
- The Searchers: Meet The Searchers/Needles & Pins (stereo copy to join my mono on the shelf). $8
- Connie Smith (Marty Stuart’s wife): The Best Of Connie Smith (RCA stereo, black label). $5
- Bobby Whitlock (organist/harmony singer on Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, Clapton’s songwriting/singing/organist partner in Derek & The Dominos, an original member of Delaney & Bonnie And Friends): Rock Your Sox Off. $6
- V/A: White Mansions (A Tale From The American Civil War 1861-1865). With Waylon Jennings, Jessie Colter, Eric Clapton, Bernie Leadon. Produced and engineered by Glyn Johns. $12
- And finally, an LP I never expected to find, and I’ve been looking for about 45 years!: Dick Schory’s New Percussion Ensemble: Music For Bang, Baaroom, and Harp (RCA Living Stereo, black label). $5!
I left a few LP’s, needing to come home and see if my collection was missing them. I’m going back tomorrow to get the one I don’t have: The debut album by The Dave Clark Five in mono.
I have been to this mall numerous times before, occasionally finding an LP of both interest and in as close to Mint condition as one could reasonably expect from such a source. But today---my first visit in over a year---was a very different story. There was a new vendor, one whose space was devoted 100% to items related to music: LP’s, 45’s, CD’s, magazines, posters, etc., etc. As I started flipping through the LP’s, I realized this was not just random records the vendor had acquired, but rather the collection of an owner with a particular taste in music. In addition to that, the number of promo copies and rare items suggested the owner may have been in the record business. The vendor’s inventory was better than most record collector stores I’ve ever been in! All the LP’s were in plastic outer sleeves, with a hand-written note describing the record: details about the band or artist, backing musicians, etc. The vendor is VERY knowledgeable about music and records.
But dig this: the LP’s were not only very desirable titles, but every single one was in Mint condition! And I mean New/Unplayed Mint, even the LP’s from the 50’s and 60’s! Some were still factory-sealed, others still in shrink wrap but slit open. And the prices! Most in the $5-$10 range, a few $12 or $14. So with that introduction complete, here’s what I brought home with me, in alpha order:
- The Alpha Band (T Bone Burnett, David Mansfield, Steven Soles): Spark In The Dark. $5
- Jim Capaldi (Traffic drummer/songwriter): Oh How We Danced, a title I have been looking for for quite some time. $10
- David Crosby: If I Could Only Remember My Name (original pressing), on Harry Pearson’s Super Disc list. $12
- Delaney & Bonnie: Home (Stax original). $12
- Delaney & Bonnie: Accept No Substitute (first Elektra album). $12
- The Dillards: Mountain Rock (incredible sounding Direct-To-Disc on Crystal Clear). $10
- Dion: Yo Frankie (produced by Dave Edmunds). $6
- Durocs (Ron Nagle and Scott Matthews): s/t. $5
- The Everly Brothers: A Date With (mono). $10
- Red Foley: Greatest Hits (Decca Records). $5
- Ellie Greenwich: Let It Be Written, Let It Be Sung...(legendary album by this incredible Brill Building songwriter). I have been looking for a clean copy for YEARS! $10
- Marti Jones: Used Guitars (guest artists Marshall Crenshaw and Janis Ian). If you don’t yet know about Marti and her husband/partner Don Dixon, get with it! $5 (sealed!)
- Marti Jones: Unsophisticated Time. As is the album above, produced by Don Dixon. $8
- Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind. $5. Background story: On my maiden visit to a newly-opened hi-fi store in Livermore, CA in 1972, the owner (Walter Davies, later of Last Record Preservative fame) was being visited by Bill Johnson of ARC. Bill was a pilot, and flew himself and a complete ARC/Magneplanar Tympani T-1 system to install in the fantastic listening room of his newest dealer. Keeping my mouth shut and my ears open, I got a real education that day (I had just discovered J. Gordon Holt/Stereophile, and the emerging high end scene). Walter used this LP as demo material, and upon hearing Gordon’s version of "Me And Bobby McGee" (bottleneck guitar by Ry Cooder) Bill said: "That IS a great sounding record." Walter gave it to him. I bought my first copy when I got back to San Jose, and still have it. This copy is just for back up ;-) .
- Gordon Lightfoot: Sundown. $5
- Gordon Lightfoot: Summer Side Of Life (German Reprise pressing). $5
- Lone Justice: Shelter (with singer Maria McKee---whose older brother was in the band Love. LJ’s original drummer was Don Heffington, heard on many Buddy and Julie Miller albums. Produced by Little Steven.) $6
- Manassas (Steven Stills, Chris Hillman, Al Perkins, Dallas Taylor, and Bobby Whitlock. Guest guitarist Joe Walsh.): Down The Road. $5
- Henry Mancini: Music From Mr. Lucky (RCA Living Stereo, black label). $6
- The Morells (legendary Springfield, Missouri band beloved by Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, and myself. I even saw them live ;-) : Shake And Push (backup copy): $8
- Buck Owens And His Buckaroos: Carnegie Hall Concert. $6
- Leslie Phillips: Beyond Saturday Night. You may know Leslie better as Sam Phillips, one-time wife and musical partner of T Bone Burnett. This album (on Myrrh Records) is from when she was a Contemporary Christian Artist. This is the only copy I’ve ever seen. $8
- Jimmie Rodgers: The Best Of The Legendary Jimmie Rodgers (RCA mono, black label with Promo stamp on cover). $8
- The Searchers: Meet The Searchers/Needles & Pins (stereo copy to join my mono on the shelf). $8
- Connie Smith (Marty Stuart’s wife): The Best Of Connie Smith (RCA stereo, black label). $5
- Bobby Whitlock (organist/harmony singer on Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, Clapton’s songwriting/singing/organist partner in Derek & The Dominos, an original member of Delaney & Bonnie And Friends): Rock Your Sox Off. $6
- V/A: White Mansions (A Tale From The American Civil War 1861-1865). With Waylon Jennings, Jessie Colter, Eric Clapton, Bernie Leadon. Produced and engineered by Glyn Johns. $12
- And finally, an LP I never expected to find, and I’ve been looking for about 45 years!: Dick Schory’s New Percussion Ensemble: Music For Bang, Baaroom, and Harp (RCA Living Stereo, black label). $5!
I left a few LP’s, needing to come home and see if my collection was missing them. I’m going back tomorrow to get the one I don’t have: The debut album by The Dave Clark Five in mono.
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Finally, a thread subject that wont attract agitators and buzzkills. bdp24- timely thread. Just added another Beach Boys-"Surfin' Safari" of this provenance:https://www.discogs.com/The-Beach-Boys-Surfin-Safari/release/156284 Nice clean copy! Based on sales/billboard 100 status, I don't understand why there were SO MANY different presses in 1962? https://www.discogs.com/The-Beach-Boys-Surfin-Safari/master/246896 Collecting select groups on their period press mono's is a long standing thing for me. For Beach Boys, it's everything up to Pet Sounds. Other cool score couple months ago-Buffalo Spingfield-"Buffalo Springfield Again" https://www.discogs.com/Buffalo-Springfield-Buffalo-Springfield-Again/release/253094 This is a particularly great find because it was in the 3 for $10 bins. Clearly overlooked for its value. Very clean copy. I'm fortunate to have 3 neighborhood stores(walking distance). One of the perks to remaining in crazy, hyper expensive SoCal. |
Connecticut has two excellent record stores: Gerosa Records in Brookfield and Red Scroll Records in Wallingford. I have scored some great LPs: A Japanese pressing of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA; a 6-LP Beach Boys boxed set,"The Capitol Years"; and Mobile Fidelity versions of Abbey Road and Magical Mystery Tour. A couple of times per year, I make a three-hour trip to Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, NJ to look through some of their 160,000 LPs. If you're a jazz fan, they have a lot of Mosaic boxed sets. |
"A couple of times per year, I make a three-hour trip to Princeton Record Exchange in Princeton, NJ" jrosemd- I visited the place 5 years ago. Would have loved the opportunity to shop there in it's heyday-70-80's. Speaking to some of the locals while there, it's a shell of what it once was. Still thought is was a cool place otherwise. |
@tablejockey, SoCal, ay? I lived there from June 1979 through Feb 2016. Burbank, Glendale, finally up in the foothills above Glendale (in Tujunga, home to many musicians). L.A. has a lot of record stores, always has. I miss Amoeba like crazy, nothing like that up here in the NW. Speaking of Amoeba, one of the LP’s in the above list has an Amoeba "Clearance Sale" price sticker on it’s label: $1! How the heck did that LP get up here?! The titles of course suggest an elderly person (I got called that recently. Well!), so perhaps his wife sold the collection after he was buried or burned. The Beach Boys were marketed by Capitol in a very haphazard and short-sighted way, figuring their shelf-life was going to be only as long as the early-60’s Surf craze lasted. They didn’t at first realize what they had in Brian Wilson. I scoured all the stores selling cut-outs in 1967 and 68, looking for the mono Rock ’n’ Roll LP’s that were being dumped by all the record labels. After Sgt. Pepper, ALL LP’s had to be stereo. I already knew that most "Stereo" LP’s of the time were in actual fact "Electronically Simulated Stereo", one the worst ideas record company’s ever came up with. Surfer Girl was the only true stereo BB album up until the Friends album, and I found all the previous albums in mono pressings. Same with The Kinks and other Rock groups. The 1967 debut Procol Harum album was issued in mono in the UK, fake stereo in the US. So we had to go up to San Francisco to get the import at Tower (the only record store I knew of that carried import albums). Now about the Pet Sounds album: I have bought every pressing of that album ever made (well, not the South American ;-), five or six I believe (including the one Steve Hoffman did for DCC, and a UK pressing). They’re all different, and all pretty bad in varying ways. You have GOT to get the one now available from Analogue Productions. AP offers in in both mono and stereo, and in both 33-1/3 RPM (1 LP) and 45 RPM (2 LP’s) pressings. There is disagreement amongst hardcore BB fans about the sacrilege of doing a stereo mix: Brian mixed it to mono, his preferred format. But the stereo mix lets you hear further into the dense tapestry of sound than ever before. Seriously, you have not heard Pet Sounds til you hear the AP version! Michael Fremer graded it 11 (music) / 11 (sound), the only time he has done that as far as I remember. $35 for the 33-1/3 version (what I have), $55 I believe for the 45 (to chop the LP side into two halves, now THAT is to me sacrilege). I have both the mono and stereo versions, but I’m a Brian Wilson nut. The early Beach Boys LP that everyone is talking about is the stereo pressing of Surfer Girl, again by Analogue Productions. Unbelievably great sound! Michael in Germany (45 RPM Audiophile in The Vinyl Community on YouTube) includes the LP in his "10 Best Sounding LP’s Of All Time" list. |
That Marti Jones Used Guitars used to get a lot of play here years ago-- some great tunes, to me, it was always a tad bright. Moi? Oh, the usual-- hunting the obscurities-- turns out the one record nobody liked of Pharoah Sanders, entitled Pharoah on the India Navigation label in 1977, was likely recorded in the old disused bottling factory that was on my street back in Grandview NY--a place I knew well because at the time I lived there a friend owned the property. Hit the Austin Record Show yesterday- not very crowded, but I didn't expect it to be as the first show after Covid here. Many of the dealers said they are now just starting to do show circuits again. Art Pepper Today (with Cecil McBee, Roy Haynes and Stanley Cowell) has a rendition of "Patricia" that is worth the price of admission. Best new to me record heard this year here is Miyama Toshiyuki / the New Herd: Tsuchi No Ne Sound of the Earth, Japanese big band with psych inflections. It has been reissued and the reissue is fine. |
Listening to Betty Carter 'Finally' on CD, I found and ordered the LP https://www.discogs.com/sell/item/1352796646 She is awesome, and the Bass player, Lisle Atkinson, holy smoke is he amazing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisle_Atkinson Jumped on discogs, found this one https://www.discogs.com/Lisle-Atkinson-Bass-Contra-Bass/release/3686856 Ordered it from Slovenia, arrived today, I'm so glad I got it. His name is spelled Lysle on Betty's album |
Vladimir Salač - Pisen pro Kristinku (single, 1955 or so). Mint, really really mint, including the cover. Do I need to mention it is mono? Solomon Burke - The Electronic Magnetism, German pressing. Different cover and incomparably better sound than U.S.A. pressing. For some reason, U.S.A. pressing is called Electronic Magnetism while German one is THE Electronic Magnetism. Boomtown Rats - Diamond Smiles and Someone’s Looking At You. Both 45s, both more alive than 33. A few classical LPs from Goodwill. All mint. |
I’ve had a copy of Dick Schory’s New Percussion Ensemble since 1958. It’s in the same collection that Mike Fremer shows on his tour of his collection. I shop my local 11 thrift stores frequently. Most are 10/$1 !!! Most are in pristine condition. The ones that aren’t, if they’re good, I shop for a better copy. My most prized LP is a sealed #3/10 test pressing of The Beatles Hard Days Night. AUTOGRAPHED by all 4 members before being sealed! Gift to my mom when she was head of Quality at Columbia Records, 1954-1967. |
I wish I had a good LRS but I love in the middle of nowhere. Instagram has been a great place for me to buy records, particularly from a shop I used to frequent in Buffalo. Most recently I picked up from them the Robert Ludwig pressing of Zepplin II. It lives up to the hype. My father also decided to give me the rest of his records and he had 2 copies of Music from big Pink by the Band but they're so dirty. Cleaned them once using my Pro-Ject record cleaner but they might need an ultrasonic. Will have to find a place that has one. We occasionally go to Ithaca, NY where there's a great little record store and there I found Kulu Se Mama by Coltrane, an early 2nd pressing of the White Album from 68, and a great Jimmy Smith record with grant green on it, can't remember the name. Was a good haul that day. |
Great thread! Where do I start? I’ve got so many of these old records. Like the op I’ve got many Gordon lightfoot lp’s, many of which are still sealed! 3 sealed copies of if you could read my mind, sealed and opened copies of cold on the shoulder (one of his best!), sealed and open copies of Sundown, etc....I too own a copy of Delaney and Bonnie Home stax lp, still sealed. I will have to compile a list when I can... |
Someone in the What's on Your Turntable thread suggested Ernie Picks and Glen Sings (Tennessee Ernie Ford and Glen Campbell) as a follow up to a post I made about one of Glen Campbell's recordings. I was able to find a sealed copy for 13 bucks (including shipping) on Discogs and am glad I did! It was a wonderful performance and sounded great. I don't think I've been steered wrong by any of the suggestions in that thread (unless of course it was for artists I just don't care for or have no interest in). Hopefully this thread will be a similar resource. |
"you have not heard Pet Sounds til you hear the AP version!" Yeah, "Pet Sounds" is the one album I may eventually just have to get the RI. Unobtanium, as far as finding a unmolested period mono. This LA press is somewhere in a Goodwill waiting for someone. https://www.discogs.com/The-Beach-Boys-Pet-Sounds/release/1354479 I presently have the first 4, and All Summer Long. "I lived there from June 1979 through Feb 2016. Burbank, Glendale, finally up in the foothills above Glendale" bdp24-as a' kid in the 60-70's that area seemed far removed from Long Beach-like another country! As you know, I'm not that far from where the Foothill Club in Signal Hill used to be. Area is unrecognizable now with condos, and million dollar houses on the hill. Did you ever play a gig at the Blue Cafe in downtown LB? It was small place where SRV did a couple gigs when he was coming up. Another cool place long gone. |
scchengmus where do you live? I'm in Plainfield, NJ. I go to Princeton and Bordentown has this very good store: http://www.the-record-collector.com/ also, a small collection in a cool shop other end of the block, same side of the street. visited this store in Milltown, NJ yesterday (very nice) https://revillagroovesandgear.com/ When I'm ready to sell at least 3,500 lps, I'll contact craig here first, then get bids from them. That store in Fords, I was VERY disappointed, it ain't for LP's unless they are hiding them. I met Bill from audiogon, he lives in Burlington, NJ. He came here, 2 masked visits, another time we went to Bordentown LP store/lunch together, we swapped some equipment. If you want to meet, send me a message. We have had both shots for a while now, things are getting easier here in NJ finally. |
I continually peruse used record stores no matter where I travel, in addition to the local shops here where I live. Always find the best stores in the cities I visit and get dirty fingers. I always try to cut to the chase and ask the same questions when I walk in the door - "Have any Mosaic Box Sets? Any original Folkways Blues LPs? Any thing on Takoma? Early Delmark blues?" But, I must admit, it must be a real rare find in great condition or just fun novelty (super bowl shuffle, anyone?) before I will buy it. There are just way to many incredibly sounding rereleases these days that are deserving of my money. New releases also don't make me cringe when a used LP pops & ticks across my high-end cartridge. I focus now mostly on labels. Anything pressed at QRP deserves a listen! Impex, MoFi, Music Matters and so on are starting to fill my selves. |
Recently acquired a stellar collection of first pressing rock LPs that had been left untouched in storage since at least 1972 and never touched since. Every one looked as though they had been pressed, played a couple times and put away. No fading, spots, nothing. Bright, beautiful covers, glossy vinyl. Like straight out of a time capsule. After some cleaning with my Degritter, I spent the weekend spinning: -Jimi Hendrix Experience- Are You Experienced? - Tri-color Reprise Stereo -Jimi Hendrix Experience- Axis, Bold As Love- Tri-Color Reprise Stereo -The Pretty Things- Self Titled 1st LP- Fontana-Mono -Pink Floyd- Saucerful of Secrets- Tower- Stereo -Ten Years After- SHHH- Deram -Stereo -Savoy Brown Blues Band- Shake Down- Decca UK ffss- Stereo -ZZ Top- First Album- London-Stereo -T Rex- Electric Warrior- Reprise- Stereo Have another 8 or 9 to go through. Fantastic listening experience. |
Congrats on finding your pot at the end of the rainbow. I’m a Brian Wilson fan too, but, as of a few years ago he can barely sing anymore. 6 months younger Johnny Rivers can still belt AND blast the same licks he did 50 years ago. AND he is not even in the Cleveland hall. https://www.mcall.com/entertainment/mc-johnny-rivers-easton-state-theatre-20151112-story.html "Rivers says his piano player, Larry Knechtel, "was a fan of that song and that record. And I remembered it, and he brought it up to me. He said, You ought to re-record ’Rockin Pneumonia.’ So we did and he played the piano on it and it was fabulous – that great piano solo on that thing, and it had a good feel." It was a Top 10 hit and helped revive Rivers’ career — and, indirectly, the career of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. To follow up, Rivers says he decided to cover The Beach Boys’ "Help Me, Rhonda." "I had gone to a Beach Boys concert … And the last song they did was ’Help Me Rhonda,’" Rivers says. "I was driving back to L.A. and that song kept going around in my head." The next day in the studio, he cut "kind of a funky R&B version of it, and it came out really good." All that was missing, Rivers says, "was that high harmony part that sounds like a falsetto – almost like a girl singing; the Brian Wilson part." Rivers says he played the song for a friend who knew Wilson, who called up the reclusive Beach Boy and played it for him. Wilson said he thought it would be a hit. "And I said, ’Your part is the only part missing, that high harmony. We got the studio tomorrow, why don’t you just come on down and throw that part on there?’ And I didn’t think he’d show up, but he did, and he did it in one take and it was absolutely perfect." Rivers says Wilson at the time was struggling with personal problems and was not recording with The Beach Boys. "Well that came out so good and it got on the charts — it was a Top 20 record — that it gave him the confidence to go back and start recording with The Beach Boys again," Rivers says. "So I think that’s one of the important things about that song and that recording. Not only that he sang on it, that it kind of got him going again."" |
Great idea Eric. As some here know, I’m a fan of period pressings, but it can be hit or miss. Especially via Discogs. But a couple months ago I found a guy on eBay selling a bunch of classical period releases. He states he used to own/run a record store, and these must be from his old inventory. He also states that all his offerings are minimum VG+. So, I took a chance a couple months ago and bought a few. Yep, the vinyl was mostly in VG+ to M- condition. The covers are pretty good too, but even when they look a bit more ragged, the vinyl has been in great shape. And the variety of selection was also great. His prices range from $4-$18+ (Mostly), but a ton in the $4-5 range, and he accepts reasonable offers, especially if you are buying in a batch. Thus, I bought another batch. All the same, all in great shape. And yesterday bought another, but this time purchased a couple more costly selections as a I knew I could trust the quality. I spent $52 with tax and shipping for 8 LP’s. And I have to imagine, all the vinyl will be in exquisite condition. Not bad. The other two orders were less. I’ve saved a bunch more I want. I should probably just ‘cut to the chase’ next time and buy all the LP’s I want, as I know there probably won’t be a lemon in the bunch, and really, hard to beat his asking/offer price. |
Love this thread; thanks for creating. I’ve found some real gem first pressings in the last year. Brubeck’s Countdown — Time in Outer Space; yet another Abandoned Luncheonette; Gord’s Gold (compilations don’t usually sound good, this and Steely Dan Gold are exceptions); a white hot Jerry Mulligan; Randy Newman’s Sail Away. Excepting the white hot, all in the $6-15 range. No question, the world of old LPs is full of stuff that sounds better than any reissues could achieve. And no wonder; they were made from the master tapes when fresh. Tape doesn’t age so well. But for every gem I find on my own, I find several dogs. And that’s after limiting my buys to first gen catalog numbers. Which is a long way of saying what others here have said: Tom Port and his BetterRecords business perform a valuable service. What Tom might not like hearing: most of his selections are albums that were recorded and pressed well. Some of them almost always sound good. (I bought a white hot Rita Coolidge and — for science — I periodically buy the same LP in the $5 bin. That LP always sounds pretty good (not amazing, not even his WH) after ultrasonic cleaning). So, you can use his selection as a short list of “stuff that generally sounds good.” And then buy and clean a few of each at normal prices. It’s my way of throwing $20-30 at an LP he offers and seeing if I can find my own white hot (before spending $400 on it). And I definitely do. I also definitely cave on certain titles and buy from him. Capt Fantastic comes to mind. Or Sticky Fingers. Or several Steely Dan albums. But, if you like Al Stewart’s Year of the Cat or Crosby’s If I Could Only Remember ... , you can find a white hot for $7-10 after buying 3-4 of each. Because they are reliably good. This way of doing things creates a healthy discard pile. I try to support local dealers and give them away. They’re all worth at least $7 and have been ultrasonically cleaned. Feeds the karma wheel. |
Do you know of or remember this band @bdp24 .......... A-B-Skhy . I found their "Ramblin’ On" lp, MGM, a couple years ago. I think it’s probably an OP. They only put out two lps? From San Francisco. Dust "S/T" on Kama-Sutra......great album! Found all three Norman Greenbaum lps as WLP a couple years ago. |
Inspired by this thread, I went to Goodwill today. I forgot to buy a few of the Gordon Lightfoot records out of which one (Summertime Dream) looked like it has never been touched. For some reason, I am completely unfamiliar with his work, but see a lots of fans here so I thought it was meant to be. I guess it was not meant to be when I did not walk out with them Instead, I ended up with Emil Gilel’s interpretation of Beethoven’s 5th piano concert. MInt looking Angel Records straight from 1957, or 1958. One more Dvorak.s 9th symphony by Czech Philharmonic on Supraphon from, it seems, 1954. Also looking and sounding like new. Here lies the problem. After hearing them, I did not wish for better turntable, cartridge, or amplifier. I wished for CDs. Both records, as good as they could be given the time distance, are not the latest marvel of technology. |
This is going well! @slaw: Yep, I remember A.B. Skhy, though I’ve never heard them. From the very-early 70’s, right? Wonder what the name means? I remember seeing their name around the Bay Area back then. I also remember seeing the debut Dust album, which I also never heard. Did you know their drummer was later in The Ramones? Marky! @jrw1871: I was a customer of Tom Port way back in the early/mid-90’s. He lived above a small pizza joint near the corner of Ventura and Van Nuys Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, two blocks from my house. He did business out of his apartment, which I visited to buy a copy of the German pressing of Magical Mystery Tour (it is in true stereo, unlike the US and UK LP’s of the time). His apartment was pretty stuffed with LP’s, and his system at the time surprised me: decidedly mid-fi. I had a Townshend Rock table and Decca Cartridge, and Quad ESL’s powered by Atma-Sphere OTL’s. I too end up with LP’s bought at one record store, later used as trading material at another, sometimes making money in the process ;-) . @fuzztone: The saddest thing I ever experienced (well, aside from the death of my Mother when I was 15) was seeing Brian Wilson live on the tour for his first solo album. His singing was not only awful (as was his piano playing; they had the sound of it going only to his monitor, not the house sound system), but as he spoke between songs, the depth of his brain damage became apparent. Very, very sad. I have deliberately avoided ever again seeing him live. I went to the album release event for his debut album at Tower on Sunset Blvd. I brought not just my copy of the album for him to sign, but also my copy of the "Caroline, No" 7" 45 RPM single. Though on The Beach Boys Pet Sounds album, the song was released as a Brian Wilson single, the BB name appearing nowhere. Odd! Anyway, I handed him the 45, and the deepest look of wistfulness enveloped his eyes as they perused the label. It was heartbreaking, I having to hold back my tears. Years later I saw him in Tower Records, and this time his eyes were filled with paranoia. He was obviously scared to death. I’m surprise they let him walk around alone. My first live Rock ’n’ Roll show was The Beach Boys at The San Jose Civic Auditorium in the Summer of ’64. I passed on using my ticket to see The Beatles at The Cow Palace that Summer, still not completely sold on them. My Mother used my ticket, and went herself. She was pretty hip, having Johnny Cashes Ring Of Fire LP, which I listened to a lot on our Magnavox console. In the Summer of ’75, having spent a year recording demos with a great songwriter, he and I made a pilgrimage from San Jose to Brian’s house in Bel-Air. We brought a reel-to-reel copy of the recordings, intending to interest him into producing an album (we at the time did not know about his mental/emotional condition). I pressed the buzzer located on the wall next to the wrought iron gate, and Marilyn answered, asking "Who is it?" That I had not anticipated, and replied "Is Brian home?" She said "Yes he is. Who is it?" I explained who we were, and the reason for our visit, and she instructed me to lay the tape against the gate. Having reluctantly done that, Kent and I walked up the driveway of the house next door, until we were positioned so as to be able to see into the dining room of Brian’s "house" (an old Spanish-style mansion, really). The thin drapes were drawn, but we could see a large, hulking figure sitting in a high-backed chair at the table. It was obviously Brian. I don’t know what we were expecting to see, but Brian sat in chair, not moving an inch in the half-hour we stood there. Thank God the neighbor didn’t see and call the Bel-Air security team! |
@tablejockey: Yep, I played the Blue Cafe a coupla times, one time as a member of The Hillbilly Soul Surfers, an instrumental trio. We shared the stage with The Naughty Ones, the Austin band whose members included singer/songwriter/Ted Roddy and drummer Mike Buck, original drummer of The Fabulous Thunderbirds and current part-owner of Wateroo Records in Austin. When Mike saw we were playing identical drumsets that night (60’s Ludwigs in bdp finish), he suggested we just share the same set. Unfortunately, I’m a lefty, and it’s easier to reset a stage than to reconfigure a drumset. Small world: After leaving the Fab T’s, Mike drummed in The Leroi Brothers, a great 4-piece combo. Evan Johns joined the band for one album, and as fate would have it, I did an album with Evan in the late-90’s. So there we were on the same stage, one former-Evan drummer, one future. What are the chances?! I also did a gig on The Queen Mary, the famous cruise liner permanently moored in Long Beach. I love that row of bars than populate the outdoor "strip" (sidewalks, no streets) by the beach. Geez, this is making me homesick! Your mention of The Foothill Club suggests you may remember my recounting having backed Don & Dewey (label-mates with Little Richard on Specialty Records) on a gig there. What a great place, dripping with 1950’s Rock ’n’ Roll style! I felt out-of-place, what with my long hair ;-) . Dewey didn’t mind, going out of his way to compliment my playing. The drummer on his Specialty recordings was Earl Palmer---one of my three favorites, so I was quite pleased with myself ;-) . |
Seeing as I am north of the border, and we are in a lockdown here, going through used bins isn’t possible. Not sure why they don’t think used vinyl is an essential service, clearly the officials in charge don’t get it :) However, as pot is legal in Canada and is used for medicinal purposes, pot stores are an essential service. Just so happens, there is a pot store near the ex’s place that also has a small, but wonderful, record shop in the back. Fancy that :) Found a copy of Joni Mitchell’s “Mingus” which I knew nothing about, but talked about it with the owner and as soon as I realized Jaco played on it, I was in like flint. Also picked up a guilty pleasure :) No, not that, but rather a copy Duran Duran “Rio” The “Mingus” was exactly what I had hoped it would be, with the added benefit of being one of the best pressings I have ever heard! Was a treat after stores being open off and on for the past year. |
Following up on The Beach Boys mono post. I picked up a nice early mono pressing of Smiley Smile on Brother Records. I had probably heard Good Vibrations hundreds of times before spinning this record and it was like I was listening to it for the first time. Absolutely amazing. I’ll have to follow up on the suggestion about Pet Sounds on AP. Thanks for that suggestion. I’m a big fan of the mono pressings from the 60’s. Also picked up a nice early pressing of the Dire Straits Love Over Gold on the UK’s Vertigo label at Half Price Books for $10. Another great find was The James Gang’s Thirds album. Very early pressing on ABC Records for $8. Midnight Man sounds fantastic. |
@tgilb: Vertigo was a great label. Interesting artists, good sound. If you ever see a copy of Manfred Mann Chapter Three, buy it. Drummer MIke Hugg had by the time of this album moved to the front of the stage, playing piano and singing (as well as writing). Whereas early Manfred Mann had a slight Jazz influence, by the time of the Chapter Three album they were a full blown Jazz/Rock Fusion band, and a really good one. I know exactly how you feel now having heard the Smiley Smile album. I didn’t know about the Smile album fiasco when I first heard SS in early-68, but it still blew my little 17-year old mind. "Fall Breaks And Back To Winter (W. Woodpecker Symphony)"? WTH?! I had never heard ANYTHING like it. More psychedelic than anything Pink Floyd or The Grateful Dead ever did. Too bad Brian didn’t know when to quit taking Acid and all the rest; it permanently eft him up. |
It was a tragedy that so many of the musical geniuses of the 60’s were lost due to drugs and the pressure to release the next great album. Pet Sounds drove Brian to the edge and Smiley Smile did him in. His genius in writing was surpassed by his genius in the studio. And against all odds Keith keeps on ticking! |
Donna loves Patti Smith. I visited this store in Milltown, NJ this past Saturday: https://revillagroovesandgear.com/ Found two Patti LP's for Mother's Day gift for her! She's in Florida, sent her a photo, waiting for her return to listen. |
"Old LP's" To me, it aint "old" if it's younger than....1980? I finally found a REALLY clean copy of Johnny Winter's 1969 3rd release simply titled "Johnny Winter." Johnny is maybe in my top 5 all time electric guitarists. https://www.discogs.com/Johnny-Winter-Johnny-Winter/release/8297114 One of the few players to own Johnny B Goode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rervO5zUNDI |
This is a timely thread for me. I’m just leaving my brothers home, who’s in the process of culling his 4000+ Vinyl collection. I’m taking about 75, mostly original pressings, from late 60’s into the 70’s. I’m thinking they are all in excellent condition, visually looked at, but will get a good wash and cleaning b/4 my enjoyment begins. To name just a few: Duane Allman Anthology - both volumes Allman Brothers - Eat a Peach Shawn Phillips - Faces & Collaboration Boz Scaggs x4 Styx Jackson Browne x2 Steve Winwood Eric Clapton Cream Jimi Hendrix Cat Stephens CSN&Y Dave Mason x3 Beach Boys Steely Dan x2 Supertramp x3 Stephen Stills Led Zeppelin x4 ......and many, many more! |
Today's booty, from my two LRS and one vintage mall: - Mose Allison: The Best Of (Atlantic Records). $4.99 - Jerry Douglas: Under The Wire (MCA Master Series). $10.00 - Sonny James: The Best Of (Capitol, mono). $2.99 - Nils Lofgren: s/t. (A & M). $7.00 - The Lovin' Spoonful: Everything Playing (Kama Sutra, sealed). $10.00 - Berlioz: Symphony Fantastique; Munch/BSO (RCA shaded dog, mono). $2.99 - Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1 & 2; Brendel (Vox). $2.99 - Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony; Boult/LSO (Angel, 3 LP). $4.99 - Moussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures At An Exhibition; Reiner/CSO (RCA shaded dog, stereo). $15.99 |
@slaw: I use the term in reference to used records, not the music itself. But your question is an interesting one. In a recent Daily Audiophilic Show, Steve Guttenberg asked his guest---a dealer in vintage hi-fi equipment---his definition of vintage. Is a piece from the 1980’s "vintage"? When I was dealing vintage drums, I had an old friend (my exact age, within a week)---a drummer---ask me what was considered vintage in the world of drums. I told him I had always thought drums made when we had started playing and later were not vintage, ’cause they were new then. So drums made before we were playing was what "felt" like vintage to me. But that’s on a personal level, not a universal one. Is there even a line that can be drawn, separating vintage from contemporary? If so, I don’t know where that line is. I would prefer to use the term vintage in the same way it is applied in the world of wine: not as a black & white differentiation, but in reference to the specific vintage of a bottle of wine: the date of it’s bottling. In music that would be the year of an album's original release. In record collecting, it’s easy. If you are the second owner of an LP, that record is "old", even if it was released last year. |
"You can figure out where the cut off line is for "old music" " Yeah, even a definition of could be a bone of contention.... How about pre bar code? My personal "old music" doesn't start before 1980. More precise really is pre 1970. MY R&R cutoff line is 1980, just before MTV took over the world, Fonzie jumped the shark and extra cheese was standard on popular music. Bdp24- A 1970ish Les Paul or Strat isn't "vintage" to me. I laugh at the values of 1970+ "vintage" stuff at music stores. 1957 sunburst and a 68 Marshall Plexi......now were cookin with gas. We're talkin instruments though, its the player, doin all the noise! Our heroes will sound the same thru cardboard boxes and a diddley bow. |