Since last I spun...
Don & The Goodtimes - So Good (Epic, 1967) Sunshine pop plus. Dig that impeccable Cali studio sheen backing the multi-part harmonies, all wrapped up courtesy the aforementioned Jack Nitzsche's arranging and producing talents. Despite a surfeit of catchy tunes and a history of prior singles that sold well regionally in the Northwest (and a regular gig on Dick Clark's Where The Action Is), this turned out to be their lone LP. They morphed from a prototypical stompin' white R&B band along the lines of such compatriots as the original Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Sonics, and The Wailers, but perhaps just a bit late in the game to make it big like the Raiders did.
[Speaking of The Sonics, have you dug the new Land Rover TV ad which features their brutal version of The Sharps' classic "Have Love Will Travel"? The pairing of a luxury SUV and this primal punk pounder is just as ludicrous on its face as previous similar campaigns in recent years (such as Iggy's "Lust For Life" selling cruises) to be sure, but you can't help enjoying hearing this stuff coming through the tube, and I smile at the fact that those at whom the ads are aimed probably never heard of the stuff...]
Ray Bryant - Dancing The Big Twist (Columbia 6-eye stereo, about 1961?) One of my fav jazz pianists and composers turns in the obligatory dance craze cash-in disk. Good, but not as outstanding as his earlier dance craze effort, Madison Time (prominently featured in John Waters' Hairspray movie). Players include Mickey Roker, Buddy Tate, Harry Edison, and Ray Barretto among others.
The Chico Hamilton Quintet - The Chico Hamilton Special (CSP reissue, orig. Columbia rec. 1960) The eternal answer to the seldom-asked question, what is the best jazz group to have featured cello and flute? Not conceited 'chamber-jazz' devoid of swing, but simply bracingly singular music that follows its own path in a most subtle and satisfying way.
Dead Boys - We Have Come For Your Children (Sire, 1978) Still doesn't hold a candle to their '77 "Young Loud and Snotty" debut, but not much does.
Big Joe Williams - Nine String Guitar Blues (Delmark, probably about 1970, maybe recorded earlier) This is a record my father bought at my urging when I was in my early teens. He liked the fact that I was into the blues, and I got to listen to the record without having to buy it myself. When I put this on tonight, I realized - which I hadn't before - that I also have a couple of these tracks on a Delmark blues compilation CD I picked up cheap last summer. So naturally I compared the sound between LP and CD, and was pleased at how close the two were timbrally, which tends to confirm the overall accuracy of each leg of my playback chain (although I did slightly prefer the LP, which sounds just a bit less forward, edgy, and granular, and lacks the incipient distortion on vocal peaks present for some reason on the CD, presumably a remastering artifact).
Gerry Mulligan Meets Paul Desmond (Verve, 1957) The baritone and alto chase each other around over Mulligan's pianoless bass and drums rhythm section. Their copious counterpoint was apparently improvised without prior rehearsal.
