Whats on your turntable tonight?

Folk of the 80,s part iii .... Men Without Hats

@slaw, do you have Fogerty’s first solo album, put out under the name The Blue Ridge Rangers? I love it, but be forewarned---it is VERY Hillbilly/Hard Country. I also like his second, the s/t album on Asylum Records. It includes "Almost Saturday Night", a fantastic cover of which was done by Dave Edmunds. Both versions are great and about equal imo, a rarity.

Thirty-some years ago I purchased a copy of the then new Hendrix "Live At Winteland" double album on Rykodisc-RykoAnalogue. It was pressed on clear vinyl in ’86 maybe, recorded live in ’68.

My B&O Beogram 4002 turntable (RIP 2019) had tangential straight arm tracking, whose tonearm "read" the record with an electric eye, telling the tonearm when and where to drop onto the record and when to lift up and return. Needless to say the electric eye couldn’t read the clear vinyl and would think the record was over before it ever started. So I never got to play it.

Over the years I forgot all about "Live At Winterland" until I stumbled across it last night, when playing some records while continuing to break in my new VPI Classic 2 turntable. So I finally got to give it a listen. Man, was that a good Hendrix concert. I’ve honestly never heard him play better and I’ve almost all his records up to when his family must have exhumed him to put out additional material. His playing was more nuanced than usual is the best way I can describe it. What a pleasant surprise after all that wait.

Also listened to Fairport Convention’s Unhalfbricking and some Jan Akkerman on the last Focus album,"Ship of Memories". Both were excellent, Sandy Denny was in good voice and both Fairport’s Richard Thompson’s and Jan Akkerman's playing was impeccable, but no one is quite up to Hendrix in fine form.

Mike

Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All (Discreet 1975)

I played this twice. Once with my Decca Gold (newly retipped Decapod Garrot Microscanner) and then with my Decca Super Gold with a Paratrace tip.

It was as if I listened to two different recordings. Nuts.