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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.
128x128bdp24
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,591 posts
 
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.""


bkeske's avatar
bkeske
5,597 posts
 
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.
jrw1971
62 posts
 
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.  
slaw's avatar
slaw
21,349 posts
 
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.
glupson
7,842 posts
 
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.
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