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.
