Polyvinylchloride:
Dark - Round The Edges (Arkarma Italian Import reissue, orig. rec. 1972) English power trio acid-psych/hard rock sound, not unreminiscent in spots of early Black Sabbath or Hawkwind. I didn't know anything about the band or the provenance of the original release before stumbling across this disk; from the repro it looks as though this may have been a limited-edition vanity pressing at the time, and this copy must itself be a relatively recent limited edition, with a textured-stock gatefold jacket plus booklet and in 180g pressing.
Unicorn - Blue Pine Trees (Capitol, 1974) Unpreposessing, somewhat generic, but uniformly winsome mixture of post-Beatles Brit-pop and post-Byrds country-rock, produced by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour (who also guests on pedal steel). Imagine Badfinger imitating the Flying Burrito Brothers covering Dwight Twilley tunes and you'll be in the general neighborhood.
Magic Sam's Blues Band - Black Magic (Delmark, about 1969) Second-gen Chicago electric blues guitarist/singer was infuential with his updated, smoothly soulful yet intense blend of Muddy Waters', B.B. King's, Bobby Bland's, Otis Rush's, and Sam Cooke's takes on the blues (but with his own distinct stamp, both vocally and instrumentally), he died tragically young. Often cited as a main progenitor of of the blues-soul crossover approach that later made Robert Cray a broad-appeal star.
Polycarbonate/aluminum:
Classic Reggae: The DeeJays (compilation, Music Club/Demon 2001, orig. rec. late-60's thru early-70's, Trojan Recordings) Prime cuts of the 'sound-system' kings like U Roy, I Roy, Big Youth, etc., in the eccentric genre that spawned Dub and contributed to the foundation of Rap.
Lee Morgan Quintet - Take Twelve (Jazzland/Original Jazz Classics/Fantasy '89, orig. 1962) The trumpeter's first date as leader after leaving Blakey's Jazz Messengers, with Clifford Jordan t.s., Barry Harris p., Bob Cranshaw b., and Louis Hayes d. For a guy who's mainly remembered today for his funky-bop jukebox hit "The Sidewinder", Morgan remains one of my personal favorite composers and players of the era, and I have yet to discover a run-of-the-mill album from him (another one who died too young, by violence at a club in 1972). The uptempo stuff is typically varied and invigorating, but the nicest thing here may be the beautifully elegiac "A Waltz For Fran", which sounds neither like a usual jazz waltz nor a usual jazz ballad, but rather stately and meditative, like gentle waves lapping upon a sandy shore at sunset, with a simple but satisfying melody that sticks in the head, delivered with tender tone and touch.
