The Velvet Underground & Nico (Produced by Andy Warhol) - [Verve stereo LP, 1967] How lucky am I to have a girlfriend who owns a NM gatefold original pressing of this revolutionary classic (even if this one lacks the extra-valuable peelable banana sticker)? Even luckier that she still wears her blond hair the way late VU chanteuse Nico does in the jacket photos, long with bangs.
The Byrds - The Notorious Bryd Brothers [Columbia 360-stereo LP, 1968] And then there were three...
The Chantays - Two Sides Of... [Dot stereo LP, 1966] The "Pipeline" guys return, unfortunately for the last time, as instro surf (or in this case, space) music was really already dead by this time. But wait - they also turn in a side's worth of very solid tough rockers in a contemporary Bobby Fuller-ish vein as well! The reverbelicious guit-workouts still rule though, with great evocative titles like "Beyond", "Greenz", "Retaliation", "Space Probe", and "Intercontinental Missle", featuring huge, lively sound that instantly transports your living room to a dance party at the rec center, and performances that, if they don't put sand between your toes and salt in your hair, then put the launch button beneath your finger and the thrust of the rockets at your back.
Billy Strayhorn - Live!!! [Roulette Birdland mono LP, probably about 1965] The Duke's man, with the Duke's men and his own timeless tunes.
The Nightcrawlers - The Little Black Egg [compilation CD, Big Beat British import, 2000] History of the folk-rocky Florida garage band, known for their minor national hit in 1965 of the title tune on Kapp records, and album by the same name which trickled out two years later.
The Astronauts - Rarities [compilation CD, Bear Family German import, 1991] Collected outtakes, singles and ephemera from the vaults not found on their RCA long players (which I'm happy to say I own the cream of), by the best surf band ever to come out of Boulder, CO (not to mention the only one; their big hit was the classic "Baja" in 1963).
Gram Parsons - GP/Grevious Angel [Reprise 2fer single CD, 1990, orig. 1973 and '74]
