Whats on your turntable tonight?

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]

BB King - Back in the Alley - Bluesway
Doors - Waiting For The Sun - Elektra gold label
Thin Lizzy - Nightlife - Vertigo
Bowie - Station to Station - RCA tan label
Radiohead - The Bends - import
Pavement - Brighten the Corners - Matador

Bach "Suites For Unaccompanied Cello" Janos Starker/Speaker's Corner Mercury reissue
Patricia Barber "Cafe Blue" MoFi 45rpm reissue
Rachmaninoff "Piano Concerto No.3" Dorati/LSO/Byron Janis Speaker's Corner Merc reissue
Mendelssohn "Fingal's Cave" Maag/LSO Speaker's Corner Decca reissue
One CD:
Dead Can Dance "Into The Labyrinth"

"Lightnin' Hopkins and Otis Spann" from the Mosaic box set.
Bjork, "Post."
Rickie Lee Jones, "Traffic From Paradise."
Willie Dixon and Koko Taylor. "Insane Asylum" from the Chess set
Daniel Lanois, "Shine."
Jimmy Giuffre, "The Train and the River."

Pursuant to Rushton's and my exchange re. harpsichord music above, these titles were enjoyed over the last couple of weeks:

E. Power Biggs - Bach On The Pedal Harpsichord [Columbia 360-stereo LP, probably mid-60's] In which we learn that 18-century organ composers like Bach often wrote and practiced organ pieces at home on a clavichord or harpsichord with organ-like pedals (the church organ and a man to work the bellows being only an occasional luxury), but that none of these instruments survive today in playable condition. The cover photo depicts the gorgeous modern instrument constructed by John Challis in what appears to be 100% Brazilian rosewood, unadorned, that looks like a harpsichord whose legs perch atop what, at first glance, you might mistake (as I did) for a reflection of the harpsichord's underside in a shiny black floor, until you notice the pedals in place of keyboard manuals.

Igor Kipnis - Bach: Complete Variations For Harpischord/"Goldberg"/In The Italian Style [Angel 2LP, 1973] Got this at an estate sale several years back, bearing a signed personal dedication from Kipnis on the rear cover dated June 14, 1977.

Rafael Puyana - The Golden Age Of Harpischord Music [Mercury Living Presence stereo LP, early 60's]

Rafael Puyana - Bach For Harpsichord [Mercury Living Presence stereo LP, early 60's] I can thank my late father's collection for these last two titles, in pristine condition. "The Golden Age" features many relatively obscure composers and pieces that stray far from a Bach-ian baroque mold.

Continuing on other fronts...

The Osborne Brothers - Modern Sounds Of Bluegrass Music [Decca stereo LP, 1967] The high lonesome sound meets Nashville, with banjo and mandolin backed by a rhythm section including not just acoustic guitar and bass fiddle, but also drums, electric guitar and pedal steel plus piano. The liner notes helpfully offer that this contemporary mix makes "the 'old' sound of bluegrass seem empty and unattractive". Thank goodness they cleared that up.

Jerry Reed - The Unbelievable Guitar & Voice Of... [RCA Victor Dynagroove mono LP, 1967] You might only remember him as Burt Reynolds' truck-drivin' stringbean of a sidekick from the 'Smokey & The Bandit' movies, but if so, you would only know half the story of this consumate entertainer, guitar-wrangler and songwriter, whose gifts are reminiscent of Chet Atkins and Glen Campbell crossed with latter-day Elvis and Jerry Lee. His Atkins-produced debut is a spritely genre-blender that might best be described as soulful country pop, delivered with casual charisma to burn.

James Brown - Nothing But Soul [King stereo LP, 1968] Soul Brother Number One's instrumental albums on Smash, predating this set (whilst his vocal hits were all recorded for King), generally only show his limitations as a wannabe organist and feature forgetable covers of rock and soul tunes not always associated with The Godfather. This less-common set is a whole different story. I don't know if JB truly is the organ player here, but the liner notes do make deliberate mention of his increasing skills on the instrument. Whatever the case, this burner, recorded with his regular horns/guitars/drums band, is head and shoulders above his other instro records and an excellent album in its own right, being both funkier than your typical jazz organ trio and jazzier than most funk instrumentals, with really great original tunes throughout.

Howlin' Wolf - Ain't Gonna Be Your Dog [Chess 2CD compilation, 1994] Collection of 42 rare and previously unreleased vintage tracks spanning from 1951-'69, by the all-time big daddy of the blues.