Salutations™!!

It was a long Saturday and that’s a rarity for The BCPF and me. Because Willows Bistro opened back up, we didn’t eat until 7pm but, we had a lot of listening time from our haul from Underdog Records earlier in the day. This is what we got:

©Chess Records

• George Harrison – All Things Must Pass – 3xLP box set. The BCPF has had a big tumultuous spell as of late and she’s seeing the daylight on the other side, so I made sure she got this, which she has been coveting for a while. It’s #433 on the RS List, which I think is a little low. New.
• The Stooges – Fun House – #191 on the RS List. This is a new reissue and it is in 180g orange and black splatter vinyl.
• Aretha Franklin – Lady Soul – #85 on the RS List. I have never been a huge fan of Aretha’s. I know, I know. I especially don’t like her later stuff and all that crazy vocal running she does that is back in fashion. But, this is early stuff and it’s really good. New.
• Chuck Berry – The Great Twenty-Eight – #21 on the RS List. Yes, it’s a compilation. Yes, I skipped the compilations on the list when I was doing them. As I’ve had to explain, several times, I am a fan of compilations. I have many of them. But, for that list of the “greatest albums of all time,” I don’t consider them “albums.” Now, the pure definition of the word album is “a collection usually in book form of literary selections, musical compositions, or pictures.” But, for that list, I took album meaning a work of original releases that were carefully placed sequentially to tell a story or elicit an emotional response. To me, many compilations are nothing more than a record company’s take on what sells. I have no problem with that, but not on a greatest of all time list. No matter the reasoning. This is a VG copy.
• Louis Armstrong – Plays W.C. Handy – VG+ remastered copy.
• New Birth – Blind Baby – A while ago, I saw someone posting about five or six albums from this group. I came across one of their albums at Underdog and gave it a listen this past week. I liked it. I saw this on for $2 and I couldn’t pass it up. VG+.
• The Zero Zero Seven Band – James Bond Thrillers!! – A VG copy of the Zero Zero Seven Band (get it? 007) doing a collection of James Bond scores. Partly the main themes and partly incidental scored music from the first three films.
• Rosemary Clooney And Duke Ellington And His Orchestra – Blue Rose – VG+
• New Edition – New Edition – VG+ from my early teens. A friend and I would sing “Cool It Now,” “Mr. Telephone Man,” “Lost in Love” and “Kinda Girls We Like,” repetitively. I had fun and The BCPF got to see me return to my childish side (again).
• Grover – Grover Sings The Blues – Yes. Yes, this is Grover from Sesame Street. As I’ve said before I had several of these albums as a young child and I just want to hear them again. I don’t mind living in the past. I mean, all of this is from the past, right? VG.
• Ringo Starr – Ringo’s Rotogravure – Ringo’s voice has a distinct sound; a tone. You know it’s him when he speaks or sings. This is rated at VG, but it’s actually in really good shape. The cover, one of the older cardboard style, is splitting a little at the bottom. I can’t really glue those back together. $1 bin find.
• 38 Special – Tour De Force – I’ve been looking for the album with “If I’d Been the One” and this is it. Found it in the $1 bin. There’s a little damage on the cover, but the album is in decent shape, once I cleaned it. VG.
• Various – The House At Pooh Corner And Now We Are Six – As you can tell, The BCPF and I are both suckers for children’s records. This is not to be confused with the song by Loggins and Messina. It’s a $1 bin find and is VG.
• The Doowackadoodlers – More Wacky Doodlin’s – I don’t really know what this is, but it was $1 and the cover seemed funny. I cleaned it up and it is around VG quality. I may give it a spin later today before the games.
• John Klemmer – Brazilia – Another thing we like is music from other countries. This is (obviously) Brazilian. It was $1 and is VG.

There were two other albums we got, one brand new and one a German version of Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Orchestra but because The BCPF has a knack for getting/wanting albums that aren’t in Discogs, I can’t list them here. It is a long, drawn-out process when you have to submit them yourself. Perhaps I’ll do a few of the half dozen or so that isn’t in there during the games today? Also, Jonathan gave me a crateful of records that are either partially or very warped. I want to experiment with them and see if I can reshape them. I’ve watched a few YouTube videos about it and I want to try a few methods. It will involve the oven, which I know is a scary thought, but we’ll see. If they’re useless anyway, why not?

I have to watch the Underdog Records social media pages because Jonathan will post all throughout the day when he gets fresh used records in. My friends on the private Facebook page all clamor over the same genres and have similar wants. It’s fun. It’s like when I used to collect baseball and football cards. I wanted to buy to see if I got something my friends didn’t. It’s friendly. The point is, you should watch their social media to see what is “just in.”

There was a guy that had been coming in for a bit, even purchasing a few albums here and there. All the while, he’s not even had a turntable. He just wanted to collect. This week, Jonathan finally sold him a turntable because he has several for sale. Some of it is entry level (which makes sense if you’re just dabbling) and some of it is higher quality. Sometimes he’ll get some high-dollar stuff but mostly it’s entry and moderate level. But, he tests it and makes sure it’s good before he posts it. Sometimes there are A/V receivers and speakers for sale, too. Keep checking back.

And you can tell that I use Discogs to do my archiving. I purchased a record that I’ve been searching for from their marketplace last night. Stay tuned to see which one. Discogs is great to keep track of what you have and what your friends have. Delightful!

Until tomorrow, keep collecting and keep spinning…
Scorp out!

—
“What I feel, I can’t say. But my love is there for you, any time of day. But if it’s not love that you need, then I’ll try my best to make everything succeed. Tell me, what is my life without your love. Tell me, who am I without you, by my side?” – “What Is Life?” (Harrison)