Salutations™!!

In addition to The BCPF’s and my usual Saturday routine, we had to go by Lowe’s to pick out stuff for the renovation project from the “Flood of 2019.” But, we had fun doing that. We also got to go to our happy place which is Underdog Records. We picked up some good stuff and got to talk with Jonathan, so that’s always a plus. Here’s what we got:

©Arista

• R.E.M. – Monster — I have talked a lot about the Vagabond Saints Society in the past. The first show I ever performed with them was the “REM – The Later Years” show around 2007 or so. I had two songs with VSS on that show and one was on this album, “Crush with Eyeliner.” I liked that song then and I like it now. The rest of the album is okay, but it’s one that The BCPF never had on any medium, so yay, us! 2xLP with an entire remix album, so it’s like two-in-one. New.
• Creedence Clearwater Revival Featuring John Fogerty – Chronicle – The 20 Greatest Hits — This is #59 on the RS list and yes, it is a compilation album. I didn’t listen through it because I didn’t listen to “greatest hits” albums after the Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn ones. Whew! But, this has a lot of great CCR on it and it was in a weird green vinyl, so I picked it up after it sitting in the bin for a while. 2xLP. New.
• Cheap Trick – One On One — Cheap Trick’s sixth studio album and the first one to feature Jon Brandt after Tom Petersson left the band. It looks like Brandt only played bass on a few songs and that Rick Nielsen played on most of it. So, there must have been a transition period before Brandt showed up and when they started recording. This album isn’t my fave from them but it has some good stuff: “If You Want My Love,” “She’s Tight,” “I Want You,” and more. VG+.
• Procol Harum – The Best Of Procol Harum — Jonathan at Underdog has told me many, many times of his love for Procol Harum. This is a greatest hits compilation and I’m looking forward to what they call “hits.” We’re all familiar with “White Shade of Pale” and possibly moderately aware of “Conquistador” but the rest, I’m interested in. VG++.
• The Kinks – Give The People What They Want — The 18th album from The Kinks, this was in their “Early 80s” phase. I think it was a good time for them. It wasn’t British Invasion popularity or even feel (duh!) but I think, still, it was good. The singles on this album were “Better Things,” “Destroyer” and “Predictable.” VG++.
• The Kinks – State Of Confusion — The 19th (yep, the follow up to the previous entry) released from The Kinks. The best-known song from this album (and pretty much any Kinks album since the 60s in the US, at least) is “Come Dancing.” Missing from this LP version but on the cassette version was a song called “Long Distance.” Turns out that my friend Parke Puterbaugh, who was a critic for Rolling Stone magazine commented, “there’s no excuse for omitting [‘Long Distance’ from the LP version of State of Confusion]”. I need to find it on streaming or something. VG++.

The haul was somewhat light this week but we filled in some listening time with some Nine Inch Nails records that my pal Daniel Butner let us borrow. I’m trying to absorb some of it and a lot of it I like, but a lot of it, I still don’t get, but it’s growing on me. Underdog Records celebrated its anniversary this past Friday and that’s always a great time/thing to celebrate. They have a few new pieces of used equipment if you’d like to get your listening stations updated! Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear the TLD/UR special of the week. Use Discogs to keep track of your music collection.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I know you. I know you’ve seen her. She’s a sad tomato. She’s three miles of bad road. Walking down the street. Will I never meet her? She’s a real woman-child. 
Oh, my kiss breath turpentine.” – “Crush With Eyeliner” (Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)