Tags
Blossom Dearie, Christine McVie, Curated by Underdog, Discogs, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Hank Williams Jr, Jane's Addiction, Mott the Hoople, Music, Nazareth, Records, Roger Waters, Simon and Garfunkel, The Escape Club, Underdog Records, XTC
Salutations™!!
The BCPF hasn’t been feeling well and it’s just another hit to our 2019 plans. Not her fault, of course, but we had wanted to start a big cleaning/purge project through this year to just get more organized. But, she’s not felt up to it because of all the crud going around. Plus, this will enable us to have more room for records!
©Warner Bros.
She was able to get out of the house for the first time in three days yesterday and that helped her out a lot. We got to go by Underdog Records and grab a haul and I signed up for the Curated by Underdog program because I’m interested in what Jonathan will put together for me. Anywhat! Here’s the haul:
- XTC – Skylarking — Yes, I had this already but it was in really sad shape and while I don’t want to get into the rabbit hole of replacing things with better versions (as that can get expensive) there are a few that I just can’t not get better copies of. This was a brand new remastered reissue that was in the clearance bin. Again, new.
- Jane’s Addiction – Nothing’s Shocking — As someone put it on my Facebook post about this, this was the “Appetite for Destruction” for the alternative scene. The BCPF said that for her high school days, everyone had this. The heavy metal folk, the indie folk, the college radio folk, anyone who listened to anything remotely rocking, had this, she said. It was a little behind my time and it was the leading edge of what I didn’t like or want to hear. That being said, with time comes appreciation and I really do appreciate and yes, like, this album, now. And, it’s #312 on the RS list! New.
- Roger Waters – The Pros And Cons Of Hitch Hiking — I don’t know what my aversion to Roger Waters was, but when I was 20-21 or so, someone tried to get me to listen to this. I listened for about four minutes and ejected the tape. Nah said I. But, I like Pink Floyd. What is wrong with me? This is basically his extension of The Wall which is my favorite Floyd album. This is Radio KAOS are fantastic albums that I, regrettably, realized way too late. VG+.
- Blossom Dearie – Blossom Time — Blossom Dearie. The first time I ever heard that name was when the Schoolhouse Rock nostalgic craze showed back up in the 90s and the internet allowed me to look up info. She sang “Figure Eight,” “Unpack Your Adjectives” and part of the “Mother Necessity” ensemble. She has a very unique child-like quality in her voice. But, I saw an album by her at Underdog a while back and it was expensive. Someone else posted on our “Now Spinning” group that they were playing her and they loved her. I had Alexa play her tunes and I listened for hours. I love her. This was a great find and I couldn’t pass it up. It’s an original from 1966 and is in VG+.
- Nazareth – Hair Of The Dog — Now you’re messing with what? VG+.
- Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Tarkus — My recent ELP undertaking lately means when I see them, if I don’t have them, I get them. This is in VG++!
- Hank Williams, Jr. – Hank Williams, Jr.’s Greatest Hits — I mean, why not? VG+.
- Christine McVie – Christine McVie — This is a fantastic record. It’s her second solo effort released in 1984. Lindsay Buckingham (who just went through open-heart surgery and has damaged vocal cords) plays some guitar and sings some backup on the album. Mick Fleetwood shows up for a bit. Eric Clapton, too. And, Steve Winwood sings a duet with Christine and co-wrote another tune on the album. A great listen, this. VG++.
- The Escape Club – Wild Wild West — What is a Saturday haul without some 80s cheese (my favorite)? I don’t know what anything past the title song sounds like, I guess I’ll find out soon. VG.
- Mott The Hoople – The Hoople —”Roll Away the Stone” and “The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Should be all we need to know. It was a $1 bin find and is probably in VG.
- Various – Arthur (The Album) — I liked the film and loved the soundtrack because I love cheesy yacht rock. There ya go. $1 bin find. VG+.
Also, we picked up a better copy of Bridge Over Troubled Water from Simon & Garfunkel. This was VG/VG- but it sure beats the F+/G- version we have.
So, yeah, back to the Curated by Underdog thing. According to the Underdog Records website, “This is a flexible subscription service with multiple options to best tailor it to your desires while still giving Underdog Records the flexibility to creatively influence your collection with albums we know you’ll enjoy.”
I decided to go with the “Novice Monthly Package” with a New/Used Mix. I’m really no novice, but the Expert package is $50 per month and I’m not quite ready to spend that, yet. The Novice package is $35 per month. You can choose to do it bi-monthly or quarterly, too. So, I will get two used and one new album that, combined, would add up to around $35 for the combo. I’m excited because as Jonathan said, my tastes are all over the place. I’m just ready to see what he puts together for me. You know I’m going to share it with you, Dear Reader!
In order to do this, he has to have access to my Discogs. Discogs, if you’re not familiar, is a free website on which you can catalog your collection, including specific pressings and the condition of your albums, in order to keep up with what you already have, what’s on your want list, what lesser grade albums in your collection need upgrading, and much more. (that last part was from Underdog’s website, thanks Jonathan).
Until tomorrow, keep spinning…
Scorp out!
—
“I won’t believe in heaven and hell. No saints, no sinners, no devil as well. No pearly gates, no thorny crown. You’re always letting us humans down. The wars you bring, the babes you drown. Those lost at sea and never found. And it’s the same the whole world ’round. The hurt I see helps to compound that Father, Son and Holy Ghost is just somebody’s unholy hoax. And if you’re up there you perceive that my heart’s here upon my sleeve. If there’s one thing I don’t believe in it’s you… Dear God.” – “Dear God” (Partridge)
absolutely nothing about them. In fact, other than maybe in passing, I’ve never even heard of them. Yes, I know that floors you, Dear Reader, and yet, comes as no surprise, whatsoever. All that said, I really wish I still didn’t know who it was and I really wish I hadn’t heard this. I remember being in high school, having only played the bass for about 2 years and getting together with a bunch of other high school musicians who also hadn’t played very long and never in a “band.” What we pulled out of our arses noodling around on instruments we barely knew our way around sounded 800x better than this. The mere fact that Frank Zappa had anything to do with it makes me question my respect for him and that was spotty to begin with. I did some research to find out more about the album before I passed harsh judgement but nothing in my readings made me feel any better about this. All I read was about how important it is and how the Magic Band was a “well-rehearsed” band for these recordings. The construction site across from the studio makes better music than this when they’re running the cement mixer, running a brick saw, riveting aluminum studs and hauling stuff around the building on heavy equipment. This is an hour+ that I will never get back. I don’t care about the “importance” of it, it sucks. Pure and simple. It’s gawd-awful. The fact that it’s on this list at all, much less Top 60? That is an atrocity. There’s no explaining to me how important or fantastic it is, because no matter the significance, there’s no changing that I got a headache from it and wanted to step in front of a passing city bus while and after listening to it. I hated this.
sat this high, in my opinion. I’ve never made it a secret that I don’t like the bluesier stuff. This was a return to their roots (read: more blues) than the nearest previous stuff. To ME, this is less Stones than I’m used to. I know, too, that it was the last album released while Brian Jones was alive. So, there’s some kind of creepiness there, although I’m used to hearing stuff from people who have passed on. I remember listening to Pearl, it was creepy knowing that Janis had died after recording it, even one song instrumental because she died mere days before the scheduled vocal session. Creepy. Okay, sorry. To me, this album drags, almost the whole time. I like “Sympathy for the Devil” (one of my favorite Stones songs) and “Street Fighting Man.” But, the rest, meh. I can look back on this entire list and find almost any other Stones album and put it before this one. I’m not saying it doesn’t belong on the list, I get its importance. I just think most of the other albums on this list should, could or would be higher. Even the last that we listened to, Sticky Fingers, much better album than this. Tattoo You, Some Girls, all should have been higher than this, certainly higher than they were. I don’t get it, other than that roots mess. Meh, at best.
instruments but most of the instrumentation was done by him. Of course, he had guest players and this there was a great deal of them: “Maniac” Mike Sambello, Nathan Watts, Raymond Pounds, George Benson, Minnie Riperton, Herbie Hancock, just to name a few. The guest list was extensive. It’s jazz, it’s rock, it’s R&B, it’s soul, it’s everything. Great ballads, jammy jazz riffs and swinging horn sections, oh yeah! “Sir Duke.” ‘Nuff said with that. Well, maybe not ’nuff said. This album would be worth it alone just for that tune. Luckily, there’s a shload more on here to enjoy in addition. How in the world did I not know that Coolio totally ripped off Stevie with “Pastime Paradise?” I was like what the heck is that!? And, Coolio had any room to get upset when ‘Weird Al’ used “Gangsta Paradise” as one of his parodies? Yeah, perhaps he had permission from Stevie to use it, but still, it was only partly his to complain about. This version is the best of all of them, I say. I have to say, too, that synth basses in 1976 were actually more advanced than I realized. Stevie plays the crap out of it, too. The runs are like someone actually playing bass. When it is bass, it’s Nathan Watts.”I Wish,” “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Joy Inside My Tears” are some of my faves on this album. I have the video for the Classic Albums series on this album. I’ll have to break that out and watch it again. Great album from a great artist! DUG!
and “Money Honey.” This was the first rock and roll record to sell one million copies, which makes sense since it was one the first rock records. I dug it!
Garfunkel. Another album released in the year of my birth, 1970, this one is older, by 10 months. It’s the fifth album and is the swan song for the duo, each going their own way. I’m thinking it was a bit contentious, who’s with me? The album starts with the sweet “lean on me” themed title track. There were rumors that the song was about drugs (“silver girl”), but it wasn’t. Apparently, it’s about Peggy, Paul Simon’s then-wife. I love the overall feel of this album. There’s tension and there are times you can sense it but even with the deteriorating relationship of the duo going on they’re able to keep it together and make it work, even renting a house in L.A. while Art was filming Catch-22. They experimented with sounds and effects, much used during the song “Cecilia,” which is one of my favorite S&G tunes. “The Boxer,” another fave, is probably the one that took the longest to record. From what I understand, it started in 1968 and was recorded in several places over the course of almost two years. While he was the more prolific of the two, I think Paul Simon was jealous of the growing popularity of Art Garfunkel. “The Only Living Boy in New York” was the product of feeling lonely in NYC while Art was filming in Mexico. The last tune on the album, “Song for the Asking,” from what I’ve read, was like Simon and Garfunkel, each trying to reconcile and keep the channels open for future opportunities to work together. I believe they only did spot reunions after that. A landmark album that instead of boosting the duo was the sunset for them. Simon, of course, went on to monster success as a solo guy and Art didn’t do too bad, as far as I can tell. It’s a great album. Great, well-written tunes and it’s S&G, hard to go wrong with that, yeah? DUG!
