Salutations™!!

Yesterday was a fairly routine, laid-back day. That was good because the night before was full of great food and good times with my best girl, The BCPF. Of course, some time at Underdog Records and “rekkid” listening. Here’s the haul:

Dolly Parton – New Harvest … First Gathering — Dolly’s eighteenth studio album. I have to say I love her stuff and this was good, but mostly unremarkable. A couple of covers, “My Girl (My Love)” and “(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher,” that are decent, but overall, I was kind of disappointed. VG+.

Judas Priest – Hero, Hero — This is a compilation album of early Judas Priest recordings, released in between British Steel (1980) and Point of Entry (1981) by Gull Records. It consists of all ten tracks from the Rocka Rolla album, six tracks from the Sad Wings of Destiny album, and an alternate version of “Diamonds And Rust”. The tracks from Rocka Rolla and “Diamonds And Rust” were remixed by Rodger Bain in 1981. The tracks from Sad Wings of Destiny were not remixed. I have both Rocka Rolla and two versions of Sad Wings of Destiny but I wanted to add to my Priest repertoire. 2×LP, Gatefold, VG+.

Leonard Cohen – The Best Of — According to Ira Nadel’s 1996 Cohen memoir Various Positions, Cohen agreed to the project because there was a new generation of listeners and he was given complete artistic control; he picked the songs, designed the package, and insisted that the lyrics be included. The album was not a hit in the United States but did well in Europe. I like Cohen. Generally, though, he falls in the same category of Tom Waits, Lou Reed, even Bob Dylan, I love their songs, but would rather hear someone else sing them. EX.

The Mothers Of Invention – Freak Out! — 2×LP, Reissue, Stereo, Hot Spot Ad, 180g. This is #246 on the RS list that matters and is not on the RS list that doesn’t. Boo to that. Not that I love this album, but c’mon… This copy is NM for the LPs but this is what is on the description label from Jonathan: “The cover went on a bender and woke up on a park bench, but both albums (LPs) are in near mint condition. Had the cover been in the same condition as the vinyl, I would have probably paid $20+ for this. With the cover, I paid $6. I’ll take it. Plus, it’s another notch on my RS lists and, well, another tick in the quantity column. 2013 reissue, with “Freak Out – Hot Spots” map/poster insert. Side D is delineated as noted in Tracklist on inner gatefold; on label, a single track is listed as “The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet (12:17)” Side 1 and Side 3: Barking Pumpkin Records, Purple Label
Side 2 and Side 4: Zappa Records, Green Type on Red Label.

Ella Fitzgerald / Duke Ellington – Ella & Duke At The Côte D’Azur — 1967 live album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by the big band of Duke Ellington. It’s really mostly Duke with some Ella sprinkled in. I don’t know if that was normal for then or what, but that’s how it happened. I don’t mind Ella’s scatting which is something she’s known for, but I’d prefer to just hear her sing without all of that. She did it a lot on here. And Duke’s band was nuts with the squealing high pitches of the trumpets. It was kind of difficult to listen to and enjoy it. This is 2×LP and, as far as I can tell, is an original pressing. It was sealed, oddly enough, and of course we promptly opened that sucker up. NM/New.

Paper Lace – Paper Lace — I can’t tell if this is an official studio release or a compilation. Discogs doesn’t put any details on this album. It doesn’t line up with what Wikipedia says about the first Paper Lace album. So… I don’t know. But, it has “Billy Don’t Be a Hero” and “The Night Chicago Died” on it. I know their version of “Billy…” (which they wrote) wasn’t the hit. That was from Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods. VG+.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Shaka Zulu — Best known to us Americans as the backing singers on Paul Simon’s fantastic Graceland album, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been around for a long time. From Wikipedia: Following the collaboration on Paul Simon’s 1986 album Graceland which brought the group to international prominence, Shaka Zulu (produced by Simon) marked the band’s first genuine international hit, securing them an American audience which would be built upon by the successes of Journey of Dreams (1988) and Two Worlds, One Heart (1990). Shaka Zulu was a collection of newly recorded versions of older Mambazo hits, such as “Unomathemba”, “Hello My Baby” and “Lomhlaba Kawunoni”. Shaka Zulu won a Grammy in 1988 for Best Traditional Folk Recording. VG+.

Exposé – Exposure — I remember being in the 10th grade and getting tutored by my Geometry teacher and this song being played over and over and over again by the Dixie Debs (a horrible name for the all-female dance/pep team of the school) out in the hallway. I liked it, I still like it when I hear the hits on 80s on 8 on SiriusXM. So, yeah. EX.

The Police – Synchronicity — Yep, another one added to the long list of variant covers of this album. This one is denoted as Yellow, Blue, Red (YBR) Andy/Sting/Stewart – Andy Tub Right. That’s six of the variants that I have now. VG.

Jonathan has increased a day on the schedule. Underdog Records is now open Wednesday-Saturday 11a-7p with deliveries happening on Monday and Tuesday. Closed Sunday. You can get in on the delivery action by watching his social media where he posts, new, restock, freshly acquired and more. You can buy NEW (meaning unopened unused) vinyl 24/7 by visiting the Underdog Records website. I used Discogs to keep track of what I have, what some of my friends have, to pick a random record and to occasionally buy things from the Discogs Marketplace.

Until tomorrow, keep spinnin’…
Scorp out!

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“Some dreams are in the night time and some seem like yesterday. But leaves turn brown and fade, ships sail away. You long to say a thousand words but seasons change.” – “Seasons Change” (Martineé)