Flipping Bins: Searching Vinyl, Slamming Sushi & Swilling with the Good Ol' Boys
I'm not a true creature of habit, but when it comes to my work trips to Boston I have a beaten path that I that zombie on down once I'm on the local scene:
The plane I take usually taxis to the terminal gate around 5:30pm. I hop a cab to my hotel which is located smack dab in the middle of Cambridge's Harvard Square. I check-in, drop off my stuff and then beat feet on my beaten path. By now it usually 7:00 or 7:30'ish.
First up I head to Planet Records. Planet Records is open until 9pm Monday through Thursday. Perfect. I know that I won't have the opportunity to take my sweet time flipping the bins, but at least I can get the jonze out of my system and scope out the highlights.
Here are my finds. Used vinyl atop a hotel room bedspread...I must now shower in purell.
I head for two sections: the blues and new arrivals. If there is something there that is giving me the puppy dog eyes, I take it home with me. Otherwise, I case the joint for when I come back later to take a slow troll through the rest of the bins.
As soon as I am done there, I head to the Sushi restaurant. I get my seat at the bar, order up a mountain of sashimi and a serious sampling of sakes and read the liner notes of my new found friends.
When I am done amazing the staff at how much sashimi one man can eat, I go over to a Harvard Square institution, Charlie's Kitchen. This place is old school, real deal dinner cum beer joint and it has one of the best juke boxes going. They also serve ice cold Pabst Blue Ribbon good ol' boys (Judd speak for 16 oz. cans). I put back a couple of those while I wait for my songs to play on the box.
By the time I drain the last good ol' boy, my London body clock strikes 2:00am. I am primed for a night's sleep and hopefully I will be able to get my body on the EST clock.
This trip I spent less money at Planet Records, but I spent more time shopping vinyl altogether. I also dropped by what might be the last viable music store (if you can call it just that...they sell lots of other schwag, too) in the US, Newbury Comics. I'm usually more of a used vinyl guy, but more and more new releases are offering vinyl versions; I was curious to see what albums were giving off that brand new car smell.
In addition to a nice couple of finds at Planet Records, I found a few good 'uns at Newbury Comics. Have a gander at and an earful of my booty.
---
The Numero Group is an indie label out of Chicago that I just recently learned about. I posted on a box set that I bought from them called, "Light - On the South Side". Here is a song from that compilation...which must be dizzy from all the spins I have given it on the turntable.
---
Alrene Brown - I'm a Streaker Baby
Arlene, I'm sure you's damn straight about not having a brick outta place. By they way, you can grind my gears any time you feel like it...so long as "chest like headlights on a pimp's car" are throwing out high beams.
This label specializes in curating killer compilations of classic one-offs, forgottens and shoulda, woulda, couldas. Each one of the albums and box sets they put together are product of their love of the genres and artist. The music is insanely good, but the way that it is packaged adds to the experience.
I'm a sucker for a story and each one of these releases has one. Numero Group has no idea, but they have me right where they want me. I ended up picking up two pieces from them: one is a single LP the other is a 4LP box. Each one is filled with the rare and the raw and has been crafted with precision and passion.
---
This is the Big Dig, the Tutankhamen of R&B: Twinight. After two years of interviews, cold calls, storage spaces, half truths, unknowns, and dead ends, we’ve finally completed a large piece of Chicago’s secret soul history. Eccentric Soul: Twinight’s Lunar Rotation takes a look beyond their hit maker Syl Johnson, and instead focuses on the records that never had a shot at the charts. It’s the story of struggling disc jockeys moonlighting as producers, high school talent show winners, major label cast offs, minor label upgrades, girlfriends with decent voices, and master purchases traded for chart position.
This comprehensive 2CD/4LP set includes a complete label history, a bakers dozen of unpublished photos and three unreleased tracks, including two that were only rumored to exist. Our Twinight email extravaganza doesn’t end there. Not with these 3 lb Lunar Rotation 4LP box sets taking up our entire front room anyway. You read that poorly structured sentence right, Eccentric Soul: Twinight’s Lunar Rotation has finally been released on vinyl in our most deluxe package yet.
Here is a song from one of the albums in this set: Jo Ann Garrett - Goin' Man Huntin'.
---
Jo Ann...consider me your prey. I'm an easy catch.
---
The second in our series of peeks into the world of regional studios hones in on Mickey Rouse's Lowland operation out of Beaumont, Texas. Long after the Bopper's plane crashed and the Winter brothers (Johnny and Edgar) and Janis Joplin split, Texas' Golden Triangle was home to a vibrant scene of musicians, songwriters, and entrepreneurs just trying to make it in Houston, let alone the world
From the ashes of a vibrant garage and stage band scene, the Lowland studio and its clientele were formed. Holed up in a run-down strip mall, groups like Mourning Sun, Insight Out, Sage, Sassy, Mother Lion, Hope, Circus, and Boot Hill tracked out hundreds of demos, most of which were put on the shelf and left to bake in the South East Texas heat. Until now.
Over the last two years, Numero has painstakingly gone through every tape in the studio's archives, selecting the best of the best (22 for the CD, 28 for the 2LP) for this peerless compilation. The songs themselves run the gamut; southern boogie rock, CSNY clones, British blues thunder, garage-psych hangovers, Morricone-esque supper club instrumentals, yacht rock, and what can only be described as Bobby McPherin fronting the Velvet Underground, are threaded together in the way only a tightly-knit scene can be. Forget bringing these treasures back to life, Numero's giving them the life they never had.
Here is one of the lone star Numero employee mixing tapes for a song on this Lowlands album. Dig the tune in the background. That must be the "CSNY" clone called out above.
---
Just over a month ago I started a blog post series called, "The Rock & Roll Three-Way". This is where I attempt to create a theme where I pull three songs together that tell some kind of interlocking story. My first go at that turned the spotlight on Duane Allman. Have a read of it here.
That Three-Way leaned heavily on the Anthologies material. The shining star moments have Duane taking front and center stage as part of the backing band. At Planet Records I found both of these double album delights and purchased them both for a grand theft, grand sum of $12.00. Sold! On these sets there are also a few songs where Duane steps to the mic and tests out his pipes. Here are a few examples for you to feast your ears on:
This is Duane taking the young guitar slinger's rite of passage: covering a Chuck Berry song: No Money Down.
Here is a another lead vox by Ol' Skydog himself. "Goin' Down Slow" is a song written by St. Louis Jimmy Oden. Duane does his best to put his southern tinged stamp on this one.
---
---
Peter Wolf - Midnight Souvenirs
One of my other Rock & Roll Three-Ways focused on Peter Wolf...well, actually it focused on his couch. I waxed on there about my admiration for Wolf. I love his solo material, especially the last three albums. I figured that since I was in Boston, the vibes were perfect for plucking a Peter Wolf album from the bins. I bought his latest, "Midnight Souvenirs". Actually, I was hoping to find his previous solo album, Sleepless. No dice, but 'Souvenirs' will roll nicely.
Here are the two episodes from Peter's "making of" Midnight Souvenirs. Well worth the thirteen total minutes it will take you to hang with the Woofa. Wolf takes us through the places, paces, faces and process of recoding "The Midnight Chaos".
Part 1
Part 2
