Broadcast, Tender Buttons, 2005 on Warp Records

This was the third studio album from Broadcast, at this point largely a proect of Trish Keenan and James Cargill as a duo, credited on the album as James & Trish. Tender Buttons was also a book of poetry by Gertrude Stein that came out in 1914 – I took a flyer on the album just based on that (and did not know Broadcast before) but it is really wonderful.

The vinyl releases have a slightly different track order than the CDs or streaming.

My copy is the 2025 Vinyl Me Please “20th Anniversary” edition on magenta & cyan vinyl, in the Essentials Track. It’s a great package and sounds wonderful.

#2000s #2005 #2025 #Broadcast #DreamPop #Electronic #JamesCargill #Reissue #TrishKeenan #vinyl #vinylMePlease #VinylMePleaseEssentials #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

Lucinda Williams, Ramblin’ On My Mind, 1979 on Folkways

Attributed to “Lucinda” mono-nymically, this was Williams’ debut solo album, released in 1979 on Folkways (which became Smithsonian Folkways in 1987).

She’s accompanied by  John Grimaudo on 6-string guitar (she plays 12-string and sings), and the album was produced by Tom Royals, an attorney for whom this is the only producing credit – he was a friend of her father. It was recorded at Malaco Studios in Jackson, Mississippi.

It’s a collection of blues, folk, and country covers, some traditional and some by named artists: Robert Johnson, A.P. Carter, Memphis Minnie, Sleepy John Estes, Hammie Nixon, Hank Williams, Roy Acuff, Joe Hayes and Jack Rhodes.

My copy is a 2021 reissue, but I’m not sure where I got it from.

#1970s #1979 #APCarter #Blues #Country #covers #Folk #Folkways #HankWilliams #JohnGrumaudo #LucindaWilliams #MalacoStudios #RobertJohnson #SmithsonianFolkways #TomRoyals #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

The Damned, Machine Gun Etiquette, 1979 on Chiswick

This was the third studio album from Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Rat Scabies, and (new bassist) Algy Ward, collectively known as The Damned.

Includes a cover of “Looking at You” by the MC5, as well as “Love Song” and “I Just Can’t Be Happy Today.” I believe this was only available as an import in the US until issued on CD in 1991 by Emergo.

My copy is a later UK repressing (1986) on ACE Records, pressed at Sonopress in Germany – via A1 Records in NYC.

#1970s #1979 #A1Records #Ace #AlgyWard #CaptainSensible #Chiswick #DaveVanian #NYC #punk #RatScabies #Sonopress #TheDamned #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

Just scored these two original UK pressings-Madness “Absolutely” and The Specials’ debut-at the 4th Vinyl Record Fair in Sarajevo. Both for only 5 euros! #VinylFinds #RecordFair #Sarajevo

Supertramp, Breakfast in America, 1979 on A&M.

Though I imagine it’s the one Supertramp album most folks could name, this was their sixth LP. It’s got “The Logical Song” “Goodbye Stranger” and “Take the Long Way Home” – all Billboard Top 100 singles.

Love the iconic cover with the twin towers of the World Trade Center and Kate Murtagh in statue-of-liberty-as-waitress pose. The labels and inner sleeve (diner menu style) are great too. Classic album of late seventies rock.

My copy, via Dyno Records in Newburyport MA, is a Columbia Record Club edition (note the CRC in the bottom right of the rear sleeve)

#1970s #1979 #AM #DynoRecords #KateMurtagh #NewburyportMA #Rock #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

Thelonious Monk, The Unique Thelonious Monk, 1956 on Riverside

Monk recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, with Oscar Pettiford on bass and Art Blakey on drums, produced by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer – originally Riverside RLP 12-209 with a different cover.

My copy, via Academy Records in NYC, is the 1983 reissue in the Original Jazz Classics series, issued by Fantasy which acquired the Riverside catalog in 1972. These are wonderful reissues across Riverside, Prestige, Contemporary and other labels – and well worth picking up whenever you see them in good condition.

#1950s #1956 #ArtBlakey #BillGrauer #Fantasy #jazz #OriginalJazzClassics #OrrinKeepnews #OscarPettiford #Reissue #Riverside #RudyVanGelder #TheloniousMonk #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

Went record store shopping today at Purple Narhwal Music & Manga.

Found some old Japanese vinyl, 3 Cameo albums, some K-Pop CDs, and more

Oscar Peterson Trio, 1961 Cologne Gürzenich Concert Hall, 2011 on Jazzline

Part of a series of Jazzline releases called WDR The Cologne Broadcasts, which collects concerts recorded by Westdeutscher Rundfunk (German public radio), including this 1961 appearance of the classic Oscar Peterson Trio with Ed Thigpen and Ray Brown.

Recorded at the Gürzenich on April 11th, 1961 by an unkown recording engineer and mastered by Thomas Sehringer for release in 2011 on 180g vinyl. As with most (all?) Jazzline recordings in the WDR series, liner notes in German and English.

They fill out side two of the second LP with songs from other Jazzline releases: John Coltrane, Bud Powell, Dave Brubeck, and Modern Jazz Quartet recordings from 1960 and 1959 in West German cities. (Better than having an etching of the Gürzenrich or something on the fourth side).

Great sounding concert – wonderful versions of “My Funny Valentine” and “Con Alma” in particular.

My copy via private sale.

#1960s #1961 #2011 #Cologne #EdThigpen #jazz #Jazzline #OscarPeterson #OscarPetersonTrio #RayBrown #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds #WDROriginalMasters #WestGermany #WestdeutscherRundfunk

Billie Holiday, Songs for Distingué Lovers, 1958 on Verve

Great set of recordings, with liner notes by Norman Granz. No real detail on the sessions on the record itself, but apparently recorded during sessions in January 1957 in Hollywood – the same sessions that yielded All or Nothing at All and Body and Soul.

Wonderful versions of “Stars Fell on Alabama” and “One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)” in particular.

Granz writes on the liner notes:

. . . quite possibly the best liner notes ever written about Miss Holiday singing songs would be simply to say to the listener ‘this is a fact: Miss Holiday has happened to some songs’ and to the discriminating listener that ought to suffice.

My copy is a 2024 Barnes & Noble exclusive pressing on yellow vinyl, pressed at GZ Media. May be from a digital source (no credit for mastering – though it is a licensed recording, not a grey market one) but sounds great.

#1950s #1958 #barnesNoble #BillieHoliday #jazz #NormanGranz #Verve #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

Nat King Cole, From The Very Beginning, 1973 on MCA

Although this was released in 1973, the recordings collected were originally recorded between 1936 and 1941 and had been released earlier by Decca, credited to King Cole Trio and Eddie Cole’s Solid Swingers.

The tracks credited to Eddie Cole’s Solid Swingers feature Eddie Cole (Nat’s older brother) on bass and Jimmy Adams on drums – the others (King Cole Trio) feature Wesley Prince on bass and Oscar Moore on guitar.

The Eddie Cole tracks were recorded earliest – July 28, 1936 in Chicago – the rest are 1940 and 1941, in New York and Hollywood.

Arranged for “auto-changer” record players, meaning sides 1 & 4 on one record and 2 & 3 on the other. Unfortunately my copy doesn’t have the insert with detailed credits.

The “Leonard Feather Series” was created by MCA in the 70s – 2xLP compilations of jazz greats like Art Tatum, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and others. My copy is an 80s reissue.

#1936 #1940s #1973 #EddieCole #jazz #JimmyAdams #KingColeTrio #LeonardFeatherSeries #MCARecords #NatKingCole #OscarMoore #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds #WesleyPrince

Silk Sonic, An Evening with Silk Sonic, 2021 on Aftermath / Atlantic

Super duo with Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, with special guest “host” Bootsy Collins. So far this is their only full length LP, but “Leave the Door Open” won a ton of awards.

It’s a wonderful album and I hope the first of many more to come. My copy via a record fair at Mill No 5 in Lowell MA

Heaven 17, The Luxury Gap, 1983 on Virgin

Heaven 17 included Martyn Ware and Ian Criag Marsh who had been founding members of The Human League – Glenn Gregory took the place of Philip Oakey to make Heaven 17.

This was their second studio album (and best selling album) – with the single “Temptation” being the best known hit.

My copy, via Pitchfork Records in Concord NH, is a UK pressing from CBS’s Aston Clinton plant. (The US release was on Arista and has a different track list).

#1980s #1983 #ConcordNH #GlennGregory #Heaven17 #HumanLeague #IanCraigMarsh #MartynWare #NewWave #PitchforkRecords #SynthPop #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds #Virgin

Bill Evans, Live at the Village Vanguard, 1967 on Riverside

This is actually a reissue of what originally came out in 1961 (also on Riverside) as Sunday at the Village Vanguard, credited to the Bill Evans Trio “featuring Scott La Faro.” La Faro died in a car accident less than two weeks after the gig was recorded. Evans on piano, La Faro on bass, and Paul Motian on drums. Produced by Orrin Keepnews.

Not sure why Riverside reissued this credited to just Bill Evans, but happy to find a pressing from the 60s in great shape. An absolute must have.

My copy via Crossroads Records in Portland OR.

#1960s #1961 #1967 #BillEvans #BillEvansTrio #CrossroadsRecords #jazz #PaulMotian #PortlandOR #Reissue #Riverside #ScottLaFaro #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

David Bowie, The Lost Sessions, Vol 1, 2020 on Parachute Recording Company

Another Parachute Recording Company release, which collects radio broadcasts subject to different copyrights in the EU.

In this case, that includes appearances Bowie made on:

• Radio Caroline 1966
• Top Gear, December 18th, 1967
• DLT Show, October 20th, 1969
• The Sunday Show, Feb 5th, 1970
• Sounds of the Seventies, March 25th, 1970

As is not uncommon with bootlegs, some tracks are misidentified / mislabelled: C14 is not Janine but the 4:42 version of “The Width of a Circle,” and C15 is not “The Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud” by is actually “Janine.”

These same recordings appeared on an earlier CD bootleg titled The Lost Sessions (Rare Radio Recordings) on Leftfield Media, from whom the LP’s tracks are said be licensed.

I can’t bypass any Bowie bootlegs – audio quality here is mixed, so perhaps only for the truly devoted. My copy via Waterloo Records in Austin TX

#1966 #1969 #1970 #2020 #AustinTX #Bootleg #DavidBowie #LeftfieldMedia #ParachuteRecordingCOmpany #Radio #Unofficial #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds #WaterlooRecords

Steve Earle, Guitar Town, 1986 on MCA Records

Earle’s debut album from the mid-eighties – note the proud “Digital Recording” stamp on the cover (where now you’d see “All Analog” promoted). Topped the country charts, and the title single made #7 on the country singles charts.

I think Earle’s really matured into a wonderful elder statesman of a certain kind of roots / Americana that is bigger than just country or rock charts – but you can see his strengths even through some of the 80s production. Here the label’s presenting him as some kind of John Cougar / Bruce Springsteen manque.

My copy via Pitchfork Records in Concord NH

#1980s #1986 #7_ #Americana #ConcordNH #Country #MCARecords #PitchforkRecords #Rock #Roots #SteveEarle #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

T. Rex, T. Rextasy: The Best of T. Rex, 1970-1973, 1985 on Warner Bros.

Mid-eighties compilation of T. Rex. Between 1970 and 1973, the band had eleven top 10 singles in the UK – including many here. Produced by Tony Visconti.

I came to T. Rex indirectly through The Replacements (who covered “20th Century Boy” on Let it Be), Bauhaus (who covered “Telegram Sam”) and The Power Station (who covered “Bang a Gong”) as well as all the Bowie intersections and references.

My copy, via Beverly Coin & Jewel in Beverly MA, included an ad for Marc Bolan on Video – available in VHS or Beta from Passport Music / JEM (see image below).

#1970 #1973 #1985 #BeverlyCoinJewel #BeverlyMA #MarcBolan #Reissue #TRex #TonyVisconti #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds #WarnerBrothers

Neil Young, Neil Young, 1969 on Reprise

Young’s debut solo album. It can be tricky to keep all the chronology straight here, as someone who came to Young much later in his career – but this is following his departure from Buffalo Springfield and before the first Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young record. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (with Crazy Horse) was the followup.

Great songs here: The Loner, The Old Laughing Lady, and I’ve Loved Her So Long. The tracks produced by Jack Nitzsche and Ry Cooder, the rest David Biggs. It sometimes gets credited as having been released in 1968 (wikipedia for example) but I believe it actually came out in January of 1969. (See this Village Voice ad citing Jan 22nd, 1969).

My copy is a 1970 US Pressing, with Neil’s name in black on the cover (first pressings left the name off) and “Stereo” at the bottom of the labels. In my collection via Crossroads Records in Portland OR.

#1960s #1969 #ClassicRock #CrossroadsRecords #DavidBiggs #JackNitzsche #NeilYoung #PortlandOR #Reprise #RyCooder #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Ella & Louis: Complete Studio Small Group Recordings, 2015 on Waxtime

Waxtime is sometimes a controversial label. Based on some differences between US and EU copyright law, they’re releasing classic jazz recordings without explicit access o the source material. This means they might be working from a CD, or even a needle-drop on a good vinyl copy- but the source material is more or less unofficial.

That said, I’m a huge fan of the work Ella and Louis did together. There are two primary releases: 1956’s Ella and Louis, which I have a 1956 pressing of, and 1957’s Ella and Louis Again, which I don’t currently have (but am on the hunt for). The latter is a 2xLP release, which includes some tracks that feature one or the other but not both.

This Waxtime release puts together then first Ella and Louis LP plus the tracks from Ella and Louis Again which feature both of them. (As they put it: “This edition includes all of their duets from these sessions while discarding the songs on which either Ella or Louis sit out”).

Note Ella and Louis are backed here by basically the Oscar Peterson Trio: Peterson, Herb Ellis, and Ray Brown, plus Buddy Rich (sides A&B) or Louie Bellson (sides C&D) on drums. These original sessions were all done in Hollywood and produced by Norman Granz.

For my money this is a great edition, despite unclear / unstated source material. (Direct-metal-mastering straight from a CD?). It’s well pressed, with a low noise floor, and the mastering makes the material sound lively and present. Now maybe on high end audiophile equipment one would notice more difference, but these are studio recordings from the 50s and they sound great. I’ll keep looking for an original (or an audiophile reissue) of Ella and Louis Again but in the meanwhile happy to have these on vinyl.

#1950s #1956 #1957 #2010s #2015 #BuddyRich #EllaFitzgerald #HerbEllis #jazz #LouieBellson #LouisArmstrong #NormanGranz #OscarPeterson #RayBrown #Reissue #Verve #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds #Waxtime

Dessa, Bury the Lede, 2023 on Doomtree Records

Dessa is a part of the hip-hop collective Doomtree out of MInneapolis – great collection of artists and she is (for me) one of the standouts. She was also cohost of the Deeply Human podcast in 2021-2022.

My copy is a signed red-vinyl “Collector’s Edition” via Waterloo Records in Austin TX. Unfortunately my copy did not include the Custom Dopp Kit or the poster.

#2020s #2023 #AustinTX #Dessa #Doomtree #HipHop #MinneapolisMN #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds #WaterlooRecords

The Replacements, Don’t Tell a Soul, 1989 on Sire / Reprise

This was the Replacements first album with Slim Dunlop replacing Bob Stinson on guitar. It was recorded in LA, produced by Matt Wallace and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, purportedly in an attempt to be more radio friendly, though Westerberg said he preferred the rougher approach of other ‘mats albums.

I think it’s a wonderful album – maybe a bit more “refined” than some of the noisier stuff, but Paul Westerberg’s songwriting is top notch here: “I’ll Be You,” “Talent Show,” and “Achin’ to Be” are among my favorites.

My copy via Beverly Coin & Jewel in Beverly MA

#1989 #Alternative #BeverlyCoinJewel #BeverlyMA #BobStinson #PaulWesterberg #Reprise #Sire #SlimDunlap #TheReplacements #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds