Record Shopping

Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack for Gordon Parks classic, Super Fly is a smooth, layered brilliant piece of funk 

Vinyl, vinyl, boy do I love me some vinyl.


There is just something about a good quality analog recording on a nice turntable with a fresh needle to just sound as close to real life as you possibly can. Heck even my dogs are barking along.

The wife and I went out shopping for some records this week, and here's the latest additions to the stash.

Miles Davis, A Tribute to Jack Johnson, 

A Tribute to Jack Johnson, Miles 1971's follow-up to Bitches Brew is a Jazz/Funk fusion masterpiece, with brilliant guitar work from John McLaughlin, Herbie Hancock on organ, Michael Henderson on bass, Billy Cobham on drums, and of course Miles Davis at his most powerful.

Found this nice little Spanish import of Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk's, At Newport album on some beautifully thick vinyl.

Miles, Monk, Coltrane Cannonball and Russell live at Newport, 

In fact it was a bit of a Miles Davis shopping festival. 

Miles Davis ESP (1965)

Miles Davis at the Fillmore East from 1970 is another great set from Miles more funky era, which I admit is my very favorite of Davis musical periods.

Miles Davis: Live at the Fillmore East (1970)

And finally with a lovely cover featuring Cicely Tyson, 1967's Sorcerer

Miles Davis Sorcerer (1967)

Next up came this nice little import of really early music by the great Solomon Burke. The album has a nice selection of blues, soul and gospel, mostly B-Sides but very good.

Solomon Burke - I Almost Lost My Mind (1964)

Moving away from Soul for awhile, I've always been a big fan of folk singer Joni Mitchell, and her 1974 classic Court and Spark is just a great album all around. Free Man in Paris is about as good a song as ever written.

Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (1974)

Have I ever mentioned how much I've always loved the Firesign Theatre?

Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers is thedisjointed life story of film star George Leroy Tirebiter, all told in flashes of brilliant weirdness, including that classic 1940's film High School Madness. Just a great record, not to be missed.

The Firesign Theatre - Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers (1970)

Back to the Soul, got the Reverend Al Green being his bad ol sexy self.

Al Green -  Greatest Hits (1975)

Now this one was a real find, a first pressing from all the way back in 1956 of Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters, Rock n Roll LP. Just a great collection of solo McPhatter and early Drifters work. Not many "hits" but just classic early rock.

Clyde McPhatter & the Drifters - Rock n Roll (1956)

Jumping ahead to 1968, there's the second version of the Drifters, and their Golden Hits, which is just about one of the finest greatest hits packages ever put together.

The Drifters - Golden Hits (1968)

Then there's the classic Tina Turner classic 1973 album, Nutbush City Limits. Now I know it says Ike and Tina on the cover, but the truth is that producer Phil Spector banned Ike from the studio and he in fact only appears on a handful of tracks. In the meantime, Tina wrote both Nutbush City Limits, but also the other big hit off the record, River Deep Mountain High.

Just a fantastic record.

Ike & Tina Turner - Nutbush City Limits (1973)

I also got myself a nice early store pressing of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's classic album Time Out. Great examples of white boy Jazz, including the always catchy, Take Five. Brubeck was smooth and classy and very much a fine musician. Well wroth owning.

Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out (1959)

Jumping back to the soul, there's not much out there more soulful then Isaac Hayes. Even singing Burt Bacharach and Hal David Hayes sounds funky. 

Isaac Hayes - Hot buttered Soul (1969)

Look, I know that Johnny Nash is to real Reggae what Johnny Rivers is to Rock n Roll, a nice safe way to market music that scared white people, but I just don't care. I Can See Clearly Now, is beautiful and his version of Stir it up isn't Peter Tosh, but it isn't bad either.

Johnny Nash  - I Can See Clearly Now (1972)

Because he was such an overwhelmingly powerful singer, many people forget that the late James Brown was also a fine pianist, and the next record, James Brown Plays James Brown is a virtuoso performance by Brown on organ backed by the rest of his band.  Just an amazingly solid instrumental record.

James Brown Plays James Brown ( 1966)

Finally there's that old hippie Richie Havens and his 1971 album Alarm Clock, which includes a stunningly decent version of the George Harrison classic Here Comes the Sun.

Richie Havens - Alarm Clock (1971)

So that's about it for now, it was a really decent haul and I'm already set to go back and pick up a few more items. I need to work on my 70's AOR stuff like the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt, plus there is just a ton of punk I still need to get copies of and then there's all those Funkadelic records calling to me.

Records are fun.