Love the Andrew Bird discussion, I am a big fan and have seen him about 9 or 10 times, phenomenal live, whether he is solo or with a few musicians (but solo is fairly incredible). Armchair Apocrypha is, IMO, by far his best and I felt like one of the best albums put out around that time. Next would be Mysterious Production of Eggs and then maybe Noble Beasts although I don't like it nearly as much as the other two mentioned but SQ wise it is EX, but if you aren't already a fan I am not sure I would start with it. Tonight- Lee Morgan - Cornbread - new Blue Note "Tone Poet" reissue, very good, especially side 2 The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin - SQ = EX+ but Yoshimi is a better album (and also sounds fantastic) |
@slaw, yeah that Lennon album is a real glimpse into his Rock ’n’ Roll heart. It was originally marketed and sold as one of those "As Seen On TV!", real cheesy kind of things (the cover was a garish yellow). There is another guy whose roots are just about identical with John’s (Chuck Berry, Brill Building songwriting, Everly Brothers harmonies)---Dave Edmunds. Dave didn’t record his first solo album (he had already made a couple of albums as the leader of Love Sculpture) until the final year of The Beatles, so he hit the ground running, fully formed and developed. His 1st (Rockpile---album title, not the group he later had with Nick Lowe), 2nd (Subtle As A Flying Mallet), and 3rd (Get It) albums are absolute Rock ’n’ Roll masterpieces. If you don’t already have them, do yourself a huge favour and get them! |
@slaw bummed you missed him, would have loved to hear your take on AB show. He was here during SXSW and I am not a fan of SX shows so I missed him this tour as well. Tonight- I am listening on a 'new to me' set of speakers Dave Brubeck - Time out - AP 200g 33rpm, outstanding Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms Norah Jones - Come Away with Me - AP 200g 33rpm Ben Webster - Gentle Ben - AP 200g 45rpm - impeccable, phenomenal Willie Nelson - Greatest Hits - SQ EX |
Bonnie Raitt "S/T" OP/Warner Bros/ a record show find. I remembered buying it and recently found it in my "for sale" pile. So, several years have passed as have system changes, but maybe more importantly, record cleaning changes. So I steamed it then put it through my current US cleaning regimen. The results....It’s a keeper. I find a lot of satisfaction in this. |
@slaw, Patty’s really tight with Julie and Buddy Miller, and has joined them onstage, though not recently (Julie hadn’t done a live show for over ten years until she and Buddy very recently did one in Nashville to announce the release of their new album). I myself just got the Hiatt Eclipse double-LP set (I already had the CD), can’t wait to hear it. One of our greatest living artists! Have you seen the clip of the assemble artists at the first Americana Music Association Awards Show after the death of Levon Helm, performing "The Weight" as a tribute to him? Watch Hiatt’s face as the young black girl sings a verse---it’s priceless! Also onstage are Jim Lauderdale (the ceremony’s host), Levon’s daughter Amy, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Richard Thompson, Bonnie Raitt, Larry Campbell, Don Was (on electric bass), Sam Bush, and Booker T. Jones. It’s magnificent! |
Ah, Music Direct is selling the New West label, ay @slaw? Glad to hear it. If you're into collectibles, the Miller's new album is available in an Indi Record Store version: "root beer swirl" colored vinyl! I found it listed on the Music Millennium website for $17.98. I called the store, but their online stock is different than their instore stock. The colored vinyl version is shipped from Waterloo Records in Austin, Tx. Mine's on it's way. I don't know if the colored vinyl version will sound different than the black one, but I want it anyway. Remember, the original splotched gray pressing of Dave Mason's first album sounds fantastic. And, it's fun to look at as it spins! Reminds me of Play-Do ;-) . |
James---Howdy, neighbor! I’m actually in Vancouver, but come into Portland frequently. In L.A. I had Amoeba on Sunset Blvd., an incredible record store. Music Millennium’s pretty good, no complaints. I was up here briefly at the end of 2009/beginning of 2010, and worked at MM for the Christmas rush, just December, then returned to SoCal. I just discovered Everybody’s Records! The old owner sold the store to a young kid (well, in his 30’s, I would guess. To me that’s a kid ;-), and the store moved from it’s old location on Main Street in Vancouver (that storefront is now a weed dispensary ;-) to right by the I5 entrance on Mill Plain Blvd. I’ve already bought about ten LP’s from him, all in great shape and REALLY cheap ($3-5). Confusingly, there is also a local chain named Everybody’s Music, which isn’t so hot. That kid Fremer has had at his house gave the impression EM is good, which imo it is not. On Mike and the kid’s most recent video (Fremer was in town a few months ago), they went to Music Millennium together (the kid had not been there before), and Fremer was freaking out! Their prices are kinda high imo, but that means they give you more in trade in. I just took in a box of duplicate LP’s, Punk/New Wave/Indi 45’s, and got $400 for them. Easy money! |
Spinners - eponymous first Atlantic Records album. ——————————— Hey @bdp24 that’s great to hear you’re local. Pretty nice around here this time of year isn’t it. I think the local chain you’re thinking of might be Everyday Records and I agree that they're not that great. The Everybody’s Records I had in mind is different than the one in Vancouver and sadly is a thing of the distant past now. It was in Portland’s Montavilla neighborhood. A little less eclectic than MM but new records there were each about a dollar less than at MM. Anyway, I have great memories of the place, in large part because of the most excellent and amazing speakers they had suspended in a large array above the checkout desk. They sounded so good and were our reference for comparison for years. Nowadays though it seems like nearly every record store has crummy speakers and equipment. Why I don’t know. You’d think they’d sell more records if the music coming from their systems was better. I’ve seen those Fremer vids too. The co-op over on Foster where they went same day as MM, Crossroads Records, is pretty awesome. Like having all of Discogs under one roof and no postage...I think there are about 40 vendors total. But Millennium is still my favorite, both for the reasons you mention and for the many pleasures I’ve found there for going on 50 years now. |
Check it out! Roger Klug Power Trio - "The Ballad of Everybody's Records'. Written for Record Store Day at Everybody's Records - Cincinnati, OH https://everybodysrecords.com/live-%40-everybodys |
Geez, James, I really AM confused! You’re right, it’s Everyday Records. The store on Sandy Blvd. is pretty junky, like a clearance-price woman’s clothing store. I’ve been there twice, last time on this year’s Record Store Day. At 8 AM they were already out of almost all the titles. I went straight over to Music Millennium, waited over an hour to get it, stood in the line that wound through the store from one end to the other for another hour, and they still had lots of every title in stock. MM is very reminiscent of the late-60’s record store/head shops in San Jose and San Francisco. Don’t you detect the lingering scent of patchouli oil in the store ;-)? For those who haven’t been here, the city’s motto (seen all over the place) is Keep Portland Weird. Beards are plentiful, as are man-buns. Ugh ;-) . People are a lot nicer here than in L.A. |
