Pedro the Lion & Buffalo Tom

'Control' by Pedro the Lion, from 2018. On colored vinyl. If I had to guess, a yellow-ish/gold-ish combination of colors. A sticker on the back of the album calls it "opaque yellow."

Indie Rock

I didn't used to care much for colored vinyl, but I'm becoming a enthusiastic convert in my old age.

I don't know much about the band, being fairly new to their sound. The cover art certainly grabbed my attention initially.

Also listening to a 2019 Record Store Day (One of my favorite holidays) release of the 1989 self titled debut album by Buffalo Tom.

I always arrive late, mid-afternoon, to these annual Record Store Day events as I don't care for the hours standing in long lines and crowds once inside my record store when the doors open in the morning. So I was extremely fortunate to find a copy of this. Though I'm thinking that I may have asked the owner to hold a copy for me under the counter. If true, than an advantage and perk to holding longtime customer status.

On a transparent colored vinyl that could possibly give a case of vertigo if stared at for long periods. Looks as if it's spinning in opposite directions.

More Indie Rock!! Not that there's ever anything wrong with that.

Bonuses!!! .... Inside the gatefold sleeve is a 12" print of the cover art. Inside the gatefold itself are two or three dozen photos.

Bonus Bootlegged Dylan

'Another Self Portrait' by Bob Dylan. Volume Ten in his Bootleg series. Alternate and unreleased recordings from 1969-1971 and sessions during the making of his albums, 'Self Portrait', 'New Morning' and 'Nashville Skyline'.

I've said it many times before but I wish all my favorite musicians would follow Dylan's lead and release more of their alternate takes, demos,  unreleased takes, etc. I enjoy listening to these recordings as much as I do the finished albums. What more could a completist ask for?

Like the other volumes in the series, there's also a booklet detailing the period in time and these recordings with dozens of photographs.

A couple highlights are a cover of Eric Andersen's song, 'Thirsty Boots' and a stunning piano and violin version of 'If Not For You'. Others include the beautiful 'Copper Kettle' and 'If Dogs Run Free'.

Tom Waits

'Orphans' by Tom Waits

What an incredible voice!!!

I don't know if I need to say anything more.

Instead of numbered discs, there's three discs titled; Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards. And a booklet with photographs.

If you've never heard Tom Waits, you really should. If you've heard and never appreciated his voice, you should really listen again.

Big Band Jazz Radio

A few years ago, I stumbled across this treasure trove of  recordings of old radio programs in an antique shop. There were nine or ten records in the bins. I knew nothing about them but the price was good so I took a chance on one, loved it and quickly returned to purchase the others. Shortly later, I discovered three or four more records from the series in my local record store.

Live recordings of Big Band Jazz and Swing from the 1930's and 40's on the Hindsight Records label. I think there's a few from 1950's programs as well. There's an announcer introducing each song which gives the feeling of sitting around a radio in those years, possibly on a Saturday or Sunday evening ..... Maybe a glimpse into what my parents and grandparents life may have been like.

Mono recordings. Interesting liner and song notes on the back side of each album cover. Part of my awakening in recent years into styles other than the music I grew up with. Sometimes the search for vinyl records leads to great discoveries. History!!!

Synchronicity

From 1983 as I recall. 'Synchronicity' by The Police. Difficult to believe that it's now almost forty years later. The rare three member band.

I've always wished that I was one of the voices in the background on 'King of Pain' singing ...... "That's my soul up there."

I was never much a fan of The Police until this record came along. And then they broke up shortly later.

Their sound mixed pieces of Rock, New Wave and Reggae and also originally Punk.

I recall a college girl that I worked with for a short time and who I was attempting to impress by mentioning that I was a fan of the band, informing me that she hated their song from a previous record, 'Roxanne.'

The Car Over the Lake Album

Back to the 70's again. 'The Car Over the Lake Album' by The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. These days this would likely be called Americana.

The songs 'Whippoorwill,' 'Cobblestone Mountain' and 'Gypsy Forest' were once included on actual mix-tapes that were put together and presented to friends. Yes cassette tapes ..... The 'playlists' of the 1970's and 80's.

After the Goldrush

Sometimes you just need to go back to the old classics. The records that you grew up with and that have been with you for as long as you can recall. "After the Goldrush' by Neil Young.

This record was my introduction to Neil Young's music. 'Forced' to stop playing basketball, to sit and listen by the wise older brother of a best friend. From 1970, a time when Neil Young hadn't seemingly been around forever. His third album. (There was a period where I thought it was his first.) I don't recall if I had known of his involvement with Buffalo Springfield yet.

A record that's been on every Desert Island Disc list that I've ever compiled with pen and paper and an album where the entire lyrics have long been memorized from a nearly unreadable lyric sheet included with the vinyl record.

His style has gotten more electric and louder over the years and veered off into other directions occasionally but these largely acoustic Singer/Songwriter roots were my starting point. I've loved much of his work in the fifty years since After the Goldrush and its follow-up, Harvest came out but have always felt a little disappointment that nothing since has reached this level in my eyes. That's just me and my personal expectations and hopes.

Webster Young

I've become a huge fan in the last year of Jazz trumpet. I would much rather hear a trumpet than a saxophone ….. and that's considering that John Coltrane is my all-time favorite Jazz artist.

I don't actually have this in my collection. (Yet anyway.) Listening to it via YouTube. I love the muted trumpet on this. But what really grabbed my attention and shouted, LISTEN TO ME!!! ….. is the cover artwork. A search is underway to find this on vinyl. Compact disc is not good enough for this beautiful cover photograph!!!

From 1957, which I read somewhere recently is considered as the greatest year ever for Jazz recordings.

Melodic, beautiful and soulful!! A very enjoyable listen. There's a sense of sitting in a Jazz club, taking this in.

On the Prestige Records label, which is right there with Blue Note Records when it comes/came to consistently great Jazz recordings and cover art.

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Noel Pointer

Noel Pointer is a Jazz violinist. This record titled, 'Phantazia' is from 1977 on the Blue Note label. I put it on the turntable because I wanted to hear the song, 'Night Song.'

It's rare that I recall the exact store where I purchased a particular record from those days, but I found this while digging through the used records bins at Django's Records in Portland, OR. My copy still has the price tag on it ..... $3.25. I still recall the disappointment felt when walking into the same store sometimes in the early 1990's, full of the anticipation and excitement for a vinyl record treasure search and to discover that it had transitioned to all compact discs.

Seemed to me at the time, that should have been an amendment and addition to the list of mortal sins. I eventually got over it but still haven't recovered from the discovery one day that the store had gone out of business.  I've always mourned the loss of record stores. But I digress ..... Thankfully a few lasted and there's been a comeback.

A Random 60's Playlist

A little playlist from the 60's. Yes the 1960's. Most of these songs I would hear late at night listening to the radio while the rest of the house slept. This is where my interest in music really began. AM radio hits mostly. Soon to discover the FM dial.

• Gary Puckett and the Union Gap - Young Girl
• Otis Redding - Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay 
• Phil Ochs - Outside of a Small Circle of Friends
• Guess Who - These Eyes ….. This song is counter balanced by their song, 'Friends of Mine.' If not familiar, give it a listen sometime. 
• Rolling Stones - Ruby Tuesday
• Arthur Alexander - Anna (Go To Him) ….. The Beatles also recorded this song. I first heard it on the television program, 'Married With Children' as a song Al keeps hearing on the radio, that he loves from his youth but doesn't know the title.
• Eric Burdon and the Animals - San Francisco Nights ….. Introduced through the older brother of a friend, who was my first record collecting mentor.
• The Mindbendes - A Groovy Kind of Love
• The Foundations - Baby Now That I've Found You ….. This still gives me 'chills' that bring back the feelings of those times listening to the radio. Actually most of these songs do to a certain extent but none quite like this.
• Neil Diamond - Kentucky Woman ….. A few years later as a teenager, I took a lot of good natured grief for being a Neil Diamond fan. It wasn't thought to be cool. What the hell, I didn't care.

Mark Kozelek

Something a little different .....

The latest recording by Mark Kozelek titled 'All The Best, Issac Hayes.' Spoken word pieces with piano accompaniment about places he's visited while on tour.

As if he's sending out postcards or letters with what he sees in places like San Francisco, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Los Angeles  .....

David Ramirez

'Fables' by a Singer/Songwriter named David Ramirez, discovered just a few hours earlier while viewing videos on YouTube of peoples vinyl record collections and album suggestions.

This recording is from 2015.

Another example of just when I think there's nothing else to discover, something great rises up and presents itself. And it's like, "How could I not known of this?"

Early favorite tune …. 'Rock and a Hard Place.' ….. "But for all the things I've lost, there are a few I've gained. Most came between a rock and a hard place." Those lines speak to something emotional inside of whatever makes up what I have become!!

A Dose of The Blues

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'The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969.' This is Volume three of a three part set on DVD.  Great black and white footage of various Blues musicians. Huge names in the history of The Blues playing on each others songs. Live recordings in small television studios during a European tour. I love the imagery that goes with each song. And each song is a treasure.

It seems that a different tune may stand out with each viewing. Today it was Hound Dog Taylor & Little Walter performing 'Wild About You.'

Other highlights …. Skip James performing 'All Night Long' and Koko Taylor singing 'Wang Dang Doodle.' 

There's no filler material on this set, just classic Acoustic (mostly) Blues. So if you have a couple hours …..

New Jason Isbell

New song from Jason Isbell titled 'Only Children'. He just keeps writing great tunes!! I've only listened to it four or five times tonight. From his new album to be released next week. One that I'm feeling extreme excitement about. Feels like old times, this anticipation for a new record. And there's nothing quite like the experience of listening to a new album for the first time.

Rolling Thunder Revue

There's almost 150 cuts and 633 minutes of music and chatter. Purchased this almost a year ago and because I've been attempting to be a Dylan completist, I felt called to pursue the entire collection of recordings. I initially tried to resist but that didn't work out so well. I'm finally breaking into these treasures tonight. Old memories of youth returning like it was just a short time ago. I look at something like this and have no idea where to start. The beginning seems too obvious. So I'm starting with the last disc in the collection.

I've always been fascinated with this period because Dylan was just coming off his album 'Blood On The Tracks' which I had gone through my Freshman year of college being obsessed with. At the time, the live recordings from this tour seemed like a letdown in comparison. Thankfully I see things much differently now. Time and history eventually break down misguided opinions.

I marvel at the thought that it's been almost half a century since these shows took place and that I was around at the time. These shows were all in the northeastern U.S. and Canada. I don't recall if Dylan passed through my Oregon on this tour. Amazing stuff!!

Late Night Playlist

Just another run of the mill, stay-at-home edition, Friday night / Saturday morning, OPB streaming playlist .....

• Kate Davis - Cloud

Well the song identification feature isn't updating so I'm not even sure if the song listed is correct. Instead I'll offer a quick, whatever comes to mind in this moment, stranded somewhere anywhere playlist ....

• Bob Dylan - Precious Angel
• Gordon Lightfoot - If You Could Read My Mind
• Peter Gabriel - Red Rain ..... "I cannot make a single sound as you scream."
• Warren Zevon - Sentimental Hygiene
• Talking Heads - This Could Be The Place
• Sting - They Dance Alone
• Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World ..... Was hearing this song in my mind earlier this evening.
• Steely Dan - My Old School ..... Thinking about a friend who likes this song and gave me a new appreciation of it.
• Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays ..... Suddenly popped into my mind.
• Bad Company - Bad Company ..... Been having this song flash through my head for the past couple days. No idea why. Reminds me of a Christmas long ago and my parents giving me the album as a present.

Blue Mountain

'Midnight In Mississippi' by Blue Mountain. From 2008. Americana. Or Alt-Country if you prefer. Part of the 1990's direction taken by bands like Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Son Volt, Whiskeytown (Ryan Adams), The Jayhawks .... to name a few.

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