Friday Evening Vinyl Finds

Friday evening, strolled into a record store, not expecting to find much but within a few minutes, stumbled across these .....

All from the 1960's with the cover photos and art that I love. All meeting my requirements for album covers (and vinyl too) in good condition. I generally won't even consider the purchase if the cover is looking chewed up and tattered. 

It was one of those record buying excursions where I walked out of the shop, feeling like I had found treasure. None had price tags attached so I had to ask. Those moments the shop owner spends researching the titles on Discogs, always frightens me. Especially when it involves vinyl from the 1960's. The resulting asking price was very much less than I was expecting.

The finds? Well, it was like .... Here's a stack of randomly placed records, I wonder if there's anything eye catching, to take home?

These moments of discovery are always exciting for me. 

Glen Campbell's recording if 'Wichita Lineman' has been a longtime favorite of mine. Though it's not on this record, it was exciting to find a recording with another great, old classic 60's pop tune, 'By the Time I Get to Phoenix.' It was all over the radio back then.

Vinyl Finds Today

I've been attempting to increase my coolness factor (that may be a lost cause, I may be stuck in nerdsville), by updating my 1960's and 80's vinyl holdings. 

Towards that goal, I drove down I-5 a few miles to an antique mall in downtown Albany, Oregon, where I found and took home (after a stop for fish & chips):

• The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out! (1966)
• Dexy's Midnight Runners - Searching For the Young Soul Rebels (1980)
• The English Beat - I Just Can't Stop It (1980)

It's only taken fifty-plus unexplainable years but I've recently become a fan of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention and this record was a recent addition to my mental 'holy grail' list for badly wanted records at an acceptable price. I had to stretch the limits of what is acceptable but .... What if tomorrow turns out to be my last day on earth? Then at least I'll have listened to and seen this spinning on my turntable. That's unless I burst tonight from the fish & chips.

I've been a fan since the mid-1980's of the band, General Public, with Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger, after viewing on MTV, their video for the song, 'Tenderness.' 

Prior to General Public, both were in the Ska band, The English Beat. I've been hoping to come across this recording on vinyl in my record digging excursions and today, there it was!

The English Beat - 'I Just Can't Stop It.' From 1980.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

From 1980. I purchased their, 'Too-Rye-Ay' album back in the early 1980's when the video for the song, 'Come On Eileen' was being played all over MTV. I never gave much attention to The Dexy's after that. I came across this while flipping through the New Wave bins. I wanted it, even if I end up not caring for the music, for the cover photograph. But from what I've read, I expect the music to be great also.

Dexy's Midnight Runners - 'Searching For the Young Soul Rebels.'

Swinging Ella

Saturday evening vinyl find enhancing my collection. Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers. Hopefully most people know who Ella Fitzgerald is but just in case, these are Jazz vocals.

A 1961 pressing of a record originally released in 1959, a mono version on the Verve Record label and the beautiful black vinyl, in near pristine shape. The store owner commented that I had just pulled off a great discovery. I was initially taken in by the cover photo. 

I was flipping through a random stack of albums on the counter of the record store, finding nothing special, when suddenly near the bottom of the stack, there was this!! Proving once again, that you never know what you might find. Had I come across this record two or three years ago, I'd likely flipped right on by. Fortunately, I've grown and advanced when it comes to music appreciation.