The Ron Kane Files

Writing About Music

Friday, June 22, 2007

New Releases 1972.06.26

Phonolog Reports – New Releases

Week of June 26, 1972

Caught my eye:

JOHN LENNON & YOKO ONO – Sometime In New York City (Apple SVBB-3392) double LP (LP) (CD)

ALICE COOPER – School’s Out (Warner Brothers 3623) (LP) (CD)

Double LP for John & Yoko – that featured Frank Zappa! Not anybody’s favorite Lennon LP, however. And a hit for former Zappa-proteges Alice Cooper (LP came with a ‘gimmicks’ package initially).

Also of interest:

P.F. SLOAN – Raised On Records (Mums KZ-31260)

IKE & TINA TURNER – Feel Good (United Artists UAS 5598)

Singer / songwriter stuff for P.F. Sloan; R&B toughness for Ike & Tina.

Notable singles:

SEALS & CROFTS – Summer Breeze b/w East of Ginger Trees (Warner Brothers 7606)

PARRISH & GURVITZ – I’ve Got Time b/w Janine (Decca 32969)

THE DOORS – Get Up and Dance (Elektra 45793)

SPARKS – Mr. Nice Guys (No More) b/w Wonder Girl (Bearsville 006)

NEIL YOUNG / GRAHAM NASH – War Song b/w The Needle and The Damage Done (Reprise 1099)

A hit for Seals & Crofts; British Parrish & Gurvitz get a US single – not sure which was the A-side (but I’ve listed my favorite first); Post-Jim Doors 45; certainly one of the first Sparks 45’s!; Non-LP A-side for Neil Young / Graham Nash?

= = =

The Ron Kane Files now take a well-earned vacation from the blogosphere. If I can figure out how to post from Tokyo, I will. Otherwise, see you on July 8th or 9th. School is, indeed - OUT!


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Thursday, June 21, 2007

New Releases 1972.06.19


Phonolog Reports – New Releases

Week of June 19, 1972

Caught my eye:

GORGONI, MARTIN & TAYLOR – self-titled (2nd album) (Buddah BDS 5113) (LP)

BIFF ROSE – Uncle Jesus, Auntie Christ (United Artists UAS-5594) (LP)

Songwriter release day! Chip Taylor wrote “Wild Thing”, Biff Rose wrote “Buzz The Fuzz”!

Also of interest:

BLACK OAK ARKANSAS – If An Angel Came To See You (Would You Make Her Feel At Home?) (Atco SD 7008)

SHA NA NA – Night Is Still Young (Kama Sutra 2050)

HONEY COMB – self-titled (Hot Wax 713)

Not the first Black Oak album; Sha Na Na continue after their Woodstock intro; Honey Comb will shortly release the “Want Ads” single (if it didn’t already sneak by me!).

Notable singles:

SMITH, PERKINS & SMITH – Save Me b/w I Cry Mercy (Island / Capitol 1206)

LOU REED – I Can’t Stand It b/w Going Down (RCA 74-0727)

JAMES BROWN – Honky Tonk (Parts 1 & 2) (Polydor 14129)

O’JAYS – Backstabbers b/w Sunshine (Philadelphia Int’l ZS7-3517)

THE GUESS WHO – Albert Flasher b/w Broken (RCA 74-0906)

CHICAGO – Colour My World b/w I’m A Man (Columbia 4-33210)

SANTANA – Everybody’s Everything b/w No One To Depend On (Columbia 4-33211)

JANE BIRKIN & SERGE GAINSBOURG – La Decadanse b/w Langues De Chat (Fontana 1684)

JANIS JOPLIN – Cry Baby b/w Mercedes Benz (Columbia 4-33208)

PEGGY LEE – Is That All There Is? b/w I’m A Woman (Capitol 6191)

JOHN DENVER – Take Me Home Country Roads b/w Poems, Prayers & Promises (RCA 74-0904)

SUE THOMPSON – Sweet Memories b/w Take Me As I Am (Or Let Me Go) (Hickory 1641)

The Smith, Perkins & Smith A-side is the best track here! Big R&B classic for the O’Jays; I didn’t know Serge & Jane got a post-“Je T’aime” release in the US!; Posthumous 45 from Janis; almost the end of the line for the original Hickory Records 45 numbering series – and I have dozens of Sue Thompson 45’s!!


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New Releases 1972.06.12


Phonolog Reports – New Releases

Week of June 12, 1972

Caught my eye:

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR – Pawn Hearts (Charisma / Buddah CAS 1051) (LP) (CD)

URIAH HEEP – Demons & Wizards (Mercury SRM-1-630) (LP)

Two important British tiles get their U.S. issue – they added a track (“Theme One”) to the VDGG LP! (It was released in England during October, 1971). I really only liked the debut Uriah Heep album, sorry!

Also of interest:

DUST – Hard Attack (Kama Sutra 2059)

THE LAST POETS – Chastisement (Blue Thumb 39)

CHEECH & CHONG – Big Bambu (Ode 70 SP-77014)

FUNKADELIC – America Eats It’s Young (Westbound 2020)

ARGENT – All Together Now (Epic KE-31556)

I didn’t buy any of these…but I noticed all of them.

Notable singles:

STRAWBS – Heavy Disguise b/w Benedictus (A&M 1364)

STAN FREBERG – John & Marsha b/w Try (Capitol 3355) re-issue

EMITT RHODES – Tame The Lion b/w Golden Child of God (Dunhill 7315)

APOLLO 100 – Telstar b/w Minuet For A Funky Lady (Mega 0080)

MICKEY DOLENZ – Lover’s Prayer b/w Unattended In The Dungeon (MGM K-14395)

Strawbs tries again; Mr. Freberg gets a re-issue; pop prince Emitt Rhodes continues; Apollo 100 cover Joe Meek; Post-Monkees Mickey Dolenz 45, with an odd B-Side title.

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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

New Releases 1972.06.05


Phonolog Reports – New Releases

Week of June 5, 1972

Caught my eye:

KIM FOWLEY – I’m Bad (Capitol ST-11075) (LP)

DOUG & RUSTY KERSHAW – Genus Cambarus (Hickory 163) (2LP)

KOSSOFF / KIRKE / TETSU / RABBIT (Island/Capitol SMAS-9320) (CD)

PINK FLOYD – Obscured By Clouds (Harvest / Capitol ST-11078) (LP) (CD)

HENRY WOLFF & NANCY HENNINGS – Tibetan Bells (Island / Capitol SMAS-9319) (LP)

Big week! Kim Fowley storms into the 70’s; Doug & Rusty get re-issued; members of 'Free' team up with Tetsu; Pink Floyd issue a very good soundtrack to an iffy Euro movie; the birth of ‘new age’ music from Wolff & Hennings.

Also of interest:

EAGLES – self-titled (Asylum SD 5054)

MIKE D’ABO – Down At Rachael’s Place (A&M SP-4346)

MARK MOOGY KLINGMAN – Moogy (Capitol ST-11072)

DAVID BOWIE – Ziggy Stardust (RCA LSP-4702) (LP) (CD)

HARVEY MANDEL – The Snake (Janus 3037)

Set your clocks – the Eagles start here; Mike D’Abo is ex-Manfred Mann; Moogy didn’t want any misunderstanding as to what kind of music you were going to be getting; Bowie gets glam; Harvey Mandel soldiers on – with a pretty good LP!

Notable singles:

HARRY NILSSON – Coconut b/w Down (RCA 74-0718)

T. REX – Metal Guru b/w Lady (Reprise 1095)

PAUL McCARTNEY & WINGS – Mary had A Little Lamb b/w Little Woman Love (Apple 1851)

FLEETWOOD MAC – Sentimental Lady b/w Sunny Side of Heaven (Reprise 1093)

DAVID BOWIE – Starman b/w Suffragette City (RCA 74-0719)

Good Nilsson 45; Single from “The Slider” for Marc B.; probably Paul’s weakest Wings 45; Bob Welch song for F. Mac (which he later re-recorded); Glam rock Bowie hits the streets in the U.S.A.!

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Tuesday, June 19, 2007

New Releases 1972.05.29


Phonolog Reports – New Releases

Week of May 29, 1972

Caught my eye:

THE ROLLING STONES – Exile On Main Street (Rolling Stones COC 2-2900) double album (LP) (CD)

TOWER OF POWERBump City (Warner Brothers 2616) (CD)

FOGHAT (Bearsville 2077)

ARLO GUTHRIE – Hobo’s Lullabye (Reprise 2060) (LP)

MELTON, LEVY & THE DEY BROTHERS (Columbia KC 31279)

Heavyweight Stones LP! I love this T.O.P. album (with “Down To The Nightclub” and “You Got To Funkafize”), their 2nd. Ex-Savoy Brown guys = Foghat. Arlo Guthrie continues, after “Alice’s Restaurant”. Barry Melton joins Mr. Levy & The Dey Brothers and makes a rock & roll LP with a neat cat face on the cover (the cat with human teeth).

Also of interest:

RANDY NEWMAN – Sail Away (Reprise 2064)

JAMES BROWN – Soul Classics Vol. 1 (Polydor 5401)

DADDY COOL – Teenage Heaven (Reprise 2088)

BOB WEIR – Ace (Warner Brothers 2627)

JOHN MAYALL – Jazz Blues Fusion (Polydor 24-5027)

Sure are a lot of Warner / reprise titles today! I liked the debut from Randy Newman, so I noticed this. Only signed to Polydor a short time, and James already gets a collection. 2nd U.S. LP from Australian Daddy Cool (which featured Ross Wilson). Solo Dead with Weir’s “Ace”. John Mayall still slogging it out – “The Turning Point” had been mighty, so Polydor stuck with him for quite a while.

Notable singles:

ALICE COOPER – School’s Out b/w Gutter Cat (Warner Brothers 7596)

UNDISPUTED TRUTH – Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (Gordy 7117)

JIM CAPALDI – Oh How We Danced (Island/Capitol 1205)

Just in time for summer! Alice Cooper has a hit, Undisputed Truth pretend they are The Temptations and solo Traffic member Jim Capaldi gives it his best – with the title track from his debut solo album as a single.

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Monday, June 18, 2007

New Releases 1972.05.22


Phonolog Reports – New Releases

Week of May 22, 1972

Caught my eye:

JUDY COLLINS – Best Of (Elektra EKS-75030)

WALTER CARLOS – A Clockwork Orange (Columbia KC-31480) (LP)

ELTON JOHN – Honky Chateau (Uni 93135) (LP) (CD)

AUDIENCE – Lunch (Elektra EKS-75026) (LP) (CD)

Nice Best of for Judy Collins. Always did like her “Both Sides Now”. Not the soundtrack, but more synth music from “A Clockwork Orange” by Wendy Carlos. Decent studio album for Elton John – it sounds great, I just listened to the CD of it recently. The final Audience album (#4).

Also of interest:

SAILCAT – Motorcycle Mama (Elektra EKS-75029) (LP)

STEPPENWOLF – Rest In Peace (Dunhill DSX-50124)

ERNEST TUBB – Say Something Nice To Sarah (Decca DL 75345)

Novelty album for Sailcat (yes, the 45 was released this week too). The final Steppenwolf album. E.T. must’ve been signed to Decca / MCA for decades by the time this chestnut came along. He was alive (and signed to Decca / MCA almost until he passed away!).

Notable singles:

FLASH – Small Beginnings b/w Morning Haze (Capitol 3345)

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – 10538 Overture b/w Battle of the Marston Moor (United Artists 50914)

DEEP PURPLE – Lazy b/w When A Blind Man Cries (Warner Brothers 7595)

EAGLES – Take It Easy b/w Get You In The Mood (Asylum 11005)

DAVID BROMBERG – The Hold-Up b/w Suffer To Sing The Blues (Columbia 4-45612)

STEVEN STILLS – It Doesn’t Matter (Atlantic 2876)

VIGRASS & OSBOURNE – Forever Autumn (Uni 55330)

THE HOLLIES – Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress b/w Look What We’ve Got (Epic 5-10871)

Good week for singles! I love the first three singles. Debut Eagles 45? David Bromberg with George Harrison – which version? That good non-hit Steve Stills 45. The debut of “Forever Autumn” which Justin Hayward would cover for the Jeff Wayne “War Of The Worlds” album in a few years. Hit single for The Hollies, 70’s style.


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Friday, June 15, 2007

New Releases 1972.05.15


Phonolog Reports – New Releases

Week of May 15, 1972

Caught my eye:

AMON DUUL II – Carnival In Babylon (United Artists UAS-5586) (LP (CD)

ARTHUR LEE – Vindicator (A&M SP-4356)

MOUNTAIN – Road Goes Ever On (Windfall 5502)

Slow-ish week for ’72. Krautrock from ADII, in every 99 cent bin. Former Love frontman Arthur Lee with his debut solo album. Live album from Mountain.

Also of interest:

MILLER ANDERSONBright City (Deram DES-18062)

SAMMY DAVIS JR. – “Live” (MGM SE-4811) (LP)

LITTLE JIMMY OSMOND – Long Haired Lover From Liverpool (MGM/Kolob SE-4001)

MIKE CURB CONGREGATION – See You In September (MGM SE-4844) (LP)

Miller Anderson would eventually work with Jimmy McCulloch. Sammy’s MGM LP’s are all fairly special, and this is no exception. Worst album on this list? Proof that not everything released in 1972 was good? Look no further than the debut Little Jimmy Osmond LP. So bad, it’s oppressive! EZ vocal hits from Mike Curb & Co. – some serious EZ chorus vocals.

Notable singles:

DADDY COOL – Daddy Rocks Off b/w I’ll Never Smile Again (Reprise 1090)

HOT BUTTER – Popcorn (Musicor 1458)

ARTHUR LEE – Love Jumped Through My Window b/w Everybody’s Gotta Live (A&M AM-1361)

Wow, a Daddy Cool single that isn’t “Eagle Rock”! Novelty synthesizer hit for Hot Butter. And the Arthur Lee single the same week as the LP!


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Guest Blog - Part 3

Part 3

1985 also brought affordable compact disc technology. I bought my first when Radio Shack was liquidating their first model for the then low price of $500! But the discs themselves were still a rare occurrence on the Orlando scene. I recall seeing about a dozen or so [imports] in the best stores pre-1985. Eventually, the right stores carried decent imports and I bristle at the thoughts of all of the titles I didn’t buy [but wanted] at the time that are now 2 decades OOP and beyond my reach! But CDs in 1985 were a waiting game. The industry first had to fulfill their commitment to provide all of the Phil Collins fans with their precious discs first before the likes of my favorite groups would hit the new format. Remember: there were initially THREE CD pressing plants in the world at that time. Tears For Fears made news by being the first act to release a CD n the same day as vinyl for their hit “Big Chair” album. Speaking of TFF, when my friends staged a road trip to Tampa to see them on tour in 1986, we made the pilgrimage to the legendary Vinyl Fever, touted by my friend Elisa. It more than lived up to the billing and for many years, any trips to Tampa made time for a trip to VF! It was a superb record store at a time when superb record stores were peaking and did not know it.

I soon began the regrettable trend of trading in vinyl for credit at stores where I could get CDs. A lot of these items I would later re-buy, at least when I purchased again the prices were really low! Around 1986 there was an amazing store in Orlando that was ALL CD up in Altamonte Springs, north of Orlando. My friend Tom and I would go there every payday and squander our meager paychecks on the delightful import discs to be had there. They only lasted about two years [I wish I could remember their name – was it Digital Sounds?] but a good 30% of my early collection of CDs came from there at that time. I vividly remember getting a UK import of Tracey Ullman’s 2nd album, “You Caught Me Out” there only to have a CD so riven with data noise that it sounded like a helicopter had bee mixed into the final product! When held up to the light, one could see thousands of pinholes in the reflective plating on the disc – far beyond what the error correction circuits of the players could handle! I remember examining all of my CDs looking for pinholes in the plating and the first disc I had ever seen without any was Kraftwerk’s “Electric Cafe” pressed by JVC in Japan – late in 1986. It hurt to trade that back to the dealer knowing that there was not another to buy. Heck, to this day I have never seen the vinyl on that album – which I had been looking for for a few years already at that point. Fortunately, in the early 90s, our friends at the German label Repertoire released that and many other Stiff label discs on CD, with ample bonus tracks to boot!

1986 also saw my first real trip out of state for musical purposes. Fave band OMD were opening for The Thompson Twins [not exactly favorites at this point in their career] at the famous Fox Theatre in Atlanta so I road tripped there with a friend. Since the show was on a Sunday. we stayed an extra day just to buy records at Wax & Facts in Little Five Points. I only had about $100 to spend and food was overrated, so I brought home some John Foxx, Virginia Astley and Mari Wilson records instead! It was a real trip to get Mari records in a store since I had amassed a large collection through mail order only. Effective, but hardly fun or tactile! Yes, I would soon make the move to full time Goldmine subscription just for the ads. But that remains for another time…

To which Brian replied:

Just to expand a bit on Jim's very accurate overview of Orlando's record scene - I was here in the 60s and bought almost everything in department stores like J.C. Penneys, J.M. Fields, and for some reason Singer Sewing Machine stores. The first true music store I can remember was Bill Baer's in the Winter Park Mall. Every Top 40 single! Listening booths! And of course TVs and Hi-Fis. Then came the original East West Records in Winter Park which was the first store that I remember that sold nothing but records and tapes. And finally a quick shout out to "Steve's Southern Music" which had EVERY domestic 45 released whether it charted or not and ALWAYS with the picture sleeve. Much appreciated!!

= = =

Thanks to Brian and Jim for this wonderful appreciation of Florida record stores!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Guest Blog - Part 2

Part 2

by correspondent Jim Donato:

By the late 70s K-Mart was pretty much it for me and records. I could easily ride my bike there and that settled it. The closest actual record stores to me growing up were East-West Records & Tapes on Orange Avenue and a Record Mart on Oak Ridge Road. Each 3-4 miles away. I could not ride my bikes there – Orlando traffic was far too scary for cyclists back then [and I don’t think much has changed].

In junior high I wanted a cassette deck [mono] so I could record songs off of the radio... acoustically! If only I had someone then to tell me what the Aux. jack was for! Recording sessions were closed door where I held the condenser mic up to the radio speaker! One side effect of this was being able to keep my pesky cousins out of my face when they visited. When my door was closed I was “recording” and my room was off limits. I didn’t bother explaining Aux input to my family later! In 9th grade, my dad got me the musical equivalent of the neutron bomb – a Radio Shack portable am/fm cassette recorder that allowed me to tape music AND monitor it -while taping- [by now I had figured out the Aux. In. jack]! I had some cheap bookshelf speakers that I had gotten at garage sales and I filled the room with 4-5 of these and plugged this unit into them for the best possible mono sound.

In junior high school I remember when “hip” teacher Robin Shurtz started teaching English at my school. I was in 9th grade and he came to my English class and gave a presentation on music and I was the only kid there who recognized Alan Parson’s Project. At the time, “I Robot” was out and the lame “Pyramid” was still a year or so out. I was a pre-teen record geek.

The summer between junior high and high school was pivotal – I acquired my first stereo from Sears and it was an all-in-one with cassette and 8-track recording capability! Now I would never need anything else! By this time, getting dad to drive me to the two nearby record stores had to happen. After buying me a stereo, my first album purchased was the excellent “Black Noise” by Canadian progmeisters FM. It says a lot that I can still dearly LOVE this album 29 years later! When most of the progrock I was listening to at this time has fallen by the wayside [particularly the Moody Blues – ech!] this album still gets the juices flowing and I consider it the last, great progressive rock album. Sure the sci-fi lyrics are potential howlers, but the playing has all of the meat and little of the fat that doomed prog! Nash The Slash managed a very credible New Wave career after ditching the band following this debut. The only later album I heard by these guys [“City Of Fear” with future k.d. lang accompanist Ben Mink replacing Nash on strings] just didn’t come close to cutting it!

I suppose I should also mention that my high school had a 10 watt FM station WGAG, [Green And Gold – school colors] and of course I was a DJ there! My befuddled physics teacher, Mr. Howard, was in charge of the program and had to submit at least 5 sets of call letters to the FCC when he began the station a year earlier and of course the FCC in their wisdom.

As a teenager, my parents finally let me ride my bike to at least the Oak Ridge Record Mart and by this time [79] New Wave was it! I remember buying The Boomtown Rats “Fine Art Of Surfacing” there, among others. After graduating high school, I upgraded the cassette in my stereo with my graduation present – a nice Akai stand alone cassette deck I rigged into my system, which didn’t have aux inputs since it could do everything.

While in college I shared a ride with a friend and once a week, I’d have enough lunch money to ask him to stop by Record Mart Warehouse on the way home,. It was a large store with decent imports and by now I had discovered the glory of cutouts! 3-5 records for $10!!! This large store was managed by Don Gilliland, the guy who always worked at the best record store in town. Since it was actually a warehouse, it was the point of origin for all stock in the local Record Mart chain. I first saw import 12” singles here but did not yet fathom them! I didn’t know that they featured different material to the 7” singles that I was more used to seeing. Extended versions?! Not yet in my life.

I also discovered USED record stores around this time [1981] and Retro records had a great New Wave section that made shopping hideously easy! Lots of great stuff from this store, run by Bob Ponder. Now my lunch money could travel further! Let’s see, 1981 brought: cutouts – 12” singles – and used records! All helping my mania extend itself. While a college freshman I met a friend - Jayne and she lived north of Orlando and told me about the wonders of Record City in Fern Park. It was behind the Jai-Alai fronton and she took me there between classes one day. By now I was hooked on the stuff bad and this was a mind-blowing record store – my first. It was Fall of 1981 and John Foxx and Ultravox had brand new singles out in the most extensive import section I’d ever seen! Not just 3-4 feet of goods but a whole long row in the large store! I had enough cash to buy 2 7”ers or 1 12” so I went with “Miles Away” and the just out “Europe, After The Rain” by Foxx instead of Ultravox’s “Thin Wall” 12.” The cutout section at Record City was unbelievably excellent – as large as a typical record store in itself!

1983 saw a new record store appear on the Orlando horizon: Don Gilliland started up Murmur Records. Yes, Orlando was a flashpoint of REM fandom from the Hib-Tone days. By the time they were signed to IRS there were already a few clone bands locally! But Murmur would be Orlando’s premiere record store [new and used] from ’83 to when it closed, following the arrival of Lollapalooza in 95 to our fair city.

By this time, I have fond memories of record buying sorties with my friends like Tom or Charles. There was an element of risk since we often were gunning for exactly the same records and whoever found them first might be the only ones to get them that day.

By 1985 I had graduated college and met my friend Brian who introduced me to the next step in my record buying development: mail order! Brian was an inveterate mail order buyer and between his Goldmine subscription and various catalogs arriving weekly, I managed to piggyback on some of his orders before I went to ordering outright myself. Naturally, Brian knew Ron [the writer of this blog] and it was then when I made my first connection with Citizen Kane.

Guest blog - Part 1


Jim D. left a great 6-page long comment that I couldn't leave under a bushel. Here's Part 1 - I've been trying to talk Jim into a collaborative blog for some time now...

Part 1


The first record store I ever went to, having previously only seen them in department or drug stores, was an unnamed San Fernando valley place where I went in by myself, age 7 with enough money to buy a 45! I picked “Imagine” by John Lennon since I knew he was in the Beatles. But for the vas bulk of my childhood, having no elder siblings, I only saw records in department stores and drug stores. I also remember seeing “cutout” 45s near the checkout counter at the occasional quick mart in my travels across this great land of ours, but I was unsuccessful in getting my parents to pony up the 4 bits for a 45! Just as well, those records, if I had bought them, would have probably warped or melted in the heat of the car. In LA my family used to shop at Gemco and one or two records might have been bought there.

By my pre-teen years I would get the occasional record at Millers department store, or an Eckerds drug store or the old reliable K-Mart. I remember buying Steppenwolf “R.I.P” at Miller’s as a cutout for $1-2! This was when full list was an impressive $5. Eckerd Drugs would also have cutouts [though this word did not enter my vocabulary for another decade or so] but I remember buying Three Dog Night’s “Naturally” at full list! Smitten with their cover of “The Loco Motion” I also wanted the Grand Funk album from whence it came, “Shinin’ On” – the one with the 3-D cover also made it like flypaper to me! In the end I settled for the 45 and one play of the dismal Led Zep rip-off b-side, “Destitute & Losing” gave me the steel to resist that 3-D album cover forevermore. In retrospect, I credit Todd Rundgren for his able production in almost suckering me into buying a Grand Funk album!

In the ensuing years my album stash grew along very modestly with a fruitcake tin of used 45s [usually sans sleeves] that I bought when accompanying my mom to garage sales during summer vacation. Used records entered my life fairly early from garage sales and it would be some years before I discovered that whole record stores sold used merchandise! I remember that even seeing a 45 picture sleeve was vastly exotic to my pre-teen eyes! K-Mart, where by now any record purchases were made, almost never featured picture sleeves on their 45s in the mid-70s. This probably was because record store rackjobbers got the limited sleeves as a perk where general retail stores got by on generic white or label sleeves. Am I right Ron? (Yes - Ed.)

I can remember also seeing by this time, albums on a POP rack at the checkout of local quick mart stores like Shop & Go. These would largely be K-Tel releases but when you are a kid, these have enormous bang for buck appeal. I remember wanting one such K-Tel release in 1974 – “Dynamite”.

It’s contents:

The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace
Takin' Care of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
This Flight Tonight - Nazareth
Be Thankful for What You Got - William DeVaughn
I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton
Hollywood Swinging - Kool & the Gang
Stuck in the Middle With You - Stealers Wheel
I'm a Train - Albert Hammond

Rock Your Baby - George McCrae
Honky Cat - Elton John
Seasons in the Sun - Terry Jacks
Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo - Rick Derringer
Meet Me on the Corner Down at Joe's Cafe - Peter Noone
Save the Last Dance for Me - The DeFranco Family
Rings - Lobo
The Lord's Prayer - Sister Janet Mead
Love's Theme - Love Unlimited
Show and Tell - Al Wilson
On and On - Gladys Knight
Let's Put It All Together - The Stylistics

Wow! A pretty dismal compilation! Why in heaven’s name did I want this? Probably because it was there at the checkout whenever we would buy a gallon of milk. And it was a record. Anything good here? The William DeVaughan number scores high points with me. I loved the Kool & The Gang number then AND now (I’m with ya! – Ed.)
Heck, I re-bought the 45 a few years ago making this the one track still in my collection 34 years later! Always one of my favorites by them. The Al Wilson isn’t a bad r&b pop number either. The Elton John number was middling EJ. BTO wasn’t too bad... I’m grasping at straws here! What did I hate at the time? Eric Clapton’s Bob Marley cover was my first exposure to reggae and honestly, it never got much better to my ears! I absolutely HATED this song with my 11 year old ears. The same sentiment to Monsieur Jacks! I only found out a few years ago that “Seasons In The Sun” was a Brel cover!! I guess Scott Walker picked much better material! The Stealers Wheel track always struck me as hideously smarmy at the time and I recall finding the double entendre repulsive even as a child. The DeFranco Family were faux Osmonds – please!! Since I was a heathen atheist, Sister Janet Mead didn’t win any stars with me either! Rick Derringer was far too over-amped for my delicate sensibilities. At least the groove-crammed pressing sounded just fine on my portable mono record player.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

New Releases 1972.05.08


Phonolog Reports – New Releases

Week of May 8, 1972

Caught my eye:

JANIS JOPLIN – In Concert (Columbia C2X-31160) double LP

WALTER CARLOS – Sonic Seasonings (Columbia KG31234) double LP (LP)

CONCEPTION CORPORATION – Conceptionland (and other states of mind) (Cotillion SD 9051) (LP) (CD)

DAN HICKS AND HIS HOT LICKS – Striking It Rich (Blue Thumb BTS-36)

DR. JOHN – Gumbo (Atco SD 7006) (LP (CD)

Posthumous Janis Joplin. Synthesizer atmospheres from Wendy Carlos. I heard Conception Corporation on the radio, actually (KPFK!). Old-time music from Dan Hicks. Genuine ‘gumbo’ from Dr. John, a classic album.

Also of interest:

EDDIE HARRIS – Instant Death (Atlantic SD 1611) (CD)

GODFREY DANIEL – Take A Sad Song (Atlantic SD 7219) (LP)

DON CHERRY – Eternal Rhythm (MPS 20204)

DON “SUGARCANE” HARRIS – Fiddler On The Rock (MPS 20878)

Mostly jazz here – records it took me w while to get around to. Took about 25 years for me to try Godfrey Daniel!

Notable singles:

JADE WARRIOR – Barazinbar (Vertigo 106)

ELTON JOHN – Rocket Man b/w Suzie (Dramas) (Uni 55328)

AMERICA – I Need You b/w Riverside (Warner Brothers 7580)

CROSBY & NASH – Immigration Man (Atlantic 2873)

JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH – Troglodyte (RCA Victor 48-1029)

WAYNE COCHRAN & THE C.C. RIDERS – Somebody’s Been Cuttin’ In On My Groove (Epic 5-10859)

Yet another Vertigo 45. Hit singles for Elton John and America. That fun Crosby & Nash 45 I mentioned yesterday. Nice funky R&B hit for Jimmy Castor. Near the end of the line for Wayne C. & The C.C. Riders – but a good song anyway – I wonder if the 45 deletes the ‘drug’ references?

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Tuesday, June 12, 2007

New Releases 1972.05.01


Phonolog Reports – New Releases

Week of May 1, 1972

Caught my eye:

ALEXIS KORNER – Bootleg Him (Warner Brothers 2XS-196) double LP

FREE – Free At Last (A&M SP-4349)

PERCY FAITH – Joy (Columbia CQ-31301) (LP) quad

STEPHEN STILLSManassas (Atlantic SD 2-903) double LP

I remember not knowing who Alexis Korner was, yet being intrigued by this LP. Rockin’ Free! I think my dad got the Percy Faith LP at the time. This must be the non-hit Steven Stills LP with “It Doesn’t Matter” that Firefall eventually made into an FM hit.

Also of interest:

JIM CROCE – You Don’t Mess Around With Jim (ABC X-756)

REDD FOXX – Sanford and Foxx (Dooto 853)

NAZARETH (Warner Brothers BS 2615)

JEFF BECK GROUP (Epic KE-31331)

CHAKACHAS – Jungle Fever (Polydor 24-5504)

The debut Jim Croce LP? “Sanford & Son” cash-in from Redd Foxx’s previous label. U.S. debut of British hard rockers Nazareth. Jazz-rock from Jeff Beck. I can’t bring the cover to the Chakachas LP to mind – they’re Belgian (Louis DePrijk, to be exact).

Notable singles:

PYTHON LEE JACKSON – In A Broken Dream (2 Parts) (GNP Crescendo 449)

IAN MATTHEWS – Tigers Will Survive b/w Hope You Know (Vertigo 105)

NEIL DIAMOND – Song Sung Blue b/w Gitchy Goomy (Uni 55326)

FREE – Sail On b/w Little Bit Of Love (A&M AM-1352)

GREENFIELD & COOK – Only Lies (Polydor 15032)

Rod Stewart sang this Python lee Jackson siong, and it attracted a lot of attention. Yet another Vertigo single for Ian Matthews. Big hit for Neil Diamond, soon to leave Uni. Non-hit Free 45, from a great album. Dutch ‘harmony pop’ from the Dutch duo Greenfield & Cook – took me years to hear this band, and this song. Cool stuff. I never knew it had a U.S. issue. There must’ve been something in the water – U.S. labels were sure releasing a lot of European stuff around this time.


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Monday, June 11, 2007

Record Store Business Cards!


I found a ton of old record store business cards last night. Many of them are over 30 years old. Now we have some actual information about the names and locations of some of the record stores I used to frequent as a teenager! It was such a blast of reality finding this little stack of business cards! Nothing quite like have some ‘proof’ instead of always having to rely upon my memory!

Mundae Records & Tapes

17 39th Place (Belmont Pier)

Long Beach CA 90803

434-4788

Dick Heckstall-Smith “A Story Ended”, David Bowie “Ziggy Stardust”

Wenzel’s Music Town (Tom & Maxine)

Home of…Oldies but Goodies

13117 Lakewood Blvd

Downey CA 90242

634-2928

Rolling Stones “She’s A Rainbow” picture sleeve

Vogue Records and Tapes

1025 Westwood Blvd (Westwood Village)

Los Angeles CA 90024

270-3142

John Cage “Indeterminacy” (my 2nd copy!)

Vogue Records and Tapes

6666 Hollywood Blvd

Hollywood CA 90028

466-7276

Led Zeppelin “IV” (white label promo), Mephistopheles “In Frustration I Hear Singing”

Vogue Records and Tapes

3576 Rosemead Blvd (Rosemead Square Shopping Center)

Rosemead CA 91770

280-3323

(Can’t actually remember what I might’ve bought at this location – more Battisti LP’s?)

Platterpuss Records

4661 Hollywood Blvd

Hollywood CA 90027 (?)

660-0666

King Crimson “Lizard”

Platterpuss Records

5536 East 7th Street

Long Beach

498-1765

Michel Berger “self-titled” debut LP on WB France, Second Hand “Death May be Your Santa Claus”

Platterpuss Records

104 East Broadway

Glendale

246-3300

Cream “Wheels Of Fire” (foil-covered jacket)

Platterpuss Records

320 Manhattan Beach Blvd

Manhattan Beach

372-4214

Family “Family Entertainment” (with a poster)

Platterpuss Records

2204 Lincoln Blvd

Santa Monica

392-6622

Gracious! – “self-titled” debut, US copy…for 10 cents!

Platterpuss Records

1909 S. Catalina

South Redondo Beach

373-7111

Robert Wyatt “Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard”

Moby Disc

14626 Victory Blvd

Van Nuys CA

787-7100

Tea & Symphony “Jo Sago” (and way too many to mention!)

I actually used to shop at almost all of these stores – back when I was still in school, didn’t have any money to speak of etc. Before I drove, I had to rely upon others to get me places that were outside of my loop – sometimes my dad, sometimes my brother – and eventually I got friends that had cars, and were ‘up’ for some “record cruising”.

The Vogue stores are the only ones listed here that did not have ‘used’ LP’s as such – I think they had a ‘cheapie bin’ – but the records were all new. The Vogue in Westwood is where I used to buy all my Lucio Battisti albums.

Moby Disc was a real trek from Long Beach – but I only had to show my brother that store once, and then whenever he hit town (he lived in Europe), we would make the 35+ mile drive to Van Nuys. A little later in the 70’s, I once went to Moby Disc the same day that I had a tooth extracted – that is an amusing memory. First, I had to tell me friend Bob how to drive to Van Nuys from Long Beach – then I had to have my wits about me as I sifted great big bins of used LP’s – in search of mid-70’s prog rock gold. I seem to remember getting a promo copy of the British (Virgin) double album “Unlimited Edition” by Can on that fateful evening.

And I couldn’t swear to it, but I think the Platterpuss in Redondo Beach eventually turned into a “Ray Avery’s Rare Records” (where I found my Dion McGregor LP!). Places like Platterpuss often had LP’s for under $1 (and I could easily ride my bike to the Long Beach store). A good Long Beach bicycle circuit was the Platterpuss on 7th Street and Mundae at the Long Beach Pier. I had a blue 10-speed bike.

A good L.A. “record run” also likely included a visit to Aron Record Shop on Melrose Avenue and possibly Tower Records on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood – and let’s not forget Rhino Records on Westwood Blvd. Or Poo Bah Record Shop (on Fair Oaks) in Pasadena. Hint, folks: only one of these shops is still alive – go to Poo Bah’s on Colorado Blvd. in (east) Pasadena! Say “Hi” to Michael, Gary & Chad!

Hollywood Blvd. was a good place to go to look for records – there were cheap places to eat, and about a dozen or more stores within a few blocks – places like Pacific Discount, Vogue, Phil Harris Record Shop, Lewin’ Record Paradise. My dad was always “OK” with going to Hollywood Blvd. – and he knew where it was! I wish I could remember who told me to go to Aron’s, Moby Disc etc. I’d love to give credit where credit is due.

After learning to drive – and while still in high school – I remember somehow obtaining my dad’s car and ditching school and driving from Long Beach to Aron’s on Melrose – likely parking around the corner on Genesee Avenue. I got a parking ticket – can’t remember if it was an “expired meter” or possibly a street sweeping ticket. But a $5 ticket really stung in those days – and that would’ve been practically my entire budget for a “record run”!

Somebody groovy told me about the record collector swap meet that took place in the parking lot of Capitol Records – probably about 1975 or so. I think it was my brother and myself who drove up there early one Sunday morning – I bought Frank Zappa 45’s on verve – and I remember someone having the entire international A&M label publishing library – with Japanese Cat Stevens EP’s (I got a white label Esperanto 45!). The swap meet had guys trying to be cool – with their skinny ties…other guys with miner’s helmets, guys who were drunk, people who had been up all night after a show at the Whisky or the Roxy. Eventually, we decided to do the “stay up all night” thing – and my brother & I discovered that people did, in fact, start showing up at Capitol around midnight – what silly people we had been, going at 6:00am, we could’ve been there all night!

Then the ‘Capitol meet’ moved across the street – eventually out to the Country Club in Reseda – talk about a drive from Long Beach!!!