JAN 2010: My Month in record dealing

If you’ve had a look at the Blog before you’ll no doubt have spotted that I’ve been a bit indecisive as to the direction it should go in. Obviously it’s intended as a little side order to the record shop we run on eBay (that’s vinylsound just in case you’re wondering, find it here: http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Vinylsound ) but I’ve dithered over the content a bit. Still, at the dawn of a new decade it occurred that the thing I really loved about working around Record Fairs & markets in the 1990’s and first half of the 2000’s, apart from endless bacon rolls and coffee, was the music and collecting related chat with other dealers / collectors. Back then you couldn’t unload in the morning without another dealer pulling you to one side to “have a look at what I picked up in the week”. Those weekends in village halls and function rooms, only occasionally punctuated by having to serve a paying customer let’s face it, were spent trading, suggesting and arguing with other obsessive aficionados over the next tune/album to be played on a communal music player. It was a rare occasion that I left a Record Fair without some new musical discovery; I certainly never made much money as I had the unfortunate habit of spending most of my profit from the moment I had the petrol money home sorted. Still it was in that environment that I learnt about the impossible amounts of brilliant music there is to discover in all fields and from all eras. I was clueless about Northern Soul, Prog-Rock, Acid-Folk, Jazz, Acid-Jazz & most Psychedelia when I started the Fairs. Twenty years on and this is where I’m still finding most of my energy and enthusiasm for the business, in the constant discovery of new and old records that you hear and just instantly think “bloody hell that’s brilliant!”

It was at a Fair in 1994/5 that my fascination with all things 60’s Garage / 60’s Psych began; a dealer called Richard kept playing The Renegades ’13 Women’ over and over. After showing him an interest by asking about the record, he turned up at a Southend Record Fair the following week with a compilation cassette he gave me called ‘The Gathered Grunge’ (misleading title) full of incredible, obscure 60s Garage Rock rarities. It’s an area of music collecting that has endured and, with a nod to the ‘Nuggets’ compilations most people tend to associate with this type of music, I’m going to start a feature on this blog highlighting any 60’s Nuggets I come across in the daily trawl of my record dealing.

And that in a nutshell is what I’ve decided to do with the blog, after all there’s never really been a record dealer in existence who doesn’t want to show you his latest find or turn your ear to the music he’s excited about at the present moment. I’m like that too so it seems clear what the Blog should do; give a shout out to a few albums, songs, rare records, playlists and it can post the odd link to interesting music related stuff or even pass on the odd story that’s a part of my life as a record dealer in the 21st century, a dying breed if ever there was!

I’m kicking off this month with a few features that may last, may peter out or might take unexpected hiatuses depending on what my vinyl hunting unearths. The intention though is that ‘60’s Nugget Of The Month’, ‘Curio Of The Month’, ‘Song Of The Month’ and the themed playlist of the month are here to stay! The playlist can be accessed through we7 (not Spotify) on account of my blind loyalty to anything connected with Peter Gabriel! The first theme is ‘Jesus Etc....No Cliff!’ (AKA Jesus/God appearances in Rock songs that won’t turn your stomach) to tie in with the brilliant Wilco song of the month I’ve written about below. Find the playlist here:

Free music - Jesus Etc

SONG OF THE MONTH: ‘JESUS ETC.’ By Wilco

Here’s a towering song that has been around for over 8 years, but January 2010 has been a month when it was never far away from the vinylsound stereo. Originally released in 2002 on the ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ album, part of the process of re-appraisal was prompted by the high appearance of said album in various end-of-decade polls. 2009 had seen another fine LP release by Wilco so they were in my head anyway, but ‘Y.H.F.’ remains the record that most have identified as the Noughties high point. It’s got a great story attached to it of course; it being the album that got Wilco dropped from Reprise on the grounds of its lack of commercial potential. The label actually refused to release the finished album in 2001 and in so doing dealt a blow to the musical credibility of major labels in an age when facing an uphill battle to justify their existence (and that’s a battle nowhere near won yet!). In the end Nonesuch Records jumped at the opportunity to release the record in 2002 and remains the kind of emphatic artistic triumph that only the greatest of bands can hope to achieve.

Anyway, the thing that really hammered home the stature of ‘Jesus Etc.’ was a chance encounter with a recent cover version of the tune by Norah Jones. If anything her basic acoustic treatment further emphasises the lolling melancholic beauty of the piece, particularly on the clearly enunciated hop-line “tuned to chords, strung down your cheeks, bitter melodies turning your orbit around”. There’s some debate as to the meaning but perhaps it’s best to note that Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy is the master of the impressionist style lyric, often conveying feeling and mood ripe for numerous interpretation without exactly nailing a hardcore definitive subject or story. The songs initial appearances in early 2001 means it can categorically not be about 9/11 as some have suggested. It appears to me to be more a celebration of life and love in the face of an increasingly faithless and loveless society. There’s also some gorgeous dialogue between the protagonist and his/her muse. “Our love is all we have” is both intimate and universal; it also provides further evidence for a fattening file I have entitled ‘Jeff Tweedy is the number one Beatles fan in music today’, but more of that in a later blog I think. In the meantime, treat yourself to some superior pop lyric writing and then follow it up with a taste of the wonderful Norah Jones version.



Jesus, don't cry


You can rely on me honey


You can combine anything you want


I'll be around


You were right about the stars


Each one is a setting sun


Tall buildings shake


Voices escape singing sad sad songs


Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks


Bitter melodies turning your orbit around


Don't cryYou can rely on me honey


You can come by any time you want


I'll be around


You were right about the stars


Each one is a setting sun


Tall buildings shake


Voices escape singing sad sad songs


Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks


Bitter melodies turning your orbit around


Voices whine


Skyscrapers are scraping together


Your voice is smoking


Last cigarettes are all you can get


Turning your orbit around


Our love Our love


Our love is all we have


Our love


Our love is all of God's money


Everyone is a burning sun


Tall buildings shake


Voices escape singing sad sad songs


Tuned to chords strung down your cheeks


Bitter melodies turning your orbit around


Voices whine


Skyscrapers are scraping together


Your voice is smoking


Last cigarettes are all you can get


Turning your orbit around


Last cigarettes are all you can get


Turning your orbit around


Last cigarettes are all you can get


Turning your orbit around

60’s Nugget of the Month - THE POETS, I Love Her Still

Released in 1965 on Decca F.12195 and the b-side to The Poets 45 ‘I Am So Blue’. The Poets are a 60s Beat group that have eluded me up to now. It would appear that this choppy b-side with a great garage-era echo to the production isn’t even regarded as the bands best work in this vein; definitely worth some further investigation then. The allmusic guide tells us this about them:

Although they only released half a dozen singles, these were enough to firmly establish The Poets' status as the best Scottish rock group of the mid-'60s. It's true that this is akin to being a big fish in a small pond — not many Scottish bands recorded in the 1960s, and not many of them were at all notable. But that shouldn't detract from the genuinely high quality of their records, which still remain known only to a relatively small band of collectors.

The Glasgow group differed from most other Scottish combos of the time in that they concentrated almost exclusively on original material, which alternated between mournful, almost fey ballads and storming mod rockers. Critics have compared the melodic, minor feel of much of their work to the Zombies, a comparison that holds water to a certain point, although the Poets were far more guitar-based. A minor hit single right out of the gate and a management deal with Rolling Stones manager Andrew Oldham seemed to spell probable success. But the Poets fell victim both to subpar promotion and numerous personnel changes, which had gutted the core of the band by the late '60s.

Oldham came across the band by chance on a trip to Scotland in 1964, quickly signing them and arranging a recording deal with Decca. Their first single, a characteristically moody original called ‘Now We're Thru’, made number 30 in the U.K. Yet that was to be their only taste of commercial success, despite a flurry of fine singles over the next couple of years. The Poets were never given full opportunity to develop their unquestioned skills. Oldham took the group with him to his independent Immediate label in late 1965 for a couple of singles, but ultimately the Oldham association may have worked against them, as he was naturally inclined to focus most of his energies upon the Rolling Stones. The Poets were getting lost in the shuffle and discouraged, and by 1967 not one original member remained from the lineup that had first recorded.

Curio of the Month – CONCORDS, Robin (1970 PYE 45)

It’s not often a record (well a half decent one anyway) turns up with just no history or no clue as to who was behind it, what became of them or what lead to their or its existence. You’ll find that even the poorest of the prog-mob and the folk-flock of the late 60s / early 70s era will have some kind of presence on the internet if you google the right words in the right order. But this one kicked off 2010 with a genuine puzzlement.

This track by a mystery band called the Concords has, to my ears at least, a gorgeous A-side called ‘Robin’ which stood out in a collection of other fairly mainstream pop 45s from the era that I bought recently. It’s got a real baroque-pop flavour with a nice female vocal and a delicate counterpoint in the shape of some mournful trumpet parts that hook you throughout. Strangest of all, it was on a fairly big label from the time, Pye, although the copy I found was only in advance promotional form which means it may never have seen a proper release. Still, there is literally no information to be found on this anywhere as far as I can tell and I do have a lot of reference sources of my own. Can anyone throw any light on this? Are the people behind the track known for anything else or have they worked under another name. Is it even as good as I''m claiming? If anybody can throw some light then I’d love to know. For now I’m going to hold onto it, but you can click on the media player and listen for yourself.

DS VINYL COLLECTABLES # 17: THE WHO, Direct Hits (1968 TRACK LP)

Track Records released this album of single and EP tracks in November 1968 to help fill what would become a 19-month gap between 'The Who Sell Out' and 'Tommy' LP's. The label was feeling the strain financially after The Who's previous three singles, 'I Can See for Miles', 'Dogs' and 'Magic Bus' had not sold as well as predicted in England. The first two of those appear on here making 'Direct Hits' an essential purchase for Who collectors in the 60s. But the records main reputation and collectable status is more based on the fact that it's a real curio musically and certainly not, on first impression, what listeners come to associate with the sound of The Who. For evidence of this look no further than the opening track, a cover of Jan & Dean's 'Bucket T' which is based around a soulful riff and John Entwistle's horn! There are some classic single cuts here like 'I Can See For Miles' and 'Substitute' but it's by no means a complete singles compilation (there's no 'I Can't Explain' or 'My Generation' for example). Some of the lesser known tracks are just downright strange for The Who, they sound more like The Kinks in their quirky Britishness in places, although the albums only let down is a pale photocopy of the Rolling Stones 'The Last Time'.

Another reason for the albums strong standing in record collector circles is its scarcity. It didn't trouble the album charts at all when it was released and The Who would surely have a less celebrated standing in the world of 60s bands had 'Tommy' not been such an incredible success when released the following May. 'Direct Hits' was released on Track with the catalogue number 612006 for Mono and 613006 for Stereo. The single album sleeve was laminated on the front. Unlike other albums from the bands 60s catalogue, it did not stay in print with numerous re-issues in later decades although new vinyl & CD pressings were available in 2007.

This album is up for auction in our eBay shop ending Thursday 9th July: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Vinylsound

DS VINYL COLLECTABLES # 16: BOB DYLAN, Bob Dylan (1962 CBS STEREO)

Bob Dylan's debut album was recorded in three short afternoon sessions between November 20th and 22nd 1961. Record producer John Hammond, who had instigated Columbia's signing of Bob, joked that it cost "about $402" to record, a figure that has entered the Dylan legend as the albums actual recording cost. It would not prove to be a straight forward recording process. Aside from Dylan's reluctance to do more than one take ("I can't see myself singing the same song twice in a row, that's terrible") Hammond recalled, "Bobby popped every p, hissed every s, and habitually wandered off mike. Even more frustrating, he refused to learn from his mistakes. It occurred to me at the time that I'd never worked with anyone so undisciplined before".
Seventeen songs were recorded of which 13 made it to the final LP; five of these were cut in single takes ('Baby Let Me Follow You Down', 'In My Time Of Dyin'', 'Gospel Plow', 'Highway 51 Blues' and 'Freight Train Blues') while the master take of 'Song For Woody' was recorded after one false start. One interesting point to note on the front cover is that it is actually printed in reverse (take a close look at the guitar strings). Reverse the image back and you'll see that Dylan suddenly looks a lot more like himself.

Released on 19th March 1962 on CBS with the Stereo catalogue number SBPG 62022. There are a few key factors to distinguish the earliest Stereo pressings from those issued later in the 60s. On the earliest pressings the label has a rougher texture whilst on later pressings this is smooth. The first pressing sleeves had 'Stereo' printed on the front and back but on the later issues (illustrated here) Stereo is just indicated by a gold sticker on the rear. Also the earlier pressings had three flip-over edges on the non-laminate rear; the later pressings are also front laminated but they do not have the flip-over edges. Early issues are often ascertained by the song title to 'You're No Good' incorrectly reading 'She's No Good' on the label; please note that this is not a reliable way to determine the earliest pressings because all subsequent Stereo pressings of this album in the 60s also carried the same mistake.

This item is up for auction in our eBay shop ending Wednesday July 8th: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Vinylsound

DS VINYL COLLECTABLES # 15: THE BEATLES, With The Beatles (1963 PARLOPHONE MONO)

The Beatles second album was released in the UK on Friday 22nd November 1963. Like their debut 'Please Please Me', this record comprised beat-pop originals, girl-group and R&B covers as well as a small helping of ballads and a Broadway tune. The Lennon/McCartney classics on the album were 'It Won't Be Long' and 'All My Loving' and John finished the record off with another 'Twist And Shout' style shouty rocker, ripping into the Barrett Strong track 'Money'. George Harrison saw his first composition appear with 'Don't Bother Me' although his songwriting would make quantum leaps after this initial unexceptional early effort. The cover shot, with the four Beatle heads in black & white half-shadow was by Robert Freeman. Taken on August 22nd 1963 in a corridor of the Palace Court Hotal in Bournemouth, the idea was inspired by some photos of the band taken by Astrid Kirchherr in Hamburg. Freeman had hoped for the front cover to appear without text (which would have looked incredible it has to be said) but EMI nixed that idea.

'With The Beatles' received incredible advance orders of 300,000 and quickly passed the half-million sales mark, only taking until 1965 to reach one million sales. Unusually in the early 1960's the singles charts was simply based on the sales of any record no matter what its size so 'With The Beatles' also appeared in the singles charts; serving notice to the increased importance of albums to the record buying public as the 60s moved on.

Original 1963 pressings appeared on the black Parlophone label with yellow logo and silver text. The rim will read in upper case 'THE PARLOPHONE CO...' and there is 'RECORDING FIRST PUBLISHED 1964' text on the label as well. The catalogue numbers are PMC 1206 for Mono and PCS 3045 for Stereo. On Mono the stamped matrix in the dead wax area is XEX.447 & XEX 448 with the number/letter codes that follow determining exactly how early the pressing is. On the first pressing labels the track 'Money' has the Jobete publishing credit although this was immediately altered on the second pressings (also pressed in 1963) to give Dominion.Belinda the publishing credit. It is also written on various internet sites that you can determine a first pressing by the mis-spelling of the song 'You Really Got A Hold On Me' which appears as 'You Really Gotta Hold On Me'. It is true that the mis-spelling appears on the rear sleeve of the first issue but it also remains on later 1963 pressings (including the one that we are illustrating here). The sleeve is front laminated with three flip-over edges. The bottom right of the rear reads 'Printed and made by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd. Patents pending'.

This item is up for auction in our eBay shop ending Tuesday July 7th: http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Vinylsound