The College Crowd Digs Me

"MTV Unplugged In New York" - Nirvana (1994 - Rei 2013) I wasn't expecting to come home with this.  Let me be upfront by saying that I was never the biggest fan of Nirvana .  Don't get me wrong.  I like the band.  But I was never going to marry them, as a common retort might suggest I do.  And I'm not trying to sound cheeky, but Nirvana just didn't quite "do it" for me.  That's just me.  And whaddyagonnado? However, when I watched the band perform on the MTV Unplugged series, I was mesmerized.  Nirvana sounded both powerful and fragile at the very same time.  If that is even possible.  Whatever it was, it was special.  Magical.  In the back of my mind, I told myself if I ever stumbled on a vinyl copy for a decent price I would grab it.  And now I have a copy that captures a memory I've carried around for a long time.  Nirvana made three studio albums and this live unplugged statement of who they were.  I wasn...

"Pet Sounds" - The Beach Boys (1966)         I found this copy of "Pet Sounds"...The Beach Boys  11th studio album...at a record swap at the table of 'Garageman G.'  The front and back cover is VG with no seam splits, but the spine is more than a bit crumbly.  The back cover has initials on the bottom and what looks like drink spillage near the bottom.  Not badly, but I couldn't clean it up.  Before purchasing the album, the G-man was forthcoming and pointed out the rough spine.  And as I said, it was a bit rough, but I appreciated his honesty on the sale.  He didn't have to say a word, it's my responsibility to check, but he did anyway.  That's a good person right there.  And still, front and back, I thought the album looked very nice. As for the vinyl, I couldn't take my eyes off the shine.  When I finally had the chance to spin it, the square sounded so good.  For a record over 50 years old, it sounded a...

"Rob Jo Star Band" - Rob Jo Star Band (1975 - Rei 2013) The French band... Rob Jo Star Band were five guys who recorded an album in 1975.  It was a one-and-done affair with an album caught between what was to come and what had been.  The music rubs shoulders with glam and dips thumbs into some psychedelic pie.  The band also adds some spacey rock sounds similar to Hawkwind and tops it all off with an almost garagey protopunk attitude.  As I said, the guys are from France, but they sing in English.  And they're doing it, man. The self-titled album starts off okay and grows legs as it spins.  Side two is definitely the stronger.  The album was reissued by Born Bad Records and the sound quality is fantastic.  Well done on their part.  The one drawback with this album, for me, anyway, is there is a bit of a 'sameness' to a few of the tracks.  Still, the lysergic elements are fun.  And though many of the waters have been waded in befo...

"Atom Heart Mother" - Pink Floyd  (1970)     I found "Atom Heart Mother" ... Pink Floyd's  5th studio album...in the used bin with a $10 price tag and a warning... "Sleeve = Bad.  Record = Good."   I always like checking these kinds of albums out and this time I'm glad I did.  The front cover did have a wicked water stain in the top-right corner and the name "MIKE" was printed from a letter gun in blue and placed near the bottom.  (Someone obviously was tired of having records lifted from their stash.)  Damage is never a good thing to see on an album, but here's the thing.  This was a German pressing and import album covers hold up very well.  Seldom do they have seam splits or crumbly spines.  And fortunately, both these rules held true. Next, I checked out the vinyl.  I took out the square and the vinyl looked very clean.  Very nice.  The appearance doesn't always mean what you hope for, but I could see ...

"Slow Train Coming" - Bob Dylan (1979)    "Slow Train Coming" was Bob Dylan's 19th studio album and the last album he released in the 1970s.  It's described as Dylan's first Christian album, and I avoided the record for, like, forever.  Yes, I dig the funky "Gotta Serve Somebody" but I'd never heard anything else from the album.  Nor did I care to.  Not because of the Christian sentiments.   I'm a Christian.  By faith, not proof.  I waver and wobble, but that's the road I've chosen to take.  No, the reason I avoided "Slow Train Coming" was because I've always found Christian albums to be very milquetoast.  Lame and cliched.  And ultimately boring.   But this ain't like any Christian album I've ever heard before! When I dropped the needle on this puppy, I was flummoxed!    "Slow Train Coming" is a surprisingly strong hoss.  No kidding.  The square has a funky Muscle Shoals breeze all ov...

"Ssssh." - Ten Years After (1969)     Ten Years After were four British blues rock guys that brought a nice stoner rock, psych-dusted attitude to their albums.  Led by guitar-bleeding Alvin Lee , Ten Years After could break the balls of the best of them.  "Ssssh." is a good example of the kind of blues rock that doesn't suck.  These guys weren't flashy, but they could play big.  And this one is a stoner's massage that spreads out in a variety of directions that sound anything but mundane.  No needle lifts are necessary. "Ssssh." was an album I'd been actively seeking out.  And is probably my favorite after "Cricklewood Green" and "A Space In Time."   In fact, their first six albums are pretty consistent, low-risk purchases.  Surprisingly, and this might sound a little blasphemous to some fans, I found the TYA Woodstock performance rather generic and boring.  But just one month after the Woodstock rain party, they ...

"I just always have played music.  For better   or worse, I banked my whole life on it." ~ Henry Lee Summer ~     It's strange how music lets you travel through time as if there truly was no time.  I played the shit out of this album growing up.  Nothing deep or complicated.  Nothing outta bounds.  Nothing to get hung about.  It's deceptively simple.  But here's the thing... Henry Lee Summer  is serving aces all over this heartland square. This is the 35th anniversary of Henry Lee Summer's self-titled album and this one falls under that sweet spot between raucous and chill.  It's a large cup of iced coffee with a nice soulful blend.  Not usually my type of go-to and yet this album easily fills a void I didn't know I had.  Let this spin be your own private Idaho.  " Check it out, Leroy!"   Henry Lee Summer... Go get you some. Henry Lee Summer Interview -- August 2023 Henry Lee Summer Casey Cha...