Lunch Hour Finds

Found a few things for the record collection today at CD Warehouse during lunch

All items used -

Keane - Hopes And Fears (Interscope, 2004) [Dualdisc]
The Kinks - BBC Sessions 1964-1977 (Sanctuary, 2001)
John Lennon - Imagine (Capitol/EMI, 1971) [Remastered]
Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguwar, 2005)
Pixies - The Purple Tape (Spinart, 2007)
The Ramones - NYC 1978 (King Biscuit Flower Hour Records, 2003)
Slint - Spiderland (Touch & Go, 1991)

Beer, Tunes, and Monday Night Football

My old friend Tom came over to the house last night for a visit. Tom and I go waaaayyy back - Kindergarten to be exact. We went all through school together and 30 years later we are still friends.  Tom was there when I went to my first concert - Aerosmith with guests The Black Crowes at The Arena in St. Louis, MO in 1989. Weirdly enough my wife and her brother were at the same concert. We have seen several shows together over the years and we'll be going to see Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven in a couple of months - see this post.

Tom brought over some Big Sky Brewing Moose Drool Brown Ale and O'Fallon Brewery 5-Day IPA and some fresh eggs from his dad's chickens. My wife made a delicious Peter Potter Stew, a beef stew recipe from our sister-in-law, and mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner. We had dinner while our daughter ran around the kitchen showing off for Tom.

Since Tom had been on the expedition to pick up the jukebox back in February I showed him around the machine.  He was excited to see it working and hear the sounds it made while in normal operation. I showed him what I had found out about the box and we played some records and talked while my daughter danced around the room. Tom said he still liked the way that the jukebox looks old and used, but was happy to see it playing music.

After a while I put my daughter to bed and Tom showed his new Toyota Tundra pickup truck to my wife. She and I both got to test drive of the truck and liked it very much.

Since Tom and I grew up together we both share a common admiration of local Rock stalwart KSHE-95. Tom has a friend named Richard who is a few years older than us that apparently loves KSHE Classics.  These are songs from the late 1960's, 1970's and early 1980's that get played now and then that longtime listeners to the station will remember from the station's halcyon days.

Tom brought over two cd's worth of KSHE Classics and wanted me to hear a song called "St. Louis Browns" by Skip Battin.  Both Tom and I were surprised that I had not heard of this song before now.  Being a big fan of The Byrds I was surprised that I didn't even know that Skip Battin (bassist 1970-1973) had released a solo album in 1972 with a song about the former St. Louis entry for the American League.  I have found recently that I need to start looking further into the solo work of the various members of The Byrds from the late 1960's and early 1970's. I have long known about solo albums by Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark and David Crosby and Chris Hillman's work in the Flying Burrito Brothers and Manassas, but did not know that other members like Gene Parsons and Skip Battin had released solo albums as well.

Skip Battin - Skip (Signpost SP 8408, 1972)

I had heard about half of the songs on the first cd we played and had a few of them in my collection already. The quality of both cd's was lacking so if I want better versions of these songs I'll have to find them myself. The second mix cd was a mystery because it had no song titles.  We started playing the songs and trying to figure out if we knew the song.  We recognized some and I did searches on the lyrics to find some of the others.  It was a fun game trying to identify the mystery tracks.  By the time we got through the 2nd CD of songs it was almost 11 o'clock and time for Tom to hit the road. A few are still a mystery, but overall the experience was good and Tom and I got to treat my wife to some 1970's KSHE Classics.  John Ulett would be proud!

Finds At Euclid Records

Found a few more 45's for the jukebox at one of my favorite stores, Euclid Records, on Friday at lunch. It's so great to have a record store with this kind of selection close enough to the office to run over there on my lunch hour.

Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks - Mary Lou b/w Need Your Lovin' (Oh So Bad) (Roulette 4177, 1959) Cut in New York during their 2nd session at Bell Sound Studios. No. 26 on the charts in the summer of 1959.

The Rivieras - California Sun b/w H B Goose Step (Riviera 1401, 1964)

Ronny And The Daytonas - G.T.O. b/w Hot Rod Baby (Mala 481, 1964)

Leonard Cohen - Avalanche b/w Dress Rehearsal Rag (Columbia, 1971)

Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls Of Fire b/w You Win Again (Sun 281, 1957)
Recorded October 8, 1957 at Sun Studios, Memphis, TN. Reached #2 on Billboard Pop Charts, #3 on R&B Chart, and #1 on the Country chart.

The Amboy Dukes - Journey To The Center Of The Mind b/w Mississippi Murderer (Mainstream 684, 1968)

Junior Wells - Cut My Toe Nail b/w I'm Losing You (Bright Star 146, 19??)

Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John b/w I Won't Go Huntin' With You Jake (But I'll Go Chasin' Wimmin) (Columbia 4-42175, 1961) [Picture Sleeve]

Wilco - You Never Know b/w Unlikely Japan (Nonesuch 520404-7, 2009) [Picture Sleeve]

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Official Live 'Leg (Counterfeit Version)
To find out more information on this rare promotional album go here

Shafted!

I called the guy selling the records yesterday afternoon to confirm that we were still meeting today for me to look at and buy the records he had for sale. We decided on a place and a time.  Everything was set.

Then I received a call on my cell phone last night. I was on the phone with the cable company about our new DVR so I let it go to voice mail.  I listened to the message after I got off the phone.  The guy leaves this rambling message about how he had "forgotten" that he had told a guy on Sunday that he could come by on Wednesday night after work and gave him the address.  He then said that he got the guy mixed up with me and sold him the records.

Damn!

I would have arranged to come by two days ago or yesterday had I known that he had received other calls, but he never mentioned that tidbit. *** GRRRRRrrrrrrr****

Found!

On a whim I decided to pull up Craigslist today and found the following ad:

Vintage 45 rpm records over 1000 - $150

This is a great jukebox stuffers, with over 1,000 mostly hits from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s being offered. Almost all come with record sleeves, some even with picture sleeves Vintage 45 rpm records all in various conditions and un picked through. Many have jukebox title strips. To many to list. 

Not much to go on, but I quickly e-mailed the seller anyway and asked some questions. He e-mailed back and asked for my phone number. I replied and sent him my number and he called me. We talked for about 15 minutes or so. He said that he bought about half of the records from someone he knew that collected that had died.  He had the other half from garage sales, flea markets, and from jukeboxes he had repaired over the years.  I advised that I was interested and we agreed to meet around lunch time on Thursday.

I talked to my wife shortly afterwards and we discussed this.  I did the math and found that he was charging about 15 cents per records. She asked how much I normally paid for the 45's that I bought.  I advised anywhere from $1-$4, but sometimes more. She did the math and said that if I liked 50 of the records or 5% total that it would be worth it.  I agreed. Now, I'm just crossing my fingers for something good!  I've been pretty lucky this year so far...

Finds At The Antique Mall II

I went digging in the crates at the antique mall again today at lunch time and found some more 45's for the jukebox. Most are hits from the mid-1960's, but I was happy to find the three Ray Charles singles on Atlantic. The first two singles are taken from the album What'd I Say (Atlantic, 1959). I already have an original copy of the single for "What'd I Say Parts 1 & 2" that originally belonged to my dad. Complete with his inscription of "Larry" in cursive on the B-side. The third Ray Charles single is also on his album   Yes Indeed! (Atlantic, 1958).  I bought the "Band On The Run" 45 to replace the one I had in the jukebox and I'm glad that I did because the new one sounds much cleaner and crisper. I haven't even cleaned the record yet.

45's
Ray Charles - That's Enough b/w Tell Me How Do You Feel (Atlantic, 1959)
Ray Charles - You Be My Baby b/w My Bonnie (Atlantic, 1959)
Ray Charles - Swanee River Rock b/w I Want A Little Girl (Atlantic, 1957)
James Brown - Get It Together - Pts 1 & 2 (King, 1967)
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Tyrell - Ain't Nothin' Like The Real Thing b/w Little Ole Boy, Little Ole Girl (Tamla, 1967)
Kool & The Gang - Celebration b/w Morning Star (Deelite, 1980)
The Supremes - Reflections b/w Going Down For The Third Time (Motown, 1967)
The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love b/w Put Yourself In My Place (Motown, 1966)
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band On The Run b/w Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five (Apple, 1973)
The American Breed - Bend Me, Shape Me b/w Mindrocker (ACTA, 1967)
The Coasters - Yakety Yak b/w Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart (Atco, 1958)

The Mama's and The Papa's - Deliver (Dunhill, 1967)