(1969) ATCO label.  Original inner sleeve.  Purchased in 2006 Rhino Records Claremont, California.  All songs written and recorded by Maurice, Robin and Barry Gibb.  Before disco, the Bee Gees produced many pop hits.  This album was released in 1969 and I can count seven out of twelve on the record that peaked in the top 20 of Billboard Top 100. Quite a feat considering their first album was released in 1967 and this one is just 2 years later.

SIDE ONE

1. Holiday  (2:52)
2. I’ve Gotta Get A Message To You  (2:59)
3. I Can’t See Nobody  (3:43)
4. Words  (3:13)
5. I Started A Joke  (3:04)
6. Spicks And Specks  (2:52)

SIDE TWO

1. First Of May  (2:48)
2. World  (3:12)
3. Massachusetts  (2:22)
4. To Love Somebody  (2:58)
5. Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You  (3:32)
6. New York Mining Disaster 1941  (2:09)

Many artists have covered their songs and have had hits in their own right.  I am thinking specifically of Al Green’s cover of How Can You Mend A Broken Heart.  Their songs have also been used in memorable film scenes.  Here I am specifically referring to the scene in The Fighter and the singing of I Started A Joke.

I can’t finish this post until I write a bit on the inner sleeve.  Back in the day an inner sleeve was sometimes used as an advertising vehicle for a label to promote albums in their catalog.  The inner sleeve with this album is one of these.  “FROM THE ATCO CATALOGUE” at the top and a 7X8 quadrant filled with the covers of ATCO label releases.  It was a nice surprise to buy an album with this type of inner sleeve.  You would study it to see how many releases you already owned and which ones you still wanted to buy. You could also discover new artists.  Ever heard of Relax With Bent Fabric by Bent Fabric?  How about Come On, React by The Fireballs?

(1967)  ATCO label.  Purchased used from Groovers Physical Music in Riverside, California probably in 2014. Replaced inner sleeve. I’m just gonna say it, I really like the Bee Gees.  Always have.  Before Saturday Night Fever, before Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake Barry Gibb Talk Show.  This talented trio of brothers originally from England, then moved to Australia, then back to London are exceptional songwriters and performers.  This debut album contains fourteen completely original songs written by the bros and they weren’t even 20 years old yet!

SIDE 1

1. Turn Of The Century  (2:24)
2. Holiday  (2:52)
3. Red Chair, Fade Away  (2:16)
4. One Minute Woman  (2:14)
5. In My Own Time  (2:12)
6. Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You  (3:32)
7. Craise Finton Kirk Royal Academy Of Arts  (2:15)

SIDE 2

1. New York Mining Disaster 1941  (2:09)
2. Cucumber Castle  (2:02)
3. To Love Somebody  (2:58)
4. I Close My Eyes  (2:19)
5. I Can’t See Nobody  (3:43)
6. Please Read Me  (2:13)
7. Close Another Door  (3:22)

Again I appreciate the information you can find from reading liner notes:

This their first album, recorded under the auspices of Robert Stigwood, and their Australian Producer Ossie Byrne, contains 14 tracks–all original compositions by Maurice and Robin (both 17) and Barry Gibb (19).

Holiday reached number 16 on Billboard Top 100.  In My Own Time and Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You are heavily influenced by the Beatles. New York Mining Disaster 1941 reached 14 on Billboard Top 100.  To Love Somebody reached 17 on Billboard Top 100 and has been often covered by many.  It is hard to believe they were so young when they penned these!  Amazing. Their contribution to the pop catalog is impressive and important.

I need to share a quick word on where I purchased this album.  Groovers Physical Music is near the University of California Riverside in a dilapidated strip mall.  Found the place when I looked up (on the internet) independent record stores to visit on Record Store Day.  The owner is a character.  Knowledgeable, passionate about records and collecting. The store is pretty well organized and typical in that the walls are covered with prized collectible albums with hefty price tags.  With the demise of major retail record stores, it is the independent record store that gets credit for keeping the medium alive and in demand.

 

(1977)  These albums were part of the acquisition of Beatles albums given to me by Illinois probably in 2002.  On the Pickwick label with original inner sleeves.  The album entire title is The Beatles John, Paul, George, Ringo 1st Live Recordings Hamburg Germany 1962.  According to the liner notes here is the genesis of this pair of albums:

“Liverpool singer, King Size Taylor originally recorded this first tape of John, Paul, George, and Ringo for a lark.  The tape was subsequently lost and not rediscovered until 1972.  The Beatles original manager, Allan Williams, found it in deserted Merseyside office beneath a pile of rubble on the floor.”

VOL.1  SIDE ONE

1. Where Have You Been All My Life  (1:55)
2. A Taste of Honey  (1:40)
3. Your Feets Too Big  (2:20)
4. Mr. Moonlight  (2:05)
5. Besame Mucho  (2:35)
6. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over You  (2:40)
7. Be-Bop-A-Lula  (2:28)

VOL.1  SIDE TWO

1. Hallelujah I Love Her So  (2:08)
2. ‘Till There Was You  (1:59)
3. Sweet Little Sixteen  (2:44)
4. Little Queenie  (3:53)
5. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey  (2:09)
6. Hully Gully  (1:39)

VOL.2  SIDE ONE

1. Nothin’ Shakin'(But The Leaves On The Trees)  (1:14)
2. Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby  (2:23)
3. Matchbox  (2:33)
4. I’m Talkin’ About You  (1:47)
5. Long Tall Sally  (1:45)
6. Roll Over Beethoven  (2:12)
7. Hippy Hippy Shake  (1:40)

VOL.2  SIDE TWO

1. Falling In Love With You  (1:59)
2. Lend Me Your Comb  (1:44)
3. Sheila  (1:55)
4. Red Sails In The Sunset  (2:00)
5. To Know Her Is To Love Her  (3:01)
6. Shimmy Shake  (2:16)
7. I Remember You  (1:55)

These two volumes are bootlegs.  A bootleg recording is one done without permission and is usually a live recording.  I have several bootlegs in my collection.  Some of them are prized by collectors including myself.  Before file sharing, before downloading, there were home tape recorders snuck into performances.  Sound quality runs the gambit from down right shitty to actually pretty damn good.

The first track on side one of volume one is terrible quality.  Distorted, poorly equalized, way too much background noise and hard to hear the vocals.  Tracks gradually improve as the record continues. Volume 2 has the same technical issues.  Roll Over Beethoven vocals are very sketchy. Again the liner notes:

“This album is a collector’s item.  It captures an explosion of energy.  A rollicking Saturday Night Hamburg Germany 1962.  The Star Club”.

Technical issues aside, you can hear the youthful zeal, feel the heat and sweat, smell the cigarette smoke, and imagine how much fun it was to be there.

(1976)  Japanese pressing, Apple label, gatefold jacket with original obi and lyrics and photo booklet. Original release date December 4, 1964.  By this date, the lads had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show.  This is their fourth album and as with the others it is chocked full of original hits and covers.

SIDE ONE

1. No Reply (2:16)
2. I’m A Loser (2:30)
3. Baby’s In Black (2:04)
4. Rock And Roll Music (2:31)
5. I’ll Follow The Sun (1:48)
6. Mr. Moonlight (2:38)
7. Kansas City (2:38)

SIDE TWO

1. Eight Days A Week (2:43)
2. Words Of Love (2:04)
3. Honey Don’t (2:57)
4. Every Little Thing (2:03)
5. I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party (2:34)
6. What You’re Doing (2:30)
7. Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby (2:27)

As a little kid, I would sing these songs on the radio.  Two minute little ditties, that had swing and joy in them.  Now, when I hear Eight Days A Week I go looking for my baby girl.  We like to sing, clap hands, and dance to this one.  She’s 16 now and we’ve been doing this her whole life.  She is a TRUE Beatles fan.

When she turned 10, I took her to see a Beatles tribute band playing at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood.  We walked over to the Capitol Records Building and looked through the doors after hours.  I also snapped her picture kneeling next to John Lennon’s star on the Walk Of Fame.  Later I submitted that photo to our local paper which had a feature celebrating reader’s birthdays. They published it; the Biggest Little Beatles Fan in our town!

 

 

(1976) Japanese pressing, Apple label with original obi and eight page photo and lyrics booklet!  Notice UK “with the beatles” rather than US “meet the beatles”.  Original release date November 22, 1963.  This is the same day as the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The Lennon McCartney song writing was shifting into pop stratosphere.  This album repeats the success of “Please Please Me” with originals and covers.

SIDE ONE

1. It Won’t Be Long (2:13)
2. All I’ve Got To Do (2:02)
3. All My Loving (2:07)
4. Don’t Bother Me (2:28)
5. Little Child (1:46)
6. Till There Was You (2:13)
7. Please Mister Postman (2:34)

SIDE TWO

1. Roll Over Beethoven (2:45)
2. Hold Me Tight (2:31)
3. You Really Got A Hold On Me (3:01)
4. I Wanna Be Your Man (1:59)
5. Devil In Her Heart (2:26)
6. Not A Second Time (2:06)
7. Money (2:51)

Liner notes written by Tony Barrow.  I love this piece right here:

“Don’t Bother Me marks the disc debut of George Harrison as a composer.  It is a fairly fast number with a haunting tune.  Behind George’s double-tracked voice the rest of the fabulous foursome creates some unusual instrumental effects.  Paul beats out a lean, hollow-boned rhythm from the claves, John uses a tamborine and Ringo hits out at a loose-skinned Arabian bongo (don’t ask me where he picked that up!) to pound out the on-beat percussive drive”.

I think this is the faintest glimmer of how George will take the band in new and experimental directions!

 

(1976) Japanese Pressing Series 1 on the Apple label with original obi and cellophane inner sleeve.  I do not have the lyric booklet that came with this album. Thanks to this website for particular information. Originally released in March 1963.   I owe thanks to Illinois for this record (and as a matter of fact) all the Beatles records I own.  He bought them from someone he worked with probably around 2002, and I expressed a sincere interest in having them.

Clearly so much has been written about this band. There is nothing I can add to the catalog that shares any new information.  What I can write is straight from my heart; the Beatles are the best rock and roll band ever. Call it timing, call it fate, call it luck; they were in that proverbial right place at the right time.

SIDE ONE

1. I Saw Her Standing There (2:53)
2. Misery (1:48)
3. Anna (2:57)
4. Chains (2:25)
   
5. Boys (2:26)
   
6. Ask Me Why  (2:26)
   
7. Please Please Me  (2:00)
   

SIDE TWO

1. Love Me Do  (2:21)
   
2. P.S. I Love You  (2:04)
   
3. Baby It’s You  (2:40)
   
4. Do You Want To Know A Secret  (1:57)
   
5. A Taste Of Honey  (2:03)
   
6. There’s A Place (1:50)
   
7. Twist And Shout  (2:37)
   

In 1955 when Disneyland Park opened, my mother was in attendance that first week. She graduated from high school in 1962; so not a teeny bopper anymore. By the time Please Please Me was released she was a newlywed with a baby.  Shortly thereafter, the President of the United States was assassinated.  Her life was now very serious. Although we always had music on the radio or on the stereo, she was not a Beatles fan. She actually couldn’t stand them– especially when they grew their hair long.  They represented what was going wrong in the world.  By the time Sgt Pepper’s  was released, forget about it.

I however am a different story. It seems my life has been one long Beatles soundtrack. Milestones in my life coincide with particular songs and the after breakup journeys of the lads along with the Beatlemania marketing machine. And although I write this as a huge fan, I have to admit I never owned a Beatles record until I talked Illinois out of this one.

Growing up, my mom had something to do with this. She kept a pretty close tab on the records I bought.  I can’t remember ever arguing about trying to buy a Beatles records, but I am sure she wouldn’t have let them in the house. That didn’t stop me from learning about them. They were always in magazines, on the news, on TV as Saturday morning cartoons. They were always on the radio.  I remember hurrying up to eat dinner, so I could get back to my room and listen to the Beatles A-Z weekend.

As I grew older and my life became more complicated, John Lennon was assassinated; Nike used Revolution to advertise sneakers, and I just didn’t get around to buying Beatles records.

Listening to Please Please Me today as I write this reminds me of any time in life when things are/were simple.  Enjoying a cup of coffee made at home.  Listening to a 2:37 song.  Playing a record on the stereo.  You could do this in March 1963.  I did this today. Nice.

(1990) Purchased new at Rhino Records Westwood. Cellophane inner sleeve.  On the Axiom label, an Island Records Company.  My sense is this album was playing when I walked in and a track must have caught my ear.  That happens frequently.  I hear something I like, I will purchase on impulse.

Words often used to describe Ginger Baker include: legendary, founding member, virtuoso, world traveler, English, musician, wild, and for the sake of this post, drummer. As founding member of the rock triumvirate known as Cream, watch footage of Ginger Baker behind the kit.  Long skinny arms akimbo and fluidly hitting the skins, seemingly effortless.  Look closer and you see the streams of sweat rolling down his temples– he’s working and it is magical.

Middle Passage is an exploration of Middle Eastern music melded with a late 1980’s sensibility: think Phil Collins in Morocco.

SIDE ONE

1. Mektoub  (7:05)
2. Under Black Skies  (6:59)
3. Time Be Time  (5:00)

SIDE TWO

1. Alamout  (5:48)
2. Basil  (5:21)
3. South To The Dust  (5:00)

Track one on Side one: Mektoub is Arabic meaning “It is written”. That fatality is the drum track of any song.  Drums provide the groundwork, the earth from which the rest of music grows. That certainty, that confidence, translates to arrogance and danger when describing Ginger Baker the man.  Take the time to watch the documentary “Beware of Mr. Baker” and you will see what I mean.  If dementors ever dropped their hoods, Ginger Baker’s face is what you would see.

(1976) Acquired used, replaced inner sleeve, white rather than silver gatefold jacket, manufactured for Columbia House.  Swan Song label.  Run With The Pack is another record I am not sure when I acquired it.  Illinois thinks I got it from a family member at some point.  He’s probably right.

I reference Illinois because there are many times I rely on him for his encyclopedic memory and vast music knowledge. Illinois and I have a great love for collecting records.  We were attracted to each other right away because of it.  When we travel together, finding record stores is always on the schedule.  Our kids grew up knowing when you drive by a garage sale you should holler out “HEY! Got any records?”

SIDE 1

1. Live For The Music  (3:58)
2. Simple Man  (3:37)
3. Honey Child  (3:15)
4. Love Me Somebody  (3:09)
5. Run With The Pack  (5:21)

SIDE 2

1. Silver, Blue, & Gold  (5:03)
2. Young Blood  (2:37)
3. Do Right By Your Woman  (2:51)
4. Sweet Lil’ Sister  (3:29)
5. Fade Away  (2:54)

The photo on the inside jacket is perfect.  Shadowy, crummy front room of a house with wooden floors and a Persian carpet.  Old color TV set on a wheeled, metal cart with Bugs Bunny on the screen.  The band sitting on or near a funky old sofa. Stubby coffee table strewn with beer bottles and cans, paper cups, packs of smokes.  You can smell the stale funk of four guys.  Paul Rodgers (lead singer) is seated on the floor leaning against the sofa. You can make out his bushy English hair and he’s wearing overalls.

Welcome to rock and roll in 1976. Kinda grimy, still young, but deeply rooted in the generation before.  Take a listen to their cover of Young Blood.  My favorite song on this album is Sweet Lil’ Sister.  “Dancin with the devil in her eyes”– what a great line!  Along with the hits, this is a stand up album and should be in any good rock and roll collection.

(1975) Acquired used, The Atlantic Group inner sleeve, reissue. This album is a great example of why I started this blog.  As a record collector for close to 50 years, there are LPs I have acquired that I rarely, if ever, listen to. This album is one of them.  I don’t recall how I acquired it; maybe in a box of records purchased by or given to my husband Illinois? (Illinois is also a collector and owns three times what I own).  Maybe it once belonged to a long forgotten family member? I don’t remember owning it when it was released.  I surely do remember listening to it at a friend’s house or at parties.

This is one of those records everyone should own.  But you should own it to enjoy the deeper tracks as well as the hits.  Deal With The Preacher is a solid rock song and had some airplay back in the day, but you rarely hear it on Classic Rock radio today.

Released on the Swan Song label.  Album tracks include:

SIDE ONE

1. Good Lovin Gone Bad   (3:35)
2. Feel Like Makin Love  (5:12)
3. Weep No More  (3:59)
4. Shooting Star  (6:14)

SIDE TWO

1. Deal With The Preacher  (5:01)
2. Wild Fire Woman  (4:32)
3. Anna  (3:41)
4. Call On Me   (6:03)

 

Understand this about appreciating albums: when you buy an LP you listen to the ENTIRE ALBUM.  Back in the day, if you wanted only one song, you bought the 45. When you bought the LP, you set aside THE TIME that it would take to listen to it from beginning to end.  You read the liner notes, memorized lyrics, studied band photos to try to identify who was who. If you were really into it you would also pay attention to who produced it, who designed the artwork, and who was specially thanked for their contributions. The point here is that EVERY track became a “hit” for you.

Another feature to keep in mind; the design of the LP requires a steady hand to lift the tonearm on and off the record to pick and choose tracks to listen to (this was also very hard to do with cassette tapes).  So letting it play all the way through was what you did.  Less chance of the dreaded scratch and less stress on the needle.

With the advent of CDs, digital downloads, and whatever other new technology that comes along listeners now quickly download their favorite tracks and many times will not download an entire album.  I get it: you have only so much space available on your portable device so you are compelled to pick and choose tracks. BUT the entire album is what the artist had in mind to release.  The concept, the song order, all part of the package given to you the listener.

The painting isn’t just Mona Lisa’s eyes.  Listen to the entire album– study it–let the deeper tracks become just as familiar.  I haven’t listened to Straight Shooter all the way through for years; but every track was familiar and it was nice to listen to them again.

(2012) Purchased new from The Avett Brothers website. This collector’s edition album came in a pine box with a slide back top; inside included the album, CD, 45 of Live And Die, a lyrics sheet for each song with a monthly calendar printed on one side, and photos of the band.  The iconography within the entire package includes carpentry tools such as lathes, planes, saws, and axes along with magpies, hearts, and diamonds.

Flashback to the Grammy Awards in 2011. This scrappy unknown band played a set with Bob Dylan and Mumford and Sons.  I sat in front of the TV and couldn’t stop smiling.  “Who ARE these guys?” Banjo, kick drum, cello, stand up bass, and guitar. It was love at first listening.

Scott and Seth Avett hail from North Carolina.  Their roots music is a playful combination of bluegrass, rock and roll, pop, and country. Lovely gentle songs about heartbreak, anthemic calls for love and understanding, and youthful urging to “live the life you choose to live”. Songs about family, about traveling, about “pretty girls from” all over, about where ya from, and about knowing oneself.

The Carpenter is packaged in a gatefold jacket. For the new album collectors out there, a gatefold jacket is the kind that folds open.  A gatefold jacket allows for more graphic artistry and many times means you have a double record set. Such is the case here.

SIDE A

1. The Once And The Future Carpenter (4:56)
2. Live And Die (4:30)
   
3. Winter In My Heart (4:55)

SIDE B

1. Pretty Girl From Michigan (2:46)
2. I Never Knew You (2:54)
3. February Seven (4:45)

SIDE C

1. Through My Prayers (4:13)
2. Down With The Shine (3:57)
3. A Father’s First Spring (4:04)

SIDE D

1. Geraldine (1:34)
2. Paul Newman And The Demons (4:42)
3. Life (3:49)

I have been attending concerts since 1970-Tom Jones Live at the Forum (thanks Mom!).  I have seen amazing performances with friends, friends I have not met yet, and people I love.  Two of my favorites are the two Avett Brothers concerts I have attended with my daughters. The first time was in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theater, the second time at the Long Beach Terrace Theater. Both of these shows included singing out loud, dancing in the aisles, and a joyful tear or two.

My girls and I often remark how we would like to have certain famous folks as neighbors. We think about how great it would be to say good morning over the hedge to Adam Shenkman or Amy Poehler. I think having Scott or Seth as neighbors would be just as satisfying.