The Record Record: Ending the Year I Started collecting

Happy New Years! Well, close to it today's the 30th, so two days more. 

This being a New Years themed posting I wish I had a Guy Lombardo record to talk about with a recording of Auld Lang Syne on it. It's funny back during the summer when I was hitting the thrift shops for vinyl I must have come across a hundred Guy Lombardo records. Being summer though who thinks about New Years Eve, or that prime Nat King Cole Christmas album I passed up. Sorry for digressing! 

My journey this year starts off with me pulling my old Sony record player out of a box in the basement back during the Spring, with one 33 and a small collection on 45's, then having to hunt down an adaptor to connect it to my receiver. Now here I am at the end of the year with a small and growing collection of records including two new releases, and a new record player. 

When I started collecting I wanted to do it casually, picking up a record here and there and really getting to know that record and what separated it from the CD and/or electronic versions. For the most part that has been something I have been able to do, yet at the same time even on a casual basis vinyl collecting has been overwhelming. There are so many good records out there from so many genres waiting to be experienced in their true form.  So in a way I feel over my head, yet I am enjoying all the potential. 

As this year draws to a close I'm happy to have had the chance to get into vinyl records, as well as having the chance up write this blog, and experience some of the passion that comes with vinyl record collecting. So with that being said I would like to thank all of you who read this blog, and for the likes and the comments. I wish you all a Happy New Year, and I hope you watch for some of the new posts I will be adding next year.

Vinyl Bad Penny's

On the hunt for vinyl records in the bowels of thrift shops you come across a lot of *ah-hum "Interesting" records. Notice I said interesting because for all I know you may enjoy Leonard Nimoy's The Way I Feel, or The Best Movie Scores of 1966 by 101 Strings, or many other selections that I personally don't feel the need to add to my collection. 

But in my search I have noticed some artist whose albums just continually turn up almost by the wheel barrel full in every place I look. My particular question is, why? I can tell you that I'm not a fan because its just not my kind of music. But I'll let you give me some reasons why you think they may not be popular, and or tell me what artist and albums you run across regularly. 

At number 1, in my hunt is Kenny Rodgers. Old Kenny "The Gambler" Rodgers just can't get no love from vinyl collectors. No matter what resale shop I look in there is his stuff, not just one album but usually multiple ones. I remember he was big in the early 80's with the whole cross-over country easy listening crowd. I even remember watching the famous Kenny Rodgers & Dolly Parton special on TV remember that? 

At number 2 Crystal Gayle. Just like Kenny, Crystal can't get no love. As a matter of fact in my hunts she is almost neck and neck with old Kenny. I have a vague recollection of one song she sang, but can't remember what it was.

At number 3 Mitch Miller. Ok, from what I heard of this guy he is a Colonel Sanders look-alike, who originated the whole sing along with the bouncing ball thing on TV. Apparently he had a TV show in which a group of singers all Colonel Sanders clones as well, would pull some really old songs out of antiquity, to sing to a Rock and Roll-phobic audience. From what I hear Miller was a very anti-rock person, I guess he felt the fad would go away. Guess that's why there are so few rock albums in the stores yet a ton of Mitch Miller

So what dogs do you run across on your searches? Comment back and let me know, I'd love to hear.

Searching High and Low

August 31, 2013

So since I started collecting records I have heard nothing other than "check the resale shops and thrift shops there are records galore there!". Well that is true there is a ton of vinyl in the resale shops, but not much of it is the really awesome stuff.  Today, I had the opportunity to check three thrift shops, one resale shop, and the record store for selections. 

It was a little before 10 AM when I pulled up to the record store, but they where closed and didn't have hours listed. I called their number and didn't even get a answering machine. I know they are open on Saturdays, so I would have to come back later.

Next stop Goodwill, which is next to Hobby Lobby and I had to go to the later anyway for ideas on my man cave/record rec room. My sons and I scoured Goodwill finally finding the records hidden in the book section. The pile there was small and manageable and didn't look as if it was bothered often. All records here are a $1 and I found four records worth buying well three out of four at least.

The Original Broadway Cast: Flower Drum Song  and Linda Rondstadt's Lush Life. Both phenomenal records, not what I set out to look for but both good selections.

Carly Simon's Hotcakes, I bought this for my wife a huge Carly Simon fan, especially the song Mockingbird, with James Taylor. This is one of the songs on the album. 

The soundtrack from Cocktail, OK, for this one I'm glad I'm ONLY out a $1 on. Looking at it in the store it looked like it had a few good songs on it, but many of them are remakes. Plus there's all that 80's movie soundtrack stuff on there, yuk. After the third song I was done, perhaps I'll be in an 80's mood one day a listen to it all the way through and not stop at the third song in.

After Goodwill we ended up at a resale shop (antique store), they had 8-tracks, cassettes, reel to reel, and a ton of unorganized records all overpriced. Some records priced at $15, I even saw in Goodwill for 10 minutes earlier, one of which was Lush Life. 

I skipped one thrift shop in town today had to go elsewhere today, have to hit them some other day. 

The next place I ended up was a national chain thrift shop new to the area named "Savers", it was in the next town over where we had to go anyway for a few special groceries. But they had a minor record selection, mostly garbage. 

So back to the record store in my home town. It was now almost 4 PM and I had less then a half hour in the store before they closed. Today's big target was the Eagles Hotel California, but I had no luck with that, they had sold the last copy an hour before I got there. But I did find their iconic Greatest Hits album which would satisfy my need to listen to the Eagles on LP, until I could get a copy of Hotel California. I also found a great Beach Boys album, which had some of the songs I set out to look for a few weeks earlier its not Pet Sounds, but its way better then the In Concert album I picked up a few weeks earlier. 

Rummaging through Resale for Records

August 10, 2013

Earlier in the week my eldest son and I ran in and out of a local thrift shop in search of records, and we where in luck. Four stacks about two feet high of vinyl, but hard to tell what was in them. One record I did dig out was a Louis Jordan album, it had a lot of good songs on it, but pressed for time again I put it back and we left just as quickly as we had arrived. 

Finally today on a Saturday with nothing to do we got back there. My eldest son was there mainly because he wanted to get out of the house. But he was helpful in sorting through the pile that had now become six stacks. But my goal of grabbing that Louis Jordan record was dashed, either someone bought it of it was moved in the creation of more piles. 

Being a late Saturday morning the store was crowded making it hard to look at the records, especially since they where stacked horizontally in such tall piles on a shelf closest to the floor. Feeling my wife's annoyance about going there I put a cap on myself to spend no more then $5. 

Sons of the Pioneers although an odd choice for me I figured would have a unique sound on vinyl. I kind of always dug the old timey Cowboy Music they sang and figured on vinyl something would be added. On vinyl it actual does sound unique, but this release can from the group as they where older, probably in the late 1950's early 60's. So although its all the classic songs of theirs, that element of Sons of the Pioneers in their prime ala the late 30's into the 40's is lost. 

I also grabbed the original Broadway cast recording of My Fair Lady. One of the reasons I grabbed it was because it was one of the records my parents had on their collection (perhaps this is that very same record????). I remember my sister loved this record and would put in on many a Saturday morning while doing housework. The other reason is that it is a great album and Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison are phenomenal in this, I must admit though I do prefer Audrey Hepburn as Eliza though. 

 

Lastly, I found some record sets towards the bottom of the piles. One of the ones I pulled out was a 6 LP, Dean Martin set. Ok, I will admit the cover looks very sappy early 60's, but there are a lot of great songs on the set.