Vintage Vinyl Revival

Z!100618 – Hillbilly Hootenanny, LIVE on Satan+Sunshine

Your VVR Host — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 03:11:49 +0000

Tim O’Reilly, bass player for Gary Burgess – back cover photo from ‘Hillsides & Honkytonks’ LP

The Vintage Vinyl Revival goes LIVE on WKE, Portland’s own Satan & Sunshine Radio Hour, modulatin’ & jawjackin’ with DJ Furnace and slingin’ some good ol’ hillbilly hootenanny & honky-tonk! Mercy day sakes alive!!

After one DJ Furnace took a liking to the V.V.R., I was invited to put together a special playlist and get on the horn with the Satan & Sunshine show. This is a slightly edited version of the full show; trimmed down, rebalanced, remixed, and including a couple bonus tracks that were initially lost due to complications with those durned technological devices of modern day radio. I guess you still can’t beat the reliability of a turntable and a vinyl biscuit.

THANKS a million to Satan & Sunshine radio for the recognition and air-time.

Be sure to stop by their digs for loads of good music, video & sinful entertainment;
http://www.satanandsunshine.com/

SETLIST * (DJ Furnace’s selections)

Chet Atkins
Red Wing *

Jed and Granny Clampet
Winston Cigarette Commercial *

Ray Brand
Devils House *

Henry Flynt
Snake
Back Porch Hillbilly Blues, Volume 1

Buzz Martin, the Singing Logger
Butterin’ Up Biscuit
A Logger Finds An Opening

Richard & Jim
Them Poems
Two Boys From Alabama

Mountain Dew Commercial *

Junior Samples
Doggone (My Dog’s Gone)
Moonshinin’

Cledus Maggard & the Citizen’s Band
C.B. Lingo Dictionary
The White Knight

The Blue Boys
Soakin’ Up Suds
Live In Person

The Milo Twins
Johnson To Jones *

Gary Burgess
The Laundromat Song
Hillsides & Honkytonks

Tennessee Earnie Ford and Ella Mae Morse
Hog-Tied Over You *

Red Sovine
Colorado Cool-Aid *

Leroy Pullins
I’m Killing Myself
I’m A Nut

Rojay North
You’re The Shit of My Life
Keep on Singin’ (and Other Thoughts)

Henry Flynt
Blue Sky, Highway, & Tyme
Back Porch Hillbilly Blues, Volume 1

Roscoe Holcomb
Moonshiner *

Martin, Buzz : The Old Time Logger A Vanishing Breed Of Man

Your VVR Host — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:22:33 +0000

RIPCORD SLP 004
12″ LP Album

Liner notes:

In 1963 I received a letter from a young man from Alsea, Oregon. At that time I had a weekly television program in Portland and was receiving many letters from different talents in the Northwest wanting to be a guest on my program. This young man’s letter was one of these, but this letter was written with such honesty and personal sincerity that after reading it I felt as if I already knew the man. His name was Buzz Martin. He said that he had worked in the woods all of his life and that he wrote and sung songs about the experiences, and the people of the woods. He also added that he had never been on a television program before.

I made an appointment with this young man and it wasn’t long before I had him on my program. Shortly after that I helped him cut his first record, and soon became one of his biggest fans.

Today I consider Buzz one of my best friends. I have watched his career closer than most anyone because this man is the kind of man you grow to love like men can love men.

Because of this I’ve been close to him through his good times and his bad times, and I would like to say that no matter how empty or full his pocket is, his sense of humor always overflows.

Being a musician for 28 years I’ve seen the work of thousands of undiscovered or semiprofessional writers wanting an opinion of their work. After all the work I have looked at I sincerely believe that Buzz is the greatest writing talent in the Northwest.

My band, “The Simmons Family”, which includes my two sons Don and Larry, has been on stage with Buzz at personal appearances several times, a person can feel the common bond and respect between he and each member of the audience. It makes little difference if you’ve worked in the woods or not, you’ll understand.

If you’ve ever known a logger you know Buzz Martin. A logger is sometimes rowdy, sometimes mischievous. He smiles a lot (even in the woods where there is ever present danger). He’ll display love for his family and friends anytime, anywhere, but don’t you laugh at him, because he has been known to fight. In fact, to some loggers fighting is a favorite pastime. He’ll talk loud at times, but as Buzz Martin wrote, “I’ve seen him pick up a baby bird and gently place it in its nest.”

This is the fourth album for Buzz Martin. Its title, ”The Logger – A Vanishing Breed Of Man”, I don’t care for. I hope there will always be a Buzz Martin and that special breed of man, called the logger.

If this is the first time for you to meet Buzz Martin, listen closely to the words. That’s the great thing about all Buzz Martin songs, the words. Some of the words only loggers understand, but you will enjoy each song, even if you are not a logger. I know I do. And all I’ve ever known is Radio Stations, Guitars, Bandstands and a lot of nice people, and about the nicest is a man I call “Oregon’s Singing Logger”, Buzz Martin.

Buddy Simmons
Music Director
Radio Station KRDR
Gresham, Oregon

Produced by Gene Breeden
Engineer: Jay A. Thompson
Pictures by Kent Smith

TRACKLISTING:
(All tracks written by Buzz Martin)

SIDE ONE
1. A Vanishing Breed of Man
2. A Logger’s Wife
3. Mockingbird Song (arrangement by Walt Rogers)
4. Sittin’ and Dreamin’
5. Credit Card Song

SIDE TWO
1. My Old McCulloch
2. Loggin’ in the Bars
3. That’s When Something Breaks Down
4. Monday Morning Again
5. Timber Up In Heaven

Martin, Buzz : A Logger Finds An Opening

Your VVR Host — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:06:39 +0000

RIPCORD SLP 003
12″ LP Album

Liner notes:

It’s a long road from those Five Rivers hills to Nashville, Tennessee, in more ways than just miles, but I finally made it. I mention Nashville because it’s the biggest highlight of my career, and I was asked for personally by the greatest of them all, Johnny Cash himself.

It was 1951 when the lines were strung and electricity came into Five Rivers, so up until then all the radios were battery operated. We always made sure we had a well charged battery for Grand 0l’ Opry night. I’ve always been kind of a dreamer, and I’d sit there and dream of stepping out on the stage of the Old Ryman Auditorium.

When you’re logging along the Oregon Coast, it’s just a series of ridges and deep canyons covered with the awfullest, tangled up mess of Vine Maple, Salmon Berry Brush, Devils Club, Sal-al Brush and Huckleberry, you can imagine. We were always telling each other, ”Hang right in there, we’ll find an opening pretty soon.”

Well, I finally found that big opening I’d been searching for.

This inadequate means of communication we use, called the English language, doesn’t contain the words I need to express what I feel inside toward everyone who has helped me along the way. There isn’t enough space to name all my friends and family, and the multitude of strangers I’ve met, who have become friends.

Sure, Nashville was great, and a dream come true, but when I step out on a stage of an auditorium full of loggers and mill workers, there is a common bond between us that I can actually feel in the air.

When Johnny Cash brought me out on stage in Nashville and introduced me, he said, “the only difference between me and Buzz is, he’s singin’ about lumberjacks and I’m singin’ about cotton pickers!”

I’ve had so many people ask me when are you going to record something besides logging songs. Well, this is what we’ve done on this album. We hope you like at least a couple of them.

One of my bosses at Ripcord Records, Mr. Fred Edwards, who has also become my good friend, asked me if I’d been working on any more logging songs for our next album. I told him, “Once a logger, you always think logging.” I can’t wait to start cutting it, and this logger is one happy fella because, ”at last I found my opening.”

Vocal Arrangements by:
Bob Blum, Lorri Rogers, Steve West & Rick Keefer

Recorded at Ripcord Recording Studio, Vancouver, Washington, using Ampex AG 440-8 and AG 440 -4 recorders, Neumann and RCA microphone systems, and a Langevin 12 channel mixing console.

Produced by Bob Blum and Rick Keefer. Photos by Kent Smith.

TRACKLISTING:

SIDE ONE
1. A Logger Finds An Opening
2. Automated Love
3. I Just Happened To Be In The Way
4. Butterin’ Up Biscuit
5. Vacation In Heaven (written by Herbert Buffum)

SIDE TWO
1. Cummins Prison (written by Bob Blum & Jesse Reeves)
2. Two Times A Day
3. Settin’ Chokers In The Snow
4. Bachelor Days
5. Behind The Wheel

Martin, Buzz : A Logger’s Reward

Your VVR Host — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:50:24 +0000

RIPCORD 002
12″ LP Album

Liner notes:

It was lightly snowing that January afternoon as we entered the Ripcord Studios in Vancouver, Washington. The playback speakers were blaring so loud it would have put a hundred-piece marching band to shame; although there were only five musicians in the main studio. As the tape stopped, I yelled, “Hallelujah!” over the talkback intercom. “Hallelujah”, the musicians answered back. “If you’ll whistle the bridge, we’ll have an arrangement for you in five minutes,” said Bobby Gibsonthe owner manager of the studio who was directing the session. “What I mean is”, I said, “That last chorus has a ‘Hallelujah’ feeling. You ought to play it that way.”

It was the last of a series of recording sessions of the album you are now holding. The Star of the session is one of the Northwest’s finest poets, although I doubt he considers himself a poet. A singer he “ain’t”, anymore than Johnny Cash is a singer. Both get so involved in telling a story that they plow straight forward and forget the little and pretty nuances anyway, Bobby was taking care of that part in the arrangements.

Don’t get me wrong. I dig the Buzz Martins – the Johnny Cashes – but let’s face it; they are more than singers. I think they are both blessed with the God given talent of complete communication. They somehow convey the emotion, the message with no effort whatsoever. Maybe after thirty years as a D.J. I hear this more than others, but, one thing for sure… You can’t be a Martin or a Cash, and be a phony at the same time. The modern term is “Tell it like it is”.

As you look at Buzz Martin, it’s hard to think of him as a poet; this brute of a man whose arms measure more around than most men’s thighs, but a poet he is. It’s not so much that Buzz writes poetry, He sees everything around him as a kind of poetry – not unlike Robert Service. Buzz has worked in the timberlands of the Pacific Northwest all his life, and the stories he sings for you in this album are a sort of love affair, a love of the land and the people of this region.

How do you become as gentle and knowing a person as a Buzz Martin? Well, quite often you get hit with personal tragedy, as Buzz did, at an early age. You learn when others offer love and understanding, such as did his brother Cliff, and his sister “Nellie” with husband Bill Woosley. You learn it when you leave your first love, the hard and harsh timberland you know and love so well to strap a parachute on, and sky dive over the Oregon valleys to put on a wet suit and search the hidden valleys of the Pacific Coast.

Bobby Gibson first brought a tape to me several years ago to see if these weathered ears would dig Buzz Martin.

I dig.

SAMMY TAYLOR
Music Director
Radio Station KWJJ
Portland, Oregon

Produced by Bob Gibson and Rick Keefer.

TRACKLISTING:
(All tracks written by Buzz Martin)

SIDE ONE
1. A Logger’s Reward
2. The Road Inspector
3. Cat Skinnin’ Gypo Logger
4. Goin’ Home
5. Different Kind of Breed of Truck Driving Man

SIDE TWO
1. Since They Repossessed My Used Log Truck
2. A Language I Don’t Understand
3. Message From Home
4. Too High On The Stump
5. Strong Winds and Widow Makers

Martin, Buzz : Where There Walks A Logger There Walks A Man

Your VVR Host — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:23:33 +0000

1968
RIPCORD 001
12″ LP Album

Liner notes:

There are more sounds coming out of the Oregon woods than the cry of ‘Timber’, or the ripp of a power saw. Listen, and you’re sure to hear the gutsy gusto of part-time logger Buzz Martin. Buzz has captured-much of the magic of the tall timber and a great deal of the humor of the men who work in the Oregon woods. Buzz Martin has got to be Oregon’s answer to Grandpa Jones. If your toe doesn’t tap when you listen to this album, then friend, you don’t have one. Buzz writes and sings songs about the things he knows and understands. While in his early teens, he went to live with his older sister Nellie and her husband Bill Woosley. They lived in the 5 Rivers Country between Alsea and Waldport, Oregon. Their ranch is 36 miles from any town and it was there that Buzz really started playing quite a bit of music. Buzz used to join the Woosley Boys, Louie on accordian, Frank on mandolin, John on guitar, and Bill Woosley on any darned thing you hand him.

When he was 18, Buzz went to work in the woods as a whistle punk. He worked at every job there is from cutting timber to high climbing. During his tenure in the woods, Buzz has worked every kind of machine from a cat to a giant LeTourneau*. Musically, Buzz got his first break from Buddy Simmons on his Channel 2 Hoedown TV in Portland. Buzz sang ‘Whistle Punk Pete’ and ‘Sick of Settin’ Chokers’ on the TV show. They got such good response that Buddy helped him record them. These records helped introduce Buzz to many fans throughout the country. With the expert arrangements from Bobby Gibson and the feeling for the songs from Buzz Martin, grab hold of your rocking chair, or whatever you’re sitting in to listen to this album, and be prepared for some fun. Some of my favorites are ‘Sick of Settin’ Chokers,’ ‘Loggers Home Brew,’ ‘Used Log Truck’ and ‘Fire Danger.’ I don’t think the Forest Service boys get such a large charge out of ‘Fire Danger,’ but what the heck, it’s just good clean fun – Buzz Martin style. Yes Sir, ‘There Walks A Man,’ and he knows what he’s singin’ about. Drop a needle on this … gently now . . . and meet Buzz Martin. He’s the fellow with a pen in one hand and an ax in the other.

DICK BOND

KGAY Salem
Program Director

* That’s a log Stacker. Buzz told me what it was. Hell man, I’m a radio announcer. I wouldn’t know a LeTourneau from a shrunken Chet Atkins guitar pick.

Recorded at Gibson Recording Studio, Vancouver, Washington, using Ampex AG 440.8 and AG 440-4 recorders, Neumann and RCA microphone systems, and a Langevin 12 channel mixing console.

Produced by Bob Gibson and Rick Keefer.

TRACKLISTING:
(All tracks written by Buzz Martin)

SIDE ONE
1. Used Log Truck
2. Whistle Punk Pete
3. There Walks A Man
4. Sick of Settin’ Chokers
5. Fire Danger

SIDE TWO
1. Unemployment Compensation
2. Hoot Owlin’ Again
3. Loggers Home Brew
4. Loggers Annual Party
5. Little Ole Model A

Glory, Dominion, Power, Majesty

Your VVR Host — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 01:56:03 +0000

PK 9 – VARIOUS ARTISTS

PK Records
Half Moon Productions

12″ [2] LP Compilation

Produced by Oswald Creary, Half Moon Productions

Super 8 Corporation: ossie, JJ : Drums, Vinnie: Keyboard, Mordercai: Guitar, Ardley: Bass, Horny: Saxophone

Of all my reggae records, Glory, Dominion, Power, Majesty has been my favorite by far – super dread roots rasta reggae from well off the beaten path. Cohesive and connected, this compilation plays like an album, each track more solid than the last.

When I sold my reggae collection on Ebay, it was available to top enthusiasts across the globe. Collectors from as far as Brazil, Japan and France paid top dollar and picked off almost every record from my selection. When this record was one of the only ones that didn’t sell, I concluded a few things: 1) This record and I weren’t meant to part ways just yet. 2) Few have likely heard of this record, let alone the players captured on it. 3) This record needed some recognition. So here it is, my pick for the greatest reggae compilation of ALL TIME.

With only eight prior releases (this being PK 9), we’re not talking about a big label here. The only other experience I’ve had with PK was PK 5 Darker Than Blue, Soul From Jamdown, 1973-1980 – an equally crucial collection of rarities, though a more-soulful compilation. Honest Jons provides the only other info I’ve come across on PK 9:

From the seventies and early-eighties heyday of this Toronto-based reggae label, when it played host to stars like Augustus Pablo, Johnny Osbourne and Leroy Sibbles. Raw, twisted, compelling, at times staggering.

TRACKS:

Bold tracks are included in this podcast.

Joe Higgs – Creation
Stranger Cole – Freedom, Justice & Equality
Super 8 Corporation – Freedom Version
Louis O’Conner – Lonely & Black

Dill Smith – Set Me Free
Super 8 Corporation – Free Version
Pluggy Satchmo – What Rasta Say
Stranger Cole & Jah Levy – I’m Living

Rothadam – Sampson
OJ – Things Felt Right
The Blenders – Why Did You Run Away?
Johnny Osbourne – Danger in Your Eyes

Bingi Kicks & G. Campbell – Sky Jack
Leroy Sibbles & Otravis Band – Sky Jacking Version
Bongo Ossie & the Moonlights – Black Society
Pluggy Satchmo – 23rd Psalm
Carl Dawkins – Luv is Needed

Z!100328 – Pum Pum A Go Kill You

Your VVR Host — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:59:57 +0000

Little Millie Small poses for the bizarre album cover of “Time Will Tell.”

Known for her only big hit, “My Boy Lollipop,” in this set Millie sings her not-so-well-known and much less universally appealing “White Boys.”

One of my favorite styles of Jamaican music is the somewhat confusing genre of ‘skinhead reggae‘ (so-called for its popularity among British skinheads). This was early reggae (reggae before reggae), which – in the grand timeline of an incredibly dynamic development of Jamaican music – came just after the development of ska and the short-lived rocksteady beat (1966-68), and preceded the actual ‘reggay’ movement that quickly became saturated with Rastafarian influences. My favorite skinhead tunes are the ones that contain off-kilter lyrics, bizarre spoken-word, or strange vocalizations –- such as the ska ‘hiccup’ or ‘get-em-up’ effect, as I like to call it.

In this set (selected from the original Roots Rally Sound System broadcasts) skinhead reggae collides with soul, quirky little numbers and oddball lyrics dominate, and a strange theme surrounding inter-racial relationships and deadly female genitalia begins to emerge.

Enjoy.

Set List:

Judge Dred
Big 8
Don’t Call me Ska Face Vol. 2

Dice the Boss
Tea House from Emperor Rosko
Dancehall ‘69 – 40 Skinhead Reggae Rarities

Roland Alphonso
Zapatoo the Tiger
Calypso Favorites

Count Matchuki
Movements (the Joe Gibbs Way)
Joe Gibbs: Love of the Common People

Millie
White Boys
Time Will Tell

John Holt
Sister Big Stuff
Thief

Lee Perry
Wind Up Doll
the Compiler Vol. 1

Girlie and Jomo
African Meeting
Lochness Monster

Prince Buster
Pum Pum A Go Kill You
Wreck A Pum Pum

Z!060719 – Bawdy Songs & Backroom Ballads

Your VVR Host — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:20:34 +0000

Album art from Ann Corio LP “How to Strip for Your Husband – Music to Make Marriage Merrier”

“Come, share this exciting intimacy from the very beginning. Enter into a world of perpetual delight, enriched by a joyous and fulfilling sex life…”

Set List:

“J”
Introduction
The Way to Become The Sensuous Woman
12″ LP Album (Atlantic)

Gert Wilden & Orchestra
(Die Fleissigen Bienen Vom Fröhlichen Bock) Stadt und Land
Schulmädchen /
Schoolgirl Report & Other Music from Sexy German Films (1968 – 1972)
12″ LP Nude Picture Album (Bop Biz)
Crippled Dick Hot Wax

Art Linkletter
The Sperm
Art Linkletter Narrates the Story of “Where Did You Come From?”
12″ LP Album (20th Century Fox) 1963

John & Jackie
Little Girl
Genteels
Take It Off
Las Vegas Grind Volume 1 – Sleazy, Cheesy, Bad
12″ LP Comp (Strip)

Ann Corio
Orchestra Conducted by Sonny Lester
Bumps and Grinds
How to Strip for Your Husband – Music to Make Marriage Merrier
12″ LP Album (Roulette)

Angelina
I’m a Virgin, but I’m on the Verge
Hot Pepper
Spicy Songs Sung by Faye Richmonde, Saul T. Peter, Angelina, Miss Dee and Nancy Steele
12″ LP Comp (Beacon)

Maggie Jones
Good Time Flat Blues
Memphis Minnie
Hustlin’ Woman Blues
Streetwalking Blues
12″ LP Comp (Stash)

Debbie Drake
Exercise #4
How to Keep Your Husband Happy
Look Slim! Keep Trim! Exercise Along with Debbie Drake
12″ LP Album (Epic)

Faye Richmond
You Ought to See her Box
Hot Pepper

Faye Richmond
I Want a Man to Gimme Some Luck
A Little Spice
12″ LP Album (Davis) 1957

Judy Andraws
You’re Playin’ With It, If You Shake It More Than Once
Slip it to me Inch by Inch
My Bare Lady
12″ LP Album (Beacon)

Debbie Drake
Exercise #7

Billy Devroe and The Devilaires
In Your Prime
Censored!
12″ LP Album (Tampa Records)

Saul T. Peter
Oooo Have I Got Hot Nuts For You!
Hot Pepper

Oscar Brand
Winnipeg Whore
Bawdy Songs and Backroom Ballads Vol. II
12″ LP Album (Audio Fidelity)

Oscar Brand
Roll Your Leg Over
Bawdy Songs and Backroom Ballads Vol. III
12″ LP Album (Audio Fidelity)
http://www.oscarbrand.com/

Z!091116 – Stay Loose Mother Goose

Your VVR Host — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:44:20 +0000

Back cover album art from “Here’s Little Richard” original 1957 mono LP

Here’s some rockin’ little numbers, mostly pre-Beatles 50’s and early 60’s… Nothing too amazingly rare as far as the tunes and artists go (though I’d be surprised if everyone is totally hep to Johnny & the Hurricanes or Freddie Bell & the Bellboys), but it should be noted that these songs all came off of some pretty rare albums; all original first pressings – collector’s items for sure… and they just so happen to be for sale mind you.

See: http://myworld.ebay.com/vintagevinylrevival/

By the way, Chuck Berry is the shit.

Set List:

Little Richard
Slippin’ and Slidin’
Here’s Little Richard
Specialty SP-100
Original 1957 mono LP

Johnny and the Hurricanes
Rock-Cha
Warwick W 2007
Original 1959 mono LP
http://www.johnnyandthehurricanes.com/

Freddie Bell and the Bellboys
Stay Loose Mother Goose
Rock & Roll… All Flavors
Mercury MG 20289
Original 1957 mono LP
http://www.myspace.com/freddiebellshow

Chuck Berry
Nadine
Greatest Hits
Chess 1485
Original 1964 mono LP
http://www.chuckberry.com/

Bo Diddley
Pretty Thing
16 All-Time Greatest Hits
Checker 2989
Original 1964 mono LP

Ike & Tina Turner
It’s Gonna Work Out Fine
Tra La La La
DYNAMITE!
SUE Records LP 2004
Original 1963 mono LP

Little Richard
Oh Why?

Chuck Berry
Memphis

Beatles, the

Your VVR Host — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:34:56 +0000

If only the Beatles had been more like Stockhausen and Cage… *sigh…

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_9

Of all the Beatles tracks to present here, I choose Revolution 9 for its atypical experimentation and irony. This stand-out track seems pretty risky for the safe, streamlined, pop formula of the Beatles, but really, it’s only an imitation of what so many actual risk-takers of the avantgarde and musique concrète genre had already done. The Beatles only wished they were so original.

And so now, like many borderline music snobs, my love / hate relationship with the Beatles is out in the open.
I love to hate them, and I hate to love them… but I do.

I’m just getting the Vintage Vinyl Revival Ebay Store back up and running, and who else to put up on the chopping, er… auction block first? [Scroll down for a list of Beatles albums I have available.] It works out because I’m not incredibly attached to Beatles music, and many a person out there with cash in his pockets is. But it’s also that very notion (Beatles albums bring big bucks) that makes me cringe when I hear people talk about the Beatles. Forgive my hypocritical nature just for a moment, and allow me to elaborate. Not every Beatles record is worth its weight in gold, in fact a great majority of them are hardly worth the wax they’re recorded on.

What’d you say about the Beatles?

Working with and around the music scene, dealing in records, I so often hear the Beatles come up as soon as someone finds out I’m the vinyl guy. “Records? As in albums? Oh yeah, I’ve got a bunch of old Beatles albums.” And invariably, “What do those go for nowadays?” And if they’ve caught word that an uber-mint mono copy of an original pressing goes for hundreds if not thousands of dollars, it’s off to Ebay with their crappy box of reissues to flood the market with more played-out paraphernalia and hoping to strike it rich. Even if you have an authentic original or rare pressing, condition is a huge factor too, so don’t even get me started.
See: Grading Records Objectively, an Ebay Guide / Rant by the Vintage Vinyl Revival.

So what do Beatles records actually go for? Well, that utterly depends, and is also what makes them a little bit more interesting to me as a collector; not that their overplayed mainstream pop nostalgia wasn’t good enough. The Beatles produced so many God-forsaken albums, with so many different versions released at different times on different labels with so many minute details and stories floating around them, that only infinitesimally subtle nuances can keep them apart, and that’s without adding the trouble of the counterfeited copies. It’s not uncommon for literally one little detail to mean the difference between an album that is potentially worth thousands of dollars, and one that belongs in the 50¢ bin.

For example, which album would you prefer?

If you chose the one where George has a shadow, congratulations! You just won $10,000.
If you chose the one without the shadow, I’m sorry, I don’t want your worthless counterfeit.
The shadow is actually only the first line of defense, as this happens to be the most counterfeited album in the universe. Entire guides have been written just to try to sort out the complexities of this one album.
See: Introducing the Beatles, a Comprehensive Discography & Price Guide for VJLP-1062.

All of these little details really make collecting the Beatles a lot of fun and/or a complete headache, depending on your point of view. This site shows some more examples of how complex studying the Beatles’ discography can be: http://www.peterice.com/Beatlesdna.htm

As far as the music goes, the Beatles were masters of mainstream. They certainly had a formula down anyway, as their success goes to show. Millions of people can’t be wrong, right? Well… Now hold on a minute, I’m not looking to pick a fight with the entire Beatle Nation. I really do enjoy a lot of their tunes. I’ve actually been listening to them a lot recently, and with genuine pleasure — that is until weeks later a particularly catchy tune is still spinning around in my head like a broken record, and I’m lying there in agony, “Baby you can drive my car, yes I’m gonna be a star… Damn you Paul! beep beep m’ beep beep yeah!” …That’s the power of pop for you.

But seriously, I’d give them praise for being geniuses, but nowhere do I see them having really pushed the envelope, aside from sheer number of sales and success in creating a rabid fan bass. Catchy comfortable tunes are a key for success, and countless artists since the Beatles have followed in their footsteps with their eye on the prize. On the other hand, risk-takers and avantgarde artists are inherently doomed for the most part. But it is among these unknowns that true genius and authenticity can be found. And this is the real pisser about the Beatles to me. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE GREAT MUSIC OUT THERE GOING UNNOTICED!! With how much notoriety they’ve received, you’d think that no other band was alive and recording during the sixties and seventies – oh wait, except for all those other chart-busters I don’t have to mention. You can surely name a few. But honestly folks, think of all the wonderful music that continues to go unnoticed. I’m not blaming the Beatles for this, rather I target the unoriginality of the consumer.

[update: Collin (my old DJ buddy) over at Ink Mathematics is a prime example of your more-original consumer digging up some great tunes of the sixties & seventies, and his most recent mix, although oddly enough starting out with the Beatles, goes way beyond the mainstream pop of that era. If you're just branching out from the powerful grasp of the Beatles, I suggest starting with some of Collin's recommendations for inspiration. I'll have more of my own recommendations up here before long.]

All that said… Hey! Want to buy some Beatles albums? Oh-so-poppy goodness!

The following list is what I currently have for sale. Please feel free to contact me for sales or more information.

I realize I’m shooting myself in the foot with this post. I’m anxious to be rebuked with responses. Despite my cynical tone in the preceding rant, I actually am pretty thrilled to have, and to be selling, these particular albums. For a Beatles enthusiast, these are some of the true gems. I’ll spare you the WOW!! ORIGINAL!!! RARE!! exclamations.

The Beatles (for the rabid fan):

YESTERDAY & TODAY aka the “BUTCHER COVER”
CAPITOL ST 2553
1966 L.A. STEREO ISSUE LP
PEELED, (THIRD STATE)
SOLD $480

—–

RUBBER SOUL
PARLOPHONE PCS 3075
1965 STEREO LP (Original UK issue)
VG+/VG+

SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
PARLOPHONE PCS 7027
1967 STEREO LP (Original UK issue)
VG+/VG++

—–

MICHELLE, GIRL, DAY TRIPPER, WE CAN WORK IT OUT
CAPITOL EPEM-10074 MEXICO EP
ORIGINAL 1960’s MEXICO EXTENDED PLAY
STILL SEALED NM/NM

A HARD DAY’S NIGHT, TELL ME WHY, THINGS WE SAID TODAY, AND I LOVE HER
CAPITOL EPEM-10042 MEXICO EP
ORIGINAL 1966 MEXICO EXTENDED PLAY
VG+/VG+

HELP!, THE NIGHT BEFORE, YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE, THAT GIRL, ANOTHER GIRL
CAPITOL EPEM-10141 MEXICO EP
ORIGINAL 1966 MEXICO EXTENDED PLAY
VG+/VG+

HELP!, I NEED YOU, TICKET TO RIDE, THE NIGHT BEFORE
CAPITOL EPEM-10074 MEXICO EP
ORIGINAL 1967 MEXICO EXTENDED PLAY
VG+/VG+

PENNY LANE, STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER, GOOD DAY SUNSHINE, I WANT TO TELL YOU
CAPITOL EPEM-10189 MEXICO EP
ORIGINAL 1967 MEXICO EXTENDED PLAY
VG+/VG+

—–

INTRODUCING THE BEATLES
Vee-Jay VJLP 1062
1964 MONO LP (Plain silver VJ on black label)
VG/VG

MEET THE BEATLES
CAPITOL T-2407
1964 MONO LP (Original, black colorband label)
high VG / VG

SECOND ALBUM
CAPITOL T 2080
1964 MONO LP (Original, black colorband label)
VG-/VG

BEATLES ‘65
CAPITOL T 2228
1964 MONO LP (Original, black colorband label)
VG-/VG

BEATLES VI
CAPITOL T 2358
1965 MONO LP (Original, black colorband label)
VG/VG+

REVOLVER
CAPITOL ST 2576
1965 STEREO LP (Original, black colorband label)
VG/VG+

THE BEATLES (S/T) aka THE WHITE ALBUM
APPLE SWBO-101 LP
numbered #0103131
VG/VG+

For the thrift consumer / not-so-rabid fan:

MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
CAPITOL SMAL-2835 LP
VG-/VG+

ABBY ROAD
APPLE SO-383 LP
VG+/VG+

LET IT BE
APPLE AR 34001 LP (Red Apple Label)
VG/VG+

HEY JUDE aka THE BEATLES AGAIN
1970 APPLE SW-385 LP
VG/VG+

Vintage Vinyl Revival

Z!100618 – Hillbilly Hootenanny, LIVE on Satan+Sunshine

Martin, Buzz : The Old Time Logger A Vanishing Breed Of Man

Martin, Buzz : A Logger Finds An Opening

Martin, Buzz : A Logger’s Reward

Martin, Buzz : Where There Walks A Logger There Walks A Man

Glory, Dominion, Power, Majesty

PK Records Half Moon Productions

TRACKS:

Z!100328 – Pum Pum A Go Kill You

Set List:

Z!060719 – Bawdy Songs & Backroom Ballads

Set List:

Z!091116 – Stay Loose Mother Goose

Set List:

Beatles, the

The Beatles (for the rabid fan):

For the thrift consumer / not-so-rabid fan:

PK Records
Half Moon Productions