Surprisingly great High School record from right in my own backyard that I’d never come across ’til recently. Sleeve is scant on info but it seems to be split between two local schools of which the kids on side B especially get down like nobody’s business. Very together playing and well chosen covers really set [...]
Pretty unique education themed jazz lp from the bay area. It appears that Soundpiper was a private label run my a husband and wife team named Piper, and based on the back notes there were a small handful of releases. While this one in particular is not completely earth-shattering, it does contain one of the [...]
The sounds of a woman getting it on with a Moog. This is either one of the best or one of the worst records I own – I’m just not sure which… [Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Another one I don’t have. I cry.
Not really sure what I can add. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]
I’m pretty sure I originally bought this because it had a rather crudely hand decorated back cover with ancient pictures of school girls and a birthday inscription of some sort. It was in rough shape so I probably justified the purchase by telling myself I could always give it to a friend who I tend [...]
This record is mostly pretty ehhhh… In fact, in an effort to impose more rigid quality control standards on… uhhh…. myself, I guess… I’d scrapped a previously completed review of it. But, alas, I often get to pondering these especially marginal records when I’m up late drinking. Plus, there is one track where they get [...]
A surprisingly good folk-pop lp on the vanity label Century that I picked up recently due to my “leave no stock cover behind” compulsion. The notes say it was recorded in a Los Angeles area church, and it has a sort of cavernous low-fi sound quality that I quite enjoy. Very soothing Simon & Garfunkel-esque [...]
Kind of a confusing record ’cause there are two nearly identical versions, but one is missing the best track “Something For Every-Body Suite”. For the most part though, both versions are almost identical to Halpern’s classic “Spectrum Suite”, which can surely be found in a dollar bin near you.
Simply put; this is one of the most amazing and entertaining records I’ve ever heard. It’s a truly fascinating slice of life that does not cease to astonish upon repeated listens, and makes one wish that more things like this had been preserved for the ages. The songs, anecdotes, and a capella gang wars of [...]
From 1973 this is the first record by this quasi-eastern, quasi-religious, Bay area ensemble. I’m not exactly sure what the function of the Sufi Choir was, but they sound like a cross between a high school choir, and a hippy commune jam session. Don’t let that somewhat unappetizing description put you off though – there [...]
This is maybe my favorite record that I’ve ever purchased from a local junkmonger I call “Van Guy” – a guy who drives around to flea markets selling books, records, furniture, etc out of his van. Quite a character. Anyhow, I find that with this type of stuff you either “get it”, or don’t. Not [...]
One of those bands that just really, really, really, really, really wanted to sound like Hendrix. Not that that’s a bad thing though, as there are more than a few highly enjoyable tracks on here. Take the grinding, fuzzy “Sweet Pea” for example. On the whole it’s somewhat over-exaggerated and hard to take completely seriously [...]
I believe I once read somewhere that Tedd Smith was Billy Graham’s Pianist. And record enthusiasts probably best know him for the common and less than amazing “Time to Run” soundtrack. But he also made a few very ambitious concept albums for Word/Light – this being the best of the ones I’ve heard. The album [...]
As a second generation Orange Countian who squandered his youth on drugs I can’t help but identify with these youngsters in some strange way. Who knows, it could have totally been Rick from Anaheim* who rode shotgun that one time my Dad, hopped up on Angel Dust, hot-wired a car and cruised to the Long [...]
Strange 60′s Christian lp that has one of my favorite covers of all time. It depicts youthful scenes of of the era; playing baseball, dancing, riding on a motorcycle, holding a portable radio dangerously close to your ear and screaming, getting maced by the cops, hallucinating the Beatles’ disembodied heads, etc. And the message, delivered [...]
I just don’t quite understand dudes dropping a G plus on motherfuckers like BIXBY while records like Terry Telson are still out there getting little to no shine. He’s lonely, too broke to afford a full-color sleeve, and yours for a mere fraction of the price. What more do you need? Seriously though, this is [...]
This man really isn’t a bear. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Buffalo Springfield-esque folk-rock lp on the RCA subsidiary Colgems. At times this gets just a tiny bit too cheesed out for it’s own good, but the solid tracks more than make up for it. These guys handle folked out trippy sitar stuff and straight ahead fuzzed out rockers equally well. Top-notch production and arrangements as [...]
Possibly the most f*cked up album I own. Listen, but don’t say I didn’t warn ‘ya!