Singer / Songwriter

Deep stuff. Real deep.

  • Randy Loyd: The Moment Randy Loyd: The Moment

    What an incredible record…fans of The Youngbloods and Poco should check this out. I was looking for good christian records at a St. Vincent De Paul, found this and took a fifty cent chance. It’s not overty christian at all but the label is Cartay, with a halo coming from the “t”. He writes most […]

  • Lew Jones: Rain on the Marshlands Lew Jones: Rain on the Marshlands

    Lew is definitely one of the better random SSW dudes I’ve cluelessly picked up in the last few years. Good voice, good songs, good outfit on the cover… and some of more melancholy moments here almost remind me of a sort of budget Nick Drake. In fact, if the entire lp sounded more like the […]

  • Alyeska Woman: Reflection Alyeska Woman: Reflection

    Anchorage, Alaska rarely reaches into the depths of winter cold like Fairbanks (where I live) does. If it did, Alyeska Woman would have been an entirely different record. It would not radiate its almost hopeful vibe nor would it sound as nice. Anchorage has, for a while anyways, been Alaska’s largest city. In 1974, this […]

  • Jean Yves Tourbin - Gayan Jean Yves Tourbin - Gayan

    Jean Yves Tourbin managed to peek out of his nest of gratuitous facial hair and somehow emerge with a tender eastern instrument augmented folk album. The grueling frenchness* of the vocals may repel most, but most tracks are filled with gorgeous finger picked guitars, harps, strings and flutes. For some reason this found its […]

  • Bruce D. McElheny - For The Record Bruce D. McElheny - For The Record

    This is a really solid private press (I think) LP that covers acoustic blues, country & folk territory. All the songs are originals by McElheny and the instrumentation is various combinations of voice, guitar, banjo, electric bass, drums and dobro. Recorded in October 1976 at Bickley Studios, Houston and released on the […]

  • Christian Lee - 'Magic Wand' - White Wonder Christian Lee - ‘Magic Wand’ - White Wonder

    Obscure 45rpm artifact on a one-off label - the artist remains mysterious, originally from Detroit, apparently he later relocated to the Southwest. An anthem of sorts, the rough-hewn yet melodic folk sound of ‘Magic Wand’ oddly foreshadows the sound of early 90s bedroom-four-trackers.
    Listen

  • Paulo de Carvalho - Não de Costas Mas de Frente Paulo de Carvalho - Não de Costas Mas de Frente

    I’ve had this record for some years now and had filed it away with the mental note that it contained some nice songs. Now that I listen to it again I must say it’s really good. Side one suffers from some uneven tracks but side two is nice all the way. A quick internet search […]

  • Art Of The Gifted Art Of The Gifted

    There’s lots of records by crazy people out there, but albums made by real mental patients are considerably fewer. Here’s one, recorded in 1985 by clients at various mental health facilities in Colorado. The project was the brainchild of Dr Alan Melinger, and upon scrutiny it appears to be a partial vanity trip for the […]

  • Chris Madsen - In Black and White Chris Madsen - In Black and White

    Great private press from Vancouver, BC featuring one-half dark, haunted ssw moves with reverberated vocals, these songs being the best on the LP. Chris has a deep voice which must issue some sort of web as you are drawn to listen to him sing as he covers topics like nature, love and loss. The other […]

  • Lost John Lyle and the Lonesome Ornery Polecasts - Bootleg Powerhead Lost John Lyle and the Lonesome Ornery Polecasts - Bootleg Powerhead

    This private from 1971 has quickly become my most listened to record of the summer, despite finding it as late as August. Housed in a blank sleeve with hand-written labels, it’s no wonder this artifact of the early singer songwriter scene in B.C., Canada remained unknown until its recent rediscovery. I have found it difficult […]

  • Kevin Vicalvi: Songs From Down the Hall Kevin Vicalvi: Songs From Down the Hall

    I will begin this with the rather bold claim that this is one of the best 70’s pop records you’ve probably never heard. Which is unfortunate as this independently released 1974 lp can not only hang with any of the revered lesser known major label efforts of time, but surpasses many of them. Quite a […]

  • Andy Pratt - Records Are Like Life Andy Pratt - Records Are Like Life

    Brian Cullman recommended this artist to me as someone that he remembered being great. He said that the record to get was his 1973 self-titled Columbia lp. After looking him up online, I found that he is now active as a rock musician again after many years as a Christian artist. His website has all […]

  • Kurt Van Arsdel - Golden Loneliness Kurt Van Arsdel - Golden Loneliness

    Private press californian gospel LP from 1981. On the back cover Van Arsdel looked so much like the bearded Dennis Wilson that I had to give it a spin. I know this is the first pressing because it says so on the label, helpful. You can google Kurt van Arsdel and find […]

  • Kathy Fire - Songs Of Fire Kathy Fire - Songs Of Fire

    This record will catch you off your guard. Put up your usual bias against radical feminist records, flex your hatred of 3rd-wave feminism, despise your own insecurity about all things political, and you will do what most people do when they see this record: laugh and put it back. Certainly when I read about this […]

  • Brian Cullman Brian Cullman

    Here’s a great lost AOR release from Brian Cullman. Thanks to Dave at Friends of Sound for again appealing to my taste for a poor man’s Al Stewart. This fit the bill quite nicely. Check out the composer himself on the back, pouring a glass of some fine spirit with a flair that’s sets off […]

  • Jacobs Ladder: If I Had A Wish Jacobs Ladder: If I Had A Wish

    Bay area lp that I will tentatively say is interesting. I’m mostly posting this to get “Fist” Goodbody off the home page though… so please forgive me if this is not quite Waxidermy’s finest hour. Anyhow, back sleeve credits seem to allude to this being more of a guy than a band… so I guess […]

  • Sandy Hurvitz: Sandy's Album Is Here At Last! Sandy Hurvitz: Sandy’s Album Is Here At Last!

    I grew up going to this crappy record shop in Orange County, Ca called “Pepperland”. You guessed it, the owner was Beatlemaniac. Scary. But, in the back, if you were not afraid to get dirty and look like a deranged sex fiend, there were a lot of records. This is the kind of place that […]

  • Rodriguez - Cold Fact Rodriguez - Cold Fact

    This is definitely one of those “what was the record company thinking” scenarios.  Sixto Rodriguez was a songwriter & musician based in Detroit in the 70s and he recorded this album for a label called Blue Goose at Tera-Shirma Studios.  The weird thing isn’t that this LP is awesome psych/folk/rock with loads of drug, political […]

  • Dwayne Cannan - Spare Change Dwayne Cannan - Spare Change

    The first thing that came to mind when I saw this album was downtown. Dwayne is on the cover, carrying his guitar, coming out of an age-old telephone booth with the album name below him… Spare Change. You flip to the back-cover and see song titles like The Gutter Man, Lady, The Drifter, Cocaine Katie, […]

  • Country Comfort - We Are the Children Country Comfort - We Are the Children

    The kind folks at Friends of Sound here in Austin, TX recommended this to me as a two or three tracker from Hawaii. Fortunately, Country Comfort’s songs sound very similar and it’s more like a four to six tracker. They do a great cover of ‘Make It With You’ and an original called ‘To be […]

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