Whats on your turntable tonight?

Coincidently Jim, I'm thinking about making a trip up to Hawthorne Stereo and Seattle-area record stores (High Voltage, for one). I'm all immunized, but everyone in Portland/Vancouver is still wearing masks (no Covid-deniers around here, thank God). One of my (very) little Vancouver LP shops allows only three customers at a time, with a 20 minute browsing limit. Even if no one is waiting to get in. ???!!!. Still, it's worth it; I found half a dozen Emmylou Harris LP's in NM condition, 5-6 bucks each. 

Damn, this is by far the best thread on Audiogon!

@slaw: Steve, I have yet to hear PJ Harvey sing (gotta fix that), but when Pearl Harbor debuted her new style and band at The Lava Lounge on Sunset Blvd. about twenty years ago, I was her drummer and harmony singer. Ms. Harvey was there, and Pearl brought her over before our set and introduced us. She was as sweet as could be, not a trace of attitude.

I think I have always perceived PJ as an East Coast-style singer, in the Patti Smith mold, which I don't care for. Only one way to find out, right? I've been feeling adventurous lately, with some hits (Kasey Chambers---whom I already like---with Shane Nickolson. Very good.), some misses (Ys by Joanna Newsom. Cool orchestration by Van Dyke Parks, but that's about it.).

Not even close Steve! You guys are costing me a lotta dough ;-). I had to go buy three more Ikea EKET cabinets to house all the LP's you guys talked me into buying. I'm loving that there is so much good new music being made (a lot of my old friends insist on ignoring most of it), and great new LP pressings of old albums. The compromises made in Neil Young's early LP pressings have been banished in the new ones---Kenny Buttrey's Sonor bass drum on Harvest now sounds like it should. One of my favorite drum recordings, both the playing and the sound.

Now that I have become accustomed to the price of new LP's, I find them to feel like a much better value than CD's. Plus, the LP is just a different listening experience than is the CD. But I don't need to tell all ya'll that--- I'm preaching to the choir!

Thanks @big_greg. I learned of Hi-Voltage (correct spelling ;-) from Vinyl Community member Mazzy (Norman Maslov), who after being born and living in San Francisco since 1954 moved to Seattle six years ago. Property values are so high in SF that what he sold his house there for completely paid for his new one in Seattle.

Pearl Harbor also had a house in Frisco, and it’s sale paid for the cute little 2-bd Craftsman she bought when she relocated to Los Angeles, just off Sunset Blvd., a mile east of the Capitol Records building at Vine St. (I can’t say that without hearing in my head Van Dyke Parks’ eerie version of the Randy Newman song of the same name, found on his amazing Song Cycle album).

Pearl is really into burlesque, and her house is decorated in all-50’s decor and posters/pics of strippers from the era. Guitarist Sherman Leroi and I rehearsed with her in the front parlor of her house, and all the T & A were distracting (not to mention hers ;-) . Pearl entered showbiz as an onstage-dancer in the early performances of The Tubes, then got herself a record deal with Columbia in the U.S. and Stiff in the U.K. She lived in England for a few years, toured around with the Stiff artists (Costello, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric, Ian Gomm, etc.), and The Clash.

Pearl and Clash bassist Paul Simonon married and eventually divorced (I kept my opinion of his playing to myself ;-) . She was amazed I knew of the pianist in her English band: Geraint Watkins. Geraint played in Dave Edmunds band, as well as that of Stones bassist Bill Wyman. Wish Geraint followed her to L.A.! He has made a few unusual---odd even, interesting albums of his own.

@mammothguy: Bop Til You Drop was the first Pop album recorded digitally. Ry is a fanatic about his recorded sound, and was gung ho on trying the new recording medium. That enthusiasm was extinguished when he heard the recorded results: He hated it!

Ry's search for good recorded sound quality eventually led him to Water Lily Records, home of the recordings of master recording engineer Kavi Alexander. Kavi uses tube microphones and a recorder, all of which contain electronics custom made by tube genius Tim de Paravicini (designer and maker of the excellent EAR Yoshino line of electronics). When Ry heard his first Water Lily LP, he asked "Why don't my records sound this good?" Ry's Water Lily Meeting The River album won Kavi a Grammy for best recording of the year.

@tomic601: Ry Cooder's Jazz album (which Ry now disavows!) is available in a great pressing on Mobile Fidelity. I have an original on WB and the MoFi, which, if you like the album enough to warrant the cost, is quite a bit better. MoFi also offer Ry's Chicken Skin Music, Boomer's Story, and Paradise & Lunch albums, all of which are about to go out of print. Grab 'em while they're still $34.99!

Michael Percy sells EAR Isodamp SD in various thicknesses. He recommends the SD125 (1/8" thick) for damping metal enclosures. He says it’s the best thing he has found for that use. Economically priced, too. I stuck it inside my Herron Phono stage, EAR Yoshino line stage, and Music Reference power amps (RM-200 Mk.2, RM-9 Mk.2, RM-10 Mk.2) transformer covers. Works fine.

Do ya’ll know about "razoring" Maggies? Maggie maniacs pull up the socks on their speakers, and put DynaMat on all the metal parts of the magnetic-planar drivers and ribbon tweeters. Sounds like a LOT of work ;-) .

Yup @slaw, saw the review (I’m on Bill’s blog mailing list. Though our musical tastes are very different, I like his writing a lot). If I was lookin’ for a mat I’d sure give yours a shot (still may, actually). I’m pretty darn happy with the Delrin top layers on both my Townshend Audio Rock Elite (the Delrin bonded to the cast-Plaster-Of-Paris platter) and VPI TNT-4 (Delrin on top of lead-lined Aluminum) and -5 (Delrin on solid Stainless Steel) platters. I would definitely use a mat on the VPI Classic, with it’s aluminum platter. I like the Delrin/LP vinyl interface, the best in my experience.

I know you don’t approve of clamps Steve, but I like those too (been using 'em for three decades now). The Rock came with a reflex clamp (pretty fragile, don’t over-tighten!), as did of course the TNT. I know there is a rationale for using a damping layer between LP and even Delrin, and for no clamp (your hypothesis of the bearing noise being transmitted though the clamp into the LP). If I make it up to Jims place in upstate Washington, checking it out on his SOTA will be at the top of my list.

@tomic601: Let me know when is good for you Jim, and I'll be up! My sister has a friend in Seattle she's been wanting to visit, so I'll have time to do whatever I want (include look for LP's, of course). I know Light In The Attic Records (record company, not a retailer) is up north somewhere, but they seem to have put the business on pause for the past year. I have about a half-dozen of their LP's on my search for list, and I can't find them anywhere!---Eric.

@slaw: Sorry Steve, I’ve been suffering a little with some kind of illness. Really sore and achy all over. No fever or trouble breathing, plus I’m fully vaccinated, so it’s not Covid.

Anyway, Leon didn’t choose Tom over Twilley; both were signed to Shelter, Twilley first. And it wasn’t that Shelter didn’t put a push behind Twilley---they promoted the band, and the debut album and single ("I’m On Fire") did pretty well. But Tom & The Heartbreakers, for whatever reason, just found a much bigger audience.

The first Dwight Twilley Band album is an amazing melding of early Elvis and The Beatles, Petty’s first an updated Byrds (both over-simplifications, of course). I saw the second line up of the DTB (after Phil Seymour left) live, and they were fantastic. TP & The Heartbreakers are just an average Rock band imo. Petty’s not one of my favorite writers or singers, Mike Campbell not a favorite guitarist. Twilley’s guitarist Bill Pitcock IV was (R.I.P.) amazing! But then my taste is not in line with that of most people.

But there’s another matter, one I hesitate to bring up (I don’t like being negative ;-): I have an old friend whose band opened for TP & THB’s in Anaheim (Campbell is a fan of theirs), and he related to me the band’s encounter with Petty before the show. The story is not flattering to Petty, let’s just say. And then there is this: In the documentary on George Harrison, Petty is being interviewed, and he describes George thusly: "He liked to surround himself with people who are good at what they do." A big smile then crosses his face, and you realize: Tom wants you to know he is one of those people. I find that embarrassing, don’t you?

But a music career like Tom’s is a rarity, so good for him. I’m looking forward to hearing Lucinda perform his songs.

@dayglow: Are those grades on a scale of 5? Or 10?!

Damn @slaw, my copy of Lucinda's s/t Rough Trade LP shows light through it as well! I had never noticed that before.

I have her Good Souls Better Angels album in the limited edition translucent/frosty white vinyl pressing. The hype sticker reads "Natural uncolored virgin vinyl. The cleanest formulation." I wonder if the vinyl is the Clarity that MoFi is using for their 1-Step LP's, and Analogue Productions for their UHQR?

In the YouTube video of the Kind Of Blue roundtable discussion, the point is made that the black color of normal LP's contains trace elements of iron, and that is why demagnetizing an LP is a real thing.

@slaw---Steve, some info about The Chocolate Watchband:

They were literally a Garage Band, formed in late spring of 1965 in my hometown of Cupertino, California (a suburb of San Jose) and rehearsing in the garage of organist Jo Kemling. You don’t see Jo’s name on any of the three Watchband albums, do you? That’s because the original line-up was short-lived.

Jo and bassist Rich Young (Wikipedia lists his name as Rick, which is incorrect. How do I know? Read on ;-) were the last to join the group, being "stolen" from another group---named Faux Pas, a name suggested by Jo’s mother---which had worked up a set and was about to start playing out. That group was composed of Jo on Vox Continental organ, Rich on electric guitar and lead vocals, plus Jo’s younger brother Chuck on bass, and.....myself on drums. Chuck and I were 14 years old, just ending our 9th grade year, and Jo and Rich were students at Foothill College in Los Altos. I had seen The Beach Boys live in ’64 (my first show), but didn’t see The Beatles until later in ’65.

Also in The Watchband were two lead guitarists---Ned Torney and Mark Loomis---sort of like Steve Stills and Neil Young in Buffalo Springfield, and a real good looking lead singer/rhythm guitarist named Danny Phay. The drummer was three years ahead of me at Cupertino High, a guy named Gary Andijasevich. Another mistake in Wikipedia: It lists Pete Curry as the original drummer, Andrivasevich as a later replacement. WRONG! On the very day of The Watchband’s first live show (I attended), Gary suddenly took ill, and Pete---a good friend of Chuck and mine at CHS---was enlisted as his sub for that one show.

It was on Pete’s Japanese drumset that I first played a kit. Pete was in our Jr. High School (middle school for you youngin’s) orchestra, and had been playing a coupla years already. In spite of I having just gotten my first kit, and been playing only a coupla months (along with records in my bedroom), when Faux Pas chose between the two drummers they auditioned---Pete and I---they chose me. Ouch! My sense of playing for the greater good (the band, the song) had already come into play.

By the way, Pete has for about a quarter century been the bassist in Los Straitjackets, the Instrumental Band that now serves as Nick Lowe’s road (and sometimes recording) band. Prior to joining The Straitjackets, Pete and I had been playing together in The Hillbilly Soul Surfers, but Pete had left for The Straitjackets gig before we recorded the Moontan album with Evan Johns. Los Straitjackets are signed to Yep Rock, and have a lot of records available. A rockin’ little combo!

Anyway: Two lead guitarists was one too many, and The Watchband soon broke up. Ned Torney and Danny Phay started The Otherside, and Mark Loomis and Gary Andrivasevich kept the Chocolate Watchband name, adding a new bassist, rhythm guitarist, and lead singer. It was THAT line-up of TCW that got the record deal, and are seen in the teen-exploitation movie Riot On Sunset Strip. Jo Kemling and Rich Young went back to school. ;-)

I saw both The Watchband and The Otherside live dozens of times; they were amongst the half-dozen hottest bands in San Jose in the mid-late 60’s, along with The Syndicate Of Sound (one album on Bell Records) and Stained Glass (two albums on Capitol). But what you hear on most of the Watchband albums is NOT what they sounded like live (the record label used a lot of different studio musicians on the albums). The singer was a flat-out Mick Jagger impersonator, and the group’s material consisted mostly of British Invasion Group songs---Stones, Kinks, Yardbirds, The Who, etc. It was for that reason they were not respected by the San Francisco bands, who viewed them as just a cover band. Which they pretty much were.

After Jo and Rich left Chuck and I high and dry, I got a call from the Frat Band (The Squyers) whose drummer---one Gary Andrivasevich---had quit to join The Watchband. They of course needed to replace him, and Gary gave them my name. I spent the next year learning the ropes of playing in a band, that education abruptly ending when a couple of the other members---all in their early-20’s---got drafted. Damned Vietnam War. Hope they made in back in one piece.

That was about it for San Jose, until The Doobie Brothers hit the big time, and then local Garage Band "Fritz" members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks moved to L.A. to seek their fame and fortune, and found it. ;-)

I just found the two albums by Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson on LP locally, and though I've listened to only the first released---2008's Rattlin' Bones, I had to tell ya'll about it. Fantastic!

I've been a fan of Kasey since the release of her first solo album in the late-90's (she had earlier been in a group with her mother, father, and brother---The Dead Ringer Band), but these two albums---made with her husband Shane Nicholson (lucky dog; Kasey's a doll ;-) ---are true duet-style singing affairs, and really, really good. Very reminiscent of the music of Buddy Miller and Julie Miller. Not Alt-Country, true Country.

Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue (Analogue Productions UHQR). Holy f*cking sh*t. Beauty incarnate!

Speaking of The Cate Bothers: On one of Levon Helm’s post-The Band tours the brothers were the core of his band. Levon was at the time recovering from his throat cancer surgery (heavy smoker), so wasn’t singing. The Cate’s filled in, as did Levon’s daughter Amy. I saw the show at The House of Blues on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, and Levon’s drumming that night was the best I ever heard from him. Genius.

Yup @tomic601 and @slaw. Sheila Berdan is moving the business to Washington State, but my email and phone message asking to where in Washington and when have gone un-resonded to. I’m assuming up north; I’m sure it’s not to Vancouver, and there’s almost nothing between Vancouver (just across the Willamette River from Portland, Oregon) and way up in the Seattle area. Just millions of trees!

I haven’t talked to Sheila since I bought the Music Reference RM-9 Mk.2 amp from her a while back. I wish she was bringing along her tech Tom Carione (the best I’ve ever dealt with), but I doubt it; he has a career in television/radio station electronic maintenance in Los Angeles.

Yeah @tomic601, that's Jim Christie drumming on Lucinda's live album, a great player. I saw him live when he was in Dwight Yoakam's band, which he quit to work with Lucinda.

@tomic601: Thanks Jim, it’s on my list to buy. I got her first two after seeing Steve give her a thumbs up. Now I’m curious about her mom Libby Titus!

BTW, Mary Gauthier is on the road, coming through Portland next Friday. My ticket’s waiting at will call. I don’t know for a fact, but I suspect she’s travelling without a band. I know a good local bassist if she wants a little rhythm section ;-) .

Has anyone bought and heard the new Renaissance Records reissue of the debut album of Pentangle? I’m having no luck finding a clean original.

Great Emitt Rhodes album, @bslon! Emitt wrote, played, and sang every note on his debut, a perfect album.

I was in the band hand-picked to back Emitt when in 1997 he played his first live show in a quarter century. We performed only six songs, including "Live Till You Die" off the debut. I suggested "Fresh As A Daisy" (a glorious Pop masterpiece of a song, easily the equal of anything by Lennon & McCartney, approaching Brian Wilson quality), but Emitt felt it didn't fit the set. 

@mammothguy54: I also recorded with Emitt, in his studio in Hawthorne. He still has the Gibson ES335 pictured on the back cover of the album and the pump organ he’s sitting at on the inside of the gatefold!

He had me record the song he was producing three times in a row, playing to a click track. He recorded each take on a separate Alesis 8-track, then made a master mix on a fourth Alesis from the three takes, punching between them for different sections. Only time I’ve been recorded that way. Being that he was recording on Alesis digital recorders, the resulting sq was not of audiophile caliber. The drums sounded good (60’s Ludwigs, with a contemporary Ludwig chrome-over-brass snare drum), but my Paiste 602 cymbals---which sound great---had that "splashy" digital sound.

Hey, another Manfred Mann album well worth looking for is Chapter Three on Vertigo Records. By the time of this album drummer Mike Hugg had moved to piano, and the group had evolved into a mildly-fusionistic Jazz/Rock style combo. Great recorded sound quality, something the Vertigo's are known for.

For removing price stickers from LP covers, I've long been using a product named Bestine, which is sold in art supply house (like Michael's). It is formulated to dissolve rubber cement and other glues, and does so without discoloring or otherwise damaging LP covers. Better than Goo Gone or other similar products.

@reubent: One problem with the Pet Sounds album is that the multi-track is not a very good recording to begin with; a good pressing can’t cure that, only not make it worse.

Brian had only 4-track machines to work with at that time, and did a lot of "bouncing" (taking a fully-recorded multi-track tape and mixing all four channels down to one, copying that mix onto one track of another 4-track machine and recording on the other three channels, repeating that process until he all the instruments and voices he wanted). All that tape copying results in the instruments and voices being several generations removed from their original recording. As a consequence, the finished tape sounds rather veiled, soft, and lifeless. It’s very hard to hear the piano playing the glorious chord progression of "God Only Knows", one of my favorite Pop compositions of all-time (McCartney’s too).

In December there is a new album from Brian being released---just him sitting at a grand piano, playing solo piano versions of a lot of his best songs, including "God Only Knows". Oughta be great!

Back atcha @tomic601! Everything’s cool with me; got my booster shot yesterday. My arm’s only a little sore, a small price to pay ;-) .

I also put in all my holiday sale orders for LP’s (mostly) and CD’s (a few). New West Records, Compass Records, Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc, MoFi, uDiscovermusic (40% off!), Discogs, Amazon, etc. Not much of interest to me in the upcoming Indi Store Black Friday list.

Every year Music Millennium puts out little coupon books with great offers for the end of November through Christmas: an extra 15 or 20 precent added to trade-ins, 10-20% discount on new and used LP’s and CD’s, etc. I have a shopping list ready, just waiting for the coupon books to be put out.

@slaw: Isn't the Vinyl Flat a God-send? One less thing to be concerned about when when searching for hard-to-find LP's!

@slaw: I put the EU pressing of Little Village (which I learned of from you) on my To Get list, but have yet to do so. Say, your mention of a Vinyl Flat carbon fiber heating bag is the first I've heard of that. I need to investigate the matter!

When The Pretenders came to L.A. on their first tour, they appeared at, of all places, The Palomino. The place was absolutely packed, the most crowded I've ever seen it. They were pretty damn cool. Too bad the guitarist and bassist couldn't handle their drugs. ;-)

For those who really, really like David Crosby’s debut:

I just opened today’s email from MoFi, and there was the listing for the next Super Vinyl title: the Crosby album. Two 45 RPM LP’s, pressed on Clarity "vinyl" (the same PVC Analogue Productions used for their Kind Of Blue reissue).

Not a 1-Step, this title is priced $74.99. I have a pretty clean original, and don’t like 45 RPM 2-LP editions, so I think I’ll pass (if it was a single 33-1/3 disc I would definitely get it). Great sounding album even in the mass-produced version, this one may be really great.

@bslon: Isn’t the sound quality of the AP Surfer Girl astounding?!

Surfer Girl was the only BB album until the Friends album that Capitol Records issued in true stereo (all the others were issued in mono and duophonic (a "reprocessed" stereo simulation, and horrid sounding), and has the best sq of all the BB albums, by far. Too bad Pet Sounds wasn’t recorded as well. ;-(

Though not nearly as well recorded, Smiley Smile is an amazing piece of work. And AP’s reissue is far better than the original (I have many pressings of the original, the AP in both mono and stereo).

@tgilb: I came into possession of the Smiley Smile LP in early Spring of ’68 (how that came to pass is a story for another time), and put it on the turntable having no idea what to expect. I suppose my interest was piqued by having heard the amazing "Good Vibrations" on the radio for months and months, while driving around smoking Jazz cigarettes.

For context, The Beach Boys were the first the first group I saw live, in the Summer of ’64 (I saw The Beatles the following Summer). I listened to the All Summer Long album all that Summer, while making out with my girlfriend on her father’s couch (he was at work ;-). She was herself a beach girl, tan and blonde. Anyway ;-), Rock ’n’ Roll was of course changing drastically and rapidly that year and the next (and the next, and next, etc.), and All Summer Long’s follow-up---The Beach Boys Today---was decidedly out of step. The boys were pictured on the cover in matching V-neck sweaters, looking like a group such as The Letterman. Corny, square. And the music matched; not a hint of the harder edge R & R was beginning to exhibit. I never bothered listening to the two following albums---Summer Days (And Summer Nights) and Pet Sounds (until years later, of course), and didn’t know anyone else who did. We were all listening to The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Who, The Stones, The Animals, The Beatles of course, etc.

So when "Good Vibrations" appeared out of the blue, it was kind of a shock. Oh yeah, The Beach Boys. By that time even their name was a joke. Boys? We wanted to look and sound like men! Psychedelia was in full bloom in the Spring of ’68, and we were listening to Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and all the other leaders in the field. By that time even we suburban white kids were "experienced" (if you know what I mean), and considered anything not mind expanding unworthy of our attention.

So I put on Smiley Smile and strapped on the Koss Pro 4AA headphones, and lit a reefer. What came out of the 4AA’s and into my ears was the strangest, most disturbing "music" I had ever heard. Far weirder than any of the psychedelic music that we were all listening to. The more I listened, the scarier it got. "Fall Breaks And Back To Winter (W. Woodpecker Symphony)"? WTF?! "Heroes And Villains" is an ASTOUNDING song, unlike any other I have ever heard! This was something far more cerebral than what Rock bands were doing, far more conceptual. I didn’t notice it at the time, but a certain Van Dyke Parks’ name co-resided with Brian Wilsons’ in the songwriting credits.

It wasn’t until a coupla years later that I read the great book written by Paul Williams (not the songwriter) entitled Outlaw Blues. Three chapters of the book contain the pieces Williams wrote for Crawdaddy magazine as the Smile sessions were taking place, chronicling the making of that incredible album (do you have the Smile boxset?). Smile instantly became an obsession of mine, and remains for me the most amazing project ever undertaken by a Rock n’ Roll musician (actually musicians, though Van Dyke Parks can hardly be considered that). That Smile was never finished in ’68 is for me the deepest tragedy in the entire history of Pop music. An unrealized masterpiece! Van Dyke characterized Smile as Manifest Destiny set to music. Smiley Smile gives us but a glimpse into the musical world and experience Brian and Van Dyke were endeavoring to create.

@mammothguy54: Blues for Elvis is the Fantasy Records-era reissue of the Stax Records album that was originally entitled King, Does The King's Things. Vinyl Me Please did a far superior reissue (with original title and cover) not too long ago. Check with them for current availability.

 And Analogue productions has their reissue of King's album Born Under A Bad Sign currently in stock. Another good one!

@slaw: It was actually Jack Nance in David Lynch's Eraserhead. ;-)

@bkeske: Uh oh. Have you opened the Burrito Deluxe LP yet? (Or is it used?). 4 Men With Beards are notorious for poor sounding LP reissues (low-rez digital sources, poor mastering and pressing quality).

Intervention Records has their repress of Burrito Deluxe scheduled for the 2nd quarter of 2022, mastered by Kevin Gray and pressed at RTI. Their reissue of the the first Burrito Brothers album is excellent (I have it and an original, bought at the time of it's initial release).

@bslon: Excellent! I too just found a copy of the Records' self-titled debut, as well as it's followup (which introduced new member Jude Cole, who had previously been a member of Moon Martin's band). Excellent Power Pop.

The Records' main songwriter/singer John Wicks was in the audience at the Emitt Rhodes live appearance I participated in (the 1997 Poptopia Festival in L.A.), and I ended up connecting with John and doing some shows with him in the following couple of years. A very sweet guy, and a damn fine songwriter. He unfortunately passed away a few years back.

Concerning the Muddy Waters Folk Singer album:

As far as I know the first "audiophile" remaster/repress of the album was that of Mobile Fidelity, released in 1994. There is no mention of the mastering engineer on the LP's gatefold cover. I've never heard an original 1964 Chess pressing, nor the Analogue Productions issue or the 1-Step, so have no idea how they rate relative to one another. I mention the MoFi for those who happen to see a copy in the wild at a good price

@spiritofradio and @loomisjohnson: I'm assuming the Twilley album spoken of is his first "solo" album (the third Dwight Twilley album, but the first after drummer/vocalist Phil Seymour left the group and "Band" was dropped from the name), released in 1979 on Shelter/Arista? As far as I know the album never came out on CD (at least, I don't have it).

The LP sounds kinda weird, some phase shift problems plainly audible. Guitarist Bill Pitcock IV told me (he took up with my wife after our divorce. He eventually wised up ;-) the two engineers at the Shelter Studio in L.A.---Noah Shark and Max (no last name), credited along with Twilley as album producers---spent most of their time shooting pistols at the empty beer bottles that littered the property's back yard. Remember, coke was fueling the music world at the time ;-) (when I moved to L.A. that year, it was everywhere).

Twilley has continued to pump out the occasional album (mostly on CD) after his return to Tulsa, recorded in his home studio. Though both Seymour and Pitcock are no longer with us (Lymphoma got the former, Lung Cancer the latter---Bill was a 2-pack-a-day man), the albums retain the trademark Twilley sound. And he can still write a great song. 

@loomisjohnson: I rate those first three Twilley albums in the same order as do you. I didn't see Twilley live until after Phil Seymour had left the group, so Dwight was doing all the lead singing (his bassist Jim Lewis---who later had one solo album released on Bomp Records---sang harmony). With Pitcock playing his Gibson ES335 plugged into a pair of Fender Deluxe Reverb amps with an MXR digital delay between them (which is how he created that Sun Records slapback guitar sound), and Jerry Naifah on drums, the quartet was a dynamite live band, really cool.   

@mammothguy54 (and anyone else who is interested): All right, I'll give you more ;-). After leaving The Dwight Twilley Band, Seymour got himself a record deal with Boardwalk Records and made two real good Pop albums. The first had a hit single  with "Precious To Me" (written by Phil), plus a great version of the Bobby Fuller song "Let Her Dance". After the second album stiffed he joined The Textones, but soon thereafter was diagnosed with Lymphoma, and returned to Tulsa for treatment.

His hair fell out and he lost a lot of weight, but his burning need to make music compelled him to return to Los Angeles. He had a major fan in Tulsa (I was in communication with her) who volunteered to drive him there in her van, so she made a bed for him in the back and took off for L.A. Somewhere in Arizona she stopped for gas, and discovered Phil had passed away. She was of course devastated. What a sad ending.

@bslon: Is your A Whiter Shade Of Pale LP (A fantastic album!) a "stereo" pressing? I put stereo in quotes because the original U.S.A. A & M pressing was a "Reprocessed For Stereo" (fake stereo) only release. For that reason we Procol Harum fans sought the UK Regal Zonophone pressing, which was mono only. The only downside of the UK LP is that, as was the custom at that time in the UK, the LP did not contain the hit single!

By the way, in the late-90's/early-2000's, Classic Records reissued the album in a 200 gram Quiex SV-P vinyl pressing, and included a second 12" disc containing the song "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", 33-1/3 RPM on one side, 45 on the other. Also included is a 7" 45 containing an alternate take of the song on one side, the song "Lime Street Blues" (in true stereo) on the other. A fantastic release, imo worth what they now sell for. 

@mammothguy54: Yeah, Music On Vinyl is a terrible reissue label. Everyone here should avoid all their LP's. I'm surprised Acoustic Sounds is selling them.

The MoFi A Salty Dog was $35 when released, but as with all MoFi's the price skyrocketed when it became out-of-print. But don't despair: the original UK pressing on EMI/Regal Zonophone also sounds fantastic (I have both), and should be available for less $. The trick will be finding a copy in Near Mint condition.

I too saw Procol Harum in 1971 (at The Fillmore), and though I greatly missed the organ playing of Matthew Fisher, the group was great live.

By the way fans of the original PH line-up (the first three albums): Matthew Fisher's three solo albums are well worth looking for. I love 'em!

@sbank and @bslon: The two Kasey Chambers/Shane Nicholson albums are available on LP, on Sugar Hill Records. Good music.

@bslon: I myself just happened to return home last night with a copy of Leon’s Will O’ The Wisp in my record case. With J.J. Cale, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Duck Dunn, and Jim Keltner playing on it, how could it not be great?! The cover’s kinda beat up, but the disc is Near Mint. Six bucks.

I also came home with a white PVC (okay, vinyl)/Stiff UK copy of Rachel Sweet’s debut album (a long time fave of mine), only one I’ve ever seen. The disc’s white color makes it hard to determine condition, but as far as I could tell it’s Mint. Cool to have, whatever it’s condition. Yes, I buy some LP’s just to have ;-) .

By the way guys, thanks to ya’ll I now have a NM copy of the European pressing of the Little Village album, courtesy of a Discogs seller. Surprisingly moderately priced, even with shipping from Germany (23.74 Euro’s total).

@nicks25 and @dayglow: Another big Marshall Crenshaw fan here! Have either of you seen him live? I saw him in ’82 in one of the big NYC clubs, when his brother was still drumming for him, and Graham Maby (Joe Jackson) was playing 6-string bass and singing harmony (Marshall, Robert, and Grahams 3-parts were perfect, not easy to do live. C, S, & N couldn’t do it). Fantastic! I then saw him a few years later at The Playboy Club on Sunset Blvd. in L.A., just a trio. Still good, but I liked the 5-pc version better.

If you haven’t heard it, Marshall’s album entitled #447 (Razor & Tie Records) is also fantastic (actually, all his albums are, right? ;-). He sings all the parts and plays all the instruments, and he’s an excellent drummer. Unfortunately released on CD only; hopefully someone like VMP will reissue it on LP.

@slaw: Speaking of Bobby Fuller, the first site I visited after moving to L.A. on June 1st 1979 was Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, to pay my respects to Bobby. For anyone else planning to do the same, you have to look under the name Robert to find his gravesite ;-) . 

And speaking of Yep Rock Records, just today I returned home from Music Millennium with a copy of an album entitled United States by Ian McLagan (from The Small faces of course) & The Bump Band. Sealed LP, five bucks. I love MM.

@loomisjohnson: I’ll have to look for the Poco Live album. Deliverin’ was the last album of theirs I heard. By the way, in the early-70’s I saw them at The Fillmore (or was it Winterland?), and believe it or not the loudest guitar I’ve ever heard live was recently-deceased Rusty Young’s pedal steel. When he slid up to some really high notes, it felt like an ice pick was being jabbed into my ears. The second loudest was Ray Davies’ Telecaster, plugged into a Hi-Watt stack.

I'd say metal @loomisjohnson . Rusty used a LOT of distortion, via pedals not tube over-drive. He wasn't a tradition purist.

@bslon: You mean you're suppose to listen to LP's? ;-)

But seriously, with my LP buying behavior of the past coupla years (I'm guesstimating 500 LP's acquired in 2021-2) I've been putting myself in the situation I created with CD's in the 90's: I can't keep up with my acquisitions (I have 3500 CD's, plenty still sealed). Just today I bought a dozen LP's, and this past week ordered another dozen. Last weekend it was about 10 LP's. I need an intervention.

I have three tables; maybe I should run them concurrently. ;-) 

David Lindley: "Mercury Blues" (Asylum AS-11496-X). The LP version already sounds incredible, this 12" white label promo single even better. David and his El Rayo-X band were awesome live on stage.

@bslon: AND Emitt wrote all the songs on the album, and did the recording in his home studio in Hawthorne, engineering it himself on a 4-trk. machine. When I recorded with Emitt in 1997 (he was producing a single song for a solo artist I was involved with.), he still had the Gibson ES335 pictured on the back cover, and the pump organ seen inside the gatefold.

A very talented guy, but one doomed to a miserable life, thanks in part to the brutal, vicious business practices of Dunhill Records (Lou Adler himself, I believe.). That misery had by 1997 turned Emitt into a very bitter, mean---cruel, even---man. His critiquing of the bassists playing had the guy in tears. Fortunately I escaped his wrath, as my playing met with his approval.

I saw further evidence of Emitt’s musical talent when he suggested a more "advanced" version of the tambourine part I was dubbing over my drumset part. His suggested part was really, really cool (and sophisticated), one I myself would never have thought of. Performing it perfectly was right at the top of my musical abilities ;-) . Luckily, I got it on the first take. Emitt liked to work fast.

Here’s a tip for those buying used LP’s (or CD’s, for that matter) which have a price sticker attached directly to the album cover, which when removed leaves behind that nasty, sticky glue residue:

I years ago discovered at Michael’s Art Supply a product named Bestine, a solvent designed "for thinning or reducing rubber cement", as it says on the label of the can. It is the best thing I’ve found for totally removing price sticker glue residue, and doing so without damaging the cover or leaving behind a gooey mess, unlike Goo Gone.

Bestine is available in 16oz and 32oz cans, but is somewhat hard to find locally. Michaels no longer carries it, but you can get it on Amazon. $21.99 for the 16oz can, which will last you a LONG time. 16oz is enough for hundreds of stickers.

@slaw: Steve, Mary’s out on tour now, so if at all possible try and see/hear her live. She’s real good on stage, particularly as an acoustic guitarist (I saw her at a great club in Portland on her last tour, right down the street from Music Millennium record store), and tickets to her shows are a steal! And if you’re missing any of her catalog, she of course travels with a merchandise table and product (both LP and CD), which I believe she will autograph if you wish.

@slaw: I pre-ordered the Marty Stuart LP, and for some reason it isn't arriving until Tuesday (coming from Texas and through Colorado). That's the last time I pre-order!