The 6149

Got my own row to hoe... 
Contributors
Tags


Filed under

record shops

 
March 11, 2010

Lunch Break Lacquer: Cajun Blues, Searing Slide, A California Girl and Bull Run (um, I mean, Manassas)

On The Beat Records & Memorabilia

As I mentioned in the past, I work right near Soho in London. Soho has many, many used vinyl shops. These shops are truly vintage. A couple that I have been to are over 30 years old (one of which is still owned and operated by the original guy!). 

Today I slipped out for a bit of browsing during my "lunch break" and found a few new friends.  When I buy used vinyl I look for a few things: original pressing of particular labels (Stax, Chess, Delmark, Ace, etc...), classic albums...that I already own in other formats...that have lot of texture ("Layla") and, when I buy a few at time, a mix of styles. 

Today I held true to that plan. These will get heavy rotation this weekend...

Bonnie Raitt: Takin My Time (texture)
Elmore James/John Brim: Whose Muddy Shoes (original Chess pressing)
Clifton Chenier: Bayou Blues (Cajun/Zydeco/Blues...a hot shit album by a Louisiana master)
Stephen Stills: Manassas (texture and I own this on CD)

This is where I bought these from: OnTheBeat Collectors Records and Memorabilia (I could spend HOURS in this joint)

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   Elmore James   Bonnie Raitt   Clifton Chenier   Lunch Break Lacquer   Manassas   Music   On The Beat   record shops   riffs   Steven Stills    Vinyl  
Posted by Judd 

Comments [1]

January 22, 2010

Lunch Break Lacquer: The search for Neil Young's "Ditch Trilogy" is now complete

       
Click here to download:
Lunch_Break_Lacquer_The_search.zip (497 KB)

I just got back from a jaunt over to one of Soho's (London) vinyl graveyards.  I use my lunch break to seek out old records that need new life breathed into them. Today I feel like a regular Dr. Fronkensteen (not Frankenstein!).

I just picked up the last album I needed to complete Neil Young's so called, "Ditch Trilogy". Not familiar with the Ditch Trilogy? Well, this trilogy has nothing to do with Lost Arcs or Ewoks (not that we wouldn't expect Ol' Neil to pull that kinda stuff on us). No, this trilogy deals with something far more brooding and intoxicating:  honey-slides, lost albums and pissing in the wind.  

Here, listen to what friends at Thrasher's Wheat have to say about it:

Neil Young's three consecutive early 1970's albums "Time Fades Away", "On The Beach" and Tonight's The Night are considered by many fans the Rosetta Stone to understanding his entire body of work. Because of their dark, haunting brilliance, the albums are known as "The Ditch Trilogy".

In the often quoted hand written liner notes of Decade, Neil writes: " 'Heart of Gold' put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch." Hence, the origin of the "Ditch" term -- which is sometimes also referred to as the "Doom" period or "The Wilderness Years".

Lots more where that came from: dig here for a deeper Ditch download.

When I got to London in September I found a copy of "Times Fades Away". A few months later, on another one of my Lunch Break Lacquer hunts, I found "Tonight's the Night". Today I found the last jewe in this dented crown: "On the Beach".  

All three albums were original pressings.  "Tonight's the Night" came with all the original goodies (see pic). "On the Beach" was served up the same way, complete with note from Rusty Kershaw and the orange-y yellow wallpaper on the inside of the gate fold (see pic).

Tonight will definitely be the night...I plan on playing these back-to-front and back-to-back-to-back in all their doom and gloom brilliance. Before I head home there is one more thing I need to make this chariot swing low...

"Tonight's the night; yes it is..."

 

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   London   Lunch   Music   Neil Young   Record Shops   Vinyl  
Posted by Judd 

Comments [0]

October 2, 2009

Vinyl Vagabond: Something Old, Something New, Something Southern, Something Blues

Yesterday I was enjoying walking aimlessly through the streets of London.  I hopped trains and hoofed sidewalk ("footpaths" if you are in London) for the entire morning and most of the afternoon. My vagabond-like wandering ways led me to East London's, Brick Lane.  Brick Lane? That sounded familiar.  Why? That is where Rough Trade Records (East) is. Perfect.

This was one of prime stops on my London record shop search.  I had already been to the Notting Hill Rough Trade shop and liked what I bought: a classic, out of print (vinyl), Neil Young album. My music-mate, Kip, gifted me 50 quid worth of Rough Trade vouchers and I used some of them to get the Neil vinyl. I used up the rest of the credit yesterday in glorious fashion. 

This was my first trip to this particular Rough Trade location. I needed to survey the scene before I started flipping through the vinyl for buried treasure. Right when you walk in there is an espresso cafe on the left. To the right is a lazy lounge setting where you can caffeinate, chat or check out your recent booty. The walls are littered with playbills, "drummer wanted" notices and other images and adverts. It is a hodge-podge of knick-knacks and paper scraps that I find entertaining if not curious. 

                       
Click here to download:
Vinyl_Vagabond_Something_Old_S.zip (11387 KB)

They have a lot of stuff there. Books, CDs, T-shirts, Logo'ed bags, pins, posters and, ah, oh yeah...music. There are vinyl bins, CD racks and DVD shelves. In my opinion, there was too much stuff. The store is a big space and they may be trying to fill it. I think it could have had more of a music focus in its layout.  If you have ever visited Newburry Comics located in greater Boston (USA)...that is what this Rough Trade shop felt like to me. A bit (too much) of everything, with the music standing the shadows. That being said...I loved the place.

They did have a great listening station up at the counter.  You can sample anything you want and take all the time needed to do so.

The vinyl section was decent; to be honest I expected more. The shop in Notting Hill had more vintage vinyl, which is what I am after mostly. Fine. that may the way they have the shops differentiated. Nonetheless, I was here for vinyl and vinyl I would get.

I went straight for the blues section. There were twenty or so records there to flip through. I found a few I really liked by Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Charley Patton (my fave prewar  Delta Blues man). These are not original pressings, mind you, but they are well crafted vinyl reproductions. The Blind Lemon album was a collection of songs called, "I want to be like Jesus in My Heart", released in 2009 on the Monk label. The Patton album was also from Monk; for my taste it packed much more of a wallop than the Blind Lemon set. 

Something Old, Something Blues

The Patton album I ended up buying is called, "Electrically Recorded: Prayer of Death". Actually, this is one album in a four album set that Monk has put together called, "Charley Patton: You're Gonna Need Somebody When you Die - The recorded works of Charley Patton". It covers Patton's work from 1929 - 1934 and is presented in simple and straight forward packaging. I already own all Patton's recordings...and then some. I own the extremely well done and unabashedly over-the-top box set called, "Screamin' and Hollerin' The Blues".  Allmusic calls it, "perhaps the most lavish, nay incredible, box set ever devised for a blues artist...". Click the link below to check this out. It is one my cherished possessions (a gift from my wife last xmas along with my turntable...she's so cool).

p.s "I'm Going Home" was just covered by the Derek Trucks band on their recent album, Already Free.

Something Southern, Something New

The other two pieces of vinyl I bought are by the Drive-By Truckers. This is one of the new bands I like. I say new only because so much of what I listen to on a daily basis is considered old (I prefer lasting). These guys flat out rock. They are born of a southern tradition that draws on memphis routes and southern rock stalwarts like Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

The Truckers tell dark stories with vibrant imagery. They can rev up rockers and lay down ragged and southern-soulful ballads. I love their albums, especially the two I found on vinly: "Decoration Day" and "The Dirty South". If you aren't familiar with them, please go and find them out. They put on one hell of a live show, too. You leave feeling exhausted and exhilarated. 

The Goods

The music you hear in this clip is definitely not Charley Patton...it was what was playing in the store (I was wearing headphones).  But, it is Ol'd Charley spinning round and round.

(download)

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   Charley Patton   Drive-By Truckers   London   Music   pics   record shops   Rough Trade   The Goods   Tune Tags   video   Vinyl  
Posted by Judd 

Comments [1]

September 14, 2009

Neil Young says "Time Fades Away". Good thing vintage record shops haven't...

You always remember your first. 

This past week I made my first visit to one of the record shops on my London Record Shop Search Map.  My wife and I were in Notting Hill to look for places to live.  I planned ahead, knowing that Rough Trade Records had one of their outposts there, and brought along the gift certificates my good Aussie mate, Kip gave to me

We were on a tight schedule of appointments to see local flats.  Knowing this, I had to be quick with my first look at what could be my new music buying/hang-out home away from Mojo Music in Sydney. When I check out a record shop with as much cred as Rough Trade, I want to be able to take my sweet-assed time and look through all the racks and other goodies strewn about.  It may have been my first time, but I sure as hell know to do it right and make it last.

Alas, this visit would have to be a better-than-nothing quickie.  

I got to the door of the shop and took a deep breath and thought of my buddies at Mojo. I had to make sure I brainwashed myself into forgetting about them and The Feel of that shop.  Mojo is a rough diamond; an imperfect gem that you can't put a value on.  It wouldn't be fair to grade Rough Trade by my Mojo standards.

That being said, it was no Mojo. What is it then?  It is chock full of vintage vinyl.  Downstairs is full all kinds of oldies and goodies.  I bypassed sinking my teeth into the upstairs area with all of it's CDs, eye candy and memorabilia.  I had to act quick and I wanted vintage.

I started flipping through the bins and all of the sections: surf, blues, classic soul, Stax & Motown specific, US & UK versions of Stones albums, Dylan, Country and Good Ol' Neil Young. 

When in doubt, go to Neil.

And there it was...an album worthy of my first purchase in a London record shop: "Time Fades Away" by Good Ol' Neil Young. This album was released in 1973...on vinyl...and has never been put out on CD or up for download by Neil.  Neil fan(atics) have long hollered for its release.  In fact, the supreme Neil site, Thrasher's Wheat, has collected over 114,000 signatures in their online petition to have it released (yeah, I've signed on). 

I picked up a copy for 25 quid. It is a UK pressing on Reprise. It is in mint condition, complete with inside poster/fold out of all lyrics and listings.

This album is soaked in mystique and lore. It is part of the "Ditch Trilogy".  Cameron Crowe replicated the album cover in a scene in his movie, "Almost Famous" (of which I am in awe of, jealous of and a huge fan of). In the flick, at the first Stillwater show, there is a rose lying on the stage and a man in front of the stage raising his arm, thus recreating the cover of Time Fades Away.

What Neil has said about it:
"It was recorded on my biggest tour ever, 65 shows in 90 days. Money hassles among everyone concerned ruined this tour and record for me but i released it anyway so you folks could see what could happen if you lose it for a while."

What Rolling Stone wrote about it in it's 1974 review:
If Young appears foolish and arrogant at various points on the album, he seems to be allowing us a glimpse of these flaws, rather than letting them slip through and spoil his big moments without his consent, as happened on Harvest. Time Fades Away is an idiosyncrasy from one of rock's most idiosyncratic artists. If it isn't a resounding success, the album is still a revealing self-portrait by an always fascinating man.

What allmusic has to say in their review:
Few rockers have been as willing as Young to lay themselves bare before their audience, and Time Fades Away ranks with the bravest and most painfully honest albums of his career — like the tequila Young was drinking on that tour, it isn't for everyone, but you may be surprised by its powerful effects.
_____

All in all, it was a satisfying visit to Rough Trade.  I bought a fave, hard to find piece of vinyl.  I used my good friend Kip's gift certificates in a way that would make him proud (Kip is a music-aficionado-wizard with righteous taste). And, I found some good 'uns to back and explore when I have ample time.  A more in-depth report to follow.  

On a side note.  My wife has the Fear in her now.  She knows the cat is very much out of the bag on this one...

               
Click here to download:
Neil_Young_says_Time_Fades_Awa.zip (9035 KB)

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   albums   black beauties   Kip   London   neil young   record shops   riffs   vintage  
Posted by Judd 

Comments [3]

September 8, 2009

London Music Shops: The Search for The Sounds & The Scene

For the past four years I have spent close to every Friday night at my fave local Sydney Australia record shop, Mojo Music.  At Mojo they serve up "The Best of the Fringe and All of the Backbone".

I have written many posts about that joint and why I loved it so much.  It is unlike any retail shop that you will walk into.  Have a read of any of these links below if you haven't been keeping up with the Mojo happenings on The 6149.
Images from the Mojo Scene: 


Now that I moved to London I need a new place to talk, listen and buy music. But where am I going to find a shop that has an owner who cares so much about keeping The Feel alive?  It wasn't just about buying music.  No, it was about experiencing it in the shop with like minded musicheads in a place where you could throw back a dozen beers and that felt like you were in your own living room. Tough...impossible?...act to follow.
_____

London has a lot to offer in the way of a record shop vibe. Which London record shop has the right combination of Sounds & Scene to fill the Mojo void left behind...? I aim to search high and low to find the right shop for me. 

This list has no room on it for the big chain stores. This list is as much about feel as it is sound. Chain stores don't have The Feel. Independent music stores do. This list is all about the independent shops.

This is a map of suggested independent record shops throughout London (new & used). I'm going to hit the trail and find the right one to make my music nerve centre. If any 6149 readers know of any other London record shops that are not on this list that should be, drop a comment in the box and I will add it on.  Likewise, if you have any firsthand thoughts on any of the shops on the list, hit the box with a few words.

I reckon that the first shop I walk into and has the Bo Diddley beat playing is an automatic winner...

Map Link: London Music Shops: The Search for the Sounds & the Scene

Go to the map in your browser for a closer look. You can get shop info and links to their sites.


View Larger Map

2k6qtnca3s

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   London   maps   Mojo   pics   record shops   riffs  
Posted by Judd 

Comments [3]

September 3, 2009

The coolest, most shit-hot gift I have ever received...

I got a farewell gift from a very good friend today.  This was possibly the coolest, most thoughtful, spot-on gift I have ever received.  Only a true friend would have been able to pull off a gift this shit-hot cool.  

I'm a music fan.  I love record shops.  Every time I pull in to a new city, wether it is on holiday or to live, I look for the record shops.  I don't look for the the big box retailers...I look for the cool-vibe, F-U chain stores, record shops (here is how I found Mojo).  My friend knows this and decided to give me a head start on my London record shop hunt.

He took the time to order gift certificates from London's Rough Trade Records and have them mailed to Sydney so he could give them to me today.  That is a bow-down gesture of legendary stature.

Thanks, mate. I'll let you know what I get and if I came close to finding the Mojo Feel.

Loading mentions Retweet
Filed under  //   friends   gifts   london   record shops  
Posted from Sydney, Australia
Posted by Judd 

Comments [2]