The Church- It's No Reason & Someone Special

 Whew, nothing like being in slo mo this morning...or this week for that matter. I've worked hard this week and have had no time to myself. But that's ok...have a good Saturday planned as I will be meeting up with a friend I have not seen in over 10 years. We talk all the time and and I have a big box of cool vinyl for him so I know he will be happy. 

I've made it known in the past I love the Church. But I have neglected them a bit so I am rectifying that. My last Church post was a 12" single which I promised would not be the last 12" posted from them. I seem to have dropped the boat on that one and maybe later this year I will get some more 12" singles posted. But in the meantime, here is nice little Australian import from 40 years ago. 

Gospel- Operator Long Distance

 I don't know who is singing this. I believe this is one of those bootleg 45s that were going around here in North Carolina. I have found no reference to the Gospel Cherub label and Blue Surf Music put out some of the Huckleberry Mudflap 45s. It was originally done by the Mighty Golden Harmoneers. I have listened to their version and I don't think they are the same. That being said, its fantastic and that is all that matters

J.P. Robinson - Only Be True To Me / I've Got A Long Way To Go

 I need a little sweet soul to ease me into the weekend. I was going through a box of my unsorted 45s this weekend and found this. I already had a copy in my data base listed in one of my boxes and thought, "Wow, I have another one"..uh, no, I don't...I never filed it correctly. I wish this was an isolated incident...lol. Sorry about both links. Usually record both sides together but I mucked this one up so consider it double the pleasure

The Diodes - Tired of Waking Up Tired

 Life can be a struggle sometimes with all the junk floating in the air distracting us negatively. It's compounded when your tired. Waking up tired is the worst. I tend to go to bed around 10pm, up around 4:40am, start coffee, take an hour walk with super Cooper the wonder dog, shower and watch a church program, then news. This morning routine seems to help get my day going in a positive direction (except for the negative news that seems to permeate our world). Even though I am tired, I try to infuse my soul with joy- musical joy. Isn't it amazing how a good song can just turn you around. That to me, is the thrill of the record collecting hunt. To find that elusive 45...or to find something you have never heard of and find a gem previously unknown by you. 

Robyn Hitchcock- Heaven

 Cooper and I went for our nice little walk this morning. It has been so humid at 5am lately but I was thankful for some hint of a breeze this morning. After my shower, I was looking at some facebook popups and I read a short entry from Robyn Hitchcock announcing his daughter had died on August 9th of Cancer. I had recorded this song this weekend for a blog entry so today seems right for posting. My prayers and thoughts go out to Robyn and his family as they deal with their grief.

Just a little note about Robyn. I became a fan when I was an undergraduate at Colorado State University in the late 80's. The local college radio station would generously play his music, especially late at night. That fit in well with my schedule as I worked the overnight awake shift at a group home. I remember going to the used record store and finding quite a few of his lp's and 12" singles quite cheap. With my limited funds (food money) I snagged them up and I am happy to say they are still snug in my collection. I think I won this 45 in an online record auction (not ebay) and I doubt there are many relativity label promo 45's out there.  

Dan Wilson and the Notable - Impala

 I'm trying to get back to my old routine as Mondays were for Surf or Hot Rod songs. I bought a Hot Rod discography for reference last year and I was surprised this was not listed. This was the b side and I had thought it was going down the direction of Last Kiss or Tell Laura I love her tragedy path, then it pulled a Maybelline and Hot Rod Lincoln route but did have a somewhat surprising ending

Larry Norman - Readers Digest

Larry Norman first came to fame as a member of the rock group People. They did a fantastic version of the Zombies I Love You. Short story is he became a Christian and started putting out Christian Rock records. I sold a few of them a few years ago including the album this 45 came from (all together now- WHAT AN IDIOT). Luckily I did not get rid of all of them. I highly recommend In Another Land

The Sweet - Teenage Rampage

 This is an odd release. If I understand correctly, it was a USA pressing but was only available as an import to the UK. Since RCA pressed it up in the US, why did they not also get it out to the public here? One of the killer Sweet songs and I think it would have been a smash. It took me forever to find a copy where I did not have to pay outrageous postage costs from the UK (where it seems to be readily available on every street corner).

The Solution - I Have To Quit You

 A little Friday Soul- or what I feel is some modern soul/rock. I heard this one on Sirius last year and what a fantastic song it is. Then I was amazed this was released in 2004...sounds like it was much earlier. Features Scott Morgan who was in a mess of garage bands.

primal scream- Rocks

 I thought I had recorded enough 45s this weekend to keep me going for awhile. However, I discovered this morning it appears my program locked up and only saved about half of them. Well, on a positive note I get to listen to those 45s again. Here is a fantastic 45 produced by Tom Dowd, who had a hand in a ton of classic Atlantic releases among others. 

The Breakers - Surf Bird / Surfin' Tragedy

Monday morning surf. Today would be the day to hit the beach as I believe they are calling for a heat advisory of 95 degrees with the humidity it will feel like 106. Yikes. This is a pickup from the last month and I have another Impact surf 45 on the way. 

 

Sir Douglas Quintet - What About Tomorrow / A Nice Song

 I sit here on a beautiful Saturday morning with a wonderful cup a coffee, a nice Gil Evans & Tadd Dameron LP on the turntable. I'm not out on the hunt (yet). I do have an appointment at noon to look at some records and I'm hitting the record show tomorrow (with my wife's blessing already in hand- we've found a new church and we're trying to be consistent).

I had planned on posting more this past week but I was preoccupied with a big work project that I was under the gun to complete. I think the title of the A side of this 45 is appropriate. Always seems like there is not enough time in the day. I have always liked Doug Sahm and over the past year or so have just wanted to get everything he put out. I was lucky to pick up this sleeve for a bargin in the last month. I had never seen pictures of it before and only had seen it listed in price guides. So I was thrilled to score it.I posted it in some record groups I belong to and one big time record seller offered to trade for it. He offered me some good coin and another rare sleeve on my want list. But I ultimately turned him down..This is just too good.  

Andy Griffith - Bad Bad Business

I have written about the huge amount of 45s I bought at one time last year. There were tons of reissue 45s as well as weird reissue 45s like this one that I suspect were unauthorized. I am only familiar with Andy Griffith because of his TV show or his comedy. I was unaware he sang some songs and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It appears the original is very reasonable so its not a rare record

Joey Wilson - If You Don't Want My Love

 Powerpop Tuesday.  Several years ago I went to this auction and ended up buying an insane lot of Albums (at least 3000) with alot of them being promotional lp's. There were tons of artists/groups I had never heard of before including Joey Wilson only LP. I doubt I would have ever even paid attention to this if it was not in that lot. But I am so glad I did as it is absolutely riveting powerpop with catchy licks! Found this one about a month ago and I was very happy I did. I think I read that Modern Records was a record label that Stevie started and that the Joey Wilson LP was its first release. It is too bad there was not more promotion on this one. Sad note, there is very little information out there about Joey other than he died of a Heroin Overdose. But he left us an overlooked gem.