Manfred Mann - 5-4-3-2-1

Hump day...count down for the weekend. I first heard this one on the Underground Garage. Classic British and I guess this is in the category of Freakbeat.

The Bangs - Don't cha Know

 I have to get my Tuesday powerpop love in

Billy Strange - The James Bond Theme

 Monday Bond...James Bond..oh, and looks impressive in the GNP Crescendo sleeve

 

Yes - Your Move

I once said I was the Boss of my blog when I wrote about posting a top 40 song. I invoke to right to post a non obscure song. Maybe I will give myself a raise too...lol! This was not a huge hit and I always loved it (for some reason I always thought it was called "For All Good People"). I overpaid a bit on this due to wanting it with the promo postcard that came with it (the geek in me). Those early Yes albums were always easy to find in the Goodwills and Salvation Army record bins

The Ascots - I Need You / Knock On Wood

 Some nice cover versions of The Kinks & Sam & Dave on an obscure 45. I don't remember where I picked this one up but it has been overlooked in the collection for years.  I guess I need to flip through the boxes more often to see what goodies I can come up with

The Embers- Walk On By

It's Friday and you know what that means...SOUL...how about a Killer Blue Eyed Soul version of this classic. I don't think I have heard a bad version of this, and this North Carolina 45 is not easy to find even here in North Carolina. 

Little Junior Parker - Sweet Home Chicago

This R&B Blues 45 is one that I searched quite a while for and picked it up in the April 2022 buy. Recently I was going through my sleeve box and holy moly Batman I had a Duke sleeve. It is a marriage made in heaven

I've been to Chicago a few times (if you count switching planes). The one time I drove through Chicago I hit a few record stores but was unable to really do what I wanted to do as the Bulls had just won the championship and there was a parade and it mucked things up for me.

Stranglers - Nuclear Device

There is so much saber rattling that is going on all over this world that it s extremely frightening. I am afraid that the fantatics would have no problem using Nuclear weapons. I picked this 45 up this past summer and it goes nicely in my Stranglers collection

The Fans - True

 I have prepared quite a few more indie 45s for this blog. Here is a fantastic powerpop 45 I picked up the past year...damn I love this stuff.

Dick Dale And His Del-Tones- Secret Surfin' Spot / Surfin' And A-Swingin'

 It seems weird posting a surf 45 when it is 19 degrees outside. The weatherlady just said "walking the dog could be uncomfortable this morning"...no kidding, Cooper enjoyed our 5am walk while I felt like my hands froze even in my gloves that are supposed to keep them warm...liars...The only warmth I am getting is sitting here in my home office. But back to the tunes, this is another of those 45s that I knocked off my want list a few months back. I'm not a hodad as I don't pretend to be a surfer...matter of fact I havent' been to the beach in a few years

Side Three - Sunshine Sunday

Sunshine Sunday sounds good after the frigid cold we have been having. Cooper and I walk every morning and the last few mornings have been just brutal. While I would love a little snow, I would much rather have warmer weather. I picked this obscure popsike 45 a few years back at a yard sale.

Stiv Bators - It's Cold Outside / The Last Year

 I went to the flea market today and it was brutal cold.  A guy I know was bringing out more $1 45s and luckily he has a little tent with a propane heater. I wore long jons, a pull over hoodie, my heavy coat and a hat covering my ears. Even with that my hands froze as I couldn't sort with my gloves on. I am surrounded in 45's yet I bought nearly 200 more. Sometimes I think I am the ultimate record hoarder. I imagine the ultimate vinyl audiofiles out there would cringe at seening stacks of 45's waiting to be cleaned and played. I observe other vinyl enthusiatist when I am at the flea market, or at record shows, and have seen my share of massive jerks- "OMG, there is a small mark if you hold the record just right under the spotlight"....I have no problems taking a chance on a 45 that has lots of scratches and clean up pretty well..or how about the record collector that says  "I would never even look or even buy a 45 if it is not in a sleeve". Do you know how many killer 45's I have found that were not in sleeves? At the end of the day it is what each one of us are comfortable with. I don't criticize those individuals above as it leaves more records for me.

So this is the first time I posted Stiv Bators. I spent 20 minutes looking in my posts to see if I forgot to put a label. Then it dawned on me, I put a Stiv Bators on a different short lived blog I had but decided to incorporate what I was doing there here...the other blog was https://sonicparaphernalia.blogspot.com/ I might even post some of those on this blog if I feel ambitious enough.

My friend Craig and I went on a trip to Lawrence Kansas in the early 1990s. I remember we went to the cool record store The Love Garden and he found a copy of this. I was bummed and it took me until this last year to finally get a copy...and then a few weeks later I picked up a 2nd copy...go figure. Nice cover version of the garage classic from the Choir which I have yet to upload. 

Mary Wells - The One Who Really Loves You

I love Mary Wells and those early Motown picture sleeves. Of course the promo in the hitsville sleeve is pretty spectacular as well.  And what a voice. This was a #8 Billboard hit.

I last posted a Mary Wells 45 in 2011. I'm reading the post and it brings back bad memories of the time Bently (our blessed deceased Chocolate Lab who is pictured running in the picture on my front page) bounced off the hood of a SUV. I was in the living room studying (grad school) and the front door was open as my wife was on the front porch. Bently saw something and pushed the front screen door open and bolted across the street. Bounced off the hood of a SUV who thankfully was going slow (on our street that in itself is amazing). Bently acted like nothing happened and lived another 10 years dying in 2021 (memorialized in the May 16, 2021 post- a few months after he died).  

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Off Boradway usa - Stay In Town

I I hope everyone is staying warm wherever you are. Cooper and I went for a longer walk and it was cooooold. I have some really nice gloves but even they did not keep my hands warm. I think the temperature was hovering around 20 degrees. At least no wind chill. Cooper could have kept going to make up for our shorter walk yesterday. What a dog! 

I wrote in the Joey Wilson post how I bought an insane amout of albums at an Auction a few years back. It was full of artists I had never heard of before and it was enjoyable discovering artists. The album this 45 came from was one of them and I truly enjoyed it. Matter of fact, I have been tracking down 45's from some of those albums (see Joey Wilson) and expect to see more posts. 

Goober & The Peas- The Complete Works

I think I will call this Weird Wednesday with another late 2023 purchase. I saw this had some value to it so I took a chance and was able to get it at a cheap price. Smart move. I always loved cowpunk but usually the groups were from California or Arizona not Detroit Michigan where this band apparently was from. I love that this was put out on the Fortune label. When I first played it I thought oh no the 45 is messed up. Then it kicked off with sound on Funky Cowboy and I was like "good one, you fooled me". I hope those of you who follow this blog recognize that the music I love knows no boundries, rhymes or reasons.

Cathy Carroll - But You LIed

There is a girl group cd box set called One Kiss Can Lead To Another that I have always wanted to pick up. I have some of the 45's on the box set which are on this blog. When I look at the set list for that box set I see some glaring omissions...but hey, who am I. I think this would have fit on the box set but then again I did not know that it existed until I picked it up a month or so. Killer early sixties girl group sound at it's finest. And it looks fantastic in the Warner Brothers sleeve

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr- I Have A Dream/ I've Been To The Mountain Top/Eulogy

 I have had copies of this on the Freedom label before but jumped at a chance to get it again when it was paired with the Mercury promo with picture sleeve. Today is a day for reflection on what could and should be with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Drean, His Dream should be all of our Dreams