Elton John - Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973) CD

Here is a distinct memory I have from the early days. My family had just moved from Phoenix, AZ to a suburb of Washington, D.C. I was in the 4th grade and I was getting use to a new school, new kids, new everything. It was a rainy day and we couldn't go out for recess so we stayed inside and one of the young teachers decided to play the radio or records (45s) and Crocodile Rock by Elton John was played. I loved the song! I do remember that I was familiar with the song before that moment but this may have been the first time that the song really registered for me for some reason. Hell, if I was in the 4th grade it would have been around 1973-1974. Maybe my first real introduction to Elton John that I can remember.

The school was Adelphi Elementary School in Adelphi, Maryland and my home room teacher was Ms Friedman. Ms. Friedman was a beautiful woman, with straight long-hair and glasses. It was the first school I had ever been in that actually had carpet! Memories. This album also has Daniel - which is also top-notch. By the way, Ms. Friedman sort of had that Danielle Heim look, that I just adore.

Elton John - Honky Chateau (1972) CD

More Elton from the early 70s. This album has Honky Cat and Rocket Man. Classic songs from Elton and the non-hits are also interesting to listen to for the first time. I am enjoying my tour through Elton's catalog,

Elton John - Madman across the Water (1971) CD

Elton was a significant subject in my pop music education since he was such staple of 70s radio. Radio was king back in the 70s. People would fight over what station was cool to listen to or what station played the best bands. I was an FM listener but my younger sister was more of a AM listener. Either way, Elton John was always present. It didn't matter if you liked AM or FM, Elton John was always represented. This is was not true of all artists.

Up until this last week, however,  I had never owned any Elton John releases since I heard most of Elton's hits on the radio 5x a day (or it seemed). I thought, "why buy the records when the songs are played all the time?" Well, most of you know the answer to that question. By not buying the records I missed out on all the great songs that were not "hits". Trust me, I missed on a lot because this record is full of great tracks.

What is surprising about collecting the CDs now is discovering just how early in the decade some of these hits came. For instance, both Tiny Dancer and Levon are on this album from 1971. I was about 8 years old when these came out! Yet, for some reason I thought that all of Elton's songs came from the "mid 70s". 

I am not going to bother to post links to Elton John songs since you have probably heard these a million times. I am enjoying this record a lot. This stuff never gets old or outdated.

Still Cool - s/t (1978 reissue) vinyl

Deeper Knowledge Records (DKR) has been repressing rare reggae LPs and tons of 45s for a few years now. This is a gem of a release since it is a slice of reggae music circa late 70s, which is about the time I first started seriously listening and collecting reggae music. I have never seen this record before but I would have definitely added this to my collection if it had been available since it is exactly the sound that attracted me to the music in the first place. The backing band is top notch with most of the musicians associated with the 12 Tribes of Israel - a form of Rastafari (e.g. Pablove Black, Bagga Walker, etc).  All in all, a must have for any serious fan of reggae music.

Check out this 12" version of a song from the album Crab In A Burrell  - In addition, here is a rare video of Still Cool doing another song from the album To Be Poor Is A Crime

Crucial!

The Move - Move (3 CD reissue)

I am very late to The Move. I found this band through the ELO/Jeff Lynne connection. Jeff Lynne of ELO fame was in a later version of the band. I was always aware of this band but I never took the time to listen to them.  I am not sure why.  People I respect have always raved about them. In addition, I have always read about how great Roy Wood was and to some extent, what an eccentric guy he was. In any event, I have always been intrigued. Within the last couple of years I bought a box set of them that was sort of a career retrospective. Here, however, is a proper reissue of their first album with a bunch of extras. Actually, enough extras to fill up 3 CDs worth.

There are some really nice songs on this CD and some of the best moments are really the extras like the radio performances or the unreleased tracks. However, in terms of the actual first album it is pretty good. I am glad I finally took the time to get to know this band.

Here is a nice video montage of Flowers in the Raine/ Blackberry Way/ Fire Brigade if you have never heard the Move before.

Rikk Agnew - All By Myself (1982) vinyl

This is for you Fullerton" is how this LP opens and we begin to hear the sounds of Orange County rock'n'roll with Rikk Agnew.

I am still finding used copies or, as in this case, reissued albums of records that my record store colleagues at Off The Record in San Diego played in the store.  While this is not the music that I was listening to or buying for myself, it is a record and a style of music that I must have absorbed during those days.  I know that Rikk played in another band out of Orange County (Fullerton) called The Adolescents.  I may need to pick up that album because I remember thinking it was good at the time. The funny thing is that many of those old "punk" Orange County bands were just good rock'n'roll bands. Here I am thinking of bands like Social Distortion and Agent Orange.  I am sure there are a lot more as well but I was not really into those bands at the time. Rikk plays all the instruments on this record hence the title. What does it sound like? It certainly is fast and it does have some of that surf element that I remember from the OC bands. This is good. It is just rock'n'roll!

OC Life

10

Tages - Go! The Complete Singles CD

I have always heard about Tages. A Swedish band. This collection organizes all of their 45s both the A and B sides. The music on the first disc spans the years from 1964 to 1967 and the second disc spans 1967-1968. The music ranges from beat music in the early 60s to more psychedelic music in the late 60s. From the CD itself:

During the 1960s, Tages were Sweden's hippest band, initially inspired by beat music and always developing, they leaned towards mod and, by 1968, were one of the era's most compelling psychedelic outfits. For the first time ever Go! Assembles their complete singles. Direct from the master tapes, each A and B side appears in mono as it was heard at the time. The band signed to Parlophone in 1967, but their earlier label Plating continued issuing singles - all these are compiled too. Issued for the first time are two previously unreleased alternative takes including a shelved version of the psychedelic classic Fantasy Island. With its illustrated booklet and exclusive interview with the band's Goran Lagerberg, Go! is the ultimate Tages collection.

 The beat sides are impressive and does have a Beatles feel but the real surprising part of this collection are the later psychedelic sides which are very good. Very melodic and would please anyone that is into exploring more Swedish beat/psychedelic music.

Try these for tastes of late 60s Tages

She's Having a Baby Now

To Be Free

Big Country - The Crossing (1983) vinyl

Chainsaw guitars, big vocals, anthem-like songs, and a Steve Lillywhite production. Big Country sort of stormed on to the music scene from Scotland with a big guitar sound.  They obtained some success during the MTV era. Listening to this certainly brings back memories. I was in college when this came out. Nice trip down memory lane and a good used record find at Freakbeat Records. I really think they wanted their guitars to sound like bag pipes!

Listen to:

Lost Patrol

Various Artists - Reaching Out: Chess Records at FAME Studios CD

An overview of the 1967-69 southern soul sessions undertaken at Fame studios by Chess Records of Chicago.

I love these comps. I can't afford to chase down these individual 45s on Ebay or Discogs so these compilation CDs due the trick for me. These are great historical documents of a golden age and I treat them this way. For me, it is like a good history book or a collection of key documents from a by-gone era. This is put out by Kent so the quality is guaranteed. Below is a link to the best track but there are many great ones. Great liner notes included with a ton of information.

Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces - I Wanna Be Your Man

Best Coast - California Nights (2015) CD

I picked this up a while ago. I listened to it again on a whim. Today it still sounds as fresh and clean as it did when I first heard it. While I have enjoyed Best Coast for the most part, especially the first two albums, this record for me is their best. No shame in starting here if you have never picked up anything by them. The previous albums are not as tight as this but I still think you will find them enjoyable even if you start with this gem. This record makes me want to dance when I listen to it! Guitars, fuzz...Weezer-ish melodies... this is a fun a record with pretty melodies. If you like the song below, then you will love the whole thing.

Take a listen

In My Eyes

Jealousy

Various Artists - Dave Hamilton's Detroit Dancers vinyl

Glorious! Great pure, gritty soul from Detroit. This record will make you want to get up and dance and sing along. The horn charts on some of these songs are wonderful. I need to get all of these records or CDs. It is on Kent so you know the quality is top notch. If you like 60s soul, you will like this as well.

Here is a sample of what you will find on here:

Little Ann - What Should I Do

Haircut 100 - Pelican West (1982) vinyl

Ha..there was a time when I was into these white boy funk bands from the UK of the early 80s. Haircut 100 grabbed my attention because they wrote some nice pop songs. Nick Hayward (singer and guitar) went on to make some nice solo LPs after Haircut 100. They all dressed so nicely! I dug these guys but never was into the Duran Duran's or Spandau Ballet's of the world.  I picked this up in a recent used record haul from Freakbeat Records in the San Fernando Valley.

As I normally do, here is a link to their biggest hit and again, representative of their sound. Here is Love Plus One

Chris Isaak - Silvertone (1985) vinyl

I was excited about this record when it first came out because Chris Isaac had a cool, retro 50s and 60s vibe about him. Admit it, the cover makes you think a little about Elvis. In addition, this album sounded pretty different than most of what was coming out at the time (mid 80s). The record had a  little surf, a little country, and a some rockabilly.

There were a couple of things that grabbed me about this record when it first came out. First, Chris had a great voice. Second, the guitar sound of James Calvin Wilsey was outstanding. I do not remember if James continued to play with Chris after this record but I did manage to see Chris live a few times with this early line-up and they were killer.

Here is a video for the first track on the album and the song that made people notice him Dancin'  The video shows James Calvin Wilsey on guitar. I think this song captures the sound of the whole album well.

The Bags - Rock Starve (1987) vinyl

I use to work in a record store in San Diego, CA when I was in college. This would have been the early 80s. Like any good record store, the employees of the store had varied tastes. Some of the employees were into metal or punk, some into The Smiths, some into reggae, and some into other countless bands and types of music. When we worked, we all took turns playing records in the store. Funny thing, I do not remember a lot of conflict during this time. In any event, I would get exposed to a lot of records that I would normally not listen to or even know about. The Bags records was one of those records that our punk and metal guys use to play a lot. I do not remember if I ever bought this record back in the day but I distinctly remember listening to this record many times. I remembered thinking it was good.

Now, flash forward about 30 years (or so) and I am in Freakbeat records looking at their used bin and I stumble across this LP for 4.99! I had to buy it. I am playing it now and I am realizing just how great this album is. Memories.

For a taste of how good this is please listen to Love Sick Diane