The Now Spinning/Recent Purchases Thread

In the 70s and 80s, some of the labels actually used to recycle vinyl--they called that "regrind" vinyl. And in some cases, a buyer might actually find a tiny piece of label embedded in the vinyl! The purer vinyl out there plays quieter and can also wear longer; they were calling it "virgin vinyl" back in those days since the public had been burned by the recycled stuff. I have to say for the A&M titles I've owned, they've all sounded really nice on that vinyl.
 
Boy there's a term I haven't heard in a long time...."regrind." That was kind of a scourge of the discount labels but the majors did get burned on it a bit. For a while it was kind of a trend to have a sticker that said "100% virgin vinyl" on the high-end superstar releases.
 
I think MCA Distribution (the precursor to Universal, ironically) was one of the culprits using regrind, especially on reissues. Their records were often noisy, and Motown's (which were MCA-distributed in the era I was buying them) were even worse. I can't recall how many Motown/Tamla LPs I had to exchange at Harmony House back in the day.
 
KC-600 vinyl looks black, but if held up to light it has a purplish glow. (That was sunlight behind it.) A&M used a lot of KC-600 vinyl for first pressings on some of their "premier" releases. I've seen a couple others with a brownish tint, while another has a greyish tint (I think my Joe Jackson Body and Soul is the greyish version). I've seen a lot more A&M titles on KC-600 (purple) than others, however. The A&M/CTi SP-9-3xxx series was all pressed on KC-600 vinyl in the early 80s. Quiex was another premium vinyl formulation, but I don't see A&M having used a lot of that. (Warner Bros. tended to use that.)

My key to finding the Synchronicity I wanted was by the hype sticker--the early pressings mentioned the KC-600 vinyl, just like the copy I owned. Holding it up to the light is how I ensured it was the right pressing.

A&M's Audiophile series from the late 70s (SPJ-xxxx series, distributed through Canada, mastered and pressed at JVC in Japan alongside the original Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs half-speed mastered LP releases) had a brown translucent glow to them. That is another good series to find, although clean copies are harder to come by these days. Which is a shame because, if they are well cared for, they sound excellent.
That explains why much of my 80s vinyl sounded superb ( and made Excellent CD needledrops too) if only they would go back to making vinyl the same way they used to back then then I would justify buying vinyl again but sadly as always it's just a pipe dream
 
I'd have to say that most new vinyl is pretty good today, in fact, a lot of it is better than what we had back then. The mastering on some of the records is way better than we had in the past also, especially if it's from someone like Analogue Productions, ORG, Mobile Fidelity, etc. The 140g and 180g pressings are usually quite good. I have the entire Led Zeppelin set on 180g, and half a dozen of the Rush reissues, and all of these are flawless. I even bought that Beatles stereo box set from the UK (had a couple of gift certificates, and hit a good sale on them) that was flawless. And that one was a case of knowing that the US version of the box set had terrible pressings, whereas the UK boxes were the keepers. My Analogue Productions Stevie Ray Vaughan set is impeccable as well. Ditto the Peter Gabriel 45 RPM/2LP versions of his albums--they sound incredible, in fact. That "Sounds of Hatari!" track I posted on YouTube is a good example of how recent records can sound. :)

The key, though, is knowing which ones to buy, and even like in the past, there are certain labels you know will have an issue and they are easily avoided. There are also a lot of those grey market reissues (on labels like Doxy, Wax Time, etc.) which use questionable sources and alter the cover art due to copyright. It's just a matter of reading reviews on the records, or asking here, before deciding on something. :)
 
I'm to the point now where I can list the music I don't have, that I want to get, on about one hand. Just about everything I've ever liked has been released on CD, with just a few exceptions that spring to mind:

- Hugo Montenegro's album People...One To One, which contains a great instrumental version of Neil Diamond's "Lordy." It's one of my favorite instrumentals ever. I found a sealed LP of it, so I have a great needledrop of it, but still wish for a good CD remaster. It doesn't seem to be available anywhere anymore.

- Al De Lory's "Song From M*A*S*H." He was most famous as the 'musical director' for Glen Campbell during his original heyday. His jazzy version of the M*A*S*H tune got a lot of airplay on the MOR station in Billings when it first came out. He had an album, also called Song From M*A*S*H. I have a good needledrop of this too, also from a sealed LP.

- Paper Lace's "So What If I Am." This was a followup single to "The Night Chicago Died" and is really good, but has never been on CD to my knowledge. It wasn't a hit. The only way I have it is on a scratchy 45.

My most recent "acquisition" from my musical bucket list was the Rick Springfield disk, Wait For Night, which was recorded in the mid '70s right before he was a big deal, with a few members of the Elton John Band. It was a great album that I (incorrectly) figured to be a huge hit, and had a single "Take a Hand" that charted briefly. It's one of those that got released on CD, but flew under my radar, then was gone. I finally found one still sealed about 6 months ago.
 
My list grows continuously since I discover more new music than I have time to buy or own. :D And there are still some elusive records I've had no luck finding.

And on top of it, I'm still replacing favorite records I traded in or gave away when CDs came along. Something told me all along I should have held onto them.
 
My list grows continuously since I discover more new music than I have time to buy or own. :D And there are still some elusive records I've had no luck finding.

And on top of it, I'm still replacing favorite records I traded in or gave away when CDs came along. Something told me all along I should have held onto them.
I understand Hindsight is always 20/20 even though I myself gave away and or traded Vinyl I was lucky to replace almost all on CD but In hindsight I should have held on to my vinyl as well but nevertheless I've been working on preserving and securing all my various sound recordings and I'm happy to say all my CD library is now on my laptop ( which is now my master megamix) a mix of WMA and Mp3 audio ( my CDS are listed as WMA) which the CDS comprise the Majority of the collection and when I play them on that shuffle mode wow I don't need to listen to radio after that Its like I have my own station unto myself sometimes technology is good
 
Eh, it's just a record. I don't stand there and watch it spin. (Well, OK...I do... :laugh: ) I usually put the record weight over the label while playing, so about all I see is a small part of the label.

So yeah, it's a little different to get used to, and I had poor lighting so the orange trumpet does not stand out in the logo. But the color of the label itself is perfect, and it sure sounds good! They did a nice mastering job on this one.
 
I mentioned it in one of our overlooked Holiday threads, but by far I would say the new Xmas album by The Mavericks, Hey! Merry Christmas!, is one of the best new holiday albums I've heard in many years. The JD McPherson album Socks is a lot of fun also, but the Mavericks album just has this steady infectious groove from the first track, "Christmas Time Is (Coming 'Round Again)," all the way through the end. That first track is very heavy in Spector's "Wall Of Sound" influence--if you'd have stuck this tune on the 60s album A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector with the Ronettes, it would have fit right in. A couple of other tunes on this album also recall the Wall of Sound, and they even make a bigger nod to it via their mighty respectable cover of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", one of only two covers on the album. The rest are composed by Raul Malo and others in the band, and all are as festive as anything else out there that we are familiar with. :)



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I've also been giving a spin to the album It's A Holiday Soul Party by the late Sharon Jones (with the Dap-Kings). I like it, but...I don't know, overall, there is something missing here. She's a fantastic singer, no doubt about it. But the band backing her up is more lightweight than what I am used to. Maybe it's just the recording? I've had that in the past--the engineering often sucks some of the life out of instruments--a little too tame, in other words. I hate to mention the term, but it almost reminds me of the soulless "white boy soul" I've heard over the years, although not along the lines of the trainwreck that was Donald Fagen's shameful cover version of Isaac Hayes' "Out Of The Ghetto" (that reminded me of an old white man's cover band trying to play soul classics...give me a frickin' break). So I have mixed emotions on this one. Still like it, but it won't be in heavy rotation. Another one pressed on green vinyl, BTW.

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I'm spinning the Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass today too. I chose the mono promo version which has some interesting differences from the familiar stereo version. A couple of Herb's solos are different. The one on "Winter Wonderland" is a little more sparse, and the one on "Sleigh Ride" is somewhat more robust. And, typical of mono mixes, some of the highs are a bit more emphasized.

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"Let's do the milkshake
Selling like a hot cake
Try some, buy some
Fe, fi, foe, fum"


:D
 
I'm spinning the Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass today too. I chose the mono promo version which has some interesting differences from the familiar stereo version. A couple of Herb's solos are different. The one on "Winter Wonderland" is a little more sparse, and the one on "Sleigh Ride" is somewhat more robust. And, typical of mono mixes, some of the highs are a bit more emphasized.

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Sweet but out of sheer frustration I finally gave up looking for my 3 missing mono Herb albums ( including the aforementioned Christmas ones) I guess my stereo versions are sufficient enough. But I'm very happy for you I'm glad you were fortunate to obtain them
 
The Allen Toussaint compilation Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky showed up on vinyl late yesterday. Oddly, Collector's Choice had it far cheaper listed on Discogs than they do on their official site. It's a nice compilation, including the original versions of Al Hirt's "Java" and the TJB's "Whipped Cream." It also has the #1 hit "Mother In Law" by Ernie K-Doe, and a few others everyone will recognize. Sound quality is variable, given the disparate sources, but still good.

I also had ordered the Prince album Around The World In A Day. I've had the CD since release day, but never played it much; I never really warmed to the direction he took post-Purple Rain. Only "America" has gotten a lot of play here over the years, and that via a 12" single that clocks in at 21 minutes, IIRC (it's an extended funk/rock jam).

Having burned out on Xmas music yesterday (I'm totally done with it for the year), I've done a bit of a musical reset/cleansing today. I have the 45 RPM Mobile Fidelity stereo version of Kind Of Blue playing right now. Much needed and appreciated. :) It feels like a Bill Evans kind of day, in fact.
 
This is a somewhat interesting relic. A very early date from a guitarist we may be familiar with:
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I saw this under its original title Take Your Pick earlier this evening, the album originally being released on Decca back in 1958. There is some nice playing here, and Pisano was just beginning to get his own sound on this recording. I am streaming this one at the moment. It has a few other familiar west coast jazz names on it like Larry Bunker, Pete Candoli, Si Zentner, Red Callender and a few others.

John Pisano & Billy Bean - Take Your Pick · Guitar Duets (Audiophile 180gr. HQ Vinyl) - Blue Sounds

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On my musical playlist I've been spinning some shuffle mixes from my laptop and I'm getting a diverse mix of stuff earlier I got a 2fer of instrumental artist John fox from England doing instrumental versions of The association's Cherish and Barry Manilow's "Somewhere down the road" and a double shot of BMB "Woody woodpecker song" and "Hecho En Mexico" along with A mix of other diverse artists you never know what your shuffle mode will come up with I'm very thankful I needledropped all my vinyl that remained and stuff that got lost i dont need Web music radio streams or regular radio for my music anymore and best of all ( as i mentioned elsewhere previously) with my home studio microphones Its like I have my own radio station unto myself
 
Isaac Hayes, "Out Of The Ghetto" from the album New Horizon. This is the original version, kinda funky. Not the awful version Donald Fagen put out on that stinker of an album Sunken Condos, where it sounds like a bad Holiday Inn cover band of old white men thinking they are hip, as everyone 50 and under hides behind their menus... :rolleyes:
 
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