Missing Pictures On Posts

I deleted my old google account and swapped the blog over to a new one resulting in the loss of all images. I will reinsert all images over the next week or so. Sorry for the inconvenience. Happy New Year:)

UPDATE - All images have been reposted.

Misleading Descriptions

I will start this post by stating outright that descriptives such as "psychedelic" and "progressive", in terms of musical style, are very much open to interpretation and argument. Some albums which I consider to be psychedelic in sound are not such to other collectors and vice versa. Classification as progressive music is probably even more open to debate, much to be found online. Indeed, anyone who has listened to a great number of "progressive" bands will know that, just like with any genre of music, alot of it sounds the same. And wouldn't that seem to fly in the face of a body of music being progressive?
All that being said, it has been long established that record dealers are often liars. I understand that they are salesmen, and salesmen in general bend the truth to make the sale, their only objective, but when it comes down to blatant false advertising I get a tad cross.
A perfect example is an album by a Canadian band named The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

I have seen this album advertised many times in the past by dealers online and in published listings as "psychedelic rock" and "psychedelic blues". I bought a copy a few months ago. The shop where I bought it is not at fault here, they had no descriptive attached, it was merely in the stacks and I bought it based on how I had seen it advertised in the past. Once I set needle to groove I found that rather than being psychedelic or bluesy, it was in fact a rather mediocre set of country-rock. Country-rock is a genre I am not really interested in even when written and played well. Had I not been misled by the false advertising of dodgy dealers I would not have bought this. There is a consumer base for all genres. There is no need to lie.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - All Over The Road (1970)

-- NOT PSYCHEDELIC --

Now this leads me to another topic. As I have been posting some of my favoured used vinyl stores I have debated in my mind whether or not I should do postings of stores I do not favour. I have pretty much opted not to do this for fear of possibly detering potential customers from a business over what may or may not be a petty reason.

That said there is one vinyl store that I will mention here as I will not do business there for several important reasons, including the above.

Beach Sound Records on Kingston Road does have some decent titles, but they are vastly overpriced, very much so. Many of the albums I inspected there had feelable scratches, further pushing the prices into absurd realms. Rather than just stating the high prices in a normal fashion prices are marked by a series of dots - each dot representing $5. Some times this is marked on a price tag as a group of dots, sometimes written as say "12 dots", and sometimes actually written on the inside of the sleeve. I can not fathom the reasoning behind this method other than to confuse or mislead those buyers who are not particularly good at math.

I was in there on a weekend afternoon some time back. I noticed a Moondog LP on the wall and, being a fan of Moondog, I remarked "You have Moondog, cool, I don't see that much." The owner offered that he wasn't really familiar with the artist and asked me if it was "psychedelic". I told him that no it wasn't. Moondog tends to be a mix of Jazz, Classical, Folk and Minimalism in varying degrees. Moments later a customer entered and advised that he was interested in psychedelic albums. The owner immediately referred him to the Moondog LP stating that it was "very psychedelic". My mind was blown (in a very un-psychedelic fashion, ha)! And I believe the customer was well aware of the dupe as he said nothing, spent a few minutes half-heartedly glancing at the stacks and left. 'Nuff said.

Moondog - Moondog 2 (1971)

-- NOT PSYCHEDELIC --

Dust - Hard Attack

Dust - Hard Attack

Kama Sutra KSBS 2059, USA, 1972

This is the second and final album by New York's Dust. An excellent album of mostly hard rock numbers with a couple of ballads and a short country influenced track thrown in. Initially released in a gatefold, this, I believe, is the second pressing in the more common single pocket style sleeve, but still on the pink Kama Sutra label.

A trio, two of the members would go on to their own further fame - guitarist Richie Wise as the producer of the first two albums by Kiss (along with Dust producer Kenny Kerner), and drummer Marc Bell would later join Richard Hell's band the Voidoids before becoming known as Marky Ramone in 1978. Listening to this album I can hear what was to come with some hints of a proto-punkish exuberance on some tracks ('Learning To Die'!!!) and the energetic drumming overall. I have heard rumours of an unfinished third album, but that is all - rumours.

Also of mention is the terrific barbarian cover art by New York fantasy artist Frank Frezzeta, also known for his cover art for several Molly Hatchet albums, and of course if you are of my generation and tastes, his work for Heavy Metal magazine (an American SF/Fantasy comicstrip magazine for adults; not a music magazine).

I had attempted to purchase this on ebay six times over the space of a year and each time the bids went beyond my budget, hitting 80-120 dollars US. I could not believe my luck when I found this clean copy at Kops Records for a mere 17 dollars. Just goes to show that patience really is a virtue!

Side 1 - 1. Pull Away/So Many Times (4:59) 2. Walk In The Soft Rain (4:18) 3. Thusly Spoken (4:18) 4. Learning To Die (6:20)

Side 2 - 1. All In All (4:03) 2. I Been Thinkin (2:14) 3. Ivory (2:38) 4. How Many Horses (4:18)

5. Suicide (4:53) 6. Entrance (0:19)

Kenny Aaronson-bass/slide/pedal steel guitar; Marc Bell-drums/percussion; Richie Wise-guitars/vocals.

Recorded at Bell Sound Studios, New York City.

Listen to 'Learning To Die' here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w3_NLbHEbA

and 'Suicide' here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nJiPptRUXM

Kops Records

Kops Records

This downtown Toronto store has a rather average selection for my tastes, with only occasional gems. Their prices, however, are pretty decent overall and I have gotten some very good deals there (see my Dust post after this one). They have a good section of recent additions and a nicely sized bargain section with scale-priced LPs marked by coloured stickers (the kind that are easily removed without tearing the cover!). I think Kopps caters to a lot of DJs and accordingly has substantial funk, soul and jazz sections. They also have loads of 45s which must take days to search through - I have no patience for searching through 45s! The staff are friendly and helpful and the owner deals with fairness and an open mind. I also like that they are located pretty much across the road from The Rex (Toronto's #1 jazz club), so I can pop across for a pint and good music immediately after I make my purchase.

Kops Records
229 Queen Street West
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 1Z4
416 593 8523

kopsrecords.ca

Whiz Kids - s/t

Whiz Kids - s/t

Kasaba KSB 200, USA, 1974

A nice obscurity I bought off ebay last year. The Whiz Kids were a duo from Michigan who released their only album on their own Kasaba label in 1974. Often described as progressive or even prog-psych by dealers, the music is better described as fairly commercial rock with poppy elements and the very occasional nod to progressiveism via synth. While enjoyable, I think the music would have definitely benefited from the addition of full guitar.

Of the nine songs presented here seven are originals and two are covers - 'Long Time Gone' by Crosby, Stills & Nash and '(Ride My) Chevrolet' by ZZ top.

I am also aware of one single 'Take' b/w 'Big Cigar Blues' (Kasaba KSB 101) which was released in 1971 and apparently features Cub Koda on guitar. These songs don't appear on this album and I have never heard them, so I don't know to what extent the guitar is used or if the style of music is in keeping with the album. It is interesting to note that the label of the single, pictured below, states that it was recorded in Canada.

Side 1 - 1. Tear The Walls Down (2:20) 2. Six Months (2:15) 3. Judas (3:25) 4. Long Time Gone (4:31) 5. Time To Lose (2:20)

Side 2 - 1. Start All Over Again (2:51) 2. (Ride My) Chevrolet (2:38) 3. I'm Leavin' (5:40) 4. Poison (4:38)

Pat McCaffrey-keyboards/horns/bass pedals/vocals/guitar; Ken Michalik-percussion/vocals

Recorded at Glen Arbor Roller Mills and Pampa Studios.

Circus Books & Music

Circus Books & Music

Located on Danforth Avenue in Toronto's east end this is another book/record store, though in this case the ratio between books and vinyl is fairly even. The prices can be a bit on the high end compared with some of the other shops I frequent, but they always seem to have some choice items in good condition. They are open 7 days a week, until 8PM Monday to Saturday. On the down side, all but a couple of the times I have been to Circus (generally in the mid-afternoon) I have dealt with a young fellow who could certainly do with some customer service training. Not exactly the friendly and outgoing type, but hey, I'm there for the vinyl.

Circus Music & Books
866 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
416 925 6116

www.circusbooksandmusic.com

Clark-Hutchinson - A-MH2

CLARK-HUTCHINSON - A=MH2

Decca Nova SDN.R.2, UK, 1969

An excellent album of instrumental eastern and flamenco influenced jazzprog jams, I picked up this beautiful specimen at Sonic Boom last Wednesday. An original British press, the disk shows what looks almost like water marks when held to the light, but there are no scuffs or even the slightest of scratches to speak of. It plays without noise. The sleeve has some slight creasing and small wear to one corner. The worst thing about this is that I don't have the original inner sleeve. The rear surface of the sleeve has a punch out hole in the top right area through which the colour of the inner sleeve could be seen. Red indicated a mono version (and red label on disk) and blue indicated stereo (blue label). This indicator hole did not appear on the American release of the album (Sire 97021, 1969). Alas, this copy has a generic white (yellowed with age) inner sleeve. I read some words online to the effect that the red label mono version (original UK) was never pressed, but I have seen pictures of them, so I believe they were.

Side 1 - 1. Improvisation On A Modal Scale (10:00) 2. Acapulco Gold (7:00) 3. Impromptu In 'E' Minor (8:30)

Side 2 - 1. Textures In 3/4 (11:00) 2. Improvisation On An Indian Scale (13:50)

Andy Clark-vocals/keyboards; Mick Hutchinson-guitar; Stephen Amazing-bass; Del Coverley-percussion.

Recorded at Recorded Sound Studios, London on May 21st & 23rd 1969.

Listen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p63aOGaz8A