Brian Wilson was great. I will give a more full report along after I see Lee Hazlewood tomorrow night. In the meantime, here’s some recent vinyl purchases.
Alzo & Udine: 'C'Mon and Join Us' (LP; Mercury; 1969)
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This album is just too much fun; I had to get hold of a copy. Discovered via that amazing Musical Taste site. The title track is wonderful - a latin-bee gees -funk style jam, and at least three or four of the other tracks are essentially the same song. But that's not a problem.
Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots: 'Merseymania' (LP; Pickwick; 1964)
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Rubbish exploitation album. Cool cover though, and probably the earliest Pickwick budget album in my collection.
Blossom Dearie: 'That's Just the Way I Want to Be' (LP; Fontana; 1970)
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One of those albums that somehow sounds better now I have the original LP. Very nice late 60s pop/bossa; far more varied than I remembered it. Most well known for the storming percussion on the final track, 'I like London in the rain' (an appropriate song for today, incidentally).
Chappel AV Series: 'Dance and Pop' (LP; Chappell; 1986)
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'This disc features dance and pop music based upon the styles & sounds of the mid 1980s' Pretty cool stuff! All tracks are written and produced by Steve Jeffries
Chappel AV Series: 'Sea/Water' (LP; Chappell; 1986)
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Chris Payne: 'Drama/Horror' (LP; Chappell; 1985)
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D. Farnon/R.Walter: 'Soft Sounds & Gentle Movements' (LP; Conroy; 1974)
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A great album that got me enthused, probably for the first time, about library records and production music. The first side is by Dennis Farnon, and has nice strings and gently groovy basslines. The second side is by 'R. Walter', and is more percussive, with that great open snare sound and some groovy tracks. Fantastic stuff, and with that added psychological bonus that since hardly any of these were pressed, I feel like I really have something rare and unheard here. That's probably bollocks, but hey...
Esquivel: 'Latinesque' (LP; RCA; 1962)
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I kind of wish I had the beautiful original US release of this one, but I'm happy to have any at all. And this later UK pressing seems to be of a high standard. This was one of the few Esquivel albums I had yet to pick up (well, of the reasonably common ones, anyway), and it's very cool - the classic zu-zu vocals and wailing brass are there, and I still haven't grown tired of them.
Isaac Hayes: 'Truck Turner' (LP; Stax/Pye; 1974)
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Very cool soundtrack double album. Nice to have some solid funk like this on vinyl.
John Fox Symphonic Orchestra: 'Pomp and Glory - the best of Edward Elgar' (LP; Sonoton; 1985)
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Half of this is 'condensed' (ie popsong-sized) arrangements of Elgar. The other is synthesizer versions of the same arrangements. I've only listened to it once, and I don't know when I'll listen again. But I couldn't leave it in the charity shop, could I...
Jorgen Ingmann: 'Min Ballon/Katten Og Musen' (45; Metronome; 1962)
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I bought this because the cover looked kind of cool and one of the tracks was a Billy Mure composition. But it's a kind of chipmunk style novelty record and hasn't exactly been stuck to my turntable.
Julie Driscoll/Brian Auger: 'Jools/Brian' (LP; MFP; 1967)
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This album seems much too groovy and cool to have been found in a charity shop, but that's what happened. It also seems too cool for the MFP label. It's a mixture of Julie Driscoll's late 60s dramatic pop ballads (with a bit of a Scott Walker/Dusty Springfield flavour) and Brian Auger/Brian Auger Trinity organ tracks, which are mostly smoking soul style instrumentals.
Very nice stuff! Shame my copy is more or less trashed. But dig the way my cover still has someone's 60s wrapping paper attached to cover up the price!
Michel Legrand: 'Violent Violins' (LP; Mercury; 1964)
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I coveted this UK reissue of Michel Legrand's 'Plays for Dancers' LP for years, mainly because of its very cool cover. Fisheye effect, a sparkly catsuit, S&M, a cool 50s atomic style font; this one has it all!
The LP is quite cool (I actually already have the US issue). The famous compiled tracks, 'Digue-ding' and 'Come ray and come charles' are the standouts, but it's all good fun.
Richard Anthony: 'Richard Anthony' (LP; Pathe; 1966)
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Surprisingly groovy and enjoyable French 60s rock'n'roll album, with originals and also cover versions of Dusty Springfield, Rolling Stones, and Holland-Holland-Dozier tracks.
Stanley Black: 'Festival in Costa Rica' (LP; Decca; 1961)
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Nice early Stanley Black album. It's 50s style sanitised Latin easy listening music. The album includes 6 Lecuona tracks and is really quite enjoyable.