December Set Sale List, Jazz Psych Dub Rare etc
Great list this month, priced to go… PM to buy or email goodrecordsnyc@gmail.com
No long holds.
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Sonny Forriest And His Orchestra – Tuff Pickin’ – Decca
A monster cast that includes Purdie, Idris (here as Leo Morris), Grachan Moncur, Ernie Hayes, and Willie Rodriguez backs guitarist Forriest on a pretty heavy soul jazz session. White label promo (EX/EX) SOLD
Odell Brown – Plays Otis Redding – Cadet
Soul jazz b3 maestro Brown sits down in Ter Mar studios, Chicago 1969 and slays one of the most compelling and emotional songbooks of our generation. Center punch hole (VG+/EX) SOLD
Mary Lou Williams – Zoning – Mary
Fantastic spiritual, funky, intelligent jazz LP led by Williams’ possessed keyboard work, issued on her own label. A very special album all the way through, but the highlight for me has to be “Rosa Mae”, a slow funky number. (VG+/VG+) SOLD
Ella Fitzgerald – Sunshine Of Your Love – Prestige
Heavy cover of the title track that to me is on the level of Spanky Wilson, yet at one iota of the price. Pristine blue label (EX/EX) SOLD
North Texas State University Lab Band & The Bowie, MD Senior High School “Starliners” – 12 by 3 – Creative Jazz Composers
Very obscure lab band double LP. Both bands came to play but NTSU wins with the massive “Feelin’ Soulful”. With several other funky cuts present, nobody really loses. Beautiful copy (EX/NM) SOLD
Tatsuya Takahashi & The Tokyo Union – Scandinavian Suite – Three Blind Mice
Bugged out Japanese big band conceptual piece with synthy interludes, drama stabs, but most importantly “Children At Play”. (EX/EX) SOLD
Carlos Garnett – Cosmos Nucleus – Muse
Scarce release on the maligned jazz label but damn if it isn’t one of the best. Solid from tip to toe. Track after track of dope spiritual jazz-funk. Includes the monster “Mystery Of Ages”. white label promo (EX/NM) SOLD
North Texas State University Lab Band – Lab ‘69 – Century
Scarce 1969 LP by NTSU. Features a funky, epic composition called “Three Freaks” (no relation to Shadow, Keak, & Turf) as well as a cover of Edu Lobo’s “Casa Forte”. 2″ taped top seam, EX-libris sticker on the spine, nothing major (VG/VG+) SOLD
Various – Conjure: Music For The Texts Of Ishmael Reed – American Clave
Interesting congregation of artists brought together for musical interpretations of Reed’s poems. Players include Taj Mahal, Allen Toussaint, David Murray, Milton Cardona, Lester Bowie, Billy Hart, and more. Funky soul with blues, jazz, and folk influence. Check “Fool-ology” (EX/EX) SOLD
The Equals – Baby Come Back – RCA
One of my favorite albums bar none. Mixed UK garage outfit led by a young Eddie Grant. Pretty much every track is killer, most of all the incredible original version of “Police On My Back”. (VG+/EX) SOLD
Free Design – Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love – Project 3
One of the scarcer Free Design LPs and my personal favorite. Not least because, there’s a far more tolerable level of poppiness to it all. Fuzz, organ, strong rhythm section… it’s all a bit looser. Great soft psych sound (VG+/VG+) SOLD
The Mercy – Love Can Make You Happy – Sundi
Obscure sunshine pop LP out of Tampa/St. Petersburg. Very mellow female harmonies over minimal backing. Favorites are the mildly psychedelic “Daydream” and a strangely endearing cover of “Tracks Of My Tears”. (VG+/VG+) SOLD
Hapshash And The Colored Coat – Western Flier – Imperial
Raucous bluesy psych LP by this UK band, who apparently got their start in the psych scene by designing psychedelic gig posters and running a boutique called “Granny Takes A Trip”. (VG+/EX) SOLD
Ville Emard Blues Band – Live A Montreal – Funkebec
Stoned, proggy rock obscurity out of Canada. The record includes some really great cuts – despite being live, the recording quality is great. Sound varies from prog to folk to jazz and is funky and energetic throughout. Found this years ago and only recently dug it out of storage, but suffice to say have not seen a copy since. (VG+/EX) SOLD
Morning Glory – Two Suns Worth – Mercury
Dope 1968 west coast psych LP that sounds a lot harder than it looks. Not totally freaked out but more fuzz than you’d expect from other groups of the time. Nice dichotomy between poppy male/female vocals and heavy backing. “Jelly Gas Flame” is great. Engineered by John Cale (?!) (VG+/VG+) SOLD
The Deirdre Wilson Tabac – S/T – RCA
Sought-after LP of rootsy soul and funky folk tunes, including the recently-Jazzman-reissued jazz dancer “I Can’t Keep From Cryin’ Sometimes”. The rest of the album rocks too, solid listen all the way through. Tough to come by, had it twice in the shop in as many years (EX/VG+) SOLD
Earth Wind & Fire – S/T – Warner Brothers
EWF’s debut of heavy, righteous funk. Nothing like the smoothed out on the R&B tip superstars that would give us “Fantasy” and “September” (although I fucks with that stuff just as well). Easily the best record on this list. Green label, with poster (EX/VG+) SOLD
Heaven And Earth – That’s Love – WMOT
Wonderful album of modern grooves and sweet group vocals. Features the incredible “I Really Love You” and is really killer start to finish. Tough one to pull in nice shape. I also have a 12″ of the above track for sale (EX/EX) SOLD
The O’Jays – S/T – Bell
Late 60s LP compiling some of this legendary group’s early singles in a faux-live format. Great 60s group harmony sound throughout, including the massive ballad “I’ll Be Sweeter Tomorrow (Than I Was Today)”. Produced by George Kerr and arranged/conducted by Richard Tee (EX/VG+) SOLD
Charlie Jones – Songs Of Love, Life and Re-Ality – Sum-ma
Small-label soul LP out of Daly City, CA. Kind of off-kilter in places and despite the 1983 date, sounds a lot more like a late 70s session with a more organic feel. Check out the impeccably titled “Paradoxes Is Confusing Me” and see what I mean (EX/EX) SOLD
Ronnie McNeir – S/T – RCA
Beautiful 70s sweet soul LP. This cat is really underrated, as far as soul singers go – wrote and arranged much of his own material, and despite having released a number of albums kind of falls behind the Leroy Hutsons and Leon Wares of the world, despite being very comparable. Some minor water damage to the bottom of the cover (strong VG/EX) SOLD
Bobby Davis Studio Orchestra – Hit ‘Em Hard – BDE
Private issue blaxploitation soundtrack. Very strange combination of tracks – some orchestral interludes, a few strange pop songs, spooky synth effects, and a couple of killer funk tunes. “Being Wise” is probably my favorite. Scarce (EX/VG+) SOLD
Syl Johnson – Total Explosion – Hi
Another Willie Mitchell-produced classic, kind of a rougher, deeper counterpoint to Al Green’s smooth falsetto with that undeniable, unmistakable Hi Records sound. (EX/VG+) SOLD
Bob Andy – Bob Andy’s Song Book – Studio 1
An absolutely essential reggae LP and a perfect primer for the uninitiated. Andy’s voice, full of emotion and soul, graces some of the most classic rocksteady rhythms. Great-sounding, loud 1980 Brooklyn “red/yellow” press (VG+/VG+) SOLD
Alton Ellis – The Best Of Alton Ellis – Studio 1
A beautiful LP of classic covers by one of Jamaica’s finest vocalists. From the stellar “Can I Change My Mind” to the sublime “Breaking Up Is Hard”, mellow “Sitting In The Park” to the funky “Knock On Wood”, this man does it all. One of the finest reggae LPs in my collection. 70s JA issue (VG+/VG+) SOLD
Dadawah – Peace And Love – Wildflower
Simply amazing deeeeep dub/nyabinghi LP which was a kind of weird side project by Ras Michael with Lloyd Charmers and Willie Lindo. Spiritual and trance-enducing shit – check out “Run Come Rally” for a taste. Vinyl has some marks, one of which you can hear in the clip, but is still quite enjoyable. Decent copy of a rare record. JA press (VG+/VG) SOLD
Cinnamon Suns – Getting It All Together – Ida
Obscure and rare island funk LP in the vein of Beginning Of The End. Features some tight latin-influenced numbers like “Columbia Boogaloo” and “Spoonful Of Soul” but admission is paid for the leadoff funk number “Party Time”. Cover has water damage and tape on the seams (VG-/EX) SOLD
ESG – ESG II EP – Emerald Sapphire & Gold
Slightly lesser known release that followed the Scroggins’ work on Ed Bahlman’s 99 Records label and it is just as tight. The sound is slightly updated, and the addition of a couple of ballads is not really welcome, but the two dance cuts are as fierce as anything. Check “Bam-Bam Jam” for proof (Plain 12″ sleeve; record is VG+) SOLD
$10 $8 A PIECE:
Dizzy Gillespie – A Musical Safari – Doorman (VG+/EX) ft. Lalo Schifrin & Leo Wright, massive jazz dance cuts “Lorraine” & “Kush”
Freddy Robinson – At The Drive In – Enterprise (VG+/VG+) funky jazz guitar w Monk Higgins SOLD
Bobby Hutcherson & Harold Land – San Francisco – Blue Note (VG+/EX) Killer deep jazz LP highly recommended SOLD
Shanti – S/T – Atlantic (EX/EX) eastern sitar rock outta SF SOLD
$8 $6 A PIECE:
Ronnie Foster – Sweet Revival – Blue Note (VG+/VG+) Organ & rhodes led jazz funk LP
Baldwin & Leps – S/T – Vanguard (EX/EX) fiddle & acoustic folk-psych LP SOLD
Avenue O – Understanding Love – Sail (EX/EX) private issue folky ssw group out of MA with some moves SOLD
Charles Earland – Live At The Lighthouse – Prestige (VG+/EX) featuring “Freedom Jazz Dance”, hard funky soul jazz
As usual, conservative grading according to this scale:
Cover/Record
NM (Near Mint): Record has been opened, and probably played, but is in impeccable condition. Rarely used
EX (Excellent): Has signs of use or storage, but still considered top collection quality. Jackets may display some very light wear; vinyl may have a few light sleeve marks only visible in the highest light. Sound will full and clear, with little if any noise (NOTE, some records are just pressed poorly).
VG+ (Very Good Plus): Still a great copy but has a bit more wear. Vinyl may have some light scuffs or scratches, but nothing deep. Jacket may have some ringwear or seamwear. Sound should be great, with minimal if any noise.
VG (Very Good): A great play copy but clearly used. Vinyl will display many hairline scuffs or scratches, but will play with a tolerable amount of noise. Jacket may have splits and wear but will not be falling apart.
VG-, G: A record that has not been taken good care of. Will display scuffs, scratches, warps, and other defects. Will NOT skip unless otherwise noted, but will play with noise. [/quote]