I have no doubt, dear readers, that you will have noticed the jagged 1537-shaped hole in your lives over the last 72 hours – I hope you haven’t found it a completely ‘unendurable shit-awful MF-ing purgatory’ to quote one of my regulars*, or indeed be moved to the same extremes as another devotee of mine who vowed to ‘politically and economically destabilise one nation in the developing world every three hours until you post again’**.
My family took a well-deserved break in Bath this weekend, elegant Roman and Georgian city and setting for chunks of my favourite Jane Austen novels^. Now elegant and tasteful are just two of my middle names and so I fitted right in straight away, of course. We did lots of sight-seeing, shopping and walking, as well as catching the new Bond movie on the day it came out. But you’re not here for that are you? you’re here for more red-hot, uncensored, sleeveless vinyl action.
Well, I have to say it was tough to get any real action in Bath – the only record shop there is a HMV, they do vinyl now but, meh! However yesterday, on a walk out of town to the lovely Prior Park Landscape Garden I stumbled across a great charity shop. I swear I was just going to walk past, when my 1537 spider senses tingled and I dived in to find a huge rack of vinyl loveliness, all the usual charity shop suspects – James Last, Abba, Status Quo, Stylistics, Acker Bilk, 10cc were represented in full effect, but a whole load of interesting jazz, folk and pop stuff too. Obviously, I turned my back on all that tasteful stuff and plumped for these four beauties instead, all in absolutely mint condition, I was inspired:
Inspired by Mr Connection’s Antipodean obsession with an LP named after a hill on the Welsh borders I grabbed Mike Oldfield Hergest Ridge, initial plays are very favourable too.
Next, inspired by the great cover and the fact that my dad used to sing ‘Lumberjack’ to me when I was little, I plumped for Johnny Cash Ride This Train his 1960 travelogue through his homeland, which straddles that (railroad) line between corny and momentous perfectly for me.
My next inspiration stemmed from my own dumb completist tendencies and I plumped for techno/electro/thingy-o pioneer Bomb The Bass Into The Dragon, initial plays and a shout of ‘what’s that crap you’re playing?’ from Mrs 1537 aren’t very promising, but hey, I love his other stuff, maybe it’ll be a grower.
Last up, inspired by my tribal love of all things metal I grabbed the only LP there that you could really describe as metal, I mean sure Acker Bilk rocks but he never played a flying V clarinet to my knowledge. So I jumped on the 1980 NWOBHM compilation LP Metal For Muthas II, which is identical in every respect to the ground-breaking, musically great first volume, except for the ground-breaking great music. First listen gives me a pair of tracks I like, Trespass ‘One of These Days’ and ‘Storm Child’ particularly.
So I’m happy, overall, with my finds.
On a side note I’m about half way through this year’s Booker prize-winning novel Marlon James A Brief History Of Seven Killings. It’s relevant here because it is set in Jamaica 1976 and charts the events leading up to the shooting of Bob Marley two days before the famous Smile Jamaica Concert. It is at once simultaneously one of the most poetic, yet heart-wrenchingly, viscerally violent novels I have ever read/am reading. Totally recommended reading, as long as you have the stomach for it.
How cool is my new Lego bass-playing Frankenstein figure?! Check out the padlock, the patch on the back of his jacket too!!
I’ve just noticed 600 up next – hmm, I need a special record to review for that milestone.
599 Down (still).
*Mr B Obama, Washington. Cheers bud – I’ll get back to you with those Dream Theatre and Annihilator MP3s.
**that wacky dude, Mr V Putin; you one crazy cat, and yes, I promise, I’ll be back with that Harsh Toke LP review I’ve been promising you for ages now.
^and thus QED my favourite novels, period.
Sounds like a pretty fantastic getaway, and some nice finds as well. Good thing for those Vinyl senses….err, I mean Spidey senses.
It was great, vinyl aside it is a very beautiful place too.
I’ve heard great things.
Smashing. Hope the jaunt to Bath has refreshed you for that epic 600 post.
I’m a big fan of Ride This Train. Reckon that’s a clear winner, there … and the rockin’ Frankenstein is … eh … rockin’!
I thought of you actually when I picked that one up, there were some other ones of his there – but nothing I wanted more.
I have Ride This Train! On CD unfortunately, but I have it and find its narration bits quaint and nifty.
I love it, I’ve spun it a couple of times this week. Can’t beat talking on a record.
Well, you might be surprised to know this, but Ronnie James Dio talking for 20 minutes on the Magica album was unbelievably boring!
Nooo! Burn the heretic, burn him I say!
Bomb The Bass’s ‘Clear’ and ‘Unknown Territory’ have long been favourites but for some reason ‘Into The Dragon’ has passed me by, I must give it a spin. West London charity shops here we come…
Hiya. Clear is a, umm, Clear winner. I’d go for a cheap 12″ of Beat Dis rather than the LP.
Been to Bath many times but never really been there for myself. It has always been because someone from my wife’s family wants to see the baths or supervising service users from my work who have their complete own agenda. One day, I must go to Bath for me and I’ll have to look for this charity shop.
Frankie! He was worth the wait. 🙂
Definitely! He’s going to be such a useful addition to my stable.
And let’s not forget the spooky spider lady with the B52 hairdo!
That’s a great hairdo!
Hey! I think your count is off! your last post (Walt Disney…) was 599. So isn’t THIS one 600?
Nope, I count records reviewed, not posts – otherwise I’d be 630+. I’m doing it the hard way.
Aw dammit. And here I thought my sharp eyes would win me that glorious No Prize.
Also, super-cool Frankenstein. Did you squeal like a delighted little schoolgirl when you opened up that packet and found him in there?
I did! He’ll help me with Sid Vicious and Lemmy from Here on in!
Suggestion for #600: Sloan! Surely you’ve bought all the LPs by now…
Nice vacation! Good thing I knew Bath was a town – I would have thought it weird if your whole family bathed together.
And great finds! I approve of all four! Sucks the MFMII wasn’t so good. Alas. However, you left all the jazz behind! I would never do that. Never ever ever! But then again, that’s probably just me. Yup, I’d have bought ’em all.
Nice one!
Thank you, thank you. Loads of Oscar Peterson LPs and a few Maynard Ferguson too …
Feel free to correct ‘must’ to ‘just’. It’s not THAT much of a compulsion.
I think your mask just slipped, showing us all the true extent of the raging white-hot compulsions that drive you, day-to-day.
“Ouch! Ya got me bud. Plugged right between the eyes,” as Captain Wentworth was wont to say.
Nice work, Mr. Glad to hear Hergest Ridge shows promise. It’s my go-to Oldfield LP still. In fact, I might must spin it now. Cheers.
Thank you – with that and the famous one, that’s pretty much all the Oldfield I think I need. I’m with you, there’s more going on here and in a less showy manner too.