JethroTull Devonshire1970 1500 crop

this was a time when it would benefit an artist to stand up

I WAS ONE OF THOSE TEENS who prided themselves in having a really cool record collection, bragging about albums and singles few of my clueless high school peers had ever heard of. So, of course, I was a big fan of Warner/Reprise Records in the late ’60s. Aside from championing my beloved Kinks (and Grommett save them!), [Read more] “this was a time when it would benefit an artist to stand up”

Records LPs PopRock 1500

my first record show as a dealer (rock of ages part 1)

WE HAD BEEN TOGETHER for a year when we finally decided to make the move from the sultry summers of the East Coast to the more moderate West Coast. It was 1978 and the dreams of ‘the sixties’ didn’t seem so far off. Working two jobs each, we had saved the equivalent of $10,000 in today’s dollars. [Read more] “my first record show as a dealer (rock of ages part 1)”

PinkFloyd TheWall Scarfe header 1501

real rarity, relative rarity, and the “wow!” factor

IN RECORD COLLECTING, we bandy about certain terms so often that they lose their meaning. One such word is ‘rare,’ which should be considered a bugaboo not just record collecting, but all fields of collectables. Another abused word is ‘psychedelic,’ or, as it is more often used, ‘psych.’ [Read more] “real rarity, relative rarity, and the “wow!” factor”

KingKong 1933 skyline 1500

the kinks’ plastic man wants to be ten feet long like king kong

IT’S DIFFICULT TO SAY why the Kinks fell out of favor as hit-makers, but by the end of 1968 they looked like they were already a part of rock & roll’s history. They were making music that veered off from most contemporary music pathways and as 1969 opened, remaining a Kinks fan was almost an act of defiance.  [Read more] “the kinks’ plastic man wants to be ten feet long like king kong”

Byrds 1965 airport copy

a requiem for those timeless good good good vibrations

MAJOR RECORD COMPANIES usually released new titles on Monday in the ’60s. On April 12, 1965, I rushed home from school, ran upstairs to my room, tossed my books on my bed, pulled my money out of the drawer, ran to the garage, picked up my bike, and zoomed off to Joe Nardone’s record shop. [Read more] “a requiem for those timeless good good good vibrations”