introduction to rather rare records

MY INTRODUCTION TO WRITING RECORD REVIEWS was for my high school newspaper in 1969. Like most nerds with cool record collections given a pulpit, I wrote condescendingly about the artists and music that my classmates liked. I remember damning Glen Campbell and dismissing Cream’s farewell album. [Read more] “introduction to rather rare records”

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“the wild angels” is now a quinquagenarian (happy 50th!)

FIFTY YEARS AGO TODAY, one of the quintessential ’60s rock & roll soundtrack albums to one the ’60s quintessential biker exploitation moves was released. According to Wikipedia, THE WILD ANGELS movie saw its general release to American theaters on this day. The soundtrack album of the same name was released by Tower Records, an imprint of Capitol Records. [Read more] ““the wild angels” is now a quinquagenarian (happy 50th!)”

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what was the first “rock” double-album of the ’60s?

 IT IS ACCEPTED “FACT” that two seminal works of popular music—the Beach Boys’ PET SOUNDS and Bob Dylan’s BLONDE ON BLONDE—were released on the same day, May 16, 1966. And there was a second reason to celebrate that date: BLONDE ON BLONDE was also the first rock double-album of all-new studio recordings, beating the Mothers of Invention’s FREAK OUT! [Read more] “what was the first “rock” double-album of the ’60s?”

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a complementary if brief surf raiders bio/overview

DO MOST YOUNG PEOPLE know what “surf music” is? That’s REAL surf music, the kind played by a guitar-and-rhythm-section-and-no-singer group! Many people—including non-record collecting older folk—think of the Beach Boys’ early harmonies when they hear the term “surf music,” but that was never considered surf music by surfer guys and gals (dudes and bunnies?). [Read more] “a complementary if brief surf raiders bio/overview”

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surfing guitars and instrumental surf bands of the early ’60s

ARGUING THE ‘BEST’ ROCK GUITAR PLAYERS of the ’60 is probably a pretty dumb way to waste time—and “Surfing Guitars” will not be doing that! Considerably more constructive and interesting would be an argument as to who were—and that’s intentionally plural—the most ‘creative’ players. Of course, to reach any kind of consensus there would require that we first agree on a definition of ‘creative’ in that context! [Read more] “surfing guitars and instrumental surf bands of the early ’60s”

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surf raiders discography & price guide

THE SURF RAIDERS Discography & Price Guide is the second of three articles on Bob Dalley and his group The Surf Raiders and his book Surfin’ Guitars. This is probably the most complete listing of the group’s records ever published. It is also most likely the most accurate if generalized price guide for the group’s records. [Read more] “surf raiders discography & price guide”

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dick campbell sings where it’s at for complete unknowns

IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY—give or take a few hundred days one way or the other—that I finally found a stereo copy of DICK CAMPBELL SINGS WHERE IT’S AT (Mercury SR-61060). I was at a record show in New York, and happily paid $100 for it! I had been looking for a copy for years and may have been the only person there that day willing to pay the seller’s asking price. [Read more] “dick campbell sings where it’s at for complete unknowns”

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I’ll give you a hundred bucks for it right now!

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVE STORIES about interacting with a collector at a convention. For the most part, I learned far more from collectors than they learned from me in these face-to-face exchanges: whatever I heard of value went into my price guides. But there were instances where I was definitely of value to a collector. [Read more] “I’ll give you a hundred bucks for it right now!”

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fighting over jutta hipp at a record collectors convention

WAY BACK IN THE ’90s, I attended a couple of record collectors conventions on the East Coast. One was in New York, one in Virginia, both within days of each other in 1996. Setting up as a dealer at an East Coast show was something that I hadn’t done since leaving Pennsylvania eighteen years earlier! [Read more] “fighting over jutta hipp at a record collectors convention”