Skip to content
Greetings Sorry Staters. How was your week? Good, I hope. There certainly has been plenty going on since I last wrote in these pages. A new king crowned in Britain, an ex-president further disgraced in America, excitement and drama in sports and our favorite band from Brazil, Lasso are stateside and playing gigs. I would like to use this space to apologize to Lasso for not being able to make it out to their gig in Durham last night. I am unfortunately suffering from lower back and shoulder pain (among other ailments) and am basically toast by the end of the day. I had to call out for a couple of days last week, hence missing the newsletter. Anyway, we all have our problems so not to moan about it. Good luck to Lasso on the rest of their tour here. If they are hitting your town, get along and check ‘em out. Tour details posted in the gig section of the newsletter.
Here at the store, new and used records are coming at us thick and fast. If we tripled our floor space, there still wouldn’t be enough room for everything. You can be guaranteed that whenever you visit the store, there will be plenty of cool stuff to browse. So many awesome used records across multiple genres and as always we endeavor to keep all those classic titles that are still in print available for you too. If Dischord, SST, etc. keep making ‘em, we’ll keep stocking ‘em.
Talking of keeping titles in print, I, along with millions of others, have been so happy to have the De La Soul records back in print again. This month saw my personal favorite from them finally becoming available once more. Buhloone Mindstate was the group’s third album and has been hard to score on vinyl even when it first came out in 1993. I’ve been lovingly holding onto my CD copy since then, hoping to find a copy. Finally, the day came. I’ll take a reissue on this one, having only seen an original on a few occasions. Since De La Soul has retained ownership of their catalogue, they have been releasing a title a month. Next month should be Stakes Is High. I love that record too; it was the first that wasn’t produced by Prince Paul and at the time it seemed like a new era and sound for the group. My affection for Buhloone Mindstate has endured over the years and only grown stronger. Perhaps it is because of the jazz samples used, the guests–Guru from Gang Starr, Maceo Parker blowing sax, Biz Markie being Biz and a female MC called Shortie No Mas who was Posdnous’s cousin. It all mixes and comes together to form a perfect record. We have copies in stock currently—go grab yourself one.
Listening wise this week, I pulled out a few selections for my radio show Worldy this past week as a nod to the coronation of King Charles. Some of you may have heard that over the weekend football games in England began with the playing of the National Anthem, and that at Liverpool the sound was drowned out by the fans in protest. As a Liverpool supporter, I know why that happened, but many don’t and are unaware of the history the club and the city have with the British government and the relationship with the rest of the country. If any of you are curious, please google and read up. Start with the Hillsborough disaster. Anyway, one of the records I pulled for play was the debut by Liverpool band The La’s. Easily a contender for my all-time top ten albums list. So much has been written about this record and the circumstances and trials behind its creation that I couldn’t do it justice here. Suffice to say, for many of us who were around in the late 80s, this was an important record. Of course, most folks only know the band for the global hit they had with the song There She Goes, although even that tune didn’t hit at first and went through a couple of re-recordings. As did the whole album. The group spent close to two years recording and re-recording the songs, going through line up changes, producers and studios at a rate that wouldn’t be tolerated today and barely was back then. Critical praise and acclaim did come once the album finally saw release in 1990, although overall sales were not massive by comparative standards. Front man Lee Mavers described their sound as rootsy, raw and organic. They were certainly more retro than most of their contemporaries, with a distinct Merseybeat and sixties influence in their sound. Throw in a dash of Captain Beefheart, Bo Diddley, Beatles and Kinks for good measure and you just about have it. Those are all great influences, as far as I am concerned.
Have a read about the band and their story if you have the time and interest, but certainly give the album a listen if you haven’t heard it before and even if you have. I have heard these songs so many times now that they are almost in my DNA. Over the years, all sorts of alternate versions of the songs have come out, and I have gobbled them all up. It is interesting hearing the earlier demo versions and alternate takes. Just like classic folk songs, the song remains the same, just the interpretation differs. Or something like that.
I can tell you that among the many, many things that make working with Jeff here at SSR so cool is that he is also a fan of The La’s and rates this record as much as I do. When I discovered that fact, I knew for absolute certainty that I was in the right place. For a lad from England to end up working in a store in Raleigh, North Carolina where The Fall, Wire and The La’s are held in high regard is a beautiful thing. Here’s a link to the album if you need one. Enjoy it. If you need more, I would highly recommend listening to the BBC sessions and a collection titled Callin’ All. The BBC sessions is great. The songs flow with urgency and, dare I say, rock. Check it.
Up the Reds. Cheers - Dom