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Hey there everyone, I hope all is well with you. Thanks for tuning in again and checking out the ‘ol newsletter. We appreciate it.

Like any head into music, I love witnessing live music. That’s where it’s at for sure. Seeing, hearing and feeling great music performed in person is the best. In recent years, that has been something that I haven’t been doing a lot of and it sucks. Partly due to the covid years and not wanting to be in crowds again too soon, but mostly down to my old broken-down body not being able to take it anymore. My legs, knees and feet are usually giving me a lot of pain by the end of any given day and so standing for long periods of time, especially in place, amongst a crowd is verging on agony now for me. As a result, I barely go out much at all now let alone go to shows and stuff. I’m saying this not for pity but as a lead into my pick for you all this week. Because I have not been attending shows, I have been going through my record collection and spinning some of the live albums I have. That and watching concert footage on TV and streaming live audio via the internet. Here at Sorry State, whenever I work with John Scott, we typically play at least one live show during a shift. It has started to become our ritual to fire up his Nugs account during the last hour and play a Billy Strings show or something similar.

One live album that I did pull from my jazz shelf this past weekend was the fabulous double by Grant Green titled Live At The Lighthouse, on Blue Note Records from 1972. What a killer record and thoroughly recommended for fans of Jazz, Soul and Funk music. To paraphrase Big Daddy Digs, this one is so hot it smokes across all four sides; you’ll need a fire extinguisher standing by.

Jazz fans will not need any introduction to ace guitar slinger Grant Green, but if you are new to him, then this record is a fine place to begin. This was his last album for the great Blue Note label, one that he had been with since the early sixties, with a couple of excursions to other labels here and there, and for which he had cut nearly two dozen albums. These records are great, but many have argued that Green really excelled in the live environment. Perhaps a case that could be made for many a performer. Two years previously to the Lighthouse session, Blue Note released another album by Green recorded live at a club in New Jersey called the Cliché Lounge. This, Alive! is a great record too, capturing Green and fellow musicians in fine form. You really can feel the atmosphere of the room in the recording. Soul Jazz in its purest and simplest form. Funky and groovy and current but with the jazz and blues roots upfront instead of perhaps the new fusion and psychedelic elements that were now becoming in vogue. Highlight of that set for me being the cover of the Don Covay tune Sookie Sookie that rockers Steppenwolf helped popularize a couple of years previously. On Alive!, Green is supported by the ace drumming of Idris Muhammed and by Ronnie Foster on keys. Those names alone should be enough to convince you of the pedigree of the record.

However, in my opinion, and I don’t think I am alone in saying this, Live At The Lighthouse is even better than Alive! Two years later and a change of coasts and venue and with a different line up, albeit just as talented. This time around the drummer’s stool is occupied by Greg Williams, a young cat at the beginning of his career who started with Lou Donaldson and in the same year as the Lighthouse session would play drums on Jack McDuff’s great Heatin’ System album, ably demonstrating his ability to keep it funky. Shout outs and mentions must be given to all the musicians, so on vibes was Gary Coleman who had played on dates for everyone from David Axelrod to Quincy Jones. On organ was Shelton Laster who gets a writing credit for the tune Flood In Franklin Park. Bass duties were filled by Wilton Felder of the Jazz Crusaders. On tenor and soprano sax was Claude Bartee who had previously been playing with Pucho And The Latin Soul Brothers. Lastly, special mention must be made for Bobbye Porter Hall on percussion. A native of Detroit who played, often uncredited, on countless Motown recordings alongside the Funk Brothers in Detroit and the Wrecking Crew in Los Angeles. She changed the spelling of her first name to distinguish herself as a female musician. Her bongo skills can be heard on Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler) for one example. She has played with everyone from Marvin Gaye to Bill Withers, Gene Clark to Carole King and many, many more.

Green selected his bandmates well, and together they put on a barnstormer of a performance for the lucky folks crammed into the Lighthouse for these recordings. The Lighthouse is an historic venue that started as a restaurant and then became a bar in the 1940s and beginning in the 1950s a venue for jazz music. Located at 30 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, it became a hub for the burgeoning West Coast Jazz scene and a must play venue for touring musicians. It’s still there, although it’s added Café to its name. Years ago, after I left college, I flew to California with a view to try and get a job and stayed in Hermosa Beach with a friend of my old boss. The job didn’t pan out, but I was staying just up the street from Pier Avenue and the famous Lighthouse venue and would walk past often and did catch a show there. I was just beginning my journeys into jazz back then so wasn’t hip to the history of the club necessarily, but it was cool to have been there.

On the recordings, each tune is introduced by announcers Hank Stewart and Ed Hamilton and throughout the audience plays their part also. You hear quite a few shouts of “Right On!” and rightfully so. There isn’t a dull moment on any of the four sides of the album, but I really dig their interpretation of the Donald Byrd tune Fancy Free along with the workout they give to the song Jan Jan from The Fabulous Counts. Both stellar performances worth the price of admission alone. This is top-notch stuff, funky and groovy, right on and just plain fun. Green’s guitar playing here is some of the best you’ll ever hear. With the band cooking behind him, his solos are sublime. Funky, bluesy and driving, yet simple and always soulful. He doesn’t need to be flash and doesn’t hog the spotlight, giving plenty of room for all the musicians to soar on their solos. Almost all the numbers are stretched out to ten plus minutes, but you could easily see and want them to keep going on longer. Reading a few reviews from then and now, it seems that in not following the rush to fusion territory this record has perhaps aged better than some of those that did. Funny how things circle around, although in more recent years, fusion is becoming more popular again. Whatever. Just enjoy it all I say.

Grant Green has left us. He tragically died in his car of a heart attack aged 43 whilst in New York to play at George Benson’s Breezin’ Lounge. He had gone back out on the road against doctor’s orders after having spent much of the previous year in hospital. Since his death there has been more music released in his name than when he was alive. He literally recorded on hundreds of sessions whether as a leader or sideman and his legacy is as one of the greats. Several of his recordings have been sampled in the hip-hop world and the Acid Jazz boom of the late 80s and early 90s picked up on his rare groove classics, keeping his name alive with the next generations of music lovers. One of his six children, Grant Green Jr., is an accomplished jazz guitarist himself and plays in a similar style. In addition, his daughter-in-law Sharony Andrews Green has authored an informative and heartfelt book titled Grant Green: Rediscovering The Forgotten Genius Of Jazz Guitar. The book concentrates more on Green the man rather than being a dry diary of recording sessions, etc.

If after listening to Alive! and Live At The Lighthouse and are hungry for more jazz guitar, then you will be in for a treat with pretty much any Green album you pick next. Released the same year is the soundtrack to The Final Comedown, which Green provides the music for. A good movie and a great soundtrack, which has the distinction of being the first soundtrack on Blue Note. A record that is popular with the samplers and rare groove guys is The Main Attraction, released in 1976 on Kudu. You can dip in with confidence to any of his 60s recordings. Street Of Dreams from 1967 is a good one. The Latin Bit from 1963 is a favorite too.

Personally, as far as instrumentation in jazz goes, I love the guitar and vibes the most. Add in some Afro-Cuban percussion and a funky drummer and we’re off to the races. My collection features a lot of albums with guitar and my favorite artists other than Grant Green are many. George Benson, Boogaloo Joe Jones, O’Donel Levy, Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, Gabor Szabo, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, Larry Coryell, Sonny Sharrock, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, Django Reinhardt, Les Paul and John McLaughlin are the first few names off the top of my head, and I know I’m missing many more. You get the point. If you dig the sound of guitar in your music and see any of those names in the credits, you’re guaranteed some top playing no questions asked. Go explore.

Signing off now and getting back to work. Tonight, John Scott is going to see the Dead in concert and Jeff is preparing for his weekend of gigs and as I have been writing I’ve been spinning The Great Society live at The Matrix from 1966. It’s all live music action around here and always where it’s at.

Cheers - Dom

Greetings Sorry Staters, thanks for clicking on us and reading. Thanks also for the nice comments and support that we received from many of you this past week. As you may have noticed, we had the hump and were annoyed by certain comments directed towards us. Regardless, we are moving on and will continue to work hard and do our best for you out there and hope that if we slip and make a mistake, you will understand and give us the benefit of the doubt instead of slagging us off and being that guy. Of course, if we deserve to be told off, we’ll take it, but fortunately those types of situations don’t happen that often.

Moving on. Writing anything today is with heavy heart after the sad news of yet another legend leaving us. I’m speaking of Tina Turner. Rest in power Queen. I’m of the age where I grew up with her music and presence in the popular culture. One of the first records I owned as a kid was the River Deep Mountain High album on A&M. That was the Phil Specter produced album she did with Ike. The title tune being a song that originally did not hit in the US, but went massive in the UK. Great album with a bunch of great tunes. Title track of course, but I Idolize You being my next favorite. Lovers of Soul and R & B music have been following Tina since the early 1960s and I joined her rank of fans as a kid in the 70s and 80s. I don’t need to tell you about her remarkable story, but suffice to say she truly earned her legendary status.

I was thinking about the book that Daniel talked about last week in the newsletter on celebrities that fall from grace and whether it is possible to separate the art from the artist etc. Can we still listen to Ike & Tina records? Don’t get me wrong, I love Private Dancer as much as the next person and can dig the Mad Max movie, but the records she made with Ike in the 1960s are so good. Not to ignore all the horrible things that Ike was, but he wasn’t the only person in the studio when all those fantastic records were made. He may have been the main catalyst for the music’s creation, but many others worked hard to make them happen. Should their efforts and talent be ignored? Big questions and answers don’t come easy. As the writer of the book points out. I’m going to continue enjoying the music Tina made with Ike in celebration of her and for the power of the music itself and nothing more.

I hate to make this column an obituary, but I couldn’t talk about one legend passing without also mentioning the sad departure of Andy Rourke last week also. Bass player for The Smiths and all-around top bloke. Those records would not have sounded as great as they were without his inspired playing. When your band mate is Johnny Marr and he is in awe of the lines you played, you must be damn good. Andy, in later life, lived in New York City and was a fantastic DJ. His show on East Village Radio was terrific and that show and the station were influential on many, including The Face Radio, who I am with now. God bless you Andy, rest in peace.

As for my “staff pick” selection this week? Other than plenty of Smiths and Tina? How about a great 45 that finally made its way to us here from the UK? We have been proud to be carrying releases from a fabulous small label in England called The Big AC Records. Among a talented roster of artists, they are championing the career of an incredible vocalist called Carmy Love. We have one of her previous records, Rebel, here in stock. This new one is titled In The Morning, although officially a few months old from release date it’s new to us and I imagine you. This is modern sophisticated soul music that manages to maintain a retro feel whilst still sounding current. Not as easy as it might seem. Carmy Love may not be in Tina Turner territory quite yet, but critics and fans are falling over themselves to heap praise on her vocal talent. All her previous singles have sold out at the label, so this is a good chance for you to snag a copy before they disappear. She has a new single out next month which we should be stocking, so keep your eyes peeled for that but in the meantime go take a listen to In The Morning and see what you think for yourselves.

Okay, back to work. These boxes won’t open themselves. Plenty of incoming goodness along with a nice new batch of cool used records are awaiting my attendance. Better hop to it. Cheers and see you next time.

• Dom

It’s Thursday and Newsletter time once again. Hi there everyone. Thank you so much for reading and supporting the store. We truly appreciate it. You have more than enough options for your screen time and buying needs, so any of it you throw our way means a lot. Cheers to you all. I always say the same thing each week, but it’s true, records are coming at us (thankfully) at a continued deluge rate. All sorts of stuff: cheap, expensive, rare, common, but all good. At least we think so. This week we worked on a nice collection that had some cool 70s Prog along with a lot of interesting UK pressed 45s from the Post Punk era. Those will be hitting the floor in the weeks to come. I bought another bunch of records the other day from a chap which we had to brush off outside first before bringing them inside due to the heavy layer of dust and fluff covering them all. I spent a couple of days dusting and cleaning them, getting black hands and sneezing constantly, but at the end came out with some nice records. So, although it may seem to some that we’re spending our time taking selfies and eating bonbons, we are working hard to make these records with all this great music available to you at a fair price. Sometimes we may pose on social media holding a record. This apparently annoys some, but guess what? That’s the game and how things work.

One of the rewards for going home with dust in your hair and lungs is that occasionally, as a record store jerk, you get to bring home a cool record. From the bunch of post punk 45s that I mentioned, I did grab a Wire—Dot Dash single. We are all big Wire fans here at Sorry State manors, as are you probably. I won’t front and say that I was hip to them out of the gate. I was just a kid in 1977, but sometime in the mid 1980s or so, I was introduced to their first two records and later the third. During the Brit Pop era of the 1990s, Wire became quite the influencers, to the point that they had to take bands to court for ripping them off. Anyhow, over the years, I have collected those first three albums and surrounding singles whenever I found a copy I could afford at the time. I still need a Mannequin single (don’t we all) but crossing off the Dot Dash one from the ol’ want list does feel good. What a crackin’ tune it is too and not an album track to boot, along with the B-side song Options R. For the last few decades, I have thankfully owned the Wire Play Pop compilation that had Dot Dash and Mannequin on it, so wasn’t without a version, but as all record nerds know, that’s not the same as owning the original singles. Who doesn’t love a picture sleeve with exclusive tracks?

As I said, Dot Dash is a cracking tune. Great catchy chorus—something about not crashing, with the trademark Wire guitar sound over a boppy beat. I had always thought the dot dash was a morse code reference, but now looking at the sleeve and listening again to the lyrics, it’s apparently about car headlights and their fog settings. Fair enough. Genius stuff and all under two and a half minutes. A proper length for a pop song.

Daniel and I were talking about some of the later Wire records and in particular A Bell Is A Cup…Until It Is Struck from 1988, as there was a copy of that one in this one collection. I admit to not being familiar with that one, along with The Drill from the 1990s. Daniel gave a big thumbs up to A Bell and so Jeff and I gave it a spin earlier. Naturally it’s a good record and of course I want it, but might have to be good and spend my money on food or rent or some other waste of finances. We promise we don’t take all the good stuff home ourselves. That’s called getting high on your own supply. Lol. Although I did have to convince Daniel that he shouldn’t feel bad about taking a couple of Prog and Krautrock records for himself.

So yeah, Wire, they’re awesome and you should listen to their records. That’s all I got on that for this week. Get to discovering them if you are new to the group and don’t forget the later albums too, there’s plenty to enjoy.

Cheers -Dom

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

What’s up Sorry State friends? I hope all is well in your world. We are recovered from this past weekend’s Earth Day and Record Store Day festivities and back to the grindstone here, gearing up for the next project. No matter the opinion on RSD—it has its faults—it was still a great day for us here at the store despite the shitty weather threatening to soak everyone waiting in line. It was cool seeing so many of our regulars and new friends coming through, and we thank you for your support. I hope that everyone managed to get that gem they might have had their eye on. I couldn’t resist blowing the grocery money on one or two items myself. I went for the Fall 1977 because, The Fall. I also took a copy of the Flash & The Dynamics—Electric Latin Soul, which has been on my wants list for decades now. I have a previous reissue and even some compilations with tracks, but this version came with improved sound and will probably have to do it as far as owning a copy is concerned, as originals never turn up. This year there were a lot of great releases to tempt the wallet with and I could have taken home a bunch. My DJ partner Matt snagged a few too, so between us we covered most of the titles we wanted. Most of them. LOL.

In other news, today, Thursday, is our colleague John Scott’s birthday. So, raise a glass and play a Doc Watson tune in his honor. In other, other news, Liverpool FC has finally managed to win a few games on the bounce this year and may yet still qualify for European competition next term. The title race may have been decided by City beating the Gunners yesterday, we’ll see, but from my perspective there are things to be happy about and to find positives from. I almost hate that I allow following a team and a game to affect my mood so much, but it surely does. I still believe that the beautiful game has a social impact far greater than just a mere sporting spectacle. It’s about community and brotherhood too. More positives than negatives.

Musically speaking, this week I have been listening to the complete range: Jazz, Psych, Blues, Hip-Hop, Soul, Latin, Reggae, you name it. We are going through collections and pricing records as fast as we can, and there are so many cool things to listen to. Visitors to our store should have no problem finding plenty of nice records of all descriptions and price ranges. One genre that we have a good amount of is Jazz. A few big name holy grails but mostly just good affordable copies of decent records. Lovers of the ECM label and 70s fusion will find plenty to tickle their fancy. I have started to dip my toes into the ECM world and whilst a lot of experimental free jazz is not my cup of tea, I have found my ears coming around to moments on these records. It must be an age thing.

This upcoming Sunday will be what is known as International Jazz Day. A twenty-four-hour celebration of all things Jazz. For my part, Matt and I will be broadcasting a special Worldy via The Face Radio. We go on from 7PM EST to 9PM EST if you want to tune in and listen along. I’m not sure exactly what I shall be playing, but we will try to spin as many jazz records from around the world as we can manage within the two hours. Jazz being jazz, that will mean most tunes won’t be two minutes and twenty seconds pop songs, but rather a bit longer. As our show aims to play music without borders, in addition to being international, I would like to try to fit in a few things that straddle the genre tags also. Perhaps some fusion will be in order?

As I have been writing this today, I have also been bagging some used records that we bought. One of which is Manfred Mann: Chapter Three on Polydor from 1969. It’s kind of exactly what I was talking about. A rock and jazz fusion record and an interesting listen I think. Not so much a hit with Jeff as we listened—too much saxophone for him. I dig it though.

This is a bit of a lost album in the Manfred Mann catalogue. It came about after the original line up of Manfred Mann, the band, called it quits and founding members Manfred Mann and Mike Hugg continued together, bolstered with a bunch of new musicians in a new Jazz Rock style. They went on to record two albums as Chapter Three, confusingly naming the follow up in 1970 as Volume Two. A third album was worked on but never released. Manfred Mann, feeling constrained by the set-up of Chapter Three and mostly playing Mike Hugg’s material, decided to break up the group and continued from 1971 as Manfred Mann’s Earth Band. In that band, he went on to have considerable success throughout the 70s, scoring hits with of all things, Bruce Springsteen covers. Regardless, I really like the vibe on the first Chapter Three record. It takes a few listens perhaps, but there are some choice moments on the record. It is hard to describe truly accurately, but typical with many records released at the end of the 60s, it has a unique, of the time, sound. Keyboard led with horns and a tasty rhythm section. There are more than one head nodding moments to enjoy on this set. Just as long as you like horns. In addition, there are vocals on the record, provided by Hugg, who comes off sounding like a cross between Dr. John and Brit Popper Tim Burgess from The Charlatans.

Lots of cool moments on this one but I like the cut called One Way Glass. Check it out and see whether you agree. The Prodigy like that song too and sampled it for their record Stand Up. In addition, a French group called Trifle has covered it. Mann himself redid the tune for an Earth Band record.

So, not Jazz, not Psych, not Prog, but somewhere in between the three. The UK version has a green cover with cartoon drawings of the two main players on the front, whereas the US version sports different artwork, showing a book made out to look like the number three. Get it? Either version shouldn’t be too hard to track down and won’t cost you an arm and leg. We have this US copy available in the store for any locals wanting to investigate further.

Okay, I must get back to helping Jeff with all these orders. Busy, busy, busy. Thanks for reading and your support and see you next time. Cheers all - Dom

Hi everyone out there in Sorry State Newsletter land. Happy 4/20 for those that celebrate. In a timely manner, Daniel just bought a small collection of records with a few interesting reggae albums in there, so today the soundtrack at the store is going to feature some of those green tinged tunes. There’s not much time for a lengthy staff pick this week or much of anything else as we are feverishly preparing for this upcoming Saturday’s Record Store Day. Jeff is taking photos like a possessed David Bailey—there’s a lot of titles this year and thus so many product photos to take. It’s all action around here, but I have the coffee going and we are fueled and good to go.

So, for my pick this week I just wanted to give a mention to a new 45 that my DJ partner Matt hooked me up with the other day. Hot off the Big Crown Records presses, it’s El Michels Affair and Black Thought with the title track from their new album Glorious Game. What a great record it is and one that should do very well for all concerned. I can see this one being a big one. I’ll remind Daniel and Jeff to make sure we have copies in stock for you. For all hip-hop fans out there, this one is an essential pick up.

Glorious Game is a nice G Funk flavored track with a killer groove and the b-side tune called Grateful, also from the new album is a reggae-tinged banger (it samples Shabba Ranks) with a nice flute line hook. Really good stuff. A great collaboration between the soulful, funky El Michels Affair and arguably one of the best hip-hop artists currently out there. Surprisingly, this was their first time working together, but one can assume there will be more to come as the music and lyrics are a terrific match together. I hope so. I’m a big fan of El Michels Affair and have mentioned them in these pages before and everyone surely loves The Roots, right? With them busy each week holding down the Tonight Show in New York, one would think the opportunity for more collaborations might be possible. Big Crown is Brooklyn based, so let’s hope so.

Go ahead and give these two a blast and hopefully you’ll be feeling the vibe too. Gotta get back to the Record Store Day business. Hope to see some of you come through Saturday. Thanks for supporting us and all the other great record stores out there. Music is your best value entertainment. Cheers - Dom

Howdy, howdy everyone, thanks for dialing us up again this week. It’s been a typical busy week here at Sorry State with more and more great records hitting the bins. Record Store Day is just around the corner, and we are beginning to receive some of those titles from our distributors. There are a lot of great releases this go-around. Besides the RSD records, we are busying trying to price up as many cool used records as possible so that the store will be bursting with great records. More than normal. Don’t worry, we have plenty to still load up the Friday New Arrivals before then and for a good while afterwards. All sorts of great stuff too, not just punk and metal. This week, for instance, I have been working on a box that had a lot of Blues records. We let you know about a couple the other day on our Instagram, which you may have seen. John Scott and I were enjoying spinning those and a few other cool ones. Come flip through the Blues section and our new arrivals next time you are visiting to get your fix.

I have always liked Blues music. As a kid discovering 1950s Rock ‘n’ Roll and Rockabilly, it was natural to dig deeper and sideways and appreciate Blues, Country, Jazz and R & B at the same time. I fell in love with B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Robert Johnson et al. My love of Jimi Hendrix solidified my appreciation of blues music considerably. I don’t have a massive number of blues records, but over the years have collected a few good ones. Anytime I can pick up a new to me good one I am happy. Such was the case whilst pricing up some of these latest purchases. It wasn’t one that I had initial high hopes for as it was recorded in the 1980s, not the classic era for Blues music but a time when there were still plenty of old school blues artists alive and a few younger cats playing authentic blues. Anyway, I enjoyed this album, and I’d like to make it my staff pick for this week.

Johnny Copeland: Texas Twister. Rounder Records. 1983

Johnny Copeland played the Texas Blues style and had a career beginning in the mid to late 1950s. Born in Louisiana, he established himself in Houston, Texas and released records on Duke and other labels to marginal success. He established himself on the touring circuit however, and spent a good couple of decades slinging guitar and playing the blues with a dash of soul to audiences across Texas and the South. Towards the late 1970s, he moved to New York with an eye on mixing in some of the disco sound into his music. Here he linked with an upcoming younger producer, Dan Doyle, who helped sign him to Rounder Records and produced his early records on the label. Texas Twister was his second for the label and features a couple of special guest artists. Firstly, Stevie Ray Vaughan plays guitar on a couple of songs, which is cool and probably why people pay a bit more for the record. Johnny met Stevie playing the blues festivals and clubs and performed on several of the same bills during this time. The second special guest is Archie Shepp, the Jazz legend. He plays some cool tenor sax on my favorite track on the album, the song called North Carolina. It was that cut that made me check the record in the first place and it’s been ear worming me all week. For an 80s record, it still has the funk with the blues. Any track that can connect on a personal level is a winner in my book and the lyrics of this tune where he sings about moving from New York to North Carolina had relevance to my own life. The track has a cool repetitive horn and piano hook and then the nice solo by Archie Shepp to cap it off. Nice. I’ve been digging it.

The record has an awesome cover too. Our man Johnny sporting a dapper suit with his Peavey T-60 guitar looking bad ass. Jeff confirmed the guitar make btw and informs us that this model has a cool Toaster pickup. So, there you go. Cheers Jeff for the expert info.

Sadly, Johnny left this world prematurely aged just sixty in 1997, but left an enduring legacy of fine blues and soul recordings behind him. His daughter, Shemekia Copeland, has carried on the family tradition however, and is an award-winning blues vocalist with over ten albums under her belt.

Is this the best blues record in the world? Of course not. Is Johnny Copeland cool and a bad ass? You bet he is. Crank up the computer volume and give North Carolina a blast and nod your head along with me.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time. Cheers – Dom

Greetings one and all in Sorry State land. Glad to have you along for another newsletter. There’s always plenty going on as per usual. More new releases and lots more cool and interesting used records. The collections, small and large, keep on coming and we’ll have the bins stuffed with great records for a good while. Naturally, you never need an excuse to come by the shop and say hello, but if you do, we’ll have something for you no matter what the budget. We do our best to keep the bargain bins stocked with plenty of good records so you can always leave with something worthy for just a few bucks. Music is fun and records were meant for everyone, not just the rich. Obviously we can’t give stuff away and some things are going to be pricey because we pay good money for good records and are a business that needs to make a profit, but there will always be records here that are accessible to all. That’s what we strive to do. Sermon over.

This past week has seen the typical drastic weather changes here in North Carolina. We go from chilly and low 50s to muggy and hot almost overnight. It’s warm now and the sunny vibes tend to switch my listening habits. Lots more tropical sounds, etc. My DJ partner Matt took a trip to Puerto Rico this week and made a special PR edition of our show Worldy. He did a fabulous job and put together a super two hours of music that could be used for the Puerto Rico tourist department. The mix was perfect for the sunny weather back here in North Carolina and might do the same for you. Give him a listen.

A record that has seen some turntable action at home with me these last couple of weeks and one I finally managed to pick up recently is going to be my pick for you this week, but it might not mean much to any of you that didn’t grow up watching British TV in the 1970s and 1980s. It’s Matt Berry: Television Themes. Acid Jazz 2018.

That is correct. I’m talking about the British comedic actor whom you’ll recognize from his many great roles in film and TV. I’m a big fan and particularly loved the series Toast Of London, which I thought was hilarious and for which Berry provided the theme tune. He’s almost as active as a musician as an actor, and has at least ten albums to his name by this point, the majority of which have been released on UK based label Acid Jazz. In addition to that, he has provided theme and incidental music, albeit with musical assistance from collaborators, for a bunch of shows. He’s active, to say the least.

On this album, Matt and his crack band of musicians tackle a whole host of British TV themes that will bring on instant feelings of nostalgia for anyone who grew up in the 70s and 80s. One that US residents might recognize is the theme to Are You Being Served? I seem to remember that show getting aired here in the states quite a bit back in the day. Matt and band do a great version; it’s a total banger. Other highlights include a nice take on the Dr. Who theme, a funky The Good Life and a cool working of the World In Action opener. Matt’s vocals are also heard on one or two numbers. There are lyrics to classic celebrity double entendre show Blankety Blank and my personal favorite, the theme to the kids’ teatime show, Rainbow. I loved Rainbow growing up. It was cool. They combined a hippy mentality with a progressive attitude and through the use of song and comedy always had a positive message for kids. The show was famous for its use of puppets alongside the human presenters, and everyone remembers the great Zippy character. He was the Muppet looking one with a zip over his mouth that would be zipped shut when he got loud or said something stupid. In a lot of the shows, Zippy was taught some kind of life lesson. I guess in recent years the dumb fuck right has accused Rainbow of being pro LBGT and grooming kids to be queer. I know, so fucking ridiculous. Whatever, Rainbow rules.

This record will appeal to those who dig that fat 70s Music Library sound. Lots of funky bass and dope beats mixed in with cool synth sounds and electric keyboard. Listening to it you could be convinced that these were recordings from back in the day as they nail the sound really well.

There’s some nice expanding of the theme on some numbers too and overall, very cool and clever arrangements. You certainly don’t have to be familiar with any of the shows and themes to be able to appreciate the record, which is the best praise I can give it. The music stands on its own merit regardless of the origin.

Hey there Sorry Staters! Thanks for checking out the ol’ newsletter. As always, we humbly appreciate your support.

Another massive week here at the SSR compound. Jeff literally got buried in boxes this past Monday and tons of new stuff and restocks came our way. If you follow our social media, you will have seen some news about those already and, of course, Doctor D and my learned colleagues will no doubt be giving you some great information right here in the newsletter.

As for me? Well, like everyone here at SSR I am a big fan of the band Sial from Singapore and we just got in their most recent single Sangkar. It’s a good one. Biting, politically charged, female fronted hardcore punk. Perhaps not my normal proverbial cup of tea, but in similar fashion to our own Scarecrow, these guys add a little something extra to the HC template. I’m still in the early days of listening, but so far, my favorite track is the title one. I love the laugh towards the end of the song. Give these guys a listen if you aren’t already a fan.

The new full length from Personal Damage: Atrophy & Entropy is still getting plenty of turntable action chez-moi and if you haven’t snagged yourself one yet what are you waiting for? Get one asap. Again, possibly too early to state a favorite track, but I am liking the song Garbage Juice quite a bit and gave it a spin on Worldy this week.

Talking of great L.A. punk, if you haven’t picked up a copy of the Legal Weapon: Death Of Innocence reissue yet, get on it. Another fine recommendation from Jeff. He played me some of their stuff a while back and until now copies of the album had been pretty hard to find and naturally expensive. We recently hooked up a good friend here at SSR with an original copy, but I was excited to see that Radiation had reissued the album. I think they did a decent job. Nice yellow vinyl and a cool poster of an unreleased photo of singer Kat Arthur. Plus, the price is too cheap to argue with. It’ll be the best $20 you’ll spend. Go for it.

As anyone who has a record store or buys and sells used records can tell you, it’s often feast or famine. Fortunately for us, currently we are still working through some large collections. We’ve mentioned the cool jazz stuff, the great 70s prog and electronic collection, but I am not sure whether I told you about a nice New Wave collection that Daniel scored. Nothing too crazy, just clean copies of 80s classics and also-rans. I was having some fun looking up some of the more obscure records and checking them out. There was also one in there that I almost can’t believe I hadn’t heard before, but have been enjoying none the less. It’s the self-titled debut album from Dirty Looks on Stiff Records from 1980.

They were from Staten Island, New York and formed in 1977 and were spotted playing at CBGBs by Squeeze bassist John Bentley, who set the wheels in motion for the band, resulting in them being signed to Stiff Records/Epic and recording their debut album in England. Their sound fits perfectly with the rest of the Stiff Records roster. Power pop with an edge. If you are a fan of Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, the Stiff Records world and bands like Squeeze and dare I say early Police, then there is lots to like here. Plenty of pop hooks, driving beats and a sound that draws on pop and garage sounds of the 1960s and adds a little late 1970s punk edge. Not too much mind, but enough to not make them lame. Certainly, the tag that a lot of “power pop” groups get labeled with. Correctly or not.

The band released a second LP on Stiff and recorded demos for an unreleased third. At the time, the debut sold well for Epic in the US, apparently the best-selling Stiff release at the time with over 100,000 copies sold. They also had a couple of rotation hits on the early MTV, which helped the cause. Talking of videos, the band filmed a three-song set in the streets of New York in front of the Epic offices on 52nd Street on the back of a flatbed truck unannounced to promote the release of their debut album. The event caused quite the disturbance and resulted in an arrest but a fun, cool fifteen-minute film. Worth checking out.

Here’s a link to watch them perform the song Let Go.

People talk fondly of seeing the band back in the day and they gained a lot of fans as part of the In The Son Of Stiff tour that played over sixty gigs in eleven European countries in 1980. However, despite the moderate success, their name is seldom mentioned these days outside of their fanbase and the power pop world. Or maybe I am wrong, and everyone knows these guys and I am just forty years late to the party. Very possible. If, however, you are in the same boat as me and Dirty Looks are new to you too, then give them a play and pick up the record next time you see one. It shouldn’t cost you more than $10 tops. The UK and US pressings have different covers and I think I prefer the color one of the US version.

Also, if looking up the group, there is another band with the same name who are a hard rock band from Erie, Pennsylvania who enjoyed a multiple album career from the mid 1980s through the early 2000s.

I’ll leave you with one more link, the last song on the album called Drop That Tan, which I like. It almost has a slight rockabilly influence to it, although I doubt that was the intention. Good, fun stuff and I’m glad to have heard them and to have discovered them all these years later. Not earth changing but with enough spirit of rock ‘n roll to make them worthy in my opinion.

Thanks for reading. Cheers and see you next time.

-Dom

What’s going on Sorry Staters? I hope all is good in your world. Mustn’t grumble on my end.

This week, like last, I have been chipping away at this big jazz collection we bought recently. Some of it has already hit the bins and indeed been purchased, but there is plenty more. The nice thing about this collection is that the records are all mostly in great shape and are more accessible reissues instead of being super pricey originals. Don’t get me wrong, we love buying collections of first press heavy hitters as much as the next record store, but sometimes it means great music only ends up in the hands of the few with thick enough wallets. It’s nice getting later pressings of classics and those great twofers that combined cool and often unreleased recordings into a budget priced package. Although some of those generic brown sleeved Blue Note doubles are getting up in value now as folks realize how good the material is even if the cover art is somewhat wanting. Another aspect of this jazz collection is that, similar to another collection we bought, it contains lots of ECM label records from the 70s and 80s and a good amount of other fusion-type records. I used to steer a very wide birth from fusion and anything that looked too complicated and chin scratchy. As a young lad, I wasn’t ready for that end of the jazz spectrum. My entry into the jazz world came via soul, blues and r & b. I liked what became known as Mod Jazz. Late 1950s through the 1960s was the era where I concentrated my initial journeys into jazz. Considering myself more a Vince Noir than a Howard Moon, 70s jazz fusion was akin to prog rock and other “older and boring” music. You wouldn’t have caught me dead waiting around for a bass solo. Now, however, as an older dude, I am of course finding a lot of this sort of music much more appealing, dare I say even damn good.

So, for this week’s pick I would like to select one of the fusion records that was in this collection. It’s fusion although with a twist.

Steve Marcus: Tomorrow Never Knows. Vortex. 1968

This album is an early example of Jazz Rock fusion and might be an easier gateway into jazz for many who are more familiar with guitar sounds and volume and for those that appreciate psychedelic music. Released on the Atlantic Records subsidiary label Vortex, which only lasted for a couple of years between 1968 and 1970, it is the debut album as leader for sax player Steve Marcus. Vortex was set up as a more experimental branch of Atlantic, and I seem to remember reading that Herbie Mann was the A&R head or something. It makes sense, as most of the artists that released a record on the label had at some point been or were still working as a sideman for Herbie Mann and his band. Hence, you have debuts from Chick Corea, Sonny Sharrock and Keith Jarrett to name three.

I first became introduced to this record in the early 00s whilst in New York. At this point I was gobbling up as much music as I could and was already collecting Herbie Mann records, so when I saw his name as producer on the back of the jacket I was already sold. Material-wise, it’s covers of two great Beatles tunes, the title track and Rain, a version of The Byrds’ Eight Miles High, Donovan’s Mellow Yellow and a song each by Graham Gouldman and Gary Burton. The latter name being another artist that was making a name for himself combining jazz and rock together. Burton plays the vibes, an instrument I love, and I always investigate any of his records or sessions he sits in on. My Gary Burton pick would be his Good Vibes album that contains the monster cut Vibrafinger. In fact, that whole first side is killer. We were playing a copy we have here at the store and John Scott caught the opening to the song Las Vegas Tango and recognized it from a hip-hop sample. The drummer on the session was Bernard Purdie, so you can best believe the beats are on point and the guitarist was Eric Gale who absolutely shreds on the tune Boston Marathon. Snag a copy next time you see one. In the meantime, here’s a link.

Back to TNK. From first listen I was blown away by how good this album is and some twenty years later it still entertains and thrills. John Scott and I gave the copy we have here a spin yesterday, and it sounded great. I remember once waking up the festival goers at Shakori Hills a few years back by playing the album in full one morning. I am part of the Vinyl Lounge collective of DJs that spin records during the festival. I apparently hit a chord that one morning as several people wandered up to the booth that day and asked who it was that had been playing as they had been digging it. I was glad to have started their day so well.

On release, the record was greeted with praise from some quarters and hailed as an avant-garde triumph, whilst other critics dismissed it as lightweight and a sell-out. I don’t get the latter. Sure, the songs are rock and pop in origin, but the interpretation is anything but lightweight, in my opinion. 1968 wasn’t exactly early as far as out-there sounds were concerned and Miles Davis would soon to be bringing rock influences into jazz when he dropped Bitches Brew. Maybe if Steve Marcus wasn’t a white kid from the Bronx the album might have been viewed differently and taken more seriously by the jazz purists. But that’s conjecture and a whole other discussion.

Uncredited on the album sleeve, the musicians on the record all show up and put in a shift. Most notably, guitarist Larry Coryell, who brings the psychedelic rock vibes to the party. Bass and drums are filled by Chris Hills and Bob Moses, respectively. I’m also a big fan of Larry Coryell. His early albums on Vanguard from the late 60s through mid 70s are all worthy of checking out and are mostly cheap and easy to find. Something else which I love. Common records that out-punch their weight.

Steve Marcus cut another two albums for Vortex over the next two years after Tomorrow Never Knows: Count’s Rock Band and The Lord’s Prayer. Like their predecessor, both albums feature extended jazz workouts of rock songs. This time the tunes come from Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, The Troggs and The Beatles again. I like both of these records too, but they are not quite as good from beginning to end as the TNK. The high points are good, though, and worth the price of admission. The good thing is right now the price of entry isn’t too steep and you could probably scoop up all three of these records for less than $50, which in a world where new release albums by lame pop stars regularly retail for more than that, isn’t too bad. Here’s a link for you to check the record out. Enjoy.

Finally, before I sign off, as I have been in a jazz mood this week, I thought it would be a good idea to finally watch the concert film Jazz On A Summer’s Day, which was filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island and features a whole host of jazz, blues and gospel legends. I have seen clips from the film over the years, but had not sat and watched it from start to finish. It’s a beautifully put together film. No narration, just the stage announcer from time to time. In between performance footage, the film has great shots of the audience and musicians watching and listening. In addition, the film captures footage of the 1958 America’s Cup yacht races along with artsy shots of the water and life around Newport. There’s a great scene showing Chico Hamilton and his band practicing in their rented room in what looked like a sweat box. They’re all shirtless and sweat dripping off their faces, but deadly serious about getting the performance right. Later in the film, we see them on stage and witness the efforts of the rehearsal pay off.

Performance highlights are many. Mahalia Jackson particularly knocks them dead, but for me, I adored the performance by Anita O’Day. Talk about class and beauty personified. Her stage presence is undeniable, and her performance is playful and groovy, with great interaction with the band and audience. A true star. Look here.

Okay, that’s my lot for this week. Have a great weekend, enjoy your music, and come in and say hello if you are in town. Cheers – Dom

Hey guys, what’s up? A happy Saint Patrick’s day to you. As I write, that will be tomorrow, but I’ve been in the proverbial spirit all week long. On Monday Matt and I played an all Irish and Celtic inspired two hours of music for Worldy, which was fun. Check it out if you need a fix of Emerald Isle themed music. During the show I managed to fit in two Thin Lizzy tracks, naturally Whiskey In The Jar was one and with my Lizzy albums out for potential selection I have spent the rest of the week dipping into the records I have by them. I can’t flex and say I have their complete discography, far from it, but I have always liked them, and particularly Phil Lynott. What a dude. I’ll raise a pint in his honor tomorrow.

The rest of my week has been spent here at the store pricing up records. Jeff and I have made a good dent on that big Jazz collection Daniel bought recently and we have lots of cool stuff from other collections that will be hitting our new arrivals bins over the next few weeks. We sent out a little tease yesterday about one slab of wax that I was excited about, the stereo copy of The 13th Floor Elevators’ first album. Very cool. I naturally had to carefully test play it a couple of times for quality control reasons. Lol. It sounds amazing.

Yesterday, my football inflicted misery continued as my Reds were bounced out of Europe. That wasn’t really a shock as the odds were against us, but the prospect of no Champions League football or possibly any European football next season is quite depressing. I’ll have to chat with supporters of other teams and see how they cope because this isn’t something we as Liverpool fans are used to. Ha. I’m fooling around.

Anyway, that all being said, here I am on a Thursday morning and trying to write something for the newsletter with my head swirling with all kinds of emotions and vibrations from the music I have been spinning this week and having a really hard time trying to formulate words interesting enough for you to read. I’d like to wax lyrical about some of these Jazz records we have here, or tell you a great story about the recording of one of Thin Lizzy’s albums or go into a deep dive about how the 13th Floor Elevators records are so good and need to be heard from originals as almost all reissues sound like shit, or tell you that we just got in yet another Heartbreakers record, this time the Yonkers 1976 demos and why it’s worthy of your consideration. Short answer, these recordings feature Richard Hell in the line-up. However unfortunately my brain is mush right now, so my staff pick is going to be a simple instruction this week. Play as much Thin Lizzy as you can. That’s all. I brought in several of my Lizzy records to the store today and Jeff and I will be rocking out to those among other things today as we go about our work. Not a bad soundtrack to have, right? Are you a rocker?

Slainte - Dom

Hey there everyone! I hope all is well. Our apologies for missing you last week here in newsletter land. No slacking, just too much going on. That’s a good thing though, and we love being busy with the business of music and records. We’ve certainly been working hard on scoring some killer collections of used records. There will be plenty of good reasons for store visits if you are local or visiting Raleigh. I’m still halfway through a great collection of 1970s prog and weirdo electronic type records that has yielded some real gems. Lots of cool UK pressings of stuff. We also scored another nice Jazz collection that we’ll be adding to the bins over the coming weeks, and just yesterday I bought a small collection containing some cool US 60s Garage records. That had a couple of rarities in it that will blow someone’s mind soon. I couldn’t be in a better place, surrounded and almost buried by amazing records. It makes me so happy thinking about these great records being taken home by our loyal and fabulous customers and enhancing their lives with the music held in the grooves. Records rule!

As for me personally, the other week I was all down in the dumps over a game of footie and now this week it has all been turned around and I’m as happy as can be, again over a game of football. For those not following or caring, I’ll catch you up. I support Liverpool FC and last Sunday we beat our biggest rivals Manchester UTD 7-0. That’s right, I’ll say it again, seven nil. That’s an incredible score line. You don’t see games like that very often. Maybe it was a freak result. Whatever, it happened, and it was amazing. Liverpool have been having a difficult season this term. We’re struggling to get in the top six, let alone top four, but are on a good run of form more recently. UTD on the other hand have been doing great and playing well. They just won the League Cup to secure silverware and certainly came into the game as favorites. If we get nothing else out of the season, we at least have this historic result to keep a smile on our faces and will have a “sit down” card to play against UTD fans for some time to come. It’s up to them to try and do it to us next. Or maybe we’ll spank them again. Who knows? That’s all part of the joy and misery of following and supporting a team. If you know you know.

Still, this isn’t a sports blog or ESPN, and I can imagine there is a good swath of you reading that couldn’t give a crap about any of it, and so with that in mind let’s talk about music and records. I only brought all of that up because it made me so happy and changed my mood and took me to my happy place. It reminded me of being a kid in the 70s and 80s and my first experiences of supporting my team. That, in turn, got me thinking about the music that I first got into when I was younger and how it has stayed with me all these years and still has the effect to take me to a happy place. For me, it was the original rock and roll from the 1950s that was my big obsession when I was a kid. Not surprising, as the 50s revival was in full swing during the 1970s and early 1980s. So, I was all about Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Sun records, Gene Vincent etc. and particularly Eddie Cochran. I really gravitated towards him. My small local record shop in my town was run by an old Teddy Boy and so he had lots of great rock ‘n roll records and rockabilly stuff. Rockabilly was my youth cult back then. He turned me on to lots of great records, but one that has always remained as an all-time favorite song to this day is the track Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie by Eddie Cochran. Originally released on Liberty Records in 1958, you’d be hard pushed to find a better example of rock ‘n roll from the era. Eddie was a terrific and inventive guitar player, and his solo in this song is pure fire and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up every time. Sadly, Eddie was taken from the world far too soon. He died from injuries sustained in a car accident whilst on tour in England. In the car with him was another legend, Gene Vincent. He survived but compounded an existing injury to his leg and the pain from that and losing his friend tortured him for the rest of his life.

I’ve had the Jeannie track on various Eddie Cochran compilations and albums over the years but for one reason or another have never had the actual 45 until literally last week, hence me becoming reenergized by the song again this week and fitting in perfectly with my sense of nostalgia for my connections with music that I was digging back then. As I loved this song so much and was getting more and more into the rockabilly youth cult during this time, it was just perfect that my favorite band from that period, The Stray Cats, covered Jeannie on their debut album. Just like Eddie, Brian Setzer is an amazing guitar slinger and his playing and solo on the Cats’ version of the tune is just as hot. He nails it and does what any good cover should do, matching the energy of the original whilst making it their own. Hearing them cover that song cemented my love for The Stray Cats that is just as firm to this day. Their first couple of records are great and they were so good live. Amazing energy from a simple three-piece group. I can put on their records and be in my happy place instantly. That’s the power of music. It’ll affect you and stay with you forever. I love it.

So yeah, love your music. Play those records that bring you joy no matter what they are and how “cool” or not they may be. Fuck anyone that tries to tell you different. I would thoroughly recommend you investigate the life and music of Eddie Cochran if you are not familiar, and I would encourage you to take a listen to that first Stray Cats LP when you have a chance. I’ll leave you links to the two versions of Jeannie to compare and hope that some of you will find them just as joyous and fun as I do. One last point of interest is how the spelling of Jeannie varies. Mostly the Eddie Cochran version is spelled with two Ns, but sometimes you’ll see it spelled with just one, whereas the Stray Cats version uses just the one. Okay, back to work and processing all these other killer records that are stacking up around me. Thanks for reading and indulging me. See you here next time. Cheers, Dom.

Eddie Cochran – Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie

The Stray Cats – Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie