I was driving down Clark Street toward Evanston the other day when I spied a homeless guy selling albums on the sidewalk. Naturally, I pulled over to take a look and after all was said and done, I ended up spending $21 for a stack of records I really didn't need. I don't know why I do this. I have more records than I know what to do with and lately friends have been giving me their vinyl. They know I'm a fanatic and besides, they're just happy to get rid of the old stuff. I still know a few folks who have been hanging on to their old records even though they don't own turntables any more. I'll just keep working on them until they finally see the light and hand over their plastic artifacts from days gone by. I always promise to give their vinyl a good home and remind them that they can come and visit anytime. In the meantime, I've got hundreds of records that I haven't even listened to yet. Just for the record (ho-ho), here's a partial list and some brief commentary on a few of the albums I bought from the strange homeless guy.
1.
The Original Hootenanny (Vol. 2) (Crestview Records)
This one from the sixties has songs performed by Bob Gibson and Bob Camp, Josh White, Hoyt Axton, The Limeliters and Theo Bikel, among many others. Also, The Replacements stole the cover art in the eighties for their epic album, "Hootenanny."
2.
Stan Kenton "The World We Know" (Capitol)
A mid-sixties effort by the brilliant conductor/arranger/bandleader. Kenton leads his orchestra through a version of "Sunny" as well as original compositions and works by Neal Hefti and Bert Kaempfert.
3.
Three Dog Night "Captured Live At The Forum" (Dunhill)
What can I say? I grew up with these guys and never heard this one. The thing that people forget about Three Dog Night was that they were really just a great cover band. On this album they cover tunes by Traffic ("Feelin' Alright"), The Band, Laura Nyro ("Eli's Coming), The Beatles, Harry Nillson's "One" and Otis Redding's signature tune, "Try A Little Tenderness."
4.
Sarah Vaughan "Linger Awhile" (Columbia)
This one is quite scratched up but the cover shot of young Sarah is beautiful.
5.
Scott Wilk And The Walls (Warner Brothers)
A New Wave band from 1980. I can't remember if it sounded like Elvis Costello or not. We shall see.
6.
Neil Sedaka "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" (Pickwick)
This re-issue on Pickwick has a great picture of Neil with lots of hair!
7.
The 5th Dimension's Greatest Hits (Soul City)
I'll take the fifth. Perfect soul-pop from another dimension includes "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In," "Stoned Soul Picnic," "Wedding Bell Blues," etc.
8.
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum" (United Artists)
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim!I love this movie.
9.
Jimmy McPartland "Dixieland!" (Harmony/Columbia)
Jimmy plays trumpet and actually replaced Bix Biederbeck with the Famous Wolverines in 1925.
10.
Jean-Luc Ponty "Cosmic Messenger" (Atlantic)
Hard-core jazz-rock fusion violin from 1977.
There's sixteen more albums of varying quality but I think you get the idea. Remember, if you feel like getting rid of your records give me a call. They'll get a good home and you can come visit them whenever you want.
by Mitch Myers
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.