Staff Picks

Hi there everyone. Thank you for reading the newsletter. Love and best wishes to you all.

It is October and Halloween season, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s still summer here. Temperatures in the high 80s this time of year can’t be right, can it? As it appears we’re all going to burn to a crisp as if thrown into the fires of hell, we might as well really embrace Halloween and listen to spooky music and horror soundtracks whilst we fry.

I mentioned last week that Jeff had made a start on the store’s decorations and put on display some of the Halloween-themed records we had in stock. There’s a lot of good ones for sure. I was very excited to bring in copies of two lost soundtracks composed by 60s garage music king, Sean Bonniwell, he of The Music Machine fame. That band, with their black gloves and image, really epitomized the 1960s US garage band era. Two killer albums, a bunch of great singles, and a lot of equally high-quality unreleased at the time recordings have cemented the group’s legacy as one of the best in the genre. Their influence cannot be over-estimated. After the demise of the Music Machine, Sean Bonniwell remained active. He released a folk-rock solo album, Close, in 1969, that is hard to find, as it didn’t sell well. After the psychedelic sounds of the Music Machine, even with the slight name change, this record was too much of a stylistic switch for most fans at the time. In retrospect, hearing Bonniwell croon softly over bossa rhythms and soft strings isn’t too bad years later, but don’t be seeking out fuzz guitar solos and the like on that one. It was thought that he had retired from the music business after that record, but that wasn’t quite the case. In 1970 and 1971, he scored the soundtracks to two films: Night Of The Witches and The Day Of The Wolves. Both films are super obscure and underground, and it doesn’t seem as if many had seen them until recently. You can find them on the internet currently. I could stream both on YouTube, complete with TV commercials recorded from Miami TV in 1980. Not the best quality, but it proves both films were made and are real and now we have the soundtrack albums to enjoy them in high-quality sound.

Discovering that there were two lost soundtracks from one of my favorite artists was a real surprise and treat. That neither of these had ever been released in any format up to now was also mind-blowing. Thankfully, the good folks at Real Gone Music have rectified that situation, and now both awesome soundtracks are available on vinyl. Still not much information about the films themselves, but the music sounds great and the records and album art look great. I’ve droned on countless times about how much I love soundtracks, so having these two records scratches several itches. Music created by a longtime hero for cult grindhouse movies that sound cool. Sign me up.

Both soundtracks are chock full of the strange, spooky, weird and wonderful types of sounds you’d expect and want to hear in films like this. The moment the music began on Night Of The Witches I knew instantly that I was going to love everything that followed. I wasn’t wrong. Imagine that Sean Bonniwell of Music Machine and Arthur Lee from Love had made a record together or been commissioned to score a film like Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls and had brought in David Bowie to sing one of the songs and had the hippest and tightest and funkiest rhythm section holding down the music and you’d be halfway there. It’s brilliant.

There are a couple of vocal cuts, but it’s really the instrumentals that are the winners, although I do like the song Down To The Sky, which has the vocal, from I assume Sean, but sounds like Bowie on some of his 60s records. It has a funny line about, if you’re not down with the witches, you’ll be sharing your lunch with a mole. Terrific. This song is also represented in a fleshed-out six-minute instrumental that sounds great. In other moments as I was listening, it sounded as if the Cure were covering outtakes from The Stones’ Satanic Majesties with Cal Tjader playing vibes alongside. For real. Well, something like that. Good for sure. Ethereal and spooky sounds combine with funky back beats and fuzz guitar bursts to create the perfect soundtrack to these films or the soundtrack to our present lives. Almost sixty years later, the music still holds up. It’s wild that music this good is still mostly unknown, especially when a cult artist is involved, but thankfully these two sets of soundtrack music are now out there for our enjoyment.

Day Of The Wolves is a heist film with a contemporary early 1970s feel, and the soundtrack matches that. It’s more gritty than groovy, compared to the Witches soundtrack. More rocking and with heavier drums and more of a brown acid vibe to things. There are elements though that remind me of some of the movie scores Quincy Jones did or that Galt MacDermot made in that late 1960s through early 1970s period. If you know what I’m trying to say, you’ll most likely enjoy listening to this one too. That kind of funky sound that goes with crime caper movies from that time. I’m happy to report that the sound of the vibes is heard on this soundtrack also, and there are even more drums potentially waiting for someone to sample and make a beat out of.

All in all, two good albums of original music, and worthy of your investigation. I’m leaning toward Witches being my favorite of the two currently, but after a few more listens to Wolves, perhaps I’ll change my mind. Which one will get your vote?

Thanks for reading and taking time with us. Until the next one.

Cheers - Dom

Greetings to one and all. We hope we find you well and thank you for taking a read of the newsletter.

I’m back to work this week after taking time off to attend the biannual music festival, which I have been going to for over ten years now. It takes place near Pittsboro in Chatham County, North Carolina at the Shakori Hills Community Arts Center. The festival is a celebration of grassroots music and dance and takes place over four days. The festival site spans close to 100 acres of beautiful countryside, woods and farmland and has a unique magic unto itself. I love being out there. For the music, for the laughs, for the community of friends, to reconnect with nature a little, and to reset. Rain, wind or shine, we always have a great time. I go out there as one of the deejays at the Vinyl Lounge. We spin records between acts and then late at night after the last stage finishes. Typically, there’s a dance floor going and people vibing until the wee hours or sometimes dawn. I ended up spinning quite a lot this time around and at all different times of the day and night. I enjoy being able to play some jazz in the morning and funky disco in the evening, with bluegrass, country, reggae, and Latin mixed in throughout. To name just a few genres. If it’s good music and fits the vibe, then it gets spun. My fellow deejays are some of the best, and they all brought their individual styles and tastes to the party. I love listening to their selections. We often invite guests to join us, and this time I was really impressed by a guy I hadn’t met before. His name is Adrian, and he played an absolutely killer cumbia set. He’s getting an invite back for sure. It’s an honor to share the decks with such cool and knowledgeable selectors.

There were so many musical highlights and special moments all weekend long, and often not on the stages themselves but around the campsites and meal tables and other impromptu locations. I always have several Shakori moments where the music is perfect and touches my soul. What I enjoy about this festival is all the cross-pollination of styles and sounds that takes place. It’s typical for musicians and vocalists from other bands to join the group on stage currently performing and thus create unique moments often not to be repeated. When you get to witness those moments, it is very special. You know what I mean. Naturally, having your stimulant of choice may help in the experience. Or not.

I felt that I really enjoyed the mandolin playing that I saw this weekend. Friend of mine and the store was one of them pickers. Shout out to Shawn. There were also a bunch of sax players across the various groups. I can feel Jeff wince as he reads this. On one occasion there were three saxes trading solos. It wasn’t the torture Jeff might imagine, as they managed to pull off playing the smoothest and sweetest melodies and made it look and sound brilliant and cool. Ha! You’ll have to take my word for it.

This year the Vinyl Lounge saw a huge cross-section of dancers getting down. Young and old alike. We also had roller skating dancers, tap dancers, and experienced duos salsa dancing, which was a lot of fun to watch from the DJ booth and to play for. My colleague also brought out Jamaican toaster Carl Meeks to drop a few verses over some rhythms. It was a fun additional moment and came over well. Carl Meeks had some success during the 1980s and his Dancehall album Weh Dem Fah is a good one, and has Steele and Clevie playing on it, with Redman producing.

As the rain just about ended and left a mist in the air on Saturday night, I found myself upfront and in the midst of the crowd watching Margo Price and her band of Nashville cats rock out and run through a tight and fun set, which included an impressive costume change from Margo. It was a lot of fun. The songs sounded a lot tougher and much more vibrant in a live setting than their produced studio versions. Her band is super pro though and accurately reproduced the sound of the records but put a bit more oomph in them.

Talking of country music, I always love getting to play a few of my favorite country and bluegrass records at Shakori. I was able to get in a couple from Doc Watson and Dolly Parton, which as you might guess went down well. One record I kept in the box again for this time out was called They Call Me Country by Sanford Clark. I mentioned it here before. Such a cool country album with plenty of great songs. The title track is a banger, but there are also songs like The Fool, It’s Nothing to Me, Look Out Floor and the song I played this weekend, Black Jack County Chain. Several thumbs up were thrown my way for putting that one on. I like that song. It’s also in Billy Strings’ repertoire. As is, It’s Nothing to Me, a song most know from the Johnny Winter version correctly titled Ain’t Nothing to Me. That song was written by Leon Payne, who wrote a lot of popular songs and was also covered by the R&B group The Coasters back in the early 1960s.

If you are into some country and want a good record, this is certainly one to look for if you don’t have it. We have stocked a reissue of it before and currently have a used reissue copy here at the store for anyone interested. We also have a cassette tape version, which is very cool. Take your pick.

Anyway, it’s good to be back in the big city and back at the store again. It’s amazing how even though you physically feel tired sometimes from a vacation, your mind feels refreshed and at peace. I’m looking forward to enjoying the Halloween season now and smiled when I came into the store and saw that Jeff had made a few preliminary starts to the store’s decoration with a skeleton in place already and the display wall full of spooky-themed records. Nice. Stop by and check those out. I’m a sucker for those novelty horror-themed records and soundtracks. The covers alone are worth it, let alone the sounds within. No doubt we’ll be talking more about some of those over the next week or two.

Thanks for reading. Much love to all my friends, all the musicians, and all the people that came to party at Shakori. Until the next one.

Cheers – Dom

Howdy folks! Glad to have you here for another newsletter. We hope we find you all well. I received a bit of a shock when I stepped out of the house today and felt the 60-degree temperature. It’s been a while since we’ve been below the mid 70s. And it’s raining. Should be perfect for my camping experience at the music festival I plan to attend next week. Ha ha.

So, the other day here at the store I was helping a customer find a 7-inch single that we showed having in inventory and in doing so flicked through a couple of boxes of assorted 45s until we found the one we were looking for. We have a lot of cheap and cool singles here and I pulled out a few that I didn’t know to play later. Once it slowed down and I was on top of my work, I began throwing them on. I love singles and it’s always fun checking out a stack. There were one or two out of the selection I pulled that I liked a lot. As I had picked them just based on the covers and names, it was gratifying to know my intuition is right some of the time. My favorite of the bunch is one I’d like to recommend to you today.

Rikki And The Last Days Of Earth – City Of The Damned b/w Victimized. DJM Records

This English group formed in late 1976 and released this single in November of 1977 after signing with DJM Records that summer. An earlier version of the title track had been self-released by the band earlier in the year. The group was fronted by Rikki Sylvan, who wrote and produced most of their material. A full album titled Four Minute Warning came out the following year in 1978. Their sound pre-dates a lot of what was to come in the New Wave and New Romantic era of the late 70s and early 80s. Sylvan sings in an almost operatic style, which for some might not be their cup of tea. It’s somewhere between the drama of David Bowie and Jello Biafra. Musically, the band reminds me of some of the early Japan and Ultravox records. They seem to have been roundly hated and dismissed by the music industry at the time, though. I had a hard time finding a positive review. Not sure exactly why, because I think the music is decent enough, and not so widely out of step with the times. After reading their Wikipedia page however, I think it might be because the band members came from middle class and even upper-class families and this probably wasn’t cool for punk, which was considered to be a working class movement by the music press. Ironic, as a lot of those same journalists were most likely middle class themselves. The British class system and the weird reverse snobbism that comes out of it is something else and hard to explain to many in the rest of the world, although I guess every country and culture has its own version. I can’t say for sure that’s the reason for the negative press, but it might have been. Either that or one of the band members shagged someone’s girlfriend or pissed someone off. Who knows?

The B-side tune, Victimized, is my favorite. It’s a fast, punky tune with good lyrics that are relatable now as they were then or at any time. At just over two minutes it doesn’t out stay it’s welcome. I checked out the full album online and thought there were several songs that sounded good. Just like the single, the album can be found cheaply. I found a copy on Discogs for $11. Those original reviewers might think I overpaid. You might listen to them and agree. I still contend there’s enough going on with them worthy of your investigation if you dig the art-rock and progressive end of the pop spectrum. Don’t worry about their class. Plenty of “cool” and influential artists came from privileged backgrounds. No need to name names. It’s not where you’re from but where you’re at, right? Or something like that. Take a listen here and see whether you agree with the perceived opinion or with those that saw the band at the time and liked them and with folks like me who are hearing them almost fifty years later and like them too. Anyway, what does it matter? Music hits us all differently. We like what we like, and it would be a very dull world if we all liked and listened to the same stuff. Variety is the spice of life and all that. Enough of the blather. Just my opinion and more to say that you can find plenty to enjoy without it costing a fortune and that “what it goes for on Discogs” isn’t really a true barometer of quality.

Okay, back to work and looking forward to Iron Lung later tonight.

Cheers - Dom

What’s up everyone? Thanks for checking in on the newsletter. It means a lot to us and is always appreciated. Best wishes and love to you all.

I tend to write these entries based on current mood and/or when a certain record comes through the store. This past week or so there have a bunch of records that have had my attention and taken my lunch money and are all currently doing heavy rotation on the turntable.

Firstly, Professor Daniel, whilst working with me at the store the weekend before last, played the Australian X’s 1985 album At Home With You. I can’t recall having heard it before, although I do love the group’s debut, Aspirations, from five or so years earlier. Both albums have been kept in print by a variety of labels, and currently here at the store we have the Dirt Cult Records version of At Home With You. I really liked this second album; it has a bunch of good songs. Some venture into the art rock end of post punk and there’s even a ballad that initially made me ask, is this Pink Floyd? It isn’t, so don’t let that worry you. I believe Daniel’s favorite track was the very last song called She’s Gone (actually, it was “Half Way Round The World” —Daniel). The album was produced by the legendary Lobby Loyde, of Coloured Balls fame. As with their reissue of Aspirations, Dirt Cult choose to use alternative album art, but this reissue sounds good and comes with an insert of liner notes and won’t set you back as much as an import copy or original.

If you missed out on the first grip of copies that we got of the Beast Of Beast and Smog Marines albums, then you should try and snag one now as we just restocked. People have been rightly excited about these two reissues. They’re done well and finally bring to full exposure some great music that has remained unknown and unheard of by most up to now. If you have even a passing interest in the L.A. scene circa late 1970s-early 1980s, you owe it to yourself to give these recordings a listen. They both get thrown into the Death Rock genre, and that fits, but both bands offer a lot more musically and are worthy of your investigation.

I feel like a prize chump for not knowing more about Orquesta Akokan. They’re a fabulous contemporary Afro-Cuban band that blends classic mambo, salsa and boogaloo Latin rhythms and records for the Daptone Label. Couldn’t be more up my proverbial Calle. They’ve been around for almost ten years now. We have their terrific debut in stock, along with the group’s brand-new album, America! I can’t believe I don’t have these records in my collection already. The group has a couple more albums under their belt which I’ll be checking out also. It’s exciting to discover new-to-you music and these guys are playing 21st century mambo that sounds both classic and fresh simultaneously. I love it.

I’m going to keep in the tropics for my next three recommendations. Jamaica specifically and reggae music. Strictly speaking a couple of these records were not recorded there, but they’re still by Jamaicans in the reggae and dub genre. So that counts.

First up, I was delighted to be able to bring in a couple of copies of the last album that the great Lee “Scratch” Perry featured on before his passing. The album is credited to him along with Peter Harris and Fritz Catlin and is titled Mercy. It was released in 2025 on the UK label Dash The Henge. I hadn’t seen a copy in US shops and was happy to see it pop up on one of our distro’s available titles. I always try to wait until I get an actual copy of a record to listen to an album for the first time, so I can get to things a bit late. I was a little unsure of what to expect from this record. There have been some less than stellar Lee Perry-involved albums, unfortunately, over the years, where producers shove a mic in front of Scratch and record whatever he says and then add it to lack luster productions and milk as much as they can from the sessions. I’m happy to report that this album is nothing like those, and is in fact very good. There is a bit of a concept behind the record, going back to a first meeting between Scratch and Peter Harris in 2006. Harris was producing a film called Higher Powers, which was concerned with death and passing to the other side. Lee Perry briefly features in the film. Later in 2015 the pair got back together to record music as a potential soundtrack and several songs were recorded and over the next couple of years and more lyrics were captured. From these pieces, Harris added layers of sounds and mixing desk magic to form the songs that make up the finished album. Fritz Catlin, from 23 Skidoo fame, adds drums, percussion, melodica and other production touches to songs. I say it’s a great job done by all involved. It’s not a 70s Black Ark era sounding record, but it’s also not one of the more techno leaning albums Perry has made. You can tell it’s a UK dub album. Think somewhere between records released on the On-U Sound label and The Orb and you’ll be in the general ballpark for how it sounds. There’s a small nod to previous Lee Perry greatness in the first track Row Fisherman/Whale Song, which lifts from his legendary cut for The Congos on their classic Heart Of The Congos album. I’ve played the album three times since yesterday and each time more layers have been revealed. I am very happy to have finally heard it and have a copy. If you are a fan of Lee Perry and enjoy dub music and have not yet heard this one, dial it up and give it a listen.

Next up, Studio One Dub Plate Special, a mighty reissue from Soul Jazz Records. This one is part of the label’s Studio One reissues of releases that comprise rare dub plates that initially appeared as one-sided etched 12-inches available exclusively in their London store. The set later saw a very limited pressing as a 7-inch boxset for Record Store Day in 2018. That box is hard to get now. Thankfully, all ten dubs have been made available on an LP, and I am very glad to get myself a copy. There’s one in the store for someone else, and we’ll hopefully be able to restock it again in the future. It’s brilliant. Great stuff from the likes of Cedric Brooks, Jacob Miller, Brentford All Stars and more. Essential for reggae lovers and collectors of Studio One recordings, especially as these cuts were unreleased at the time. If you own just one Soul Jazz reissue, you’ll know the quality level is high, and you could buy this one blind. But money doesn’t come easy, so go check it out first. I think you’ll like it though. I mean? What’s not to like?

Lastly, before I sign off, the third of the reggae triple play. We got in a 7-inch single from the legend Sugar Minott called I’m Still Here. It’s on the Daptone label, so that fits in with the label mates Orquesta Akokan, who we talked about earlier. This single is a cover of song made famous by The Notations and is produced by key Daptone man Victor “Ticklah” Axelrod. I like it. Comes with a nice version on the flip.

Okay, deadline approaches and UPS just dropped a load of boxes that need attending to. Back to it. Thanks for reading and hopefully we’ve steered you towards something you’ll enjoy. Take care and see you here next time.

Cheers- Dom

Hi there everyone. Thanks for joining us again this week. Just when we thought we might be over the high heat of the summer down here in the South, September decided to announce its arrival with triple digit temps and remind us that the world is still melting. They say it will ease off by the weekend. Let’s hope so.

I’m more than grateful to have a cool place to work in, and I of course mean that in both senses of the word. Our A/C is keeping the store cool but the records that come through, although heaters, are keeping things ice cool. That’s all down to the great bands and artists that are making new music currently or have done so in the past and down to you our customers who bring us cool used records to sell or trade. We encourage any of you considering downsizing or pruning your collection to reach out to us. Daniel enjoys a good road trip, so distance isn’t too much of an issue. Food for thought.

As I write this today in the store, I am in the middle of processing a recent collection we picked up and I’ve have been giving a couple of them a spin. There’s lots of great music to pick from; the previous owner had good and varied taste. For my “pick” this week I’ll choose one of the highlights (for me) of the collection.

The Coral: Magic And Medicine. 2003

I have made my love for the city of Liverpool and its people and culture very well known in the pages of the Sorry State newsletter. I’m not from there, but have been a fan of the football, the music, the style and the humor from the region all my life. When it comes to music from Merseyside we are obviously spoiled for choice. So many of my favorite bands come from there. The Beatles, Echo & The Bunnymen, Teardrop Explodes, Wah!, The La’s, Shack… the list is long. The Coral come from Hoylake, on the Wirral, and continue the tradition.

They formed in the late 90s and released their first records in 2000 on the Deltasonic label, a record company that was essentially started to release music by the group. Their first few years were busy. Several acclaimed EPs, singles and a debut that hit the top ten in Britain and got them nominated for a Mercury Prize. They toured the UK and hit the festivals and secured an appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien in 2003 here in the US. When they came to New York, they visited the store I was working at and signed a copy of one of their singles that we had literally just got in that day and got us on the guest list for a show later that night.

If you were looking for a band that embraced 60s beat, psych and garage and mixed it with the spirit of Lee Mavers, filtered through Brit Pop and Indie with a good dose of cosmic scouse, then this is the band for you. All those elements come together on Magic And Medicine. It’s an album I played a lot when it was released and have gone back to over the years, but hearing it today was the first time in a while. This pressing we have at the store is a reissue which Music On Vinyl pressed, and it sounds great. Nice packaging with some extra photos. The original came out as a two-disc pressing, but this is just a single disc and probably helps the listening process when you can play six songs back-to-back without a break. One of the reasons why the idea of audiophile albums pressed at 45 RPM on multiple discs, one song per side, does not appeal to me. That’s way too much getting up and down for me unless I am having a dedicated singles listening session.

Listening back to the album this morning reminded me of how much I loved the record and the band. The feeling of nostalgia for a previous era was there in the music originally, but now that record is almost twenty-five years old itself and brings back memories from those early 00s days too. For me certainly. The album contained at least three singles if I remember rightly. The song, Don’t Think You’re The First, was one and remains one of my faves by the group. Such a good song. Twelve good ones in all and a fine record.

The Coral’s story continues to the present day. They have released over a dozen albums to date, with the latest just this year. There have been some line-up changes and solo projects along the way. I’ve been enjoying the albums by former founding member Bill Ryder-Jones for instance. I haven’t kept up with all of those releases I will admit. It’s been tough to find many of their records on vinyl here in the States without paying import prices. I don’t tend to stream much music, but perhaps I should look for those missing albums on CD one day. Probably easier and much cheaper. That’s a topic and discussion for another time and place. Are CDs coming back? Did they ever go away? Talk amongst yourselves.

Alright, I must get back to work. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support. See you all next time.

Cheers - Dom

Hey there, what’s up Sorry Staters? Are you melting like we are here? It’s brutal, isn’t it? Hopefully most of your day is spent somewhere with air conditioning or where it’s cooler.

There’s been a few cool records come into the store this last week, both new and used. Of course I was interested in the older stuff, with one or two exceptions. I suspect Daniel might have words regarding the return of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, but the Australian band’s new record should hit the spot if you’re a fan also. Daniel and I talked about a new reissue out from the L.A. group Chinas Comidas. He knew all about them and has their records, but this reissue rounds up some rehearsal and demo tapes and live recordings, all circa 1978/1979. I liked what I heard. The singles are the money tracks, but with the extras it certainly makes for a worthy pick-up. Especially if you don’t have those originals. They’re not too hard to find should you need to go that route, but for the rest of us, here’s a neat compilation.

Not sure, but I imagine John Scott grabbed himself a copy of the Alex Chilton produced Memphis sessions called Gravest Gravy by The Cramps. I shall need to grab one of those myself next go-around. As I type, we were about to sell out, but hopefully we can get some more for you. It looks like Henry Rollins and all involved have done a nice job in getting these historic late 1970s recordings back out there and sounding great and at a fair and decent price per record. Kudos.

Here at the store, we are always trying to bring in titles and genres that fall outside of our punk and metal wheelhouse. It’s often you, our customers, who ask about certain records, that tip us to stuff that we might not have brought in otherwise. The old saying about being a Jack of all trades and a master of none is a good one and can be applied to a lot of things, including a record store, so we don’t stray too far from our core identity, but we do attempt to curate an interesting selection of records in those other genres. I’m always excited when we can beef up the Reggae, Latin, Soul and International sections, and I’m happy to report that we’ve got some good ones in there currently. The other week, during a busy Friday or Saturday here at the store, John Scott had played a compilation called Congo Funk. It was released by the fantastic Analog Africa label out of Germany. We’ve mentioned them here before, I am sure. This one gathers a mighty array of sounds recorded between 1969 and 1982. We were playing it off the computer and at numerous points a customer would ask what was playing. We could have sold several copies. Unfortunately, when I looked at our distributor who carries the label, they were out of stock. It’s only been out a couple of years now, so they might get a restock, but often these types of things don’t come back. It depends on the label and how many they pressed, etc. We streamed the playlist once or twice more at the store and got similar reactions. I got into the Afro-Funk grooves for sure and knew I had to get a copy. I initially asked my DJ partner whether he had a copy, as he has almost all Analog Africa releases, but this one had slipped by him also. Next step was to take a look online and see whether anyone had one in the USA that was at a good price. Several fellow record stores across the country had copies, but I found one private seller who had a used copy for a great price and so I jumped on it. It arrived last week and I have given it several run outs. We jammed it here at the store too. I love the selections. I love the quality packaging and all the photos inside the gatefold of the original record sleeves, and I love the thick booklet with more photos and information on the artists that comes included. Great job, as to be expected from this label.

I couldn’t begin to talk with any knowledge about any of the records collected here or about the artists that made them, but the compilers steer a nice journey through a diverse spectrum of sounds. Some tunes are outright funky Afrobeat, others are more folky leaning, some have a Latin influence, and others are just good soulful songs. The liner notes do a good job of contextualizing the records represented and I was interested in hearing about the influence Mobutu, the president/dictator of then-named Zaire, had on the local indigenous music scene. He was a music lover and encouraged knowledge of music that was created inside the country as much if not more than knowledge of music created outside of the Congo and the African continent. He did, after all, approve the music festival that preceded the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match between Ali and Foreman. The festival that had James Brown headlining. That three-day event, not surprisingly, electrified the city and sent shock waves throughout the land. It inspired a whole new generation of younger artists to start making music. Many of them are featured within the album. Again, with some informative information and photos. Great stuff and highly recommended.

Okay, that’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you next time.

Cheers – Dom

Hey there everyone. How’s it going? We appreciate you checking in with us.

This week at Sorry State we welcome back our conquering hero Jeff. He’s just finished touring with the mighty Public Acid and we’re all excited to hear some of the tour stories and have him back. I’m sure he’ll be regaling us with some tales from the road in his piece here and in future newsletters. Whatever can be printed should make for fun reading. Like the old saying goes, what happens on the road, stays on the road.

Nothing nearly as exciting in my world to report. If anything, the complete opposite. Ha. More dental issues, after my summer of dentist chair surfing last year. This time a couple of fillings. Not cheap. An apparent pause or end to my participation in the weekly internet radio show I was doing, which is a bummer. And my list of pains and ailments continuing. Thankfully, to be honest, I was happy to have the extra work with Jeff away, to keep me busy and distracted. But enough of this navel gazing whining. You didn’t come here for my diary entries. You came here for Rock N’ Roll man. Or something like that. Certainly, for music related stuff.

With that spirit of punk rock and heavy shit let me tell you about how I was listening to an Archies greatest hits record in the store recently. You know the cartoon band that had the bubblegum hits like Sugar Sugar? Yeah, heavy stuff, I know. Well, I was reading the liner notes and noticed that Canadian singer Andy Kim had co-written the song Sugar Sugar with Jeff Barry and sang back-up vocals on that tune and other The Archies songs. I recognized the name Andy Kim because just before listening to the record I had been watching a video about records where the host mentioned Andy Kim and his 1969 album Rainbow Ride on Steed Records. He said it was what record collectors call “cheap heat” and could easily be found for $5 in a bargain bin somewhere. If you paid over $10, you paid too much. That sort of thing. There are, or used to be, a ton of those types of records, but as the word gets out, the next generation of diggers are also on the hunt, and some things become harder to find and more expensive when you do. For now, though, it seems that finding a copy of an Andy Kim record shouldn’t be too difficult or wallet busting. Do you need to be seeking them out? Maybe. If you enjoy bubblegum garage and sixties sunshine pop and that kind of thing, then the first three records Andy Kim did for Steed all have a moment or two where things get groovy and cool(ish). Anyway, whilst buying a funk 45 from a guy on Discogs, I browsed his other items and found a copy of Rainbow Ride for a decent price and decided to take a punt.

Rainbow Ride, the album, comes housed in a great gatefold sleeve jacket with a bunch of cartoon Andys literally riding a rainbow. Looking very Beatles circa Yellow Submarine. I’m sure that wasn’t by chance. For 1969, the sounds and look are already dated as far as cutting-edge music was concerned, but for the mainstream and those catching up, the summer of love and psychedelia was still happening. The record begins with the title money track, and it’s a good pop song propelled by a strong backing beat and a twangy guitar that, as a lot of reviewers say, sounds like the riff from Last Train To Clarksville. I believe this song originally appeared on a B-side and then was later issued as a single A-side itself, but although a minor hit in some areas, wasn’t a national one.

Next tune up is a good rocker called Please Be True that again has a strong back beat and some nice guitar playing from whoever the session guy was that day. Maybe it was Gary? Then we get a song with a good title, Nobody’s Ever Going Anywhere, that’s not that good of a song in my opinion. Bit of a ballad, protest song sort of thing, but it does have some nice touches of swirling guitar to keep it from being a total dud.

Probably the tune that psych and garage heads go for is Baby While Your Young. This one has some good organ playing and is a bit harder and wouldn’t sound out of place in a set of sixties psychedelic tunes, if you were compiling a compilation or spinning out as a DJ.

The rest of the record is more typical of the other more poppy albums and singles Andy Kim had made up to this point. There are a few moments for sure, and if you enjoy sixties pop you won’t be disappointed. The first side is the stronger of the two, having the title song and the other couple I mentioned. Side two felt more like a Bee Gees record or other soft pop records from the era. Not a bad thing. Like I said, not as strong as the first side, but the production is still good and the playing good, just the songs are more on the lighter, poppier side. For the most part. There’s still a couple of cool sounding songs with little details that catch the ear. The song Gee Girl had a cool sound I thought. The record is worth picking up if you see it.

Okay, the deadline bell has sounded, and I’ll need to stop here and submit this to the editor. Don’t want to get on his bad side. Ha. Thanks for reading. Thanks for supporting independent record stores like us. We appreciate you and love you.

Cheers - Dom

Hey there everyone! Thanks for giving the newsletter a click. We hope we find you all well and enjoying your summer, or winter, depending on where in the world you are tuning in from. In the northern hemisphere and certainly in our neck of the woods here in North Carolina, it has been hotter than the devil’s greenhouse. Global warming much? So, if you have been sweltering and suffering like us, we hope that you are doing okay and keeping cool and hydrated. Talking of hydration breaks, the World Cup just finished and I am feeling a little of the post tournament blues, which I always do. It becomes all-consuming for the month and a half it’s on, and part of the daily routine, so when it finishes, I feel a void. Ha. Not really, but kind of. For those of you who couldn’t care less about football or sport in general, I apologize for mentioning it here in a “music focused newsletter” and ask for your indulgence. I won’t give too much commentary on the tournament and whether certain things were right or wrong, and certainly a lot was wrong, particularly from the FIFA leadership and their buddies in the White House, but at the end of the day I was happy that Spain won. They deserved it and won it fairly. Of course, it would have been incredible to see England go all the way, but they did great and gave the tournament one of the best games with their win against Mexico and then the third-place goal fest with France, which meant that they returned as World Cup bronze medal winners. Everyone on (almost) all the teams competing should be very proud of themselves. Clearly the whole world was cheering for Spain and in a Star Wars-like moment, the rebellion won over the evil empire. Just like for those who like to wear red caps, the whole world got to see who they really are and what they are about, and we don’t like it. Being classless, racist, cheating, whining thugs will only get you so far, but eventually you’ll be beaten and then all you’ll be left with is your forever ruined reputation. As Nelson from The Simpsons says so poetically, Ha! Ha!

For my “pick” this newsletter go-around I am going to select an artist from Spain. Not a contemporary one, I admit, but a group that existed at the tail end of the 1960s and into the early 1970s. Their name is Maquina! They were from Barcelona and formed in early 1969, coming out of the city’s “Folk Group” scene. Along with a group called Smash, from Sevilla, they are considered the first of the Spanish progressive rock groups and had a huge impact on the scene at the time and their influence is still being felt. The group existed for just three years and released a half dozen singles, one studio album, and a live album during their time. As with many groups in Spain, the dreaded military service got to them and members were forced to leave to join the army at various points, forcing band members to switch instruments and new recruits to join. Obviously not the best conditions for a group to thrive under.

The studio album they recorded is called Why? And was first released in 1970. The cover art is quite distinctive, featuring an old fob watch pressed into a croissant against an all-white background. The album since became known alternatively as the “Croissant” album. Apparently, it received praise from Salvador Dali himself. Whether he just liked the cover or the music as well is not clear, but the band deliberately referenced Dali with the use of the watch, resembling as it does the artist’s famous melting watches paintings.

The album has just four tracks, with the title track “Why” taking up twenty-five minutes and being split into two parts across the two sides of vinyl. The band are a four-piece—guitar, bass, drums and organ—and draw from the progressive jazz and rock sounds coming out of England and America at the time. Because of the Hammond organ, fans of Brian Auger might find they’ll enjoy the style of music on Why. In addition to the organ grooves, there are killer bursts of fuzz guitar, which make the record so memorable. The band also chose to sing in English, believing they should aim to have international appeal.

Reading the liner notes to the reissue that I have of the album, it is clear that there was a big power dynamic within the band and somewhat differing opinions on what the influences and direction should be. Interestingly, because of the changes in personnel due to military service and friction between the two leading factions, there at one point ended up being two versions of the group existing with vastly different musical ideas. What resulted was that the group that continued the Maquina! name was a very different group than the progressive, psychedelic one that first came into the public eye. They ended up being more of a jazz-rock, horn-rock group and were even mocked by the Spanish music press, who called them the Spanish Chicago. Not high praise. Although, in their defense, I don’t think they are that bad, just very different from those early singles and the album.

Before they split for good, a live album was released in 1972 and later some unreleased tracks. The reissue label Wah Wah Records in Barcelona did a nice job of the album Why, which I have, and they also reissued the live album En Directo, complete with even more additional unreleased tracks. Furthermore, they issued a nice double LP compilation of the singles and other odds and ends, including alternate versions of tracks from Why. There’s some cool music to be discovered on here. The booklet included with these reissues has tons of photos and clippings with extensive liner notes in both Spanish and English. A job well done by the label and I would thoroughly recommend you checking out Maquina! and many of the other groups from the 1970s Spanish underground if prog and psych rock is your thing.

Okay, I’m going to leave it there. Thanks for reading. Thanks for your continued support and once again, congratulations to Spain. Viva La Roja!

Cheers- Dom

Hey! What’s up Sorry Staters? Thanks for stopping by and checking out the newsletter.

So much going on this week. World news, Independence Day here in the U.S., the continuing drama that is the World Cup, hell opening heat and I had another trip around the sun marked off. Here at the store, we are keeping busy processing several used collections, putting out new releases, and generally being thankful that we work inside with air conditioning.

One of those used collections that I have been going through has been interesting as it was an ex-army DJs. He used to deejay at the clubs located on base whilst he was in the service. Mostly overseas but here in the U.S. too. His time was the 80s and early 90s and so his vinyl tools were funk, soul, electro, synth-pop, boogie, disco and hip-hop records mostly. He’s been bringing in his collection a few boxes at a time, and I have been enjoying talking to him and hearing about his past life as an army deejay. Being that these records were used and played frequently, many are sadly not in the best shape for resale, although they still have life in them yet. We try to make sure any records that are not suitable for sale but can still play or serve a function (if for nothing more than the jacket art) get donated to local thrift stores before getting thrown in the trash. However, I am pulling out lots of cool and fun records that we’ll have here for locals to go through. The majority are not expensive at all and those that frequent our bargain bins will find some gems. I still feel there are plenty of records from the 1980s that deserve more praise and attention. Just because they are cheap doesn’t necessarily mean that they aren’t good. Usually, it’s just that they haven’t been re-appraised and discovered by current music fans and tastemakers yet and the current supply easily satisfies the current demand. In particular, there are lots of cool sounds and music to be found on 12-inch singles. Just like with 7-inch singles, often tracks appear on the format exclusively and come with non-LP B-sides. In addition, 12-inch singles often came with extended mixes of the track, re-mixed versions of the track, instrumentals and dub versions and even a cappella versions. For a deejay, these were perfect for helping you create your unique bespoke style for your sets. For music lovers, it gave you something more of the artist and tune you loved and perhaps opened you up to sounds you hadn’t heard before. Certainly, anyone looking for music not found on the albums or for stuff not being streamed by the major platforms, 12-inch singles can prove to be an untapped goldmine.

So, with that all being said, my pick for you all in this week’s newsletter are a couple of those cool 12-inch singles that I thought had some interesting sounds on them and made me smile when they were playing. First of the disco biscuits is one called Set It Off from the artist billed as Strafe, released on the Jus Born label in 1984. What an incredible track. The vocal clocks in at just under ten minutes and the instrumental breaks the twelve minute mark. The song was an underground club classic that, although initially took time to hit, went on to be a hugely influential tune and ended up getting several represses to keep up with demand. The tune was composed and created by Strafe, real name Steve Standard, a New Yorker, who played everything and sang on the track and was mixed by Walter Gibbons. It’s a soulful electro classic and has been reimagined and sampled many times over the years and seems to always be in demand, despite the many pressings it’s had. Take a listen here.

Next up, a tune from 1986 on the Checkpoint Records label by the artist known as Janice, called Bye-Bye. This one also comes with an extended mix, an a cappella, a single mix, and two different instrumentals. It’s another interesting electro-soul track that has a memorable hook that reminds me of the sort of stuff the Swiss duo Yello were putting out. They had a big hit with the song Oh Yeah the year before, and so perhaps Bye-Bye was inspired by it. The singer Janice Andrade doesn’t seem to have a huge discography, with a single released the previous year and another the year after. The production on this song is by Irwin Lee, who also adds all additional vocals. He had been mostly known up to that point as being a member of 70s group Special Delivery but had a few singles released under his own name in the early 1980s. This tune doesn’t seem to go for much on the second hand market, but packs a punch for cheap heat and any deejay spinning this in the right room would surely be met with a positive response. It just needs to be rediscovered. You can click here to judge for yourself.

Literally as I am writing, a couple are going through the 12-inch section here at the store and buying up a nice bunch. They know what’s up. There’s still plenty to pick from with more coming, so come through and have a dig if you are in town. Give your local stores some love and if they have disco 12-inches, take a look. You might find something cool.

Cheers everyone. Thanks for tuning in. Love your music. Love each other.

-Dom

Greetings. It’s been a while. How y’all doing?

Summer is here most definitely, as we enter another week of 90+ degree weather, with the promise of heat indexes in the 115-120 range over the weekend. To quote Modern English, “I Melt With You.” Seriously though, stay cool those of you in the heat zones.

I foolishly ordered a couple of records on Discogs the other day and am worried that they’ll sit on my doorstep and will be a molten mess when I get to them. Hopefully not, but certainly a concern when it gets this hot.

We have had a lot going on here locally and around the world in the news. Some of it is fun and good but as we know, a lot of it isn’t. Far from it. Without getting into that shitty and evil side of the world right now, I am doing my best to stay positive and upbeat. I was happy for the Carolina Hurricanes winning the Stanley Cup. That was cool. I got to see the parade and cup going by just yards from the store here in Raleigh. I was glad to see the Knicks win, despite the orange one trying to jinx them. And currently I am excited by and in the grip of World Cup fever. As much as I can’t stand the head of FIFA and his bootlicking corrupt ways, you can’t knock the greatness and importance of this tournament. In the same way that the Olympics inspires and excites and brings the world together. I’m all about that. As you read this, both the US and England will have played their first knock out phase games. Did they advance and which teams await them if they did? It’s exciting. Just ask Mexico. Or any of the small nations that have done so well. Great stuff.

As for music listening? I feel I have gone through many different moods since the last time we wrote something for the newsletter. I would have picked totally different things a few weeks back, but because of the World Cup and because it is summer and because I present a radio show called Worldy, the current playlist has a lot of Latin music amongst other international sounds.

I’ve always had a love for Afro-Cuban rhythms and tropical sounds. Not sure where I would have got that from as a kid growing up in the south coast of England, but most likely from old movies that were set in the islands or South America somewhere. There would always be a scene in a nightclub or something that featured a band playing. It made an impression on me. Years later I would find myself in Miami, married to a Cuban woman, sipping mojitos and listening to a Salsa band, and it felt like I was in a scene from one of those old films. When my wife’s dad passed away, I was fortunate to inherit some of his record collection that had some real Cuban and Latin gems in it. Pops had great taste and was a real character. I loved him so much. He was just like one of those cool old guys from Buena Vista Social Club. Something that we bonded over.

Whilst living in New York I was surrounded by so many cultures and their music. At the crossroads of my subway stop were some of the best examples of food and beverages from Cuban to Thai, from Neapolitan pizza to Greek gyros. I was spoiled. My daily stop, if for nothing more than a coffee, was at this small narrow Cuban restaurant, El Sitio, who had the best staff and food and always had great music playing. I didn’t know who it was by, but just absorbed it subliminally as I munched on my Cuban sandwich. I wasn’t vegan then.

Out and about watching shows, digging for records, my education on Latin music and its various forms began in earnest. Whenever I spotted a cool looking album jacket that suggested it might have bongos and the like on it, I would investigate. Unfortunately for me, I soon discovered that the best Latin records were rare and thus expensive. Luckily for me, the late 90s and early 00s saw lots of cool old records getting repressed by Scorpio. They were cheap and accessible and made available great titles on famous labels such as Tico, Fania and Alegre. I tried to grab as many as I could afford. I also learned a lot from my old boss at the store I worked at, who seemed to have knowledge on just about everything. One of our customers was the actor Matt Dillon, who is a big record collector, particularly for Latin music. He taught me lots of interesting facts and what to look for on records. We used to hook him up with a dealer friend we knew called Latin Willie, who came through with major heat. Nothing that I could afford, but occasionally I might get something cheaper he had. Because I was on a budget I would have to look in the bargain bins for my Latin sounds, and you’d be surprised what turns up on exotica records and the like. Those old Herbie Mann and Cal Tjader records particularly were ones I would find cool cuts on.

As the years have gone by, music lovers have been blessed with so many great reissues of Latin music by a host of labels based all around the world. Notably, records that were recorded in Central and South American countries. Cumbia and Salsa music released on labels such as Discos Fuentes is now more wildly available to listen to. For those of us not from these countries and having not been of age when they came out, it’s a windfall. You can now fill your boots with awesome music previously unheard outside of the culture.

I recently noticed one of our distributors had one or two reissues of some good Latin records and ordered a couple to see how they turned out. Both were reissued by the Vampi Soul label from Spain. The first is by Coco Lagos Y Sus Orates and is titled Descargas. It originally came out in 1967 on the Mag label from Peru. I once saw this record in a boutique New York record shop and the cover screamed Latin heat. One of the things Matt Dillon taught me about was to look for the word descarga on Latin records. That’s the Afro-Cuban term for a spontaneous, improvised jam session. You tend to find the hardest hitting percussion moments in these records. So, for an album to be titled Descargas would surely suggest heat. It certainly does for this album. I was psyched to see a reissue available. It slaps hard. We’ve got another copy here at the store for someone.

The second record is an album released on the aforementioned Discos Fuentes label in 1973 by Columbian legend Fruko Y Sus Tesos and titled El Violento. Fruko, real name Julio Ernesto Estrada, is a household name in Colombia and in the Latin American world, and based his style of music on the salsa and boogaloo coming out of New York by the likes of The Fania All-Stars. Throughout the 1970s, 80s and on, he has released some of the best in salsa music. He was also the one who provided the team song for the Colombian national soccer team for their 1998 World Cup appearance. That song, La Pachanga Del Futbol, was a huge hit for him. Going back to my days in New York and the neighborhood I lived in, I had just moved there during that spring of 1998 and was looking for a spot to watch Columbia vs England and ended up in a bar that, once inside and my eyes adjusted to the light, I discovered was a Columbian bar filled with supporters about to watch the game. I walked in decked out in an England shirt and it was like something out of a movie. But after a moment or two of funny looks, I was welcomed and watched the game with them. England won 2-0, with Beckham scoring from a great free kick as I remember. I have always rooted for Columbia after that and will never forget that day and how cool that bar of people was to me. Anyway, this album by Fruko is a banger. All killer and no filler as they say. Heavy, hard salsa of the finest order. Great listening anytime, but perfect for these tropical heatwaves and between games of the cup.

Thanks for reading and your support. I’ll try to stock the store with a few other good titles whilst they are available. Keeping a full Latin section in a shop isn’t easy as a lot of these records you don’t see that often. Originals will cost you big bucks, but whenever reasonably priced reissues come around that are nicely done, they are well worth the investment. In my opinion.

Cheers and see you next time - Dom

Hey there guys! I hope our newsletter finds you fit, healthy, and happy? It’s been a busy couple of weeks at Sorry State since we last spoke to you. We had Record Store Day the Saturday before last, and it was a great day all around. Thank you to all of you who came by on the day to say hello and pick up a record or two. A special thank you to all of those who camped out and spent several hours in line waiting for us to open. I believe almost everyone who waited in line got what they wanted. Obviously, as the day went along a lot of titles sold out, but for the most part folks left happy, and that’s a good thing. I want to send a very big and special thank you to one of our day-one customers and friend, who waited in line and once inside balled out big time. He had wanted to support us in buying the space and had saved up for RSD and went nuts. He basically bought every single noteworthy release and needed two boxes to carry them all out. NS you are a stud sir and a true music lover and evangelist, and it’s your enthusiasm and passion that we share and what makes all of this worthwhile. Cheers mate.

This Thursday, the 30th, is International Jazz Appreciation Day and so with that in mind I thought I would mention a couple of the jazz RSD releases that I bought and have been enjoying. We sold out of our copies, but I see other online sellers and retailers offering them. Both have also been previously released, although in the case of one, in different forms and for the other only as an original and tough to find in the wild and rarely cheap. Both, however, were by artists on their first sessions as leaders, and who were born within a couple of weeks of each other in the same year, 1942.

Charles Tolliver is a trumpet player of renown who, with Stanley Cowell, founded Strata-East Records, the New York-based label responsible for some of the best forward-thinking jazz records of the 1970s. He was already established on the scene when in 1968 he was given the chance to assemble his own band as leader and produce his own session. The fruits of those recordings didn’t see release, though, until several years later. The Strata-East label hadn’t quite got up and running yet, so the UK-based label Black Lion released the recordings as Charles Tolliver and His All Stars. Those all-stars being none other than Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Gary Bartz and Joe Chambers, all of whom were on top of their respective games at the time. It’s a great session of post-bop with all players on fire. That Black Lion release was licensed to several European countries and Japan. Later in 1975, Arista in the US reissued the album as part of their Freedom series under the title Paper Man. Those Arista Freedom releases are always worth picking up as they are cheaper ways to get older and expensive albums, and often the series debuted recordings for the first time. Fast forward to more recently, and Strata-East in the UK reissued the album finally as Charles Tolliver originally envisaged, with two additional tracks from the session. This time the album was titled Right Now…And Then. It’s this version that has been released for RSD and wider distribution, and it’s been done in a classy, bang-up fashion, similar to the Tone Poet level of reissue. I can’t speak on how previous versions sound; this one though, sounds great. Nice quiet vinyl, but with the music leaping out of the speakers. Thumbs up from me.

Buster Williams’ album Pinnacle originally came out in 1975 on the Muse Records label, another fine label for quality jazz. It has remained out of print for decades. There was a late 90s CD issue and a Scorpio vinyl reissue in the early 00s. This RSD pressing is the first widely available version since the original 1975 pressing. Again, like the Charles Tolliver album, the level of quality control is immediately obvious. The album comes housed in a beautiful old-school laminated jacket, and the vinyl is a clean, solid slab of wax that plays beautifully. Quiet where it needs to be and loud where it needs to be.

Buster Williams is a master of the jazz bass. He’s been one of the most in-demand bass men in jazz since the early 1960s and has worked with countless household-name artists and has appeared on hundreds of albums over the course of his long and productive career. Most heads will be familiar with him from his work with Herbie Hancock during his Mwandishi period. Williams was a key part of that groundbreaking group. It would be easier to list the names of legends that he hasn’t played with, but if Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and Eddie Henderson want you in their groups, then you know you must be good.

As mentioned, the Pinnacle album was his first as leader, and he’d go on to record a few more, but surprisingly few considering his talent. Not that he wasn’t always keeping busy; he probably didn’t need to or have time to as he continued to appear on loads more records by other artists throughout the years. There is a second album on Muse that came out the following year in 1976 called Crystal Reflections that I hope to find one day. Like Pinnacle, it’s not so easy to find or cheap. That album has Roy Ayers, Kenny Baron and Billy Hart making up the group. Stellar line up. Billy Hart also plays drums on the Pinnacle session and is joined by Sonny Fortune and Woody Shaw for the date. Two names most jazz heads should recognize. Additionally, on Pinnacle, there are some tasteful keyboard touches provided by Allan Onaje Gumbs, a name I was less familiar with. The mood on this album is more in the fusion and free style rather than the bop of the Charles Tolliver album, but is just as listenable and enjoyable and depending on where your head is at, perhaps a bit deeper. Williams plays both acoustic bass and the Fender bass on the album and additionally adds vocals to the title track. He doesn’t get overly busy, but you know he’s there. Album opener, The Hump, is a good of a head-nodder as you can get. Nice laid-back groove on that one. I’m happy to have a copy of this album in my collection and hopefully they’ll release the follow-up next year. Either that or I find an original before.

In addition to these two jazz beauties, I added another RSD title to my collection. I had my eye on the Soul Jazz release of American Power Pop, as they always do a great job and typically compile rare and hard to find singles. When I came back to work on the Tuesday after Record Store Day, we still had a copy available, so I snagged it. Really glad I did, as this comp is packed with bangers. Some singles that you would have to spend an arm and a leg to get hold of. I’m digging the song Drive My Car by Nasty Facts the most right now. A bunch of Brooklyn teens who made their record in 1981. Then there’s also The Normals from New Orleans with their 1978 single Hardcore, years before the term was used in punk parlance. Although the compilation is titled American Power Pop, it includes a track from Vancouver, Canada’s Pointed Sticks, a band that had the distinction of being the first Canadian group signed to Stiff Records in the UK. A highlight for me was hearing the Miami-based band The Reactions. They are afforded two songs on the collection, both taken from their 1980 EP called Official Release. Good luck trying to find an original of that one.

So yeah, another reason to buy a good comp. You get killer tunes without murdering your wallet. Hopefully Soul Jazz will release this title again, although I see copies available from sellers, so you should be able to snag you one.

Okay, well, thanks for reading. Thanks for your support of our efforts here. We are just music lovers doing what we can to steer you towards good shit. By the way, that works both ways. I love when our customers recommend things to us that we weren’t familiar with or convince me to listen to a record I had overlooked in the past. Thank you for that.

Have a good one. Add some music to your day, and we’ll catch up with you next time.

Cheers – Dom

Hey there everyone in Sorry State land. How are you coping with life? Bit of a struggle right now, isn’t it? If it’s not the threat of WWIII, it’s cost of living, and currently for us here in North Carolina, a nice spring, high 90-degree heat wave. So, before we all burn to a crisp, let’s try to find the good things in life and take the time to tell those around us we love them. Friends, family, strangers, it doesn’t matter. Just put out love. That’s all that matters and all that they can’t control or take away from us.

Talking of friends, I wanted to send a heavenly shout out to a special friend of ours at Sorry State and all-around brilliant guy, who sadly left us recently and will now be watching the great gig in the sky and spinning records with the angels. David Sabio, rest in peace, brother. What a joyful and beautiful person you are. Always pumped and excited about music, always out there supporting at shows and buying new records up to the very end. David was an artist and gardener and would love to talk flowers and plants just as much as he did music whenever he stopped into the store. Despite all that he had going on with his health, he always kept a positive attitude and certainly didn’t feel bad for himself or anything like that. A true fighter and an inspiration to all who met him and knew him.

Hey, so this Saturday is Record Store Day. Love it, hate it, or couldn’t care less, there are plenty of opinions on the day. I shan’t get into all the pros and cons here, but suffice to say, we shall again be taking part here at Sorry State. I personally like the day and have never not found at least one record that I wanted. This year, I thought the list was particularly strong with more than just the typical public domain live shows ripped from the internet and pressed on wax. There are several first time on vinyl releases and lots of unreleased music this go-around. My personal want list is way longer than usual. I’m going to have to whittle it down. I am excited about the Art Of Noise, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and OMD releases to name three, as they all feature music on vinyl for the first time, which seems more in the spirit of what makes RSD special. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good live show, but a lot of these pressings are verging on fan exploitation. I understand people wanting a record of historic performances, which is why bootlegs came into being, as they filled a gap that the record labels weren’t filling, but now it seems they are trying to cash in on fan loyalty by putting out these live releases. Make the stuff available, but why does it have to be so expensive? If bootleggers can press up a live show and sell it for less than $25, why can’t the labels? But that’s a whole debate about the industry in general. Greed and exploitation and killing the golden goose. Nothing has changed.

There is another artist who has a record out for RSD, and that is none other than Billy Strings. He and the boys recorded a great Tiny Desk concert recently, and that is getting a vinyl pressing. Regular readers of our newsletter will know that John Scott is a big fan and has seen Billy play more times than most. I have him to thank for introducing me to Billy and over the last few years, through listening to multiple live shows, he has turned me into a fan also. I’ve even gone to a few shows. In fact, the pair of us were at a barn burner of a gig in Greensboro just last night. It was a great show, truly. Billy is absolutely a generational talent, and regardless of whether you like bluegrass music or not, you owe it to yourself to catch the boys live if they come to a town near you. John Scott and I will be seeing them again in July, this time in Virginia. A bit further of a drive, but it will be well worth it. Anyway, I’ll be snagging one of the Tiny Desk concerts. Sorry, but I will be utilizing my store employee privileges on that one. This one is especially good because it includes one of my favorite Billy songs, Gild The Lily.

Okay, deadline time approaches. There are more records to price and work on, and we still have some preparation left to do for Saturday. I shall look forward to seeing some of you stop by on the day. Good luck and happy hunting.

Cheers – Dom