I know this is out there in blogdom, or it was for a while somewhere, but it's one of the few items I ever bought on Ebay that cost more than 20 bucks, I just don't buy stuff on ebay, it because an addiction that is incurable, I don't even buy from high end stores anymore, I dig for gems, period, I look for 1 or 2 dollar records with promise, mostly because I'm still pretty poor and cant afford not to, but also because its so much damn fun. But this was one item that I couldn't resist at the time. It was pretty unknown still back in early 09 and not many people were looking for it. So I snatched it up. I won't say how much I paid but it was a lot lot less than the 250 it commands on the reg now. What a beauty. I just love that song Love is So Right. DAMN. How anyone could think Can't get enough is better is beyond me. Why doesn't this thing sell for like 400-650. It deserves it. There aren't many at all. Must be some guy that found a source of em way back when.
This record really reminds me of when I found THE MINT - SKYWALKING 12" back a few years ago. It was so damn good, so damn interesting that no one could believe it was still under the radar. I mean there was zero google results, zero ebay auctions, no popsike no collectors frenzy, it was a ghost. Now theres been a few sales of the Mint, mine was the first, 189 dollars, WEAK, then a guy in germany sold the same one I sold him one year later and he got 382 dollars. ARG. but anyway. Like Mint this record is just too good to be unknown. Obviously it hasnt been unknown since it was auctioned in December 2010, but before that whoever found this I really hope had the intelligence to track down the guys and source some more copies. If so I haven't seen em. Not a one has been sold since this 'un that I know of. Anyway, it is a beauty, I can't remember how I got the mp3 of it, and the back side is just the same exact song faded out 2 minutes early. But....
Hello friends, once again I need your help, I have some MEGA BLOG DROPS coming very soon, but in the mean time, does anyone know what the hell this is? I think it is from the 79-86 range and if it is indeed early 80s power pop, then it is an unknown gem! There was no sleeve that went with it, which is the main problem, I'm guessing the band name is on that pic sleeve if there was one, otherwise I cant find any info, but I do think they are a pretty kick ass unknown power pop band. INFO: The record label is banana Records. The Runout Groove says: "UR-3452 A and UR-3452 B , UR 3452" The letters SLB are above the song names. The only credits are A. Griffith and J. Miller, the phrase "Beginning a tradition of musical escellence" is written on the label, sadly I don't think it quite became a tradition per se. But anyway, I think it's really good if it is indeed what I think it is, an unknown prime era power pop lost gem. HOWEVER... if this doesnt tickle your fancy... The mega weird, the mega sought after, the holy grail, the folk downers the folkrock beauties the college jazz band powerhouses and more are coming soon, very soon!! In the meantime, enjoy this unknown item and tell me if you think I'm way off base here and that you think or know that its actually a worthless 90s record that sounds 80s. Enlighten me!
A quite excellent and virtually unknown 1979 folk rock gem from Shreveport LA via Austin TX. There are some really excellent songs on here, and his vocals and the style often emulate the more country rock stylings of led zeppelin, at time the sound is more akin to Exile on Mainstreet, though the vocals are definitely not Mick Jagger-esque. But overall I was sad to see it only sell for 60 bucks and I think in the future it will command a lot more. There are some really great tracks here, Sing Sister being one especially, but its honestly listenable all the way through, even through the more country moments, which are at least somber fiddle and drums odes to love and loss, really great and highly recommended, especially for this level of obscurity.
As most of my devoted blog followers are well aware, I often get swamped with new finds, recordings, uploadings, ebay selling, and all the rest of this stuff I do in my spare time, and I will make samples of a record to sell, and then forget to record the entirety before I ship it off. Such is the sad case with Brian Ziegler, one more record I a, really sad that I didnt atleast get the best 3 tracks from. But such is the prce you pay for following my blog. Anyway, I still think it is worth a listen, what an ungoogleable weirdo AOR synth rock madman Brian must be to have thought this would be a great album, but then some of the tracks really are totally friggin awesome. So enjoy these samples, and as it is essentially unknown, all you source guys out there, get tot work. Though its only about a 50-75 dollar record, atleast thats what I got for it.
"Nothing you could do"
"Prisms of People" (this is the closest to a fusion of minimal wave and yacht rock that may have ever been recorded.)
Does anyone know anything about this record? I can't find any info, it's in very bad condition but I know where a nice one is for a small sum of money and I was wondering if I should buy it, I can't find any info, but based on the two sample tracks it is pretty good, not great, kinda latin modern soul stuff ala George Morin band, here are some samples (i know they are kinda nasty but give em a whirl and imagine if they were NM, lemme know what you think, don't know why I cant find more info on this.)
Excellent and very off the radar, under-appreciated Jazz Fusion local masterpiece that I think deserves a much higher price than it has been getting in the last couple of auctions I saw, which were poorly done and didnt feature any of the really stellar jazz work here. I mean this is a late 70s style California Breezy Jazz Fusion gem of a record if there ever was one, with funky sample riden drums, electric keys galore, nice light horns and a lot of fantastic synth/guitar workouts on top that really tie the whole awesome late 70s chill vibe together. I simply don't understand how this isnt more sought after, I mean yeah it can easily get 50 or 70 dollars but come on, It's obviously rare because there is very little info on it, and the copy I have is signed, and the only other copy in an auction I saw was signed (the guy made a truly horrific auction out of it). Yeah the recording could have been a little more loud and raw, and the sample moments and breaks could have been more frequent and less buried in more run of the mill fusion workouts, but those are weak criticisms for how good this LP really is. I really dig it and any fusion/sample/obscure jazz enthusiast should equally dig this baby. It is so much better than any NTSU jazz album I have heard, atleast the regular 'ol Jazz Labs and NTSU JAZZ BAND LPs (I have like 12 of them, some of which are quite good indeed) and they get 50 for the really good rare ones, so come on...
Found a pristine sealed copy of this later era downer folk genius ditty (1981) over in the dollar bin a pretty major store. Not sure how you miss this but it certainly made me happy. Anyway, a couple other places on the net have harped about how much they enjoyed the record but they neglected to upload a nice rip of the entirety. So here ya go. It is from Midland TX, and it has a couple particular songs that make it worth its 100 dollarish price tag, people seem to especially like Highways of your mind. And I do too. I probably should have left it sealed but like a couple other recent records I found in sealed condition I generally just cant help myself, I have to open them and rip them once, it doesnt seem to affect the price too much on most things, I mean it is still NM-. Anyway. Enjoy all you downer folk DIY fiends. (actually I just found a few unknown late 90s downer folk CDs, would anyone be interested in that? I can probably do a rip, I'll scrounge up the name for you soon.)
Dropping ultimate college jazz heat on your unworthy heads! Sometimes the best records are in your own backyard. The goodwill 3 miles from my house has churned up some of my all time favorite finds strangely, and that's all I'm gonna say about this maxed out thousand dollar under the radar ghost of a record gem tart. I hope I haven't upset the very nice fellow I sold it to. Enjoy, and shhh.
Yet another amazing find on Southern Star records, I had never even heard of this label before but somehow they keep popping up in different places, and both were really great, this particular piece is superior to Ron Anderson probably, not as strong lyrically or songwriting but I enjoy the modal jazz funk rhodes workouts on here immensely. Along the lines of an Austin Jazz funk version of Aposento Alto, or maybe more like the infamous FABLE records out of Austin, with the likes of 47 times its own weight, starcrost, and steamheat. Its definitely in that genre anyway, the southern jazz funk dash of latin dash of prog lots of ELECTRIC KEYS and vocals, cool breezey late 70s AOR boat shoes type vocals, but anyway I was amazed to see that I couldn't find this anywhere on the blogdom yet, I didn't look long but I don't think its available anyway, so here is another first for you guys. Enjoy. (lots more finds of late, many many goodies, look for an ebay auction soon...)
More first time available on the web goodness, this time from Dallas TX's own Dave Rakes, when I saw the back cover I thought this would be another bad country lounge cover band but was very pleasantly surprised to hear some uptempo funky psych dirges on many of the tracks. I think if these would have been original compositions it would be worth a lot more, but as it is it remains in the realm of cover band goodness. Lots of funky drums, keyboard banging, wah wah guitars and very bad singing. Yay
This tapes gives a whole new meaning to the term Philly Rap. So, how many of you have heard quality mid 90s filipino gangsta rap? Well, here is your chance. I actually think the beats are pretty good, I mean it's no large professor or anything but compared to what I was expecting when I saw the tape I was pretty impressed. Not every track is a winner but there is a handful of pretty great ones. The MCs are not quite as good but still, it's better than a lot of the hip house crap that was coming out just a couple years before, and the fact that they are in the Philipines rapping about the same kinda car culture and baggy jeans 'throw yo set' kinda imagery is pretty neat, especially when mixed with the local island-isms. I wonder if Masta Plann is like the Public Enemy of the Phillipines or if this is some drop in the pan mega obscurity there too. At any rate, this wasnot the only tape I found in the box, I have another that is far more bizarro and lies somewhere between Ata Kak, C&C music factory, and Filipino pop rap. I will be featuring it soon! For now, peak into the world of Masta Plann.
Okay I must admit I downloaded these files from the ebay auction and spliced them together into one track, sounds fabulous and it must be heard tho, awesome track in the style of my PALER SHADE OF WHITE compilation a while back, in fact this probably would be the crowning piece if I were to ever release a second volume. But for now I can't help but share this one with you guys a little early. Basically it's one long track, maybe taken in a few different cuts, split as an A side and B side, I believe this was pressed before the 12" single was out. This freakishly rare item sold for 550 dollars in vg- condition with a crack through it, yikes. Probably worth it though as it is unique. I wonder what else Haze Records put out? I'm virtually certain that I will be barraged with requests to take this down so get it while the gettin is good. Oh btw the Cix Bits Band actually have another release on Haze that was in fact formally released for sale, or promos I dunno, and its a slightly more psych tinged uptempo funk track, quite good but no where near this guy.
I was originally going to post one of the tracks from this cassette along with many more like it in a new compilation mix tape, but seeing as how at the moment I only have about half the tracks I need and a lot of digging to go, I will just give this tape as a teaser to what the comp will be once I finish it. BAsically I have a bunch of 80s/90s DIY indie rock freak folk kinda cassettes that all are utterly obscure, often private bedroom recordings, and all ungoogle-able. I'm looking for that kind of reverb washed sound, acoustic or electric, earnest vocals, experimental elements are a plus and just generally depressed college outsider aesthetics. It's actually been quite difficult to amass a collection of such tapes (that are worth listening to, an important caveat) and I am considering throwing in some early 2000s works and maybe even a few 7" vinyl releases as well since not all of said genre works were cassette based.. As far as I know there isn't really a market yet for such things, so I will try to create one. This particular tape was recorded in San Angelo, Texas circa 1995. Presumably these are Angelo State students. The band is Ciwe Furs, a reference I do not get, and they play an assortment of instruments, with reverb laden shoegaze aesthetics sometimes, freak folk weirdness, occasional bongos are thrown in even, good ethereal girl vocals at times, pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. Yes, there is a reason they never made it big, but thats kinda the point right? Not every track is golden, and I'm not sure which is my favorite at the moment, don't be dissuaded by the bad titles either, they rarely have any bearing on the meaning of the song. Enjoy.
Here we have a nice Xian album that is pretty under the radar still, I don't think it is available anywhere yet on the interweb. It's a kind of mixed bag, some good lo-fi downer folkrock stuff with original lyrics and some more uptempo straight rock stuff, and then a little bit of country gospel church mixed in, actually some of the best tracks are the couple with stripped down acoustic guitar and echo effects. Retails about 80-125 dollars, this was a super clean copy, so enjoy!
Andrew E remixes 'other movie themes' for us in freakishly weird Filipino hip-house/techno-hop/mickey mouse club meets ata kak and skeelo without a rabbit or a hat. This is somewhere between Genius and Joan Rivers on bad acid, and it's probably a hell of a lot closer to the latter, but it did kind of remind me of listening to the crown king of weird foreign cassettes, Ata Kak, for which all other bizarro tapes aspire to and fail miserably. But until Ata puts out his second album, little treats like this will have to do. Check out his awesome 90s Sonic the Hedgehog shirt! And how interesting is his MC-ing in hybrid filipino/english. And like Ata Kak he also has a random female voice that does completely unnecessary choruses in English, again, the Ata singers are way better. So theres just one thing left I wanna know... what films are these fantastic scores from and where can I see them?
I've decided to go ahead and post all the tracks up on here so that you can check them out before downloading a rar, because i really think this needs to be heard immediately. It's not beautiful lofi techno brilliance like Ata Kak, the comparison is not in quality, but in style and theme, and even that isn't a perfect analogy by any means, but as I am always on the look out for something like Ata, this is the closest thing I've got yet, the main difference being that it lacks earnest love songs and some mental illness. So here are the tracks.
ROW FOUR: MANDURUGAS: PIN TSIK: IKANG MISS UNIVERSE: OBER DA BAKOD: ANG BOYFRIEND KONG GAMOL: LOOK ALAYK: KOOL ISKOOL: Which is the best? Which is the worst? And is the worst the best? A Paradox.
Hello, the auctions are going well, I have decided to put together a compilation of all the best tracks from my giant collection of rare and 80s christian smooth pop/yacht rock/disco LPs, (Turning Point just sold for 315, huzzah!) instead of posting all the vinyl up here because it would take forever and most of these only have one or two good tracks anyway. So yeah, look for to that coming ASAP.
And now more immediate items.... I have here a compilation which I have had sitting around as an idea for a little while but as I have been able to track down a whopping 3 songs from the list the idea has been scrapped, but here are some of the albums I am looking for to create this wonderful 80s African juju-synth-funk compilation, the main artist behind the genius tracks that have yet to be comped and featuring a style like nothing else I've heard is the inimitable WILLIAM ONYEABOR. The man is a genius. Everyone knows his classic album 'Atomic Bomb' but very few are familiar with Crashes in Love and Good Name. The only thing I can compare the production style to is certain RD burman billywood soundtracks but its so much more than that. So anyway, I will give you a couple sound clips from Good Name, and then show you the album covers. I have all of Dizzy K's discography, he seems to be one of the few artists on here whose music can be tracked down easily. Of extreme desire to obtain is the N'Draman Blintch - Hit Track Self-Destruction LP, if you have this please let me know.
(update while writing this, a fellow has made a tribute comp to william onyeabor! hurrah! tho my comp would only have 2 tracks by mr. onyeabor, it is good to see that someone has made a comp totally devoted to his unique genius. Find it here: http://dailyleftover.blogspot.com/2009/12/tribute-to-william-onyeabor.html
William Onyeabor - From Good Name:
Abidjan City Breakers!
Dibson and Essody!
Dikoto Mandengue!
Eko!
Ipa Boogie!
Jik Emmy!
Jimmy Semyah!
Kg Band (Kiki Gyan)
Kio Amachree!!!
Mixed Grill!
N'Draman Blintch!
Sidiku Buari!
William Onyeabor pt 1!!!
William Onyeabor pt 2!!!
Charming Charlie!
Francis the Great! (just look at this cover, my goodness. it even says the words "negro phasing" ? And the music is bubbling synth funk madness.
William Onyeabor - Anything You Sow (clearly this cover would be the cover to my compilation. It describes precisely what the music therein would contain.)
Well friends, it's been a while since I have posted anything so I figured I would do something big, I've been promising a xian yachtrock soul comp for a while, and it is still in the works, but untill then, how about the other side of the spectrum... Gospel Boogie! I have a mild obsession with the genre, actually all forms of gospel music, but the synth-driven danceable funk of the early-mid 80s black gospel artists is hard to beat, and there are some hugely expensive records out there, many of which are on this comp, though I am still avidly searching for THIS... 1730 dollar 80s gospel? yeesh. Anyway, there are a few good gospel boogie comps out in blogoland already, but this particular comp, though brief (8 tracks), has some killer artists that you can't find anywhere else out there! Including tracks from Majesty - Deliverance (1984 Morada records), which is a 1200 dollar record itself. Speaking of, here is the track listing and link...
1. Calvin B Rhone - I Believe 2. Majesty - You're Number One 3. The Gospel Seekers - Never Gonna Give You Up 4. Soul Liberation - Touch Me Again 5. Joy - The Time is Right 6. Majesty - Jesus is The Best 7. The Gospel Miracles - Building Up Myself 8. The Last Generation - Just a Chance at Life
(photos of each artists album are included in .rar but here are some to entice you.)
Well things have been going really well for me lately, found a crate of rare NY indie rap records from the mid to late 90s, sold my metal cassette for 120 bucks and my UGLY WANDA metal cd for 175 on ebay. Found a copy of HAIR - 31 Flavors. and this wonderful, wonderful modern soul item on Budweiser records from 1983. This is from the radio station V103 out of Houston, TX. Very few of these pressed up, wish I could find more they sell for 300-500 bucks. The back side is blank.
******************************************* I also thought this record auctioned on ebay recently was pretty awesome, its 90% of the entire track but it is missing the very tail end :( It is by Winston 'Flook' Richards and the Blue Rhythm Combo - Eatin' Corn. From Barbados. This has to be the most expensive Carribean Funk 7" sold on ebay in a long long time. Whoever found this is a bad ass. I've found lots of calypso/carribean/funk/steeldrum/soul items and they mostly aren't too impressive, I did find some great 50s era 78s but as for 7" carribean stuff, it is very rare to dig up something as blatantly funky as this.
The Xian Yacht Rock Compilation is complete! Get it now and feel the wonderful ocean breeze bristle through your mustache, and take a minute to think about how lucky you are to have a yacht with a cassette deck. Captain and Tenille eat your heart out, now these guys know BOAT SHOES and JESUS.
Well friends, it has been a long while since my last post, and I have finally accumulated enough rare Christian Soft Rock/AOR records (the majority have never been heard before or if so were sold by me on Ebay), to put together the compilation which I've talked about for quite some time now. I've come to realize that my specialty in the crate digging game is Xian rock of the mid 70s to late 80s era. I don't know if this is because it is an untapped genre in my region that few diggers are out there looking for, or if I just have some strange knack for it, but the demand for them worldwide is very high. Regardless, I've unearthed quite a list of these guys that have not been heard and have gone for good money, so I thought if it's that popular why not comp all of the best songs from the best and rarest releases. And, it is kind of the next logical step from my previous comp, the Paler Shade of White, which was a suburban disco/boogie comp that had much success. The next comp I featured was more of a mini project (Jerry Curls For Jesus) and didnt rely as much on my own digging as on others, so it was not really an official HeadLamp Shovel Presents compilation, more an interrum project. The current comp, Boat Shoes and Mustache for Jesus, does not have quite the universal appeal that 'Paler' did, but I suspect it will be even more endearing to the few that really enjoy the sounds of obscure Michael Mcddonald and Hall and Oates wannabe's. Yes I have these albums and I will be putting up a few in full as I go and there are many other albums I considered that were not included, I will release some of those as bonus tracks soon. (album pictures are in .rar)
*Okay I have decided since this is a fairly large comp and thus a large file to download, here is a sample of what youre getting, this is a sample of a track by Turning Point, this is the general style of the comp:
1. James Mckenzie - Live Again 2. Turning Point - The Sacrifice 3. Michael - Blue Bird 4. Brown and Jackson - So Much Stronger 5. George Nasif -Don't Let The Devil 6. Jim Schmidt - Love Has Taken it All Away 7. Sound Advice - Caleb 8. Turning Point - Loving You 9. John Mcclure - New Song 10. Michael Gonzales - Eternity 11. Don Wallace - It's Not So Hard 12. Byron Peden and Jericho - Didn't I Tell You That 13. M & M Co - Devoted To You 14. Jim Tucker - Serious 15. Sound Advice - Imagine 16. Davis Pedigo Band - Fire 17. Michael White - Let Me Stay
*Here are the Albums included, a picture of 'John Mcclure - Finally Headed Home' is not present because it was a late addition and I haven't taken photos of it yet because my camera is being borrowed. .
Hey, just letting you know that some of the records featured in the compilation are being auctioned on EBAY under the seller name Tilly1774. Also there are 3 or 4 others that are going to be featured in the Bonus track comp that I am working on, so you will be ahead of the curve. But be ready to battle, because there are some extremely dedicated Japanese collectors that seem to bid up the good 80s Christian records into the upper atmosphere, IE Turning Point selling for 356 dollars and M&M Co selling for 450. But, that being said, a lot of these are unknown so there is a chance to snipe them for good prices. Enjoy. Oh and I will be featuring some full LPs of all sorts soon. LOOK OUT.
TILLY1774. (awful seller name I know but I inherited it.)
The first full length LP I am featuring from my recent comp, it is actually not technically speaking a Christian album, it just has one Xian themed track. Really it is just an excellent, previously ungoogle-able 80s soft-rock/folk-rock LP of the highest caliber (for the genre), and I happen to think it is quite good myself actually, though yes 70s folk rock is preferable but there is something nice about the crystal clear mellow yacht vibes of 80s soft rock ya know? $200 value and this was a sealed copy when I bought it so the sound doesn't get much better. Enjoy.
A nice gospel soul/funk album in a slightly more traditional style than some of the more popular Peacock LPs that have made a resurgence with the gospel funk genre, but it is quite good and I rather enjoy the more soulful less funk side of gospel anyway. I couldnt believe this wasnt available anywhere and it needs to be heard so even tho it is somewhat major label I felt the need to post this. For any gospel fans or soul fans out there you should definitely get this. It's really a damn shame how much incredible gospel music was recorded from the 50s 60s 70s that has been out of print in all forms since its first release. There are probably 50+ extremely good records on Peacock and Songbird alone that deserve rerelease.Also there are some really great moments and bars for sampling in peacock albums, including this one. Sometimes even great drum breaks that havent been used, but usually just a stirring sample passage. check it.
Hello my friends, it's been a while since I posted and I have a whole slew of items to put up, I mean the chest is literally overflowing at this point so I figured I would just start at the top and go down.
First up. Legendary Texas rap cd by Vermond Chryar AKA The Handy Man. Adventures of Handy Man was released in 1996 on a private label. Handy Man got his name because he is disabled and in a wheel chair. How gangsta. The music is pretty great actually, the his delivery is really interesting, the lyrics kind of go to some dark places sometimes too. Standard Texas G-Rap stuff with 'live' instrument bass and keyboards of course, like all good Texas G-rap. This predates crunk (thank goodness) and owes most of its style to the godfathers of this genre, UGK. In early Texas rap you either have the UGK sound or the Ghetto Boys sound, that's a mass oversimplification but it works, and this is much more the former. The cd is quite rare, and though the songs all play thru, the CD had a number of small scracthes and the case was cracked, it still fetched a cool 80 bucks but I was hoping for alot more, but I guess understandably it was not quite an archive copy. This album really never comes around though so be happy and enjoy this rare treasure. On a side not, I also found the original Street Military - Aggrivated Rasta EP from 1991 (I was flipping out when I found it) and when I got back home (I just threw it in my bag with a bunch of other rare rap cd goodies from a thrift store) I opened it up hoping it wouldnt be scratched, and WHITNEY HOUSTON is staring back at me, damn, what a rookie mistake, didnt even check, and now inside this 300 dollar legendary Houston cd with Klondike Kat and others, instead is the previous owners' sisters' lost Whitney CD. Oh well, atleast I got handy man.
_______________________________________________ Plus bonus tracks from unknown hip hop at risk youth project (high school level) from Austin TX, Tribes - Covered in Red. Unknown 3 track cd from 1994 that has a couple hip hop tracks and a freestyle/dance track made by the students int he program, its actually really quite good for being produced by amateurs.
