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| Savoy Brown - Looking In
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(Decca SKL-5066 UK-70 VG+ 600:-)
An English rhythm and blues band that debuted in '67, Savoy Brown always found more of an audience with the American crowd, who rarely turn down Boogie Rock of any kind. Their swampy blues style peaked in the early '70s, but they've continued their exploration of Electric Blues by releasing a record at least every other year.
"Looking In" is a very nice piece of British blues and boogie to get you through the weekend. Lonesome Dave strums and tells the tales and the rest of the boys provide the atmosphere. Powerful at times and quiet at others it's a ride down that gravel road that parallels the highway.
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| Savoy Brown - Raw Sienna
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(Decca SKL-5043 UK-8? VG+ 400:-)
A classic from Savoy Brown – one of those records that shows just why these guys were so great during their short early run!
The approach is maybe familiar blues rock, but the sound is also very special – with a great sense of fusion of all the elements, so that vocals, guitar, and rhythms all seem tightly tied together – still with the kind of bravado you might expect, and plenty of strong guitar from Kim Simmonds – but also given this focus that's really wonderful. A strong cut above the competition.
1980s UK re-issue.
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| Scott, Linda - Linda
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(Congress LP-3001 US-62 VG+ 300:-)
Linda Joy Sampson was active in the early to mid 1960s.
Her biggest hit was the 1961 single, "I've Told Every Little Star". She went on to place twelve songs on the charts over the next four years.
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| Scruffs - Wanna meet the Scruffs
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(Power Play HLPP-5050 US-77 VG/VG+ 500:-)
Power pop bands who worship at the altar of Big Star are a dime a dozen today, but the Scruffs were doing that long before Alex Chilton became a cool name to drop, and "Wanna Meet the Scruffs?", the sole album they released during their lifetime, is that late-'70s rarity, a slice of classic power pop that doesn't sound "new wave," unlike most of smart pop's class of 1978.
Using Big Star and the Raspberries as a starting point, vocalist and songwriter Stephen Burns blended an Anglophile's sense of melody with a very American feel for crunchy guitars and the occasional power chord.
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| Searchers - It's the Searchers
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(Pye NPL-18092 UK-64 VG+ 275:-)
The Searchers were one of the most popular British Invasion bands in the mid 60's and this is perhaps their best studio album, with classic hits like "Needles and Pins" and "Don't throw Your Love away". It also features some of their best LP cuts, on which they applied their famed harmonies to American material that was both strong and obscure.
Original UK MONO pressing; the vinyl has a few superficial marks - the sleeve has a previous owners name on the back.
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| Shades of MacMurrough - Carrig River
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(Polydor 2908.007 Ire-73 VG+ 1250:-)
Hailing from Ferns in Co. Wexford Shades of MacMurrough formed in 1971. Comprised of Mary and Josephine O'Neill and Paul Kavanagh they specialised in close harmonies and accompanied themselves on 6 & 12 string guitars, spinet, autoharp, tin whistle and bodhran.
Released in 1973 "Carrig River" has been long held as an acid folk holy grail and is a mellifluous blend of sublime vocal harmonies and subtle instrumentation.
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| Shok Paris - Steel and Starlight
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(IRS Records ILP-460452 Hol-87 375:-)
Shok Paris was a blip on the 80s metal radar, managing three albums that were decent but definitely second-tier in the grand scheme of things.
They’re most famous for the over-the-top vocals of frontman, Vic Hix. The man sounded like Blackie Lawless hopped up on discount Super Soldier Formula and 5 Hour Energy while trying to channel Danzig and Messiah Marcolin simultaneously.
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| Simon, Paul - Negotiations and Love Songs
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(Warner Bros 925789-1 EU-88 SS 500:-)
In his career, Paul Simon has had an impeccable ability to bring together melody and lyric with various global styles, creating some of the smartest pop around. Ever since he left behind the rigid musical borders of Simon & Garfunkel's folk-rock, Simon has built upon that fertile base. And as NEGOTIATIONS AND LOVE SONGS, a Warner Brothers-era greatest hits compilation, clearly shows, Simon expanded his cultural horizons and sent his musical appetite into overdrive to separate his compositions from those of his contemporaries.
Rare promotional vinyl in a single pocket picture sleeve and housed in a custom title printed cloth sleeve which remains stitch sealed around the edges - an unusual promo rarity!
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| Simple Minds - Ghost Dancing
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(Mixeye 198-60128 Bel-86 VG+ 300:-)
From their beginnings as a raw, glammed-up New Wave band in 1977 to their complex Alternative Rock of the present, Simple Minds has maintained a dramatic flair and a deep complexity in their constantly changing sound.
Side A to E: Copenhagen, Tuesday 28th Jan. 1986.
Side F: Sydney, Friday 9th Dec. 1981.
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| Smiths - Louder than Bombs
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(Rough Trade ROUGH-255 UK-88 VG+ 800:-)
A special collection done for the US market after the first great run of albums by The Smiths – a double-length set that's partly a best-of, and mostly a collection of all the wonderful songs the group issued on their various singles and EP releases in the UK – none of which were originally released in America!
As such, the album's a crucial component to the group's catalog – especially if you weren't buying their singles back in the day – and is filled with as much greatness as all their other albums of the period.
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| Soft Machine - Softs
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(Harvest SHSP-4056 UK-76 VG+ 300:-)
Soft Machine are an English rock and jazz band from Canterbury formed in mid-1960's.
"Softs" is the first Soft Machine album which featured a guitarist that leads the band and the first Soft Machine album having the Jazz Rock style fully developed. On "Softs" John Etheridge takes over the guitar duties from Allan Holdsworth. While he might barely ring a bell to anybody, he is nonetheless totally capable of filling Allan's shoes.
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| Starr, Ringo - Sentimental Journey
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(Apple PCS-7101 UK-70 VG+ 300:-)
Sir Richard Starkey MBE, known professionally as Ringo Starr, achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles.
"Sentimental Journey" is the debut studio album by Ringo Starr, released in 1970, as the band was splintering apart. Although Starr was the third member of the group to issue solo work (after George Harrison and John Lennon), "Sentimental Journey" is notable for being the first non-avant-garde studio album by a member of the band.
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| Stewart, Rod - Storyteller
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(Warner Bros 925987-1 EU-89 800:-)
Rod Stewart once sat at the right hand of nearly every critic, enjoying the fulsome praise due a rock 'n' roll wunderkind. After an incredibly productive stint from 1960 to 1975, in which Stewart matched Faces releases with solo albums, he left the band to explore new currents in the mainstream.
This 7-LP box set covers all phases of this rooster-coiffed rocker in appropriate style, with a 24-page booklet/discography and all the hits.
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