June 2019 Vinyl Challenge

Day 6 - All That Brass

I'm excited to share this one.

I first heard C.W. Stoneking in a little bar in Carlton in Melbourne playing support for Okkervil River when they toured the Black Sheep Boy album. I thought he was putting it on, the voice, to achieve a sound, but talking to him later at the bar, that's just his accent, influenced by his Floridian father living with him in a remote Aboriginal community in the NT for years during his childhood. This album has been on high rotation ever since.

It's got a sousaphone on it.

C.W. Stoneking - Jungle Blues
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Wow, I absolutely love his voice! Thanks for sharing!l
 
Day 7 - Should You Have That?
Death Grips - "Exmilitary"

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One of the most groundbreaking albums of the 2010s and one of my favorite debut albums ever. Death Grips are a band that tend to elicit extreme reactions, and even just a cursory listen to their music gives you a pretty good idea why. They're a one-of-a-kind group and with every major release have taken a left turn and confounded expectations. But right out of the gate, the trio came in strong with this hulking beast of a project. Exmilitary is not for the faint of heart, and many hip-hop heads who listened to it upon release were probably quick to dismiss it as "noise", but those who were able to look past the unconventional production and the blunt, abrasive rapping of frontman Ride realized this was something special. For me, hearing Exmilitary was revelatory because it was one of the first times where it felt like all the primal energy had been pried straight from the musicians themselves and funneled directly into the music. Eight years later, they haven't compromised any of that energy at all and have remained one of my favorite bands.

However, sample clearance issues have kept Exmilitary from getting a proper reissue like it deserves. The album only received a *very* limited official pressing back in 2011, that regularly fetches prices in the hundreds. So, for most of us, the next best thing is the numerous bootlegs that have come about in the following years. They aren't exactly high fidelity pressings, but for such a raw and harshly produced record, it's passable just to say you own a physical copy of this juggernaut. Of course, fingers are crossed that someday there will be an official repress, but it's not looking too likely to happen anytime in the near future. So as of right now I'm okay with settling for this to put up alongside my other DG records until the day comes where we see this trailblazing debut get the treatment it should.
 
I have been cramming CPE hours this week and haven’t had a chance to post, so I’ll play catch up tonight.

Day 3 - You Move Me

Tracy Chapman has a voice that resonates with me as much as any in my collection. I still feel like her debut album remains under-appreciated. Aside from her more well-played songs from the album, “Behind the Wall” is a favorite and “Accross the Lines”, unfortunately, remains timely thirty-plus years after its release.

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Catching up...

Day 3 - Vocal Performance

While most people don't seem to care for this album, I think it's probably Roger's best - vocal-wise.

Pink Floyd ‎– The Final Cut
Pink Floyd Records ‎– PFRLP12, 1983/2017

Cut by Bernie Grundman
Pressed at Record Industry

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Day 7 - Should You Have That?
Got any bootlegs or promos? Play one! If not, play something random from your collection for us.

I have a feeling my interpretation of this one will be different than most other folks.

A bootleg is an unauthorized live or studio recording that sees the light of day without the official involvement of the artist or the record company. In contrast, an unofficial copy of an officially released record would be considered a pirated LP.

Bootlegs and I go way back to my college daze. I was naturally drawn to them as a live music lover. I also enjoyed some bands that had a very finite output of official music and bootlegs were my only shot at discovering something new. The days of record shows with rampant availability of bootlegs were fun. There were some really nice visual and aural packages done up by some labels like Trade Mark Of Quality and The Amazing Kornyphone Record Label to name a couple. The bootleg labels also had a great sense of humor in record names and cover art. Here's one from my collection that's, well, funny as hell - The Doors - Get Fat And Die

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Another by-product of the popularity of bootlegs was what basically amounted to a print version of Discogs called Hot Wacks. It came out quarterly and I could get it shipped to my door from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada for $4. Here are a couple issues I still have and a taste of the info they gathered -

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Which brings us to my post. Gonna do one of each - a bootleg and a promo.

Part of the magic of the bootleg is being able to experience an event that happened once for a select few. This one hits that mark - a live recording of Keith Richards' benefit show for the Canadian National Institute For The Blind that was a caveat for him avoiding jail time for a drug bust.

The New Barbarians & The Rolling Stones - Blind Date

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And here's my most prized promo.

I've told this story before but in condensed form - was asked to stop at a yard sale against my will which I begrudgingly did, found a box of records that were complete and utter garbage, flipped to the back of the box and found a first press VG+ copy of The Doors S/T in both mono and white label promo and left with it for a cost of 50 cents. Score.

The Doors - S/T

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And here's my most prized promo.

I've told this story before but in condensed form - was asked to stop at a yard sale against my will which I begrudgingly did, found a box of records that were complete and utter garbage, flipped to the back of the box and found a first press VG+ copy of The Doors S/T in both mono and white label promo and left with it for a cost of 50 cents. Score.

The Doors - S/T

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Very Nice.
 
Day 5: Strings.

"Beth" is a track that only has Peter Criss singing with a backing piano and string orchestra because the other members of the band didn't want the song on the album.

Kiss ‎– Destroyer
Casablanca ‎– NBLP 7025, 1976/1977

Cut at Sterling
Pressed at Columbia, Santa Maria

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