Velvet Underground Disc-Find of The Decade?

I am not a huge fan of the VU, but this ePay auction has a great story.

For the sake of simplicity, I am going to do a simple copy and paste of the back story:

Following is excerpted and adapted (with the author's approval) from the article written by Eric Isaacson of Mississippi Records in Portland Oregon which is featured in the December 8, 2006 issue of Goldmine Magazine currently on newsstands through mid December:

THE MYSTERY OF THE VELVET UNDERGROUND'S "REAL FIRST RECORD" (AND HOW THE ONLY EXISTING COPY WAS BOUGHT FOR 75 CENTS)

In September of 2002 Warren Hill of Montreal Canada was perusing a box of records at a Chelsea, New York street sale when he happened upon a nice Leadbelly 10" on Folkways, a water damaged copy of the first Modern Lovers LP on Beserkely, and a brittle 12" piece of acetone-covered aluminum with the words "Velvet Underground. 4-25-66. Att N. Dolph" written on the label. He purchased the three records for 75 cents each.

As I have a small knowledge of records and am an old friend of Warren's, I got a call from him the next day in which he described the acetate. Because of the date and the unique type of pressing, we both agreed that it was probably an in-studio acetate made during the recording of the first Velvet Underground LP back in 1966 (I had heard that they occasionally would have
a vinyl cutting lathe in the studio to cut records of the day's recordings for the artists and/or producers to take home for review). Warren didn't want to play the mysterious platter due to the fragile nature of acetates, and the cheap nature of his record needle, so we agreed that the next time he was visiting me in Portland we would check it out together. If it turned out to be what we thought it was, maybe we could sell it at Mississippi Records, the small neighborhood record store in Portland that I work at. Sight unseen and sound unheard, I assumed that it was likely an acetate pressing of the recording which would be eventually be released as
the group's first album, "The Velvet Underground & Nico".

It took awhile for Warren to visit, but when he did he brought along the acetate. We cued it up and were stunned -- the first song was not "Sunday Morning" as on the "Velvet Underground & Nico" Verve LP, but rather it was "European Son"- the song that is last on that LP, and it was a version neither of us had ever heard before! It was less bombastic and more bluesy
than the released version, and it clocked in at a full two minutes longer. I immediately took the needle off the record, and realized that we had something special. Between the two of us we had heard many Velvets outtakes on both official and less than official releases, but the present material had never been heard by either of us.

The next few days found us scrambling for clues and information about what to make of this find; calling every record collector/historian we knew and reading everything we could find concerning the early recordings of the VU. We pieced together that this was probably a surviving copy of the legendary Scepter studios recordings which had been regarded as lost (hence the epic moniker "the lost scepter studios recordings" applied to these unheard sessions over the years). The recording is comprised of the primitive first "finished" version of the LP that Andy Warhol had shopped to Columbia as a ready-to-release debut album by his protege collective "The Velvet Underground".

This acetate, which is possibly the only surviving copy, represents the first Velvet Underground album as Andy Warhol intended it to be released.

Though the same compositions and even a few of the same "takes" (albeit in different mixes) were used on the subsequent commercial release, that which was eventually issued as their debut album on Verve, "The Velvet Underground & Nico", was a significantly different creation. I had heard of these nascent recordings before... it was said by some that the master
tapes had burned in a fire, by others that all of those recordings ended up being on the released album, and still by others that the only existing copy of that material was on an acetate owned by David Bowie, and that he was known to tout it as his most prized possession.

The truth about what we held was fuzzy until Warren managed to track down the N. Dolph referred to on the label for an interview.

Norman Dolph was a perennial in the New York art & music scene of the 1960's. He worked as a sales representative at Columbia Records through 1967, and was deeply involved with different facets of the independent music world on the side. Andy Warhol, who was managing the Velvets at the time, contacted Dolph & offered him a painting in exchange for services as
"ghost" (uncredited) producer for the Velvet's first recording session. Warhol wanted to record a Velvets album before they had a record company behind them as this would tend to minimize meddling label executives' mobility in compromising the musical arrangement's distraught primal force, not to mention the unprecedented taboo lyrics which openly address sex, drugs, and depravity. Warhol's plan was to have Dolph record it and then shop it around to labels (first & foremost Columbia) as a finished recording.

...and so Dolph rented out Scepter studios, and with an engineer named John Licata by his side, they recorded the Velvets for four days. At the time Scepter studios was between reconstruction and demolition with walls falling over and holes in the floor. Velvets' bass & viola player John Cale would later recall the environment as "Post-Apocalyptic".

Dolph took the master tapes made during this session to the Columbia building, which still had an in-house pressing plant, and cut the acetate "after hours" with people he knew on the inside. Dolph then sent the acetate to Columbia to see if they were interested in releasing it. It was returned promptly with a note that said something akin to "do you think we're out of our f**king minds?" Dolph then gave the acetate to Andy Warhol or John Cale, he cannot remember which.

Six of the songs recorded during the Scepter session made it on to the "Velvet Underground & Nico" LP, albeit with radically different mixes. The other four songs were re-recorded in LA by Tom Wilson. As far as we know, the only listenable copy of the original versions of Heroin, Venus In Furs, I'm Waiting For The Man, and European Son exist on the acetate that Warren
found. (A Japanese bootleg of the same material did appear, but in poor, arguably ‘unlistenable' sound quality. It is possible that the source tape for the Japanese bootleg was made from this very acetate decades ago when it was in different hands. Who knows?) We have since realized that we are in possession of a likely one of a kind artifact - the first recordings by one of the most influential rock bands of all time!

After establishing the authenticity of Warren's find we photographed the item and made a high quality digital back-up copy of the material. A media frenzy ensued, with articles appearing in Rolling Stone, Mojo, Record Collector, The Globe & Mail, and many other news sources. Calls started flooding in from people interested in buying the acetate, as well as record companies interested in releasing the songs on it. After much consideration, we decided that it would be best to release it to the highest bidder through an auction facilitated by our good friends at Saturn Records in Oakland, California (a store that has a well-established presence in the international vinyl collecting community, and an excellent reputation on the internet).

As to the most interesting mystery brought up by the appearance of this item - how did such an important artifact disappear for 37 years & end up at a Chelsea New York yard sale priced at 75 cents? ...We have no answer.

The track differences between the acetate versions and the commercial recordings on "The Velvet Underground & Nico" are detailed as follows:

1.European Son- completely different version,. Guitar solo is much bluesier. Less noisy and experimental. Longer by 2 minutes or so.

2.Black Angel's Death Song-Same take as released version. Different mix.

3.All Tomorrow's Parties- Same take as released version. Different mix.

4.I'll Be Your Mirror-Same take as released version. Radically different mix. No echo on Nico's vocals. Background vocals on end of song are more subdued.

5.Heroin-Completely different take than released version. Guitar line is different. Vocal inflections different, and a few different lyrics. Drumming is more primitive & off kilter. There is a tambourine dragging throughout the song.

6.Femme Fatale- Same take as released version. Radically different mix. Percussion more prominent. Alternate take on background vocals. Much more "poppy".

7.Venus In Furs- Different take than released version. Vocal inflections completely different. Instrumentation more based around Cales' violin than the guitar as in the released version.

8.I'm Waiting For The Man- Different take than released version. Guitar line is completely different. Vocal inflections different, and a few different lyrics. No drums, just tambourine. Bluesy guitar solo.

9.Run Run Run- Same take as released version. Different mix.

The weirdest stuff can show up in a pile of junk. It reminds me of a piece of advice that a wise (and very poor) friend gave me once. He reminded me to look down when entering a bar, and from time to time while in the bar. Drunk people have a way of dropping things- money, jewelry, wallets, etc. He would hardly ever go out on the town with any money. His glass was never half empty.

You are not going to see "it" unless your eyes are open.

Chicago Critical Mass 11.24.06

Since Critical Mass fell on the day after Thanksgiving, I had a feeling that we were in for a big treat. I was not let down.
Initially, the Mass was supposed to start at Daley Center as per usual. I had already trained into the City on Metra and ridden the Dahon to meet at Quisp's gf's apartment. The pictures above and below show the nonsensical scene at Daley Plaza. There were so may people attending some German village fest there that there was absolutely no place for bikers.

We ended up getting the word that the Mass would start from Federal Plaza, Below you can see the typical sights of a Chicago Mass.

The Mass seemed to be a celebration of anti consumerism, so with the biggest shopping day of the year with one of the most expensive cities laying in wait, hilarity was destined to ensue.

Above is a shot looking back on Michigan Avenue looking north. The plan was to head north on State weave around the Rush Street area and of course cause havoc on the Magnificent Mile. There was quite a decent turnout and lots of laughs. "Buy some more $#it!" was one of the more amusing comments used again and again with the "Ye AH!" pointed at some out of state shoppers that were so startled that they dropped their bags. At one point the token rollerbalder was going down Mich Ave, and I heard a loud scream. He had jumped onto the windshield of a minivan. I asked him later why he did that. He yelled, "Because they were getting too close!!!"
What stupid fun.

The ride itself wound south through the Loop down to Roosevelt and then out west on Taylor, et al. We did not make it all the way to the destination of 24th Street and Marshall. (There was a party there.) The thought of going all the way north again was too much.

Instead we went north up Damen or something to Elm Street and refueled at the Edwardo's Pizza that is in the neighborhood. All that grease combined with a couple of St Pauli Girls, I was ready for the next phase of the evening- a ride 9 miles north to Rogers Park.

We headed north through Lincoln Park and then eventually up through Uptown, up up up to Roger's. I caught a bit of a breather at the end for some more water, then I sprinted on the Dahon to the train. I made it home to tea and bed by midnight. My knees were killing me from all the distance on the wee bike.

Stang

It is 50 degrees or so today with an abundance of sun, so I decided to get the Mustang out of the garage for some speed trials on the streets.

The tank was down to a quarter of a tank, so I went to the local filling station and put 10 gallons of high test in and added 5 oz of STP lead substitute- not for road use it says on the bottle. Yeah, right, want to keep the original seals in the 289 happy. Gimme some more lead.

I warmed up the powerplant on some 30 and 35 mph stretches of road before I got to my favorite mile stretch, which I find out from my neighbor has been a speedway since at least the 70s.

I cross the stop sign zone and turn north rolling at a couple of miles an hour. Then I pointed the coupe northwards.

I hammered the gas and sidestepped the clutch. The new tires that I put on earlier this year made nary a squeal nor emitted the slightest amount of smoke, I was a bit disappointed.

I rode 1st, dumped the clutch and dropped into 2nd and rode it to what seemed the redline. I then short shifted 3rd, and then wound in 4th a bit. The FOMOCO gauge said 65 mph...

Just then I look in the rearview, which I had neglected as I enjoyed both the rush of acceleration as well as the fumes of unspent high test (coated with lead). I see the tell tale lights of johnie law.

I take the right foot to the rest position. I look in the mirror and the Man gives me a wink and a tilt of the hat. Then he hammers his Crown Vic, and speeds by.

I was only doing about 20 mph over the posted, but incidents like the one relayed above, make me realize that I shouldn't push my luck when putting about in the Civic.

As I relaxed my pace on the rest of the am drive, I spent more time looking around. In the distance, I heard the sound of a fierce modern motor. Then I saw the metallic blue paint and the white stripe of the new Shelby GT500. I clicked my headlights on and off and gave the driver the high sign as he roared towards me.

He saw me and waved and then just buried the accelerator. (Remember this is in traffic on a public road in the weekday morning.)

I hope that johnnie law feels generous when he sees this new Stang. This guy was doing some serious damage both speed and soundwise.

Sonics Busy Body

Could this be the reissue single of 2006?

I am not real sure of the provenance of this record. It is a live recording from The Tacoma Sports Arena 11.27.64. Our friends took the R&B flavor and brewed it to an exceptionally strong elixir. Tim "Back From The Grave" Warren mastered this monster and it appears as Norton 133.

The front side is an instro workout with the horns pushing it along and the drums anchoring it down. They took a song that garage afficionadoes are familiar from The Jolly Green Giants, and threw it in the NW R&R blender and came up with something entirely new.

The mastering is extremely loud. The kick drum is very prominent on the mix on the flip, "The Witch," my fave Sonics track. Gary Roslie's vocal is buried in the mix. But hey, I can't imagine the source tape was all that pretty being a live rock and roll tape from 42 years ago.

The guitar brak is tough. This is one that I continue to hit the play button on the Beogram. Repeat!

11.15.06

I made it out to lunch to a place called Beyond Bread for an early lunch. I had a pretty good sandwich, that had olive paste, goat cheeze and carmelized onions.



After these preparations, we headed to Sahauro Monument West. We made our way west out of town on Speedway. The drive is quite exhilierating, but since you cross over the ridge, you really forget that a town of 1 million population is very near.



For fun after the hike we took a drive to see one of Tucson's more classic sites-- The Notel Motel. This place is super creepy. As we pulled in to the parking lot to get some shots in the Honda, I got pretty creeped out. This place is for the Bates Motel school of hospitality. It also reminded me of a Manson family preferred stay property. I don't think anyone had been in the pool since 1968.

11.14.06

11.14.06

I got up early and hit Macy’s before leaving Flagstaff for Tucson. I rolled with Pass the Caviar, Captain Beefheart Lick My Decals Off, Baby, and then a couple volumes of Prae Kraut Pandemonium. I saw a few highway patrols, but nothing was too weird even as I had to slow down for no apparent reason to the direct north of the cancer known as Phoenix.



As I drove down Grant on the north side of town, heading east, I once again realized why I like Tucson so much. It is dirty and everything seems old and worn out- not recycled, just being in constant use. Seeing a 67 Mustang daily driver just all clapped out, but still moving under its own power is a great thing.

We also made a trip out to the Ventana Trail for an afternoon jaunt up the drainage. It is quite evident on that trail that Tucson has had much more rain than normal due to the change in overgrowth on the trail.

Trip interuptted for THE TROGGS

Apparently, Spinal Tap was inspired by this set of tapes, where "during a session and display, according to The Penguin Encyclopaedia of Popular Music, "instrumental incompetence, mutual recrimination and much foul language". They inspired the sequence in which Tufnel and St Hubbins have their row in the Rainbow Trout Recording Studio."

11.13.06

11.13.06

Today was the Grand Canyon.

We made it to the South Rim at about 9:30. Prior to leaving Flagstaff, we grabbed coffee and breakfast at Macy’s. A simple 2 room café where they roast their own beans. The Americano and the breakfast croissant were very good.

When we got to The Grand Canyon, we decided to take the Grandview trail to Horseshoe Mesa. It is roughly 3+ miles from the trail head and it approximately 3000 feet lower in elevation from the parking lot where we parked the Path Finder. I borrowed some hiking sticks.

The views directly below my feet, had at some points 1000-foot drops. The trail is roughly 110 years old and was originally used for hauling copper ore up on donkey back. That said, some of the trail sections are simply old tree trunks mounted into the canyon wall. Behind the dam formed by the attached tree trunks, dirt and ravel comprise the footpath. Pretty bizarre, especially on the return hike.


Going down, was extremely difficult on my knees, even using the hiking sticks. I cannot imagine how much more difficult it would have been without the sticks.

We made it to Coconino Saddle, which is one mile from the trailhead, and stopped for a trail bar.
After this intermission, we quickly came upon an area called The Cobbles, stones were arranged by humans at some point. They must be on at least 20% grade, and there were some many switchbacks, I lost count. The Cobbles are very slippery and conducive to ankle twisting.

After two miles, we made it to Horseshoe Saddle It is very flat, shaped like a horse shoe and I believe that it has 2000 foot drops on some of its many sides. We also came upon what must heave been a cabin 100 or so years ago. It was made with red rocks arranged like bricks. It ended up looking like a primitive Hogan.

We moseyed along past Horseshoe Mesa and down into a drainage. Following the drainage we found a well used trail that was nearly non-existent at some points. At the end of the scary trail that overlooked a 1000 foot or so drop to the Cottonwood River. This lead us to the Cave of Domes.


The Cave of Domes has an entrance where there used to be a door, the surrounding brick work looked identical to the structure at Horseshoe Mesa. Once inside, there was a series of low openings with the roofs opening up to standing height. The first domes had graffiti going back to 1800. When I got to the end (for me) we were in a room that had a 30 foot ceiling.

We got back to the car at about 4:30.
I have never kicked it as hard on any hike in my life.

11.12.06

11.12.06

In the afternoon, We took out the ATVs. I rode a fully auto 700 cc Yamaha. This thing had unending torque. We rode up into the hills, At one point I got the beast up to 60 mph. I would say that we went up to 40 miles away. We had made our way to the Lava Tubes. The Lava Tubes are a cave that goes straight into the earth. We clambered into the ground. Physically, I was fine with the descent, but I started to wig out a bit with the absence of sunlight. Jon worked my mind a bit and we made it a bit deeper into the ground. I would say that in 10 minutes we made it to the main room where the ceiling goes up to 12 feet of so.

the Trip 11.11.06

11.11.2006

I left the house with a modicum of damage after last night’s City expedition. The trip on the Dahon, has yet to be matched in my bike riding experience. The rain was coming down so hard that I felt as if it combined with the wind was working to push me backwards.

The night was fun, punctuated by a Delerium tremens and a couple of Laguenista Bruns.

I fell asleep on the train ride home however, and I had to walk 5 miles to the Dahon that was parked at the Depot in the middle of the night. That was a lot of fun.

Today, I worked on getting packed and took a jaunt to the city. I checked out some folding bikes at Rapid Transit, I rode an aluminum framed five speed internal shifting beast called the Vitesse. It was noticeable more stiff than the Picolo that I am currently riding. It seemed a bit lighter, too. The 20 inch wheels seemed to allow a better coasting experience as well.

The flight was an experience, I watched part of that Nascar movie that Will Farrell put out, it sucked, but what stopped me from watching it was the person that went face down in the aisle in 1st class.


I rented a mighty Chevy Cobalt from Avis, the drive from PHX to Flagstaff was different for me. First of all, I 17 seems to be in great shape, I also was not piloting a broken down car. I felt naked as I did not have a weapon on board.

I abused the stereo by playing Wyld Canada v.1n at top volume.

Two typical AZ events unfolded on my journey. North of PHX, I got caught in a pack of 6-8 Civics. They were going pretty fast and after they surrounded me, they slowed down. It was a bit of a white knuckle, but they got off at Deer Valley.

South of Prescott (”Presskit”), I 17 is a 4 lane divided highway, that is 2 lanes of traffic, going in the same direction are separated by a large stone and tree median. I was shocked to see a set of high beams coming right at me. Some tweaker was heading south in the slow north-bound lane. The limit is 75 mph there, and I was struggling to keep the mighty Cobalt under 90. If I didn’t swerve onto the shoulder, I shudder to think what may have happened.

It is one of those nights

Where you don't really know if it is night or day. The wind is out of the north gusting at 40mph. It is inky black out, the rain is coming down in sideways sheets, it is 40 degrees.

Even the dog doesn't dig it.

So it is a spin of the Dahon, a ride of the train and the consumption of a couple of Belgians in preparation of the trip.

Maproom expedition, here I come.

Check out these posts

Coop has some excellent travelogue pics going right now of the coming La Carrera race in Mexico. I can't do justice to what will happen and what is currently happening.

50s cars ridding like the wind in Mexico. Sounds like quite the Neal Cassidy adventure...

Just read this and I will do the right thing and shut up.

Getting ready for a trip

I have been starting to get ready for an impending trip to the desert and to the high country for visit.

I went through the basement and started rounding up all of the supplies that I will require.

I will need to use the samsonite bag that I got as part of my purchase of the used Dahon folding bike off of craigslist.

I have been consulting various hiking books as well. It has been some time since I have been up in the high country. Methinks even Seth was somewhat jealous.

Time to start puttting together a list-- Northface bag, water bottles, pack pack...

Sandy West 1959-2006

Iowahawk published a most touching tribute to Sandy West, the former drummer from the Runaways.

He also posted a great video featuring the classic lineup of the Runaways (including a brunette Lita and a young Joan Jett-prior to her Germs production credit) doing "Cherry Bomb." There is another youtube video where Sandy's 80s band does a loud pubrock-styled "Wild Thing."

Sandy hit em hard.

Sandy will be remembered. RIP Sandy.

Score at the Estate Sale

So I learned some of the inner workings of the estate sale scene here in the Chicago suburbs.

First of all, read the listings carefully.

When the sale sounds worthy, get there a half hour earlier than you think you should (1.5 hours before the opening time.)

Get the entry ticket at that time.

So instead of getting in on the first 15 people, I was reduced to entering said sale in the second group. Fans of numerology will revel in the fact that my number was 23.

I did find out that the records were in the basement before entry, so at least I knew to head in that direction. Now some backstory. The site of the sale was a 1940s house that had been occupied by the original owners until the husband recently passed away. Everything was up for sale.

60 years of accumulation!

I went to the basement, and immediately my eyes rested on a matching Sherwood tube integrated stereo amp and tuner. As I reached for the white plastic early 60s gear, some old goat faced woman told me that she was buying it. I think the set went for $12! Faithful reader, I would say to keep your eyes on the ePay for that set.

Feeling defeated, I looked towards the 1000s of cataloged 78s and lps of easy listening and Bennny Goodman records.

Behind a pile of basement detrius, I found the lp case pictured above. It has no key for the brass lock, but other than being dusty, the wood paneled, vinyl covered box is in mint condition. Can you say $2? Two minutes of dusting and now it is filled with 60s lps. Yes.

The moral is pick the best sale and get there early with a big bag!

Hunnert Car Pileup 2006

My fave car of the 800 plus cars was definitely the original deuce roadster pictured above. It had some old timing tags from both Muroc and Rosetta from the late 1940s. The interior consisted of a series of stainless steel plates and a 39 top loader shifter. The seats looked like they were from a WWII bomber. It was a way sweet ride.

My other favorite car was the way cool 31 Willys roadster pictured below. I loved the original looking finish with the full fenders and hood. Something that I cant say I have seen up close and personal before.

The Big Car Show

Well, OK, I made it to the Big Car Show today as I have for every year of its existence, excepting last year when Johnny Law had some other ideas related to my personal hot rodding endeavors.

According to Iowahawk, the big show had 895 cars last year. So enough of that and on with the show...

Thorns "I Want You"

I became familiar with this most crushing track through the excellent Pass The Caviar comp from the GaragePunk site. This forum comp was compiled by Mark Taylor.

That said, the guitar tone is absolutely searing. The moaning vocals were effective in their plantiveness. "I walk the streets alone every night."

The fuzz starts at the beginning of this acetate from Philadelphia, probably from sometime in the mid to late 60s.

The guitar break busts a fuzz capped crescendo through my old tweeters. Strong, build into the back up vocal, "Ah Ah Ah Ah, Please come back to me!" The back up vox lend a haunting tone to the song, while the punk posture of the sneer "Come Back!" brings my ears back to earth.

The coda blasts into oblivian. All fans of 60s killers, take note.

Sloths Makin; Love

Clickin through some links led me to the helpful and informational Garage Hanover site.
http://www.garagehangover.com/
Chas Kit has posted some very cool info and some streaming mp3 files as well. Check out his write up and listen to the Sloths' excellent version of "Makin' Love."

Rolling with the Swamp Rats

Since the Crate Digger reference system is back in action, it has been time to get back to the vaults. I did a bit of digging in one of the record rooms and came up with the Swamp Rats reissue from 2003.

The fidelity is quite speaker shattering as well as neighbor awakening. The chosen time to blast this cd was about 5:30 PM. It was somewat entertaining to see the neighbors go inside once the dbs hit a certain level. Cranking last year's Funhouse reissue, before this might have had something to do with it.

If you are not familiar with the Swamp Rats' version of "Louie Louie," now is the time to get acquainted. Really, The Rats evoke quite a pre Stooge and MC5 feeling with the heaviness of the 66 and 67 sides included on this collection. Anyone that can cover the Sparkles should also be held in high regard.

The bass is quite deep and filled the house with the low end. The treble and the screech should peel your paint as well. Pour yourself a lager and let er rip.

Music for one apartment and six drummers

A Norsk lite version of Einsruzende Neubauten? Obviously minus the Blixa Bargeld X factor. A bit on the long side.

The reference system is Back!

The Pas 2 Pre Amp is back in effect. The issues that I was having were related to the power supply which Mike Del Valle at DelTronics rectified.

All was well until, I put some garage tunes on this past Saturday. The unit failed to get power. Needless to say, my Saturday listening session was crushed.

Tonight after a couple of beers (Delerium Tremens and Triple Carmelite) at the HopLeaf, we paid another visit to Mike. He looked at the unit (not at me) and asked, "whatsamatter?"

To which I answered, "The unit is not getting any power."

Mike shuffled off and in 10 minutes came back and said, "You're all set. I replaced the power cord."

I am having a cup of tea and cranking the most excellent Noreaster 2 comp. All is well chez Cratedigger.

Critical Mass Chicago August 2006

Here is a video of the August 2006 Chicago Critical Mass Ride. Supposedly there were 2000 riders. I find that hard to believe. It is supposed to rain tonight. It will be interesting to see the turnout.

Beogram RX2

Despite the name sounding like the latest fad in weight loss, I scored the Beogram RX2 pictured above at a recent estate sale. I will say that this was really an "estate" sale as I felt that I was on set for a British murder mystery production, as I meandered to the secluded address for the sale the other day.

This adventure included, hand drawn no parking signs (I was on foot), yelling/agitated domestic help, barking guard dogs and finely clipped bent grass. But back to our story...

The turntable was a great deal. The features of this piece are pretty incredible. There is a hidden button on the lower right of the unit marked "Play." Put the vinyl disc on the platter and press play. Guess what? The unit also pulls the tone arm off the vinyl when it hits the lock groove on the disk. Folks that saying playing vinyl is too labor intensive, should really check out an old B&O.

Most interesting about the unit is the spindle of the deck. There is a spring acutated large hole 45 spindle, which automatically sinks when a 12 inch (small spindle hole) vinyl LP disk is placed on the platter. It appears to also select the correct speed (45/33) at the same time. I have not started digging through the crates for some 45s to test the auto speed select, though.

Sonically the stylus and cartridge seem to rock as well. Tom Waits Foreign Affairs, moans quite effectively through. I have also listened to Coltrane, The Buzzcocks and Back From The Grave vol 4.

Like every good deal, there has to be a catch...

Since B&O seems to only make audio accessories and other fad related products, they are no longer in the turntable biz. The most excellent sounding MMC3 cartridge is no longer produced. Of course the secondary market has options- upgrade to a more high end new old stock (NOS) cartridge, or look for a rebuilt stylus. Everything sounds good for now, fortunately.

I will just keep my eye out for a replacement stylus in the meantime.

US Record Store CrateDigger Goal?

This is rediculous. He says that he has millions of records. "I bought a million records from New Orleans in 1991."

I don't deny it. Got any garage?

A Gasser from Labor Day

Just a little trip. Yeah, in a 66 Mustang to see gassers burn Hoosier tires and lift front ends off the ground. Paradise? Cheap beer helps, too.

The best $1 I have spent in a while

Mr. Jalopy has the single page pdf pictured above available for $1.00. The title is Mister Jalopy's Pocket Guide to Living and Dying with Modest Automobiles.

It has to be the most practical advice that I have seen in one compact place, when one may be considering joining the ranks of the old used car set.

Having a 40 year old muscle car has had its challenges. Getting stranded and confused has become a larger part of my life. I think that I need to take his advice and move over to the Pertronics electronic ignition. Spark is everything in an old V8.

I have noticed quite an improvement in my ride since I upgraded to an Interstate battery, and an electronic trickle charger. The car starts with the first turn of the starter now.

One area that that he doesn't into too much is tires. I was running some 80s looking bucket head tires on my Stang, and stopping/turning/unintentional burnouts was always a challenge. Now with some new BFGs, blackwalls of course to make it fit the car stylewise, I can turn and stop with nary an issue, burnouts are another issue.

Seriously this is a great read, entertaining and instructional. If I ever have kid, this will be required reading.
Order it here.

Reference (HiFi) System meltdown at CD HQ

Gentle readers may note that I recently upgraded to a 1962 Dynaco tube preamp for the reference system.

Over the last weekend, as I was listening, OK, cranking an LP, I think it was a $.10 Temptations Greatest Hits v.1 in "Stereo," a major hum appeared like a flying saucer over a Nebraska corn field. Not a 60 cycle hum, either. The hum was untenable in the phono stage, but was not as apparent in the extra selector position, into which I have my cd player plugged in.

So I did what anyone music freak would do, I listened to more JBs, via a CDR. Specifically "Funky Monorail." What a funk work out, but that is another story.

After 60 minutes or so of cone bending excitement, our friend, the saucer like hum appeared in the extra position. The Dynaco PAS-2 was now grounded.

Send in the Reinforcements

Being a junk hound and a garage sale addict, I recently came across the following:It is a 1973 CR-500 Yamaha Receiver. I am no fan of receivers, excepting late 60s Marantz models, but this one was in near mint condition, and it powered up when I plugged it into a wall outlet (the blue Marantz-esque lights glowed omniously when I switched the unit on).

I was able to bargain down to $9.00. Yes, that's right, $9.00. I got it home and plugged it in, and turned up some 1966 Guess Who sides. It jams.

So now that the Dyanaco needs some medical attention, I grabbed a cold one, the Yamaha, and my trusty back up loudspeakers- a pair of AR 2AXs from 1966.

The Reference system has undergone a severe change:
Notice the Biblical back lighting provided by my window on a sunny day. Also notice the Rath's Lard bucket/ cd rack. My frustrated dog is at the bottom.

Anyway, now I have the Rega 3 turn table and the AMC CD8 plugged into the Yamaha, which is now plugged into the ARs. I set the AMC 3050a integrated and the Monitor Audio Silver Series loudspeakers to the side.

For testing purposes, I got out my Mingus In Europe CD, and turned the receiver up to 5 and let her rip.

My, how the lows and mids came alive on that CD. The loudspeakers are phenomenal. Loud with enough low and mid on Mingus' bass to make screens move in my basement windows.

I couldn't stop listening to music...

The Dyna is in the hospital at Deltronics. That is another post in and of itself.

But the plan now, to to get some upgraded interconnect cables, and plug the Dyna PAS 2 into the main in input on the Yamaha, while I scrounge for a cooler vintage power amp. I know that will sound even better when I need to hear some loud 45s.

Anyone know where I can get an old McIntosh for cheap?

James Brown Genessee Theatre Waukegan IL 9.16.06

Wow, I can't say that The Godfather of Soul was totally coherent with his 90 minutes onstage at the Genessee, but when he shakes his thang, it is obvious that he still has something. I am really glad that I finally got a chance to see him, especially in the newly restored Gennessee Theatre. It is a classic joint that has both balconies and box seats. It is a real theatre, not your typical barn that puts on shows.

His best quote (that I could make out from his garbled, jive ramblings) was a command to the house lighting person. "Make the light blue, This is JAMES BROWN, not Jimi Hendrix!" I found that pretty entertaining and quite indicative of his commanding persona, according to stories that I have heard about working for him. (RIP Spider, may there be a permanent percussion jam out there for you.) Of course, somehow, some way, JB got his blue light with the disco ball turned on.

He started the set out with "Living in America" and ended with "Sex Machine." The band was alive, sounded pretty good, but it was interesting to note that everyone was at least 3o years younger than James excepting the familiar sounding MC.

"Machine" was a good 15 minute or so jam that abrupted ended with the house lights coming on. There was no attempt at an encore.

In the middle of the set, he did an interesting move with a large back up singer chick who came to spotlight to belt out 'Retha's "Respect." JB cut her off at the end and went into "It's a Man's World." All of the other hits were at least referenced with at least a few bars. One of the other more memorable tunes was the version of "Hot Pants" which was suitably hot.

There was quite a bit of men's room bitching about the length of the set. JB could have easily stretched it out by taking a breather and letting the band play, but he opted to stay onstage for the entire set, taking a breather by sitting at a small keyboard and banging out some chords.

There was a preponderance of hat-wearing pimp alikes at the concert. My favorite was the dude in his late '50s whom was pretty obviously packing under his white linen suit. He had a contrasting red shirt, red boots, red tie and pimp hat. He also opted for the Budweiser in the red aluminum bottle so he had everthing matching. He was smoking at the bar (this is now a non smoking building.) He was asked by the bartender to put out his smoke, to which he laughed and dimissively said that he knew that and that he was in a bar...

I then saw him drop a pill of some sort into someone else's beer glass. It was really hard to believe. He then got into a yelling match with some security guy, where he starting pointing and getting very mad. I thought the pistol was going to be drawn... Instead, he just put his butt into the beer glass, where he had put the pill mere moments before.

Taking the train was an adventure as was the local tavern, where they were so excited to see some fresh blood that they comped me a Modelo or two. The rap was deafening but was also inexplicably followed by Billy Joel's "Pressure." Weird could not even begin to explain the scene there with wheel chair bound alcoholics and over weight prostitutes.

James Brown really high

Brown... James Brown

In honor of the first annual Cratedigger James Brown Day.

Here he is, the hardest working man in show business, obviously under the influence of something. He is a very happy inebriated state.

I love it when he says he is "Out on Love," to the reporter's question as to whether he is out on bail due to domestic violence charges. (See the above post.)

Let's hope that he is a bit more with it tonite at the Genessee Theatre in scenic Waukegan, IL.

I hope that I can find some videos of the prime James Browns Funky People show from the early 70s at some point...

James Brown Day at Cratedigger HQ

I feel that almost everyone has seen JBs arrest pic and his mugshot from his domestic troubles a couple of years back, but I thought that I would post them again for Cratedigger James Brown Day.

Stay Free JB!

More 45s

Today, I headed north and scored some more garage winners.
There is a guy up north that always has the solution for a garage jones.

Here are the spoils of battle:

Buckinghams "Don't Want to Cry" USA Baby, yes, the killer. The best 45 on USA Records, the second best being The Cherry Slush. Just think, I saw a reconstituted (horrible) version of this band for the Glenview, Il Centennial. They now play a bland Chicago blue-eyed soul style replete with horns. Eons away in the musically perfect world of 1966, the fuzz and the break combined with the organ on "Cry" will make any garage fan want to break household items. Also these guys were known for a tv spot for the famous Mr. Norm. He was a famous Mopar Chicago car dealer back in the 60s that I am sure Iowahawk has written about. Check out the altered pic above. The Bucks also were the house band for Mr. Norm's dances and socials that he hosted for promotional purposes. Imagine Mopar freaks rocking to this single. The flip is "I'll Go Crazy" by James Brown. I have not gotten around to listening to that side yet.

Guess Who "Believe Me" Scepter Si, that Guess Who. I was exposed to this track on the mostest excellent Wyld Canada comp. (Please boycott the boots on ePay!)
Viva '66. Smoking loud and in your face. Dig the break here, too. Groove to a young Randy Bachman. F BTO!

Trolls "Everyday and Every night" ABC Calling this Chicago area single a killer might be a stretch but solid, along the lines of an inclusion on Coloured Sights and Sounds volume.

Rationals "Leavin' Here" Cameo This DJ copy is pretty hammered, probably VG in quality. Yes, this is the Holland Dozier Holland ditty popularized by the Who and made definitive by Ronnie Wood's Birds. The Rationals give the track a solid reading. Who couldn't dig the 3 chords here?

05 06 Mustang- nice ride...

You have to admit that for a modern car, The 05 and 06, and one presumes the 07 Mustang GT, is one hot piece of a$$...

Above is a show car called the 6T6 or something. I am not a fan of street rods or weak pro touring machines, but with a mild amount of bolt ons, one can easily obtain 300 rwhp with an 05/06 GT.

Smoking!

I've Heard of odd guitars...

Here are some custom Mosrites striped by Von Dutch. They were given to Incense and Peppermints players the Strawberry Alarm Clock (formerly Thee Sixpence, of much more interest to me, music-wise.) they played these axes in a film, which must have been Beyond The Valley of The Dolls (Ebert's claim to fame-- working with Russ Meyer!!!).

The guitars were returned and now they are on eBay.

Discussion on Physical Music

This article at City of Sound discusses how all relevance and relationships between sound, style and artistry are lost with the commodification of music through digital retailers such as Itunes music store.

The reduction (or elimination) of physical product associated with music is driving this change.

While the article is based on Jazz, I feel that it holds true for any sort of music. Without album art and correct discographical info, much relevance is lost. The article posits that at some point all info on Jazz may be held by a few archeologists. In the past, listeners could read the album jacket and learn about session date, relaease date, composition credits, session players, etc. Now with itunes, the info seems to focus on the reissue, not the original release date. This makes it hard for driven music fans to search out other releases due to connections they may learn about on record covers or liner notes.

I enjoy getting an old record from a record show, garage sale or wherever and reading about the details related to the music.

In the digital age, it is so much more about quantity of music and not quality of experience. I think I am the only person that I know that ditched his ipod. I felt that the negatives far outweighed the positives of the experience.

If I were a recording artist, I think that I would be mourning the faceless world that we are creating with mp3s and filesharing et al. Music has just become another piece of software.

Cratedigger Freakbeat Primer

My buddy over at Iowahawk, recently posted some cool video clips. The ran the gamut of frat/garage/pop, but did not really hit the freakbeat mark as advertised in his blog heading. I did some searching on YouTube and came up with some videos and sent them along.

The term freakbeat has fallen from favor as of late amongst the bearded, bespectacled record collecting set, but generally refers to the brief instance of British/UK/The Continental pop music where mod added feedback, more fuzz on the guitar breaks, but before Hendrix, The Cream et al went the hippie route.

This music is R&B/Blues based, but with a heavy layer of fuzz box finery added to the hip mini skirt/ squared heeled boot style. In a word, the HEIGHT of musical coolness.

Please find some YouTube based videos below:

The Smoke - My Friend Jack

The Smoke were a UK band that had this 67 #1 Deutschland hit, but the track was
banned in the UK. Could it have been, the line, "My Friend Jack eats sugarlumps?"

Notably they were managed by Chris Blackwell, the guy who formed Island Records and bored the world with the corrected version of reggae.

The Creation Live 1966

The Creation are arguably the posterchildren for the term freakbeak.
Watch Kenny Pickett (deceased, former Led Zep Roadie) in his mod finery belt
out I'm A Man. Check Eddie Phillips on the Es335(?) at 1:20 bust into a
break, where he pulls out the violin bow, most notably before M. Page.

Stay tuned for Makin' Time, @ 7:11 the bow comes out on the break, for
a full on shredding, and then accompaniment for the rest of the track.

Small Faces - Tin Soldier

For obvious reasons, I have included Tinsoldier by the Small Faces. Dig
the tuff guitar line into the mod stomping "take me like I am." But
wait
until 1:30 where Austin TX' very own Ian McLagan busts the organ out,
and
the stomping of Kenney Jones gives Keith Moon a run for the freak beat
drumming honors. Was Mitch Mitchell taking notes? I also dig Steve
Marriott's axe, which appears to be a vintage sunburst encrusted
telecaster.