THE RISING STORM

Only hit up the closing minutes of my old flea market and still made some nice finds. One snag this time tho, I had Elephant Mountain by the Youngbloods in my hand ready to go but somehow lost it on the way back! Win some lose some I guess; all the sweeter when I nab it down the road.

Mimi & Richard Fariña “Celebrations For a Grey Day”
I knew about this record because of Richie Unterberger’s Urban Spacemen and Wayfaring Strangers. It came with a CD that had Reno Nevada on it, and it really hooked me in to this mysterious duo. The bulk of the album sounds quite different than this, but still:

Mimi & Richard Fariña “Reno Nevada”

Paul Revere & The Raiders “The Spirit of ‘67″
I get real excited when I find records that we’ve posted. They have this glow when I find them. And I know I won’t be leaving without it. I hope some of you have had the same experience. Here’s Jason’s review.

Paul Revere & The Raiders “Our Candidate”

Country Joe & The Fish “Together”
I only knew the first two Fish albums by cover, so I took a chance on this one. Turns out it was their third and most successful record. Only had a couple listens but it’s pretty kickin I’d say. Got to love the Fish cheers:

Country Joe & The Fish “Good Guys/Bad Guys Cheer / The Streets of Our Town”

Paul McCartney “McCartney”
I love Paul’s second solo album, Ram. The production is so delicate and homegrown; he was a genius in the studio. His first solo outing doesn’t disappoint in the least, and lesser known tracks shine like unheralded classics. Listen to the mix, he takes the volume of that little uke strum so far down, and those splashing closed hi-hats with the vocal percussion, I love that.

Paul McCartney “That Would Be Something”

Peter Townshend “Who Came First”
This one I have been hunting for years. The production is ahead of its time for ‘72, but still with a little grit. Lovely drum sound and some Who rarities in a couple songs from their abandoned Lifehouse project. Overall, maybe not the record for everybody, but very rewarding after a few, and this is what I call a hot track:

Pete Townshend “Forevers No Time At All”

Aretha Franklin – Soul ‘69
When you spend a lot of time with records, you get pretty good at judging them by the cover. I’m no expert on the ups and downs of Aretha’s discography, but damn if that sleeve didn’t tell me it was a good one. Good swinging record, with excellent covers, including this one by my man Bob Lind:

Aretha Franklin “Elusive Butterfly”

It’s going to be a good spring and summer. Record shopping is a must — turntables practically pay for themselves, with bargain bin records patching up holes in the collection and introducing new artists you wouldn’t exactly seek out. I don’t obsess over VG++ and Mint(-) stuff (like another Rising Storm writer I know); promo cuts and stamps work for me, as long as there isn’t a nasty scratch thru the slab. But since I’m going all vinyl, I thought it might be fun to share some finds along the way. Probably nothing you haven’t already got, but I mean, it couldn’t hurt right? Here’s what I picked up at a flea market over the weekend.

Rank & File “Sundown”
I’ve been dabbling with 80s cowpunk and such. I have a CD of The Long Ryders which I’d love to find, but I was super excited to find this one. Thanks to the Jangly 80s series over at STWOF I recognized the cover right away and snatched it right up. It’s a bit off track here but such a great record once you get used to the glossier sound. Thanks Paul!

mp3: The Conductor Wore Black

The Band “Stage Fright”
If you couldn’t tell from our last podcast, I love The Band’s third outing, Stage Fright. I have it on CD but couldn’t resist when the original sleeve popped up in a stack. Jason said: “Did you ever listen to Stage Fright? A lot has been made of the Band’s first two albums and how influential they are but Stage Fright is just as good, though the songwriting is more personal where as before they always wrote about history. It has a definite woodstock sound though but its the band at the peak of their powers.”

mp3: Daniel And The Sacred Harp

Crosby Stills Nash & Young “Deja Vu”
Inspired by the Drunkard’s question about album covers, the yearbook/family album-style embossed sleeve drew me in as well. Can’t not have this one. Nice to see the Dr. Byrds and Mr. Hyde font on the inside. Btw, my goal for the summer is to nab the full Byrds discography in records. Almost half way there.

mp3: Deja Vu

Mother Earth “Living With The Animals”
I hadn’t seen this record before, but it was there in my subconscious somehow. Really good soulful record with a classy gatefold design. I’ll definitely pick up Make A Joyful Noise if I can find it.

mp3: The Kingdom Of Heaven (Is Within You)

Stephen Stills (self-titled)
I’ve been reading a lot about Stills lately and realizing what a masterful songwriter he is, but put off delving into his solo material until I found these two together. Great essential record for fans of roots rock.

mp3: Old Times Good Times

Steven Stills “2″
These records really hit the spot from the start. Side 1 on this is all perfect, and 2 is a little wonky, but not nearly as bad as Allmusicguide makes it out to be. Stills is definitely solid and I’ll be on the hunt for more. Especially geared up to find a good vinyl of Manassas.

mp3: Fishes And Scorpions