Top 10 last minute vinyl scores of 2010
Feeding the vinyl monkey on my back is a year round affair.. here’s the acquisitions of the last week or so! Happy new year!
Mahlathini – The Lion of Soweto (Earthworks 1987)
Incredible gravel-throated mbaqanga singer of legend from Johannesburg. If you like the Mahotella Queens , this is much harder and hookier!
Rebirth Brass Band – Feel Like Funkin’ It Up (Rounder 1989)
I’ve loved this second line brass band since I saw them live at the Maple Leaf in New Orleans in early 2001.
Various Artists – Afrobeat Airways/West African Shock Waves Ghana & Togo 1972-1979 (Analog Africa 2010)
An awesome gift from my wife (so thoughtful!), this is a reissue comp of some hard psych afrobeat from west Africa’s golden era brimming with awesome steamily trippy funk rhythms.
Don Tracy – A Night With the Voodoo Family (Capitol 1965)
Almost kitchy recording of “authentic voodoo music”, composed by a brit, still undeniably pounding and foreboding sounding like any fake voodoo-sploitation album should be.
Carl Perkins – The Original Carl Perkins (Charly Records 1976)
The true king of rockabilly schwing!
Desmond Dekker – Double Dekker (Trojan 1973)
Amazing sounding and thorough compilation of Desmond Dekker on Trojan. Some of their early reissues can be pretty thin “ronco” style.. but this is a glory comp of the early king of rocksteady.
Wilson Pickett – The Best of Wilson Pickett (Atlantic 1967)
Does it get any better than a compilation of Wilson Pickett hits? I mean “Land of 1000 dances”, “Every body needs Somebody to Love”, “In the Midnight Hour”? Stellar… although bar bands have forever ruined “Mustang Sally” for me.
Bud Shank – Brazil! Brazil! Brazil! (Liberty Records 1966)
Lovely collection of kitchy samba Brazil-sploitation music from the mid 60s. Goes perfect with an avocado-green shag carpet!
Cesar et ses Romains – Rock N’ Roll (Les Archives du Disques Quebecois 1967)
For the uninitiated, Quebec has an unsung wealth of what we call Yé-Yé music, which is franco-rock that mimics the 50’s and 60’s American rock, but wiz a frenche accent, monsieur!
Typically, bands like Cesar et ses Romains would put out a single with a frenchisized version of a popular hit on side A, and slide in an original on side B. This post-breakup compilation brings together some of their best “versions” like “Mon Seul Amour” (Unchained Melody), “Tu Dois Quitter L’Hotel” (Heartbreak Hotel) and “Quand J’Avais 16 Ans” (Sweet Little 16).
Marc Hamilton – Marc Hamilton (Trans-Canada 1970)
Also rarely escaping the borders of the province of Quebec is the french version of the psychedelic 60s (I know, Harmonium was big in California.). 60s Queb-psych somehow crams sitars and fuzzy guitars in with syrupy strings and too many lyrics. Occasionally it’s awesome and quite distinctly cool. Marc Hamilton was at the top of the heap at the end of the 60s with strange psych jams like “Tapis Magique” and “Je N’apprendrai Pas Le Violon”.
