Chuck Berry, Brown Eyed Handsome Man, Too Much Monkey Business, Chess 1956

admin — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:03:48 +0000

This 78 rpm recording has made me a fan of Chuck Berry. Recorded in 1956, the two songs, Brown Eyed Handsome Man and Too Much Monkey Business, earned a #5 and #4 spot on the U.S. R&B charts. The songs are very catchy with lyrics like “She flew to Bombay to meet a Brown Eyed Handsome Man.” The recording/production of these songs is excellent. The guitar tone is very upfront in the song and clean. The other instruments have nice separation and work well together. There is an interesting little drum roll that could be sampled at the end of Too Much Monkey Business. Overall, this is a great recording!
Artist: Chuck Berry
Release Date: 1956
Label: Chess Records
Tracks: Brown Eyed Handsome Man — Sample-Listen
Too Much Monkey Business — Sample-Listen

Jimmy Reed, The Sun Is Shining, Vee-Jay, 1957

admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 23:09:04 +0000

There are two tracks, The Sun Is Shining and Baby, What’s On Your Mind? The Sun Is Shining is a bit faster, but still has a laid back blues feel. I really like the harmonica and guitar work on these tracks. Its amazing to listen to a musician play two instruments and sing. There are drums and bass which hold the song together, but Jimmy shines with all the rest. Its hard to production technique used, but one interesting sound is the reverb on the snare drum.. must have been the room itself. There are references to the Rolling Stones playing “The Sun Is Shining” in their early years.

Great music by a great musician.

Artist: Jimmy Reed
Release Date: 1957
Label: Vee-Jay Records
Serial: VJ 248
Tracks: The Sun Is Shining, What’s oN Your Mind — The Sun Is Shining–Sample

Lonnie Johnson, Happy New Year, Darling / Backwater Blues, King

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:16:31 +0000

This is the perfect record for the new year, 2010! Lonnie Johnson and Happy New Year, Darling on King. I wish it was my idea to post such a relevant title, but it was just coincidence. When the Lonnie Johnson records started appearing in the stacks, I took notice. The thing that sticks out in this recording is his voice and the guitar tone. The track Happy New Year, Darling has three instruments, guitar, bass, and piano. Lonnie is way up front in the recording and has such a great voice. Its an electric guitar, but I wonder what style…. it almost sounds like a hollow body when he hits the chords. An Mp3 has been made available in 128kbps.

Artist: Lonnie Johnson
Release Date: 1947?
Label: King Records
Serial: 4251-A
Tracks: Happy New Year Darling — Listen
For Sale: Lonnie Johnson — Happy New Year, Darling / Backwater Blues

Bobby Bland, Farther Up The Road, Duke, 78 rpm

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:18:55 +0000

This is a really cool tune. It starts with sax and guitar doubling the same blues based riff. As the tune progresses, the guitar plays nice riffs around the vocal lines, but the tone really is very cool. The playing is very solid. Actually, the whole band is really good. Bobby delivers strong clear lyrics. His voice has a slight raspiness and is the featured line in the mix… right up front. Very cool song that is going on the personal mix for sure.
Artist: Bobby Bland
Release Date: 1957
Label: Duke Records
Tracks: Farther Up The Road — Listen Sometime Tomorrow — Listen

For Sale: Bobby “Blue” Bland, Farther Up The Road / Sometime Tomorrow.

Solomon Burke, Apollo Records, 78rpm

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:32:22 +0000

Solomon Burke, The King of Soul! Ok, now we really are getting vintage on the music blog. This is a 78 rpm recording on Apollo Records. Both songs are a slow to medium tempo, blues progression. The arrangement is a simple blues progression. Walking In A Dream. Slow to Medium tempo song. Recorded at 615 Tenth Avenue in Manhattan, the sound production is very good, especially on his voice. His voice really comes through clear and defined. Solomon really had great mic technique. He adjusted his voice and distance from the mic really well. The sax solo comes through great also. The production is better than I expected from a 78. Some simple guitar in the middle of the song. No Man Walks AloneMellow start. Horn section, bass, piano sound in the way back. The backup singers sound nuts. How do they hold those notes for so long and all over the scale like that? Solomon Burke had a fantastic voice, there is no doubt about it. Both songs have a slow build that end with Solomon delivering some powerful bars at the end. The last 4-8 bars are really awesome on both songs.

Artist: Solomon Burke
Release Date: 195?
Label: Apollo Records
Serial: AP 3587
Tracks: Walking In A Dream, No Man Walks Alone
For Sale: Coming Soon!

The Omens, Searching / Girl Get Away, Cody Records, 1965

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:20:21 +0000

A very rare and collectible record. Extensive information about this record can be found at
The Omens, Searching / Girl Get Away. There is also an interesting post from one of the former band members. This copy of The Omens plays very well for a record that is over 40 years old. There is no popping or clicking as the song plays, just light noise at the beginning and end, like any used record. The song Searching is an up tempo song with drums, tamborine, bass, guitar, organ, and the vocal lines. The song has a mixture of surf guitar and heavy fuzz effects. There aren’t many words in the song, but there are a few musical ideas. The song starts out loud with lots of energy, and the chorus is in the beginning…”Searchiiinnngggggg, Searching for Love!” Great song. The second song, Girl Get Away, is about the same tempo, around 112-116 bpm. It is not as loud, without the fuzz guitar tone. The vocals are smoother. Another interesting, great song. You can hear small Beatles and Beach Boys influences in each one of these tracks.

Artist: Cody Records
Release Date: 1965
Label: Cody Records
Tracks: Searching, Girl Get Away
For Sale: The Omens, Searching / Girl Get Away.

The Dells, Thinkin’ About You, Cadet, 1966

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:18:12 +0000

The Dells – Thinkin’ About You / The Change We Go Thru.Thinkin About You. This is a great song from the very beginning. A small conga intro kicks off nice, clear piano notes, and the song is off and running. The first few bars highlight the piano and set up the main riff for the song. Its a medium to slow tempo song, around 96 bpm or so. The singer really belts out his lyrics, very soulful. He has good mic awareness… He doesn’t get too close and pulls away when he needs to. Experienced singer. This is a song that gets better each time you hear it, then its in your head and you’re singing it for no reason. Thinkin’ About You will be on my personal mix for sure.The Change We Go Thru Very slow song, in the lower 80 bpm range. The singer really belts it out right off the bat. The interesting thing about this song is how the music… the strings, piano, drums… how they all follow the lyric lines. Its a mellow song. Overall this is a very collectable 45 rpm record in excellent condition!
Artist: The Dells
Release Date: 1966
Label: Cadet/Chess
Tracks: Thinkin’ About You, The Change We Go Thru
For Sale: The Dells, Thinkin’ About You.

Eddie Floyd, Sweet Things You Do, Stax

admin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 09:57:38 +0000

Eddie Floyd – Sweet Things You Do. This is a great medium tempo track. It feels like 104 bpm, somewhere around that speed. Eddie can really belt out the lyrics. I love the feel in the delivery, he put some punch behind his words, then bring it low and smooth during a slight breakdown. The song itself is short, only 2:10, but it has that great Stax sound. Cropper on the guitar leads it off. The Horns make their entrance, then Dunn, Jones, and Jackson bring in the rest of the music. Al Jackson has that loose drumming style. You can hear it from the first note he plays on the up of four to kick off the band. Great song, solid production, good levels. The horn section and vocal tracks shine on this cut. The second song is Bring It On Home To Me. There is a great intro section that could be sampled for sure… just drums and bass for about 3 measures. The song is written by Sam Cooke. It’s a very good song. For some reason, it just doesn’t have the same Stax feel. It could be the production, levels seem low across the board, (no pun). I wonder if the band put more heart into “Sweet Things You Do”, because they were the writers. Bring It On Home To Me could go on any mixtape or set list and it would be great. But after listening to both songs, back to back, many times…. Sweet Things You Do stands out!
Artist: Eddie Floyd
Release Date: 197?
Label: Stax
Tracks: Sweet Things You Do, Bring It On Home To Me
For Sale: Eddie Floyd, Sweet Things You Do / Bring It On Home To Me.

Prince And The Revolution, Pop Life, Warner Brothers, 1985

admin — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:29:55 +0000

Pop Life — Fresh Dance Mix Why is this song so catchy? I must have listened to it 5 times in a row. The record itself is only two songs, but the strength of “Pop Life” makes it worth checking out. There are some cool breakdown sections that showcase the back up singers. The end section is sort of lame… where the EQ settings are being tweaked. But, overall the song is really cool and this “Fresh Dance Mix” does keep it fresh. Hello — Fresh Dance Mix Really is not fresh at all… has a goofy keyboard effect in the beginning, pitch wheel style sounds. Weeeee! The guitar tone is interesting. It is so clean, almost too clean. The track is a forgetable style recording. Nothing stands out or sticks in your head. Prince mumbles some jive at the end of the song. Overall, this track could have been erased. Save the Tape! Tape is expensive! He should just dump all the layers and just release the drums as a download.

Artist: Prince And The Revolution
Release Date: 1985
Label: Warner Brothers
Tracks: Pop Life (Fresh Dance Mix), Hello (Fresh Dance Mix)
For Sale: Coming Soon

All Record updates will be on Twitter!

admin — Sat, 30 May 2009 10:49:28 +0000

The news posts regarding added records or site updates will all be on Twitter from now on. This will keep the blog focused on vinyl reviews!!!