Josh decided that a purge was necessary at his place and asked me sheepishly if I would be interested in his vinyl and CD castoffs. It was me or the garbage bin.

Uh… yeah, I could take those off his hands I replied.

What came was a plastic storage bin full of vinyl and CD’s. Classical, Jazz, Comedy, Radio Shows and a few classic Rock albums. I found plenty that I wanted to keep.

Plastic sleeves too!

The most notable album in the bunch is the Blind Faith album.

This one is fantastic, and reminds me of my father. I think I got it right after he passed when I lived in Sun Prairie. I remember walking to a nearby school to shoot hoops and playing this on a little portable tape player. Funny how memories attach themselves to music that way. I had seen it many many times in my record store shopping days, but didn’t know who Clapton was back then and got it in a Clapton phase years later. The cover was weird back then and even weirder today with the way the world perceives things. I believe the photographer intended a picture of innocence when he took it. Not sure it that worked, even back then.

I give you Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Faith#Album_release_and_controversy

I always thought it was a marketing nightmare, but it sure defined the term blind faith. There was no list of tracks, no list of the band members… when you bought this you either knew from others exactly what you were buying, or you really were talking a chance. The music inside is top notch though and well worth it. These days the alternate covers are probably what you will end up with, which is why owning this is so cool.

There was plenty of other great stuff in the bin too.

This morning I listened to Miles Davis on vinyl. There were 2 in the bin.

“Miles Davis – Steamin’ With The Miles Davis Quartet”

“Miles Davis – Basic Miles. The Classic Performances of Miles Davis”

There was also more jazz.

“Thelonius Monk – Big Band and Quartet In Concert”

“Thelonius Monk – Underground”

Sadly “Underground” is pretty beat up on side B and even I couldn’t get the skips out, and I’m pretty good at it. This is a great record, not that I would pass up a Thelonius Monk if I saw it, but I am going to have to keep my eyes open for this one.

There was a surprise or two in the keep pile. The Cure album you saw in the first pic turned out to be a cruel joke. Inside was not “Head On The Door” but “Brendan Boyer – Irish Showband”. NOT the same. Booooo!

“The Cure – Disintegration” was intact however and will likely make a record frame someday. I love the cover.

There was also a Beatles album! Now this one was not as cruel, inside was still Beatles, but it was “A Hard Day’s Night” on the outside, but “Meet The Beatles” on the inside. Someone had written “Meet The Beatles” on the cover.

On the one hand I love having a Beatles album, but if you know me, having this mismatch makes my eye quiver a little. I’ll get over it.

Some other notables:

“Louis Prima – The Wildest!”

and it’s signed by Louis Prima!

“Orson Welles – War Of The Worlds”

“9:34 A.M. May 5, 1961”

The cover pic sort of speaks for itself on that one. There were actually 2 copies in the bin.

“Elvis – Moody Blue”

I kept all the Elvis in the bin, not exactly sure why, but this one is on blue vinyl. I had to keep it man.

The rest was a mixture of stuff I decided shouldn’t end up in the landfill. Saved were:

“Columbia Stereophonic Phonograph Demonstration Record”

“The Rolling Stones – Big Hits (High Tide And Green Grass) – MONO

“Sly And The Family Stone – A Whole New Thing”

“Sly And The Family Stone – Greatest Hits”

“Crosby Stills Nash & Young – So Far”    (no cover)

“Neil Young – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere”   (no cover) ( 2 copies)

“Neil Young – After The Gold Rush”

“Bob Dylan – Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol II”

“Janis Joplin – Pearl”

“Woodstock – Soundtrack”

“Willie Nelson – The Troublemaker”

“Santana – Abraxas”

“Johnny Cash – I Walk The Line”

and last but not least, or maybe so, a handful of Elvis: “I Got Lucky”, “Elvis Sing Hits From His Movies Vol I”, “Elvis Sings Christmas Songs”, “Elvis As Recorded Live At Madison Square Garden” and 2 that are still sealed… “Worldwide Gold Award Hits, Parts 1 & 2” and “A Legendary Performer Vol 2”

A VERY generous donation to The Aural Retentive’s vinyl collection.

Thank you Josh !