my Dad's vinyl...

[CRAZY-HORSE]

so,
I went to see parents this morning for Mothers' Day (I usually see them at least once a week and call them every second day anyway)
and  my Dad was having a bit of a whinge about my sister and how she never offers to take them out for a coffee and if she does, finds every excuse not to pay for it, whereas my Dad and I each take turns to pay whether it happens to be a coffee or lunch.
anyway.
as I was leaving he gave me a box to take home with me explaining that theres a lot of old rock and roll albums in it and he'd rather give them to me now than have my sister take them and sell them for a couple of bucks each when he dies. he explained that at least I will treasure them and enjoy listening to them.
looking forward to seeing what is in the box and ultimately listening to them, im sure i'll havemost of the artists on cd or maybe even my own vinyl but here goes now....

carefully peeling off the tape from the top of the box....

opening the box......

posting what he has given me as I get my first glimpses...
they are all original UK pressings, mainly from the 50s/60s with a few 70s thrown in
===================================================

Conway Twitty  -  Conway twitty  

Little Richard  -  grooviest 17 original hits!

Little Richard  -  buck ram and his rock and roll band

Little Richard  -  little Richard is back!

Jerry Lee Lewis  -  breathless

Everly Brothers  -  pass the chicken and listen

Neil Diamond  -  touching you, touching me

Johnny Mathis  -  the impossible dream

Neil Sedaka  -  oh carol

Lloyd Price  -  16 greatest hits

Neil Sedaka  -  solitaire

Neil Sedaka  -  lets go steady again

Wanda Jackson  -  lets have a party

Neil Diamond  -  im glad youre here with me tonight

Neil Diamond  -  stones

Rick Nelson  -  million sellers

Johnny Mathis  -  johnny's newest hits

Jerry Lee Lewis  -  the golden hits of....

Georgie Fame  -  rhythm and blues at the flamingo

Freddie And The Dreamers  -  Freddie and the dreamers  

Beatles  -  please please me  

Beatles  -  with the beatles  

Beatles  -  a hard days night

Georgie Fame  -  at last

Johnny Tillotson  -  the best of

Jim Reeves  -  the best of

Cliff Richard  -  now you see me....now you dont

Cliff Richard  -  every face tells a story

Long John Baldry  -  let the heartaches begin

Jim Reeves  -  distant drums 

Eddie Cochran  -  the eddie Cochran memorial album

Neil Sedaka  -  I go ape

Dion  -  the wanderer

Gene Vincent  be-bop-a-lula

Gene Vincent  -  the singles album

Johnny Burnette  - hits and other favourites

Gene Vincent  -  gene vincent

Dion & The Belmonts  - greatest hits

Eddie Cochran  -  the very best of...

Rolling Stones  -  rolling stones  

Lonnie Donnegan  -  my old man's a dustman

Del Shannon  -  drop down and get me

Ray Charles  -  greatest hits

Ray Charles  -  greatest volume 2

Elvis Presley  -  50,000,000 elvis cant be wrong: golden records volume II
======================================================================

looking forward to start playing them..

[Music Head]

sweet!
only have a few of those
are there more hidden away somewhere
tell your dad to come over for coffee

[CRAZY-HORSE]

70s/80s albums yup.
Mum still has hers, she still plays hers.

Dad was not only peeved at my sister today but he was also upset with the sad rock news of Mr.Perriman's death overnight.
He was playing a Little Richard CD when I got there, told him if he had vinyl why would he insult his memory on CD LOL

[CRAZY-HORSE]

so lets start playing the albums:



ELVIS PRESLEY  "Golden Records volume II: 50,000,000 Elvis fans cant be wrong"  vinyl  1959

had to play this one first and it bought back a lot of memories.
I remember sitting on the rug in the lounge in my school shorts aged 4 or 5, legs crossed gazing endlessly
at Presley in his gold suit whilst listening intently to the songs on here.
I would then go out on my little 'chipper' bicycle and sing these songs at the top of my voice with the wind in my face
as I rode as fast as I could up and down the street.
Christ, hadn't thought of that for decades, yet just holding that album in my hands and smelling the aroma of the vinyl
stirred up all those memories, some emotions also, but im choosing not to go there at this time....
back to the record.
most of these songs were huge hits for Presley yet probably only two or three would be instantly recalled by their title by non fans.
a very good collection of singles that show the different sides of Presley's vocal abilities and genre swapping versatility in one nice package.
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

side 1:

1....I need your love tonight ***
2....don't ***
3....wear my ring around your neck ***
4....my wish came true ***
5....I got stung **

side 2:

1....one night ***
2....big hunk of love ***
3....I beg of you ***
4....(now and then theres a) fool such as I ***
5....doncha think its time **

3s = 8
2s = 2
1s = 0

rating:  2.8

favourite: a gorgeous ballad with a Gospel quality

[CRAZY-HORSE]

JIM REEVES  "distant drums" vinyl, 1966

I wiped the vinyl clean of possible (inevitable) dust before playing as I do with all vinyl anyway.
drop it on the turntable, press 'start', place the needle and those lovely character sounds of 'clicks' and 'crackles' warm my heart
with immediate effect because I know im about to listen to an album that has been played more than a few times and likewise warmed my Father's heart and soul on many an occasion also.
anyway:
a posthumous studio album
tracks in that slow crooner style for the most part with a couple of more upbeat ones thrown in for good measure.
knew several of the tracks but the rest were new to me.
nothing to really say other than it is Gentleman Jim.
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

side one:

1....distant drums ***
2....is it really over? **
3....I missed me ***
4....snowflake ***
5....a letter to my heart **
6....losing your love **

side two:

1....this is it **
2....not until the next time ***
3....good morning self **
4....where does a broken heart go? ***
5....overnight **
6....the Gods were angry with me **

3s = 5
2s = 5
1s = 0

rating: 2.5

I would normally almost certainly pick the title track above all others but I think its safe to say that we would all know that one so
here is another one that casual listeners to Jim  Reeves probably wouldn't know:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

GENE VINCENT  "the gene Vincent singles album" vinyl.

twenty track compilation.
Mr.Vincent was never big in his homeland back in the day but he had a huge following in the UK.
was constantly on tour there from the last 1950s through to the early seventies before he died.
all these songs were singles in the UK, most charted.
Be-Bop-a-Lula is often listed in the top 10 influential songs of the 1950s and rightfully so.
he has a bit of a Buddy Holly vocal quality at times, I guess back in that era people wanted to sound
like either Buddy of Elvis...
not a bad album by any means a handful of tracks I wasn't keen on but the rest were good.
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

side 1:

1....blue jean bop ***
2....lotta lovin' ***
3....race with the devil **
4....pistol packin' mama ***
5....baby blue **
6....wildcat ***
7....woman love **
8....im goin' home ***
9....rocky road blues **
10..dance to the bop **

side 2:

1....say mama *
2....crazy legs *
3....my heart **
4....well I knocked(bim bam) **
5....she-she little sheila ***
6....rollin' danny **
7....over the rainbow *
8....git it *
9....b-I-bickey-bi-bo-bo-boo *
10..be-bop-a-lula ***

3s = 7
2s = 8
1s = 5

rating: 2.2

---

couldn't resist posting this one neither:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

NEIL SEDAKA "I go ape" vinyl, 1963.

oh yeah...
secret love?, guilty pleasure?...both I guess but MH knows im a huge fan of the dude.
pop writer turned performer like so many of them did.
has written something like 500 songs that have made the Billboard pop charts either by him
or other artists, has few peers as a hit maker other than probably Goffin/King, Lennon/McCartney and Albert Hammond
I guess.
should be revered more than he is, should be idolised by more than he is...
he is in the Rock And Roll Songwriters HoF, he should be in the good ole R+R Hof also.
81 years of age, has a couple of kids and has been married since 1962, no drugs or alcohol issues, just a genuine nice guy.
I LOVE THIS ALBUM of piano based pop.

side 1:

1....bad girl **
2....the diary **
3....lets go steady again ***
4....wait till you see my baby **
5....I belong to you **
6....as long as I live **

side 2:

1....I go ape ***
2....don't lead me on **
3....circulate ***
4....forty winks away **
5....walk with me **
6....you gotta learn your rhythm and blues ***

tough call for favourite but lets go for this one:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

JOHNNY TILLOTSON "the best of..." vinyl, 1968

he wrote one of the most iconic lonesome country songs of all time in It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin',
sung a lot of covers, as everyone did back then but also wrote hits for Andy Williams, Everly Brothers,
Elvis Presley and numerous other stars back in the day.
problem I have, especially with his sad songs is that he still sounds cheerful and poppy, not too much
emotion conveyed in his vocals.
not a bad singer I guess, nothing on here I don't like but only one I love
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

side 1:

1....it keeps right on a-hurtin' **
2....send me the pillow you sleep on **
3....im so lonesome I could cry **
4....youre the reason **
5....worry **
6....talk back trembling lips **

side 2:

1....poetry in motion ***
2....why do i love you so **
3....dreamy eyes **
4....without you **
5....she understands me **
6....heartaches by the number **

3s = 1
2s = 11
1s = 0

rating: 2.0

my dad still sings this as he ventures down the bottom of his garden to fill the birdfeeders with seed.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ROLLING STONES "the rolling stones" vinyl, 1964

their UK debut album.
varies slightly from the US version.
UK has a cover of Ellas McDaniel's "mona", the US swapped that one out for Not Fade Away.
only one Jagger/Richards original on here and that's my favourite.
its rough, its ragged and its the Stones in their dirtiest, bad boy thirty minutes.
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

side 1:

1....Route 66 **
2....I just wanna make love to you **
3....honest I do ***
4....mona **
5....now ive got a witness **
6....little by little **

side 2:

1....im a king bee **
2....carol ***
3....tell me(youre coming back) ***
4....can I get a witness **
5....you can make it if you try ***
6....walking the dog ***

3s = 5
6s = 7
1s = 0

rating: 2.4

favourite and only Jagger/Richards composition on the album:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

CLIFF RICHARD "now you see me.....now you don't" vinyl 1982

think my dad was taking the piss when he put Cliff Richard in the box....
his twenty-fifth studio album of forty-six, latest in 2018.
cant knock the dude, hes been huge in the UK/Australia since 1958 and still going.
anyway,
light pop on this one, most of which are what we'd now call 'Christian pop/rock'.
one cover, the Christmas tune, Little Town Of Bethlehem.
some okay tunes on here and album is very hit and miss which is why im not a fan.
I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

side 1:

1....the only way out **
2....first date *
3....thief in the night *
4....where do we go from here **
5....son of thunder *
6....little town *

side 2:

1....it has to be you, it has to be me *
2....the water is wide **
3....now you seem me, now you don't **
4....be in my heart **
5....discovering *

3s = 0
2s = 6
2s = 5

rating: 1.6





Came a time in my life I had to be free
From all of the lies that used to be me
And the only way out is the only way in and it's you.

I've been waisting my time but not anymore
I've been through the maze and it lead to your door
And the only way out is the only way in and it's you.

I spent a lot of time at the crossroads
Getting that lonely feeling inside
Suddenly you stopped the rain, you changed the view
Now every way's leading to you.

Let's get this thing going, let's move it along
Let me do all the things I've been missing so long
'cause the only way out is the only way in and it's you, oh

I spent a lot of time at the crossroads
Getting that lonely feeling inside
Suddenly you made the rescue, you pulled me through
Now let me do something for you.

Let's get this thing going, let's move it along
Let's do all the things I've been missing so long
And the only way out is the only way in and it's you.
Yeah the only way out is the only way in and it's you
Yeah the only way out is the only way in and it's you
Only way out is the only way in
The only way out is the only way in
Is the only way in
The only way out is the only way in