Hello record lovers. Back this week with a few new additions to the House of Wax collection. Found myself a nice copy of Dale Hawkins’ “Susie-Q” which had been on the list for some time and it sounded pretty good despite being a 57 year old 7″ single. Also played from a collection of Solomon Burke’s early career and a band called The Critters covering a Lovin’ Spoonful tune called “Younger Girl”. All of these I found the day after Record Store Day. Unfortunately, an unusually long day at work kept me from the celebrations at all the local shops. Having been able to go out on every RSD since its inception in 2008 I was predictably bummed. And while the expansion of Record Store Day has caused some criticism of the intent of the labels and distributors, I still maintain the belief that getting people out into the shops is a positive step. There will always be the persons who are into it just for the money; buying the exclusive releases regardless of personal interest just so they can turn around and sell it at three times the price to the people who were not so lucky to be first in line. It’s a shame for sure. The RSD releases may have turned into more of a gimmick in recent years, but I think that most record lovers are smart enough to know that. They are the ones who may have gone in for that glow-in-the-dark Ghostbusters 12″ or whatever kookie demo and B-side collection The Flaming Lips are coming out with this year, but then stayed because they saw what the record store truly had to offer. Everything I found last Sunday was from the used bins. The beauty of music and record collecting is their unremitting shelf life. Whatever genre or time period, there’s always too much to be found, and the record stores who can help convince its patrons of this are the ones that really succeed. To them and to their returning customers, every day is Record Store Day.
And now this week’s playlist:
Elvis Presley – “Good Luck Charm”
Chuck Berry – “Nadine”
Buddy Holly & The Crickets – “Maybe Baby”
Dale Hawkins – “Susie Q”
Curtis Lee – “Under The Moon Of Love”
The Rays – “Silhouettes”
The Coasters – “Young Blood”
Del Shannon – “Runaway”
Solomon Burke – “Walking In A Dream”
Little Anthony & The Imperials – “Tears On My Pillow”
Little Richard – “Ooh! My Soul”
Ricky Nelson – “Travelin’ Man”
Roy Orbison – “Blue Angel”
Lou Christie – “Rhapsody In The Rain”
The Temptations – “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”
Swingin’ Medallions – “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)”
Lesley Gore – “Maybe I Know”
Major Lance – “The Monkey Time”
The Crystals – “He’s Sure The Boy I Love”
The Beach Boys – “Don’t Worry Baby”
The Rolling Stones – “She Smiled Sweetly”
The Critters – “Younger Girl”
Donovan – “Jennifer Juniper”
Small Faces – “I’m Only Dreaming”
The Young Rascals – “Find Somebody”
Paul Revere & The Raiders – “Hungry”
The Monkees – “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”
The Kinks – “Till The End Of The Day”
The Animals – “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”
The Buckinghams – “Don’t You Care”
Gerry and the Pacemakers – “How Do You Do It”
The Who – “I Can’t Reach You”
Cat Stevens – “The First Cut Is The Deepest”
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap – “Lady Willpower”
The Hollies – “Pay You Back With Interest”