What are you listening to and what do you have to say about it?

Thanks Sylvain that was fun to read :)
Yep I just noticed that there seems to be a part of the liners missing... It's a bit of a bummer that many people who do layout doesn't seem to focus too much on the text...
The only thing that's missing is '...and The Chocolate Watchband.' though...
The reason that the release just looks like a 'best of' is that Raul plans to release another record with the rest of the stuff - and that too many songs on one LP will affect the sound in a negative way. I'm very happy with the sound - it's a lot better than on the old cd...

BTW - we have a buncha copies for sale, for anyone who might be interested.
12€ + postage
PM for total.
Postage from Sweden is a little bit higher than from for example Germany, but we make that up by having a very good price for the record itself.
 
Hi-Notes - Without You Darling a very delicate petal indeed. followed by 4th Street Exit - Strange One .. KILLER. you`ve guessed it i`m listening to Diggin` For Gold vol 7 duh.
 
BUt my absolute fave LP by a SF band is the first Country Joe & the Fish. It MUST be the mono mix though but I got that for ca $10 on ebay. Most 'psych fans' still haven't realized that 60's mono is preferrable to stereo, and usually rarer pressings as well.

That doesn't always hold true (some monos sound pretty flat), but it is certainly the case for the 1st CJ & Fish LP. The guitars especially leap out of the speakers where they sound rather dissipated in stereo.
One of the ultimate mono LPs, to me, is Cruising With Ruben & the Jets. There are no real differences in the mix, but the mono sounds like you're listening on a tinny AM car radio. I wonder if that had been Zappa's intention.

np. Schony
 
You're of course right - there's always exceptions... another good example is The Baroques on Chess. The mono sounds muddy and flat (even the 45 - Iowa, a girl's name) while the stereo sounds wide open and punchy.
 
I' was at a flea market recently and picked up a mono copy of the first Left Banke LP. About 10 minutes later picked up a stereo copy from another dealer. When I got home I cleaned them and play tested them as my plan was to sell them since I had both already. I don't think I'd ever A-B'd them. The stereo sounds better and now I wonder if the mono is a fold down.

here's what I've been listening to.

Coasters- Dance /ATCO Just picked this up last week. People say finding records that you've never heard is getting hard but if there's a killer Coasters record I've never heard... anything's possible.

Flamingos- Let's make up /Decca Awesome jump that is their best in my opinion! great guitar/sax break and it's on a major!?!

Mel Anton and the Checkers- Hey little girl /Kable Prime slice of motor city rock'n'roll. Early sixties rocker that moves at light speed and just when you thought it couldn't get better the guitar break comes in. WOW

Keith Green- go-go getter /Decca Gender-bending lead vocal is great and twelve string break nails it!

Troyes- Help me find myself /Space Great two-sider.

Blokes- All American girl /Dante Couldn't decide if I liked this much at first. It's growing on me though.

Satisfactions on LEE Another great two-sider!

Moonlighters- Broken Heart /Josie great Texas moody rockabilly with a spooky vibe and a small debt to "I'm comin' home".
 
Blokes- All American girl /Dante Couldn't decide if I liked this much at first. It's growing on me though.

I wanted to like this but it's one I'm not missing after my big purge of garage 45s some years ago.

Some arrivals from last week(ish) I've been playing a lot:

Love - Alone again or. Fab warm sound on 45. Finally getting around to buying the Love 45s after years of putting it off. Picked up a nice, undrilled & unplayed copy from a small stock find. Only to find out the last 10 or so seconds on each side makes a faint clicking sound. No visible crack though. Argh.

Birds - Leaving here/Next in line. Yes! Decca certainly could master 45s. Even though there is more hairline scuffs than I would prefer (damn Euro grading!), this comes accross loud and clean.

Gerry & Leslie - I like that girl (Hush) Nice kiddie Everly/garage sounding disc with sharp backing on the same label as the debut disc from the Syndicate of Sound. Haven't seen it before, nice surprise. Downside, 0.4 inch crack! Argh part II.

Smoke - My friend Jack. Finally pulled the trigger on the French EP. Fuzzdrenched perfection that's been a want for perhaps 20 years that I never got around to buying. Cheap too. Would've been much mor expensive pre-eBay when the dealers were God. Missing the jukebox tag but I can live with that since it was for oncce a good Euro grading. Now I need a pristine UK pressing.

Bachs - Out of the Bachs (Time Lag) Need to listen more to this. I'm a little boy is still the stand out track for me. Wish it had been a 45 back then! Gave off a nice amateurish Love vibe when sat through in one listening. Very crisp sound so I guess Time Lag have done it right with regards to the remastering.
 
Got my copy of the Bachs LP as well. Really well done, this reissue. An insert would've been nice but it's the music and sound that counts. The last part of side 1 and first part of side 2 is really, really strong.

Also got an original mono copy of the Blue Things LP, unfortunately it could use a good cleaning but apart from that I'm really happy to be able to listen to this in mono. My stereo reissue actually sounds okay but the seperation is a bit too much for my taste.

Still waiting for that Elevators box...:%:
 
The stereo sounds better and now I wonder if the mono is a fold down.
Is that what you call it? A fold-down? Some of my mono LPs (mostly '67/'68) sound exactly as if they were stereo mixes folded into mono. I'd say this can never make for good sound, can it?
I think for some of the poppier '60s productions stereo is great, if not essential. I listened to "Revolver" yesterday after years, and once again I'm excited about its crispness and all those little things Geoff Emerick did (two different drumsets, one on each channel, etc., all kinds of things with the voices and guitars). To me it sounds perfect (Geoff Emerick= genius). The mono doesn't really bring across the idea.

Blokes- All American girl /Dante Couldn't decide if I liked this much at first. It's growing on me though.
I think it's great. One of my faves of the Fenton comp. The Troyes are cool as well.
 
Regarding the mono/stereo dichotomy, something I wanted to ask before. I've got a mono copy of the Kitchen Cinq album. It wasn't cheap, it's near mint, but it's almost unbearable to listen to. I think it is a "fold down". Could anyone tell me if the stereo version sounds better or what it sounds like? That would be nice. Because I really dig the songwriting and playing.
Thanks, Axel.
 
Any thoughts on the Kitchen Cinq album? No fans of that record around here?
Is it worth getting the stereo version? How bout the CD?
I love this record. If only the sound/mix would be any better!
It would be great to hear some of your opinions on this...

 
Any thoughts on the Kitchen Cinq album?
I've enjoyed what I've heard and eventually will need to make a move on the album... would be interested to know what sounds better (stereo vs. mono) as well.
 
I listened to it again today. I don't really think it's a fold-down. It only has too much echo/reverb. I assume that somebody (Mr. Hazlewood who "supervised" the production maybe?) made them run the tracks through the echochamber to make it sound bigger (especially the drums). Typical case of overproduction. A folk-rock/beat outfit inflated to Phil Spector size, so to speak. Fold-downs sometimes have a similar effect (echo/reverb in places where it isn't supposed to be).
When listening to it again I didn't find it as "unbearable" as before. I almost got used to it. Although it would be so much better without the heavy echo.
Still I wonder what it sounds like in stereo...
 
My copy of the Bachs re-issue came today. Indeed this is the best it has sounded. If you can, get one before it is too late!
 
winningsides3_lp.jpg


Brand new U.S garage comp (not all songs are 'garage' IMO, but whatever). It's pretty great, with liner notes and color label scans on the back.

Last Exit - The Fast One
Invaders Of Burdines Combo Castle - Honda Come Back
The Hi Boys - So Good
The Shadows - Tell Me
Young Strangers - She's Gone
Bill Allan and the Fugitives - Come On And Clap
Roy and the Royals - Do The Bare
The Misfits - I'll Feel Better
Jim Curran and the Lonely Ones - Aren't You Happy?
The Nomads - Not For Me
The Faros - I'm Crying
Slim Delgado - Frank Rhoads Round
Little Alton and the Celvatones - She Said Yeah
The Mothers of Soul - It's Over
The Rocks - Terri
Curt Block and the Vibrations - She's My Kind
The Spacemen - Same Old Grind