The Current Music Blog: September 25, 2009 Archive

Random Vinyl 9/21-9/25

Posted at 12:12 PM on September 25, 2009 by Jill Riley
Filed under: Random Vinyl

Monday: Rough Trade, "For Those Who Think Young"
The Canadian band Rough Trade made their breakthrough in 1981 with one of the first explicitly lesbian-themed Top 40 songs in the world, "High School Confidential." Later that year, they released this disc which had an MTV video hit with the song, "All Touch" - which also became their only US charting hit, peaking at #58.

Tuesday: The Canadian Sweethearts, "No Help Wanted" (1961)
The Canadian Sweethearts were a rockabilly duo from... you guessed it, Canada. Bob Regan and Lucille Star recorded songs on a few different labels, including Soma Records, based in Minneapolis.
A Side: "No Help Wanted"
B Side: "The Flirtin' Kind"
Label: Soma Records (Minneapolis, MN)
Catalog #: 1156
Format: 7" single

Wednesday: The Beatles, "A Hard Day's Night Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"
United Artists Records released the U.S. version of "A Hard Days Night" in June of 1964. The track listing is of course different from the U.K. version. The biggest difference is the inclusion of four instrumental Beatles tracks, arranged by George Martin. We played "Ringo's Theme (This Boy)."

Thursday: Be-Bop Deluxe, "Sunburst Finish"
Guitar virtuoso Bill Nelson, who'd go on to become a solo cult figure and sought-after session musician, enjoyed moderate commercial success with his band Be-Bop Deluxe in the 1970s. I specifically remember this album in record stores when I was a kid, for it's, er, provocative cover - a "naked lady" as we used to say when I was 10, holding a burning guitar. It's actually kinda one of the classic album covers of all time. Be-Bop Deluxe's music was super slick power pop, but always tongue-in-cheek and often fairly absurd. We played "Ships in the Night," the band's only charting single.

Friday: Pete Seeger, "Clearwater Classics" (1984)
If you know very little about Pete Seeger, this is a good collection to start with. One might even call it a greatest hits compilation. We played, "Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is a Season)." Seeger borrowed the words from the Book of Ecclesiastes, put them to music in 1959 and recorded it a few years later. It showed up for the first time on his album, "The Bitter and The Sweet." The song has been recorded by a number of artists. The Byrds would bring it into the mainstream in 1965.