I was a hot but nicely sunny day to visit the Princeton Record Exchange and Labyrinth Books in Princeton, NJ, USA. From the Bargain Bin at the PRE I picked up:Elmore James - King of the Slide Guitar (Capricorn, 1992) A two-disc compilation of some of James latter-day recordings. He still sounded great at this period, full of fire and vigor with that extraordinarily emotive voice and legendary slide guitar.
Sonny Boy Williamson - King Biscuit Time (Arhoolie, 1989) This is Rice Miller, aka Sonny Boy Williamson II, and the music within is his early recordings for the Trumpet label made in the early 1950's. He had a program on KFFA in Arkansas that showcased his music whilst hawking King Biscuit Flour, hence the name. Elmore James turns up on this disc too.
Arne Domnerus - Jazz at the Pawnshop (Prophone, 1986) According to the Penguin Guide this album or some form of it is supposed to be an audiophile's delight - not that my crappy system can do it justice. Mainstream swing-to-bop with a lot of well worn standards.
John Coltrane - Kulu Se Mama (Impulse, 1965, 2000) I probably have a lot of the music here already on other compilations, but I didn't own the album until now. Seems like the group is a transitional phase, moving from the modal jazz of the Classic Quartet to the free-jazz of his final, overtly spiritual music.
Love - Love Story (Rhino, 1995) A two-disc compilation of Arthur Lee's great west coast rock 'n' roll band of the late 60's and early 70's. Personnel changed quite a bit over time, but Lee was the focal point and the band recorded an all time classic in the album Forever Changes.
I also picked up the new issue of Signal to Noise magazine, looking forward to reading their recommendations for free-jazz and "outsider" music and I couldn't resist picking up a new Library of America Volume, Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories 1963-1973
, which contains the seminal novels Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five, Sirens of Titan, Breakfast of Champions and a few related short stories. These books literally changed my life when I was a young man, so I look forward to revisiting them.Send comments to Tim.
