Cloudcast number two now on Mixcloud

Episode 2 of the Car Boot Vinyl Diaries Cloudcast is now on Mixcloud for your listening pleasure!  Use the widget below to listen, or follow the link to go to the page where you can find the tracklist and leave a comment/like.

This one features Donna Summer, David Bowie, Lee Hazlewood and lots more.

Car Boot Vinyl Diaries Episode 2 by Car Boot Vinyl Diaries on Mixcloud

Ooh La La

Formed in 1969 from the ashes of the Small Faces along with Ron Wood and Rod Stewart, rowdy bar-room rockers the Faces released four albums during their relatively short career.  The final one was Ooh La La, which I picked up at a boot sale on Easter Monday for £2:

Faces - Ooh La La (1973)

Rear cover

Gatefold

With Rod on the verge of leaving the band due to the success of his solo career, it's Ronnie Lane whose stamp is all over this record, particularly on Side 2, where he is credited with writing or co-writing every cut.

The front cover art is a Python-esque novelty with instructions to "squeeze top of album down".  This makes the top-hatted feller's jaw drop to reveal a set of gnashers, and literally minutes of fun can be had making him laugh while his eyes roll.  70s album covers were so much more fun!

My top tracks - The title track of course, co-written and sung by Ron Wood:




and the album openers; Silicone Grown and Cindy Incidentally.


Next up, for £1 was Millie Jackson's 1978 album Get It Out'cha System:

Millie Jackson - Get It Out'cha Sytem (1978)

It opens with the funky title track, which is then followed with the three-song suite of Keep the Home Fire Burnin'/Logs and Thangs/Put Something Down On It, where our Millie takes the fire/log/forest metaphors to the saucy max.  A heartfelt cover of Dolly Parton's Here You Come Again opens Side 2.  Sandwiched between this and Kenny Rogers' Sweet Music Man are three soulful ballads, two of which were co-written by Millie and her long-time collaborator and co-producer Brad Shapiro.

Get It Out'cha System reached no. 14 on the US R&B album chart.  My top track:

Lastly, for 50p was Street Life by jazz- funksters the Crusaders:

Crusaders - Street Life (1979)

By the time Street Life was released, the Crusaders had been around for 20 years.  This album was their biggest success in terms of sales and is worth the admission price alone for the wonderful 11-minute disco-favourite title track featuring the vocal talent of Randy Crawford, the single version of which featured in 1997's Jackie Brown:

Magnificent Millie

Millie Jackson has been a recording artist since the early 70s.  An American Soul/R&B singer with an incredible rich, deep voice, she is given to peppering her performances with spoken word sections, some of which contain language that ranges from the saucy to the explicit.

I bought two of her LPs at a car boot sale earlier this month for 50p each:

Still Caught Up (1975)

Still Caught Up was the follow up to the hugely successful 1974 concept album "Caught Up" which told the story of a love triangle from the perpectives of the two female sides.  Still Caught Up continues the theme, with Side 1 sung from the point of view of the wronged wife who still loves her cheating hubby, with telling songs like "Making The Best Of A Bad Situation" and "Tell Her It's Over".  On Side 2 we hear from the mistress with "Do What Makes You Satisfied" and "Leftovers".

Here's her cover of Loving Arms:

Spotify:  Millie Jackson – Leftovers 

Still Caught Up reached no.27 on the US R&B album chart.

Lovingly Yours (1977)

Lovingly Yours is another collection of songs about love, sex and heartbreak.  The combination of spoken word, strings and subject matter give the album a very Barry White vibe.

Spotify:  Millie Jackson – Somethin' 'Bout 'Cha        Millie Jackson – A Love Of Your Own

Lovingly Yours reached no. 44 in the US R&B album chart.

Millie still records and performs today (her website is here) as well as hosting a regular show on a Dallas radio station.