Winner of Super Summer Giveaway Part 2

All the names were put into a fetching hat, and the winner drawn at 9pm.  Congratulations to Vulpes Vulpes, who wins a car boot sale copy of Santana's Abraxas on original 1970s vinyl!

Look out for the third and final Giveaway, coming soon....

Do Ya Wanna Funk?

Sylvester (from You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) video).

Glamorous Queen of Disco Sylvester James Junior was best known for his hit You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), which began life as mid-tempo gospel song.  Producer and friend Patrick Cowley remixed it into the version we know and love, which reached no.8 in the UK in 1978 as well as being a huge club smash on both sides of the Atlantic. This and the single Dance (Disco Heat) come from the album Step II, where he was ably assisted by Marth Wash and Izora Rhodes aka Two Tons o' Fun; his larger-than-life backing singers who went on to become The Weather Girls.

The album went gold, and represents the height of his success although he went on to release a further seven albums before his death in 1988 from AIDS-related complications.

Last year I picked up a copy of Sylvester - Greatest Hits in a 3-for £1 at a car boot sale along with Kate Bush's The Kick Inside and Chic's Risqué.  Not a bad way to spend a pound!

Sylvester - Greatest Hits (1983)

This hits package was released in 1983 on Fantasy Records and features three songs per side, each side mixed continuously for a "Nonstop Dance Party"!  Side 1 is my favourite, consisting of Do Ya Wanna Funk, Dance (Disco Heat) and of course You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real); a real Hi-NRG workout!

You can hear all glorious 17 minutes of this in the Car Boot Vinyl Diaries Cloudcast Episode 3; a Disco Suite Special where Sylvester is sandwiched between two other wonderful classic disco sides mixed by Tom Moulton and Giorgio Moroder: http://www.mixcloud.com/CarBootVinylDiaries/car-boot-vinyl-diaries-episode-3-disco-suite-special/

It should keep you frugging round your living room for the best part of an hour so don't forget to take on some fluids first!

Diamonds in the dirt

A couple of weeks ago I was rifling through a box of records at a car boot sale (so what's new?).  I say records; it was more like a box of empty and torn sleeves, dirt and a few shards of broken vinyl, but I carried on regardless, ever hopeful of finding something worth playing/actually playable. My luck was in and I pulled out a dog-eared copy of an album I'd read good things about, but never heard before - Trio by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

The gals: Linda, Dolly and Emmylou.

Trio (1987)

These three Queens of Country are all heroes of mine and this album had been on my wishlist for a while, so I was delighted to find it for just £1.

Trio wasn't their first attempt to collaborate in this way. They'd tried during the 70s to record some material but as they were all such busy and successful artists, and all on different labels, this made finding the time to give such a project their full attention too difficult.

They finally got it together in the second half of the 80s and the result was 1987's hit album on Warner Bros. Records.

A collection of traditional country-style covers and a lovely original by Dolly called Wildflowers, Trio is an absolute gem of an album.  Given the talents involved, it couldn't really suck, and it doesn't.  As well as the glorious vocals of the ladies, who harmonise beautifully and provide b/v's for one another with none ever overshadowing the others, plus Emmylou's acoustic guitar on three tracks, members of the band include the likes of Ry Cooder, Albert Lee and in-demand sessioneer David Lindley.

Of course the project was wildly successful, reaching no.1 on the US Country chart and 6 on the Billboard chart.  The first single to be released off the album was their cover of the Teddy Bears' 1958 no.1 single To Know Him Is To Love Him which went to the top of the US Country singles chart, followed by Linda Thompson's Telling Me Lies (no.3), Those Memories of You (no.5) and the sweet Wildflowers (no.6).

My car boot copy came with the added bonus of an amusing set of communiqués between a former owner and his pal:

Well, that's something you don't get with mp3s, anyway.  Viva vinyl!

P.S. REALLY looking forward to watching Dolly at Glastonbury on the box Sunday teatime.

Episode 4 of the CBVD Cloudcast now online!

The newest episode of the Car Boot Vinyl Diaries Cloudcast is now on Mixcloud, featuring sometimes cracklesome records from the likes of Rosanne Cash to Roger Whittaker, Salt n Pepa to Santana, presented by a music-obsessive with a dweeby voice, i.e. me.  Hope you like it.

Car Boot Vinyl Diaries Episode 4 by Car Boot Vinyl Diaries on Mixcloud

Super Summer Giveaway Part 2

The Car Boot Vinyl Diaries Super Summer Giveaway continues.  This time the grand prize is a car boot copy of Santana's 1970 album Abraxas; the Latin rockers' second album, combining jazz, rock, blues, psychedelia and a bit more besides.  Plus, it has a cracking cover.

Santana - Abraxas (1970)

In excellent condition with no skips or jumps, this US no.1 and UK no.7 LP could otherwise set you back a whole pound or more.  Please note I can only post to a UK address.

Simply fill in your name/pseudonym and email address in the contact form at the top of the page, adding the word 'Abraxas' in the 'Message' box and you'll be entered into the draw which will take place at 9pm on Sunday 6th July.

"We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion.  We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas..."

Good luck, pop pickers!

Car Boot Vinyl Diaries on the radio - again!

Some more of my vinyl finds were played by DJ Gavin Hogg last Sunday on the wonderful Charity Shop Classics show on Manchester's AllFM 96.9.  You can catch up with the whole show at http://www.mixcloud.com/CharityShopClassics/charity-shop-classics-show-85/ or listen using the widget below:

Charity Shop Classics - Show 85 by Charityshopclassics on Mixcloud

Special guest is vintage 78s DJ Matt Nickson, plus there's the remainder of an interview with Robin Ince and more besides.

The Butterfly Effect

You may recall from a recent post that I'd bought at a boot sale what I thought was an Isley Brothers LP, only to find out later that the sleeve actually contained an album by Roger Whittaker.  All I knew about dear old Rog was that he was a bit of an 'entertainer' in the 1970s variety mould and best known for his whistling.

I was all set to bin the record, or perhaps look on youtube for tips on making it into a fruit bowl, when I thought I'd give it a quick spin, just for a couple of minutes for a bit of a laugh. As it turned out, Rog got the last laugh and I was pleasantly surprised.

It seems that before he made it big in the 70s as an easy-listening star with his own TV shows, Roger recorded some early material for Fontana Records between 1962 and '64. This is what makes up the album Butterfly, which is what I'd inadvertently spent my 20p on.

Yikes

The release date of Butterfly is unclear, but the same songs in the same running order came out as Settle Down With Roger Whittaker in 1973, presumably to take advantage of his new-found success.  From his get-up on the cover of Butterfly, it's safe to assume this was also released in the 70s.

It opens with a cracking tune called Settle Down, written by Mike, er, Settle.  Recorded in 1962, it was also released as a single by both Judy Collins and Bobby Darin in '63, plus a few others in later years.

What follows is a great little album of country, folk, easy and rock 'n' roll, including a version of Jimmy Dean's Steel Men, a cover of The Weaver's Aweigh, Santy Ano (their take on the sea shanty Santiano, known here as Santa Anna) and Roger's 1964 single from when he recorded as Rog Whittaker and His Companions; Mud Puddle and its b-side Acre of Wheat.

It's definitely a keeper and I'm glad I put it on before deciding to bin it, although I won't be delving into the rest of his back catalogue any time soon!  I doubt Roger will care as he's sold tens of millions of records worldwide and certainly doesn't need my business.

One of the things I love about rooting around in charity shops and boot sales for records is that you never know what you might find next (aside from Leo Sayer's Endless Flight, that is).  It's certainly a good way of finding unlikely stuff you end up really enjoying, even if it is by accident. Apparently that Isley Brothers record isn't much cop anyway.