The platters that matter (slight return)

Back into it, then.

In the second of an occasional series, Silky will run you through another mighty haul of vinyl. The more I think about it,the more I realise we in Australia pay far too much for most things and in particular for records.

I have been slumming it over in North America again, this time in the extremely civilised, extremely scenic enclave of Vancouver, where I took time out from my occupation as Luge Correspondent to grab a swag of records. $3 each and I think you'll agree some absolute classics.

Getting them back was a slight challenge, involving patience, derring-do and a flimsy paper bag that split fairly early in the piece. I had an eight hour layover in LA and --resolving not to just sit around the world's worst airport AGAIN, took a cab down to Venice beach and attempted the walk to Santa Monica pier. Due to the threat of terrorism American airports no longer have lockers which meant I had to carry the records along with my cumbersome laptop bag. The paper record bag disintegrated after about 100m and I completed a fairly miserable hour-long trudge, hugging my platters to my chest in a light drizzle.

here's the haul:
Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Punch the clock
Elvis in his 'uncool glasses, discovering jazz, hanging with Chet Baker' phase. Every day I write the book is a bit dinky but Shipbuilding is an immortal classic that is a fair bit better in the original form than the cover version I have somewhere by Suede.

Madness - Absolutely
Kind of a childhood nostalgia trip, baggy trousers etc. Reminds me of watching The Young Ones.Their first album and my favourite. Has one of those 'introducing the band' pieces of pop journalism on the back cover (I love these).

Richard and Linda Thompson - Shoot out the lights
Walking on a wire etc. Linda sings quite nicely, I think. You know that song Wall of Death? When I was a kid I thought it was 'Let me ride on/the water-bed/one more time.' It makes better sense, I still believe.

Seals and Crofts - Greatest Hits
I think this is soft-rock genius and can't stop listening to it. I love the beards on the cover, I love the song Ruby Jean and Billie Lee. I love Summer Breeze.

Aerosmith - Night in the ruts
Hot blues rock. Joe Perry is smokin' in his 1979 prime.

Divinyls - What a life
Canada is a good place to buy classic oz rock as to them this is just another lame 80s album. Pleasure and pain etc.

The Church - The Church
ditto. An Unguarded Moment is just about perfect isn't it?

The Pretenders - Get Close
A classic, didn't have it. Mrs Silky loves'em.

Van Halen - Diver Down
1982 album featuring some il-advised covers that I find amusing. Pretty Woman? Where have all the good times gone? Dancing in the street? Sure thing guys.More cocaine!

The Very Best of the Everly Brothers
Always loved them, didn't have any.

Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris - Trio
Had never heard of this but couldn't resist it. It's great. It's from 1987. There's a song called Hobo's Meditation. The insert features cutout paper dolls of all three gals.

Michael Nesmith - Infinite Rider on the big dogma.
Cool title, Hansel.

The Byrds - Byrdmaniax
Was pretty chuffed to grab this for $3. I remember that UT has strong views on the Byrds,though I can't quite remember what they are. My view is that this is a pretty sweet record.

10CC - Deceptive Bends
Without doubt one of the greatest album covers of all time. The Canadian version has a turqiose background instead of purple. It's EVEN COOLER. I also quite like The Things we do for love.

Elvis Costello - Taking Liberties
This one is a massive childhood nostalgia trip. An American comp of his first four albums. I think Girls Talk was my favourite song when I was about six.
ELO - Out of the Blue
I now have just about every ELO album ever recorded. I alone believe this to be a good thing. This is the very height of their annoyingness, Mr Blue Sky etc.

ELO - On the third day
As above. Grieg turns in his grave as Lynne shines up an improved take on In the hall of the mountain king.

Van Halen - Van Halen
As if this needs to even be explained.

Eric Clapton - Just one Night
Live? At Budokan? A double album? With Albert Lee? (Y)

Blondie - Autoamerican
Shamelessly currying favour with Mrs Silky after a month away from home. The birth of hip hop is captured here by a white woman who can't rhyme or flow.

Ted Nugent - Free For All
Yet to listen but I expect this to be relatively epic and yet relatively tuneless at the same time. Seduced by hot cover art and not for the first time.

Elvis Costello - King of America
Not my favourite EC but still pretty good.

The platters that matter (2)

The good people at Yarraville records were having a sale the other day, on account of their closing down and moving to Smith Street, Collingwood. Everything was $2. I bought as much as I could carry.

As a consequence I am now very well sorted for 1970's yacht rock, thank you very much.

Here's the list for you mockery and consideration. Tasting notes included.

Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy (Werewolves of London. Hot. But you also get Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner which sounds to me, like the best song Nick Cave never wrote).
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band - Stranger in town (lush beard on cover, Hollywood Nights etc)
Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees (Lido, wo, oh, oh, oh.)
Ian Dury and the Blockheads - New Boots and Panties (borowed this once from a prominent member of Ships and Thieves and liked it).
America - History (cos there aint no-one for to give you no pain.)
The Doobie Brithers - Best of the Doobies (Tedium has already made his feelings more than clear about these guys).
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band - Against the Wind (wild silver horses on cover. Contender for if I ever wish a mural for my favourite new panel van.)
Bachman Turner Overdrive - Head On (more lush beards from Canada's finest.)
Commodores - Natural High - (for those soft and sexy times when you want to get soft and sexy for 20 mins and then stop to turn the record over).
The Cars - Greatest Hits (have this on CD but, shit, man! $2? Why not?)
Eurhythmics - Be Yourself Tonight (for Missus Silky)
Eurhythmics - Revenge (study aid for Crafty's next cover)
Hoodoo Gurus - Blow Your Cool (happy to snap this up for less than the price of a cappucino)
Al Stewart - Year of the Cat (predilection previously noted).
J Geils Band - Freeze Frame (what was I on about before? I don't even drink cappucinos).
The Faces - A nod is as good as a wink (see comment re. The Cars)
Allman Brothers Band - Reach for the sky (picked this up at the end when I was starting to get flagrant. Should have looked closer to see this was late-period material and recorded after the death of one of the said brothers.)
Willie Nelson - Always (Willie sings the classics. Note, not the Bon Jovi "Always".).
Jackson Browne - Running on Empty (because I am turning into my dad).
Kris Kristofferson - Songs of Kris Kristofferson (my favourite so far. This is just awesome More beardiness again but more rugged than lush this time).
The Beatles - Abbey Road (have it on CD etc.)
Wings - Band on the Run - (Surely the most frequently onsold album in the history of second hand record stores)
Neil Diamond - Hot August Night - (see above.)
John Cougar - The Kid Inside (early material. Bought this cos it looked nice, actually a Jem records reissue).
Hall and Oates - H20 (watch out boys, she'll chew you up!)
ELO - A New World Record (I love ELO. Nobody else seems to).
Supertramp - Breakfast in America (see above).
Roxy Music - Stranded (hot chick posed provocatively on cover. Who woulda thunk it?)
Paul Simon - One Trick Pony (because of the red baseball cap and because Late in the Evening is probably my favourite uncool song of all time).
Huey Lewis and the News - Sports (mostly becasue of American Psycho)
Traffic - The Low Spark of High-heeled Boys - (starting to wonder if the plural of Cappucino is not cappucini?)
Elton John - Greatest Hits (bit lame but it has Rocket Man on it and also Goodbye Yellow Brick Road)
It seems like I bought a lot, you say? Where did I draw the liine? The line was drawn with Roger Daltrey's oft-discussed Ride A Rock Horse which, for the second time in the history of this blog, I held long in my hands but could not bring myself to actually purchase.