Dexys Midnight Runners – Geno

Dexys Midnight Runners

Geno

EMI EMS196
£1.50 + P&P

Filed between The Damned ‘The Light At The End Of The Tunnel’ and Dexys Midnight Runners ‘This Is What She’s Like’.

Good little compilation, in that amongst its limited number of songs you get the original 'Dance Stance' (later 'Burn It Down'), a pre-fiddle 'Plan B' and a smattering of b-sides that replace those lost when I sold a few of their singles.

Soho Roses – Whatever Happened To ...

Soho Roses

Whatever Happened To ...
Trash Can Records TWAT001

£4.45 + £2.99 p&p
Filed between Patti Smith ‘Easter’ and Bruce Springsteen ‘Born To Run’

Frequently referenced over on Glamrock Aftershock (probably only second to Gunfire Dance), Soho Roses were the band we modelled our own outfit, the Rockit Dolls, on. Indeed as a nod to this EP's closing track 'Crazy 'Bout Me', we wrote 'I Love Me (Who Do You Love?)'.

The sleeve is pure class, Paul Blitz reclining with a bottle of Thunderbird in his varnished grasp - two more bottles lay strewn on the floor along with a can of Shockwaves Hard Rock hairspray (seriously, nothing else worked as well before CFCs were banned in aerosols), a full ashtray, party ribbons and a book on Marilyn Monroe.

The band's second release, 'So Alone' (the first record of theirs I heard) was their finest song, but this EP is a valued (re)addition to the collection.

John Lennon – The John Lennon Collection

John Lennon

The John Lennon Collection

EMI EMTV 37

50p

Filed between John Lennon ‘Shaved Fish’ and John Lennon and Yoko Ono ‘Milk And Honey’

A popular game in our house is to hold up certain pictures of John Lennon and ask our two year old daughter who it is. More often than not she will say 'daddy'. This worked with the inner sleeve photo. 50p well spent for that reason alone.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Heard It On The Grapevine

Creedence Clearwater Revival
I Heard It On The Grapevine
Fantasy FTC 128
45p
Filed between Crazyhead 'Rags' and The Cure 'Close To Me'


Not exactly classic Creedence, but easily worth 45p.

Mott The Hoople - All The Young Dudes

Mott The Hoople
All The Young Dudes
CBS 65184
50p
Filed between Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 'Greatest Hits' and Naz Nomad And The Nightmares 'Give Daddy The Knife Cindy'.

One of the positives I found on first listen was that the album's opener, a cover of 'Sweet Jane', was not as bad as I expected (I'd already concluded it would be filed under 'ill-advised'). Its inclusion was presumably down to having a certain Mr Bowie on production duties, who of course also gave the band the album's title track (and two years later, his guitarist).

Otis Redding - Otis Blue

Otis Redding
Otis Blue
Atlantic
99p + £3.50 p&p
Filed between Redd Kross 'Teen Babes From Monsanto' and Otis Redding 'Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay'


As noted previously I last owned a copy of this approximately 25 years ago. One key difference being that would have been a 1980s mid-price reissue; here I've managed to acquire an early mono copy, possibly even a first pressing. Marvellous stuff.

The Kinks - Best of The Kinks 1964-65

The Kinks
Best of The Kinks 1964-65
Hallmark SHM 3265
£2
Filed between The Hollywood Brats (eponymous) and David Kusworth 'The Bounty Hunters'

Picked this up a local street party - ironically I sold my long-owned 'Golden Hour Of The Kinks' LP at the previous year's party. Further evidence of classic artists that for a while saw their body of work demoted to cheap compilations and reissues, this 1989 collection was on a Pickwick subsidiary label and would almost definitely have been confined to the bargain racks. I think that only The Beatles and The Rolling Stones escaped such downgrading (although as previously noted, some Beatles collections did turn up on budget priced labels, and certainly in the early 1990s The Rolling Stones back catalogue was available as mid-priced reissues).