Greetings from misty San Francisco! I’m over in the Bay Area for work, so this week consequently haven’t had much time to write. I’m here till Friday so might have similar struggles getting any thoughts down this week. We shall see!
In the absence of writing time I did manage to get around some record stores and pick up some vinyl. I find record shopping in other countries interesting; in a lot of ways it’s no different to home, but there are subtle differences. So whilst my hands have that muscle memory to flick through the racks at speed, and I instinctively head for the new arrivals bin as I would in London, what I find is, unsurprisingly, different. In Stranded Records, I chanced upon a great Eddie Harris LP that I already have copy of (from a previous trip to the Bay) and remembered how I’ve never seen one ‘in the wild’ in the UK, but here they’re as abundant as Herb Alpert in an English charity shop. Prices vary too and I love snagging cheapies over here that would set me back a fair amount back home.
I took in the aforementioned Stranded in Oakland, the ramshackle Groove Yard (possibly the most chaotic store I’ve ever been in), a random bookstore which had a killer collection of tapes plus Haight Street staples Rooky Ricardos and Groove Merchant. Here’s my haul….
It was fun snagging the Bob and Marcia version of Young Gifted & Black alongside Aretha’s seminal live album, and the Leon Thomas was a definite pick after writing about one of his other LPs earlier in the week. The Loose Ends LP reminded me how big they were over here, and the Deniece Williams on tape was something I couldn’t leave the store without.
All in all a fun few days in the sunshine. I’m heading down to Santa Cruz now for more work stuff so my record shopping spree is over for now, but that’s probably no bad thing. It has reminded me that I need to use the shops in my own city more - the culture needs feeding after all, so I think a scoot round Sounds Of The Universe, Atlantis, Alan’s and the like when I’m home is on the cards.
23rd January • The Charlatans - The Charlatans
It's a nostalgic selection today, an album that came out right at the start of my last year at school. Putting it on the turntable sets off such vivid memories I can almost taste the cheap alcopops that no doubt were the accompaniment to my early listens of it back in the summer of 1995.
I've got a real soft spot for The Charlatans, although in truth this is the only album of theirs that I know in any detail. There's some great singles in their back catalogue but this LP is the one that stuck with me for some reason, possibly because of the timing of its release. I've written about this before, but the music you discover between the ages of 15 and 20 lodges itself in your brain in a very particular way.
So it's this Charlatans album that is my album, and it will, I suspect, always be that way. Listening back today a few things strike me: firstly the musicianship is way beyond a lot of their peers. This doesn't present itself in a showy way, but it's quietly there in the background, reminding you that you're in safe hands. They're not scared to experiment either (albeit within their boundaries); their use of the hammond organ had always set them apart and on this record they nod to dance music and hip hop in a way that doesn't seem forced or ill-conceived. This might sound like nothing but is no mean feat considering how similar attempts by other bands from this era turned out.
The quality of the songs is right up there too; it sounds to me like a band who know exactly how good they are, and wring every last drop out of their talent, chemistry and experience. It's not a ground-breaking album, it's not ostentatious or pretentious; but there's an ease about it that is, ironically enough, hard to create.
It's just a very good record by a very good band. And that's more than enough for me.
24th January • Leon Thomas - Blues & The Soulful Truth
I'm back after a brief hiatus. I'm currently in Oakland for work, and Tuesday and Wednesday slipped by in a blur of preparing to travel and then actually travelling. I did manage to listen to some records through this, but my jet-lagged brain hasn't allowed me to put pen to paper until now.
Anyway! I listened to this on Tuesday while deciding which combination of charging cables I needed to bring with me on my trip. I'm not quite sure where I picked up on this record, although I know that it was Shape Your Mind To Die that was the first track to catch my ear.
My best guess is that a friend played it while DJing and I recognised the opening bars from their use in the Klashnekoff track Jankroville. The artwork makes it easy to remember and no doubt it jogged my memory when I found it in a shop sometime in the past few years.
It's a really varied LP, taking in loose funk, cosmic jazz and spiritual blues, but the unifying factor is Thomas' voice which he uses in every which way he possibly can across the 8 tracks. We get soulful growls, bassy jazz evocations, offhand falsettos and his trademark yodelled adlibs; often within the same track.
Leafing through the sleeve notes there's the expected roll call of legendary names::; notably Bernard Purdie, Stanley Clarke and Cecil Payne. What I hadn't realised was Pee Wee Ellis' role here, arranging and conducting the ensemble under the watchful eye of Bob Thiele. It's a killer record and possibly Leon Thomas' most complete work in a meandering career. Shape Your Mind… is still the standout with its wandering bass-line, eastern-influenced sax and portentous lyricism. Go get familiar if you’re not already.
25th January • Bon Iver - Bon Iver
This record has been sat on my shelf for three of four years now - I'm pretty sure it was a sale item that I snagged fairly cheaply in a record shop but shamefully I'd not got round to listening to it until last week. Since first putting it on the turntable back home I've racked up 4 or 5 listens and it's revealing more with every play.
Going back a step, my knowledge of alternative/indie rock is really patchy. As a teen I was across all of it, devouring NME, Select and Melody Maker in minute detail. When I was 20 I started DJing and whilst I still played the music from my teens a lot, I gradually lost touch with that scene.
Around 2008, I dug back in a little, I think via 6 Music, and discovered the first Bon Iver record which I loved. My CD copy got heavy rotation in our car, but by the time this came out in 2011 I was deep in my first year of parenthood and, like a lot of culture from those early years, it passed me by.
The progression on this record from the debut is evident, and I love the attention to detail and production choices. A headphone listen on a walk around Oakland this week revealed percussive flourishes, vocal effects and hidden sonics that brought the album to life. It also made me feel like I was in a Zach Braff movie which was fun. On a similarly TV/Movie related note, I today discovered that the name Bon Iver came from a mis-spelt greeting used in the excellent Northern Exposure (Bon Hiver - good winter in French), which made me smile.
One final thought on this record - I've got out of the habit of tuning into lyrics on indie/rock records. I'm not sure why this is, but it seems to take me multiple listens to get a sense of what they're about. This doesn't really matter here as Justin Vernon's tone and delivery expresses so much meaning and intent, which is a surefire sign of a good record.
I guess I should get around to listening to albums three and four at some point in the next decade....
Shape Your Mind...
Love Bay Area record shops, just seeing those pics made me all warm inside 🥰 if u have a chance to swing by Hercules Records before u leave on Friday I’d highly recommend it