Ike & Tina Turner

Artist: Ike & Tina Turner

LP: 7" single 
Song: "Sexy Ida (Part 1)"

[ listen ]

Song: "Sexy Ida (Part 2)"

[ listen ]

It's Gay Pride weekend in Seattle. This past Thursday Scarecrow Video sponsored screenings of rare queer film footage from the 1970s at a joint called Substation just down the street from where I live in Ballard. Along with "Always On Sunday" (a parody of the similarly-titled Jules Dassin film about a flouncy floozy played by Melina Mercouri) and "What Really Happened to Baby Jane" (a send-up of you-know-what), there was '70s footage of drag queens putting on a show! We saw Phyllis Diller, Judy Garland, Pearl Bailey, and Ethel Merman, to name a few. Best of all was Tina Turner, with her three Ikettes on 'backing vocal' duties. It was fabulous! 

In fact, earlier that same day after learning how to drive one of these down in Federal Way, I picked up this 1974 French release of Ike & Tina's "Sexy Ida" at Rat City Records in White Center. You can read about Ike & Tina here.

[ Tina Turner: born November 26, 1939 ]
[ Ike Turner: November 5, 1931 — December 12, 2007 ] 

[ Rat City Records — White Center, WA ]

Jade

Artist: Jade

LP: 12" single

Song: "I'm Gonna Get Your Love"
[ listen ]

I found this 1982 Canadian disco gem at Al's Music, Games and Video down in Federal Way after attending my Carrier Academy training for USPS on Friday. (We offer competitive prices on shipping! And have you seen our new George H.W. Bush 'Forever' Stamp?) Al's has moved a few blocks up the street to a new location since the last time I dropped by, but I forgot to snap a picture of their new place! I'll grab one on Thursday though, after my Promaster and 2-ton truck drivers' training that's also scheduled at the USPS headquarters down there. (I already learned how to drive the small trucks last week.)

Nancy Martinez, who recorded under the name Jade early on in her career, was born in Montreal, Quebec on August 26, 1960. She reportedly scored a number of disco hits (I'm not sure that "I'm Gonna Get Your Love" was one of them, though it certainly should have been), but Nancy has gone jazzy in more recent years. She has been described as, and I quote: "grounded" and "generous"..."radiating a good energy and strength of character." Nancy continues to perform today and also teaches music, as you can read for yourselves here. I'm hoping, likely in vain, that Nancy will one day suddenly reappear as Jade, with humongous feathery hair and a hot new single for the dance floor!

[ Jade — aka. Nancy Martinez ]

 

[ Al's Music, Games & Video — Federal Way, WA ]

The Romanceers

Artist: The Romanceers

LP: The Chi-Lites / The Romanceers
Song: "Walking In the Rain With the One I Love"

[ listen ]

Does anyone out there know anything about The Romanceers? There's nothing about them on the Internet, and I don't see any other recordings from them besides the three on this LP they shared with The Chi-Lites, who I also like quite a bit. There's a note on the back of the sleeve indicating that this LP was previously released on Mercury Records, but I don't find any evidence of that on the Internet either. 

Anyway, this lovely thing is one of the pieces I picked up at Jive Time Records yesterday, while celebrating my first day on the new job—and the fact that I was free to do things like go record shopping as early as four o'clock in the afternoon! What is this new job, you might be wondering? Well, let's just say that very soon I'm gonna be having a lot in common with this guy from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

Les Paul and Mary Ford

Artist: Les Paul and Mary Ford

LP: The Hit Makers!
Song: "The World Is Waiting For the Sunrise"

[ listen ]

Song: "Tiger Rag"

[ listen ]

As I mentioned before, I'll start a new job on Monday, so yesterday I took myself out for a "Last Days of Freedom" vinyl shopping spree. First I dropped in at Beats and Bohos on Phinney Ridge for a brief session of crate-digging before meeting my friend Liz for lunch at the Greenlake Tacos Guaymas at 1pm. When I found this collection of hits by Les Paul and Mary Ford, I bought it sight unseen! Well, actually I could see it...so I guess I bought it sound unheard. I've learned that you can't really go wrong with these two. I'll pick up just about anything of theirs that I don't already have, and would encourage other vinyl collectors to do the same. Les and Mary really do add their "shiny musical finesse" to everything they do, making music that's both "sparkling and attractive!" 

Sadly, according to Wikipedia, they ended both their marriage and their musical partnership on unfriendly terms in 1964, after which Mary was never again to be found perched upon the neck of Les' guitar.

[ Mary Ford: July 7, 1924 — September 30, 1977 ]
[ Les Paul: June 9, 1915 — August 12, 2009 ]

#4 - El Catrín

I don't know about you, but I've tried dating an El Catrín before and we're just not a good match at all. They take way too long getting ready to go out for a simple cocktail, and god forbid someone messes up their hair!

side one:

01. Tango Apaszowskie - Orkiestra Uliczna z Chmielnej

02. Sen Dla Mojej Dziewczyny (A Dream For My Girl) - Skaldowie
03. Poison Arrow - ABC
04. The Barrel - Aldous Harding

05. Guitare et Copains (A Steel Guitar and a Glass of Wine) - Sacha Distel
06. I Want You to Be My Baby - Billie Davis
07. Yeah Yeah Yeah - Kirka
08. Istanbul - Enoch Light and His Orchestra

09. A View to a Kill - Duran Duran

10. Love Song - Hiroshi Uchiyamada and Cool Five

11. So Far So Fast - The National

12. Cuando Termina Un Amor - Richard Cocciante

13. You're Gonna Hear From Me - Scott Walker

[ listen ]

side two:

01. Puttin' On the Ritz - Taco

02. The Joker Goes Wild - Brian Hyland

03. Questo Piccolo Grande Amore - Claudio Baglioni
04. Honey Love - The Eloise Trio

05. Everlastingly Yours - Piroshka
06. She Loved Like Diamond - Spandau Ballet

07. Highway At Night - Horst Jankowski
08. The Living Daylights - A-Ha

09. The Him - New Order

10. Stick It In Your Face - Idris Muhammad

11. I Think of You (Il Faut Trouver le Temps D'aimer) - Francis Lai

12. Je Pense À Toi - Vincent Delerm

[ listen ]

Progres 2

Artist: Progres 2

LP: Mozek
Song: "X.A.Z." / "Kdo Je Tam?"

[ listen ]

The vinyl appreciation Meetup group I've joined a few times in the past, Seattle Spinsters, just announced their next gathering! The theme will be 'world music' since it's summertime and people are planning their vacations. I've already picked out too many LPs to bring, including ones from Hong Kong, Panama, Russia, Italy, Korea, the Caribbean, and this wonderful thing from Czechoslovakia in 1984. I've missed the last two Seattle Spinsters get-togethers since I was stuck at work until 8pm, but I'm starting a new job on Monday! You can read about Progres 2 here; there were four fellas in the group when this LP came out, but according to the Progres 2 photo below, at one time there were five.

[ Progres 2 ]

The Smiths

Artist: The Smiths

LP: 12" single

Song: "Girlfriend In a Coma"
[ listen ]

I splurged on a few things at Everyday Music on Capitol Hill the other day when I found some neat '80s stuff in the 'new arrivals' bin there. One of them was this 1987 12" single by The Smiths, in excellent condition! 

(I'd actually brought in a bag of records to trade, which included some neat old LPs from Mexico, Spain, Central America, Brazil, and other South American countries. I usually get a pretty good deal in trade at Everyday Music. Unfortunately, $5 guy was working there again when I went in. I'd encountered this guy before, several months ago, when I'd carted two full bags of records about ten blocks from where I'd finally found parking in hopes of trading them in for store credit. Some of the stuff was of the thrift-store variety, granted (The Lennon Sisters, anyone?), but there were also some neat old Motown records and other funk and soul LPs included. I was taken aback when he offered just $5 total for both bags. I was like, "Is this guy nuts?" But my arms ached, and so I accepted just because I knew I wouldn't be able to carry all that heavy vinyl another ten blocks back to the car.

But this time I parked closer. I browsed a bit while he looked the records over. Finally he made me an offer: "I can give you $5." I'm pretty sure this guy has no idea who Amalia Mendoza, Javier Solís, Lucha Villa, Jorge Negrete, or anyone else is that I stuffed into that bag, let alone that it's music people would pay money for. Or maybe he does. If you can add all that to the store's inventory for just $5, why not? I wasn't expecting $480 or anything, but maybe $30. When I brought in three bags of records a few months ago, another guy there offered $190 in trade; my friend traded in ten LPs there a few days ago and got $15. I bet she wasn't working with $5 guy. Anyway, I carted all my records back to the car, and then returned to do some shopping without any store credit from trade. I shouldn't let my pride stop me from adding a neat 12" single by The Smiths to my collection, right?)  

I'm adding a "T" to this one and dedicating it to my dear girlfriend Ryan, who recently moved to Tacoma. It's really serious!

[ The Smiths ]