Aretha Franklin [1942-2018]

Artist: Aretha Franklin

LP: The Tender, the Moving, the Swinging

Song: "Don't Cry, Baby"
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Song: "Without the One You Love"
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It was while I was in Girona that my friend Eduardo in Seattle texted to tell me that Aretha Franklin had died. As you probably know, she was The Queen of Soul! There's really nothing more to say, except maybe Who's Zoomin' Who. I picked up this lovely 1962 LP at Bay Sound, a little shop across the bay from Mobile, Alabama, on my road trip through the South back in 2014. It's Franklin's third album, from when she was still just an incredible gal singer, before she was a queen, and it was her first to appear on the Billboard charts, peaking at #69. You can read all about Aretha here and go here to find her obituary in the New York Times.

Aretha Franklin

[ March 25, 1942 — August 16, 2018 ]

We will miss you, Aretha.

Seventh Avenue

Artist: Seventh Avenue

LP: 12" single

Song: "Armed Robbery"
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The armed robbers made off with Seventh Avenue's clothes! This is one of the few things I picked up at Moby Disk, the sole record shop in the lovely town of Girona, where I spent a day and a night after taking a very early train out of Figueres. 

[ Girona, Spain ]

 
During my stay in Girona I visited the Museum of Cinema and then had a late dinner at a neat old restaurant called Café Le Bistrot. And then I got lost wandering the streets on the way back to my hotel. It was wonderful.

[ Museum of Cinema — Girona, Spain ]

[ Café Le Bistrot — Girona, Spain ]

But anyway, back to Moby Disk. Two nice young fellows were working at the shop, and though I finally worked up the guts to ask them for a photograph...I forgot to turn my camera's auto-focus on, so they're vague.

 
I don't know much about Seventh Avenue, except that they might be British, they may have previously been a little more disco, and they often end up wearing hardly any clothing...sometimes just towels.

...and they shouldn't be confused with the German Christian metal band nor the Latin Christian rock band (based in Atlanta, I think) that are also called Seventh Avenue. Unfortunately, I was unable to find photos of either of these other bands in the shower. More Seventh Avenue record covers here and here and here.

[ Moby Disk — Girona, Spain ]

My Bloody Valentine

Artist: My Bloody Valentine

LP: Isn't Anything

Song: "No More Sorry"
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Song: "(When You Wake) You're Still In a Dream"
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After five glorious days in Barcelona with my friends, I took a train up to the little town of Figueres by myself to spend a day or two. It's the town where Salvador Dalí was born and spent a lot of his time, so of course I visited the museum there that is dedicated to his work. 

I also made a point of dining in the luxurious restaurant at Hotel Duran (Duran?), which is reportedly where Sñr. Dalí frequently spent time hanging out with friends. 

The service at El Restaurant del Hotel Duran was so excellent, formal, precise, and provided in a foreign language, I have to admit feeling a little intimidated. When presented with 'small' or 'large' options for a glass of wine, I opted for the latter... which meant that I got an entire bottle to myself, kept chilled at the side of my table. By the time I finished my meal I was quite more than tipsy. Fortunately, it turns out there's nothing more delightful to be as you stumble through Figueres at night, across La Rambla, to the ice cream stand, passing now-empty sidewalk cafes as you make your way a little lost-like toward the comfort of your room in an old Spanish hotel. 

Oh, and the record store. There's just one in Figueres, called Discos Quim. It's right off the main plaza in the center of town. They don't have much in the way of used vinyl, but they did have new copies of all three My Bloody Valentine LPs, available at just €12.50 each! It seemed divine providence finding those there, since My Bloody Valentine had been a favorite since my college days and I'd just seen them for the first time at The Paramount Theater in Seattle a few weeks earlier, courtesy of my friend Charlie who I was currently hanging out with in Spain! It's like my whole world was falling into place. 

[ My Bloody Valentine ]

"Isn't Anything," from 1988, was their first full-length LP. It's pretty damn awesome, though often overshadowed by their iconic follow-up LP, "Loveless," released three years later. You can read about My Bloody Valentine here, and find some interesting notes and rave reviews for "Isn't Anything" on Wikipedia here. And if you ever get a chance, I highly recommend a visit to the town of Figueres, Spain. 

 

[ Discos Quim — Figueres, Spain ]

Plastic Ono Band

Artist: Plastic Ono Band

LP: 7" single

Song: "Pavo Frio (Cold Turkey)"
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I was one of the last people out at door at Discos Revolver when they closed at 9pm, and then I began making my way down Calle de les Sitges, heading in the general direction of our apartment near the Filmoteca Catalunya. I'd only gone a few steps when the bright lights from inside Kebra Disc caught my eye. This little store hadn't been on my list! The place is only open in the evenings from 6:30-10pm, so it was fortunate that I passed by when I did. (Here's how to get there from Seattle.)

I found yet another handful of singles, but I ended up more with American and British rock and new wave records (Pat Benatar, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Cure, Nina Hagen Band) rather than the usual vintage Spanish releases I'd been finding most of the time. The owner of Kebra Disc is friendly and talkative and helped me dig up a few things I'd been looking for, including a 4AD single by Tanya Donelly. Most things already had prices on them, but a few did not, and the fellow there wanted to charge me an outrageous amount for a 1977 Grace Jones single (€20!) but I didn't bite. I found a copy at another store a week later for just €3 instead. 

One of the treasures I picked up at Kerba Disc is this Spanish release of Plastic Ono Band's 1969 single "Cold Turkey" (or, "Pavo Frio" en español). It's pretty torn up, taped up, scratchy, and all that, but still holds together well enough to be enjoyed. One of Plastic Ono Band's very first singles, released just after John Lennon had departed The Beatles, "Cold Turkey" went to #30 on the US singles charts and peaked at #14 in the UK. According to Wikipedia, in most cases the cover featured an X-ray of John Lennon on the front, with Yoko Ono's X-ray on the back...but "an alternative sleeve with the X-ray photographs of John and Yoko side by side, rather than on either side of the cover, was issued in several European countries." So it seems that Spain was one of those! 

The single features John Lennon on vocals, Eric Clapton on guitar, Klaus Voormann on bass, and Ringo Starr on drums. Though Yoko Ono doesn't provide vocals on this version (there are reportedly versions where she does), the influence of her particular brand of avant-garde performance artist circa 1969 makes a pretty strong appearance all the same.

 [ Plastic Ono Band ]

 [ Kebra Disc — Barcelona, Spain ]

Los Mismos

Artist: Los Mismos

LP: Los Mismos

Song: "Pasa El Tren"
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Song: "Esta La Cosa Negra Negra"
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After laying my body on the warm sand of the crowded but beautiful Barcelona beach with my friends Carrie and Charlie and their kids, Ollie and Gabe, on my first Saturday in town, we returned to the apartment to find my suitcase had finally been found and delivered! (Did I mention it got lost en route, after two late flights and two missed connections?) After slipping into fresh clothing, I set out for an area of the city where there was a cluster of record stores, near the intersection of Carrer dels Tallers and Carrer de les Sitges. Two of the stores, which looked on my map to be very close together, had similar names: Discos Revolver and Revolver Records. Sure enough, both stores actually do exist and seem somehow related (the share a similar logo), but I'm not exactly sure what's going on there. Maybe the result of a divorce? Anyhow, both stores closed at 9pm, so I only had time to visit one of them that evening. I picked Discos Revolver. 

The store has a modest entryway, but then additional rooms keep expanding back into the inside of the building, so there were actually quite a lot of records to look through. They even had a section of old Spanish LPs, so I picked up a few of those in addition to the usual stash of singles. One of the long plays is this 1969 album by Los Mismos, a trio consisting of Elena Vázquez Minguela (aka Helena Bianco, evidently), Antonio Pérez Gutiérrez, and Benjamín Santos Calonge. Together they make Spanish pop magic; you can read about them here. Lots of neat-looking Los Mismos singles can be found in the used record bins of Barcelona.

[ Los Mismos, pero son diferentes ahora ]

[ Discos Revolver — Barcelona, Spain ]

Las Chicas Del Un, Dos, Tres

Artist: Las Chicas Del Un, Dos, Tres

LP: 7" single

Song: "Un, Dos, Tres...Responda Otra Vez"
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I did finally make it to Vinil Vintage, also on Carrer de Ramón y Cajal. It's a good and messy little store with a lot of vintage vinil to dig through, but I only ended up leaving with seven singles and a copy of Throwing Muses' "The Real Ramona" LP on 4AD (CAD 1002), which was something I was hoping I'd find on my trip to Europe. Seven singles may sound like a lot, but I'd just picked up 25 at the previous store, so I hope you appreciate my exercise in self-control. 

When I saw the cover of this 1972 single by Las Chicas Del Un, Dos, Tres it hardly mattered that there was no listening station on which to give it a spin. I would have bought it with no record inside! These Chicas didn't actually form a music group, from what I can gather, but were actually contestants (or stewardesses?) on some sort of Spanish TV beauty pageant that ran in the '70s, '80s, '90s and 2000s. This single is from the premiere season of the show, and it was evidently N. Ibáñez Serrador who decided to set these lovely ladies to music. The girls were always easy to recognize by their huge glasses of pasta, and many of them went on to make a hole in the television star system. Actress Victoria Abril got her start as one of Las Chicas Del Un, Dos, Tres! You can read more about Las Chicas and their television show in an awkwardly translated online article here.

[ Las Chicas Del Un, Dos, Tres ]

[ Vinil Vintage — Barcelona, Spain ]

Formula V

Artist: Formula V

LP: 7" single

Song: "Loco, Casi Loco"
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After spending a couple of hours in awe while roaming in and around what I'm sure is one of the most magnificent churches on the planet... 

...with a guided audio tour provided by a lovely woman named Maria...

 

  
...I discovered my cell phone was dead from taking too many pictures. I figured "first things first," so I got some ice cream. I then set out with my photo-copied Google maps and no modern technological navigation device in hopes of making my way through a large and unfamiliar city to find some record stores. My maps weren't actually so bad, and I was able to locate Disco 100 on Carrer de l'Escovial. It's one of several record stores in the northern section of the city, near La Sagrada Familia.

[ Disco 100 — Barcelona, Spain ]

The thrill of finding this retail needle in an ancient haystack of a city was slightly diminished when it turned out they only sold new vinyl and CDs. Undaunted, I went in search of Carrer de Ramón y Cajal, the street a few blocks away where I hoped to find Vinil Vintage. A store with a name like that simply must sell used vinyl, right? I managed to find Ramón y Cajal, and as I strolled its narrow sidewalk, I passed by a small and neat-looking shop with some groovy music wafting through its open door. 

The place was called Novecento Música i Llibres and it's fantastic! Not only do they peddle Llibres, but they've got lots of bins of used Música too! By the time I finished rummaging, I ended up with a big stack of interesting-looking 45s (I tended to focus on singles on this trip, since they're easier to carry back on the plane and because if you end up with a dud you only have to suffer through two songs instead of twelve). The friendly proprietor offered to play records for me to help me reduce my risk. 

I was especially curious about a group called Formula V, since I'd found six singles by them there. They looked pretty nifty, but you never can be sure. I didn't want to buy all six and then have them end up sounding like The Everly Brothers, but I didn't want to buy only one and then later discover they're dynamite! Knowing me, I'd end up booking a flight back to Barcelona to pick up the other five.

The fellow at the store suddenly had to dash off to tend to a family emergency, but not before playing Formula V's "Loco, Casi Loco" for me, which immediately made me dump all six of the group's records into my 'must have' pile. It's Spanish '60s candy pop! (Though this single is actually from 1974.) I snatched up all other Formula V singles I found in the bins of Barcelona, and I think I ended up with nine. You can read a little about the group here and find their official website here.  

Formula V on YouTube:

[ "Ahora Sé Que Me Quieres" ]

 [ Novecento Música i Llibres — Barcelona, Spain ]