R.J.'s Latest Arrival

Artist: R.J.'s Latest Arrival

LP: R.J.'s Latest Arrival

Song: "Swing Low"

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Song: "Baby I'm Sorry"

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The guy's name is R.J. who owns and operates Daybreak Records over in Fremont. The store has a 'New Arrivals' section for LPs they've just put out for sale, but I've always thought the section ought to be called "R.J.'s Latest Arrivals."

 

[ R.J.'s Latest Arrival ]

5000 Volts

Artist: 5000 Volts

LP: 7" single

Song: "I'm On Fire"

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Happy New Year! I can't tell you how pleased I am with the recent switchover to a new and improved administration in our ole' US of A. Wait...yes I can: I'm SUPER pleased! It's been just two days since the inauguration of the Biden-Harris team, and already the emergency brakes have brought a bunch of Donald Trump bullshit to a screeching halt, as the gear-shift is then thrown into reverse. With so many emergencies to tend to at the moment, I am THRILLED that President Biden submitted a comprehensive (and humane) immigration policy reform bill after his inauguration and before his first night's sleep in the White House. 

Biden has basically been doing what I'd likely be doing if I suddenly found I'd been elected President of the USA during this troubled time. And then, of course, that got me thinking: What song would I choose to have playing at my rallies as I approached the microphone to address an enthusiastic crowd? I've settled on this 1975 disco single by British group 5000 Volts. I'm a little surprised it wasn't already taken. You might say, "Alex, you're too old to start thinking about being the President." And then I'd say: "Yeah, I know." Actually, I may be a little long in the tooth, but by political standards I'm still a spring chicken. Isn't Mitch McConnell 117? Plus, I'm currently working for the Federal Government, so I've already got one foot in the door!

[ 5000 Volts ]

The Moments

Artist: The Moments

LP: Look At Me
Song: "Girls (French version)"

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Song: "Look At Me (French version)"

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Last night I went sifting through my soul and R&B records to find something quiet and romantic to bring my enjoyable evening to a delicate close. This 1975 LP by The Moments that I put on the console was already hitting the spot, and then they started singing in French!

I had not realized until now that The Moments were the same fellows who later turned into Ray, Goodman, and Brown. Stang Records evidently wouldn't let the trio keep the name when The Moments decided to leave the label in 1979. (Update: Oh. I guess I did know this 10 years ago. My memory just ain't what it used to be.) Mais peu importe comment vous les applez, ils sont simplement magnifiques! 

[ Harry Ray: December 15, 1946 — October 1, 1992 ]

[ Al Goodman: March 30, 1943 — July 26, 2010 ]

[ Billy Brown: b. June 30, 1946 ]

Los Diablos

Artist: Los Diablos

LP: 7" single

Song: "Mi Talisman"
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After leaving Revolver Records and strolling along Carrer dels Tallers on my way toward Discos Paradiso, I passed by a shop called Discos Impacto that I realized was also on my list of stores I needed to visit. At first I only found lots of used LPs in a very large room in the back, but just as I discovered about 20 bins of used 45s right by the entrance of the store, the friendly proprietor announced that everyone had to leave. He needed to use the restroom and so would be closing shop for about five minutes. I waited patiently outside.

When the store reopened I spent several hours flipping through their singles bins. They were sprinkled with vinyl treasures from all over Europe! One of them was this 1973 release by Los Diablos, a group that formed right there in Barcelona back in 1968. They disbanded ten years later, but have reformed in various incarnations ever since. For a brief period in the late '90s they joined forces with members of Formula V to make music under the name Formula Diablos. You can read more about these handsome diablos in Spanish here and here, and go here to find some info in English.

[ Discos Impacto — Barcelona, Spain ]

Ian Lloyd & Stories

Artist: Ian Lloyd & Stories

LP: Traveling Underground

Song: "If It Feels Good, Do It" 
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Song: "Traveling Underground" 
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Stories founder Ian Lloyd was reportedly exasperated when his group's cover of "Brother Louie" shot to the top of the US singles charts back in 1973. The song didn't at all represent the direction he wanted his band to be going in! That must have been awful. So frustrating. I can't even imagine! (The Stories version is good, but of course the original by Hot Chocolate is even better.) "Brother Louie" was Stories' only single to enter the top 40, though two subsequent releases from their 1973 follow-up LP, "Traveling Underground," climbed into the Billboard Hot 100. "Mammy Blue" reached #50 and "If It Feels Good, Do It" peaked at #88. Stories' final single, "Another Love," is a bisexual's urgent plea for a little understanding from his lady friend. "There's a part of me you know nothing of...every door can swing both ways." The song failed to chart. All this and a whole lot more can be found on Wikipedia here. I love it when sexy long-haired '70s rockers pose for record covers without any shirts on.

Nigel Olsson

Artist: Nigel Olsson

LP: Nigel

Song: "A Little Bit of Soap" 
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Song: "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" 
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I've been weeding through my records again and, in spite of the fact that it's got one of the best album covers around, in spite of the sexy white bell-bottoms, in spite of the bangs, Nigel Olsson's half-self-titled LP has got to go. An aspiring drummer with a Uriah Heep LP credit on his resume, Nigel was picked up by Elton John in 1970 (Nigel looked like this at the time, so the Uriah Heep credit probably had nothing to do with it) and the two have continued working together for years. In fact, they played their 2,000th concert together just four months ago! You can read more about Nigel's decades of work with Elton John on Wikipedia here.

After drumming for Elton in the early '70s, Nigel eventually decided to release some solo material, including this glitzy-looking "Nigel" LP in 1979. Two of the record's highlights include rather soulless covers of The Jarmels' "A Little Bit of Soap" and "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" by Billy Joel, which never really had much soul to begin with. The album also features a number of unfortunate rhyming schemes, such as: Au revoir is not goodbye...but leavin' you still makes me cry...here I sit and wonder why... and so on. So anyway...Au revoir, Nigel Olsson.

 [ Nigel Olsson ]

Alessi

Artist: Alessi

LP: Driftin'

Song: "I Don't Wanna Lose You"
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Song: "Space"
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My friend Trevor and I went to Easy Street Records & Cafe in West Seattle for breakfast yesterday, and while we were waiting for our table I rummaged through some bins and found the Alessi Brothers' third LP! The identical twin heartthrobs invited some other famous and talented musicians to join them this time around, including Seals & Crofts, Lee Ritenour, Melvin "Wah Wah" Watson....and even Paul Stanley stopped by to contribute guitars and backing vocals to one of the songs. Gene Page arranged strings on both "I Don't Wanna Lose You" and "Space," and that's the late Richie Havens contributing the non-Alessi-sounding voices on the latter. 

So does anyone else think it's odd that even though Bobby & Billy are identical twins, one has a sorta' hairy chest and the other one doesn't? I mean men weren't shaving their chests yet in 1978, were they?

[ The Alessi chests: not identical. ]