Vinyl Discovery

Long before the Now That’s What I Call Music series, children of the 1970s watched ads for RONCO records. This one, Far Out, features hits from 1975 specifically. This is also the first compilation record I’ll be focusing on here! Huzzah!

To make this a bit easier to navigate, I’m separating these songs by how awesome or weird they were. as usual, click the song to check it out.

Songs worth checking out for sure!!!

Track 1. S.O.S.--Abba I have a weakness for Abba like my Dad. I’m not into that awful musical of their music, but  the band is great. 1970s pop is where it’s at. Abba bring fun POP to America in 1975 with this great dancing track. It also was a perfect opening track for this compilation.

Track 2. How Long--Ace I heard this song on the local classics station recently and afterward the disc jockey told me about how this song is about the bands bassist working with other bands. The Bass work in particular is awesome in this track, which has elements of 70s Pop and Rock.

Track 8. You Sexy Thing--Hot Chocolate Not only is Hot Chocolate one of the best Funk band names EVER, but this song is great. If you’ve only heard it on Legally Blonde or Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist (in which case, hahahaha), you still know this song as soon as you hear it; one of the most fun songs on this compilation.

Track 10. Get Down Tonight--KC and the Sunshine Band I will admit that I did pay for this album just because this song was on it. Something about having a high profile 1970s artist like KC made me feel like this compilation was worth while (and it was!). Not my favorite song of theirs, but a fun one none the less.

Funny songs to sing at people:

Track 5. That’s the Way of the World--Earth, Wind, and Fire Disco Falsetto. Enough Said

Most of the other tracks on the record are quite irritating or boring, but here is the full track list, and you can find the entire album for streaming pretty easily by searching RONCO Far Out. There does seem to be another that looks very similar to this, but with some different tracks. Thesse are all the tracks on the album I got (those ridiculous tracks will have a *):

1. SOS--Abba

2.How Long--Ace

3. Feelings--Morris Alpert

4.Keep our Love Alive--Patricia Dahlquist*

5.That’s The Way of the World-- Earth Wind and Fire

6. To Each His Own-- Faith, Hope, and Charity*

7. Run Joey Run--David Geddes*** (somebody had to tell me this song was to embarrassing to play with company)

8. You Sexy Thing--Hot Chocolate

9. Skyhigh--Jigsaw

10. Get Down Tonight-- K.C. and the Sunshine Band

11. Part Time Love--Gladys Knight and the Pips

12. Don’t Tell Me Goodnight--LOBO

13. Midnight Blue--Melissa Manchester

14.Could This Be Magic--Barry Manilow

15. Change with the Times--Van McCoy

16. There Goes Another Love Song--Outlaws

17. Do It Any Way You Wanna--Peoples Choice

18. Save Me-- Silver Convention

19. Poetry Man-- Phoebe Snow

20. Swearin’ to God-- Frankie Valli

Notes:

I got this inn the Used records section at the Prescott Hastings

It was priced at $1.99

There is no envelope

No Distinguishing marks besides the Hastings sticker

The Association--Greatest Hits

The Association got together 50 years ago this year, and are another group still touring today (they were in my town last month or so). The Association started as an early 60′s rock group, playing proms and clubs, then made history opening the first ever Rock Festival (1966). This album is still one of the longest selling hits Warner Brothers still has. (I read all this and more here)

Songs you could know (although this is a hits album,)

Cherish- The song that inspired me to get this album when I saw it.

Other Songs to Check out 

Never My Love- Good enough for 5th Dimension to cover 

Windy-  my favorite song of theirs

Notes:

I got this album for a dollar at Stepping Stones Thrift.

It is in great condition, but did have to be dusted off.

I did have an envelope, but no distinguishing marks or mysterious finds.

This band quickly became one of my new favorites. They lack some radio play, but those plays keep this a money maker for WB.

What do you think of the Association?

Jim Croce– You Don’t Mess Around With Jim

This Album came out in 1972. I knew a few of the songs on this album from local radio, and really liked the Croce songs that I had heard, but this album only helped that love grow. It is the product of a wonderful song writer. The songs are fun to sing along with, but also have deeper layers.

I didn’t know until doing research for this album that Jim Croce died in 1973 in a plane accident, not much more than a year after this album came out.

Songs you could know:

You Don’t Mess Around With Jim

Operator

Most recommended Song:

Hard Time Losin’ Man-  It isn’t my favorite song on the album, and isn’t one of those sincere love songs that I love from Croce, but it is fun, dates the album, and has one of the greatest verses ever:

Oh, Friday night, feelin’ right I head out on the street Standin’ in the doorway Was a dealer known as Pete Well he sold me a dime of some super fine Dynamite from Mexico I spent all that night Just tryin’ to get right On an ounce of oregano

Not Kidding. Check it out.

I got this album at Stepping Stones Thrift Store in Prescott Valley, AZ

It was $1

the record is in excellent condition, slightly warped at an angle, but plays with great quality

This record did have an envelope

The Monkees--More of The Monkees

The “Phenomenal Monkees” were a group of carefully cast band-mates for a Television show in 1966, but over the course of rehearsal and filming the show, got together to form a real band. More of The Monkees is their second Album, released in January 1967. Although the show was geared for children, the band had a wide audience and continued in the mainstream even after the band ended.

This album, although made up of covers is fun and energetic, and was a joy to listen to.

When: 1967; I got it a few weeks ago

Where: I got it at Stepping Stones Thrift in Prescott Valley

Condition: This album was in decent condition; it has wear, but still plays very well. It has a minor skip on side two,but almost unnoticeable

Favorite track : “She” (track 1, Side A); It’s the first track on the Album, and it rocks. Its catchy and has been stuck in my head all week.

Least Favorite: “The Day We Fall In Love” (Track 3, Side B) This song is just corny narration over slow music.

I got it for $1

It did not have an envelope

What I learned: Not long after this Album came out, a controversy happened at the reveal that The Monkees didn’t play their own instruments during the first two albums. This was devastating to fans, although they forget that the band started for a kids show. Although the band’s members were recruited based on their musical and performance talents, they couldn’t, at that time, make up a full band (no drum player). For the first two albums, which were also cover albums, The Monkees were only partially in the creative aspects. What we can observe from More From The Monkees is what the band did under the creative constraints they while the show was running.

It did have an address for The Monkees fan club. When I looked it up, It still was listed under that name. Check out the letter (Here) I wrote to The Monkees. I’m still hoping for some response.

R. Dean Taylor 7″--”Indiana Wants Me” and “Love’s Your Name”

R. Dean Taylor wrote, and recorded “Indiana Wants Me” in 1970 and produced this single. The song is from the perspective of a fugitive of the law, writing a letter to his family. At first I thought the song was this hilarious joke, some fun song that came out before my time, but it is actually a pretty good jam. After a few listens, I can still smile and sing and laugh at this one. On this (a goldmine of info) website about R. Dean Taylor, I learned that the police sirens in part of the song were a controversy, and had to be removed on some copies due to confused drivers pulling over while listen to those parts.  The copy I got does have the Sirens, but it did confuse me at first, and I wasn’t listening to this in my car.The song still made #1 in several charts and is considered R Dean Taylor’s biggest hit.

Side B had “Love’s Your Name” which was another nice soft rock jam, and another great time period piece, although much harder to find information on than I had hoped.Either way, check it out here. I like the girl he describes in the song, this free spirit that you expect to hear about in that era. 

When: 1970

Where: I got this at Hope’s Attic for 25 Cents

Condition: Decent; it stops a bit abruptly on side A during the very end of the song, preventing the listener from hearing the gunshots that end the song. Side B plays excellently.

This did not have an envelope.

Badfinger 45- “Day After Day” and “Money”

In 1971 Badfinger released their album Straight Up Under the Beatles’ Apple Records (as seen by the logo on this disk. The album was produced by George Harrison, and a Pete Ham project and featured The hit “Day After Day”. This 45 includes that, an another song off the album: “Money”. Both are awesome tracks. “Day After Day” is a beautiful song,  (Check it out!) know well for the beautiful sliding guitar solos (more than likely under the direction of Harrison). Money was a fun Listen, and really reflects a lot of trends 1971′s for music from the early 1970s. Badfinger is also a very respected wonderful band with a lot to offer, and worth getting a full album when I see one.

Condition: Side A was great, except for an abrupt stop during the fade out. Side B was Excellent

When: Published 1971, received by myself Two Days ago (May 28th, 2015)

Where: According to my research, this is an American copy of the Album, because it has “Money” on side B. I found it at Hope’s Attic Thrift in Arizona.

I got this for 25 Cents

It did not have an envelope

This was, to me,  a great find. I was in a box with a bunch of other old 45s for 25 cents and I adore it.

Flowers by The Rolling Stones 

was a compilation album that came out in 1967, the tail end of the ‘Summer of Love’. You can see some of that influence from the cover art, like I did. I received this record from my grandmother, who asked me why there were five Beatles on this one....so, I got it for free.

The Album is awesome. I loved listening to it. These are great example of early Stone’s tracks. They may have been criticized for releasing an album of re-releases and covers (although it did have 3 original tracks debut), it is a great selection of music and fun to listen to. 

Notes:

Where: From my Nana, who had it for “God only knows how long”

When: 1967

Favorite Track: Mothers Little Helper; I like this one because of how much fun I have singing it at people and dancing along

Least Favorite Track: Ruby Tuesday; I know it was a big hit, but it’s much to overplayed, and tends gets on my nerves now

Most Recommended Track: Sitting on a Fence this song is as relevant to this generation as it was to that one. Check it out!

The record did have an envelope

What I learned: I learned that The Rolling Stones cycled instruments and that this album went to #3 and was released in Gold.

The Beat Goes on,