Wolf party (Old Man Pine) (LP 4210 - 4214)

Jackie DeShannon  For You (Vinyl, IR Imperial Records, 1967) *** 

John Mayall  Primal Solos (Vinyl, Decca Records, 1977) ***  

Old Man Pine  Swamp Stomps (Vinyl, Swampton Sounds Records, 2024) *** 

James Taylor  Flag (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1979) *** 

Dinah Lee  Introducing Dinah Lee (Vinyl, Viking Records, 1964) **** 

Genres: Pop, blues, NZ music, rock 

Places I remember: Vinyl Countdown, A Records (Flag) - both in Nu Plimf.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Happy Blue Beat (Dinah Lee)

Gear costume: Hallelujah, I Love Him So (Dinah Lee)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: These acquisitions came from a recent Christmas holidays' trip to New Plymouth. A Records is a relatively new shop in the Fitzroy area. It's got a great ambience and a variety of genres, but doesn't yet have enough quantity. I took about 15 minutes to check through all the vinyl, whereas at VC it took me an hour just to go through the sale bins.

That's where I got most of these records for $2 to $5, aside from Old Man's Pine which was $30 in the NZ section. A few needed a clean, but all of the above are in very good to excellent condition. Amazing, given that the oldest one (Dinah Lee) is 61 years old.

Jackie DeShannon's For You is from 1967. It has her performing orchestrated adult contemporary pop songs. This copy is in mint condition, ex of Radio NZ's National Programme - their stamp is on the back cover. Someone has loved this album for almost 60 years and it wound up in the sale bin at Vinyl Countdown. Lucky me!

It's not her typical pop style and the lush orchestration took a while to adjust to, but when I did, I heard a quality artist challenging herself in a positive way.

Primal Solos is an archive compilation of historic interest - so the quality varies. Side 1 of the John Mayall album has Clapton, Bruce (pre-Cream) and Hughie Flint on drums, live in London 1966. Side two are live recordings from 1968 with Mick Taylor (pre-Rolling Stones) playing some superb guitar. Well worth $5.

Old Man Pine are a band from Palmerston North. I have their impressive debut album, Swamp Stomps is their second effort. It has a great opening track (Bad Self Proud) and an excellent surf rock instrumental (Serf Tango) and while the rest doesn't quite reach those high standards on first listen, it's still local good-time boogie rock like the debut.

Flag is an album I had glossed over in my James Taylor collection until seeing it for $15 at A Records. Side one is the electric side where JT attempts to update his image and sound. It kinda works too, but then side 2 is back to his usual warm acoustic approach, although he is pretty damning of his relationship with Carly during B.S.U.R. (S.U.C.S.I.M.I.M.). Bad form JT!

It's a pretty good JT album and does contain his version of Up on the Roof, a redo of Rainy Day Man, an interesting version of Daytripper, and Millworker. So, plenty to feel positive about. It didn't sell especially well, and critics were unimpressed - probably why it's taken me until now to own a copy.

Dinah Lee's Do the Bluebeat from 1964 (her third single, and on Introducing) was the first song and single that I can remember seeing and listening to. I was 7, but I distinctly remember seeing the single playing on our radiogram. It was love at first listen!

It's a lively record (and the best of this bunch) - thanks to backing from fellow New Zealanders, Max Merritt & His Meteors. It's 1964 so The Beatles get a mention on You Don't Talk About Love and in the liner notes she is referred to as a 'beatle chick' (sic). At the time Dinah was 19! 

She has a very mature voice - just have a listen to Don't You Know Yockomo - her first single and also included on this debut album. Extraordinary. She's now 82 and still around - my first crush!

Where do they all belong? Apart from those albums I also picked up some compilations of Steppenwolf (The Best of Steppenwolf: Reborn To Be Wild), Barclay James Harvest (Early Morning Onwards); an original version of Donovan's What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid); and a southern rock jam album we'll eventually get too (Volunteer Jam)