David Bowie New Vinyl Thursday

Vinyl Underground

January 5, 2022

By ll_7th_heaven

It’s David Bowie New Vinyl Thursday at The Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven. Check out this week’s list of new vinyl arrivals:

A-ha – Hunting High And Low (Indie Exclusive)

Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color (Deluxe Edition, Pink, Black, Magenta Colored Vinyl)

Archie Shepp – Left Alone Revisited

Aretha Franklin – Sparkle (Clear Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)

Adele- 30

Arlo Parks- Collapsed In Sunbeams

Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan – In Session

Weekly Review:

Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was best known for his work on David Bowie’s Let’s Dance
album and his just-released debut album when he stepped into a Canadian television studio to record a
session with the legendary Albert King.
Although King was a little more than twice as old as the 29-year-old Vaughan at the time of this session,
the pair’s playing is one of mutual respect. Neither axeman is trying to impress the other; at the same
time, their playing is never staid or cordial. No, this is a conversation, in which each player pushes off the
other’s vocabulary and explores new territory.
Understandably, most of the performances here are lengthy. King’s “Blues at Sunrise” runs 15 minutes,
while the shortest song, a cover of B.B. King’s “Ask Me No Questions” is 5 minutes. The two chat
between songs. Thankfully the conversations are more succinct than the soloing.
In Session is Albert King’s show – Vaughan only performs one song, “Pride and Joy.” It ultimately doesn’t
matter because the collaboration is so balanced, with each man playing so fluidly off the other. For blues
fans and guitar aficionados, In Session releases joy with each spin. -Joel Francis

The Bug – Fire (Red, Yellow Colored Vinyl, Limited Edition, Gatefold LP Jacket)

Bill Evans – Green Dolphin Street (180 Gram Vinyl, Green Colored Vinyl)

Billy Bang – Billy Bang Lucky Man

Bad Brains- Bad Brains

Bob Marley- Best of Bob Marley

Billie Eilish – Don’t Smile At Me (Colored Vinyl)

Buffalo Nichols – Buffalo Nichols

Weekly Review:

Every now and then an artist comes a long, with little more than a voice and a simply strummed guitar, that has an uncanny ability to cut straight through the bullshit of life and express something so pure and real that it makes a non-dualistic human such as myself wanna stand up and shout, “Amen!”

Artists like Robert Johnson, ODETTA, Richie Havens,Bob Dylan immediately come to mind when I think of the debut self titled album by Buffalo Nichols on Fat Possum Records, their first solo blues signing in 20 years.

The first single as well as the first track on the album, “Lost and Lonesome,” is a somber country blues ballad that sets the tone for whole album which was serves is meant to serve as Nichols puts it: “The soundtrack to a wandering soul.”

Track two is foot stomper that displays Nichols unique ability to get the most out of simple phrase by tweaking the title of the song “Living Hell” to “Live In Hell” in order to expound upon the idea that to suffer is not just an aspect of life but perhaps to a large part the fabric of life itself.

“How to love” is a searing love song disguised as a blues song about how lost love can inspire great insight masterfully conveyed through the line: “The way you hurt me showed me how to love.”

“Another Man Is Dead” is the pinnacle of this album and what makes Nichols style so compelling. A melody inspired by the song “Another Man Done Gone,” a Black spiritual mostly associated with the folk singer Odetta, he updates the lyrics to apply to more current news about the plight African Americans in today’s society.

“Another woman is dead/Turn signal wasn’t on they locked her up and now she’s gone,” he sings, referencing Sandra Bland’s death. He continues: “No need to hide behind a white hood/When a badge works just as good.” It’s powerful statement especially when sung by single mournful voice with a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment.

“Back On Top” introduces a lighter side of the blues with a steady back beat and echoing slide guitar as Nichols sings to his love about a hot night on the town they’ll have as soon as his ship comes in.

This is a record that the world needs right about now! It’s clear eyed and somber message feels like an appropriate way to start 2022. – Major Matt

Cecil McBee Sextet – Music From The Source

Clara Rockmore – Theremin

Clara Rockmore – The Lost Theremin Album

Cigarettes After Sex – Cigarettes After Sex

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Chronicle

Childish Gambino- Awaken My Love

David Bowie – Toy (Box Set)

David Bowie – Who Can I Be Now? (1974 To 1976) (180 Gram Vinyl, Boxed Set)

David Bowie – Hunky Dory

Weekly Review:

Released in 1971, Hunky Dory is David Bowie’s fourth album, but first masterpiece.
Bowie’s self-titled debut was unfocused and the self-titled follow-up overcorrected into folk. The Man
Who Sold the World was a transitional album, strongly hinting at Bowie’s potential, but never
completely arriving. With Hunky Dory, however, Bowie finally arrived.
Invigorated by his time leading a band named Arnold Corns (essentially a dry run for the Spiders from
Mars), Bowie penned three songs about his heroes – “Andy Warhol,” “Song for Bob Dylan” and “Queen
Bitch” (for Lou Reed). He gave “Oh! You Pretty Things” to former Herman’s Hermit’s frontman Peter
Noone, who took it to No. 12 on the United Kingdom charts and reintroduced the public to Bowie. “Life
on Mars?” grew out of a parody of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” The album’s biggest number – and
opening track – “Changes,” started as another parody until Bowie and his band reworked it.
Bowie’s biggest musical foil in this period was guitarist Mick Ronson, but the unsung hero of Hunky Dory
is future Yes pianist Rick Wakeman. His fluid runs power “Life on Mars?,” give buoyancy to “Oh! You
Pretty Things” and adds a sense of drama to “Changes.”
Hunky Dory’s album tracks aren’t bad, either. “Quicksand” was in the setlists of Bowie’s final tour. The
haunting “The Belway Brothers” is about Bowie’s relationship with his half-brother. Tucked among the
hits on side one, “Eight Line Poem” is a country-ish ballad just as described: eight lines about a cat in a
room with a cactus. Don’t worry, it’s better than described.
The album didn’t make much noise upon release, but was quickly swept up in the Ziggy Stardust
zeitgeist and has since become one of Bowie’s most-celebrated albums. It belongs in any classic rock or
art-rock collection. -Joel Francis

David Bowie – Diamond Dogs

David Bowie – Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) (2017 Remastered Version)

David Bowie – The Man Who Sold the World (180 Gram Vinyl)

Doris Duke – Woman

Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg

Durand Jones & The Indications- American Love Call

Gorillaz – D-Sides (180 Gram Vinyl)

Great White – Great Zeppelin – Tribute To Led Zeppelin (Black White & Gold Splatter Colored Vinyl)

The Grateful Dead – Ready Or Not

Hanson – Against The World (Copper Colored Vinyl , Indie Exclusive)

Joy Division – Still

Jungle – Loving In Stereo (Blue, Black Colored Vinyl, Gatefold LP Jacket, Indie Exclusive)

Janet Jackson – Rhythm Nation 1814

Weekly Review:

When Janet Jackson announced she was again working with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on
her fourth album, her label hoped for a sequel to Jackson’s chart-topping, breakthrough album Control.
Instead, Jackson, Jam and Lewis delivered something even better: a powerful statement on race,
addiction, poverty and love that mixed hard rock, dance, R&B, industrial and new jack swing.
Rhythm Nation 1814 is the sound of Jackson securing her place in her family’s musical legacy while
operating – and succeeding – completely independently. In order to appreciate the album’s scope and
reach, consider Rhythm Nation’s four No. 1 hits, which reached the top in consecutive years, from 1989
to 1991.
The first, “Miss You Much” is a love song that owes a strong debt to Jam and Lewis’ former employer,
Prince. “Escapade,” Jackson’s second No. 1 hit of 1989, continues in this vein, but 1990’s chart-topper
“Black Cat” is built on a screaming guitar riff and rocks harder than anything the hair metal bands of the
time were producing. By the time “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” peaked at No. 1 in 1991, Jackson
and Rhythm Nation had been riding the charts for so long that the singer was debuted a new look for
the video, abandoning the militaristic uniforms for something more casual and revealing.
Far from being bloated by so many hits, Rhythm Nation’s lesser singles and album cuts actually enhance
the record. “State of the World” and “Living in a World” address Jackson’s social themes while “Alright”
and “Come Back to Me” make sure the Nation stays sonically interesting and varied.
Rhythm Nation 1814 isn’t just Janet Jackson’s best album – one could make a strong case for it being the
best album released by any member of the Jackson family. -Joel Francis

Jimi Hendrix- Are You Experienced

Jimi Hendrix- Smash Hits

Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon III: The Chosen

Leon Bridges – Good Thing (180 Gram Vinyl, Download Insert)

Lady Wray – Queen Alone

Michael Jackson – Off The Wall (Picture Disc Vinyl LP)

Michael Jackson – Thriller (Picture Disc)

Madvillain (MF DOOM And Madlib) – Madvillainy

Miles Davis- Bitches Brew

Misfits – Twilight of the Dead

N.W.A – Straight Outta Compton

NOFX – West Coast Vs. Wessex

Nina Simone – Hits (180 Gram Vinyl, Gatefold LP Jacket, Remastered, Special Edition)

Nirvana – In Utero

The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die (140 Gram Vinyl)

Ozzy Osbourne- Blizzard Of Ozz

Os Mutantes – Os Mutantes

The Osees – Levitation Sessions II

Weekly Review:

“LEVITATION SESSIONS are live performance films created by the artists and then streamed worldwide & released as live albums. The best bands, impeccable audio and unique locations. Sonic bliss for your eyes and ears.” (Taken from the Levitation website)

Back in sept of 2020 the band Thee Oh Sees performed their first Levitation Session in the outdoor desert parking lot of Pappy & Harriet’s California , a honky-tonk barbecue restaurant near Joshua Tree, California. The live stream and recording that came of it were a huge success and it provided a unique way for fans to experience the band live during the pandemic.

In April the band decided to film a second Levitations session, this time in an old warehouse outside of Los Angeles. OSEES frontman John Dwyer describes the space as looking like a “fight scene set from Point Blank or the John Wick trilogy.”

The set for The Levitation Sessions II includes some never before heard live songs as well as various tracks spanning over a decade of the bands vast collection. And as if that wasn’t enough, the band closes out with a hand full of covers by the legendary SF post punk, psych band Chrome.

They just released the entire performance on a sweet red splatter paint double album. Not that the session one was bad by any means, but they really took the production value up a notch both sonically and on the video, which you can watch for free on YouTube.

Even though the band was originally formed as a vehicle for Dwyers home recordings, OSEES have gained a reputation for one of the most compelling live bands around. From their early garage rock sounding days to their more expansive Krautrock inspired jams this appears to be a perfect format for the band! – Major Matt

Panic! At the Disco – Death Of A Bachelor (Limited Silver Colored Vinyl) (Silver Colored Vinyl, Anniversary Edition)

Paul Thorn – Never Too Late To Call

Pet Shop Boys – Nightlife (2017 Remastered Version)

Plus – Plus (Clear Colored Vinyl)

Robert Plant- Raise The Roof (Gatefold LP Jacket, 180 Gram Vinyl)

Roky Erickson – The Evil One (Purple Haze Vinyl)

Saint Etienne – I’ve Been Trying To Tell You

Saint Etienne – Tales From Turnpike House

Thelonious Monk – Misterioso

Thelonious Monk – Monks Dream

Queen – Greatest Hits

Roscoe Holcomb – The Old Church

Sam Cooke – Portrait of a Legend: 1951-1964

Weekly Review:

Originally released in 2003, Portrait of a Legend is one of the greatest single-volume career
retrospectives ever assembled. The 30 songs collected here not only encompass all of Sam Cooke’s
greatest singles, but, as the title indicates, paint an aural biography of the soul legend.
The set opens with several gospel tracks from Cooke’s time with the Soul Stirrers, before moving into his
secular, solo sides: “You Send Me,” “Only Sixteen,” “Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha.” These songs
dominated the airwaves and R&B charts in their day, but most of them never appeared on any of
Cooke’s albums.
Interpretations of classics such as “Summertime” and “Tennessee Waltz” and the blues number “Little
Red Rooster” show Cooke was just as masterful a performer of others’ songs as he was at penning his
own hits.
Portrait culminates with “A Change is Gonna Come,” Cooke’s finest side, before looping back around to
the begging and closing with “Nearer to Thee,” another gospel song with the Soul Stirrers. By ending the
journey here, the listener not only gets the full scope of Cooke’s artistry, but sees that he never strayed
far from his roots in the church.
Think of a well-known Cooke song and it’s on Portrait of a Legend. Quibbles can be made about what
supporting performances were excluded, but by that point we’re beyond a stand-alone release and into

box set territory. Illuminating liner notes from Cooke biographer Peter Guralnick further cement the
set’s definitive nature. If you only have one Cooke album in your collection (and every music fan should),
make it Portrait of a Legend. -Joel Francis

Various Artists – Blade Runner Black Lotus (Original Television Soundtrack) (Yellow Colored Vinyl)

Various Artists – Juno (Various Artists) (Green Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)

Various Artists – Lost In Translation (Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)

Vic Chesnutt – Ghetto Bells (Limited Edition, Black, Brown Colored Vinyl)

Yusef Lateef – Other Sounds

The XX- XX

White Zombie- La Sexorcisto: Devil Music

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Enjoy the music and we will see you soon. Your loving Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven staff:

Sherman, Gordon, Cat, Matt, Dylan, Doyle, Heather, Dave and Lain

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