It’s Delvon Lamarr New Vinyl Thursday at The Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven. Check out this week’s list of new vinyl arrivals:
Alt-J – The Dream (Clear Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)
Aoife O’Donovan – Age of Apathy (Bone Color Vinyl, Gatefold LP Jacket, Digital Download Card)
Ashford & Simpson – So So Satisfied (Green Colored Vinyl)
Adele- 30
Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan – In Session
Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (Indie Exclusive)
Billie Holiday – Golden Hits
Billy Bragg – The Million Things That Never Happened
Weekly Review:
British folk singer took to the airwaves in the 1980s as a political firebrand, a left-wing hybrid of Woody
Guthrie and Joe Strummer.
Now, 63, Bragg is still as spirited as ever, but he has embraced the ethos that the personal is political on
The Million Things that Never Happened. Bragg’s 13th studio album, and first studio release since 2013, is
powered more by introspection than dogma. On “Good Days and Bad Days,” Bragg addresses his current
state with such candor and tenderness that it could pass for a Paul Simon song if not for the prominent
Essex accent.
Bragg has always been an underrated writer of love songs, but here he offers two more additions to the
songbook d’amour: “I Believe In You” (not a Bob Dylan cover) and “I Will Be Your Shield.”
Even the political numbers have a more relaxed, reflective tone. The lyrics to “Ten Mysterious Photos
that Can’t Be Explained” capture this state of mind:
“I’ve been down rabbit holes
I’ve seen the rabid trolls
Cackling in the twilight of the Age of Reason
One thing I’ve noticed as I get older
Common sense, like art, is in the eye of the beholder”
Nearly 40 years after his debut release, Bragg might only be reaching to the converted, but his gospel is
good news, indeed. -Joel Francis
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – American X: Baby 81 Sessions
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Wrong Creatures (Limited Edition)
Bob Marley- Legend
The Beatles- Abbey Road Anniversary
The Beatles- Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
Beastie Boys – Hot Sauce Committee Part Two
Billie Eilish- Happier Than Ever
Charles Mingus – The Jazz Experiments Of Charles Mingus
Cosmic Jokers – Cosmic Jokers
Childish Gambino – Because the Internet
Curtis Mayfield – The Very Best of Curtis Mayfield
Weekly Review:
Chicago soul singer Curtis Mayfield was a steady voice of encouragement, romance and empowerment
throughout his time with the Impressions in the 1960s and subsequent solo career. The Very Best of
Curtis Mayfield covers the legend’s most fertile decade – the 1970s – across four sides of vinyl.
The collection opens with three cuts from Mayfield’s excellent solo debut, 1970’s Curtis. It gets bonus
points for offering unedited versions of the upbeat anthem “Move on Up” and energizing, yet doom-
laden “(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below, We’re All Going to Go.” Side two hits a pair of high points
from 1971’s Roots and Mayfield’s best-known album, the Super Fly soundtrack.
These three albums all deserve to be experienced in their totality, but The Very Best of Curtis Mayfield
does a good job of a half-dozen songs from Mayfield’s later efforts before wrapping up with two duets
with Linda Clifford. These pedestrian examples of Mayfield’s romantic side end the collection on a weak
note. Listeners would be better served with “Show Me Love” or “This Year,” a strong single that was
never featured on any of Mayfield’s album.
While The Very Best of Curtis Mayfield does an admirable job of summarizing the artist’s output, it only
whets the appetite for more. -Joel Francis
Cigarettes After Sex- Cigarettes After Sex
Cactus – The Birth Of Cactus – 1970 (Purple Colored Vinyl)
Calvin Arsenia – La Sessions
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – Cold As Weiss (Blue Clear Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)
Dr. Dre – The Chronic
The Doors- Waiting For The Sun
Eddie Spaghetti – Extra Sauce
Flogging Molly – Swagger (20th Anniversary Box Set) (With DVD, Boxed Set, Gatefold LP Jacket)
Funkadelic – Standing on the Verge: The Best of Funkadelic
Greta Van Fleet – The Battle At Garden’s Gate (White Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)
Hollis Brown – In The Aftermath (140 Gram Vinyl, Black)
Hollis Brown – Ozone Park
Houndmouth – Good For You
Hippo Campus – Lp3
Weekly Review:
Twin Cities indie rockers Hippo Campus mean business on their third album. Bestowing the
straightforward title, LP3, the album finds Hippo Campus expand their indie, jangle-pop sound with
electronic elements.
This shift is evident on “Listerine,” a portrait of someone stuck in an emotionally abusive relationship.
Singer Jake Luppen’s vocals are heavily processed and coolly detached as he delivers lines like “You’ve
got lips and I’ve got Listerine/But you can’t wash the f-ked up out of me tonight.” The haunting,
processed electronics behind his voice create a barren, alien landscape.
On “Bang Bang,” another stand-out track, the band pull off the age-old trick of pairing dark lyrics with a
sunny melody. Lyrics about the dying days of a long-distance relationship hide in plain sight alongside
sparkling synthesizers.
The drum sound on “Ride or Die” is stationed just a little north of Jamaica, giving the song a bouncy,
summertime vibe that makes it feel like a lost Vampire Weekend track. Lead single “Boys” is awash in a
nostalgic Day-Glo vibe that blends keyboards and guitars with live drums.
After taking four years between albums (with a stopgap EP released last year), Hippo Campus sound
energized and more mature. Hopefully fans won’t have to wait as long to see where the band winds up
next. In the meantime, there is much to enjoy on LP3. -Joel Francis
Harry Styles – Fine Line (Gatefold LP Jacket, Poster, 180 Gram Vinyl)
Ibibio Sound Machine – Uyai (Limited Edition,Blue Colored Vinyl)
Ibibio Sound Machine – Doko Mien (Black, Gatefold LP Jacket, Digital Download Card)
Joe Pass – For Django
Jill Scott – Who Is Jill Scott: Words And Sounds, Vol. 1 (Blue Colored Vinyl, Limited Edition)
Joshua Ray Walker – Glad You Made It
Jimi Hendrix – Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix [150 gram Vinyl]
John Prine- Sweet Revenge
John Coltrane – Giant Steps
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City
Kool and the Gang – Kool And The Gang (Purple Colored Vinyl)
Lady Wray – Piece of Me (Deep Emerald Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)
Mozzy – Gangland Landlord
My Morning Jacket – Okonokos (Deluxe Edition, Colored Vinyl, Boxed Set)
Miles Davis – The Essential Miles Davis
Mitski – Laurel Hell
Weekly Review:
A lot has happened in the life of Mitski Miyawaki since her last album, four years ago. That release, Be
the Cowboy, made Mitski a star, earning both critical and popular praise. At the end of her tour in
support of Cowboy, Mitski announced she was leaving music, only to change her mind several months
later. Mitski has teased fans with several singles and a soundtrack released only on cassette and vinyl.
Now, Mitski is back with the proper follow-up to Be the Cowboy, Laurel Hell.
While many of Mitski’s fellow pop stars have stepped back by turning to acoustic instruments and
simpler arrangements, Mitski goes the other way on Laurel Hell, imbuing the album with synthesizers
and glossy production that almost seems to function as a wall between the artist and her audience.
Laurel Hell opens with the whisper-quiet “Valentine, Texas” before blossoming into something that
would make Robert Smith of The Cure proud. “There’s Nothing Left for You,” another standout track,
follows the same arrangement, starting quietly then springing to life in a carnival of synths, guitars and
drums before receding back into the quiet.
The album’s protracted gestation period is evident. Laurel Hell lurches more than it flows, with pop
numbers placed next to atmospheric pieces. Lyrically, Mitski mixes personal revelations with character
narratives effectively obscuring any attempts to read too much into her words (not that fans won’t still
try).
After four years, it is good to have Mitski back, even if she’s unsure this is where she wants be. -Joel Francis
Nirvana – In Utero
Nathaniel Rateliff- The Future (Limited Edition, 180 Gram Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)
Orville Peck – Pony
Opeth – Watershed
Ornette Coleman – Round Trip – The Complete Ornette Coleman
Weekly Review:
Saxophonist Ornette Coleman changed the face of jazz with the albums he released for Atlantic Records
in the early 1960s. In the middle of the decade, Coleman signed with Blue Note Records. Everything
Coleman released on the label – five albums, plus a collaboration with fellow sax man Jackie McLean –
are collected on Round Trip: The Complete Ornette Coleman.
The first two albums capture Coleman and his trio in concert at the Golden Circle. The performances are
both playful and adventurous and represent some of the most accessible music in Coleman’s catalog. By
the time of 1966’s The Empty Foxhole, Coleman hadn’t been in a studio in four years. The cause celebre
for this album was drummer Denardo Coleman, the saxophonist’s 10-year-old son. A proud papa puts
his progeny front and center in the album’s trio format. Fortunately, the young man more than holds his
own between his father and bass player Charlie Haden.
McLean’s New and Old Gospel, from 1967, is the outlier in this assemblage. Coleman joins McLean’s
quartet on trumpet, but does contribute two original pieces to the album. The music is more blues-
based than Coleman’s normal output and it’s interesting to hear him in a sideman role.
The last two albums draw from the same spring 1968 recording dates. On Love Call and New York Is
Now, Coleman borrowed the late John Coltrane’s rhythm section of drummer Elvin Jones and bass
player Jimmy Garrison. The selections still swing, but they also feel a bit weighted. Tenor saxophonist
Dewey Redman augments Coleman’s work on alto sax and trumpet.
The price tag on this set will likely weed out any casual fans, but deep-pocketed newcomers should
know that these albums are hard to find in clean, early pressings and may cumulatively end up costing
more than this collection. -Joel Francis
Pinegrove – 11:11 (Red Clear Vinyl)
Prince – Purple Rain (Picture Disc Vinyl LP)
Prince – Around The World In A Day (Gatefold LP Jacket, 150 Gram Vinyl)
Prince – 1999; Purple Rain; Sign O’ the Times
Weekly Review:
Purple Rain, 1999, Sign O’ the Times. These three albums, released across a six-year span, starting in
1982, form the bedrock of Prince’s bulletproof reputation as a musical visionary and genius. The hits
from these albums are the core of any Prince playlist and are known by heart: “When Doves Cry,” “Little
Red Corvette,” “U Got the Look,” “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Delirious,” “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” among several
others (including all three title tracks).
But the most compelling reasons to buy these records are how well they hold together as albums, with
album tracks supporting (and sometimes surpassing) the singles. The first of these albums to arrive was
1999, released in 1982. Prince had hits on his previous four albums, but 1999 is where he became P-R-I-
N-C-E. Here, Prince took the synthesizers and funk sound pioneered by George Clinton and Parliament-
Funkadelic in the 1970s and pushed it to the future. Most of the songs on this double-album push past
the six-minute mark. It doesn’t get any better than the electro-funk of “D.S.M.R.” or erotic fantasy of
“Lady Cab Driver.” With the all the singles on the first record, the second platter feels like a dance party
of deep cuts known only to dedicated fans.
The follow-up to 1999, Purple Rain is Prince’s masterpiece. A concise single album comprising nine
songs, including two No. 1 hits, two more Top 10 hits and a Top 40 single. The four album tracks hold
their own as well. “Darling Nikki” inspired Tipper Gore to get hysterical, “Baby I’m a Star” flat-out rocks a
and “Computer Blue” continues the icy robotic synth vein of 1999.
Finally, 1987’s Sign O’ the Times is many fans’ favorite Prince album. A sprawling double album where
Prince tries almost everything – funk, pop, hard rock, gospel, folk – and succeeds at everything. The
opening title song rips the bandage of Ronald Reagan’s America with the intensity of a Public Enemy
track. Later, Prince pays tribute to James Brown and Joni Mitchell – and that’s just side one! “The Cross”
opens as an intimate testimony before blossoming into an arena rock song with tablas and sitar. The
next song, “It’s Going to Be a Beautiful Night,” is a for-real arena rocker, recorded live on tour in Paris
with support from the Revolution and a percussion solo by Shelia E. Closing track “Adore” is a beautiful,
heartfelt ballad that ties a bow on the album.
All of these albums should be in any serious music library, but if you want to pick away at them one at a
time, I suggest starting with Purple Rain, then casting a wider net toward Sign O’ the Times, before
finally grabbing the icy funk of 1999. -Joel Francis
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon
Pink Floyd – The Wall (180 Gram Vinyl, Gatefold LP Jacket)
Quincy Jones – $ aka The Heist (Music From The Original Motion Picture Sound Track) )(Green Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)
The Ramones – Rocket To Russia
Slash – 4 (Feat. Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators) (Purple Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive, Guitar Pick, O-Card Packaging)
Soul Asylum – Let Your Dim Light Shine (Limited Edition, Purple Colored Vinyl, Indie Exclusive)
Saint Etienne – Foxbase Alpha (30th Anniversary) (Green Colored Vinyl)
Sufjan Stevens – Songs For Christmas
Twisted Sister – Greatest Hits -Tear It Loose (Atlantic Years) (Red Clear Vinyl, Limited Edition)
Tori Amos – Ocean To Ocean
U2 – Achtung Baby (30th Anniversary) (Limited Edition, 180 Gram Vinyl, With Booklet & Poster)
Urge Overkill – Oui (Indie Exclusive)
Velvet Underground & Nico- The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground – White Light/ White Heat
Vitalic – OK Cowboy
William S. Fischer – Circles (Gray Clear Vinyl, Limited Edition)
Zeal & Ardor – Zeal & Ardor
Zero 7 – Garden [Import]
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Turntables! We got ’em. From starter tables to audiophile, and everything in between, we have you covered. We are honored to once again be carrying a full line up of the award winning, top of their class, made in America, U-turn Orbits! We have all the colors- including the high performance walnut and maple. Get here fast for best selection. Get yours today!
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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, Greg, Dave and Lain