Red Sovine - Phantom 309

I've always loved truck driving songs and any albums related to the big rigs or the C.B. culture. Red Sovine was one of the best story tellers and one of the greats when it comes to trucker songs. You will always find one of his songs on practically any trucker song compilation. I'm not a huge country music fan but love the narrative style country songs wether it be about driving across country, bad relationships, or getting drunk at the bar and this compilation has them all! I'm posting this as I thought it represents my move back east from the Nashville area and is a nice farewell to Music City. Red was born in West Virginia but died here in Nashville when he suffered a heart attack behind the wheel of his van. This is just classic country story telling at its best especially the track "Does Steppin' Out Mean Daddy Took A Walk" when he says and I quote "Does being a ladies man mean Daddy's a sissy?" That could be one of the greatest lines ever written as far as I'm concerned haha! Enjoy!

Wiki - Red Sovine

Original Vinyl Rip MP3 320kbps

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Earl Grant - At Basin Street East

I received this LP on my birthday from a little stack of records my girlfriend brought home for me that day and when we put it on later that night we both really dug it a lot. At Basin Street East is a live recording from 1962 and is a nice classic groovy set of jazz pop vocals which can get bluesy at times. Earl also does one of the best renditions of "Fever" I have ever heard. I would have to say thats probably my favorite track on the album. I also like the few times Earl Talks to the crowd in between songs. It has a nice "atmospheric" vibe to it. This album will put you in a feel good mood upon listening thats for sure. Here is the wiki on Earl Grant who had a some what short career as he passed at the age of 39 in a car accident.

Wiki - Earl Grant

Enjoy!

Original vinyl rip @ 320kbps MP3 with cover

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Merle Haggard - My Farewell To Elvis

A new post to celebrate my birthday coming up on January 8th the same day as the King Elvis Presley so with that I figured I would go ahead and post this album which was a birthday gift from a good friend last year. This is Merle Haggard's tribute to Elvis and is all covers of songs best known by The King except for "From Graceland To The Promised Land" which Haggard penned himself. This album seems to have been released on CD at some point with different artwork but seems to be out of print these days. Elvis died Aug. 16 1977 and with a little searching I found out this album was produced, recorded and on the shelves before Christmas of '77. It also utilized top Nashville session players instead of Haggard's band The Strangers. Personally certain circumstances and individuals lead my girlfriend and I to believe Elvis is still alive in the town we are currently living in here in TN but we may never know the truth.

Enjoy!

320kbps original vinyl rip with jacket art.

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Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde - Genius Rap

This is the first of many old school 12" singles I will be sharing in the future. An all time classic "Genius Rap features the well know Tom Tom Club sample that I'm sure is familiar to most and I believe this may be the first Hip-Hop track to use it. Here is the Wiki on Dr. Jeck and Mr. H-Y-D-E.

"Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde was a 1980s hip hop group consisting of Andre "Dr. Jeckyll" Harrell and Alonzo "Mr. Hyde" Brown. The group was known for its corporate business image, wearing designer suits and ties while they rapped. The group first performed under the name "Harlem World Crew" and recorded on Tayster in 1980. ^[1]

Alonzo Brown joined Profile Records in 1981 under the name "Lonnie Love," and recorded the song "Young Ladies."

That same year, Brown teamed with Andre Harrell to make "Genius Rap," a well-received record which was one of the first hip hop records to used the famous Tom Tom Club sample, "Genius of Love."

The pair ended their professional relationship in 1987, but Mr. Hyde continued recording with Profile Records, recording the solo 12", "The Witch" b/w "Hyde's Beat".^[2]

After the group's demise, Andre Harrell became the founder and CEO of Uptown Records. He later went on to head Motown Records.

Alonzo Brown went on to become a producer and screenwriter, serving as executive producer for the Judge Mathis show."

Enjoy!

Listen to: Genius Rap

The London Side Of Nashville - Third Coast New Wave

A little New Years Eve release for you all and something different. This is a private press compilation from Pollyfox Studios in Nashville circa 1982. It includes nine "New Wave" bands with about two songs per band. I bought this one nice and sealed but couldn't find much info online about the record itself. So I am deeming it rare and I'm positive it was a small pressing run but in all realness i didn't do much investigation of the bands featured. Definitely your early 80's synth tinged New Wave sound. My favorite stand out tracks are Video Widow by Sunshine Adams in which the female singer(I'm guessing Sunshine?) tells the story of her man who spent all of his money on VHS tapes and video machines and doesn't give her any attention anymore! Also I like the last track and the only single track by B.B. Gunne - Life In The Big City. All in all a nice mix of songs to fill your early 80's New Wave underground needs. I may have to do some more research on the bands and see if any of them or members actually broke into the mainstream. A definite different side to the Nashville music scene. Enjoy!

MP3 320kbps with covers

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Conway Twitty & His Little Friends - Merry Twismas

The second installment of my Christmas post is a pick from my girlfriend who wanted to share this one before even hearing it and I had to agree just from the title Merry Twismas alone! I wasn't sure what to expect but figured it was aimed more at kids and it definitely is. Conway goes on a little Christmas adventure with his pal Twitty Bird discovering different characters in Toyland Towne. This is a cross between the Chipmunks and classic Conway. I'd say this is worth at least one listen and more than likely it will get on your nerves after a while but its definitely a fun one and if you have kids they may enjoy it even more. My favorite cut is Silent Night which has a classic Conway intro and no annoying Twitty Bird to get in the way.

Happy Holidays!

Original vinyl rip @ 192kbps MP3 with covers.

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Rotary Connection - Peace

A little something for the Christmas season. This is the first of two albums I will be posting for the Holidays. The second is more for fun but more on that in the days to come. Roatary Coneection - Peace (1968) could quite possibly be the only psychedelic soul Christmas album ever released. Rotary Connection is one of my favorites and for those that don't know the group at the time included a little known and another favorite vocalist of mine Minnie Ripperton (Mariah's got nothing on Minnie when it comes to hittin' the high notes.). Obviously by the front and back covers the message of psychedelia is apparent for this Christmas gem. I know its been reissued on CD at one point and not sure about the vinyl. Found this at a local thrift and didn't realize what it was at first as I never knew about this album and almost passed it up because of the water damaged sleeve while flipping thru the stack. Luckily the Santa with the pipe caught my eye and one quick look I knew I scored and was hoping for the best for the LP inside. Definitely worth the $1 price tag and definitely worth sharing as I believe this is becoming my favorite Christmas album which can be listened too all year long.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

MP3 320kbps with covers

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