Back From St. Louis

I'm back from Sunday's record fair in St. Louis where I had a great time. I spent a good portion of the day up to my elbows in records. And, once again, I made out like a bandit, scoring all sorts of good things. Didn't pay over $5 for anything and most everything I got was two bucks or less. It'll take me quite some time to comb through it all.

Today, I thought that I'd post a few discs that I haven't heard before and know virtually nothing about. I grabbed 'em because they were cheap and otherwise looked promising. They might be great or could be stinkers. Let's find out.

Eddy "G" Giles and The Jive 5 - "Eddy's Go-Go Train" (Murco) Without checking, I have no idea whether this Jive 5 is related to the "My True Story" guys or not. Anyway, this is a really good, up-tempo soul dance number with shouted vocals and a cool organ break. Too bad it's over so quickly, clocking in at a shade under two minutes. Definitely worth springing for, if you spot a copy.


Johnny Bridgeforth - "Moon Flight" (Champion) I did a quick web search on this one that turned up virtually nothing. It's mostly Johnny at the organ, with some bass accompaniment. It's nothing funky or overly compelling but swings a bit and isn't too bad. Interestingly, this and "Blue Organ" on the flipside are both co-credited to James Brown. Okay but not one to go out of the way for.


The Meditations - "Transcendental Meditation" (World Pacific) This one looks to be from the mid to late 60's and sounds like it too. Really slow, dreary pop and not too good at that. About the only interesting thing happening is a bit of sitar and it's mostly in the background. There's even a cornball spoken part in the middle. Maybe good, if you're having trouble getting to sleep at night but otherwise pretty worthless.


Vince Edwards - "Squeelin Parrot (Twist)" (Russ-Fi) Ah, this is more like it, an upbeat sax rocker, with some cool guitar. A bit of a novelty, with someone chiming in like a parrot throughout but don't let that scare you off. The "regular" vocal is excellent and the record is just too fun to and rocking to pass up. Highly recommended.


Lord Rockingham's XI - "Fried Onions"/"The Squelch" (London) I can tell you that these guys were British and this record is from about 1958. Apparently, they really had eleven members too. "Fried Onions" isn't bad, with horns, sax, a few backing vocals and some sound effects thrown in. "The Squelch" is similar but more upbeat and swinging. Both sides are pretty good but with that many players I'd hoped for someone to play a guitar. Oh well, still worth a buck or so.


The Renaissance - "Mary Jane (Get Off The Devil's Merry-Go-Round)" (Parkway) Given the Parkway label design, this must be from somewhere around 1967 or '68. "Mary Jane" is a mid-tempo number, that sound-wise is caught somewhere between garage psych and The Partridge Family. Interesting, since the song has strong drug overtones. There is some pretty good guitar that pops up a couple of times. The flipside is "Daytime Lovers" and actually pretty catchy pop rock. Yep, the lead vocalist indeed sounds a bit like David Cassidy but that's not an automatic deduction around these parts. Interesting and worth hanging on to.