James Taylor debut album!

Every time I think of James Taylor I always remember a chapter dedicated to him in the book Miss O’Dell. Just to catch you up: Miss O’Dell was written by Chris O’Dell who worked at Apple Records in the late 60’s. While Chris would move onto bigger and better things (such as tour manager for acts including CSNY and The Rolling Stones), at this time she was just getting her foot in the door of the music industry doing odd jobs at Apple office. One of these tasks was being asked to entertain a new recording artist for the label, James Taylor.

She had dinner with James and they ended up at her hotel room to hang out. James had brought his guitar and started working on some songs. He worked on these for so long in fact that Chris didn’t know how to get him to leave. She didn’t want to just kick him out as she was trying to impress everyone at Apple (where she had starting working five days prior) and it was her task to entertain James. Concerned that James may have been looking for romance, which she had no interest in; she put curlers in her hair trying to make herself as unattractive as possible. She dropped a few hints about being tired but he never caught on, and just continued playing his guitar. She even climbed under the blankets thinking this could be the ultimate hint, but he just said goodnight and stuck around. The next morning she woke up with James Taylor sleeping beside her in her bed. She was pretty creeped out by it, but knew she at least did her duties of entertaining.

This story cracks me up every time, just this random giant man and his guitar basically squatting in her hotel room. I guess part of it probably had to do with the fact that James was new to London and was going through a heroin withdrawal at the time (which isn’t funny of course), but overall a pretty humorous story.

At this time, James was preparing to record his self-titled debut album. This album is my personal favorite. Just prior to this, James had finished treatment for his heroin addiction in North Carolina. Looking to pursue a solo music career and get a fresh start, he decided to move to London, England. He passed around some demos and one made it to Apple Records’ head of Artists and Repertoire (A&R) Peter Asher, who in turn passed it onto Paul McCartney. Paul loved the music and signed James Taylor to Apple.

Two of Taylor’s bigger hits were on this album: Carolina in my Mind and Something in the Way She Moves. These were later found on his greatest hits album which most fans probably have in their collection; however, these songs were re-recorded for the greatest hits package because of licensing right issues with Apple. So, it’s great to hear these lesser known original versions. Plus, on the original recording of Carolina in My Mind, he had a few guest musicians from Apple: George Harrison and Paul McCartney.

Unfortunately, during the recording of this album James fell back into his drug habit. The album was not a big success, which probably had a lot to do with his time being devoted to drugs and treatment rather than promotion.  When Apple was taken over by the controversial management of Allen Klein, Peter Asher left taking James Taylor with him under a new management agreement. Therefore, this was the lone James Taylor album on Apple Records.

CBGB - Movie Soundtrack!

A proud new addition to my collection is the soundtrack to the new film CBGB.

For those not familiar, CBGB was a small venue that opened in New York City back in 1973. While it was originally intended to stage the Country, BlueGrass, and Blues genres, it became a home to local bands whose musical style didn’t seem to fit in anywhere else. Owner Hilly Kristal decided to give these bands a shot under the condition that they did not play top 40 songs. Little did he know that by granting these bands the freedom to play, he would be witnessing what many consider the birth of punk rock (at least New York punk rock!). And he didn’t even have to leave the comfort of his shit-hole bar. Bands performing at CBGB included: Ramones, Dead Boys, Dictators, Blondie, Iggy Pop, Tuff Darts, etc.

I had the opportunity to catch the movie, and while it was highly criticized, I liked it…a lot! I think people take these “based on a true story” movies a bit too serious and they tend to forget to enjoy them. Sure, Iggy Pop may have had a different hair style when this movie was based and some of the songs played were not released until a few years later, but relax! It’s just a movie. It gives a great idea of what happened at this venue, plus it manages to entertain you at the same time. While people spend their time researching what was not 100% accurate, I enjoyed it for exactly what it was… entertainment!

Now, let’s get back to this album. First off, let’s get to the obvious; this album is just down right sexy! I haven’t seen a vinyl look better than these two transparent pink 180 gram LP’s. So bravo on giving us collectors some eye candy! I would have bought the album regardless for the music, but it’s always a perk to make it look cool. The album lacks any inserts, but since the inside of the gatefold sleeve gave the necessary information such as the name of the artists, what album the songs first appeared on and a brief history of CBGB, the inserts were not really missed.

As for the music, what’s nice is that they did not just limit themselves to the CBGB era bands, but instead included music from the prior decade as well. This is the music that influenced these musicians (New York Dolls, The Stooges, etc.). It’s like they are showing us a history of punk rock straight from conception.

This is my new recommended album for anybody that is looking for an intro into the genre. Besides being perfect for punk newbies, it’s also a damn near perfect mix for any long time punk music collector.

Leo Kolijn's Roy Orbison Collection!

  

Recently, I had the opportunity to see what could very well be one of the best Roy Orbison collections that exists. At least it probably was the best, that is, until the Roy Orbison estate purchased a large portion of it. The collector's name is Leo Kolijn and he lives in Fredericton, NB. While he did sell a lot to the actual Orbison estate, he still has a massive collection. He's even managed to make a few trades with the Orbison’s to add some very unique items to his collection.   

Some of Leo's collection. The top row of records on the left is all Orbison. 

It almost made me nervous looking over Leo’s collection. While he takes pride in everything he has, he tends to not obsess over condition and preservation as much as I do. Don’t get me wrong, everything is in fantastic condition, it’s just not all in protective plastics. I swear, when he was clearing a seat for me to sit down, he probably moved aside half a dozen Orbison autographs on loose pieces of paper, photos, etc.   

The conversation was pretty relaxed as we were just digging through his shelves of records and memorabilia, discussing whatever we found. So, here are some highlights from my interview with Leo. 

Roy Orbison CD's. Most still sealed. When he sold most of his albums to the Roy Orbison estate he made sure to keep a copy of everything at least on CD.

Mystery Girl gold disc.

Maritime Vinyl (MV): Where did you acquire your collection and how big is it? 

Leo: I've always liked music and from the time I could join the record clubs (any 10 lp's for $.99) back in 64 - 65 I've saved records. Back then I had a little reel to reel that I would tape the radio on. Most of my Christmas gifts and birthday gifts were records and everyone knew I liked Roy so all would try to find his music. Anytime I was in a new town in Canada, USA or Holland I would look for the music stores new and used. I also used Record Collector mag's such as Goldmine to find RO records. After I was married and we saved enough to take a winter vacation I found a used record store that gave me the address of the Orbison fan club in England and from that I got in touch with the Dutch club. All trades were made by mail so to get an LP or 45 took a month +. Today it is in seconds. 

Various Roy Orbison fan club magazines

Leo: As to how much I have, well very few 45's 30-40 LP’s, some 8 tracks cassette's and of course 150+cd's, box sets cd's, DVD's of shows and interview's, radio programs, pictures, old fan club books, etc. Bottom line ... I have every song that Roy ever put out to his public on cd with a “+” behind that. 

MV: Did Roy Orbison play in Fredericton before? 

Leo: Orbison played here yes. He played at George Street High School one year, the old FHS. He played at The Playhouse and he played at the Aitken Center of course because there are pictures from the Aitken Center around here too, I took them back stage and stuff.  

On that tour, I took this picture in Saint John: 

MV: You mean this one? 

Leo: No the one that is autographed… 

MV: They are all autographed Leo? (looking at a wall of about 10 autographed Roy Orbison pictures).  

Leo: The one that says: “To Leo”. I took that in Saint John and when he came to Fredericton…. 

Photo Leo took of Roy Orbison and had him sign. 

This is when Leo started to get into the story of how he originally met Orbison. We often got sidetracked when we found a rare fan club magazine or record, so in a nutshell, this is how they met: 

In 1981, Leo travelled to Moncton and Saint John to see Roy Orbison in concert. Orbison was also going to be playing in Fredericton, but Leo wanted to catch every show on this Maritime tour. In Moncton and Saint John, Leo befriended Roy’s roadies at the shows and told them about his collection. They took particular interest because of all the names that Leo mentioned whom he met through the various fan clubs. When the tour moved to Fredericton, the road crew took the opportunity to see the collection in person. Through conversation they mentioned that after the Fredericton show, the road crew and band jump on the tour bus and head to Toronto; however, Roy is going to be staying overnight and flying out the next day. 

That night Leo made it back stage at the concert with the road crew. 

Original poster of Roy Orbison's movie "Fastest Guitar Alive"

Still sealed movie soundtrack

Leo: I made it back stage and bumped into Sam Orbison, Roy's brother and manager. I introduced myself and told him that I worked for a taxi company in town and that I would be happy to drive you and Roy to the airport tomorrow. 

Sam told him that they leave on the tour bus but Leo said that he heard differently.

Leo: "I’m not coming to bug you’s”, I said, “I just work for transportation and I’m offering my services.” 

Sam said that he would get back to him. 

During intermission, Sam came and found Leo and told him: “Roy said you can pick us up at 12:30 at the hotel." 

Leo: There. That’s how I got my foot in the door!  

So, on June 7, 1981 Leo finally got to meet Roy Orbison in person when giving Sam and he a tour of Fredericton on their way to the airport. Roy took a liking to Leo and was impressed when hearing about his collection. Roy even left him with his contact information so they could stay in touch.  

 Sam Orbison (left) and Roy Orbison June 7, 1981, when Leo was driving them to the airport. He didn't use a taxi but instead his friends car. Word got out that he would be driving Roy so this kept them inconspicuous.  

A few years later, Roy’s wife Barbara was trying to replace some items that they had lost in a fire and she remembered a fan club record that Leo had. So, she called him and asked if she could buy it.  

Leo: I never had an extra one at the time but soon found one and called Barbara. She asked me how much I wanted and I told her a tour jacket! 

1980’s Roy Orbison tour jacket. Leo traded Orbison’s wife a rare record club album for this jacket.  

So, they made arrangements for Leo to drive down to Portland, Maine and meet up with the current tour and drop off the record and various other items to Roy himself.  

Roy Jr., Roy Orbison and Leo. This was taken when Leo drove to Portland to trade his items to Roy.

  

Leo: That’s the last time I met Roy, in 1984. 

Roy Orbison died in December 1988. 

Unfortunately, Barbara again lost all of her belongings 1993 at a house fire in Malibu, but at least she had Leo as a contact to find replacements. He sold off a great deal of his collection to Barbara at this time, but what better place could it go? He still has a huge collection left. 

So, a big thank you to Leo for letting me stop in to see this great collection, allowing me to post pictures, and share it with everyone here at Maritime Vinyl. Leo is open for any questions that you readers have for him. He loves to talk about Roy. If you have any questions for Leo, please head over to my Facebook page and send me a message there.

Leo: In 98 we had a 10 year anniversary for Roy in Nashville and you can see some of my records that were on display The sun 45's and the club EP as well as a jewel copy (still in my green sleeve)

The Beatles - She Loves You!

Today let’s look at one of The Beatles’ most important singles: She Loves You b/w I’ll Get You.

In my collection, I have two copies of this single. The first is a UK pressing which has a great picture sleeve of the four young Beatles and was pressed on the Parlophone Records label, # R 5055. It was originally released in August 1963; my copy is a re-release from the Beatles Single Blue box which came out in 1982. The other copy is the Canadian release which became available the following month (September) on Capitol Records. I’m going to focus primarily on this Canadian release for this blog post.

This is the only original 7” pressing of She Loves You on Capitol Records in North America (it was re-released in the United States on red vinyl with a purple Capitol label in 1992). Capitol USA was not initially interested in the Beatles, but good ole’ Capitol Canada saw something in them and decided to release it on their own. Since Capitol USA passed, Brian Epstein (Beatles manager) licensed it to Swan Records in the USA for release. 

All of these original Canadian releases are known as the Capital 6000 series. The long play albums were numbered in the 6000’s and the singles were numbered in the 72000’s. This numbering system does not only apply to The Beatles records, but other artists as well making it easy to identify these rare Canada-only releases. Capitol Canada sure was right in bringing over this single; it became the first Beatles single to reach number one in Canada in January 1964, 50 years ago this month!

There are some discrepancies online about how long this song stayed at number one in Canada. The “CHUM Charts” were most commonly used in 1964 to determine Canadian chart position of songs. While some websites say it remained at number one for seven weeks, and some say nine, I found this website, http://chumtribute.ca/yearly-chart/?yr=1964, showing copies of the actual CHUM charts from 1964 which only shows She Loves You at the top for three weeks before being overtaken by The Beatles – I Want To Hold Your Hand.

I’m a real sucker for these Capitol swirls numbered in the 72000’s. Besides usually being more valuable since they are rare Canada only releases, they are also a nice piece of history showing that Capitol Canada made their own decisions on what bands should be available in this country, leaving the USA to finally realize their mistakes and catch up later.

For more information on these Capitol 6000 releases check out their great website at: www.capitol6000.com

Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock!

Today would have been Elvis Presley’s 79^th birthday. I’ve been digging out my Elvis records all week to mark the occasion and figured I would share my favorite with you.

It is probably one of Elvis’ most popular songs, Jailhouse Rock. This 45 was released in 1957 at the same time as his movie of the same name. It’s another great song written by the legendary team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.  As well, the B-side Treat Me Nice was also written by Leiber and Stoller.

It’s easily one of my favorite picture sleeves in my collection. I love the photo of Elvis on the front, plus the back has a different full picture as well.

This 45 was released on RCA Victor in 1957. My copy that came with this picture sleeve is an American pressing. I also have a Canadian pressing of the same single (but no picture sleeve). This is a great example of how different labels between Canada and the USA can be. The USA copy has the RCA dog and phonograph at the top and the picture is in color. On the Canadian copy there are two horizontal lines across the label and music loving dog is on the right side in black and white. There are also many other differences including the text sizes and layout. Same single, same recording of the song, just pressed in two different countries who apparently couldn’t agree on a label design.

New start to a new year!

I hope everybody had a great Christmas and an awesome New Years. I have been slacking at the blog a bit lately I know, but these two young kids of mine sure are fun to spend time with during all this time off.  I also decided to stop the web-store portion of Maritime Vinyl and spend my time concentrating on my real passion which is the blog. While selling vinyl was successful and fun, it just wasn’t fitting with my current lifestyle so I decided to put it on the back burner for the time being. Anyways, enough said on that.

I had a blast going through all of the top 5 lists this year that people submitted to my blog, as well with all the other year end lists around the web. I enjoy seeing what albums I enjoyed making people’s lists, but it also gives me an opportunity see what I’ve been missing. Last week I picked up the new Arctic Monkeys, Jake Bugg and Billy Joe and Norah CD’s.  I’m trying to catch up on some of these new releases and luckily I love all three of these. As I usually concentrate on vinyl, I tend to live in the past often when it comes to music. So once in a while I go on a spurt like this to get a bit caught up on what’s out there.

 

 

I have also been revisiting heavy metal a little bit which may come as a surprise to some. When I was younger I used to listen to a lot of metal bands and it’s safe to say that I haven’t played a Metallica or Motorhead album in at least 15 years. That is until this holiday season. I figured I would, revisit my youth if you will, and picked up a few live albums. I picked up Motorhead’s The World is Ours Vol. 1 (2LP 180 gram) and Metallica’s Through the Never (nice 3 LP coloured vinyl box that came in November). I still haven’t opened the Metallica yet but I enjoyed the hell out of the Motorhead LP. I think it would have been a bit better had I initially been familiar with more of the songs, but still, it was fun. My passion is directed more towards classic rock, folk and punk… but I think there is still room for a bit of metal in my life.

It’s funny; I can picture some of my friends reading me say that I tried some metal. I know a few who will be patting me on the back while other friends will be rolling their eyes. I have never judged my music taste on other people’s opinions before and won’t be starting now, but I know deep down none of them care. The fun is all in the argument. Also, I know diehard metal guys are probably laughing at my choices of Motorhead and Metallica. I have no idea what is trendy or cool in the metal world, this is just what I listened to growing up so it’s a safe start.  

I also had an opportunity to catch up on some documentaries this holiday season. I watched all three of the following yesterday and can’t recommend them enough. It would be impossible to pick a favorite:

1- Beware of Mr. Baker – Documentary of Ginger Baker, former drummer for Cream, Blind Faith, Ginger’s Air Force, etc. He is probably one of the most hateful people that I have ever seen. Stories included: kicking Cream bassist Jack Bruce in the head repeatedly on stage because he played bass during his drum solo; leaving the United States before he got deported for some remarks towards the country on a radio program; even hitting the documentary maker Jay Bulger in the nose with his cane over a disagreement. Very entertaining.

 

2- Good Ol’ Freda – Documentary of the Beatles secretary Freda Kelly. She was with the Beatles throughout their 10 year existence (she was there for 11.. for the beginning and the end). Her tasks included running the fan club and answering all of the fan mail. A very lovable person who took the time and effort to respond to every letter and tried to fulfill all the crazy requests, whether it being sending a lock of Beatle hair, a piece of their shirt, or getting Ringo to sleep on a pillow case, signing it, and then return it to the fan. Very fun watch for any Beatles fan.

3- Muscle Shoals – Documentary about the recording studios in Muscle Shoals Alabama. Beginning with the Fame Studio’s run by Rick Hall. His house band, The Swampers, is considered some of the best session musicians ever (appeared on more than 75 gold and platinum hits). Some of the band members left to start their own studio across town called Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.  The music that was recorded in this small town is absolutely amazing. Artists include: Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, Etta James, Clarence Carter, The Rolling Stones, Duane Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc.. amazing story.

So I hope everybody had a great holiday and here’s to another great year ahead. I am excited for some new releases coming this month alone including the new Bruce Springsteen LP. I can’t wait to see what new and exciting comes out this year with high hopes for some nice deluxe packages on all of the 90’s music I grew up on that turns 20 this year.

Happy New Year Everyone!!

-B

Top 5's of 2013 - Uncle Rob!

I still have a few of these year end lists coming in and I'm happy to post! Next up we have Uncle Rob Pinnock. Uncle Rob did an interview with me back in 2012 and you can read it here.

Take it away Rob...

First off doing a list for Maritime VINYL, I assumed it was meant to be a list of things you enjoyed the most in the 12" format over the past 12 months, but when I saw people start to send in year-enders for the best of 2013, I was wondering if I should do one or not.  I mean, I didn't want to look like an idiot by listing stuff that is 40 years old, and I was already doing a "Top 5 for 2013" on www.foxrock.ca.  It went like this:

5) Big Star­ - Nothing Can Hurt Me (Omnivore/Universal)
4) Motorleague - ­Acknowledge, Acknowledge (Sonic)*
3) July Talk - ­s/t (White Girl Records)
2) Monster Truck­ - Furiosity (Dine Alone)
1) Kings Of Leon­ - Mechanical Bull (RCA)

If you want to read more in depth reasoning into these choices, I'd suggest you to check the reviews out...they are listed under my blog on The Fox website.  Leave a comment...please.

Now for the things that actually made it onto my turntable repeatedly in 2013.  Please, bear in mind, this year I picked up a lot of older records that already have had a history with me. I guess I was a little nostalgic in 2013, and in many cases I was either replacing, or even aquiring a vinyl copy for the first time.

I also would like to put an ' * ' onto this list beside The Motorleague's Acknowledge,
Acknowledge.  My vinyl copy was a bad pressing...side B is not really playable...especially as the groove gets closer to the post.  Through the download card and YouTube, it got lots of spins from me in my leisure, but it wasn't something I actually enjoyed as an LP as much as I had wanted to....but the ones that did make it to the tray the most often were:

 

 

 

 

5) Alice Cooper­ - School's Out (used): After owning this as a cassette, a CD, and for the first time, in the 70's, on 8 Track...I had never owned it on vinyl til this year (Thanks Brad).  I love this record.  Forget about the title track, which is considered pretty much the only lasting moment from this forgotten and overlooked gem.  The Alice Cooper GROUP was the best band to ever back a frontman.  Forget about the glitter and gimmicks, in tracks like My Stars, Blue Turk and Public Animal #9 there's more than ample proof that these were musicians with a lot of great ideas and ridiculously good performances.  Imagine if they were sober...

4) T­-Rex ­- Electric Warrior (used): Again, first time on vinyl...and it's a record that begs for that warmth of the needle.  Great grooves.  Fun to listen to, and for someone who grabbed a guitar for the first time in almost 20 years, fun to play as well.

3) Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros - ­Streetcore (used) - 2013 was a good year for Joe's voice to make a comeback.

2) Monster Truck - ­Furiosity (new) - A white­knuckled ride through the mid 70's riffscape to a secret valley nestled in the foothills of Foghat and BTO.  Turn your jean jacket into a
vest...immediately.

1) Bob Mould­ - Silver Age (new) - This album is perfect, and everyone should buy a copy.  For a man into his 50's, Silver Age is nothing short of inspirational.  The best track-­for-­track rock disc I've heard in a very long time.