Vinyl Vagabond: Something Old, Something New, Something Southern, Something Blues
Yesterday I was enjoying walking aimlessly through the streets of London. I hopped trains and hoofed sidewalk ("footpaths" if you are in London) for the entire morning and most of the afternoon. My vagabond-like wandering ways led me to East London's, Brick Lane. Brick Lane? That sounded familiar. Why? That is where Rough Trade Records (East) is. Perfect.
This was one of prime stops on my London record shop search. I had already been to the Notting Hill Rough Trade shop and liked what I bought: a classic, out of print (vinyl), Neil Young album. My music-mate, Kip, gifted me 50 quid worth of Rough Trade vouchers and I used some of them to get the Neil vinyl. I used up the rest of the credit yesterday in glorious fashion.
This was my first trip to this particular Rough Trade location. I needed to survey the scene before I started flipping through the vinyl for buried treasure. Right when you walk in there is an espresso cafe on the left. To the right is a lazy lounge setting where you can caffeinate, chat or check out your recent booty. The walls are littered with playbills, "drummer wanted" notices and other images and adverts. It is a hodge-podge of knick-knacks and paper scraps that I find entertaining if not curious.
They have a lot of stuff there. Books, CDs, T-shirts, Logo'ed bags, pins, posters and, ah, oh yeah...music. There are vinyl bins, CD racks and DVD shelves. In my opinion, there was too much stuff. The store is a big space and they may be trying to fill it. I think it could have had more of a music focus in its layout. If you have ever visited Newburry Comics located in greater Boston (USA)...that is what this Rough Trade shop felt like to me. A bit (too much) of everything, with the music standing the shadows. That being said...I loved the place.
They did have a great listening station up at the counter. You can sample anything you want and take all the time needed to do so.
The vinyl section was decent; to be honest I expected more. The shop in Notting Hill had more vintage vinyl, which is what I am after mostly. Fine. that may the way they have the shops differentiated. Nonetheless, I was here for vinyl and vinyl I would get.
I went straight for the blues section. There were twenty or so records there to flip through. I found a few I really liked by Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Charley Patton (my fave prewar Delta Blues man). These are not original pressings, mind you, but they are well crafted vinyl reproductions. The Blind Lemon album was a collection of songs called, "I want to be like Jesus in My Heart", released in 2009 on the Monk label. The Patton album was also from Monk; for my taste it packed much more of a wallop than the Blind Lemon set.
Something Old, Something Blues
The Patton album I ended up buying is called, "Electrically Recorded: Prayer of Death". Actually, this is one album in a four album set that Monk has put together called, "Charley Patton: You're Gonna Need Somebody When you Die - The recorded works of Charley Patton". It covers Patton's work from 1929 - 1934 and is presented in simple and straight forward packaging. I already own all Patton's recordings...and then some. I own the extremely well done and unabashedly over-the-top box set called, "Screamin' and Hollerin' The Blues". Allmusic calls it, "perhaps the most lavish, nay incredible, box set ever devised for a blues artist...". Click the link below to check this out. It is one my cherished possessions (a gift from my wife last xmas along with my turntable...she's so cool).
p.s "I'm Going Home" was just covered by the Derek Trucks band on their recent album, Already Free.
Something Southern, Something New
The other two pieces of vinyl I bought are by the Drive-By Truckers. This is one of the new bands I like. I say new only because so much of what I listen to on a daily basis is considered old (I prefer lasting). These guys flat out rock. They are born of a southern tradition that draws on memphis routes and southern rock stalwarts like Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The Truckers tell dark stories with vibrant imagery. They can rev up rockers and lay down ragged and southern-soulful ballads. I love their albums, especially the two I found on vinly: "Decoration Day" and "The Dirty South". If you aren't familiar with them, please go and find them out. They put on one hell of a live show, too. You leave feeling exhausted and exhilarated.
The Goods
- East London's "Brick Lane"
- Rough Trade East (check out Google's new "Place Pages" feature on Rough Trade for more detailed info on it)
- Previous Post on Neil Young Vinyl - Rough Trade
- Previous Post on the "most shit-hot gift" from my friend, Kip
- Monk Records
- Charley Patton: "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues"
- Drive-By Truckers website
- Updated: Judd's Juke Joint
The music you hear in this clip is definitely not Charley Patton...it was what was playing in the store (I was wearing headphones). But, it is Ol'd Charley spinning round and round.
