Tag Archives: Vinyl

B-Sides in the Bins #31 – Zzz Records – Des Moines, IA 9/23/08

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Sherry was attending a skin care conference in Des Moines, so I took the day off and drove her there. While she was in the class I visted Zzz Records (424 E. Locust Street, Downtown Des Moines), I’d been meaning to get to that store for a while, so I was pleased to have the opportunity. Zzz Records has been in existence since 2000 and is in its second location. Apparently it will be moving again on November 1st to 2200 Ingersoll. Zzz Records, also hosts a record show that I’ve been meaning to get to. The next one is December 7th, so mark your calendars.

As far as record stores go, Zzz is one of the better ones I’ve been to. They have a decent-sized used CD area at the front of the store that unfortunately on a warm afternoon seems like a greenhouse. They carry a good selection of new CD’s and LP’s as well. The used selection is pretty amazing. They split the record bins into sections by genre, with a very impressive New Wave/Alternative/Punk section towards the back of the store. I spent two hours there and came out with some cool pieces. Not as much used as I had expected, but I was keeping myself to a budget and the new LP’s ate into my ability to load up on used.

The Tourists – Luminous Basement (LP, Epic NJE 36757, 1980)($4.00) Promo-stamped by CBS. This one kind of took me by surprise. They also had Reality Effect which was a compilation of the Tourists’ first two albums. The Tourists are notable as being the pre-Eurythmics band for Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. My friend Michelle’s brother Lynn had this LP as well as the posthumous Should Have Been Greatest Hits. A cassette of these two records used to be a staple in my car in high school. The Tourists existed from 1977 – 1980 and had a number of minor hits in the UK and a very low charting (#83) single of their cover of “I Only Want To Be With You” originally recorded by Dusty Springfield. Luminous Basement was their last proper album and shows Lennox and Stewart stepping into writing their own material. Lennox’s “One Step Nearer the Edge” is one of the best tracks on the record. The Stewart-penned “Let’s Take A Walk” and the Lennox/Stewart “From the Middle Room” are pretty good as well. Amazon has some really questionable pricing on this from some resellers starting at $48 and going to $72.95 for one that still has the cellophane on it. A cool record that reminds me of hanging out at Michelle’s listening to records.

Simple Minds – “Promised You A Miracle”/”The Miracle (Dub Version)”/”The American” 3 Tune EP (12″, A&M SP-12057, 1982)($3.00) I’ve sort of become a collector of Simple Minds vinyl from this period. BJ’s Music World in Dubuque had a bunch of import Simple Minds in a closeout bin that I purchased one day in the 80’s that included a number of 12″es. Ever since then when I spot a really nice piece, I buy it. Last December I picked up New Gold Dream at Reckless in Chicago, which I consider to pretty much be their pinnacle release. I know that 1985’s Once Upon A Time was really the one that pushed them into the charts with the singles “All The Things She Said,” “Alive and Kicking,” and “Sanctify Yourself,” but I really like the stripped down version of Simple Minds on this album (minus the female member of the band). This record is the A&M pressing of the “Promised You A Miracle” 12″ from Virgin. Super clean copy.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – Easy Tiger (LP, Lost Highway 34410, 2007)($11.34) When I saw the price on this one, I needed to buy it. I’d seen this at other record stores for over $15. This is the interesting orange vinyl record in the plastic sleeve with the picture of Ryan in a lion mask. Cool pressing, great album. Much more focused than the three releases from the previous year, in my opinion. The vinyl pressing– which came out after the CD release– credits the album to Ryan Adams & The Cardinals rather than just Ryan Adams. I’m not sure why the CD release ended up not crediting the rest of the band.

Ryan Adams – Rock N Roll (LP, Lost Highway 61004, 2003) ($11.34) Another one that seemed like a good price. This is really the album that got me into Ryan Adams to begin with. I know that most of the Ryan Adams fans don’t like this album– and there’s the whole Courtney Love accusing Ryan of stealing money from Frances Bean to make the album and the whole drug use. Apparently he was influenced by the Strokes and he even has a song called “This Is It” on it (which might be a flip on the Strokes album Is This It). Apparently, he has in recent years said that he made the worst record he could in Rock N Roll. Well, I really like it, and it seems to be the only Ryan Adams album my wife will listen to other than parts of Love is Hell (which was recorded around the same time. I guess this is the beginning of my Ryan Adams on vinyl collection.

Zzz Records also sells record flats for $1 apiece. I picked up a record flat for Beck’s Modern Guilt. (actually, I picked up two of them). I also bought some LP mailers.

What I didn’t buy: I almost picked up a fricken MINT copy Suitcase Full of Blues by the Blues Brothers. In fact, I’m still kind of kicking myself for not picking this up. I also considered the Smithereens rare Live EP that is on Enigma on CD.

B-Sides in the Bins #30 – Chicago – 9/12/08

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Jazz Record Mart, Chicago

My wife and a friend of hers wanted to go to Chicago for a Gluten-Free Cooking Conference. This left her friend Sharon’s husband Bob and I with lots of time on our hands. Bob Najouks is one of the Sunday morning jocks on Kirkwood College’s Jazz and Blues station KCCK, so I thought a trip to the infamous Jazz Record Mart was in order. I hadn’t been to JRM in over two years so it was time for me to come back and Bob had never been there!

This weekend was wet. Lots of rain dumping on Chicagoland from Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ike pulled out of the Gulf of Mexico. Friday was blessed with small spots of light-to-no rain so hoofing it around downtown was an okay proposition. Our plans after breakfast was to hit Jazz Record Mart, lunch, and then to hit the Art Institute of Chicago then call it a day.

Bob teaches sketching classes at Kirkwood currently, but– in addition to his radio gig– also is a freelance artist. In the early 60’s he did some cover art for Franz Jackson who passed away in May. JRM had a number of still-sealed copies of Good Old Days by Franz Jackson and the Original Jass All-Stars (Pinnacle Recordings: PLP 109) that Bob did the cover art for, which was a neat dose of kismet. Bob picked up a copy to play– he still had the original 1965 pressing of the album at home.

Gorilla – Deal With It (CD, Thrill Jockey, Thrill 003-2, 1993)($5.99) Interesting find. Not Jazz-related at all. The third release on Thrill Jockey from back in the day. The mailing address was New York, so this is before Bettina moved to her current Chicago digs. Seattle Grunge band, I guess. Sounds very early-Nineties. Kind of punk, kind of retro 60’s sound with organ. Not great, but not horrible, really. Mostly a collector piece for me. It would appear that while the CD for this is very much out-of-print, the LP is still available?

George Freeman – Birth Sign (CD, Delmark, DD-424, 1993)($13.99) My first non-Thrill Jockey related Delmark purchase. This was playing on the stereo in the store while I was checking out and I impulse-purchased. George Freeman is the guitar-playing brother of tenor sax player Von Freeman (apparently the more famous of the two). Birth Sign is his debut album. Great album of Hammond-B3 fueled jazz typical of the late 60’s.

John Coltrane – Blue Train (LP, Blue Note, BST-91577, 1993)($11.99) This is the CEMA/Capitol Special Products pressing of the seminal Blue Note release. I own this on CD as well. In fact, my CD pressing of this is on 24-karat gold UltraDisc II from Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. This is the album that broke open the gates of jazz for me.

Jeff Parker – The Relatives (LP, Thrill Jockey, Thrill 129, 2005) ($12.99) Wow, a really cool and rare find! The vinyl for this release has been out-of-print for a while, as is usually the case from Thrill Jockey vinyl. According to the price sticker, this has been in the bin since its release. Jazz Record Mart carries most of the Thrill Jockey releases, but it seems that a lot of the clientèle there don’t follow this label, which accounts for the fact that this release is still in the bins. I saw a couple of other rare TJ releases as well. Maybe I’ll come for them later.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Jazz: Red Hot and Cool (LP, Columbia, CL 699, 1954) ($3.99) This is an upgrade for me. My first copy was in pretty good shape, but this one is in much better shape and comes with the original Columbia paper inner-sleeve! The record is in immaculate shape and the cover is also very beautiful. I had never noticed before today that the vivid photograph of a young Brubeck entertaining a young, smoking (literally) woman leaning on his piano was taken by none other than Richard Avedon! Avedon, who died in 2004, took some famous shots of the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe as well as the well-known picture of Nastassja Kinski with a python.

All-in-all a good trip and it was cool to be there with a jazz afficianado. Bob and I will be back, I think.

Backyard Tire Fire – The Places We Lived (Review)

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My discovery of Backyard Tire Fire is thanks to MySpace. I’d heard of the band– references have shown up in a few of the RSS feeds I follow– but I hadn’t heard their music. Apparently, their enterprising “web guy” saw that I was a fan of Cracker and Johnny Hickman and reached out. Hickman is quoted as saying that Backyard Tire Fire is his favorite band right now. After listening to the streaming tracks from their MySpace page and samples on their website as well as a full album stream of their previous album Vagabonds and Hooligans on Indie911 I, too have become a fast fan of their Midwestern brand of country-tinged rock. Hickman compares them to early Wilco, Son Volt and Flaming Lips.

However, I don’t think that the shades of early Wilco and Son Volt stick around for long on Backyard Tire Fire’s new album The Places We Lived. There is something more at work here. From the treated pianos, chimes, bells, and strings throughout, the plucky bass and the double tracked harmonies– specifically on “Shoulda Shut It.” It at times seems like a darker version of Brian Wilson’s vision and the band toys with some Smile-ish changes in mood and the layering of instruments and sound effects. Is this our Surfer Girl with Seasonal Affective Disorder?

I’m not sure that Backyard Tire Fire would ever claim the Beach Boys as a relative, however. Maybe through a second cousin of Tom Petty or Cheap Trick. Ed Anderson has one of the better voices I’ve heard out of the indie scene with the ability to get very soulful and funky on the stomping “One Wrong Turn,” he evokes his inner Zander with the anti-tribute to the workweek “Welcome To The Factory.” “Bright lights and blank stares through the night,” indeed complete with ratchet and clank over big rock drums delivered by official timekeeper Tim Kramp. This is clearly the sound of a band having fun in the studio playing with all the toys. The album sounds great. I read that Tire Fire likes to work in analog, and this album has a vinyl release to compliment that effort, BTW.

This record seems to owe a bit to Tom Waits as well. Certainly Ed’s voice is easier to listen to, but you can hear it in the slightly boozy songs anchored with treated piano in “Rainy Day (Don’t Go Away),” “One Wrong Turn” and the album closer “Home Today.”

“It’s funny how we forget sometimes,” Ed sings in the album opener and title track, “the places we once lived.” Tire Fire’s new album is as much about the Middle-Class Midwestern perspective of the places they lived that colors the landscape of the songs as it is about the influences of the music that provided the soundtrack to the journey to get to those places. The Places We Lived wears its influences proudly. Each of the songs on the album’s economical 35 minutes stands on its own effectively, but also provides guides to those places they lived from funk and blues to country and classic rock. Mixed together with some impressive studio production we have what I think it one of the standout albums from this Summer! In an interview with JamBase, Ed says that with each album he thinks, “this is the recording that everyone is gonna latch on to” which drives them to “get the job done.” In my opinion, The Places We Lived certainly has the hooks and chops to get them there.

Backyard Tire Fire are currently touring in support of The Places We Lived. Click Here for the updated dates. They are going to be at the Picador in Iowa City tonight (9/10) for an early show and I’ll be there.

Click Here for Backyard Tire Fire’s Website

Click Here for Backyard Tire Fire’s MySpace Page

Click Here for the interview in JamBase with Backyard Tire Fire

B-Sides in the Bins #29 – Boston – Newbury Comics 7/31/08

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My last business trip to Boston was happily full of music between seeing Sheryl Crow and getting to run to Newbury Comics before dinner the next night. Thankfully, the restaurant we were going to was just down the street from Newbury Comics. I had hit their website before we went out and they had listed in their Top 100 Vinyl Records sale that Beck’s new album Modern Guilt was on sale as was Endtroducing by DJ Shadow. I was disappointed to find out that these were apparently on-line only, and not in-store. I still picked up a couple of records, though.

Beck – Modern Guilt (LP, DGC Records B0011630-01, 2008) ($14.99) This album just begged to be released on vinyl– from its retro Blue Note-looking sleeve, to the production by Danger Mouse– so I was happy when they announced its release. The record is a hefty 180g slab, and there is a sheet included with lyrics and credits. In addition there is a code to download 320Kbps mp3’s of the album that were ripped from vinyl! I downloaded them promptly and compared them to my other 320Kbps rip from CD. Before the first track “Orphans” you get a needle drop sound and after the last track of side one “Youthless” sound of the needle lifting again. This is repeated for “Walls” and “Volcano” on side two. Cute. The coupon says “This higher quality sound has been taken directly from the vinyl playback — offering a broader sound spectrum to enhance your audio experience.” Well, I don’t know about that. It’s a pretty good rip, but even 320Kbps is compressed. They should have offered .wav’s if they wanted to maintain the fidelity. I read a lot of reviewers complaining about Modern Guilt dismissing it as Beck fronting Gnarls Barkley and other really clever criticisms. This is probably my favorite Beck album next to Sea Change which was another misunderstood Beck album.

Arbouretum/Pontiak – Kale (LP, Thrill Jockey Thrill 201, 2008) ($12.99) This is an interesting release in that the only physical media will be vinyl. Thrill Jockey, consistant with all of their vinyl releases in the last year also includes a coupon for a free mp3 download which is great. BTW: all of the mp3 downloads from the Thrill Jockey store are 320Kbps, so there is someone there who gets it. This is a split release between Arbouretum and Pontiak. This is the third release for both bands. I saw Arbouretum at the Thrill Jockey 15 shows last December and was floored by their live performance and their 2007 release Rites of Uncovering is in regular rotation for me. Both bands try their hand at covering John Cale songs in amongst original songs. Arobouretum tackles “Buffalo Ballet” from Cales very influential and groundbreaking 1974 album Fear. “Buffalo Ballet” is a beautiful song and Arbouretum’s take on it leaves it pretty much in tact other than adding some sludgy distortion goodness to it. (Note to self: go buy Fear) Pontiak takes on two songs “The Endless Plain of Fortune” from Cale’s brilliant Paris 1919 album from 1973 and “Mr. Wilson” from the 1975 follow up to Fear, Slow Dazzle. The original tracks for both bands are great and stand up well against their recent releases. I especially dig the track “Green Pool” from Pontiak in which the slapback echo vocals ride the wave of a circular guitar line and slinky bass to a crest that fits nicely next to their very delicate take on “Mr. Wilson.” “Green Pool” ends waaaay too soon. I hope they jam a bit more than the 3:27 lets them do in a live setting.

I’m still bummed that Pontiak didn’t make their show in Iowa City due to the floods. I’m hoping they’ll be back soon.

Tortoise Standards Reissued on Limited Edition Colored Vinyl

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If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I recently completed my search for Tortoise vinyl over the last couple of years. One of the first LP’s I got was Standards, Tortoise’s 2001 release.

Yesterday, Thrill Jockey announced that due to popular demand they have run a second pressing of Standards in RED vinyl! The first pressing is in black. Like the first pressing the LP and cover art will be encased in a silk-screened clear vinyl sleeve. In the picture of my copy to the left the words “Tortoise” and “Standards” are the silk-screened part.

This will be– of course– in a very limited pressing of 1000 and available through the website at $13.99 plus shipping. This will include for the first time a coupon for free downloads of the mp3’s too. Typically these mp3’s are a lush 320Kbps.

I think that next to TNT, Standards is probably Tortoise’s most popular release with the two live performance staples of “Seneca” with it’s epic guitar distortion intro and recent development of audience clapping the beat at the end, and the vocoder-and-synth electro love of “Monica.” Standards is a must-have and, of course the audible meal of Tortoise is best served on vinyl.

Does this mean we will see other reissues of the Tortoise catalog? With the promise of a new Tortoise album– they’re already playing some great new songs live– there will likely be a renewed interest in the back catalog.

Click Here to order Standards

Rare Thrill Jockey Vinyl Discovered and Back In Stock

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When I was at the Thrill Jockey 15th Anniversary shows back in December Bettina Richards told me that there was a cache of out-of-print Thrill Jockey vinyl that was discovered at their UK location. She said there was some Tortoise available among other titles.

Last Friday Thrill Jockey sent out an e-mail announcing that these titles are in stock and available for order. Some of these are impossibly rare and it’s pretty cool that they are back for a limited time. In addition to the vinyl, there are copies of Tortoise’s The Lazarus Taxon 3 CD / 1 DVD boxset that are priced lower than the original $19 price because they have some slight wear from shipping.

Don’t miss out on getting these, there won’t be another chance like this! The titles are limited to two per customer. The following titles are back:

Arbouretum – Rites of Uncovering – Arbouretum put on a great set at the Anniversary show. I reached out to David Heumann, who is also part of the great instrumental group Human Bell– to purchase a copy. The vinyl for Rites of Uncovering has been out of print for a bit with the only other vinyl in existence available from the band on tour.

Extra Golden – Ok-Oyot System – You’ve read some about Obama’s favorite Benga band on playbsides before. This is the group’s debut release on vinyl and a regular spin of mine from 2006.

Gray Market Goods – Soldier of Fortune / We Live in the Future– This is early Tortoise member Bundy K. Brown’s project from 2003. Apparently sample-based. I’ve not heard anything from it.

Daniel A.I.U. Higgs – Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot – 900 copies available from this solo release from Lungfish member Daniel A.I.U. Higgs.

Nobukazu Takemura – 10th This is one of the eclectic electronic artist’s more notable releases. This album includes “Fallslake” which Tortoise covered for the Plum box set (you can hear Tortoise’s version on their MySpace page currently). A Stereolab-sounding song, I think. update: this is now back out of print… SOLD OUT!

Chicago Underground Duo – In Praise of Shadows This is one I’m interested in picking up. Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor’s project.

Archer Prewitt – Three Archer Prewitt– from the venerable Sea and Cake’s third release, and debut on Thrill Jockey (his previous two LP efforts In The Sun and White Sky were released on Chicago label Carrot Top). Usually known as the silent partner in that band, he kicks his vocal talents to the fore and shows that his Anglophile pop whiles are as worthwhile a listen as Prekop, in my opinion.

Trans Champs – Double Exposure The Trans Champs are a combination of Thrill Jockey artists Trans Am and part of The Fucking Champs. This album was made via sharing tapes between the band.

Tortoise – It’s All Around You Wow, don’t miss out on this! It’s safe to say that this is the only Tortoise vinyl in print. Thrill Jockey is only asking a paltry $11 for this, and recent eBay auctions are creeping into the high $20’s. Update- Out of Stock!

While you’re putting your order together, don’t forget to pick up the amazing Plum 7″ box set— there’s only 50 left! The 15th Anniversary MegaMix by Trey Told ‘Em is still around, too.

Gary Louris Vagabonds Versions and Bonuses

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Former Jayhawk Gary Louris’s solo album Vagabonds was released on 2/19. From a collector’s perspective this is a pretty interesting release in the bonus releases and tracks that exist.

First there was the Limited Edition 180g vinyl gatefold release which came out ahead of the CD release on January 29th. I couldn’t find how “limited” the release is– at least not from the press releases. I suppose this will only be one pressing.

On the release day last Tuesday, if you visited your local independent record store they might have had a promotional 6-track CD called Acoustic Vagabonds. Based on what I read, the tracks on this CD are based on the tracks from the CD and LP except stripped to Gary’s vocals and acoustic guitar. The songs are “True Blue,” “Omaha Nights,” “To Die A Happy Man,” “She Only Calls Me On Sundays,” “We’ll Get By,” and “Vagabonds.”

Additionally, iTunes and Amazon got in on the action by having digital versions of Vagabonds with unique bonus tracks! The really great thing about these bonuses is that if you wanted just the bonus tracks (like if you purchased the album from other means) you can purchase them individually! The only bummer is that the bonus tracks from iTunes aren’t “iTunes Plus” which means that they– unlike the Amazon tracks– are copy protected.

The Amazon bonus tracks are “Baby Let Me Take Care of You,” and “Fall Day (Demo).” “Baby Let Me Take Care of You” reminds me a lot like Nashville Skyline Bob Dylan with it’s pedal steel. “Fall Day” is a nice layered acoustic guitar instrumental.

The iTunes bonus tracks are psychedelic Byrdsy “Three Too Many,” and a beautiful Simon and Garfunkel falsetto in “Working Girl.”

I think it’s great that Louris and Rykodisc are being so generous with the outtakes and bonuses for Vagabonds– I’d like to see more labels and artists doing this.

Get Vagabonds on CD on CD from Amazon
Get Vagabonds on LP from Amazon
Get Vagabonds on mp3 including the bonus tracks from Amazon
Get Vagabonds from iTunes including the bonus tracks
Gary Louris - Vagabonds (Bonus Track Version)

B-Sides in the Bins #20 – Cedar Rapids 12/07

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During the month of December I made a number of stops at HalfPriceBooks in Cedar Rapids– while I was out Christmas shopping, waiting for an oil change. So, rather than break these up into separate posts, I’ll put them all together.

Prince – Controversy (LP, Warner Bros., BSK 3601, 1981) ($2.98) This was a real find. I haven’t seen much Prince vinyl in my digging so I was pretty happy to pick this one up. The cover is in good shape with little ringwear. The vinyl is in great shape. The poster of Prince in the shower in a bikini was still intact (and returned permanently to the sleeve– yikes!). When I was in high school I was a big fan of Prince, and really that was the best period of his music. My first exposure was 1999 and Purple Rain like most people I suppose. A friend of mine was also a big fan and we sort of collected all of Prince’s albums between us. I really haven’t listened to this album since then. Interestingly, this is credited only as a Prince album, but the backing musicians would eventually become The Revolution– Bobby Z (drums), Lisa and Fink (keyboards). There is a small tribute to Joni Mitchell in the cover art. The back cover has a bunch of fake headlines like “President Declares Uptown New U.S. Capitol,” “Do You Believe in God,” and “The Second Coming.” One of the headlines says “Joni.” He also contributed a cover of “A Case of You” to the Nonesuch Records tribute album to Joni.

Liz Phair – “Carnivore” b/w “Carnivore (Raw)” (7″ single, Minty Fresh mf-4, 1993) ($.98) Groovy pink and blue vinyl. I was never really a big fan of Liz– I liked Exile in Guyville, but didn’t continue to follow her career. She’s now flirting with the Avril Lavigne fans by creating guitar pop. This release was while she was still edgy, I guess. This will probably end up on eBay.

Pearl Jam – Christmas 2005 “Little Sister (with Robert Plant)” b/w “Gone” (7″ single, fanclub release, 2005) ($1.00) In the tradition of The Beatles and REM, Pearl Jam has been releasing Christmas singles since 1991. The only way you can get these (other than eBay) is being a member of the “Ten” fan club. This one is in really great shape other than an edge dent in the sleeve. There is a live version of “Little Sister” with Robert Plant from 10/5/05 at the Chicago H.O.B. Hurricane Katrina Benefit show. The flipside is a demo of “Gone” performed by Ed in a room at the Borgata in Atlantic City. Since I don’t have any of the other singles and can’t afford to pick them up on eBay, I’m going to eBay this as well. One went for $15 recently, so we’ll see.

Gov’t Mule – High & Mighty (CD, ATO Records, ATO0028, 2006) ($7.98) Well, I guess I was curious having seen them in Des Moines with Grace Potter. Warren Haynes is undeniably one of the great guitarists on the Jam scene today although he tends to stick to the tried-and-true blues progressions that give Mule releases that vintage 70’s classic rawk feel– I think some experimentation could breathe some life to the studio recordings. Recommended if you like Molly Hatchet, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, Blackfoot, big sweaty dudes playing Gibson guitars. BTW: Warren has some of the most impressive Gibsons I’ve ever seen and he plays quite a few during a live show. Visit this YouTube clip to see a cool interview with Warren’s guitar tech talking about the guitars used in High & Mighty.

Madlib – Shades of Blue : Madlib Invades Blue Note (CD, Blue Note Records, 7243 5 36447 2 7, 2003) ($5.98) This is a BMG Music Club release. I love all of the back catalog digging that Blue Note has embraced over the years. I have a lot of the releases like the US3 album, the Rare Grooves series, and a couple of others. While a lot of publishers would resist this sort of thing, I think the brand identity of Blue Note was rescued by it. The fantastic Madlib has his way with the Blue Note catalog creating some remixes. A really mellow acid-jazzy record.

The Devil Makes Three – self titled LP (Review)

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Devil Makes Three on the TT

There is something right about The Devil Makes Three‘s reissue of their 2002 eponymous debut’s availability on vinyl LP.

The Devil Makes Three is a trio from San Francisco who plays music in a style that is largely influenced by folk but draws additional color and rhythm from 20’s and 30’s blues and bluegrass as well as drawing from a punk ethos. What does this mean? If you like the Violent Femmes first record or bands like 16 Horsepower, The Squirrel Nut Zippers, and possibly The Gun Club this band is for you. The headstones of death, drinking and disappointment carved with vocals, acoustic guitars, and stand-up bass.

Which is why I say that The Devil Makes Three’s record is fittingly on vinyl in addition to it’s future-shock CD and digital download versions. I can’t think of a better way to join Pete Bernhard in “Old Number Seven” than to knock a couple of fingers back of the song’s tribute neat while their 180g record spins in the background!

As a side note, the first time I heard “Old Number Seven” its scrubby 1-2 strumming reminded of the Pixies “Mr. Grieves.” Reading the press bio they do cite the Pixies as an influence.

The record was originally released in 2002 by Snazzy Productions, which apparently still carries the original version as well as the band’s 2004 effort Longjohns, Boots, and a Belt and their 2006 live album A Little Bit Faster And A Little Bit Worse. These last two are also carried by CDBaby who has Pete Bernhard’s solo CD Things I Left Behind, too. When Milan Records signed the band they started with their first release and appended four bonus tracks of live and demo tracks from 2002 and 2003. It was a good choice to reissue this album– all of the tracks are well-written and performed by the band and the lyrics are impressive. Pete’s lyrics paint the perfect picture– one track I particularly like is “Graveyard.”

“Well that’s Me / Just a’leanin on my shovel / In this graveyard of dreams”

The thing that gets me about this line is how completely it describes the situation. Not only is the narrator living in a graveyard of dreams– he’s actually digging the holes in which his dreams lie!

The vinyl release of The Devil Makes Three is a single jacket with new album artwork that is done with old engravings which suits the period-feel of the music contained within. The front cover is pretty simple and the back cover has the full lyrics printed for the ten original songs– not the bonus cuts. I don’t have the original release to compare the album art or the remastering, however the record sounds fantastic on my turntable. I suspect, however, that because they advertise the album as “Digitally Remastered” that they did that first and then mastered the vinyl. I would have prefered that they would have done a separate mastering of the vinyl from the original tapes. It could be the case that the original work was recorded digitally, I suppose. The remastering was handled by Christian Dwiggins at The Engine Room.

I have a mid-line Gemini turntable with an Audio Technica cartridge playing through a five-year-old Sony AV receiver and Polk Audio S-10’s that are coming up on 12 years old. My setup is purely functional. Still, it sounds great to my ears. I enjoy listening to vinyl because it forces me to deliberately sit down and listen to the music, and this album stands up to a beginning-to-end listening.

Listen or Download a full version of “Old No. 7”

Listen to other mp3 samples of tracks at the Milan Records Page.

Visit The Devil Makes Three’s MySpace Page to hear other tracks.