Monday, February 22, 2021

Davenport Hunts: From The Source

What was found.

CD

The Kinsey Report-Powerhouse (Charisma 1988)
The Dry Heaves-Two Honkies In A Tub
The Temptations Greatest Hits
Face To Face-Over It (EP)
Bruce Springsteen-The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle
Mary Chapin Carpenter-Come On Come On
Chris LeDoux-Gold Buckle Dreams
Elvis Presley-Moody Blue
Page/Plant: No Quarter
Kansas-In the Spirit Of Things
Rolling Stones-Flowers
Lefty Frizzell-16 Greatest Hits
Santa Esmeralda-The Best Of

45's

A Swinging Safari-Billy Vaughn (Dot 45-16374)  #13 1962
This Bitter Earth-Dinah Washington (Mercury 71635) #24 1960
Here We Go Again-Ray Charles (ABC 45-10938) #15 1967
Three Nights A Week-Fats Domino (Imperial 5687)  #15 1960
Who Slapped John/Blue Jean Bop-Gene Vincent (Capitol F-3558) 1956

Some of these forty fives go back to my original collection, namely This Bitter Earth, Here We Go Again and Three Nights A Week.  A Swinging Safari is muzak surf music but I always loved the beginning hook.  That would later be used for an early episode of Jeopardy. This Bitter Earth might have been one of the original collection of 1964 singles that Mom might have had, but I didn't think it survived the first playing   Here We Go Again was a replacement copy of the one that I bought in Waterloo around 68. Three Nights A Week was part of the original Grandma's box of 45s in Lincoln.  All 45's came from The Source Book Store in downtown Davenport.  They still have the majority of quality CDs on the main floor but downstairs they have actually added about 10,000 CDs in the basement of varying degree.  To where the Santa Esmeralda and Left Frizzell came from.  They also had the Flowers from the Stones, the first Stones LP that I bought for a quarter at a long ago forgotten Salvation Army store in Uptown Marion.  I don't think Ragged Records has opened their Davenport store (sometime in April from what I have heard but Bob Harrington hasn't mentioned anything about a grand reopening.  

For 13 CDs found, I'm surprised that I found that many.  8 of the 13 were under a dollar.  Most were not exactly needed.  The Dry Heaves I had to check out.  They come across like Foo Fighters and punk rock, disposable I suppose but fun. The Page/Plant and Kinsey Report have been in my collection before.   I ran into the same guy buying stacks of CDs at both Davenport Goodwill Stores, he bought mostly junk (Sugar Ray, Everclear)  The Davenport Salvation Army had no 45s of note, but I donated my collection of unwanted 45s to that place.  I'm not sure if the guy in charge of donations had a look of surprise or resignation, but I'm sure most, if not all will be gone the next time I return back into town. I'm not sure the reason why I bought them but I didn't have the Bruce Springsteen CD and The Kansas CD was thrown in for a quarter.    The Veterans Thrift Store had The Kinsey Report and Dry Heaves for 72 cents.  At least the jewel case is in good shape.  Stuff Etc, had Richard and Linda Thompson's Hoky Pokey on CD for a dollar.  Since I had a copy, I didn't need it. 

I didn't stop at Co Op Moline.  There was nothing new that I needed and I didn't think he had a good turnover of new cds the last time I was there.   Books A Million still had a collection of used cds, (mostly crap) and new CD's that were half off the regular price, also mostly crap.  Somehow, somebody priced a used Elastica Cd for 20 dollars!  Rough Trade had reissued the CD but you can still find the CD fairly cheap.

All of the thrift stores had their vinyl picked clean.   Like Iowa City, had I not gone to the Source store, this would have been another wasted trip.   Next up, a return engagement to Dubuque and Maquoketa, and perhaps a good time to rid more unwanted cds.

Appendix:  Maquoketa Finds/Half Price Books

Larry Norman-Shouting In The Storm
Larry Norman-White Blossoms from Black Roots
Larry Norman-Come As A Child
Tommy James-S/T
Billie Holliday-Ken Burns Jazz

Three CDs found by the Father of Christian Rock  Larry Norman, Shouting In The Storm has him backed up by Beam from a 1998 Finland concert.   Norman is best known for being in People! that had a hit with I Love You (the Zombies cover) and then went solo and made Just Visiting This Planet, his 1972 masterpiece for Verve/MGM.  While Norman was in good health, he did release a bunch of recordings via Solid Rock, but after his passing in 2008, most of the unknown stuff went out of print.  I didn't pick up the forth CD, which was remixes to Just Visiting This Planet (and perhaps I should have, if they still have it next week, maybe I will).  For Christian Rock and Roll, Larry Norman was even an outlaw to the gospel music circuit, most Christian stores refused to sell his music.  After hearing Just Visiting This Planet, I thought I'd be on the look out for his albums, they sell for big bucks via Amazon. 

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Iowa City Bargain Hunts-Dealing With Shitty Business Practices

In the era of bargain hunting after 2020, the COVID issues and practices continue to annoy this bargain hunter when he goes 100 miles round trip only to find some places allow only 4 to 5 customers.  At least the Record Collector folks let me in.  The same cannot be said for the Housewerks folks, with their 4 person limit.  Deciding to come back later, I jaunted to Money and More Pawnshop (they still have the roots and blues box set from 1994, still for 25 dollars) and came back only to have the dingbat at Housewerks looking through the window and pointed to the sign saying that they were closed.  It was 4:35 PM.  They closed at 5.   It would have taken me about 10 minutes to scour their CD section.  It's things like this that makes me boycott them in the future.

I wouldn't say it was a wasted trip.  Record Collector had the music I needed and Stuff Etc, IC, had two cds as well.  I might have considered adding more My Morning Jacket albums back for 99 cents but decided not to..  Perhaps I should have bought more from Record Collector.

Things Found:

Paul K/The Weathermen-Achilles Heel 
Paul K/The Weathermen-Love's A Gas
Carlene Carter-Hindsight 20/20
Hooker And Heat Live At The Fox Venice Theater
Lloyd Cole/Commotions-Rattlesnakes
BR549-Tangled In The Pines.

45's

You Can't Miss-Los Goledos (Atco 45-6539)  1967
There's So Little Time-Reparata (Big Tree BT 114) 1971
Wonderful Land-The Shadows (Atlantic 2146)  1960
The Relay-The Who (Track/Decca 33041) 1972
Sweet Lorraine-Uriah Heep (Mercury 73349) 1972

I didn't plan on buying anything but since they had The Shadows 45, I decided to pick up a couple more singles.  The Sweet Lorraine and Relay singles are a blessing to find but per usual 45 standards, Sweet Lorraine is edited.   The Paul K CDs have been up there, dating back when Kirk was alive and owned the store.  The Lloyd Cole Rattlesnakes album is my fave from him and I had that on CD.  I may donate it back later on.  The Carlene Carter is a best of that I wanted to check out and John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat together was blues rock fun.  The Los Goledos n Reparata singles are the oddball finds.  You Can't Miss goes well the with Muzak K mart crowd of The Maribma Baja Band, reminds me of the days of the blue light special.  B Side My Lise is pure muzak crapola.  Reparata has been around on various labels but I never heard any of it till I bought this Rupert Holmes penned There's So Little Time, the only single issued by Big Tree.  Just You is passable bubblegum pop.  Sweet Lorraine is a 3 and 20 minute edit, The Relay is the full 3:53.  It's always fun to hear the Keith Moon hootathon that is Waspman, to which the riff would be used later for In A Hand Or Face.  Somehow when that come out on the Two's Missing CD, John Entwistle was given writer's credit.  Moon is listed on the 45.

The Shadows, Wonderful land, like any of their Atlantic singles is a worth find and owes something to Duane Eddy and Jorgen Ingmann.  For a dollar, this was the find of the bunch.

Overall, the Iowa City, despite the disappointing Housewerks closing up shop earlier, was more miss than hit.  Had I not gone to Record Collector, it would have been a bust.  The Goodwill store had nothing and perhaps I should have gotten the Tool CD at Salvation Army but didn't see the need for that.  The Coralville Goodwill had a bunch of chewed up singles, the best one Handy Man from Jimmy Jones and it might have been in better shape than the one I picked up at Ragged at overinflated prices. The Coralville Stuff Etc, outside of Charlie Christian had nothing.