Technical Ecstacy
(Earmark) LP $15.00
1996 reissue of the 1976 album that, though ambitious, succeeds at nothing more that documenting The Great Unraveling. 180-gram vinyl.
Like Flies On Sherbert / Live In London
(Earmark) Used 2xLP $60.00
2003 reissue of the controversial 1980 album, considered by some fans an anarchic mess and a collapse of a major talent, while others loved it for its chaotic rock’n’roll wreckage. Bonus platter was recorded at Dingwalls, May 28, 1980.
Jimmy Cliff
(Earmark) Used LP $12.00
2003 reissue of Cliff’s 1969 classic, including “Vietnam” (which Bob Dylan famously called the best protest song he had ever heard), and “Wonderful World, Beautiful People.” All-analog mastering from the original tapes. 180-gram vinyl
Cocaine In My Brain
(Earmark) Used 2xLP $25.00
2000 anthology combining the Charly collection with early singles cut with Lee “Scratch” Perry, tracing Dillinger’s development and subsequent rise to fame during the ’70s. Big hits and later material spotlight his mastery of funky productions as well as more hardcore, dub-inflected material. 180g vinyl.
Jackson C. Frank
(Earmark) Used LP $75.00
2004 reissue of Frank’s 1965 album — a lost classic, daringly complex and honest, filled with virtuoso playing that melds American and English folk sounds like nothing else. 180-gram vinyl
Mice And Rats In The Loft
(Earmark) Used LP $30.00
Freewheeling progressive folk-rock from 1971 by multi-instrumentalists Michael Bairstow and Derek Noy, and drummer Dennis Conlan. Their nineteen-minute epic “Sun Symphonica” jumps from hyperactive folk strumming to jazzy woodwinds, lazing for a time in ornate chamber music splendor before returning to THC-addled art-rock reminiscent of The Soft Machine or Gong. It’s a manic tour de force overflowing with trilling, theatrical vocals, flute, violin, clarinet, and exotic percussion. “Call of the Wild” is somewhat more conventional British folk, but possesses plenty of psychedelic grit, sonic invention, and authentic strangeness. Liner notes by David Tibet of Current 93.
Birthday Blues
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2001 reissue of Jansch’s 1969 fifth album does not hold back his characteristic moodiness or take itself too seriously. With just enough of a Donovanesque pop sense, Pentangle producer Shel Talmy keeps the recordings fresh, warm and immediate.
It Don’t Bother Me
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2003 reissue of Jansch’s 1965 second album, a step up from the intimate, field-recording setting of his first album, although still not labored over. The lyrics shift vividly between pure poetic imagery and the hollow resonance of pain.
Jack Orion
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2003 reissue of Jansch’s 1966 third LP, with no original compositions. His experimental approach to interpreting traditional folk songs breathes new life into the repertoire through his exploratory use of open tunings and passionate, gritty vocals. In “Black Water Slide,” a haunting ballad he first heard from Anne Briggs, Jansch plants the seeds for future versions by Led Zeppelin and Sandy Denny. Jack Orion’s unique combination of medieval themes and progressive arrangements would pave the way for the next wave of the British folk revival and beyond.
Nicola
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2003 reissue of Jansch’s third solo album, which allows orchestration to be used on five of the twelve tracks, with the remainder are pretty much keeping with the character and high standard of his other ’60s work — nimble guitar work, incorporation of blues, traditional British Isles folk influences into a contemporary style, and Donovan-esque vocals. For the first and only time, Jansch plays both electric and acoustic guitars; it’s also his first work to feature drumming.
Rosemary Lane
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2001 reissue of Jansch’s 1971 LP returns to the intimate economy of his self-titled debut LP, recorded on portable equipment by engineer / producer Bill Leader. Rosemary Lane has elements of many of the styles Jansch covered in his eclectic career — from the folk and blues that were his bedrock to medieval music — yet cuts to the heart of his strength as spell-binding storyteller and empathic interpreter of isolation and want. Occasional instrumentals vary the mood that, like much of his work, is usually somber and introspective. His sparse arrangements seamlessly merge original songwriting and traditional folk songs.
Bert Jansch
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
2003 reissue of Jansch’s debut LP recorded with a portable tape player on a borrowed guitar in the kitchen of his London flat. On this vastly influential work, his masterful acoustic picking, which blended elements of traditional British folk, blues, and jazz, inspired not just other folk players, but rockers who frequently used acoustic guitars (specifically, Jimmy Page and Neil Young).
Ace Of Spades
(Earmark) Used LP $20.00
Reissue of the brutally classic album from 1980 by these immortal road warriors. Remastered from the original tapes, 180-gram vinyl, gatefold jacket.
Skanking With Pablo – Melodica For Hire 1971-77
(Earmark) Used 2xLP $20.00
Concentrating on the early rebel rock period of the melodica master’s outstanding career, this 2003 Italian pressing gathers the best of Pablo’s recordings for producers like Lee Perry, Joe Gibbs, Clive Chin and Derrick Harriott.
Basket Of Light
(Earmark) Used LP $18.00
The third album from the original line-up: a jazz rhythm section (Danny Thompson on string bass and Terry Cox on drums); the virtuoso guitar pairing of John Renbourn and Bert Jansch; and the soaring, enigmatic singing of Jacqi McShee. Pentangle sounds unlike anything else. Released in 1969, the album is infused with complex time signatures and arresting musical arrangements — not really folk music as broadly recognized, but rather something more exotic and strange. Sitar and glockenspiel sometimes add just the right flavor, never over-egging the pudding and always refining the resulting taste to perfection with a light sparkle. Italian pressing from 2001 on 180-gram vinyl
The Lady And The Unicorn
(Earmark) Used LP $12.00
Medieval and early classical pieces interspersed with the expected folk material (keyboard works from the Fitzwilliam virginal book (transcribed for guitar) stand alongside traditional tunes such as “Scarborough Fair,” which turns up as part of an eleven-minute track that also incorporates “My Johnny Was a Shoemaker”). Reissue from 2003
Another Monday
(Earmark) Used LP $12.00
Renbourn’s second album of excellent folk-blues, virtuosic and full of heart and imagination, open to influences from jazz and world music, though not as much as in many subsequent efforts. His inclination toward early music is evident on “Ladye Nothinge’s Toye Puffe” and “One for William,” the latter of which also features oboe. More typically, though, he drifts into the blues idiom, two of the standouts being his interpretation of the oft-covered “I Know My Babe” (more frequently titled “I Know You Rider” when recorded by other artists) and his bottleneck playing on “Nobody’s Fault but Mine.” For Pentangle fans, the album is especially interesting for the recording debut of Jacqui McShee as accompanying vocalist on three numbers. Twenty-eight minutes. 2002 reissue
There Is No Future
(Earmark) Used LP $10.00 (Out-of-stock)
Legendary but only decent-sounding 1976 and 1977 demos produced by Dave Goodman, including “I Wanna Be Me,” “Dolls (New York),” and “Anarchy In The UK” 180-gram vinyl. Sealed
Arise Black Man
(Earmark) Used 2xLP $25.00
2003 pressing of early recordings with Bob Marley, The Wailers, Bunny Lee, Lee “Scratch” Perry, U-Roy, Joe Gibbs, Leslie Kong, Gladstone Anderson, Glen Adams. Many tracks were issued on Bob Marley & Friends’ Roots of a Legend album, others were re-recorded for subsequent albums, a handful of the instrumentals with Tosh on organ are rehearsals recorded and subsequently released without permission. Stand-outs are “Pepper Seed” and “Rueben.”
Seven Gates of Hell Singles 1980-1985
(Earmark) Used LP $30.00
“Excellent thrash lead vocals, rhythmic and harmonic melodies, fast riffs of solo guitars, deep gloomy bass, and fast drumming,” so says one of Amazon’s verified purchasers. “Some songs are speeded up rock’n’roll, thrash, and speed metal. A good mix of metal music for headbangers worldwide. I recommend this product to everyone.” Italian repress from 2003. 180gram vinyl. Sealed
At War With Satan
(Earmark) Used LP $30.00
“Originally released in 1983, the third album by these thrash pioneers shows them at the height of their popularity and creative ability. This time the unholy trio were expanding their sound, kicking the album off with the brutal, side-long title track.” Italian repress from 2003. 180gram vinyl. Sealed
Possessed
(Earmark) Used LP $30.00
“The fourth album from Newcastle’s black metal pioneers, the last to feature the original classic line-up of Cronos, Mantas, and Abbadon. Thirteen tracks of devastating hell-on-earth metal mayhem. Wild.” Italian repress from 2003, with poster. 180gram vinyl. Sealed
Black Metal
(Earmark) Used LP $25.00
“Thrash with attitude and fire. It bears little resemblance to the black metal scene that would soon follow, but in its day, matched the heaviness of early Kreator or Bathory. A snotty, rude record that sounds good when you’ve had a lousy day at work and don’t want to be bothered.” Italian repress from 2003. 180gram vinyl.