Like last month, I’m split up the monthly pickups into two posts. These are all of my finds at my local mission thrift. All cost $2 unless noted otherwise.
Ray Charles, The Ray Charles Trilogy
This includes three of Charles’ early albums and they are not what I expected. I’m used to his R&B What’d I Say era but these three are straight up jazz. The surprise is a pleasant one. Great stuff for a Sunday morning. I wish I could say I got it for $2 but it was $8.
Barenaked Ladies, Maybe You Should Drive, Stunt, Maroon
Of course I find these right after telling fellow blogger Aaron from Keeps Me Alive how the only BNL album I really like is Gordon. Well, after spending some time with these, they’re not as bad as I remembered. Each are collection worthy.
Aerosmith, Greatest Hits, Honkin’ on Bobo
I had Greatest Hits on cassette when I was a kid. I remember being annoyed how it didn’t have the groovy talk box intro for Sweet Emotion like the one they played on the radio had. My first experience of song that was edited for a compilation. It is still edited off on the CD so now it is the “nostalgia cut”. Mike DeLano just finished giving Honkin’ on Bobo a unfavorable review and I commented on how I didn’t think it was that bad. I’d grab it if I found it for $2. Then it happened the following week. I am right as it is not that bad. But so is he as it is not that good.
A whole mess of “Cancon”
“Cancon” is short for what we Canadians know as Canadian Content. Headstones really impressed me as I enjoyed all of Love + Fury. I found Crash Test Dummies A Worm’s Life to be disappointing. The Cowboy Junkies are much more mellow than I remembered. I Bificus from Bif (Naked) felt very much like an attempt to make her a Canadian Gwen Stefani. I hate how the Canadian music industry does that. 54-40, Grapes of Wrath, and Blue Rodeo are Sarah’s pick ups. I really haven’t given them a spin yet.
Some Jazz and Blues
I had a burnt CD preservation copy of BB King & Eric Clapton’s Riding With the King. Now I’m legit for $2. Kind of Blue is my first Miles Davis album and whenever I see Tony Bennett I don’t have for $2, I buy. Apologies for the reflection of my hand right over Miles’ face.
A whole mess of Greatest Hits
You get a wide variety of greatest hits at the mission thrift. I just picked up Marvin Gaye, Live! last month and now I have some studio versions to go along with it on The Very Best of Marvin Gaye. Toto’s Past to Present is a no brainer since I don’t have anything from them. I already have a Bob Marley compilation but it is full of tunes that were unknown to me. Legend has all of the ones I know. I’m not much of a Collective Soul fan so 7even Year Itch might just do me. And the one tune I know from Procol Harum is Whiter Shade of Pale. After giving Classics – Volume 17 a spin, it is still the only tune I know from them. This time, my hand gets close to Marvin.
Elton John, The One, Sleeping with the Past
These are from his adult contemporary era of the late ’80s early ’90s. They were both sitting at the mission thrift long enough that they were reduced to 75¢. They’re not bad for that price. They both remind me of my days when my Mom had the radio locked onto the easy listening station all day.
Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited
Easily on of Bob’s best and another on I had a preservation copy of. He has a solid band backing him up featuring Mike Bloomfield on guitar and Al Kooper on the keys. Bright CD covers are a much easier to take photos of.
Old Cabin, Old Cabin
This was a blind buy that Sarah said I should give a shot. I’m glad I did. The band is from Whitehorse and they are sort of a folk version of The Black Keys. Sort of. Looks like someone bought this off of Bandcamp and it some how ended up at the mission thrift. Check them out for yourself right here.
A Bit of Rock
I had Preservation copies of both The Fratellis’ Costello Music and Weezer’s Maladroit forced upon me by a pirate. Now I’m legit, so it evens out. I’m not much a Peral Jam guy but I thought I give Binaural a shot. Some of it is OK. Some of it sounds like ass. Not musically, just the mix. I’m still not much of a Peral Jam guy.
Tom Waits, Mule Variations
I seriously thought something was messed up with my sound system when I fired up this CD. Just listen to the first few seconds of the opening track Big in Japan…
Anyway, I’m not sure if this is my thing yet. I’ll decide after a few more spins before I decide if it is collection worthy.
The One Strike Out in November
Some people were asking me last month about the condition of some of these CDs. For the most part, I pass on any ones that I see that are scratched up. Someone who dumped out of their CSN collection didn’t take care of their CDs at all. All were completely roached except for Daylight Again which seemed like it mostly suffered from surface scratches. I took a chance on it thinking it would be a hard one to come by again, but it only took about 30 seconds for my CDs player to barf this one up. Too bad because those 30 seconds sounded great.
So the answer is, yes. I do get burnt sometimes but not often.
Wow Elton John for 75 cents? That’s impressive! I do remember Mike’s review for ‘Honkin’ on Bobo’ and how much he hated it haha. By the way, this is really random but how often do you order CDs from Amazon and the cases are scratched or cracked? My Def Leppard ‘High ‘n’ Dry’ album case was cracked pretty badly, but the AC/DC albums arrived with no scratches, so I’m wondering if that has anything to do with the CD case (along with the packaging)!
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Yeah, I think they were about to throw Elton away if no on bought them, lol
I’ve never had an issue with CDs from amazon (yet), but I have had vinyl come to the house really banged up. They have a good return policy I’d send it back if you’re not happy. No sense in paying full price for a banged up case.
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Good thing you bought those albums then haha!
I was just curious, the ‘High ‘n’ Dry’ CD is still good, so I kept it. Amazon did give me $5 off I can use on my next purchase, so they made up for it. I’m waiting for one more album and if it arrives scratched up, I’m getting a refund for sure! I just wanted to check that I wasn’t the only one that received a damaged CD/vinyl from Amazon.
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Oh yeah, it happens often enough. I don’t think anyone looks at what their shipping out.
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Yeah, Amazon needs to work on that!
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Love and Fury is a great album. Headstones bounced back on that one in a big way. Basically a fist to your face,
Kapow!
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I never really listened to much of them other than what I have heard on the radio. I was impressed. Sarah has a couple of their earlier albums so I’ll have to give those a spin.
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They were one band that always came here so I have seen them live 5 or 6 times
But since they reunited they have never come back as Frank says they want to much dough now…
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Well, that’s too bad. At least you got to see them a few times.
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The first time I seen em Crocks was packed and for the first couple of tune all I could see was Hugh’s head and spit flying everywhere lol
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lol, you have some golden memories too!
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I cannot believe your mission thrift gets all this good stuff. Truly boggled. I need to visit (before you get in there!).
Mule Variations is sooooo good. Let it grow on you, like a fungus. We have all of Waits’ albums here, and I’ve said before how my lovely wife is a big fan and lent me his Beautiful Maladies comp while we were dating (all those years ago). At first I wondered what I’d gotten into, and then he just clicked for me and now I can’t see anything but brilliance. I have MV on vinyl and it’s glorious.
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I beleive I am the one getting the good stuff from the mission thrift, lol.
CDs are seen as garbage right now. People are just giving them away. It is a good time to collect them!
It is costing nothing to keep MV so I will. I have a feeling Waits will click with me at some point since he is regarded so highly by many. Or maybe I’ll just remain a grunt who will never understand him.
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I wish people around here would get rid of good stuff.
Aaaaall I am saaayyinnnnn’… is giiive Waits a chaaaaance! 🙂
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I’ll do it for a Ringo melody. Peace and love, Peace and love!
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Groovy!
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I gotta get some Marvin Gaye in my life and I should give that Clapton with BB King a spin as well.
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I agree with both!
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Ive been digging those old Charles albums. Good grab Mars.
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Yes, they are a pleasant surprise! I had thought he was only an R&B guy but I guess he started with jazz.
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I’ve been listening to a Charles/Milt Jackson album that someone else tuned me onto.. I dig his early playing and singing.
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On my to buy cd list is Lou Rawls and Bill Withers Greatest Hits. I think they’re both double albums.
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Nice!
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