The 5 Records I've Been Listening To This Week

As you may already know, I have a deep collection of records from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Just recently, I purchased several more and I've been playing these new purchases a lot.

These are the ones I've been enjoying this week:

1- "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" - Buck Owens And The Buckeroos - This is the mono single version, recently reissued on a fine collection titled "The Complete Capitol Singles: 1957-1966".  Owens, of course, worked out of Bakersfield, California at a time when almost every major Country & Western artist was based in Nashville. He had his own unique vision of what the music should be and this record nails it from the opening note.

2- "Brown Eyed Girl" - Van Morrison - Yes, it's overplayed on oldies radio. But I still like it. The version I have is the censored mono single that uses the line "laughin' and a runnnin' behind the stadium with you". The original uncensored version is almost impossible to find on compact disc in its mono mix. The censored version is on the release titled "The Best Of Van Morrison", the one with a photo of a microphone on the cover.

3- "Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones - Okay, let's give the boys the credit they deserve. In one year they've given us a new album that's worth taking the time to listen to, and they've given us an insanely good box set covering their entire 1960s catalog. Fifteen discs of mono goodness, with very good sound. The mono mix of this record is one of the most intense singles ever released by any band. The box set is, of course, expensive, but individual tracks are available on Amazon as MP3 downloads.

4- "Out On The Street Again" [Single Edit] - Etta James - From the album titled "Come A Little Closer", an album that Etta James made while she was in rehab. This is raw and bluesy and I love it.

5- "Sally Go Round The Roses [Single Version] - The Jaynetts - This is a very weird record. You either hate it or love it and I love it. For many years, the only two versions available on compact disc were the weak sounding stereo mix and a mastering of the mono mix that had severe phasing issues. This newly remastered mono version is on a great set titled "Chess Pieces: The Very Best Of Chess Records".