Most DJs I know won’t buy a record unless it’s in at least VG condition. There’s nothing more deflating than digging through crates and crates of 45s, finding a super rare gem and then putting the needle to record and hearing nothing but massive surface noise, distorted vocals and groove disrupting pops, clicks and scratches. Sometimes though I have to admit I appreciate a record that will play straight through but has a lot of snap, crackle and pop as it goes. It’s part of what gives vinyl it’s distinctive sound and part of what continues to make it the most endearing of the various means of recorded music. Crackly vinyl tells a story, you might not know the full story, what exactly happened to the record, but you know SOMETHING happened to give that record it’s extra crispy catfish frying sound. In my mind I like to think the original owners simply played the 45 so much it wore out, that was certainly the case with some 45s in the Barnes Family…For this 45 edition I thought I’d focus on some of my dustier tracks, in my opinion all top shelf material even if none of them are super super rare. It’s also worth noting that the total price for all four of these 45s was $5 and when I bought these records they sounded considerably worse that this, but a little cleaning makes them listenable while retaining all the “character” of the 45.
This one is probably in the best shape of this bunch, though the condition is not great it doesn’t get in the way of what is a truly dynamite song. Jurassic 5 fans surely recognize this (or the instrumental version at least) as the bedrock sample for “Quality Control”. As much as I love the instrumental, I love this vocal version even more. It adds some extra horns and Reid’s lyrics and performance just knock it out of the park, especially the way he exclaims, “Masterpiece!” throughout the song. This one is a legit $50-100 record, but I scored it for $3 at Records LA.
If “Masterpiece” sounds the best of these four, “Campbell Lock” is probably in the worst condition, especially on the vocal version. I thought about posting the instrumental version, but I love the vocal version so much I had to run with it, even with the mild distortion in addition to the scratchiness. I was super stoked to come across this one at Bagatelle, super deflated when I actually got it out of its sleeve and on a turntable, but for $1 I couldn’t pass on this one. Don “Soul Train” Campbell is so named because he was on Soul Train in the early 1970s, and he is indeed one of the original Poppers/Lockers from out her in Los Angeles. Classic tune from a legendary dancer.
I’m really fond of mid-1960s soul instrumentals, “Twine Time” being one of the best of those post “Green Onions” tracks to hit the soul charts before things got real funky in 1967/1968. Aside from the “Ooh-Aah’s” of the opening, it’s that slinky rhythm with just a bit of “Tramp” in it and those boss horns that make this one such a winner. A real late night strutter of a track for sure. This one was in such sorry shape I actually got it for free from Bagatelle. I stay on the lookout for a clean copy of this one, if nothing more so I can hear the handclaps and finger snaps a bit clearer, but at the same time I like how this copy sounds almost as gritty as the actual song.
James Brown penned and Hank Ballard performed, “Blackenized” is a serious call (though delivered mostly tongue-in-cheek) for Black people to get their self-respecting act together over a seriously mellow groove. Despite the condition there was no way I could pass this one up, especially since it ended up costing me only $1. By far my favorite line is one of the closers, “you don’t have to be like an Oreo cookie brother, black on the outside and white on the inside,” if only cause I had no idea “Oreo” went all the way back to the 1960s. I figured it had to have come out of the post-Cosby show 1980s. Thinking about these lyrics, I wish someone had the guts to record a track like this for the current generation who thinks “Blackness” is all about being a hyper-masculine “thug,” mainly since that’s largely the only images of Black masculinity we get in mainstream media…I could go on and on and on, on that front, but that would require me startin’ a whole ‘nuther blog folks.