November 10, 2012 - 10:46 AM
Just confirming that we will have Beatles Vinyl in stock and ready to sell on Tuesday morning at 10am.Pricing is as follows: $17.99 for single LPs and $25.99 for double LPs. We will have none of the full box sets as we only offered them for pre-order only. Customers who pre-ordered the box or individual LPs can pick up anytime after Tuesday at 10. Pricing for non-boxed LPs for those who pre-ordered are a buck less per title.
I'll also use this space to list some other recent and soon-to-be-in vinyl titles:
NOTE: I recently had a hard drive crash and lost a heap of email. If you ordered any of the titles below and have not received confirmation that your titles are in and aside, you should email me immediately. Don't call the store. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
IN STORE NOW
First solo LP by none other than former REM guitarist Peter Buck. Believe it or not, released on vinyl only by Mississippi Records (no CD or download available anywhere) & it gets weirder. This LP was cut pure analogue - straight from tape to disc. A real old fashioned freak out record filled with Stooges like crunchy guitar riffs, strange atmospheric sounds, far out dark lyrics & some catchy pop hooks here and there. Peter & various friends you've probably heard of, gathered at Type Foundry Studio in Portland and laid out this record fast and furious. A real madcap journey of a record put together with nothing but love and a sense of immediacy. Peter and friends are taking things back to a simpler time when you could walk down to your local record shop/label & say, "Hey, check out my new record...you wanna put it out?" Mississippi said, "Sure!" Straight from the heart - here 'tis. Limited to 2000 world-wide and not to be missed. At present, I think Vortex is the only store in the city with this title. Other shops will have it soon, but they won't be as cheap as us at just $16.99.
Collage-crazed psychedelic pop insanity from everyone's favorite SF-based wiz kid. Originally released as a cassette tape in an edition of 100 in 2010. Finally on viny! Remastered by Brian Pyle. Released in 2011--I managed to find one of these last year for a birthday gift for one of the staff and recently tracked down the last eight copies that the label had. This is an extremely limited pressing of 450. I haven't seen these elsewhere in the city so am not sure if we're the only ones who found these or not. I think we're down to four as I write this and of course we don't expect to find any more. One sold on eBay last year for us$63. Just $15 from us.
This has actually been out a while -- we had some a year or two ago but I managed to find them for a better price. Just $15.99. A major archival discovery, taped March 24, 1963 for a Milwaukee, Wisconsin radio program, later the same day that the seminal Blues, Rags & Hollers LP by Koerner, Ray & Glover was created. Spider John Koerner is the man who first introduced a young Bob Dylan to the 12-string guitar, a bona fide legend who is acknowledged as an influence by artists as diverse as John Lennon, Beck, The Doors, David Bowie & Dylan himself. Nearly 50 years ago, Paul Nelson, writing in the Little Sandy Review and Sing Out respectively, said that "Koerner's art is like Chaplin's, as great and lasting as it is entertaining," while calling him "the most innovatively brilliant acoustic blues musician of his generation." Tip-on sleeves, pressed on 180 gram vinyl at RTI.
Near the end of his life, Hasil Adkins met Amy Krueger. They fell in love. Hasil wrote a bunch of songs for Amy, and recorded them at home in West Virginia. He sent them to Amy. Amy promised him that they would get released someday. It took a while after Hasil's death before Amy felt emotionally equipped to deal with the project but here, at last, is the album. The wild Hasil we all know and love is here, but much of this album reveals Hasil at his most soulful and tender, like you have never heard him before. You think you know Hasil Adkins, but you might be wrong. This stands proudly next to "Out To Hunch" as Hasil's finest (half) hour. Includes a 24 page full color illustrated book by Amy Krueger. Old school "tip on" cover. Compare our $15.99 to other shops.
Mahmoud Ahmed's first LP reissued on vinyl for the first time. Early hypnotic heavy songs by one of Ethiopia's greatest artists. Mahmouds voice is one of the most powerful in the world & on this LP, it is in full force. A true masterpiece. Part two in our series of LP's of material culled from the monumental Ethiopiques CD series. Old school "tip on" cover.
Absolutely killer compilation of Ethiopian R&B from the golden age of Ethiopian music. Classic performances by Lemma Demissew, Tlahoun Gessesse, Sefu Yohannes, Bahta Gebre Heywet, Teshome Meteku, Mahmoud Ahmed & Alemeyahu Eshete. All songs never reissued on vinyl before. A nonstop party record that we can recommend without any reservations. The 3rd LP in Mississippi's continuing series of releases culled from the monumental Ethiopiques series.
Very austere and intense gospel performances culled from very small label 7"s. Lo-fi guitar based recordings from the 1960's & 1970's that will put the hairs on the back of your neck on end. No holds bared songs that tackle the meat of the matter only - birth, love & death. Gospel music that speaks of the human condition in a way that Christians and secular folks can get behind. Old school "tip on" cover.
Beautiful field recording compilation of guitar music from the Western Sahel. A wide spectrum of styles is covered here in stripped down variations of regional styles ranging from the deep acoustic ballads and nostalgic folk songs to Western pop cover songs. Street musicians and professional stage bands are featured in intimate and informal sessions in village houses or around desert campfires, complete with the occasional car horn or motorcycle rumble in the distance. Highlights of over three years of field recordings, includes a full color booklet with many photos and liner notes by Christopher Kirkley. Old school "tip on" cover. A co-release between Mississippi and the Sahel Sounds label.
Unbelievably great Hurley recordings from 1964... never before heard. Recorded by Fred Ramsey as part of the same sessions that resulted in Michael's "First Songs" LP on Folkways. Side A starts with "What'll You Say, What'll You Do", a pretty psychedelic classic that can very well put you into some kinda trance. After that we hear "The Blues Comes Around" - a sad drifty little tune, then "Little Girl On Roller Skates" with a rare Hurley harmonica solo & hallicinatory lyrics worthy of some examination & then a beautiful alternate take on one of Michael's all time greats - "The Tea Song" Side B starts up with yet more alternate takes of songs from the Folkways LP - this time of "Intersolar blues" & "I Like My Wine". After that we get to hear two great compositions for the first time, & man oh man are they pretty - "Hey Hey Hey Hey" & "I Love You Babe". Real great stuff all around that we recommend for deep into it Hurley fans & newcomers to his art alike. Michael Hurley is a great American song writer with his own unique way of seeing the world & this LP is a great testament to his vision. Faux folkways wraparound cover with liner note insert by Hurley himself. Co-release of Mississippi and Nero's Neptune.
A most unusual & stunning album. Tsege Mariam Gebru is an Ethiopian nun who has dedicated her life to helping others. She has been composing & playing music on the piano since the 1960's. Her music is a unique mix of Western classical music in the vein of Erik Satie, Ethiopian music & Religious Christian meditation music. On this reissue of her first LP, originally released in Germany in a very small pressing, we find Tsege Mariam Gebru playing her own compositions solo on piano. She plays with restrained grace & purity. The record invites repeated listening well & is filled with spiritual warmth. The first in a series of records Mississippi will be releasing with music culled from the monumental Ethiopiques CD series. Old school "tip on" cover.
I love this track:
A full LP of killer spectral instrumental material (organ and electric guitar) by your favorite bearded, genre-defying badass. 2010 release, limited to 450 – last copies here at Vortex. This will go incredibly fast. Who is Richard Bishop?
COMING SOON
Tuareg guitar from Northern Mali by Kidal's hometown band. A different side of desert blues with high energy gritty guitar sessions that are popular favorites. Recorded at a local studio in 2008 during the last uprising, the music is very poignant as the North has again fallen into rebellion and the band is scattered in exile. The title translates as "Peace". Includes detailed liner notes in Tifinagh. A split release from Mississippi and Sahel Sounds.
With the western world's recent access to the Ethiopian music of the 1970's, the focus has been almost solely on the Amhara music of Addis Ababa. The Oromo people, the largest ethnic group, hasn't been equally represented. Ali Birra, the biggest Oromo star and a hero to his people was so beloved that he did break into the Amhara dominated record market. Learning how to play the guitar using the tuning for an oud, the sound is as much Arabic as Ethiopian. After two years singing in the Imperial Body Guard Band alongside Mahmoud Ahmed and Tilahun Gessesse, and a brief hiatus from music, he made these recordings backed up by the Aduu Birra Band. With a prevalent joy and catchy sing along style, Ali sings songs of love, misery, and beating the oppressor. Comes with liner notes and translations of the lyrics from Oromo to English, housed in a tip-on sleeve. A co-release of Domino Sound and Mississippi/Little Axe.
Twelve songs by amazing Texas blues songster Henry Thomas. Thomas recorded a couple dozen sides between 1927-29 often accompanying himself on the quills, a pan flute sounding instrument. A traveling musician with an older style than many of the country blues musicians recorded in the 20s. Includes his classic numbers "Fishing Blues", "Railroadin Some", "Honey, Won't You Allow Me One More Chance" the beautiful gospel number "Jonah in the Wilderness" and many more. Here's the title track:
Various Artists - Wedding Songs
Originally released on Philips Ethiopia in 1973, this seemingly impossible to find LP is available once again to the lucky humans of the world. With a mix of modern and traditional instruments these fourteen songs go through the progression of an Ethiopian Amhara wedding sung in Amharic. With the trio of singers, Lemma G. Hiwot, Zenebech Tesfaye, and Selamawit G. Selassie, alternating turns at the microphone, and sharing call and response duties, a relentless frenzy of hand clapping incites dancing and smiles. The consumption of tedj (honeywine) and the swirling love of a wedding was captured in the studio with euphoric energy to take away to play over and over again when the festivities are over. With hand screened covers and an insert of wedding photos accompanying the liner notes, this is the next best thing to an invitation to the real thing. A co-release from Mississippi and Mitmitta Musika of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia.
Hailing from northern Senegal, "Lewlewal de Podor" is a Pulaar guitar centric band that draws from the folk stylings of Fouta Toro. Featured on last year's compilation Ishilan n-Tenere, their first ever full length ranges from mellow acoustic jam sessions to electrified hip shaking concerts. Recorded by Christopher Kirkley. Comes with booklet and portrait studio photo. Old school "tip-on" cover. Co-release from Mississippi and Sahel Sounds.
Roy Montgomery - Music from the film Hey Badfinger - 12" full length
23 short and moody narratives, reminiscent of Carlos Paredes. Solo guitar music and loops from recordings he rediscovered/revisited several years ago. We've talked about how he feels they can't be altered, need to exist as they were in that time, in a skeleton form, a collection of fragments. A galaxy, or a sketch book; they belong all together.
Dadamah (Kim Pieters, Janine Stagg, Peter Stapleton, Roy Montgomery) - Violet Stains Red 7".
Two unreleased tracks from Dadamah recorded in the early 90's. Beautiful murky vocals from Kim and Roy, bleak jangly bursts of guitar and droning organ/synth. On red and purple vinyl.
Grouper's A|A records and her Cover the Windows and the Walls are being repressed (third pressing for each) so we'll have those back in stock soon. Also, a curation series called Filip made a new Grouper record called SLEEP (fragment) which is an excerpt from a recording called Violet Replacement I, a tour cdr from a little bit ago. We'll have a few copies of this as well, more than likely the only copies in Toronto though I haven't confirmed this yet. I believe the pressing is limited to 700 and it's probably a one-time thing.
All Entries
Vortex. 2309 Yonge Street. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. M4P 2C6. 416-483-7437
All content © 2010.
All content © 2010.