Nina Simone, Baltimore, 1978 on CTI

The inimitable Nina Simone recorded in Brussels in January 1978 – her first and only record with CTI (Creed Taylor Inc). Apparently she and Creed Taylor did not find good creative collaboration and she disclaimed any choice of material or creative control.

“Baltimore” is the Randy Newman song from Little Criminals. Quincy Jones’ version of “Everything Must Change” was on Body Heat. The most surprising perhaps is “Rich Girl” – as in the Hall & Oates track from Bigger Than Both Of Us.

My copy is the Vinyl Me, Please reissue from 2024 on red marble vinyl, cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling and pressed at GZ Media.

Katie Webster, The Swamp Boogie Queen, 1988 on Alligator Records

Webster started out as a session musician behind lots of Louisiana artists but then came back as a solo artist in the 1980s. This was her first album as a leader with distribution in the US on Alligator Records.

Guests include The Memphis Horns, Kim Wilson, Robert Cray, and Bonnie Raitt. Great album.

My copy is the 2025 Vinyl Me Please reissue cut by Ryan Smith at Sterling and pressed at GZ Media.

The Replacements, Not Ready for Prime Time, 2024 on Sire/Rhino

Full title is “Not Ready for Prime Time: Live at the Cabaret Metro, 1986.” This was previously available as part of the Tim (Let It Bleed Edition) CD set that came out in 2023, but was reissued on vinyl as a limited edition for Record Store Day 2024.

Recorded live at the Cabaret Metro (now just called Metro) in Chicago on January 11th, 1986. That’s just a week before they appeared on SNL—a performance that got them the lifetime ban.

Great live set going back to classics like “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out” but also Tim songs like “Kiss Me On The Bus.” Liner notes by Bob Mehr, the author of Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements.

My copy via Down In The Valley in Golden Valley MN, pressed at GZ Media.

The Cure, Faith, 1981 on Fiction

The Cure’s third full length, between Seventeen Seconds and Pornography, released in 1981 on Fiction records in the UK, and later in the US on Elektra in 1988.

I had this on some form of import – likely a friend made an illegal cassette copy for me – in the mid 80s, but was happy to pick up this 2016 Rhino reissue on 180g vinyl, pressed at GZ Media, which sounds great.

#1980s #1981 #fiction #GZMedia #Reissue #Rhino #TheCure #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds

Bauhaus, Mask, 1981 on Beggars Banquet

Second studio album from Bauhaus and their first on Beggars Banquet (In The Flat Field was on 4AD), with a cover drawn by Daniel Ash, across a gatefold and on the labels.

The first five Bauhaus records are are perfect – as is the singles collection 1979-1983 and most of the bands that followed in the Bauhaus diaspora (Dali’s Car, Love and Rockets, and Tones on Tail).

My copy—via A1 Records in NYC—is the 2023 reissue pressed at GZ Media.

#1980s #1981 #A1Records #Bauhaus #BeggarsBanquet #DanielAsh #DavidJay #GZMedia #KevinHaskins #NYC #PeterMurphy #Reissue #vinyl #vinylcollection #vinylfinds