Today's Albuquerque Record Convention

Today, another of the bi-annual record conventions was held in Albuquerque, and I think I did pretty well. I've been going to these pretty consistently for the last 3 years. A lot of the sellers are the same, but there are always new people that bring some good records. This time I felt like I'm going to grow out of this convention, as my collection is growing and there isn't a whole lot of common stuff I'm really searching for anymore. Anyway, I'm still happy with what I picked up, which for the all that is in the picks below, set me back about $140. In addition to what I have pictures of, I also grabbed 4 45's, 3 from Albert King and one from B.B. King for $1, a reissue copy of Mingus' Black Saint and the Sinner Lady for a friend, and a dealer gave me a free 10" 16rpm record that I have no idea what I will do with. 

This time around, I didn't smell anybody, which I was happy about (although I have really bad allergies right now and can't breathe that well through my nose). The last few times, there have been a few really smelly guys that reeked of cat urine. 

Every convention there is this older lady that keeps a Cabbage Patch doll in a strap-on baby carrier on her chest. She was here again, I think she is married to a dealer, and I heard plenty of other dealers gossiping about this woman. No one seems to know why she carries the Cabbage Patch doll, I think next time I will ask her.

I also heard some people saying the local Krazy Kat Records store was condemned by the city. I'm not sure if that is really true, but I don't feel that sad about it. On the one hand, its sad to lose a local record store, but on the other, the owners of this shop were gross, seemed to be engaging in shady activities, and consistently overcharged for many of their records.

On to today's finds:

John Coltrane-Coltrane's Sound

Return to Forever-Where Have I Seen You Before

John Coltrane-Mating Call

Sonny Rollins-Worktime

Duke Ellington-Money Jungle

Herbie Hancock-Blow Up Soundtrack

Sun Ra-Sound of Joy

Jimmy McGriff - Red Beans

The Deuce Coupes-The Shutdowns (a split? maybe...)

The Bob Seger System-Mongrel

The Royal Guardsmen-Snoopy vs the Red Baron

The Frost-Frost Music

Al Green - Let's Stay Together

Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Club

Otis Redding - Live in Europe

Marvin Gaye- What's Going On
Sodom - In the Sign of Evil

Satan-Into the Future

Warfare - Total Death ep

Exciter - feel the knife

Jughead's Revenge - Unstuck in time

Speed Kills - (V/A speed metal comp)

Exciter-Heavy Metal Maniac

Exodus - Pleasures of the Flesh

Death Angel - Ultra-Violence

Hot Roddin'

Here are two records from Crown Records: The Winners-Checkered Flag, and The Hot Rodders-Big Hot Rod. Both of these records were picked out by my wife at the most recent Albuquerque Record Show held on September 28th. 

Here's some info on Crown Records courtesy of Both Sides Now (more here):

Crown Records was a budget label for the Bahari Brothers, who ran Modern and RPM labels. It started in 1957 and continued for about a dozen years, earning itself the reputation of the king of the junk record labels. Aside from endlessly reissuing the legitimate hits that were on Modern and RPM, and the B.B. King material, what Crown had to offer was musical junk food on plastic plates. The covers and the vinyl were cheaply made, fell apart almost instantly, and the records sounded worn out right out of the package. 

Neither my wife or I had any idea what these records were, they were picked up on a whim, but it generally was a good choice. Another seller actually had the same records for sale but they were completely trashed, these are in great condition keeping in mind the low quality of the records on this label. While the records we found are in great shape, the covers are exceptionally thin and the vinyl has a number of pressing flaws in the form of dimples that don't affect play. I couldn't find any information on either of these Hot Rod bands, but my (somewhat uneducated) guess is they were studio creations put together by the label in the early 60s. Nevertheless, both bands are fairly decent, garage-style rock and roll with sax, dubbed in race car sounds, and lyrics about cars.