Rajah That's What's Com'n Rajah Records 1990

Rajah That's What's Com'n Rajah Records 1990 NO CAT#

First look at this and you see the crudely drawn KC skyline so you know it's local, then it just becomes figuring out what it is. Given Rajah's front cover photo, I initially though modern soul, here's a lady trying to show off her pipes. But, review of the backside, she's wearing a hair-net and indicates that her EP features the Strickly Deaf Posse. Turn back over to the front-side and now it seems she may be trying to evoke the B-Girl style with that hat, so it might be hip-hop.

Either way, it's got the possibility of being really bad or really good. Taking out the record you'll see it's from 1990, which is late-era vinyl and a time when modern soul was basically done, it's got to be hip-hop still stuck in the 80's. Review of the backside you'll see that Rajah states, "This album is dedicated to My Heavenly Father for whom my life will reflect his greatness." Now it could be really bad religious hip-hop or stuck in a time loop modern soul and religious. It's also obvious that Rajah failed horribly if she intended this to be an album, it's 2 songs with an instrumental version added of the title track. Without actually listening to it, things are stating to sound horrible.

That's a hair net, right?

Listening to it, it's not religious, it's a hip-hop/soul hybrid sound that was trying to gain a foothold in the late-80s and early 90's. The title track is actually titled, "Good Lov'n That's What's Com'n", which apparently couldn't fit on the front cover finds Rajah switching between rapping and singing throughout. She's speaking to her targeted man talking about how she'll be the best woman for him. Yet to be mentioned is that her name, Rajah, is almost hidden on the front and the back. To get the artist name, you have to rely on the production and producer credits as the scribble signature on the front and the label are hard to decipher. As a lame trademark, Rajah, samples a terribly obvious Middle-Eastern chord progression, the same you hear in any movie soundtrack that has a Middle Eastern scene, whether that be Disney's Aladdin or Raiders of the Lost Ark, it's that hokey snake charmer theme.

The second side features an unneeded instrumental of "Good Lov'n That's What's Com'n", although it features the rap verses. The second track, "We Don't Know How It Happend", is lover's lament sappiness. The title is kind of clever though with the misspelling of Happened being Happend. But, the track is pretty much garbage, slow moving plastic beats with Rajah crying over a break-up.

Bloodbirds Psych Surgery Private 2013

Bloodbirds Psych Surgery Private 2013 CAT# BB001

I'm not hip and if I was, I'd probably have seen this band a dozen times and have a lot more to say. Instead, I have my lame-ass story of finally tracking down a copy of this LP.

Years ago I was at Zebedees (before it moved and became something else), I asked the owner if he was into anything local and he grabbed his last copy of this Bloodbirds' release and said, "These guys played the KC Psych Fest and blew everyone away." It did look cool, but the S/T Berwanger LP was sitting there as well and I weighed my options and thought Berwanger's release is going to disappear before this small KC psych band is.

Man, was I wrong. That was literally the only time I saw a copy of it. I did search for it, I was interested seeing if the gloating reviews from Zebedees were true. I just never saw it around town. The band did a limited run of the LPs, something to the number of 500 and I guess everyone is hanging onto theirs. Eventually, the LP showed up on Discogs from a guy in North Carolina and I grabbed it, just glad the band's popularity is still within KC because it was reasonably priced.

It's a solid LP. Psych rock isn't a bad term, garage rock would fit as well. They obviously have classic rock influences, but don't have the classic rock studios their heroes had. The Bloodbirds are three piece and to fill out their sound, guitarist Mike Tuley layers guitars throughout the recordings. It's a lot of guitar. His classic rock hooks and indie-rock production make it feel like an early Dinosaur Jr. LP. It's a solid LP and I can get why it's nowhere to be found currently.

Psychic Surgery

Stan Kenton The Ballad Style of Stan Kenton Capitol 1958

Stan Kenton The Ballad Style of Stan Kenton Capitol 1958 CAT# T1068

This album is a nice set of slow-moving, romantic ballads Kenton arranged. It's nice and all, but I find it hard to believe anyone cares about this album anymore. Unless you're playing it a swanky dinner party, someone MIGHT say, "This music is nice," and that'd be your extent of anyone caring about Kenton, anymore.

Truth is, I only bought it because Kenton is a Wichita, KS, native and the price. Check that out, 49 cents and buy one get one free. I got it for a quarter. For a quarter, I'm cool with having some square Wichita jazzman's LP that only listen for the sole purpose of this blog, then shelve it and never pull it out again.

The Night We Called It a Day

Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls ECM 1981

Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls ECM 1981 CAT# ECM 1-1190

Lee's Summit native Pat Metheny made a lot of albums, with a lot of different people. This one is supposed to be pretty good. Listening to it, it sounds dreamy, there's elements of prog-rock mixed in, but I'd rather talk about something else.

My dad gave me this album. Not because he's a Metheny fan or anything, just because he hordes records and came across this one. Years ago, my dad was decorating his garage with vintage things. Just random stuff he'd come across on Craigslist. For Father's Day or his birthday (can't remember which) I gave him a stack of LPs and an old Fisher Studio Standard turntable I had lying around, just to fit the vintage motif in his garage and because I didn't want to go anywhere I try to buy a present.

My father grew up in a time when vinyl was king. I remember growing up with my parents playing albums pulled from there Peaches wood crate that set next to a Sony stereo system. However, as my parents got older and moved from place to place, the stereo stopped being a part of household and my dad started tuning into talk radio instead of the local classic rock station. Point is, giving him a record player and some albums wasn't introducing him to anything new. Rather, it was giving him back something from his past.

I didn't really think giving him a turntable would be any sort of problem. I just thought he'd play the old albums he still had, maybe buy a few that he lost along the years, but mostly, I thought the turntable would just be a conversation starter in his garage/man-cave. What happened is that my dad went full tilt on records. He moved his man-cave to the basement and it became nothing but records and turntables. Every time I came over, more records would be there, another receiver or another turntable. He started trying make it a lifestyle, buying tee shirts related to vinyl and turntables. Texting me about finds and "digs". He got to know other area collectors by going to Estate sales and stores.

At first, I didn't mind, I'd thumb through his new stuff, he'd grab local stuff for me when he saw it. But anymore, it's a bit too much, I can't keep up. There's also the annoyance of him thinking it's "cool." Similar to a millennial bragging about a bullshit Ryan Adams LP sounding great on a Crosley turntable, he began to think of the hobby as cool, something unique to him. Vinyl isn't inherently cool. And, collecting vinyl is anything but cool. It's a nerdy hobby. It used to be filled with weird old guys it sweatpants that loved to talk about Elvis Presley, which is anything but cool. Sure, there's a revival. However, despite the revival, it doesn't make an obsessive vinyl collector with a Rush t-shirt anymore attractive or cool.

Regardless of hipness, one thing that is true for most new collectors is that he or she gets a bit value-obsessed. The question, "What's it worth?", becomes a huge part of the vocabulary. This was most certainly true of my dad, although, I think he's slowed down on that aspect. This record came to me at his height of what's-it-worth-syndrome. At his job, he has access to some sort of cellophane wrapper and he was using it to re-seal old LPs. When I first asked, he described it as an easy way to preserve albums. To which I'd reply, shrink wrap isn't a good way to store records, it's a only a good way to warp them as the shrink does what the name implies, it shrinks over time and puts pressure on the record eventually warping it if you don't break the seal. However, it became apparent that it wasn't really about preserving them, it was an attempt to elevate the value.

The first time he showed me this record, he bragged about it's sealed condition. And if that were correct, yeah, it's true, mint condition Pat Metheny albums do hold some value to nerdy audiophiles. However, when I looked at it, it was painfully obvious it wasn't an original seal. The wrap it was thin and not typical. But, the dead giveaway was the water-stains along the spine. I didn't have the heart to call him out, just said, "Yeah, that's cool."

He probably tried to trade this off and couldn't and that's probably good because I don't see a bunch of re-sealed LPs at his house anymore. It's a shady practice and most people see through it. Eventually, he gave this LP to me, still re-sealed. I opened it up, thinking maybe it is legit, but no. It's got scuffs, it's got signs of usage, it's not mint. It still plays nice and all, I'm just saying, the weird re-sealing thing could have really pissed someone off if he sold it on eBay. And, it's weird, right?

Kevin Morby Singing Saw Dead Oceans 2016

Kevin Morby Singing Saw Dead Oceans 2016 CAT #DOC111

Kevin Morby is this kid from Kansas who's creating his own Dylan mythology. Yeah, big words, but that's what he's done up to this point. Apparently, with very few people taking notice he grew up in Overland Park, KS and dropped out of Blue Valley Northwest High School. He obtained his GED and left for New York.

In New York worked in restaurants and being a bike courier. He helped create the experimental folk group, the Woods, as the bassist. He also created his own side project with Cassie Ramone of the Vivian Girls called the Babies, putting out two albums. By 2013, he began his career as a solo artist releasing Harlem River. He's since moved to Los Angeles.

Singing Saw is his most recent and third release. Between it and Harlem River was the album Still Life released in 2014. His first two albums are satisfying experimental folk and brought him critical attention, but both are a bit wobbly, close, but not quite realized. Singing Saw nails things down.

Morby's voice draws a lot Dylan comparisons, he mumbles and groans over his melodies. However, he's not a complete folkie, he likes to try a lot of everything. Best comparison to an area artist would be Gene Clark. Morby's music is a melting pot of American music, with heavy nods to Dylan, but stepping so far out into space that it's best called American Cosmic. Singing Saw is filled with amazing moments and no tracks you'd want to skip. It's surprising this kid has anything to do with Overland Park.

Dorothy (Video)

John Bayley Minstrel of the Morning... Lifetime Records 1976

John Bayley Minstrel of the Morning... Lifetime Records 1976 CAT# 2001

When I first found this I sent a photo to a friend who stated, "That cover is a constant source of conversation and inspiration." The same LP sits among some other framed LPs my friend has displayed. Looking at it, how could it not want to start a conversation? There's just so much going on in this cover. Where to even start? Is that a living room? Where'd you get that sweet tiger? What's up with the white lady and her kid? Is that John Bayley's girlfriend/wife? And dude, where did you score the killer threads?

The backside notes indicate Bayley was heavily influenced by the Jesus Music scene of the 70s, or trying to fit into it. However, the tunes are fairly secular, unless you group songs about "love" into a religious setting. Even when Bayley tries to be religious, it's a bit off. The song "It's Good To See You," states, "I've laid a thousand women, but come back to see you." So he tries to find the Jesus scene, but you can tell, the dude just likes to write tunes.

And, his tunes are a bit all over the place. If it had to be labeled, outsider folk would be the best term. However, there's elements of Indian music, jazz, singer/songwriter, rock, and a lot of reggae floating throughout. It's an interesting work and far better than most "outsider folk" private albums you'd come across. There's a fair amount of experimentation throughout the LP. Also clever, Bayley filled out the sound remarkably well with only a few players. He plays a host of guitars and does his own lead and background vocals. There's limited synth, but he found some guys to do some violins and wind instruments in addition to recording with a drummer.

The LP was also recorded in the Cavern in Independence, Missouri. Lifetime Records (Bayley's private label) shows an Independence as well, but could just as easily be a Kansas City guy. If you YouTube him, you'll find he's channeling George Clinton's fashion sense and playing experimental gospel music over in Colorado now-a-days.

Going Home Alone

Gene Clark White Light A&M 1971

Gene Clark White Light A&M 1971 CAT# SP4292

The Bonner Springs graduate, Gene Clark, put out this, which is simply, one of the best American singer/songwriter efforts ever put out.

If Clark was only architect of the Byrds' sound and quit after creating highly influential country rock with Missouri natives, the Dillards, he'd have a pretty substantial legacy. But, White Light's blend of sparse country and cosmic folk put him into place. Masterwork type stuff.

The album jacket and the actual record never state that the album is called White Light, but it was released under the title. It's fitting as the album sold poorly and is rather hard to track down now, the title just kind of screams that it should be obscure. It was recorded while Clark was still trying to find himself in L.A. almost 5 years after he left the Byrds. There is an impressive list of players featured on the LP, all of which play as if they shared Clark's vision, the album should have been a bigger deal upon it's original release.

White Light