The Corries "Live At The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh" 1971***

When I visit a foreign city I always return with a few records indicative of the local scene, mostly rock. This wasn't the case with Edinburgh and Scotland, because there's nothing particularly Scottish about, say, The Waterboys, Deacon Blue or Belle & Sebastian. Maybe you can say that about The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, because of the singer's accent. In any case, I already had all that and more, so I settled for a CD of modernized bagpipe music (The Red Hot Chili Pipers - not Peppers, get it?) and I also picked up a random LP by The Corries who I knew to be the Scottish equivalent of The Dubliners. I chose it just because it had the word Edinburgh on the title, but I guess you can't go wrong with a traditional band like that. I say band although they're just a duo, Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne - I guess if you can call The White Stripes a band, then any duo can legitimately claim the same title. The music is mostly acoustic ballads, with voices and guitars occasionally embellished by harmonica, whistle, mandolin and other instruments. The album begins with a rousing rebel tune played on 2 bodhráns (Celtic hand drums). "Wha Wadna Fecht For Charlie" is a Jacobite martial song, urging the clans to support the claim of Charles Stuart (known in Scotland as Bonnie Prince Charlie) to the English and Scottish thrones. The Jacobite uprising was eventually crushed 300 years ago, but not forgotten it seems. Not by The Corries nor by the current pro-independence Scottish parliament. The English prefer to forget about it, but the conflict is immortalized in the British national anthem which was written around that time and whose second verse goes "...May he sedition hush/and like a torrent rush/Rebellious Scots to crush/God save King". "Liberty" is a beautiful rebel ballad, while another sturdy 18th Century anthem "Ye Jacobites By Name" displays a pacifist sentiment. Don't get the impression that it's a serious academic or political thing though. There's also joking, hilarity and humorous folk ditties like "Side By Side" and "Abigail". Many songs were already familiar to me from The Dubliners, and are presented here in not-too-dissimilar versions: "The Old Triangle", "Tramps And Hawkers" and "Maids When You're Young". The two bands were of the same time, there's no point trying to figure out who sang what first, after all it's traditional material. The sea shanty "Lowlands Away" is presaged by a lively jig on tin whistle. There are also some atmospheric ballads like "Dream Angus" (a lullaby) and "The Great Silkie", about a mythical mermaid-like creature of Scottish lore. "Lyceum Blues" is a humorous Brit blues cliché-mocking song with bluesy harmonica. The record ends on a high note with the jokey "Maids When You're Young" and another traditional Jacobite song "Bonny Dundee" - the crowd joins in clapping and singing along, and everyone seems to be having a good time. The album is a good representation of the band's live act, jokes and all, and the performances are good, but I guess a studio collection might have made for a better introduction. It is available on CD as a two-for-one together with "Sound the Pibroch"(1972), but there also seem to be enough original vinyl copies around for those who are interested...

**** for Wha Wadna Fecht For Charlie, Liberty, Ye Jacobites By Name, Lowlands Away, Bonny Dundee

*** for Tramps And Hawkers, The Great Silkie, Lyceum Blues, The Old Triangle, Dream Angus, Maids When You're Young

** for Side By Side, Abigail

The Record Shop Tour of Edinburgh

I spent recently a few days in Edinburgh, and have only good things to say about it. Gorgeous city, beautiful Gothic buildings emanating history and an ambiance of mystery - it's not surprising that so many novelists of the mysterious and fantastic come from here: From classics like Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle to modern bestsellers Ian Rankin and J.K. Rowling - the latter may not come from Edinburgh but wrote the first Harry Potter novel while living there and incorporated many features of the city in her writings. The books' phenomenal success saw them in turn become an Edinburgh feature, as evident by the abundance of Harry Potter souvenirs on sale everywhere in the city. The local pubs were great, and so was the food: we ate, among other delicacies, haggis (with neeps and tatties), sausages and mash, mac and cheese, and pies filled with venison/stake & ale stew/fish/anything else you can imagine (including of course haggis, neeps and tatties). Still regret not getting to the bottom of mum's comfort food menu, but I intend to try on a later visit. Of course, like good tourists we took a couple of guided tours: the city history tour and the ghost tour. Maybe because the size of the city permits it, there is a plethora of walking tours to choose from: the underground tour, the literary tour, city of the dead tour, the Outlander tour etc. One thing's still missing though: it's the Edinburgh Record Stores tour, so let me be your guide: Seeing as the record shops are scattered throughout the city and not all within a 10 minute radius from the touristic Royal Mile, you may want to split your walk and combine it with visiting other sites. I split it in three parts, roughly 2 hours average, depending of course on how long you'll spend browsing.

DAY ONE: Right on The Royal Mile (the road to Holyrood Palace) on 110 Canongate Str, you'll find Unknown Pleasures - subtitled "rare records and cd's" but not as exclusive as the title implies. It's a medium-to-small-sized shop with a nevertheless good selection of LP's (mostly £7-20, more for the actually rare ones), 7' singles, T-shirts and CD's (£4-8). Near the university, and to the south, there's Backbeat Records (31 E Crosscauseway, just off Nicolson Street). It's packed to the top with boxes, which makes browsing impossible. Apparently the owner is much admired for his ability to produce any record you ask for out of the chaos of his store, which is exactly what I don't want when I'm record hunting. I like to be surprised by discovering unexpected gems while browsing, as well as finding a nice bargain: after 30 years of record collecting, I've learned that you can find anything for the right price, and I don't mean the one listed on Record Collector's Rare Record Price Guide, the book which the Backbeat owner uses. He told me that if I wanted bargains I'd have to "search the charity shops", which I did: within a few meters from his shop, I found a Barnardo's (45 Clerk Street) Oxfam, (116 Nicolson Str) and British Heart Foundation (102 Nicolson Str). Not much in the way of vinyl, but a random selection of cheap CD's for £1-3 - including many 4* or 5* albums from the 90's and 00's. I bought a few from that specific Bernardo's (UK's biggest charity for children). We have charity shops in Holland (they're called kringloopwinkels) but in Edinburgh there's literally one in every corner - not to mention that almost every establishment we visited (from hotels to cafes) seemed to promote another charity. If I ever get to heaven, I expect to find it choke-full of Scottish philanthropists. Further down Clerk Street (on number 69) you can find Record Shak. It has a run-down appearance, packed with LP's that seem to be lying there for decades (folk, rock, jazz, indie, a bit of everything really, mostly £7-15). Good stuff though, including some CD's and even cassettes.

DAY TWO: On the second day I started once again from my base in the Royal Mile and hit the closest shops: Underground Solu’shn on Cockburn Str is a really nice one. Its focus is in electronic music which isn't my cup of tea, but it also has some interesting rock and indie LP's.  Most CD's and LP's were priced £10-20. A few steps to the West (12 Bank Str.) you can find Coda Music. The shop has two rooms, of which the front one is dedicated to new vinyl (all kinds: rock, indie, blues etc, £15-25) and general CD's (many on offer £4-5) and the back one is full of folk CD's (mostly £7-12). Everything is here: Scottish folk obviously, but also Irish, European, Country, and World music. From there, one passes Princes Street Gardens (A.K.A. the former Nor Loch, liquid grave to the city's witches) to cross to the new city. On 3-15 Rose Street, right behind Princes Str, there's Edinburgh's Fopp. Fopp is a record store chain of the HMV family, I had earlier visited the one in London and knew what to expect: this large shop has a big variety on new LPs (£15-25) and CDs (many on sale for £5, the rest generally also rather logically priced). Also many offers on DVD's and books (music, fiction and non-fiction, small variety but good titles priced 2-for-£5).

Moving outwards from the city center, on 21 St Stephen Str, you'll find Vox Box. A small-ish shop with a good vibe and a mix of new (£18-25) and used (£5-15) records. Rock, Indie, Punk etc. The back room allegedly hosts non-crappy cheap vinyl (around £1,5) but it was closed when I visited. A bit further down on 64 Raeburn Pl. there's another Oxfam shop, this time one dedicated to books and music. LP's fall into three categories: cheap (not necessarily crap, but zero collecting value) £1-2, general £2-7 and collectibles £8-30. CD's £2-7. The median price of LP's and CD's was £4. Generally cheaper than other record stores, but don't expect to find great bargains. At least your money will be helping a good cause. On my way back to the center, I stopped at Assai Records (1 Grindlay Str), right under the feet of the castle. After all the crammed shops I visited, I liked how spacious and modern it looked. Only new vinyl (£15-20, indie, rock etc). A few bargains too, I left with a Bevis Frond LP (an older Record Store Day special reissue) for £3,99. Mind you, the second day's walk was almost twice as long as the previous, so you may want to split it more evenly.

DAY THREE: On the third day I visited a few shops on the road between the city center and the city's harbor Leith. It's a bit far from the center, but I'd certainly recommend visiting Vinyl Villains on 5 Elm Row. Nice decoration outside and cozy inside, big selection and affordable prices. Indicatively: LPs new £13-20, 2nd hand on average £4-8, a few offers £1-2. CD's mostly £3-5, max. £9. T-shirts, cassettes and 7' singles also on sale. Further up on that road, there's Elvis Shakespeare (gotta love the name!) dedicated to used books and music. At first it doesn't seem to have so many records, but that's just because they're neatly filed per genre in sliding cupboards. There are some £1 LP's and (indie) CDs. Average prices are £3-5 for CD's, £4-5 for vinyl, excluding collectibles. Last stop that day, the port of Leith. Some nice cafes and the Ocean Terminal shopping mall, which is connected to one of Edinburgh's more popular attractions, the Royal Boat Britannia. If you make it this far, it'd be a shame not to visit HMV. It may have the ambiance of a supermarket, being a remnant of the huge corporate record shops era, but it does have a big variety on CD's (£4-12, many offers for £5), DVD's and new vinyl (£15-25). If you're looking for something specific, especially on CD, chances are it'll be here.

  
Generally the UK gives me the impression of suffering from some kind of vinyl price inflation. I can't see why 2nd hand UK pressings should be more expensive in London or Edinburgh than at my local record store in Delft. The supply in UK should be larger, unless it was hit during the last decade by some kind of vinyl-eating virus which destroyed the country's reserves. Even in charity shops that give away other stuff (including CD's) dirt cheap, vinyl is relatively overpriced. Variety-wise, also, visitors from big European or American cities should not expect to find in Edinburgh more than at home - unless of course you're looking for bagpipe music. But in my experience searching always pays off, so I'd certainly suggest to take some time and visit at least a couple of these shops. You're bound to come away, as I did, with some cool souvenirs from your visit.
DISCLAIMER: The Record Shop Walking Tour Of Edinburgh Ltd. is not liable for foot blisters or empty wallets. Feel free to ameliorate or adjust the program according to your own needs on the basis of the information given. The prices are indicative and the information and photographs current as of April 22, 2018. 

Bob Dylan "Hard Rain" 1976***

With the possible exception of his '66 "Judas!" concerts, no Dylan tour has received as much attention as the 75/76 Rolling Thunder Revue. Conceived as the modern equivalent of a travelling theater troupe, it was packed with guests from the musical, thespian and literary world, high on drama and -allegedly- a unique experience of aural pleasure. One has to appreciate how high the expectations were for the audio document of the tour to really comprehend why this underwhelming live album immediately became Dylan's most derided LP. The general consensus seems to be that, by the end of the tour i.e. the time of the recording, the original euphoria had been replaced by tiredness and nerves. Dylan certainly sounds cranky, if not malicious. This contributes to a horrible version of his tender ballad "Lay Lady Lay", but fits the opening "Maggie's Farm" perfectly. It's as raucous and wild as the lyrics demand and, unfortunately, the only song in this collection featuring Mick Ronson's dynamic glam rock guitar  - the rest of the band being mostly American folkies. "One Too Many Mornings" sounds fleshier with a full band. Scarlet Rivera's violin especially is a highlight of the tour, just as it was of Dylan's contemporary LP "Desire". "Oh, Sister" is the only song from that album present here, thankfully sporting a relatively warm vocal delivery. "Stuck Inside of Mobile..." rolls along nicely in a similar pace to the original, while "I Threw It All Away" is presented in a rather lackluster version. Which leaves us the three "Blood On The Tracks" songs which give the tone for "Hard Rain". Now I know it's considered Dylan's 70's masterpiece, but I was never crazy about B.O.T.T. People consider it heart wrenching, emotionally naked, the ultimate document of a disintegrating relationship. It may be all that, but musically the songs are over-long with too many verses and kinda monotonous. Thankfully each song included here is given a different approach: "You're A Big Girl Now" has a sensitive vocal with beautiful and poignant instrumental playing, while "Shelter from the Storm" is sped-up and transformed into a rocker sung with conviction and passion. The closing "Idiot Wind" seems to be most people's favorite, Dylan spitting his words as viciously as the song's acerbic lyrics command. I get it, it's like a powerful scene from a play where the central character finally cracks up and spills his repressed emotions, shocking everyone with the intensity of his hate: "Idiot wind/ blowing every time you move your mouth". Not a sentiment I care for, and at 10 minutes it's still way too long. To be fair "Hard Rain" isn't worth its bad rep. Dylan's vocals are ragged but sung with passion, and if the live versions sound more clattered or inferior to the original ones at least they're sufficiently different to be interesting. Meanwhile, in 2002 Dylan released hitherto unheard excellent performances from the first leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue as part 5 of his Bootleg Series.  There's almost no overlap (with the exception of "Oh, Sister") which means that you can use both albums to compile a 30-song, 3-hour extravaganza, close your eyes and pretend you're there in person.

**** for Maggie's Farm, Shelter from the Storm

*** for One Too Many Mornings, Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again, Oh Sister, You're A Big Girl Now, Idiot Wind

** for Lay Lady Lay, I Threw It All Away

Bob Dylan "Real Live" 1984***

This is a Dylan LP you rarely hear about, apparently one his most forgettable. Granted, none of his live albums is of earth shattering importance - with the possible exception of the 1966 bootleg Royal Albert Hall Concert - which, as we learned when it was officially released with a 30-something years' delay, was actually not recorded at the Royal Albert Hall after all. But some of his live albums are, if not famous, notoriously disappointing: Hard Rain an underwhelming document of a momentous tour, Dylan & The Dead the collective nadir of two legends. Real Live, on the contrary, is completely inoffensive, thus utterly forgettable. It was recorded during his 1984 tour of UK and Ireland, and features a predominately English band [Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones) on lead guitar, Ian McLagan (The Faces) on keyboards, Colin Allen (Stone The Crows) on drums, and American Greg Sutton on bass]. The song selection and the lean, muscular arrangements are a direct reference to Dylan's Sixties heyday. Maybe his voice, never a fine instrument, here sounds more nasal and whiny than it did back then, but at least he sings like he means it.

The LP gets off to a flying start with "Highway 61 Revisited" and an incendiary "Maggie's Farm", Mick Taylor proving once again that he's the best guitarist The Stones ever had (sorry Keith!). His bluesy licks even elevate the relatively bland mid-tempo material from Dylan's latest album "Infidels" ("I and I", "License to Kill"). The acoustic solo numbers (just voice, guitar and harmonica) have a nostalgic air: On "It Ain't Me Baby" the audience joins in the chorus, while "Tangled Up In Blue" features changed lyrics which created a minor buzz with Dylanologists at the time. "Girl From The North Country" and "Ballad Of A Thin Man" stick close to the originals, while "Masters Of War" is the only track with a radically different arrangement. I like the faster tempo and cutting guitar, but I miss the original's sneering vocal delivery. It's as if Dylan disapproves of these masters of war, when in the older version he sounded like he hated their guts. Great rocking version nevertheless! The record closes with Carlos Santana from the support act joining the band for an fiery performance of "Tombstone Blues". It all adds up to a decent, enjoyable album few would object to - yet the live versions neither surpass the studio ones, nor are sufficiently different to give you something to write home about. I might have already forgotten about it if it wasn't for this nagging question: just who is the black bass player who takes pride of place in the inner sleeve photos? He's neither a member of Dylan's band, nor Santana (obviously). Does anyone know?  

**** for Maggie's Farm, Masters of War, Tombstone Blues

*** for Highway 61 Revisited, I and I, It Ain't Me, Babe, Tangled up in Blue, Ballad of a Thin Man, Girl from the North Country 

** for License to Kill

Bob Dylan "Dylan & The Dead" 1989**

I took the advantage of my recent visit to Utrecht's Mega Record and CD Fair to buy some of Dylan's worst albums on CD. Why the worst? you ask. Why do you think? Because I already have his masterpieces, his critically acclaimed and his plain good ones. Time to buy the rest to have the complete discography and an overview of the artist's trajectory. Why on CD? you ask. Duh! because it's cheap! This vinyl LP for example is quite pricey since, in the crazy times we're living, the display of a Dylan vinyl in your living room -preferably casually left lying around- is a sign of sophistication, Nobel prize and all! Who cares what "Dylan and the Dead" sounds like when it has such a cool cover? It's not like you're going to listen to it! Incidentally, I read in a study that 40% of vinyl buyers never listen to the albums they buy (I forget where the sample was taken from, it must have been a real hipster place). Sounds unbelievable - yet often people who aren't surprised to see me carrying vinyl LP's ask me after a short conversation whether I actually own a record player. Duh! what did you think? that I just sit and look at them? Well, maybe I do sometimes, but that's none of your business! It's just that, just by looking at records, the music comes alive in my head. But of course I play them regularly too.

Back to the subject of Dylan's less loved albums - specifically the live ones. For some reason, his official live releases gain only fair-to-bad reviews while every new installment of the Bootleg Series is hailed like a lost treasure. I always wondered what is the reason. Was Dylan so daft that he released the sub-par recordings and kept the good ones on his shelf? Or were the expectations at the time of their release too high, resulting to bad or mediocre reviews? Can't trust reviewers, I have to listen for myself. For example, I happen to love one of Dylan's most maligned live recordings "Live At Budokan". The way he reinvented his songs in that set was a source of amazement, even if the new versions were not as good as the originals. So I had high expectations of his cooperation with The Grateful Dead. How would it affect the songs? And how can the pairing of America's greatest songwriter and a band that has consistently proved capable of onstage magic possibly produce a bad result? Well, first of all, together with Dylan the songwriter you get Dylan the singer. Never a great vocalist, his performance here is particularly weak. I saw him live around the same period (with his regular band) and he also sounded bored and disinterested in his own songs. The Dead take a back seat, following Dylan's lead instead of feeding off each other's energy like they usually do in their own concerts. As a result, on tracks like "Queen Jane Approximately" and "Joey" they sound asleep and playing on autopilot. Nobody's favorite Dylan songs, their inclusion would be justified only if the performance was especially strong. Unfortunately that's not the case. Jerry Garcia's fluid guitarwork is probably the record's only redeeming feature - save of course for the songs. Even so, a classic love song like "I Want You" is sung by Dylan as if he wants to punish his older self by butchering his songs. The band plays it a bit too fast, but that's the least of its problems. On the bright side the two songs from his "Christian" period "Slow Train" and "Gotta Serve Somebody" roll along with a relaxed country funk rhythm, almost J.J. Cale-like, while "All Along the Watchtower" is given an energetic hard rock twist that suits it well. The record closes with crowd pleaser "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" which, while not actually bad, is inferior to other versions - even Guns 'n' Roses did a better job with it. And that's all - just 7 songs of which only 3 or 4 are any good. I know they played more than 20 songs in that tour, some  multiple times and some only once or twice. So the compilers had a lot of material to choose from, I just can't believe this is the best they could do. I mean there's stuff off that tour on youtube that would sound way better than what's in here, if properly cleaned and processed - so yes, maybe Dylan is so daft (or such a sadist) to keep the good stuff on the shelf and release anything he fancies for whatever reason. I mean, if there's one musician whose mind is impossible to fathom, that's Dylan. Maybe it's time for another installment of the Bootleg Series to restore the reputation of this line-up. Until then, this is a tour souvenir that will not satisfy the fans of either Dylan or The Grateful Dead. Even if, like me, you're prepared to acknowledge some virtues, it is at best an unnecessary record.

*** for Slow Train, Gotta Serve Somebody, All Along The Watchtower, Knockin' On Heaven's Door

** for I Want You, Queen Jane Approximately, Joey

Utrecht Mega Record and CD Fair (Platenbeurs)

Serious record collectors among you probably know all about it: the biannual Record Planet record-and-CD fair in Utrecht is advertised  as "the world's biggest record shop" and features 550+ music retailers from around the world - well, the majority came from Germany and The Netherlands, but there were stalls from, among others, UK, Italy, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Brazil and the U.S.A. The last edition took place on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 April from 9:00 to 17:00 and, believe me, 8 hours are not enough to see the whole thing - though they're certainly enough to drain your wallet. Some peripheral activities are also taking place, including live music, book presentations, and auctions for the most collectible items, but it's mostly an endless browse-athon. The offer ranged from the super eclectic (rare psychedelic original LP's, Japan-only 7' singles, a stall with hundreds of Afro-pop records etc) to cheap second hand vinyl and CDs, which is my bread-and-butter. After 30 years of collecting (and 60+ years of rock'n'roll history) and despite my best efforts, my record collection still has endless gaps - and not all of them are expensive to fill. In general, prices here are the similar to, or lower than, those on discogs/ebay. Factor in the lack of postage and customs taxes, and you'll find that a visit to the jaarbeurs makes financial sense. And the rarities? Even if you can't afford them, you can still hold those sought-after albums in your hands - even take a selfie with them, if you're not afraid of looking ridiculous. I left the record fair loaded like a mule - you can see some of my catch sprawled on the floor in the photo below. It'll take me a couple of months to listen to everything, let alone present them in my blog. The way it's going I'll need two lifetimes to present what I already have -that's provided I stop buying records today. It's a losing game, but I'll do my best anyway...

Cherry Vanilla "Bad Girl" 1978***

This is probably a rare case of a singer whose autobiography is more interesting than her records. Cherry never had a great voice but she certainly had an interesting persona, and was one of those scenesters who are always at the right place at the right time. Having no theatrical training or background she found herself performing nude onstage in Andy Warhol's controversial play "pork" and becoming a permanent fixture of the New York art/music  scene, befriending and sleeping with rock stars including Bowie for whom she also worked as a publicist/PR person. It wasn't long before she started her own band as a vehicle for her sexy persona and bold lyrics, becoming a regular performer at legendary club Max's Kansas City. In '76 she relocated to London where her backing band at some point included Sting and other members of Police. In late '77 she released the single "The Punk" and soon afterwards her first LP aptly titled "Bad Girl". On retrospect her arty New York brand of "punk" was a step too far from the thuggish mentality of British punks who, despite her U.S. scene credentials, probably regarded the 34-year old as a late bandwagon jumper. Sultry burlesque opener "I Know How To Hook" would certainly have been enough to put off any spiky-haired hooligans. "So 1950's" may have appealed to some Lou Reed fans while "Not So Bad" is 50's pastiche. The rest of Side 1 paid tribute to her New York punk peers Blondie ("The Punk") and Ramones ("No More Canaries"). Side 2 continued mixing up styles from the theatrical rock of "Hard As A Rock" to the teenybopper glam of "Liverpool", New York Dolls-style glam punk of "Foxy Bitch", and country "Bad Girl". The closing "Little Red Rooster" isn't a cover of the Howling Wolf classic but a Mott-style glam rocker with clanging piano and a silly but catchy chorus. The band, especially Cherry's boyfriend Louis Lepore on lead guitar, are more proficient than your average punk rockers but, despite Cherry's charm, Bowie endorsement and ample promotion, the record flopped. After a second LP ("Venus D'Vinyl",1979) she finally gave up her attempt at rock stardom. She appeared on a Roger Waters album and wrote a well-received autobiography but mostly spent the next years as PR/publicist for Greek synth wizard Vangelis. Her albums were finally reissued in the 2000's combined on a single CD which was met with the same indifference as the original LP's, yet she is still fondly remembered by many music lovers, and has earned her place in musical history if only as a footnote. If you're a fan of the Andy Warhol art scene or early New York punk, you'd probably want to own this LP. Shouldn't be too difficult, enough people have unceremoniously unloaded their Cherry Vanilla LP's at thrift stores all around Europe not long after they bought them...

**** for The Punk, Foxy Bitch

*** for I Know How To Hook, So 1950's, Not So Bad, No More Canaries, Liverpool, Bad Girl, Little Red Rooster

** for Hard As A Rock