Dublin Record Stores

It always sounds strange to hear that all of Ireland -including the northern part- only has a population of 7 million. Because Irish influence in popular culture, music, literature, mythology etc. has always been disproportionally big. I can name many gifts that Ireland has given to the world, but this one suffices: the water of life, which in Irish Gaelic is called uisce beatha, and commonly known to the rest of the world as whiskey. Guinness beer isn't too bad either, and has more uses than I previously knew about: one can drink it, use it to bake bread, or make a delicious (beef or lamb) stew with it, make caramel fudge, and who knows what else. And did I mention that it tastes much better in Ireland than anywhere else? Not just my idea, a well-known fact. Now I know people take rightly offence with the drunken Irishman stereotype, but on this case I'm talking about my own experience in Ireland. No, I didn't exactly get drunk on my first trip to Dublin, but I do believe I drank way more beer than water - and how else, when you're out walking all day, and there's a nice pub in every corner inviting you to stop and have a drink. Often with musicians playing live Irish music. Which, apparently, encompasses just about all of folk, pop, and rock. I mean, I was under the impression that Oasis were a British band from Manchester. Nope! The Gallagher brothers? Irish. The Sex Pistols' Johnny Lydon? Irish. Bruce Springsteen? Kurt Cobain? Rihanna (yes, that Rihanna)? All Irish! The diaspora has spread so wide that there's probably at least a drop of Irish blood in every person you meet. So, suppose you want to buy a record by a famous Irish person. Like Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher, or Bono. Or David Bowie. Or The Beatles - I kid you not! John, Paul, and George, all had Irish roots. Anyway, say you want to buy some records. Where do you start?

I guess the Temple Bar is as good a place as any. Like many tourists, I also wondered whether that area on the south bank of the River Liffey took its name from the same-named pub or vice versa (it is vice versa). Locals all tell you to avoid both the pub and the area "It's a tourist trap" they say. "Pints cost €10". "The music is too loud". I took their advice and didn't go inside any of the pubs there. I did walk through the area often enough, and I have to say it is a nice, lively, district full of narrow, cobbled streets and nice pubs, restaurants, and shops. If you're looking to party, it's probably the place to go. If you're looking for vinyl... well why not start with Mojos Records? It's a tiny place at Merchant's Arch, pretty close to the Temple Bar Pub, actually - and, unlike it, not overpriced. (Used) LPs cost €15-30, CDs €5. 

Despite its small size, there's a pretty good selection in various genres. Still in the area, there's The R.A.G.E. (Record, Art and Game Emporium) a cave-like basement offering retro video games and used vinyl. A mix used and new records (€5-30) including punk, classic rock, Irish music, and electronica. Further south (on 15A Wicklow St, near the Molly Malone statue) you can find Firebird Records. One of the oldest independent record stores in the area (est.1978) it also styles itself as "The Secret Book and Record Store" because it's a bit hidden behind a long corridor - although the huge signs at the entrance give the "secret" away. A big variety of vinyl (new €25-40, used €10-30) and CDs (new €10-20, used €4-5). Very good for rock, punk, and indie music as well as Irish bands, both modern and traditional. A great selection of books, too. In the direction towards Trinity College (47 Nassau St), there's another "hidden" record shop called Sound Cellar - a basement dedicated to heavy metal.

A huge variety of records in this specific genre (including hard rock, prog, and black metal) both CD (€15) and vinyl (€30-40). Just around the corner (7 Dawson St) you can find a big Tower Records shop: on the ground floor there are (new) LPs (€25-40) and CDs (€15+ but also many offers 3-for-€10). Irish music (indie and trad), lots of DVDs as well as T-shirts and memorabilia. The upper floor is dedicated to vinyl only: rock, pop, hip hop, dance, jazz etc. Further south, inside the Stephen Green shopping centre, there's a shop of the Golden Disc chain: a big space, also selling a lot of T shirts and  memorabilia. LPs cost €30-50, although there are also many on offer (3-for-€70). CDs €10-20. On your return to Temple Bar, you may want to hit another couple of shops: Spindizzy Records is a big-ish shop with a big variety in CDs (new €10-20 used €5-6) and LPs (New €25-40, used lp €5-25). Punk, alternative, pop, rock, and folk. Spin Dizzy is inside George’s Street Market Arcade which houses a bunch of other shops worth browsing. Including a small shop called Elevation. This one just has some posters etc, but there's another Elevation shop (3 Johnson Pl) which really is worth its full name Elevation Music Movies Comics. It may be small, but you'll find records of most of the major artists. LPs €25-40, CDs new €10-15 used €4-5. There's also a place called Claddagh records, which is specialized to Irish/Celtic music. It does have a physical address but seems to sell only online. Lastly, despite what I said earlier, I did step into a pub at the temple bar area: its called Foggy Dew, and -on that day- it hosted a record fair. Apparently it also often houses rock concerts. Whether record fairs are also a common occurrence there, I wouldn't really know. 

On the other side of the river Liffey, there are relatively few record stores: A decent-sized Golden Discs in the Jervis shopping centre, and a Tower records situated on the 2nd floor of a big Euston shop (on 40 Lower O'Connell Street); It's 50/50 split between films and music; good for country, Irish music, and pop/rock. LPs € 25-40, CDs €10-17. There's also a big 3-story HMV shop (18 Henry St) selling all kinds of stuff: DVDs, games, T-shirts and of course LPs (new €25-40) and CDs (€8-15). The best thing about it, though, is the "Who's Playing in Dublin" board on the 1st floor; there are announcements and flyers for all the live events going on around the city. The last shop I visited on the north side was Bookmart Game Exchange - as you may have guessed it mainly sells used books and videogames, but it also has a few cheap used CDs. I unfortunately didn't have time to visit In Dub Reggae Store, and there seems to be some confusion about the address (seems to have moved recently?), but according to googlereviews it is a very good specialty shop and must be worth visiting for fans of that genre. 

On Friday 31/10, we left Dublin early for a day-trip to a nearby town called Kilkenny; I first heard about it on a Pogues album which had a song called "Wild Cats of Kilkenny"- apparently, once two Kilkenny cats fought each other so ferociously that only their tails remained at the end of the battle. What, you don't believe it? Why? the tales Irish people say are always so well-grounded. It is in any case a beautiful town, and also features a nice medieval castle. It served for 600 years as the seat of the Butler dynasty - literally, the dynasty's founder was a Norman lord who came to Ireland as butler (a.k.a. cup-bearer) of the infamous King John of England. A visit is recommended, but don't expect too many gothic vibes: the castle has been refurbished into a comfortable manor house some centuries ago. Being there on Halloween, we couldn't resist a visit to Kytelers Inn, previously owned by Dame Alice Kyteler, the first recorded person condemned for witchcraft in Ireland (1324 AD). She fled before the executioner got his hands on her, but her handmaid Petronella De Meath was burned at the stake as an accomplice. There's a plaque commemorating her on Butter Slip alley, a small Harry Potter-like passageway starting off at St. Kieran's street. About 100m further up St. Kieran's St, there's Rollercoaster Records, a rather stylish medium-sized shop. You'll find some interesting records there, but rather random ones - don't expect them to carry all the classic LPs by major artists. Only new vinyl (€20-30) and CD's (€15). 

The city also hosts a Golden Discs record store located in the Market Cross Shopping Centre. Similar stuff with the Dublin shops of the same chain. The next day it was back to Dublin - to see the phantasmagoric Mácnas parade, and to visit the Guinness Storehouse, Irish whiskey museum, the national museum of archaeology that houses those eerie bog bodies as well as Celtic artifacts, W.B. Yeats exposition in the National Library, the Chester Beatty museum... there wasn't enough time to see everything we wanted, what with the regular pub stops and everything, but there's always next time!

Athenians Of Toronto "Σαν Σκοτεινιάζει/San Skotiniazi" 1971***

This reissue appeared out of nowhere a couple of years ago; it took everyone by surprise, since it was widely believed that all Greek rock/pop singles of the 60's and early 70's were already known to collectors, most of them having been re-released and anthologized. As for whole LP's there's never been more than a handful of those. But, of course, it's no surprise that nobody in Greece had ever heard of this Greek-language band seeing as they lived half a world away in Toronto Canada. At the heart of the band there were the Filippeos brothers Costas (keyboards) and Nikos (drums), and singer Vangelis Bethanis. The three Greek-Canadians were joined by guitarist Denny Fernando and bassist Paul Imo. The band first formed in 1966 when all the members were aged between 11 and 17. They had a repertory of Greek and Italian songs they would play at parties and weddings of the respective immigrant communities, mixing them up with contemporary rock and pop hits, also backing visiting Greek traditional music singers. By 1971, they were ready to record their own album; they had few original numbers as well as a rich repertory of covers to which they added Greek lyrics. This decision is both a strength and a weakness: on one hand, it's what makes the covers rarer and more interesting, on the other -and that goes for those who understand Greek- the lyrics are embarrassingly sappy. The singer adopts the old-fashioned croon of lounge singers on the ballads, while he lacks the soul feeling necessary to match the soulful arrangements of the faster numbers. The instrumental part is much better: rich organ grooves, searing guitar solos, and a bold brass section featuring top Toronto jazz players like Pete Schofield, John Satcho, and Heather Banks. Despite the fact that the album was a true DIY production recorded in just six hours at RCA Studios in Toronto, with no budget for overdubs or post-production, it sounds quite professional for a small private press pressing. What amazes me most about this album is that the most striking element of this is album is the horn arrangements, even though the horns were never an integral part of the band. The obvious main influences are Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears; this is in itself a rarity for Greek pop bands who were mainly influenced by the Beatles, Animals, and French and Italian yé-yé singers. We get no less than 4 workmanlike Chicago covers: "O Epivatis" (26 Or 6 To 4, great guitar here), "Μes Sti Nihta Girno" (Make Me Smile), "Me Ti Matia Sou Tha Zo" (Colour My World), "Psahno Na Vro" (Now More Than Ever). We also get decent Greek language versions of "Proud Mary" ("Mary Se Latrevo") and Santana's "Everybody's Everything" ("Ston Planiti Pou Girname"). All the songs feature great horn arrangements and confident playing, especially on guitar, organ, and drums. Two covers stand out: "To Gramma Tis Poulias" (a cover of fellow Canadians' "One Fine Morning") and "Ela Agapi Mou Konta" ("Light My Fire"). The latter incorporates elements from both top-10 versions, namely the acoustic guitar into from Feliciano's cover and the organ from the original. It's also the only bilingual Greek/English pop song of the period that I'm aware of, as well as the only Greek-language Doors cover. I believe the only song here that had been previously covered in Greek was "Proud Mary"; but since The AoT were almost certainly unaware of the other version, they had to devise another set of Greek lyrics and their own, wholly different, arrangement. Lastly, the LP contains three original songs by Costas Filippeos: two schmaltzy ballads ("San Skoteiniazei", "Agapoula Mou Chrissi") and upbeat instrumental "Athenian Rock'n'Roll". The liner notes mention that about 100 (private label) copies were pressed; in one interview, Costas Filippeos claimed there were a thousand of them, but that sounds way exaggerated. Anyway the band gave some records to friends and sold some hand-to-hand during gigs; very few are known to have survived. Also, according again to Filippeos, there were some 8 track tapes and cassettes made in the 80's, of which none have surfaced until now. The album wasn't even known to collectors, until a young indie label from Patras Greece called Veego Records received an mp3 folder that contained ‘Gramma tis Poulias’. It immediately hit the spot, because it was completely different to any other Greek band in its incorporation of jazz grooves and funky horns. The closest I can think of is The Sounds; I used to have reissues of their 1970-1971 LPs but they won't be presented here since I sold them during the Great Vinyl Purge. You see, they weren't garagey enough for my taste (I only kept the 60's "shake" stuff, which were more my thing at the time) but they did contain many Greek language covers of contemporary hits - including some by Santana and Creedence, bands also covered by AoT. San Skotiniazi is probably the only Greek language soul/funk LP from the 60's or early 70's, which gives it an immense novelty value. The musicians' playing should endear them to fans of classic soul and funk, but the lyrics and vocals may sound too kitschy and (not in a good way) old fashioned to Greek speakers. It is in any case a unique record that should pique any collector's interest.

**** for Ο Επιβάτης (26 Or 6 To 4), Έλα Αγάπη Μου Κοντά (Light My Fire), Το Γράμμα Της Πούλιας (One Fine Morning)

*** for Στο Πλανήτη Που Γυρνάμε (Everybody's Everything), Μαίρη Σε Λατρεύω (Proud Mary), Αγαπούλα Μου Χρυσή (Agapoula Mou Chrissi), Athenian Rock'n'Roll

** for Σαν Σκοτεινιάζει (San Skotiniazi), Μες Τη Νύχτα Γυρνώ (Make Me Smile), Με Τη Ματιά Σου Θα Ζω (Colour My World), Ψάχνω Να Βρω (Now More Than Ever)

Scarlet Rivera "Scarlet Rivera" 1977****

One of my favorite Dylan albums is Desire; basically, it's my favorite Dylan album post- Blonde On Blonde, which covers what? the last 59 years? And a very big reason why I love this album is the violin playing of a young lady called Scarlet Rivera. The story of how she came to play in this album, and join Dylan's famous Rolling Thunder Revue tour has been told before, but I'll repeat it here: apparently Dylan was being driven around Greenwich Village, when he spotted Rivera walking with her violin case in hand. He stopped the car, rolled down the window and shouted to her "Hey, can you play that thing?". She obviously recognized him, and agreed to follow him to the studio where he asked her to play along to some songs. Having passed this test, he asked her if she wanted to accompany him to a club to listen to a friend of his. She did, and that friend proved to be Muddy Waters. After a while, Dylan joined Muddy on stage for a song, and then he went to the mic and announced, “Now I want to bring up my violinist." Scarlet passed that test too; by playing with two legends in one night while being totally unprepared, she had earned her place on the historic tour. After the tour and the recording of the Desire LP, she fell out of view - fot most people, that is. I certainly knew nothing of her subsequent career, which probably is also true for most people who know of her only through the Dylan connection. Martin Scorsese's documentary about the Rolling Thunder Revue confused things even further: the director mischievously inserted a number of fake stories in his narration; seeing as Scarlet is the least well-known of the participants, having come out of nowhere and receded back to the shadows as far as Dylan fans are concerned, she was a prime target for those: she supposedly painted mystical symbols on her face (true) she carried a sword with her everywhere (not really true) people avoided her because they took her for a witch (false), she was dating Gene Simmons from KISS at the time - absolutely nonsense, but Dylan uses this to spin a yarn about her taking him to see "her boyfriend" play live, and of the concert inspiring Dylan to paint his face white onstage. In reality, the tour was designed to imitate a travelling circus; everybody was encouraged to look and act eccentrically. When Dylan appeared with a painted face, he was probably thinking of mimes rather than Gene Simmons. Why exactly he and Scarlet parted ways after Desire I don't know; Maybe he wasn't interested in repeating that album's sonic experiment, or maybe Scarlet took advantage of her sudden rise to fame to start her own band; she certainly leads a very talented band of musicians here, especially Dominic Cardinale who played keyboards and co-wrote most of the material. The music isn't what I expected - though, to be honest, I didn't really know what to expect; I just bought it out of curiosity and because I like violins in rock. Not that this is a rock album; it's mostly an electric jazz rock one, not unlike the Jean Luc Ponty LP I reviewed some time ago. "Leftback" and "Earth Queen" feature great synth-and-violin interplay as well as some dazzling violin solos, while "Wicked Witch Of The East" and "Cloak And Dagger" veer into symphonic prog with many classical influences. "Gypsy Caravan" is less free-form, structured more like a folk song - it even has vocals, even though the focus is still on the gypsy-style violin playing. The human voice features minimally; a witchy laugh on the "Wicked Witch Of The East", a bit of singing in "Gypsy Caravan", and a narration about fairies and some wordless vocalizing on the closer "Ring Around The Moon", a song steeped in Celtic music and mythology. The latter shows the direction she would turn to in the future; with the exception of her second LP for Warner (Scarlet Fever, 1978) which was in the same style and with many of the same collaborators as this one, her long discography lies purely on the intersection of new age and traditional Irish music. Not surprising then, that mainstream rock fans lost sight of her; for most of us new age belongs to the world of yoga studios and aromatherapy (whatever that is). But maybe that's just a sign of our prejudice; based on this evidence, Rivera was a really talented musician; I'd be interested in hearing more of her stuff, even if the CD cover art features megalithic monuments and kitschy Celtic design motifs. In any case, the Scarlet Rivera LP makes for a great introduction, and original vinyl copies are cheap and easy to find second hand. Highly recommended for fans of jazz rock and violin music; not so much for Dylan fans.

**** for Leftback, Wicked Witch Of The East, Gypsy Caravan, Ring Around The Moon

*** for Earth Queen, Cloak And Dagger