As I add 45s to our inventory, I pick select 45s to highlight with mp3 "snippets" so you can hear the music yourself. I only record "snippets" of tunes I particularly like, ones I think have been under-played and under-appreciated, or ones that are so rare and wonderful I'll never hear them otherwise. For myself, I keep an iTunes playlist of these "snippets," and that playlist is one I listen to most often. These pages chronicle the mp3 "snippets" I've added to our online "jukebox" in reverse chronological order. You can browse the pages to see what was added and when. Click on the blue "Play" button to play the snippet, or click on a song's title to load the page. Many of these 45 records are still for sale, though just as many have been sold. I hope you enjoy perusing these pages as much as I have enjoyed putting them together!
10/31/10
Numbers
1964, Forest Green 329
Genre: Other Northern Soul
Now here's a real oddity... It's a early 1960s group-vocal soul single that doesn't appear in any of the reference books I use! Not only is it unusual to find a 45 record that nobody else seems to know about, but it's doubly strange when that 45 is really great... great enough for me to record digitally for my iTunes library. The A side ("The Same Old Song") is a ballad that has no relation to the Four Tops single with a similar name, but the flip is the real keeper. In fact, I like it so much I've just recorded it and made a snippet for the Classic 45s jukebox. Enjoy!
10/23/10
Iron Butterfly
1969, Atco 6676
Genre: Garage/Psych
More evidence for the fact that the late 1960's was a very strange time indeed. Strange... but satisfying! This amazing track not only carries on psychedelic rock in its finest tradition, but its audio experiments anticipate modern rock and its fuzz guitar breaks are nothing but heavy metal being formed.
10/05/10
Mindbenders
1966, Fontana 1541
Genre: Power Pop
This single ("A Groovy Kind of Love"), their second Top 10 U.S. hit, bundled a terrific rocker on the flip that is among their best (IMHO). Its raw sound and brash lead guitar put it firmly in the school of Garage Rock, and showed how even their B sides were worthy of the label "classic," though they failed to make an impression on the airwaves. Take a listen to the jukebox snippet to see if you don't agree. :-)
10/03/10
Steppenwolf
1968, Dunhill/ABC 4138
Genre: Hard Rock/Metal
Besides the classic A side ("Born To Be Wild"), this single is doubly wonderful because of the great garage-rock nugget hiding on the B side. Have a listen to the mp3 "snippet"!
Now playing:
Bad To The Bone
Breaking Away/ It's So Strange by Balance
These virtual "boxes" are for you folks who only like new, unplayed or pristine Mint 45s.