Brenton Wood “Oogum Boogum” Double Shot Records. (1967) This lp features the AM radio staple “Gimme Little Sign” and “Oogum Boogum” another charting hit. Coming out of Compton, Los Angeles there’s a Chicano or Latin-soul vibe to Brenton’s records. I love his songs, especially the sweet soul sounds of “Catch You On the Rebound,” “Baby You Got It” and also on this album “I Like the Way You Love Me”.

(24 votes, average: 3.13 out of 5)

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“GOOD TIMES” The vocal & harmonica blues of SHAKEY JAKE (Harris) with Jack McDuff on the B3 and Bill Jennings on guitar. No bass or drums on the session. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s legendary Englewood Cliffs studio and released on Prestige/Bluesville. (1960) Featuring Worried Blues; My Foolish Heart, (a take on Muddy Water’s Mannish Boy); Sunset Blues; etc.

(28 votes, average: 3.64 out of 5)

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Laura Nyro and Labelle “Gonna Take A Miracle” Columbia Records (1971) Laura Nyro has long been my favorite singer-songwriter. As a kid, I listened over and over again to all of her first records. When she came back to touring in 1976, I saw her at Tanglewood (released as the live record “Season of Lights”) and at Case Western University in Cleveland. Her first four records were her greatest, but as each new record came out during her middle period (“Smile,” “Nested,” “Mother’s Spiritual”), I bought them right away and found something special in each one.   In the late 80’s I saw her at the Bottom Line a few times. I have her records from the 90’s and, while I don’t have the same emotional connection to those songs, her voice remains soulful and warm and familiar to me. I like her covers of r&b songs on those last records – which brings me back to “Gonna Take a Miracle” which is all covers of sixties soul songs with background vocals by Patti Labelle and Labelle. Laura grew up singing these songs accapella with her friends on the streets and in the subways of New York.   Making this record must have been a labor of love. Sadly, she died in 1997 at only 49 years old.

(43 votes, average: 3.88 out of 5)

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Like a locomotive gobbling up the track or the head of a Roman soldier.   A perfect cover from Brazil –   “Aqui Comeca O Mundo Maravilhoso Da Musica”   “A Fantastica Orquestra De Studio De Cipo”

(25 votes, average: 3.96 out of 5)

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“Pal Joey”   The Don Elliott Quartet   Hallmark Records

(30 votes, average: 3.40 out of 5)

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“Dizzy in Paris” Contemporary Records

(50 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5)

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“At the Hi-Fi Jazz Band Ball”   Gene Mayl’s Dixieland Rhythm Kings.   Riverside.   Designed by Paul Bacon.   Photo by Paul Weller.   Look at the elegance of that tone arm, sweeper, cartridge and needle.   What a photo!   A portrait of a turntable from the golden age of Hi-Fi.

(36 votes, average: 3.61 out of 5)

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“Une Soiree Au Carroll’s” From the late fifties. This looks a lot like a film noir movie poster.

(20 votes, average: 4.30 out of 5)

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Serge Gainsbourg “Percussions” A French Philips picture sleeve from 1964. These cuts and the album “Percussions” overall feature Afro-Caribbean rhythms, a female choir, and lots of percussion. “Couleur Cafe” is a great song with Serge in a delivery so expressive you can hear the smirk on his face. “New York – U.S.A.” basically amounts to a cataloguing of buildings that Serge saw on a trip to New York.

(18 votes, average: 2.72 out of 5)

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George Jouvin “Trinta e Nove Graus de Febre”   Odean

(26 votes, average: 2.69 out of 5)

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