The Scrounger's ReportMay 05, 2000Return to the Valley of the InbredSo I returned to the Valley of the inbred, Decatur, IL, yesterday to see what Cousin Toothie and the other extras from the Deliverance cast were up to. I never cease being amazed at what they stock as a matter of course that the major chains here in town won't touch. They had the new Dokken live, the reissued Savatage stuff, the newest Racer X in quantity, the U.K. release of Yngwie's classical album, as well as the new 1990-1999 Greatest Hits. Also, they had a bunch of the new import reissues, including the Legs Diamond S/T + 1, and the 2-on-1 from Fastway (S/T + All Fired Up). I spent some time going through and listening to their "classic rock" holdings. They had catalog material that I NEVER see at the large chains (I guess the chains are only interested in stocking Greatest Hits packages). They had deep selections of Thin Lizzy, T. Rex, Budgie, Doobie Brothers, The Sweet; mostly older imports. About a dozen different Motley Crue bootlegs, as well as a stack of Dream Theater live stuff. I listened to the Boston bootleg that has their KBFH concert plus the original demos that got them their contract; it's a shame the sound quality is so bad on those. They had one of the volumes of the Queen bootleg of unreleased and demo stuff (I forget the name) going back to 1968. Mixed bag on sound quality, so I passed on it. I'm not sure what distributor(s) they go through, but it's a completely different selection of stuff than even our local indy shoppe here in town. The vast majority of their cash flow appears to come from rap and hip-hop sales, and predominantly cassettes at that, yet the proprietors look like refugees from the Allman Brothers, and there is plenty of southern rock to be found. It's the most bizarre dichotomy to see a grizzly good 'ole boy spouting off the discography of today's popular rap artists. They know their stuff, but there's just somthing weird about it. I'm guessing they were generating $150-400 an hour in sales the various times I've been there; not bad for a little hole in the wall dive. Anyhow, on to the purchases: A few that I picked up that I'm not sure if I will keep or not (a little off the wall for my taste, but they're OOP): Spiders and Snakes - Oddities: The Glitter Years. 1995. Sansei Records. I've seen 2000 Retro on numerous occasions, but never saw this one. A bit too glammish for my tastes; the cover of "Air That I Breathe" is interesting. Andy McCoy - Too Much Ain't Enough. 1988. Polarvox/Amulet (Finland?) I know this one's OOP as a son of a gun. First solo release from ex-Hanoi Rocks member. The packaging is weird though: Disc says "Made in Denmark", sticker on back says "Made in Finland." Spine catalog # is WISHCD 6, but it's on Amulet Records, copyright Polarvox Music. Eh??? And the keepers: Midge Ure - Pure. 1991. BMG Music. Followup to the disc I picked up last week. Poppy stuff, but quite melodic. Suntower - S/T. 1994. Stepping Stone Records. Imagine Meat Loaf singing melodic prog. It's bizarre. Witchkiller - Day of the Saxons. 1984. Metal Blade. What can I say, I love classic '80s heavy metal... Budgie - Deliver Us From Evil. 1993 (1982). Repertoire Records I listened through what is considered their "classic" material from the early 1970s, which I found to be a bit too primitive for my tastes. This disc, coming at the tail end of their career (aren't they doing a reunion tour right now?) is more along the lines of traditional AOR... Kim Mitchell - Kimosabe. 1999. Chinook Records (Canada). I was surprised to find this here, brand new, one that they actually decided to stock (What, I'm not the only person in central Illinois that's heard of Kim Mitchell?). Nothing groundbreaking here, yet nothing disappointing either. It holds up to his earlier material quite well. and lastly, Doc Holliday - Modern Machine. 1998 (1983) A&M Records. They had the first 2 Doc Holliday discs as well (one sold right before I got there). I listened to, and put back the "Rides Again". It was too stripped back for my tastes. This is southern rock, and this particular album adds some keyboard stuff, almost poppy in nature to the Molly Hatchett/Lynrd Skynrd approach. It's different, but not bad. Cousin Toothie says "Howdy!", -Dan |
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