The Sunday Boot.

Been three weeks since we went to a Car Boot, but at the crack of dawn this morning, well, 8am if that counts as cracking, off we trundled to Rousden in the excellent company of Mike Finch, a blazing sunny morning, already t-shirt hot, biggest boot I've seen for a very long time, stalls all the way up the field, and most of Lyme out and about for this most glorious of social occasions. And were there bargains to be had? I could have come home loaded down, but I stuck with the £20 maximum in my pocket, and got stuck in to the picking and choosing. First item I found was a nice pair of Panasonic Headphones, running a small home recording studio, I'm always looking for these, and I never seem to have enough sets to go round musicians when we're working. I also found another flight case, so there's my obsession with boxing things coming through again. Do I need another flight case, who knows, I'm sure I'll find another lot of leads and cables to fill it. But the best of the boot is always the CD's, and fabulous new additions to my collection, all of these I got for £1 each or less, so here it is:
Ry Cooder: Why Don't You Try Me Tonight. A best of collection for sure, and laden with real Ry classics, including 'Crazy 'Bout an Automobile, and full of the stunningly exclusive guitar work Ry Cooder is famous for.
The Dubliners: Seven Drunken Nights. Now I am not a fan of drunken Irish music, except when it's played live and loud, but this one has several songs I remember from my drunken youth in the pubs and folk clubs of Middlesbrough Teesside, songs like 'All For Me Grog', 'Black Velvet Band', 'Whiskey in the Jar', among others.
The Seekers: The Very Best Of. A Double CD, and nostalgia from the same era really, it was around this time that I first picked up a guitar, and these acoustic songs were easy to play, besides which, I was hopelessly in love with Judith Durham, the exceptional jazz singer who sang these folksy songs.
Fairport Convention: What We Did On Our Holiday. An early album, perhaps even the first (?), by this eclectic borderless everlasting band, and featuring Sandy Denny, Richard Thomson, and Ashley Hutchins, who later moved on to form the Albion Band. The song I'll play over and over again, and recommend to Mary's iPod is 'Meet on the Ledge'.
Miles Davis: The Best Of. I generally prefer original albums to 'best of' collections, and I can't deny, this one has some tracks from 'Kinda Blue', including 'So What', but the rest of it was work I've never heard before, and will wait until one late night when I'm in that jazzy mood, great way to let go at the end of the day.
Dave Van Ronk: The Folkways Years. Put your hand up now if you ever heard of this guy! Not surprising if you haven't. His career begins around the same time, same era as Bob Dylan, in fact there are those who might say that Van Ronk did all the groundwork, and Dylan got the fame. American folk blues, with some great finger picking guitar work. Would never have expected to find this at a boot sale!
Steve Winwood: Back in the High Life. An artist with a long track record of producing great music. I bought this one for the title track, a song which I hope Mary and me can sing together.
Dolly Parton: Halos & Horns. I got this one for Mary, she loves bluegrass, and this is a later album by Dolly, now she has returned to her bluegrass roots. Featurs some great pics of Dolly too.
Well, that would have been it, except I cheated a bit. On Saturday, I was in Bridport, market day etc, and just happened to be perusing my favourite record stall, when I came across a real rarity, an album that I've been seeking for years and years, and then some more.....
Dino Valente: Dino Valente. The only album he ever made, more famous for being the singer with the Quicksilver Messenger Service, and for songs that became much more famous by other people, Dino is an enigma, a true mystery man of rock music. The album and sentiments are pure hippy dreamer, but some have stuck in my memory for more than 40 years. Valentes haunting vocals, and self accompanied with booming echoed 12 string guitar, overlaid by delicate guitar solos, just about takes the breath away. Finding this is like reaching a peak, I've thought before that it might be the most rememberable record I ever heard, and I might even stop collecting CD's.........
Jeff Wayne: War of the Worlds. When I had the vynil version, I played one particular side of it till the groove ran smooth, and as soon as I identify the side on this Double CD, I'll probably continue in the same vein, or groove.