Best Things in Life Are Free...

 Hicks Antiques in downtown Lufkin had records and cds for free. They want to get rid of them. Cathy hit them up last week going through the cds picking big band compilations of lady jazz singers, several by folk singer Michelle Shocked, some Irish and classical music sets and one by Ray Wylie Hubbard. Yesterday I hit the store to browse the albums deciding to limit myself to just 10 (I don't want the back of the house to fall off from the weight of the record room) and turned up nine gems. I think these are all original releases. No reissues and in fair to good condition very very playable.  

1. The Subterraneans. A 1960 soundtrack from the Kerouac book of the same name. I have been working on filling the late 50s/early 60s jazz niche of my collection.

2. Bill Black's Combo plays Chuck Berry. From 1964, Bill was the bass player on the early Elvis hits. 

3. Once Upon a Time in the West.  1968 movie sound track. I have this music on compilations, some remixed but this is conducted by composer Ennio Morricone himself. Concert idea: play all this spaghetti western music and serve pasta in the lobby before, after and during the show. 

4. Big Band Cavalcade Concert. I have some many big band compilations but this was people I did not know, mostly famous in pervious decades and this 1973 live album was new to me.  

5. Baja Marimba Band. This band cashed in on the coat tails of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. No Hispanics in the band, their album covers always had a guy in the background taking a leak. From 1968.

6. Jack Teagarden Dixie and Blues. Some called him the greatest pre bop trombone player and jazz singer.  This album 1963. 

7. Eddie Gomez Cuban Mist. Eddie is still around as an in demand side man on string bass for all kind of jazz music. This 1957 record with him leading is as old as I am.  

8. Exotica by Martin Denny. I believe this is the original mono recording from 1956. Denny was the father of the exotica genre and lately I have been having some good finds of this type which might means a section of it's on in the collection. 

9. Last but not least Leon McAuliffe of Texas Playboy fame this 1963 album The Dancin'est Band Around brings us back to some old cowboy swing. 

There really was not any great records left, certainty no pop music and it looked like a Mitch Miller lover died and his kids got rid of the records as quick as possible. That might happen to me.  

You can stream all this easily but I like records.