RECORD SHOP TOURS

I don’t go in for browsing. When I go shopping I know what I want, enter the appropriate shop, buy it and leave. This behaviour flummoxes those members of my family once referred to as the fairer sex, which is why I seldom accompany them on shopping expeditions because the chances are irritability will soon set in from everyone’s point of view. 

        There are, however, two exceptions. I have never been able to pass a guitar shop without, at the very least, pausing to look into the window or, more often than not, wandering inside to inspect the guitars hanging from the wall, not necessarily because I want to buy one as I have three pretty decent ones already, but because I simply like looking at them, like some folk enjoy admiring anything of beauty. This is not to say that if I won the lottery next week I wouldn’t buy a few more. After all, as an investment they’re much more fun than stock and shares.

        The other exception is record shops, and by that I mean real shops, not those old High Street megastores that displayed more overpriced t-shirts with band logos than actual records but those independent shops that are often tucked away in side streets and sell what are now referred to as pre-loved vinyl, which means the LPs and even some of the singles on sale are in tip-top condition, housed in plastic sleeves and are often 50 or 60 years old. 

        There are two in Guildford, the nearest city to where I now live, and I know both well. One is neat and orderly, the other a complete mess. It doesn’t matter. Being as how I have so many, I often go in simply to check up on what price their Who records are selling for, which I suppose is a bit like reading the stock market reports in the Financial Times, but once I’m there I’m trapped.

        All of which explains why, back in 2009 when I was running Omnibus Press, I was more than happy to help Graham Jones (pictured above) distribute his book Last Shop Standing, a love letter to the greatest record shops in the UK, all of which he’d visited personally in his capacity as a founder of Proper Music Distribution. Most of his life has been spent working in and around the world of independent record retailing, and what he doesn’t know about the business isn’t worth knowing. 

        This week Graham was back in touch to let me know that he’s started Record Shop Tours wherein he acts a guide to the best music stores in London. “In the 80s, Berwick Street became known as Soho's Golden Mile of Vinyl,” he says, “and for two decades, I supplied records to the same shops that still line it. I've written three books about the characters behind the counters, but nothing beats seeing them in person. On this three-hour walk, we'll gather at HMV on Oxford Street, then browse Sister Ray, Sounds of the Universe, Third Man Records, and Rough Trade Vintage as I steer you toward vinyl worth the money. Hear stories of music legends along the way.” 

        There is no better guide to the world of record shops than Graham and I am delighted to recommend this initiative of his. You can learn more about it on this website: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/experiences/7318979.

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

Fifty years ago this month saw the release of Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key Of Life, regarded by many, including myself, as the apex of his career. I was living in New York at the time, working as Melody Maker’s US editor, and was among a party of music writers flown to Long View Farm, a state-of-the-art recording studio in Massachusetts, to listen in optimum conditions to all four sides of the LP, 17 songs in all, plus its accompanying four-song EP. 

We all met up at La Guardia airport to board a plane hired for the occasion by Motown Records. Amongst the party was Nik Cohn, with whom I was well-acquainted in those days, and we sat together as we flew north over New England, enjoying breakfast served by a stewardess who was somewhat alarmed – it was around 9am as I recall – when Nik asked for vodka in his orange juice. I smelled trouble and, sure enough, Nik became restless during the lengthy listening session. 

Spotting a pool table during a break between sides, Nik dragged me out of the listening area for a game but a Motown employee saw us and pointed out that the reason for our presence in the studio was to listen to Stevie’s new album, not to play pool. 

Nik protested. “We can hear it perfectly well in here,” he said. “It’s loud enough.”

This was true. The record, excellent as it was, was being played at a high volume.

“We’d prefer it if you came and listened with all the others,” said Mr Motown.

“And we’d prefer to play pool while we listen,” replied Nik.

        Which we did. Evidently, the Motown press man was disinclined to offend a columnist from the prestigious New York magazine. I loved Nik but he was an outspoken, combative sort, forever unafraid to offend anyone. Nevertheless, these distractions did not stop me from taking notes, and in my New York news column for MM that week reported as follows:

“Stevie Wonder has completed his Songs In The Key Of Life album which was previewed during a day in the Massachusetts countryside last week. It is a double album with an extra EP: altogether 21 songs of varying length. 

“Key Of Life offers just about everything, from disco to jazz, from funk to melody and from protest to harmony. It is a project of alarming proportions but its effect emphasises Wonder’s huge creativity at a time when many black artists seem content to rehash the same old bass lines in a danceable tune.

“Songs to watch out for on the new set include ‘Love’s In Need Of Love Today’, the opening cut with an extended, revolving melody line. ‘Village Ghetto Land’ with an ‘Eleanor Rigby’-style string section, ‘Sir Duke’, a tribute to Duke Ellington, ‘Ordinary Pain’, a two-part epic, and ‘If It’s Magic’, with Wonder at his harmonic best. ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ and the four additional cuts on the EP seem to be likely commercial singles. Albums will be in the stores in about ten days’ time.”

        Stevie Wonder was present for the listening session and he handed us all a signed copy of his LP but I do not recall him talking to the press beyond introducing the event. If he had I’d have been in like a shot, brandishing my little Sony tape machine to grab a quote or two for my weekly column.