A Bonus Thrift Store Vinyl Sharity

Chad and Jeremy, Chad and Jeremy Sing for You (1965)

The duo's second US release, this album comes to us from the Pittsburgh, PA label, World Artists, a firm that Chad himself remembers as having an "almost Mafia-like atmosphere." I find the orchestration on Sing for You a little heavy-handed for the folk-pop vocals--and the choice of material doesn't always seem quite right for the Now Generation. Because of this, I started to suspect the project entirely: even Chad's cover notes seem as artificial and insincere as the LP's production.

But no. After visiting their official website, I can see that Chad isn't insincere--or at least he's terribly consistent. The album isn't really a proper one, and they eventually grow into the kind of singer/songwriters they pretend to be in Sing for You. According to Chad and Jeremy, this album is out-of-print, although a lot of their stuff isn't, and they are still touring and recording. Their soundtrack to 3 in an Attic is clearly a potential vinyl sharity coup: too bad I've never seen it.

This album was extremely popular with its previous owner, so audio quality suffers accordingly. The LP, in Scratch-Y-Sound, is in two .zip files with cover art: side one and side two.

This Month's Thrift Store Vinyl Sharity

Nancy Wilson, Just for Now (1967)

This album caught my eye mainly for its cover of "Winchester Cathedral," a song that I recently had heard playing somewhere, and I couldn't shake it loose from my mind. I'm, of course, talking about the invasive New Vaudeville Band version (do-do-duh-lee-oh): Nancy Wilson's version, while a little shrill, at least works against the song's inherent syncopation. (And, no, this isn't the CSN song or the Clinic album.)

At first glance, the record isn't really all that promising: covers of "Alfie" and "Born Free" (which I had never though of as a John Barry song, but I can see now--how obvious) don't really seem inviting. But "I'll Make a Man of the Man" is pretty strong, "That's Life" really grows on you, and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" suggests that Wilson has some real R&B chops that might have made a stronger impact in her work. A decent album, it is no longer in print like a lot of her Capitol LPs. Because Just for Now is more or less a pop album, not too many of these tracks (I don't think any) have even made it to any of the recent Jazz-focused Capitol anthologies of her work. But most of the album is Billy May arranged, so you might find something worthwhile.

This LP is in two .zip files at rapidshare.com: side one, and side two with album art.

A Back-to-School Cassette Sharity

Fresh Bush and the Invisible Man, Hard Times (1992)

I don't know what I was doing buying a cassette single in 1992, especially as this was available as a CD single, but what can I say? Anachronistic as this is, I do like the line, "If we can change the world, we can change America." Ironic and sentimental, it seems to fit the times now, too.

Download this out-of-print song here at RapidShare.