This Month's Vinyl Sharity

Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Fuzztones, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Fuzztones Live (Midnight, 1986)

This is a great EP. The backing band is strong, and Hawkins is working the room. But the vinyl has problems with the first two tracks (Side A): about a minute into "Alligator Wine" and about two into "I Put a Spell on You," there are uncorrectable skips. The other two tracks (Side B) are fine, if you're looking for a live version of Hawkins's Midnight-pressed Christmas tune "It's That Time Again" and a five minute version of "Constipation Blues." Perhaps you are.

It seems that this blog offered these tracks back in 2005, but I didn't get them then—how sad. I wonder if they were skip- and scratch-free. Here is where I found the fine cover scans both included with the tracks and used above.

You can find the four tracks and album art here.

Not My Vinyl Sharity

Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Feast of the Mau Mau (Edsel, 1988)

I just picked up a copy of this UK double-album reissue at the local record shop and was half-way through the vinyl rip, when I thought that I might be able to find some of the album art on-line. Yes, there's a fine reproduction of the sleeve—and the gatefold. And, best of all, all the tracks are included, too; another chunk of time saved. The links are of course to the blog, not the downloads themselves.

Again, I don't know where I was last July, but this is yet another excellent musical offering from Twilightzone!

These tracks were originally released as What That Is! (Philips PHS-600-319, 1969) and Screamin' Jay Hawkins Is In Your Mind (Philips PHS-600-336, 1970).