DJTees Blog — Vinyl Culture

The Steve Miller Band were eventually to be a huge band after the release of The Joker single, which topped the charts in the USA in 1973, becoming a stadium band with album like Fly Like An Eagle and Book Of Dreams. It was a big pay-off for years of grafting which had begun with the band being a primo trippy San Francisco-located psychedelic band as this their debut album Children Of The Future well proves. While the later pop-rock of things like Jet Airliner are wonderful in their own way, my love of the band is rooted in their...

This was the band’s first ever EP released 11th November 1966.  Side one 1"Disguises" 2."Circles" Side Two 1."Batman" 2."Bucket 'T'" 3."Barbara Ann" The record consists of two original songs by Pete Townshend, as well as covers of the theme from the Batman TV series and Jan and Dean's "Bucket T". Also included is a cover of The Regents' "Barbara Ann", a song made famous by the Beach Boys.  The original EP credits the song "Batman" to Jan Berry, Don Altfeld (misspelled as "Altfield") and Fred Weider. The song was actually written by Neal Hefti. An abridged version of My Generation...

Considering it became one of the most popular and acclaimed live albums in rock history, it’s odd to now think that it was really only recorded and released in order to try and suppress the growing bootleg market for Deep Purple live recordings. The double live album was soon to become a staple release of most rock bands at some point in their career, but back in the day, it was regarded by some in the early years of rock to be a bit of a cop out. You were releasing old music, after all, not new stuff. That is...

Paladin were a really interesting early progressive rock band who sold very few records - and as a result they’re quite collectible, selling for up to £200 ($300) -  They were founded 1970 by classically trained multi-instrumentalist Peter Solley and jazz drummer Keith Webb who had both been in Terry Reid's band that had opened for the Rolling Stones on their 1969 American tour.  The other members of the band were Derek Foley (guitar and vocals) who previously played in Grisby Dyke; Lou Stonebridge (keyboards and vocals) from Glass Menagerie, which had released five progressive rock and psychedelic rock singles;...

Collecting Deep Purple records - which I do -  is an almost never ending task if you’re trying to be a completest. This isn’t because there’s so many per se but because they were released in so many territories and often with a different b-side or picture sleeve.  This Dutch 7” single is a good case in point. The last they released before splitting up in 1975, it only came out with Dealer on the b-side in 6 countries. Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand, Belgium, Philippines and Spain. But within those, it was released with a different sleeve in Belgium. Spain...

The Greasy Trucker project was for a short time, something of a cultural vortex around which Britain’s, or more accurately London’s counterculture, such as it was, orbited. It was a loose, somewhat anarchic gathering of heads and hairies inspired by The Diggers, Wavy Gravy’s San Franciscan mob. They would do fundraisers - usually involving Hawkwind - for good causes. Their idea of good causes largely revolved around counterculture lifestyles, dope and off-grid living.  They hired the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London which was once home to a giant wheel on which trains rotated, hence the shape. It had been derelict...

Growing up in the 1970s, bootleg albums (on vinyl, of course) had a mythical status on a a few different levels. Firstly, they were illegally produced, and that always puts a thrill in a teenager's heart. Secondly, they were hard to come by. You had to find an indie record shop owner who might have dared to have them behind the counter, away from the prying eyes of Trading Standards officers. Or you could send away to a PO Box in the NME or Melody Maker and get them in the post. Third, they gave you access to the live...

The Blues Project : Projections Released in 1966, the band’s second album is very much the place to start with this band, one of the first ‘jam bands’ who would perform extended improvisations live. A unique blend of blues, psychedelics and R & B this album has their classic FM hit ‘Flute Thing’ which transports the listener back to the days of love, peace and flowers perfectly. With Al Kooper, one of rock n roll’s more seminal figures on keys and songs like I Can’t Keep From Cryin’ Sometimes’ a song that Ten Years After would play for 25 minutes...

This UK promo release on Bell dates to 1970. It's a UK-only release and really rare. Bell was an odd label for a heavy band, as they mostly handled pop or soul. There are only approx 7 or 8 UK Mountain singles as only Mississippi Queen sold any copies, getting hold of them is difficult. This is wroth around £25 as a result.

One of the collectable holy grails. Pagey's 1965 solo single is very rare. A few promo copies exist too and are worth £100 more than this which typically sells for £650 if it's in near mint condition. I think this only got a UK release.

200 were pressed in 1978 by EMI initially as as a corporate gift. These are all hand-numbered. There were subsequent other pressings which are un-numbered which are still rare but are not the big kahuna. These 200 came as part of this gift set. If you've got the whole package, you're looking at upwards of £10,000 value!!