Day 23 - Get Back To The Country
Spin a Country/Roots/Americana record Charley Crockett - Lil G.L.’s Honkey Tonk Jubilee I love Charley Crockett’s take on Country music. His music is rooted in that space where R&B, Soul, and Traditional Country music naturally intersect. He is likely too much of a traditionalist to ever make it big in Mainstream Country which is a shame as he brings something special to the scene: Soul.
Colter Wall - Songs Of The Plains (Thirty Tigers, 2018 VMP Exclusive Pressing)
I was never a huge fan of country music (apart from Johnny Cash - I actually prefer 'At San Quentin' over 'At Folsom Prison') before joining VMP, it just wasn't a genre on my radar. The first Country musician I really fell for was Townes Van Zandt and now I consider him one of my favourite musician regardless of genre. Another musician I had never heard of was Colter Wall. His voice was totally unexpected and his songwriting has an incredible story-telling vibe to it. After picking up this copy I ended up listening to all his back-catalogue and live recordings, as well as picking up his self-titled debut, its just fantastic music!
Shin Joong Hyun - Beautiful Rivers and Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound of Shin Joong Hyun 1958-1974
I have a soft spot for Korean music since living there earlier in my 20s for a while and falling in love with the country. I stumbled across this Light in the Attic compilation last year and learned about this guy, the apparent godfather of Korean classic rock, writer, guitarist, producer extraordinaire. The title track was written when the authoritarian leader at the time demanded that Shin write a tribute song to him; instead he wrote this incredible epic as an ode to the natural beauty in the landscape of the country. It's a fantastic listen.
probably the only rapper to appear on a rolling stones album, and also the one responsible for samples having to be cleared before being released on a record.
Day 24 - What’s On The Inside That Counts
Spin a record that includes a fun insert, booklet, poster, etc... The Men - Tomorrow’s Hits I just purchased the deluxe edition of Tomorrow’s Hits on Discogs for a whopping $14 and really enjoy all the faux ephemera that came with it...
...It came packaged in an oversized hand numbered silk-screened envelope along with; an iron-on t-shirt transfer, an “official” fan club sign up form, a Live In Zagreb cassette tape, and...
...a big ass poster!
Liam Gallagher – As You Were (Warner Bros, 2017 Limited Deluxe Hard-Book Pressing on White Vinyl)
There's plenty I could have chosen that have better extras than this, but this was the first album I got with the 'book' packaging design and I still think its really neat. The content is lacking in terms of the photos and liner notes, but I love the pockets for the record, 7", CD, poster, etc. Really clever design........apart from the fact that it's too big to fit in a Kallax cube