Danny Schloss – In A Dream
Danny Schloss – Pot Of Gold
Danny Schloss – It’s A Funny Situation
Danny Schloss – Walk Softly
It’s record store day, and while personally I try to celebrate Record Store Day at least three or four times a month, it’s still good to highlight all of the amazing vinyl record stores that supply my addiction, here in LA with Atomic Records, Record Jungle, Bagatelle Records, Mount Analog, Strictly Grooves, the Artform Studio, Amoeba Records and of course the jewel of the Bay Area, Frisco’s Groove Merchant.
For our weekly Dig Deep this is a finding from my first visit to the newest kid on the block in Highland Park, Gimme Gimme Records. Transplanted from NYC, the record features quite a few records that you rarely see on the west coast (particularly in the Jazz section) and is a more than solid addition to any crate diggers journeys through the paths of rhythm here in LA. Aside from a bunch of quality records that I already have or used to own but feel a burning need to return to just yet, I ran across a gorgeous gold label version of Ray Barretto’s classic Acid and also this interesting psych-pop record from Danny Schloss.
Haven’t been able to turn up too much about the clearly very groovy Mr. Schloss. Even though this could very easily count as “sunshine pop” which I almost always connect to California, there’s something very NYC about the instrumentation and the sound of the players (which don’t include too many names I recall, except for Johnny Pacheco who is brought in for some “latin percussion”). Schloss’ vocals fit the times and as much as I’d love to have an instrumental copy of this album, it wouldn’t have the same impact without all the quintessentially late 1960s flower power vibes that come through both the lyrics and the way Schloss sings. There’s a slight tinge of darkness and danger in quite a lot of the music that makes it stand apart from the usual “sunshine pop” fare. I posted an extra song just cause I could make up my mind and I though that the tracks resequenced in this way sounded like they were a suite of music instead of tracks that are in very different places on the original LP.
If you got the time, and you’ve got the money. Go out to local record stores today, let them know how much you love them and how you wouldn’t be able to live without them. Ultimately that’s what record store day is all about…but if you can, as I said earlier, make Record Store Day everyday you can and keep the vinyl alive.
Cheers,
Michael