A dig in Bedford

[Skip]

Followers of the finds thread will recall that I stumbled on a Hammond organ bonanza in one of Bedford's charity shops when I was on leave last week. A shop teeming with easy listening to an extent that you rarely see these days.

Last week I was overwhelmed by lounge music and came back with about fifteen lps. Yesterday I was in town again and decided to pop back in. I had my camera with me and I thought: Why not take you all on a tour of the racks. I thought it would be nice for overseas vultures to get an idea of what we rummage through too.

I'll add a few caveats before I start. First you'll see the Captain Beaky LP in the video. Don't fear I didn't leave some of this lounge gold behind in favour of Captain Beaky. I'd picked it up earlier on in the Re-use centre (20p) but it was on the same finds thread post as the hammond stuff.

Second caveat - I'll say now I only bought ONE LP. Maybe it was the fact I was filming that took me out of the zone a bit. Maybe it was the fact that of the hammond stuff I bought last week, most of it was chaff. Either way I couldn't stomach the idea of bringing home a load more lounge music to weigh down my sagging expedits. So this stuff is waiting to be had.

I do pick out some records which I then leave behind. A bit of an AD Rhythm bonanza. Complete discographies (surely) of Ferrante and Teicher and Pepe Jamarillo.

I'd love to know what I missed too.

At twenty minutes long and featuring audio commentary, I invite you to join me on a dig in Bedford...

[Grim Lounge Cowboy]

The Larry Page with "Dingo" on it might have merited a mention. One-track VV 'classic'.

[giantchicken]

Hmmm....6.5/10 from me - the digger clearly has an above average knowledge of chud and can identify the occasional chazza shop classic, but mustn't be in such a hurry to dismiss items on the strength of the sleeve alone. I'd have liked to have seen a bit more close examination of the goods and ability to reason on the worthiness or otherwise of individual items based on the available information. The seeming preference of the 101 Strings TV Themes album over the far superior Pandora Orchestra TV Themes album illustrates this point well. Also, a worrying failure to investigate interesting Prokofiev and Delius items doesn't auger well for the classical finds thread. Overall, I'd like to see more sense of adventure - these items are 50p each and this justifies more adventurous punting - this may result in inevitable disappointments along the way, but one should remember that there is no quick and easy way to acquire 'the knowledge'. I expect to see improvement in future episodes....

Seriously though, well done Skip - a novel approach to finds - even if I now also feel I've wasted another 20 minutes of my life....

[Head Gardener]

great wee film Skip thanks, I have been meaning to do my own like yours for ages but never got round to it, but think it's a great way
of seeing what turns up and filming the results on camera so fingers x I get my shit together and do one soon!

[Skip]

Hmmm....6.5/10 from me - the digger clearly has an above average knowledge of chud and can identify the occasional chazza shop classic, but mustn't be in such a hurry to dismiss items on the strength of the sleeve alone. I'd have liked to have seen a bit more close examination of the goods and ability to reason on the worthiness or otherwise of individual items based on the available information. The seeming preference of the 101 Strings TV Themes album over the far superior Pandora Orchestra TV Themes album illustrates this point well. Also, a worrying failure to investigate interesting Prokofiev and Delius items doesn't auger well for the classical finds thread. Overall, I'd like to see more sense of adventure - these items are 50p each and this justifies more adventurous punting - this may result in inevitable disappointments along the way, but one should remember that there is no quick and easy way to acquire 'the knowledge'. I expect to see improvement in future episodes....

Seriously though, well done Skip - a novel approach to finds - even if I now also feel I've wasted another 20 minutes of my life....

A brutal assessment GC. In my defence I have to say that I'd been through the crates already a week ago and a few of the crates yesterday before I decided to make my little film, so most of those LPs that looked skimmed over had been examined already. I'd actually picked out the Prokoviev and put it back and I passed over the Delius only because I bought one of his LPs the other week and still need to give it some attention. Based on the fact this film was twenty minutes long, that I'd been through a few of the crates already and that I'd been through the whole lot last week with the sole reward of emerging eight quid lighter with volumes one and two of sexy hammond you must bring into the equation how many minutes of MY life were wasted

I think I'll be doing the same again though. Next time I enter virgin territory I'll bring you all along with me by the medium of film.

Didn't know of the Larry Page Funktionnaire - this is what I need you chaps for.

[Skip]

Watching this back trying to spot the Larry Page I'm regretting not picking up that Hammond Organ Today LP on AD-Rhythm: A track called Meditation by John Dales sounds worth a go.

Must.... not.... return....

[bongolia]

thanks for the film. was that all one shop? really rare to see that many records in one charity these days.

that was a Sight and Sound with "Fragments Of Fear" you missed at 1'25

Have a vague memory the Billy Vaughn 'La Paloma" is ok too, in an easy-latin style - that's was the UK Contour reissue there

also that Brian Fahey "Classics Go Latin" about 6 minutes in is probably rare - very few mentions online. Would definitely have grabbed that one.

[Skip]

thanks for the film. was that all one shop?

Yep all one shop. I expect to find it well and truly rinsed now I've posted this video. Every child in Bangladesh will have a macbook pro by Christmas if they keep putting out gold like this. I picked up a Brian Fahey in the haul last week but the tracklisting on this one didn't inspire. I'd have grabbed Fragment of Fear in an instant though - mental note taken.

[Sie-Fly]

Dingo is cool too ... like a jazz rock instrumental with added prog.
Nice movie Skip

[bongolia]

what was the other Fahey - Stereo Explosion or Time For TV? those are the most common I think. Had Stereo Explosion and it was a disappointment (and has a misleading title and sleeve), Time For TV has a really naff looking sleeve, but looking at the tracklisting it looks like it might have potential (and seems to do a respectable 8 or 9 quid or so on Discogs for any flipping)

[someblokecalledfuz]

Thanks for that - just like the good ole days! There's a few I don't recognise that I might have picked up if I'd been there but hard to say what they might have been. But that is a lot of old steadfast charity bins staples which I haven't seen in the one place in quite some time.

Been a long time since I stumbled upon somebody's collection like that. It might have been the pipe organ record collection, seriously you wouldn't have believed so many pipe organ records existed let alone in one persons collection, and there they were in a charity shop... still pulled a few out mind. *Sigh* Those were the days...

[giantchicken]

A brutal assessment GC. In my defence I have to say that I'd been through the crates already a week ago and a few of the crates yesterday before I decided to make my little film, so most of those LPs that looked skimmed over had been examined already. I'd actually picked out the Prokoviev and put it back and I passed over the Delius only because I bought one of his LPs the other week and still need to give it some attention. Based on the fact this film was twenty minutes long, that I'd been through a few of the crates already and that I'd been through the whole lot last week with the sole reward of emerging eight quid lighter with volumes one and two of sexy hammond you must bring into the equation how many minutes of MY life were wasted

I think I'll be doing the same again though. Next time I enter virgin territory I'll bring you all along with me by the medium of film.

Didn't know of the Larry Page Funktionnaire - this is what I need you chaps for.

Despite the wasted 20 mins Skip, you can rest satisfied in the knowledge that your film inspired me to get off my backside and do some digging myself today. I've been clearing a lot of chud/one trackers (including that Larry Page album) from my outpile recently and wanted to release the third instalment of about 150 albums in total back into the wild today.

The local chazza that's usually open on a Sunday was closed though so I ended up in a different neighbourhood, and having donated the records to a shop where they will become without doubt the most overpriced chuff on the planet (but of course will also serve as useful training materials for up and coming diggers) I immediately set about restocking in four different shops. If you think your Hammond horde was unusual, you should have seen the amount of 20s/30s dance band material I ran into today. Someone had clearly donated a collection that was so huge it had to be divided amongst several shops - I've seen similar phenomena in this area occur recently with both military band records (no thanks) and a huge classical collection (of which I partook eagerly).

Indeed many of the same 150 albums I've thrown back were amongst the 'treasure trove' you filmed - I'd have picked up a lot of them about 20 years ago when they were cheap and plentiful (I was often blind punting for stuff to DJ at 'Fondue' at the time!) - so perhaps a cyclical process is in effect. Looking forward to more of your movies....maybe you should get one of those helmet cams that cyclists always seem to wear these days...hands-free digging....

[Skip]

maybe you should get one of those helmet cams that cyclists always seem to wear these days.

You're right. All the other extreme sports do it, base jumping, downhill mountain biking... Digging with Go-Pros is the way forward. We'll all get sponsorship deals and a late night series on Channel 5.

[amidar]

Ha, Great stuff Skip, you should have grabbed 'Smart Latin' its not a bad little exotica album, AD Rhythm Motherlode! Nice to put a voice to an avatar too.

I have a different Stef Meeder album on S2S that I cant bring myself to listen to as I know it'll be pants despite the absence of a naked woman on it. At least I know what he looks like now, pretty boring is my summation.

[bongolia]

not going to watch it again, but was there an Alan Haven "Organ Magic" in there? that's the reissue of "Haven For Sale". Backed and arranged by Keith Mansfield