Hard to find in the uk

[the funky guzzo]

This question is inspired by my newfound love of the SGA label.

I hear about how common those LP's are in London and so forth. Popping up in charity shops repeatedly, Meanwhile if I get one I look at it like a crazy valuable piece of holy grail funk.

I was just wondering what LP's that are common in the US seem to never be available in the UK (for those of you who check in on soulstrut and read the "weekly digs" posts).

I've always been curious as to whether .99 cent LP's out here like Les Crane's "Desiderata", or Grover Washington Jr. "Mister Magic" hold some sort of rarity over there

[theeman]

errrr... 90% of what you can get in the USA cheap is expensive over here! CTI, Kudu, 70s Blue Note, Motown, Stax... even the dollar-bin 80s stuff... quite a lot of these labels had UK pressings but tiny quantities compared with the US distribution so they're surprisingly hard to turn up (Mr Magic and Deodato's Prelude excepted)

[Matt Hero]

Yeah, I'd echo what Ed has said really. I used to buy quite a few CTI / Kudu bits and pieces over eBay for a dollar or two - but it was always the postage that was the killer. In the end I decided that I'd wait until I made it over there and just pick them up myself from the dollar bins. Of course 4 years later I'm still no nearer making *that* happen !

I'd say in the wild, the only CTI/Kudu I've ever got over here (excluding expensive import pieces from collectors shops) were of course Deodato's 'Prelude' and slightly more unusually Grover Washington Jr's 'All The Kings Horses' - brand new cut out copy in Jumbo Records in Leeds.

I mean, I'd love a copy of 'Power Of Soul' for example, but I've *never* seen one apart from on eBay. And even though Ed says 'Mister Magic' is more common, I'd say that it would still be a £10 LP whenever I've seen it.... that's the one with 'Black Frost' on it right ?

Glad you enjoyed the SGA stuff Funky Guzzo - pleasure to trade with you btw (love 'The Spurlow Band' LP)

[bongolia]

isn't All the King's Horses on Motown? i have a UK Motown copy should anyone want it (v unlikely)

Exotica albums are much more common in the US - Martin Dennys etc. and 'Going Places' is the ludicrously common Herb Alpert here, rather than 'Whipped Cream' which is probably the Tijuana Brass record i see the least.

[Matt Hero]

Quote[/b] (bongolia @ 23 July 2003,09:58)]isn't All the King's Horses on Motown?

The UK press is, this is a US press (Kudu 7). Didn't Motown acquire the back catalogue of CTI / Kudu at some point ?

[bongolia]

aha, that makes sense. i think mine prob does say CTI or Creed Taylor somewhere on the sleeve.
i got George Benson 'Beyond the Blue Horizon' at a Communist Party jumble sale once. what about Walter Wanderley 'Moondreams'? is that a CTI one? i had that on a UK A&M from a charity but Wayne has it now so i can't check

[Blighty]

I saw a Readers Digest album full of Leo Muller stuff yesterday. Very strange.

[emperor tomato ketchup]

I was in Boston for a few days last year and was well pleased to get albums by Gato Barbieri, McCoy Tyner, Sly Stone and Minni Ripperton for between 2 and 4 dollars. Certainly I've seen Gato Barbieri lp for £10-£15 in Londona few years back.

[wayne]

Quote[/b] (bongolia @ 23 July 2003,10:24)]aha, that makes sense. i think mine prob does say CTI or Creed Taylor somewhere on the sleeve.
i got George Benson 'Beyond the Blue Horizon' at a Communist Party jumble sale once. what about Walter Wanderley 'Moondreams'? is that a CTI one? i had that on a UK A&M from a charity but Wayne has it now so i can't check

The Wanderley is indeed a UK issue A&M record... The other Kudu thing I've found cheap in a UK charity is Idris Muhammad's 'Turn This Mutha Out', but that seems to have been a one-off, as I've never seen it again anywhere. Some of the A&M/Reprise & Verve stuff seems rareish here compared to the US (Sergio Mendes, Claudine Longet, Nancy Sinatra, Cal Tjader, all that US 'easy' gear) but I guess that's because WE get Tom Jones/SGA/Contour/Shirley Bassey etc instead... And, yes, proper Exotica is hard to find here - Arthur Lyman, Martin Denny, Yma Sumac...almost never turns up off dealer lists...

[bongolia]

Lyman's turn up very occasionally in charities, but Denny's never do - well i've had two but both utterly trashed. one's got different sleeve design, i.e. without Sandy Warner - what's the point of that, eh?

[Lord Thames]

I'm a bit confused by all this American interest in Stereo Gold Award, as many of their recordings were made over there anyway (and used American arrangers like Bill Holcombe and Bob Lowden).

Given that Muller stuff turned up on labels in France, Germany, Spain and probably lots of other countries too, and that the Miller International organisation was based in the USA anyway, surely Leo Muller would have had a US label to put his stuff out on?

There must be an American version of 'Tribute To Jimi Hendrix' out there!!

[bongolia]

there is, on Alshire (either the label Muller set up, or the one he sold the 101 Strings brand to, i forget which). however i think it's a different record.

[wayne]

You get a lot of the cheesy 101 Strings over here (often on Marble Arch) but I've never seen the really good ones...are these just rare in themselves or more common in the US? I'm thinking of 'Astro Sounds', 'Back Beat symphony', the Les Baxter productions, the 'erotica/Whiplash' type ones etc...

[Lord Thames]

I've got a 101 Strings on Golden Guinea called 'Back Beat Symphony', but this is an early 1960s one - is this the one you were referring to?
Arranged by Ivor 'Double Deckers' Slaney, it's OK, but a bit too early to get that excited about.

[the funky guzzo]

Quote[/b] (wayne @ 23 July 2003,10:23)]You get a lot of the cheesy 101 Strings over here (often on Marble Arch) but I've never seen the really good ones...are these just rare in themselves or more common in the US? I'm thinking of 'Astro Sounds', 'Back Beat symphony', the Les Baxter productions, the 'erotica/Whiplash' type ones etc...

101 strings are plentiful in the thrift shops out here. However, titles like "Astro Sounds" and "Sounds for Today" never show up. I have only seen 2 copies of "Astro sounds" both at record dealers tables, both were going for over $75.

As for CTI/Kudu LP's you can't go into a record store without seeing a couple it seems out here. The thing of it is you don't see the greater titles (Bob James 1-3, Idris Muhammad "Power of Soul", Stanley Turrentine's "Cherry&quot However if any of you want to build your George Benson collection give me an E-mail.


On the Muller tip, his music may be out here in America, but the stereo gold award titles aren't. I wish I was able to find "tribute to Jimi Hendrix". but as of yet only seen it on Ebay. I thnk my fascination has to come with the unavailabilty of the titles over here, as well as the many misleading Ebay auctions I've read for some of the titles (Big Jim "H" is actually Alan Hawkshaw, Duke Grant is a lost funky library session, etc.)