This is a nice LP I got in stock a few months back and miraculously got back in recently. Initially I thought this was perhaps the famous highlife trumpeteer St. Augustine, issuing an LP under a pseudonym? No, it didn’t make sense, and my friend Uchenna over at With Comb & Razor confirmed my suspicions. In fact, none of us seem to know who Olisa is (side note: the Comb & Razor blog is fantastic, and indispensible if you are interested in Nigerian music).

And so, sadly, I have not much information to provide for this record. Olisa allegedly played saxophone under Cardinal Rex Lawson and Chief Osita Osadebe; beyond that, not much more is known, just one more late 70s release on the prolific Eastern Nigerian Homzy label. The cover is tough as nails, and the notes on the back describe an “era when most Nigerian musicians are either going reggae or influenced by their foreign counterparts”, For his part, Olisa intends to be “among the loyal few” “who stick to their roots and refuse to succumb to foreign influence.”

The sound is at turns jubilant yet mellow, a gear or two down from the more thumping dance band sound that was popular. Each side contains one Highlife and one “Native Blues”. With the exception of the title tune, the pace is almost lethargic; perfect for a nice day spent watching life go by. Hypnotic guitars, muted trumpets, a perfectly placed horn section (not too brassy or overbearing) all contribute to a really wonderful listen.

No Body Knows Tomorrow really stood out among the first crop of Nigerian records I received and holds up after many repeated plays.

Enjoy!

Download HERE

Here is a beautiful jazz LP that just passed through the shop.

Mystic Beauty was released on the tiny Los Angeles-based H.M.E. imprint, the H and the M of which stood for its owner Harry Mitchell. The label released a few latin- and soul-flavored jazz releases, including a record or two by the Harold Johnson Sextet (thanks to Office Naps for the tip).

EDIT Reggie Andrews nowadays teaches music in the Los Angeles school district - he’s instructed plenty of greats, from Patrice Rushen to The Pharcyde - and was also in the 70s/80s disco-funk outfit Dazz. Also he’s got some school band material out there that’s worth seeking out. Great to hear he’s still living in music. Here’s an interesting interview with the man himself on NPR (not related to his old records, per se).

This album is deep, latin-influenced, primarily acoustic jazz. Influences range from the cerebral to the soulful, but it defies any one-dimensional tag like “spiritual jazz” or “soul jazz” or “jazz funk”. Sure it’s from L.A. but it doesn’t sound particularly “west coast”. It’s a beautiful session all around, really something special, very much worth every dollar of it’s high price tag. Enjoy - Jonny

Download HERE

New African LPs hitting the shop NOW.

New eBay list up Monday.

GO GO GO GO GO

Just a quick note, not to detract from full frontal promotion of Fire Keep On Burnin… which you all need to check out and cop asap. But (as the man himself has noted,) a good chunk of the record collection belonging to one Sasha Frere-Jones - musician, scribe, bloggeur, and great collectro - now resides in the bins of Good Records NYC.

It’s been a real fun collection to work on because of the sheer breadth: The Fall meets Maggotron inna dub style with MF Doom on the mic, Timbaland on the drums, Scientist on the mix and The Slits singing back-up. Without a doubt, a lot of cool stuff has been corsing through the shop over the last couple weeks since it came in, and there’s more to come…

Photo Journal below the fold. (more…)

It’s a privilege to host one of the rarest soul LPs out there… and one that’s worth every penny (IMHO). The Spice LP on TSG came into the shop a few days ago, and it is my pleasure to offer it EXCLUSIVELY on www.goodrecordsnyc.com for sale. Serious parties can submit offers to good.records@gmail.com. *EDIT* the Spice LP has been sold.

TSG was a New York-based tax scam label. Basically, the idea was to print up LPs using either demo tapes from unknown groups or bootlegging previously-released material, and dump the records. Hence, big loss and tax write-off… and incredibly rare LPs that were intentionally destroyed before anyone could enjoy them. Unfortunately, I know nothing at all about the group or players behind this record. Truly unfortunate considering how good of a soul LP it is - some fantastic disco cuts and beautiful sweet ballads, not a loser to be found on it. With no further ado…

Tagged d/l at 256: Spice - Let There Be Spice - TSG

Here’s a new section we’re going to start doing about great collections that have passed through the store. Sort of like our wall at the shop with pricier and rarer stuff, this is going to be a photo record of favorites. I’ve got buckets worth of pictures and I figure hey, what do people like doing best? Looking at records! Warning: most of these records have been sold or filed… this is not a sale post. Just some of the finer thangs.

Click here for full size image

Click here for full size image

Click here for full size image

More to come…