A Sad Trip From The Flea-Market: attn:Disco Funk

[visuals]

With my vacation winding down to a close, Me & the Wife decided to go to Pecan Park (a flea-market in Jacksonville,Fla) this past Sunday. We were walking the strip checking out the little booths and vendors when I spotted this booth with a bunch of crates that were stacked in categories. I swear, We were about 2-3 hundred feet away when I noticed the booth. As we got closer, I got faster and my wife says "what the hell? You trying to leave me or what? I kinda slowed back down *a tad* and then she noticed the booth too and said "well, looks like we're gonna be here for a while" and I shot back an abrupt "yup"

Once inside the booth before I could touch anything, I noticed the big sign on the wall "All Albums Priced $1.00 - $5.00". I only dropped about $35.00 but I came out with some rare gems with the "best find" being the reason for this trip being sad.

Wild Magnolias - Wild Magnolias (1974) DiscoFunk, I bought this off the strength of your post from a discussion we all had a while back. Very good album. This was the one that has both "Soul,SoulSoul" and "Corey Died" on it. This has a heavy New Orleans type vibe going. Thanks 4 the heads up*

Sound Experience - Live At Glen Mills Reform School (1973)
Sad to say, But as much as I like these guys, This one really didn't do much for me. I think the main reason is I am NOt a fan of live albums and usually pass over them. This is one of those albums that demonstrates why.

Sound Experience - Boogie Woogie (1975)
This one was still sealed but had one of the corners cut on it. Most of the titles are included on the "Soulville Collection" CD but there were a couple numbers that I didn't recognize. Haven't listened to it yet though.

Dynamic Superiors - Pure Pleasure (1975)
This was also still sealed but strangely the album had a few visible minor scratches. Still played well with no audible problems.

Lou Donaldson - Sassy Soul Strut (1973)
This is one of Lou's "Blue Note" offerings that I have been looking for for quite some time now. Also still sealed with a cut-corner on the album cover. My dad used to play this a lot back in the day. Being a big fan of "Sanford & Son", I always liked his cover of "The Streetbeater" better than Quincy's.

Eddie Hazel - Games, Dames & Guitar Thangs (1977)
Though I will buy this on CD if I ever see it, I had to snatch this one up simply because of it's rare content. You just don't see much of the maggot brain's stuff around. Though I would have loved for it to be one of the sealed albums I bought, It had been opened but there were no visible scratches on the album. Cover was in rough shape though. Priced at $1.00, I quickly snatched it.

The Time - What Time Is It (1982)
They had about 7-8 prints of this so the guy let me have it for 50 cents still sealed. I was a big fan of this one as I remember having the album & the cassette (which are long gone) while in high school.

Run DMC - King Of Rock (1985)
Not the biggest fan of hip-hop, but back in the day you would hear this EVERYWHERE! Another of those that I had both album & cassette that somehow disappeared. At 3 bucks still sealed, I jumped it. Also found the "Fat Boys" debut album still sealed @ 3 dollars.

Isley Brothers - Live It Up (1973)
This was one that I waited patiently to be re-issued on CD for years. I finally copped it's release back in 02' I think? 3 bucks still sealed.

Now for the best find. Disco Funk, Again I gotta give you props on this one as it is one of the most diverse,well arranged afro/latin/funk albums that I have ever had the pleasure to absorb...:
Nico Gomez & His Afro Percussion Inc. - Ritual (197?)
This one was kind of strange as I don't see a release date. It is on the Dureco/Omega International label so I don't think it is an import pressing. This was found in the Calypso/Latin section and when I flipped through the crate and saw the sealed cover, I damn near jumped as high as Holyfield when Iron Mike Tyson got that ear. The old white man that ran this booth was very freindly but obviously didn't know that he has some rare stuff that would go for crazy cash in the collector's arena. When I pulled the album out of the crate, You could tell it hadn't been touched for a while because the plastic kind of stuck to the album that was behind it. I flipped the cover over upon examination and noticed that it had a very slight bend to it. Didn't think much of it at the time being happy to have found a copy of it still sealed at 4 bucks. I made my way to the counter with a little smirk on my face and the old man says "Son, I appreciate your business. Not many people buy these things anymore". We exchanged a few more words,he bagged me up and I was out. I had on all white and it was hot (outside flea market) so I was all sweaty and dirty from the dusty albums. I think I bought about 13 albums total (only listed a few) and fellas, you all know....13 albums can get kind of heavy when you are ready to go but your lady is looking at shoes,perfume & pocketbooks in sweltering heat and must try on absolutely everything that she sees. When we got home, I opened the album and noticed that it does have a slight warp it it....The warp is about half the curve of a banana. I don't think a turntable would be able to play it so I have a few heavy boxes on top of the album to try and help flatten it out (don't laugh). BTW, does anyone think that will work? Just a desperate attempt to restore an otherwise mint condition original release of an album that I have heard/read so much about and sells for anywhere from $200-$600 dollars.

[eddie]

Best thing I can say is to put that warped record at the bottom of the pile and hope it gets bent back. That's one of the reasons why I don't collect vinyl. I also avoid seller in FL, CA, and NY unless they have extremely high ratings. It seems that every bad disc I get is from one of these three states. The sun can play a role in affecting the condition of a disc. Just recently I received a CD with funny discolorations that I assume was from the sun. Upon playing it the bits are sort of rotted and there's heavy static.

I have 2 superstitions in this world. Never mention the discs you are going to buy before you actually buy them and they are fully shipped and in your hand. The other is music shopping with a girlfriend or wife. Never do it.

[soulsta]

that is rather scary--as a holder of over 9000 lp's I understand what you mean. I have been lucky that mine haven't warped but they have an extremly small bow to them but they play just fine. most flea markets that are out doors I try to make sure that I check them unless It is something absolutely rare. good luck!

[Disco Funk]

Awesome stuff, visuals! Too bad about the damage to the Nico Gomez album. If you're still looking for a good quality version, you could try getting the CD reissue from Japan. Sassy Soul Strut is a cool find. I think Bernard Purdie plays on the title track, with Wilbur Bascomb of Bad Bascomb fame on bass. If you listen to stuff like the Gordon's War soundtrack, you'll notice the rhythm section sounds similar to this record, even though Purdie and Bascomb aren't individually credited on that LP. Love Sound Experience. I listened to a repressing of that live album, and didn't like it. I think part of the appeal is the heavy sounding mix courtesy of Stan Watson and the Sigma Sound studios. Isley Brothers 'Live It Up' is such a cool track. When I first heard it, I thought it was a late 70s recording. Then I found out it was from '74 and I really dig it, plus I've been digging all of their mid 70s funk stuff. Check out this cool Soul Train Line dance to Live It Up on Youtube:

Live It Up Line Dance

Disco Funk

[Afroboy]

Hi Visuals ,, Lucky finds bro !! I had some luck to recently ,, Got Millie Jackson - Caught Up ,, Beautiful Bend ,, Herbie Mann -Waterbed ,, plus some early 70's Melba Moore and Billy Paul ,, ok ,, About your warped record ,, Ive saved a few of mine by using the following method ,, Place the record between two peices of thickish glass very clean !! ,, use four clamps and four peices of timber to clamp it all tite eight if you have them !! ,, place it in the sun until the glass heats up then leave it for a few hours to cook a little ,, you can at this point retighten the clamps a tiny bit ,, after two hours or so have passed bring it indoors and let it cool down naturally ,, this is the only method that works for me ,, ideally the glass should be 4inches larger than the record all round so when its clamped up the whole Lp sees the sun ,, ## .. When you do yours leave it out for half the time let it cool and see if its done if not go for it again the next day for a while longer ,, cheers ,, Afro

[visuals]

Awesome stuff, visuals! Too bad about the damage to the Nico Gomez album. If you're still looking for a good quality version, you could try getting the CD reissue from Japan. Sassy Soul Strut is a cool find. I think Bernard Purdie plays on the title track, with Wilbur Bascomb of Bad Bascomb fame on bass. If you listen to stuff like the Gordon's War soundtrack, you'll notice the rhythm section sounds similar to this record, even though Purdie and Bascomb aren't individually credited on that LP.

Yes, Sassy Soul Strut is a great Lou album that I have wished would be reissued on cd. I liked quite a bit of Lou's late 60's stuff on Blue Note but this album proved that he was at a pivitol point in his career by choosing to stray from the jazz/blues type sides cut at Blue Note and try a hand at a more commercial approach which worked quite well IMHO. The cheesy cover of Sylvia's "Pillow Talk" I could have done without but the rest is very tight with some wah-wah guitar and nice brass. Inner Space sounds as if it could have been a Creed Taylor piece which shows a different side from his Blue Note offerings. It also looks like YouTube removed the clip due to use without permission.:(

Afroboy: Very good idea you have posted. I never thought of that but it makes sense and I do intend to try the method. I currently have the album under some heavy boxes but haven't checked it out lately since I also bought the cd.

[all*that*glitters*]

Nico Gomez & His Afro Percussion Inc. - Ritual (197?)
This one was kind of strange as I don't see a release date. It is on the Dureco/Omega International label so I don't think it is an import pressing. This was found in the Calypso/Latin section and when I flipped through the crate and saw the sealed cover, I damn near jumped as high as Holyfield when Iron Mike Tyson got that ear. The old white man that ran this booth was very freindly but obviously didn't know that he has some rare stuff that would go for crazy cash in the collector's arena. When I pulled the album out of the crate, You could tell it hadn't been touched for a while because the plastic kind of stuck to the album that was behind it. I flipped the cover over upon examination and noticed that it had a very slight bend to it. Didn't think much of it at the time being happy to have found a copy of it still sealed at 4 bucks. I made my way to the counter with a little smirk on my face and the old man says "Son, I appreciate your business. Not many people buy these things anymore". We exchanged a few more words,he bagged me up and I was out. I had on all white and it was hot (outside flea market) so I was all sweaty and dirty from the dusty albums. I think I bought about 13 albums total (only listed a few) and fellas, you all know....13 albums can get kind of heavy when you are ready to go but your lady is looking at shoes,perfume & pocketbooks in sweltering heat and must try on absolutely everything that she sees. When we got home, I opened the album and noticed that it does have a slight warp it it....The warp is about half the curve of a banana. I don't think a turntable would be able to play it so I have a few heavy boxes on top of the album to try and help flatten it out (don't laugh). BTW, does anyone think that will work? Just a desperate attempt to restore an otherwise mint condition original release of an album that I have heard/read so much about and sells for anywhere from $200-$600 dollars.

I don't like to rain on your parade, Visuals, but if this album is truely the original Belgian release it would not have been sealed, as it was not the custom in Belgium in 1975 to seal records at the time of their original release. Especially not for a 'cheapo' company like Omega International...
If the label/cover mentions 'Dureco/Omega International' it is probably a Dutch reissue...as Dureco is the Dutch company that re-released 'Ritual', the latter being the Belgian company that released the original.

'Ritual' has been re-released in Japan in 2003 with the same cover art, same label as the original. The album has been re-released in many different countries, always as a limited edition. In Holland only 500 copies were repressed. Even the re-releases are quite rare to find and expensive. So it's quite possible that your copy is a re-release....although a great find for that money.
About the warp; I have tried and tested the following to correct the warp.
It's possible to remove the warp when done correctly but by doing so the quality of the sound will be influenced as the grooves are being affected in the process...

Place the warped record between two clean heavy glass plates and place these into direct warm sunlight untill the glass feels warm. After a few hours or so the vinyl will be flattened by the heat and the weight of the glass. Leave the glassplates to cool off, then remove the vinyl. It has worked for me with a few 45 rpms, so try it out with a few worthless records before you try it on 'Rituals'. But a warped copy of 'Ritual' will not be very valuable anyway....

[visuals]

I don't like to rain on your parade, Visuals, but if this album is truely the original Belgian release it would not have been sealed, as it was not the custom in Belgium in 1975 to seal records at the time of their original release. Especially not for a 'cheapo' company like Omega International...
If the label/cover mentions 'Dureco/Omega International' it is probably a Dutch reissue...as Dureco is the Dutch company that re-released 'Ritual', the latter being the Belgian company that released the original.

Yes, all*that*glitters....You are correct in regards of the album being a Dutch reissue. I have since questioned this find here at a local specialty shoppe and have checked around on the internet. I was told numerous times that the warp could possibly hurt the value/playability of the album whether the problem was corrected or not (which was sort-of obvious); and also that it is indeed an import reissue hence no release date and most likely the reason why the album wound up in the hands of the vendor where I bought it from....So upon hearing those facts and being as I also bought the Japanese re-issue on CD, I haven't touched the vinyl album since. Someone else here mentioned the same method of warp removal but I haven't tried it yet. Still, It's nice to have both album and cd in my collection. Thanks*

[KoolChris]

My tested and proven solution (when no sun is available): Same use of glass plates, which you hold high above a gas burner, or place in a stove. Ideally, remove the original cover, and place vinyl in a new generic paper sleeve, before placing between the glass plates. Surprisingly enough, vinyl doesn't melt that quickly. However, you should try this progressively, i.e. expose it to heat for a short while, let the glass plates/record cool down, check record, renew procedure for a slightly longer time, etc... You'll also obviously need some leather gloves or kitchen mitts, since the heat will let itself be felt in a possibly painful manner, otherwise.

This can be quite time-consuming if done right (cautiously), but should prove very effective. If you're really thrilled about the record though, you won't mind...

[ol'skinflint]

My tested and proven solution (when no sun is available): Same use of glass plates, which you hold high above a gas burner, or place in a stove. Ideally, remove the original cover, and place vinyl in a new generic paper sleeve, before placing between the glass plates. Surprisingly enough, vinyl doesn't melt that quickly. However, you should try this progressively, i.e. expose it to heat for a short while, let the glass plates/record cool down, check record, renew procedure for a slightly longer time, etc... You'll also obviously need some leather gloves or kitchen mitts, since the heat will let itself be felt in a possibly painful manner, otherwise.

This can be quite time-consuming if done right (cautiously), but should prove very effective. If you're really thrilled about the record though, you won't mind...

I once successfully ironed a warped album (through the cover of course) but don't really remember the details. But it worked, and I thought I was terribly clever for thinking of it...