Vinyl shopping in NYC

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Bleecker Bob's, which is the record store in Greenwich Village where both Jimmy Page and Jim McCarty are said to have bought The Underground Sounds of Jake Holmes during separate visits the day after he opened for the Yardbirds and played a set that included "Dazed and Confused." It was my intention to buy the same album, but they didn't have it. I bought another of his instead, So Close, So Very Far to Go.

Across the street from Bleecker Bob's is the Blue Note jazz club, where the previous night I went with nine others in my party to see the McCoy Tyner Trio featuring Joe Lavano on sax. After I told the storekeeper about the concert, he showed me the jazz section where I could find some McCoy LPs. I ended up buying one called Echoes of a Friend, which is a five-song solo set of his, recorded in Tokyo in 1972, and including some pieces John Coltrane made famous. It opens with "Naima," one of my favorite pieces of Coltrane's.

Since I've been listening to early Donovan, I wanted to look up some early Buffy Sainte-Marie. I couldn't find her debut album, but for $15 I was able to pick up her 2-LP Best Of, Volume 2. Not particularly the older stuff I was looking for, but I won't complain.

Speaking of the Yardbirds, three of the original members reunited in the 1980s under the name Box of Frogs and released two LPs. I bought their 1984 self-titled effort, which includes guest appearances from one-time Yardbirds guitarist Jeff Beck and also Rory Gallagher! There may not be any memorable songs on this album, but I bet I'll enjoy listening to it.

Now in my collection is Any Number Can Win by Hammond B-3 great Jimmy Smith. When John Paul Jones mentioned his name to me on Dec. 10, 2001, it wasn't the first time I had heard his name, but it was the most impactful on me. This will be a great album to try out!

The members of Led Zeppelin said the first version they ever heard of "In My Time of Dying" was by Josh White. I bought a record of his called In Memoriam, with "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" as the second song. The first side was recorded in a 1950 session, and the second side was recorded a year later. As I was paying for my LPs, I asked the shopkeeper, "This Josh White record is gonna make me cry, isn't it?" He said I could take a record by Josh White Jr. for free, for comparison purposes. This is called Sing a Rainbow: Josh White Jr. in Concert.

But the prized possession of this trip is a mint-condition, unopened collectors limited edition high-quality colored vinyl of The Velvet Underground & Nico, produced by Andy Warhol. I bought this because the previous night, my friend Gary said he liked my singing in my lower register, and my friend Mike said I sounded like Lou Reed. I honestly haven't listened to enough Lou Reed, so now I can rectify that.

I bought these eight LPs right after coming from the building featured on the cover of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti. That is in my vinyl collection at home. I have now touched the building.

I'll be heading home sometime today, likely after a visit in Maplewood to see my brother and his family.