Royal Oak

A couple of Stephane Grappelli Lps and "Sunday Walk" by Jean-Luc Ponty. Never heard Ponty out of the Zappa band/repertoire.

Highway 61 Revisited. Big feature in this month's Record Collector about this LP. Not sure I'd agree with calling it the most influential/important/whatever album ever, but I like it.

Booker T and the MGs - Green Onions. Would sound a lot better without the scratch!

Listening to singers that can actually sing? Marion Brown - Afternoon of a Georgia Faun [ECM] Fair play, but it sure is his own voice.

Listening, for the first time ever, to "Blonde On Blonde". Fuck me, what have I been doing for 40 years?

On a similar/not-so-similar note, the Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has a biography in the offing, 10 copies of which are reported to contain a drop of his blood on a special page. A snip at $75000.

The Sting appreciation thread - post your favourite recordings here.

The Woman Chaser - Charles Willeford. An undemanding, enjoyable read.

Well, I bought it a few weeks ago, after knowing it since the sixties. I wonder if we've caused a surge in sales for this album? Bought mine about 10 years ago! Today received the Randy Weston Mosaic Select.

Over the past 4 weeks I've been watching "This Is England 86", a mini-series on Channel 4 here in the UK. It finished last night, and I don't think I've ever seen a TV programme so gripping in my life. I've not stopped thinking about it all day.

That album always reminds me of my dad, who had a copy. As a 7/8 year old, the title always seemed a little strange to me.

Davy Graham - "Ain't Nobody's Business" and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright". In fact, pretty much all of Davy Graham's "Folk, Blues and Beyond" album.

Wilbraham Road, opposite Morrisons. There was a rack full of nice CDs - the owner said he'd recently bought a collection of about 600. The "Collector's" vinyl I only had a skim through.

Cormack McCarthy's "The Road". What a grim tale (NOT a criticism BTW).

Went to one of Manchester's few remaining second-hand record shops today, Kingbee Records in Chorlton (you must be familiar with this one Bill). Don Wilkerson "Preach Brother" Jimmy Forrest "Forrest Fire" Duke Pearson "Wahoo"

Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon". My first ever Floyd LP. Enjoying it.

Thank you Phil. That's a hell of a lot of discussion!

Stones - Let It Bleed. Felt good to hear this again, reminded me of nice times.

Thanks for the link, and thanks to others for advice.

Charlie Parker "Yardbird" EP, bought earlier today. After spending most of the past 4 weeks listening to 60s beat/pop/rock and a lot of "classical" music, it was very refreshing to hear some lo-fi bop.

Charlie's Wig, Don't Blame Me, Dexterity and Drifting On A Reed.

Hardi-fuckin-har. (Think that line might be from Reservoir Dogs actually)

You can still do this in recycling bins in supermarket car parks. THough I've never noticed any boy scout trips to the local Tescos. Anyway, I believe scouts nowadays are more tied up earning badges for applying hair gel or changing SIM cards (that's my old codger comment for the month). I hear that male youths use hair straighteners now. Back to the orginal point. My son (aged 7) does love to come to the tip with me, primarily to chuck stuff (or watch me chuck stuff, as I chuck further) off the ledge into the pit below. Boys do love to break things.

At a car boot sale today, I found a Charlie Parker EP on Bravo! records. Cost me a quid. I had to smile when I read in the cover notes - "a real immortal of Traditional Jazz".

Okay everyone, I have inherited a big collection of old classical LPs, some of which look a little grimy, some of which sound a little like "space dust" (a "popping candy" beloved of UK children of the late 1970s/early 1980s, probably banned for good reason). Anyway, I would like to clean these, and a Moth isn't financially feasible, so can anybody recommend a budget alternative? I see lots of kits on Ebay - spray applicators and cloths - do these work? More importantly, will they foul the records up? Thanks in advance.