From scouring flea markets and eBay to maxing out their credit cards, record collectors will do just about anything to score a long-sought-after album. In Vinyl Freak, music writer, curator, and collector John Corbett burrows deep inside the record fiend’s mind, documenting and reflecting on his decades-long love affair with vinyl. Discussing more than 200 rare and out-of-print LPs, Vinyl Freak is composed in part of Corbett's long-running DownBeat magazine column of the same name, which was devoted to records that had not appeared on CD. In other essays where he combines memoir and criticism, Corbett considers the current vinyl boom, explains why vinyl is his preferred medium, profiles collector subcultures, and recounts his adventures assembling the Alton Abraham Sun Ra Archive, an event so all-consuming that he claims it cured his record-collecting addiction. Perfect for vinyl newbies and veteran crate diggers alike, Vinyl Freak plumbs the motivations that drive Corbett and collectors everywhere.
- Cover
- Contents
- Track One / Formation of a Freak
- Track Two / “News of My Death, Greatly Exaggerated,” Quoth the Record
- Column One / 2000–2003
- Philly Joe Jones, Philly Joe Jones
- Paul Gonsalves, Cookin’
- Takashi Furuya with the Freshmen, Fanky Drivin’
- Carsten Meinert Kvartet, To You
- Melvin Jackson, Funky Skull
- Gloria Coleman Quartet featuring Pola Roberts, Soul Sisters
- Elmo Hope Ensemble, Sounds from Rikers Island
- Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath, Brotherhood
- Morris Grants Presents J.U.N.K.
- Tom Stewart, Sextette / Quintette
- Kenny Graham and His Satellites, Moondog and Suncat Suites
- John Coltrane, Cosmic Music
- André Hodeir, Jazz et Jazz: Jazz Experiments; Triple Play Stereo: Pop + Jazz = Swing; Bill Russo Orchestra, Stereophony
- George Davis Sextet, various
acetates
- Staffan Harde, Staffan Harde
- Art Pepper, Chile Pepper
- Jack Wilson, The Jazz Organs
- Craig Harris, Tributes
- Quintet Moderne, The Strange and the Commonplace
- A. K. Salim, Afro-Soul / Drum Orgy
- Tristan Meinecke, home recordings
- The Chico Hamilton Quintet, Sweet Smell of Success
- Lehn-Strid, Here There; Klapper-Küchen, Irregular
- Bill Leslie, Diggin’ the Chicks; Thornel Schwartz with Bill Leslie, Soul Cookin'
- Tony Scott and His Buddies, Gypsy
- Herbie Mann, Great
Ideas of Western Mann
- Track Three / Freak, Not Snob
- Column Two / 2004–2006
- Afreaka!, Demon Fuzz
- Contemporary
Sound Series
- Beaver Harris / Don Pullen 360-Degree Experience, A Well-Kept Secret
- Mike Osborne Trio, Border Crossing
- The Three Souls, Dangerous Dan Express
- Steve Lacy, Raps
- Halki Collective, Halki Collective
- The Amram-Barrow
Quartet, The Eastern Scene
- Charlie Parker acetates
- Tommy “Madman” Jones, A Different
Sound and Just Friends
- The New York Art Quartet, Mohawk
- Paul Gonsalves / Tubby Hayes, Just Friends; Tubby Hayes and the Paul Gonsalves All Stars, Change of Setting
- Anthony Braxton, New York, Fall 1974
- Herbie Fields Sextet, A Night at Kitty’s
- Air, 80º Below ’82
- Guy Warren with Red Saunders Orchestra, Africa Speaks—America Answers
- Barry Altschul, Another Time, Another Place
- The Korean Black Eyes, “Higher”
- Rufus Jones, Five on Eight
- Johnny Shacklett Trio, At the Hoffman House
- The Mad-Hatters,
The Mad-Hatters
at Midnight
- Klaus Doldinger, Doldinger Goes On
- Max Roach, Solos
- Dick Johnson, Most Likely . . .
- Phil Seamen, The Phil Seamen Story
- Paul Smoker Trio, QB
- Khan Jamal, Drumdance to the Motherland; Franz Koglmann, For Franz / Opium
- Track Four / Brand New Secondhand:
Record
Collector
Subcultures
- Column Three / 2006–2012
- Walt Dunn seven-inch singles
- Leonard Feather, The Night Blooming Jazzmen
- Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Modern Jazz Expressions
- Archie Shepp, Plays the Music of James Brown; Cozy Eggleston, Grand Slam
- Black Grass, Black Grass
- Yoke & Yohs seven-inch
45
- The Bill Dixon Orchestra, Intents and Purposes
- Orchestre Régional de Mopti, Orchestre Régional de Mopti
- The Jihad, Black & Beautiful . . . Soul & Madness
- Milford Graves / Don Pullen, Milford Graves & Don Pullen at Yale University
- Heikki Sarmanto Sextet, Flowers in the Water; G.L. Unit, Orangutang!
- Ernie and Emilio Caceres, Ernie & Emilio Caceres
- Maarten Altena, Papa Oewa
- The London Experimental Jazz Quartet, Invisible Roots
- Sunny Murray, Big Chief; Solidarity Unit, Inc., Red, Black and Green
- Dick Wetmore, Dick Wetmore
- United Front, Path with a Heart
- Joseph Scianni with David Izenzon, Man Running
- The Residents, The Beatles Play the Residents and the Residents Play the Beatles
- John Carter / Bobby Bradford Quartet, Flight for Four and Self Determination Music
- Johnny Lytle Trio, Blue Vibes
- Orchid Spangiafora, Flee Past’s Ape Elf
- Noah Howard, Space Dimension
- Baikida Carroll, The Spoken Word
- Randy Weston, Blues
- Charles Bobo Shaw Human
Arts Ensemble, Çonceré Ntasiah
- Lee “Scratch” Perry, Double-7
- Eddie Shu / Joe Roland / Wild Bill Davis, New Stars—New
Sounds
- Cecil Taylor / Tony Oxley, Ailanthus / Altissima
- Unidentified Kenyan
Highlife Band, seven-inch
test pressing
- Track Five / Specialty of the House
- Track Six / Anything Can Happen Day: Sun Ra, Alton Abraham, and the Taming of the Freak
- Column Four / 2016
- Le Sun-Ra and His Arkistra, “Saturn”; Tom Prehn Quartet, Axiom
- Track Seven / Run-Off
Groove
- Acknowledgments