This mix came about like most do: I grabbed a stack of records — some recent acquisitions some not so — that included tunes I’m currently obsessed with, put a tape in the deck, started mixing without a plan, and then tried to stop by the time the tape ran out. The main difference this time is it’s not a bunch of Strictly Rhythm trax or whatever, but rather tunes that are fun to belt out when one is alone in the car. Or not alone. Since Arkansas is a strange cultural vortex, or at least a dusty eddy, it’s always fun to eke out local connections to the music. Not too much doing here. Some tangential ones, though. Sonny Sharrock did some of his most beautiful work with Pharaoh “Little Rock” Sanders. (Speaking of, I wonder if Pharaoh ever corrected people out in L.A. when they started calling him that. “Uh, it’s NORTH Little Rock.” “Yeah whatever you say, Little Rock.”) The Ventures’ famous Mosrites were made in Booneville for, what, a few months? And, um, Leon Russell was a Tultsa Boy, so maybe he got lost on some back-road one night and found himself in Siloam Springs. Anyway, enjoy.
J Carptenter – Into the Spirit Path
Robert Schröder – Lost Humanity
Leon & Mary Russell – Rainbow in Your Eyes
Sonny & Linda Sharrock – Apollo
Terry Reid – To Be Treated Right
Double – Wrong Time
Demis Roussos – My Face in the Rain
The Ventures – Good Morning Captain
Formerly of Chinese Girls and ettiem, Andrew Morgan’s new release is the cassette-only album “CF-1,” released under the name Country Florist on Drawing Room Records.