Al Reed is one of those New Orleans artists I doubt was much known outside the 504 area code. He recorded a handful of sides with Dave Bartholomew for Imperial, then another handful for Instant. There may have been some other releases as well, truth is I can't find a discography and I only own one other of his 45's.
He also wrote some nice songs including "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" [which Danny White recorded], played and sang on some other folks records, and in the late 60's formed his own label, Axe.
I think the joke here is that Reed actually meant to call the label "Ask' and was misheard by the person designing the label. Don't worry if you don't get it, it's only mildly amusing.
Anyway, I only know of two Reed singles on Axe, this being the much easier of the two to find, but still not a record that usually sells for cheap. Certainly not $2, not even in this shape.
That said, the 45 doesn't sound half bad now that I've scrubbed it clean. Lots and lots of pork fat and sawdust in those grooves. Too bad some cat sharpened it's claws on it as well.
Yep, not bad at all. I'm actually impressed with the sound given how rough it looks.
Hope ya'll enjoy. Wardell Quezerque did the arrangement. The year is 1968.
thank you sooo much
ReplyDeletesorry this link don't work
Works for me, Anon. I just tried it.
ReplyDeleteana..
Bondo helped a lot! Nice disc!
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I'm glad you approve J.
ReplyDeleteSanding out all those little grooves was such a pain. The 45 looks a lot better since I spray painted it, but I'm worried the finish won't hold up. Next time I have a problem record I'm gonna use an acid dip, then maybe have a professional copper plating job applied before the paint.
Actually, I've come up with a new invention which might also help. I've figured out how to mount sandpaper in place of my stylus brush [fine grit of course].
I'm thinking a regular sanding, along with a weekly application of orange juice and maple syrup should solve most of my vinyl/audio problems.
Oh, it occurs to me that someone may be taking notes on how to apply bondo to records, thus I feel I should explain that the only way to do a nice job is to use a masonry trowel and a butane torch.
ReplyDeleteHelps if you stand on your head too.
Great tune, but 'I call my baby Ivory'?
ReplyDeleteThis might be a silly question, but is he telling us she's white? Was that a big deal in '68?
DJ Dod
DJ Dod, I wondered about that myself when I first heard the record. Actually my dad ended up cluing me in....it refers to an old Ivory soap commercial. The soap was supposed to be 99 44/100ths pure.
ReplyDeleteSo, it's a joke.
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ReplyDeleteIf you watch the screen closely, you'll see they flash "99 44/100 % Pure" during this commercial.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luPeMAEvnSA
Thanks Ana - I love the little bits of social history in these old 45s!
ReplyDeleteDJ Dod
I know at least one other AL Reed song but not sure of the label. A song used for Halloween called Hoodoo
ReplyDeleteAnon....there are several others, including "Hoodoo". In fact if you click on 'Al Reed' in the sidebar you can hear "Top Notch Grade A".
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