Tried to get you off my mind...

[Turns out I do have the scan on my laptop, it was just labeled stupidly.]

Before I forget....it's Allen Toussaint's birthday.

Another one I've been meaning to post forever. One of the first 45s I ever bought and a very important record. Released in 1961, Alon 9000 "New Kind Of Love/But I Couldn't", was very much ahead of it time, especially in terms of the way records were being made in New Orleans. As one musician put it, "he even wrote out the bass lines".

Mr. Toussaint was 23 years old. The 45 literally signaled the coming of a new sound.

Sorry, I don't have the scan with me...I'll add it to the post when I get back home on Monday.

Hope ya'll enjoy......

Crystal Ball...

"Never enough trombone!"

This one goes out to the person who left the above comment on the last post. Thanks hon, you made me laugh. Actually, It's time to thank everyone who bothers to comment. I may not always have time to answer each and every one of your notes, but believe me, they are all appreciated.

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I'm not a huge fan of Allen Toussaint's work with his West Bank Army buddies.....but this cut is different. In a perfect world I'd be bombarded by umpteen variations on "Fortune Teller" every-single-day. Such exquisite torture. Ya know, after a couple of years I might just get tired of it.

Alon singles are impossible to scan. The record is "Crystal Ball" by the Stokes. Produced by Allen Toussaint. Mr. Toussaint is of course playing piano as well.

Hope ya'll enjoy....

[It may not seem like I took much of a break, but it was long enough to come to a rather obvious conclusion. Letting the blog slide during the weekdays, only posting on the weekends, is totally the way to go. No biggie, a lot people don't have time to blog more than once a week. I just got a little spoiled over the last couple of years. Anyway, that's how it is for the time being. If I feel inspired I'll offer up two records.]

Ball of lightning....

A record that's getting to be very tough to find and usually costs a good bit when it does turn up. Certainly I paid for this copy.

In my opinion the goofy-ass lyrics could only be a by-product of whiskey consumption. Luckily, those lyrics still sounded pretty good the next morning, in fact turned out to be so catchy that Mr. Toussaint seemingly found it impossible to come up with anything else. Anyway, that's my explanation for this 45. Take it or leave it.

And yeah, it's catchy. I don't even have to play this record for the song to get stuck in my head. My Boy thinks it's so funny that I sing along to this 45 that he shot a little video clip of me at seven months pregnant, bouncing around, mouthing the words [NO, I'm not going to post it].

Hope ya'll enjoy the tune as much as I do.

[oops, I forgot to mention that the Rubaiyats are Allen Toussaint and Willie Harper]

Baby's first record...

This 45 found it's way under the Christmas tree anonymously. The card on the present read: 'To The Bump', nothing else. Not really much of a mystery though. The rest of the card should have read: From Cranky Old Bastard [With a Heart Of Gold].

Without a doubt the sweetest thing I've seen in awhile. I'd frame the record except I plan on wearing it out during extended patty cake sessions instead. Hopefully it'll end up with crayon scribbles all over the label.

Ya know, like a lot of people I go into the Christmas season with a good bit of anxiety. I mean jeeze, I've got two huge families to deal with.....any gathering could always turn into major train wreck. But somehow that never happens, and I come away feeling loved, and loving all of them in turn, time and time again.

I consider myself very very lucky, but not just because of my family, there are also a few dear friends who who always seem to have my back. Cranky Old Bastard is one of those. Maybe he'll come down for Christmas next year? I keep telling him I'm not the only female who's disappointed when he doesn't show. Ya know, one of 'em is working as a stripper now [nudge nudge].

I suspect this record is secretly loved by a number of people who are too embarrassed to play it when anybody else is around. Certainly it's the sweetest tune Mr. Toussaint ever put to wax. Makes me wish he'd made a children's album. I'm sure Baby Girl will love it.

7 months down, two more to go.

Label this one, much like the rest of the post: Not for use by diabetics.