Who is Fab Farm Freddy???

The latest childrens character to hit the little screen on Cbeebies? No. Maybe an agricultural psychopath with razor blade gloves? Nope, not him either. Fab Farm Freddy is simply the result of misconstrued lyrics by an uncredited 'U.S. Disco Explosion' vocalist on her/their cover of Blondie's classic pop track 'Rapture'.

Now, even I have struggled over the years to decipher some of the words within Deborah Harry's somewhat abstract 'rap', but one line which is definitely as clear as day is, "Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody's fly...". How on earth the vocalist ended up with "Fab Farm Freddy told me everything he's tried..." I don't know. Oh well, nothing to lose sleep over and since the vinyl is pretty scratched up I won't be listening to it very often anyway. Besides, it's all about the sleeve and vinyl on this one...

The records been sat in my crates for a few years now and I only stumbled across it again the other day. It's a Japanese promo demonstration album for Sharp's 'Linear Tracking' turntables, an idea which obviously didn't take off too well at the time. You can read all about the 'exciting new technology' by clicking on the scan of the back cover for an enlargement, or if like me you're not particularly interested, just admire the sleeve and picture disc vinyl. Classic '80s material throughout.

I've already got a pretty solid collection of "Carrying Type Stereos" - to quote the sleeve - but only one which includes a turntable, the J.V.C. 'BA DC33' (that's not my clip on Youtube by the way). Since having laid eyes on the one pictured here though I definitely need to upgrade - that MONSTER should definitely "vibrate the concrete"!

So here's the sound-clip (crackles and pops included), and below that are some photos of my own 'Ghetto Blaster', 'Boombox', whatever you wanna call them, collection...


U.S. Disco Explosion 'Rapture' (1982 Sharp L.P.)






Aiwa TPR 990K (click to enlarge)


J.V.C. BA DC33 (click to enlarge)


Hitachi TRK 8200E (click to enlarge)


Sharp GF 555E (click to enlarge)


Sharp GF 8989E (click to enlarge)

Intersound Studios - demonstration disc

Just recently picked up this lovely little item from my local dealer (for £1.50) and I don't think I've ever come across more elaborate or beautifully designed packaging for a 7" single. What's more, it's a promo only item which would have been distributed (I'm guessing in the late '60s / early '70s - there's no date listed) for free!!! The said record is a demonstration disc for Intersound Recording Studios in London who certainly went to town with the presentation in an all out effort to impress potential clients...

Firstly, it's housed in a heavy weight PVC outer sleeve which is screen printed on one side and lines up with one of two inlays. The first inlay is a single card sheet printed on both sides with a map of the Studio location, and on the flip a lovely 'in-house' fish-eye shot of recording musicians. It's the second inlay that lines up with the outer sleeve though and this is where the intricate part of the packaging really comes into play. Once removed from the PVC, the octagonal card sheet reveals itself to fold out eight ways into what could be described as a 'press-sheet' with further studio photos and a brief history of the company held within...

Describing it, even with the accompanying scans below, doesn't really do this package justice. It's the sort of thing you really need to physically interact with to appreciate the over all design and quality of execution.

Once you've folded out the inner packaging you come to the actual vinyl which also features some lovely artwork with the bold black and yellow print on the labels complementing the vibrant magenta of the sleeve perfectly.

So is the record any good? Well, there's nothing on here that's overly exciting but there is a couple of cool loops and the odd bit of samplable dialogue. The music featured is by Maynard Ferguson, Arrival, Harry Rabinowitz, Judith Durham and a Latin group I can't catch the name of (if anyone knows it please let me know). The Harry Rabinowitz tune is 'Bach To Bossa' and I could imagine Young Einstein doing things with this. The Latin track's my favourite with an intro that's gotta be hooked up. I have no idea if these tracks were made exclusively for this demo or if they were commercially released and just recorded at Intersound. The running commentary reports the Judith Durham track was recorded for a 'TV special' so who knows? I've recorded both sides in full so you can check them below...

Enjoy...



PVC outer sleeve



Inlay sheet - front (click to enlarge)



Inlay sheet - back (click to enlarge)



Octagonal inlay - folded



Octagonal inlay - unfolded front (click to enlarge and read)



Octagonal inlay - unfolded back (click to enlarge)



Record label - Side A



Record label - Side B


Intersound Studios - Demonstration disc (Side A)




Intersound Studios - Demonstration disc (Side B)

Waaaaaaaax

I love 'wax' - as in the flat black vinyl type. Don't like it so much when it's the horrible brown sh*t that clogs up your ear canals. For the last week I've had a big lump of the stuff lodged in my left lug'ole leaving me pretty much deaf on one side. Daily doses of Otex couldn't shift it so yesterday I made an appointment for syringing at the doctors. I'm all cleaned out now and feeling good again. It's amazing how sh*t it can make you feel having your ear blocked for a week. Most of my evenings are usually spent listening to music and for the past seven days I haven't been able to enjoy it at all. Today my hearing is crystal clear again so the latest vinyl purchases are getting banged out hard. Marco Polo & Torae's "Double Barrel", Blaq Poet's "The Blaqprint", Soulbrova's "Collectors Item" albums and the Soundsci "Dig For Victory" EP are all getting heavy rotation on the turntables...

So, whilst partially deaf I decided to pull out some of the strangest wax from the racks - the sort of stuff I don't really listen to but for one reason or another have decided to keep. Some for the appreciation of graphic design, some for the novelty value and others purely for the odd curio appeal. No MP3s included - you really don't need to hear any of these records - hopefully you can enjoy the sleeve and label artwork and use your imagination as to the content of the vinyl...


Pretty Talk (196? Caperns flexidisc)

First up is one of my favourites - "The record that teaches your budgie to talk!". Possibly one the most pointless records ever produced. As it says on the back - "On side one there are four simple phrases: 'Pretty Boy', 'Clever Little Boy', 'Good Morning' and 'Mama's Little Treasure'. each phrase takes up one band. In between each phrase there is a short silence period which allows you to lift the pick-up and play the phrase over and over again. Remember, don't teach your budgie a new phrase until he has learnt the previous one". Side two includes three more phrases as well as a demonstration by Sparkie 'the champion talking budgerigar' (who is quite obviously NOT a budgie at all, more like some lunatic telling nursery rhymes through a weird voice effects unit).

Now maybe I'm missing something here, but surely it would be far easier to simply repeat the phrases yourself rather than make the effort to take a record out, put it on the turntable and keep needle dropping back to the beginning every time a particular section ends?!! I dunno, seems a bit pointless to me. Anyway...the reason I love this record is purely for the artwork which was designed by Robert Sharp and Partners. I very much doubt I would have even contemplated buying a 'teach your budgie to talk' record without the cover's appeal...




Front (click to enlarge)




Back (click to enlarge)




Label (click to enlarge)


Slimming Matters (196? Limmits flexidisc)

Another flexidisc which I'm presuming would have been a giveaway in a magazine or something similar. No sleeve with this one, instead the artwork is paste across the entire face of side B. And again, it's the graphic design that grabbed my attention and made this a 'keeper' record. In fact, it's not so much the graphic design alone, but the fact it's paste onto the actual record - don't think I've got anything remotely similar.




B-side (click to enlarge)




Label (click to enlarge)


Play Time (196? Hammond Organ flexidisc)

Issued by the Hammond Organ Company, this little flexi is a "Capsule demonstration of how easily you and every member of your family can learn to play the Hammond Spinet Organ' with spoken word accompaniment on side A, and a medley of 'your favourite tunes' by Keith Beckingham on the flip. I 'spose there's some samplable moments on the A side but really I've kept this for the artwork and (gatefold) packaging more than anything. Nice colour combo, bold, fun typography and nice use of images...




Front (click to enlarge)




Back (click to enlarge)




Inside (click to enlarge)




Label (click to enlarge)


Heart Sounds (196? Leo Pharmaceutical Products)

I bought this from the same charity shop I copped my most prized bizarro 45 - the Canesten 'Visiona' record I wrote about here. A combination of potential spoken word sample fodder and lovely sleeve artwork secured the 25p asking price. I've never come across more elaborate packaging for a seven inch single - housed in both an outer sleeve with a three way fold out inner tucked inside, all finished with beautiful illustration and crisp graphic design. The content of the record is about as dull as you can imagine - buh-bump...buh-bump...buh-bump - as the title suggests, it's recordings of various heart beat rates, and that's it. I'm guessing it was an educational record given to medical students in the mid-sixties - I can't imagine anyone would have actually bought this!




Front (click to enlarge)




Back (click to enlarge)




Inside (click to enlarge)




Inside (click to enlarge)




Inside (click to enlarge)




Label (click to enlarge)


Economics For Everyone (196? Luxaflex)

It states on the sleeve of this package 'best-selling record', which either makes this a re-issue or a rather optimistic piece of forward thinking by the manufacturer. I think the latter is probably more true. Anyway, a very strange one to make it onto vinyl...surely reading about this sort of thing would be far more insightful than a 10 minute audio lecture? Again, this was a very cheap, 'pence' record I picked up for the packaging more than anything so the content doesn't play too much on my mind. Lovely illustration set across four sides of a gatefold sleeve...




Front (click to enlarge)




Back (click to enlarge)




Inside (click to enlarge)




Inside (click enlarge)




Label (click to enlarge)


Congratulations, You've Got The Job (198? Dolland & Aitchinson)

Judging by the stunning front cover of this album I would have placed it around the late '60s, early '70s and the publishing date of 1972 on the back at first seems to confirm this. However, the liner notes give details of company history up until 1980 so this must have been issued sometime in the early part of that decade. I'm presuming it was originally produced in 1972 but they stuck with the front cover design for later runs, adding and amending company history on the back. What I love about this album, apart from the amazing photography, is the fact that Dolland and Aitchison actually sent successful job applicants a record along with a congratulatory letter (amusingly explained within the first minute or so of the spoken word introduction). It's a funny old album, with company training included amongst a few standard classical pieces of music, nothing exciting, but still. Enjoy the cover.




Front (click to enlarge)




Back (click to enlarge)




Label (click to enlarge)


The Man (1972 Birds Eye Recording Company)

'A Tribute To James Parratt CBE' is an album that was recorded by colleages of the Chairman of Birds Eye to commemorate his retirement in 1972. A combination of oddball comedy music intertwined with amusing anecdotes, it comes off sounding kind of Monty Pythonish and actually, is genuinely very funny in places. I should imagine these were pressed up and given out to members of staff at a lavish fairwell party before being banished to the backs of cupboards, attics and garages after a couple of novelty plays. Great artwork on both the sleeve and labels...




Front (click to enlarge)




Back (click to enlarge)




Label (click to enlarge)


Seamanship In Small Craft (197? J.B. Recordings)

A guide to 'safety at sea for amateur boat owners' is pretty self explanatory but the contents of this record hold absolutely no interest to me since I don't own a boat and have no plans of buying one anytime soon. I do love the graphic design on the cover though, especially the little logo section in the bottom right hand corner of the back - I've included a detailed scan below...




Front (click to enlarge)




Back (click to enlarge)




Back detail (click to enlarge)




Label (click to enlarge)


Right, that's it for now. I did have another half a dozen or so records scanned in but dragging these images down to the bottom each time is driving me mad. I'll post the others up on a later date.

Whilst writing this I've listened to the entire 'Double Barrel' album two times straight and have gotta say, is possibly the best hardcore Rap LP recorded this decade. Marco Polo, in my opinion, is the most consistant and hard hitting Boom-Bap producer out right now and Torae sounds hungry as f*ck. The balance of cameos is just right and DJ Revolution's cuts are on some next level ish - funky as hell and tighter than ever. Go out and buy this album people - don't download (for free or through Itunes or whatever), go and buy the vinyl. Support Hip-Hop. Matter of fact, go out and buy all those records I mentioned in the first paragraph - they are all worth your hard earned cash.

Keep on Rockin' with the...

I mentioned in my last post one of the other records I picked up on my recent Charity shop dig in Bognor Regis, so here it is - the 'Toyota Jazz Parade - Rock' LP. I'm gonna be honest - there's nothing too exciting on this album musically, but the sleeve is amazing! The artwork is uncredited which is a shame because both front and reverse of this gatefold cover feature great illustration work which was the main reason I picked it up the record in the first place.

I love these type of promotional albums - manufactured specifically to advertise products. For a start, they weren't produced in huge quantities so if they do turn out to have anything decent on them you know they are that little bit rarer. As I already mentioned, this particular album isn't that exciting but it did put me onto a record I was unaware of that I now need in my collection.

Featured on here is a version of "The Theme From Shaft" performed by a band called The Generation Gap. Now I'm not really a great fan of this song and probably have over a dozen different covers of it on various albums, but I did like the 'sound' (the drums are hitting hard) produced by The Generation Gap - enough for me to google them to try and find out more. It turns out this track is from their 1972 RCA LP "Generation Gap play the Theme From Shaft and Other Hits". At the time of writing this post there is a copy listed on eBay which includes sound clips to their versions of "Rock Steady", "Family Affair" and "Hallelujah" all which feature very nice drum breaks. The asking price is $39.90 so well out of my range considering I very rarely spend much more than a couple of quid on anything other than Hip-Hop. Still, at least I know about it now and will hopefully come across a copy on my travels one day...

And for those of you who appreciate artwork just as much as music, check out this lovely screen print which arrived on my doorstep last week courtesy of the good chaps at ILoveDust.

Cheers Brucie...

(click image to enlarge)














The Generation Gap "Theme From Shaft" (1972 RCA LP track)