Tosh's Favorite Vinyl Albums in the Year 2019

Tosh’s Top Vinyl:

Sparks - “Gratuitous Sax & Seseless Violins”  (BMG) 2019 reissue

Mortimer - “Mortimer”  (Philips) 1968

Kenny Graham and his Satellites - “Moondog and Suncat (Trunk Records) 2010 reissue

Twice as Much - “Own Up” (Outline Records) 1982 reissue

Mark Hollis - “Mark Hollis” (Universal) 2011, Reissue

The Graham Bond Organization - “The Sound of 65” b/w “There’s A Bond Between Us” (Edsel Records) Reissue, 1988

Extended Organ - “Vibe” (Important Records) 2019

Henry Cowell - “The Piano Music of Henry Cowell” (Folkways Records) 1963

Talk Talk - “Spirit of Eden” (Parlophone) Reissue, 2012

Manfred Mann - “Soul of Mann (Instrumentals) - (Umbrella) 2018

David Bowie - “Mercury Demos” (Parlophone) 2019

The Soft Machine “Jet-Propelled Photographs” (Replay) Reissue, 2018

Daevid Allen - “Banana Moon” (Get Back) Reissue, 1999

Giles, Giles and Fripp - “The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp” (Cherry Red)

 Reissue, 2013

Lesley Gore - “Boys, Boys, Boys” (Mercury) 1964

Annette Peacock - “I’m The One” (Future Days Recordings) Reissue, 2016

Jean-Pierre Melville - “Bandes Originales 1956-1963” (Jeanne Dielman) 2018

Matthew Edwards and The Unfortunates - “The Birmingham Poets” (December Square) 2019

Lesley Gore - "I'll Cry If I Want To" Vinyl, LP, Album, Mono, 1963 (Mercury)

Lesley Gore is a unique artist in her time and place.  For one, she had a clear plan artistically, and she thought (or her producer Quincy Jones) of the album as a mood piece, or carry a theme.  Here on this album is the subject matter of tears.  A teenager's tears are the most bittersweet of them all. She is billed on the album cover as "The amazing 17-year-old," and clearly, this is the case. 

There is a defiance in Gore's approach to pop that she has the right to feel blue or to express her feelings fully.  There is an intelligence at work here, and I don't think it was manufactured by her manager, record producer or even adults in the room.  The power of her vocal delivery and the choices of songs on this album makes it a fantastic work.  "It's My Party" is a teenager's lament of existence, yet, her tone is strong that she will not accept this insult any longer.  On the other hand, she is a teenager, and Gore knows that's her natural state of mind and body.   The articulation of her stance is genius-like, in that she even made an answer song or a continuation of the "It's My Party" narration to "Judy's Turn To Cry."  

Claus Ogerman's arrangements are sophisticated, yet in tuned to the teenage market at the time. The whole package is one of intelligence, passion, vision, and Gore's ability to express the everyday angst of a teenager facing a harsh world.  Lesley I feel is very underrated talent.