It’s gotta be one of the sexiest record covers in music history, especially from a red-blooded American male perspective, giving you a little bit of a visual tease of nipples and pubic area without giving away too much. You’ve seen the album countless times in magazines, on record store shelves, probably even hanging on your big brother’s wall, but have you actually heard any of the songs on Roxy Music’s “Country Life” LP? Read the rest of this entry »

You know the covers. You’ve seen them millions of times, and they continue to captivate upon every gaze. But what is behind those marvelous covers, encased in voluptuous black wax? Admittedly, we hang our heads in shame for saying this, but there are several albums from the past few decades we’ve seen on record store shelves and in ‘top ten’ lists year after year, but have yet to experience for ourselves. More precisely, we’ve never listened to these records in any shape or form. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo courtesy of Dust & Grooves.

It’s not very often I take the time to promote projects via crowd sourcing, but the world needs more books. It also needs more books about vinyl records and their collectors…

Vinyl record blog Dust & Grooves currently has a Kickstarter campaign going on to fund their first book about vinyl collectors and their amazing collections, and they are getting super close to their goal. Check ‘em out and throw a few bucks their way, so this book can get published. Because D&G’s articles are concise, thoughtful, entertaining and quite engaging, it would be a tragic shame to see this project not come to fruition.

Also, follow  D&G on Twitter for progress on their Kickstarter campaign, as well as for future installments of D&G.

It’s brutally impossible to fathom The Doors’ 1971 Elektra Records masterpiece, “L.A. Woman,” is the Los Angeles quartet’s sixth and final album with singer/poet/shaman Jim Morrison, not to mention sounding as fresh and amazing as anything that has come out since, by any band. What’s equally impossible is to hear an album you’ve heard millions of times in your life for the very first time, and yet, “Mr. Mojo Risin’: The Story of L.A. Woman” is a uniquely superb and insightful document chronicling the making-of the band’s storied swan song that allows you to experience this magnificent piece of work for what feels like the very first time (again.) Read the rest of this entry »

With the start of a new year at Classic Waxxx HQ there are large stacks of incredible vinyl to sort through that was obtained over the holidays. Rock n’ Roll, Jazz, Country, Bluegrass and the like all wait to be played and shared. It’s such a treat to discover new music by groups loved and practically unknown, and with another year come and gone it means there is just more music out there that needs some attention.

It was a difficult decision to pick the new year’s first record review, but Jimmy Reed’s “At Soul City” LP snuck in from left field for several reasons. First of all, I love blues records. Maybe more than most other records in the CW collection. I also love live recordings, and especially live blues records. But, I do have a little bone to pick with Vee-Jay Records for their release of “At Soul City.” Read the rest of this entry »

It’s hard to believe that another year is just about over, and the spirit of Christmas is already swirling in the air. All the department stores and specialty shops will no doubt be playing a bevy of Christmas music over the speaker system, but I can almost guarantee you they won’t be playing anything as cool as “The Ventures’ Christmas Album.”

The surf guitar quartet that made the original ‘Hawaii Five-O’ theme song popular (“Walk, Don’t Run”) trades in the beach and sand in favor of snow and mistletoe with their ever-awesome renditions of holiday classics. Read the rest of this entry »

Christmas is definitely one of my favorite times of the year, despite the crazy holiday shoppers, insane schedules to keep and the stress of travel the season brings with it. However, the thought of Loretta Lynn’s “Country Christmas” seems to make all those anxieties disappear.

I’ve always thought of Loretta Lynn as an awesomely warm and caring aunt, much like Rosalind Russell in the film “Auntie Mame.” She’s been there and done that, has all the great stories to tell from her experiences, and is definitely a hip lady you want to listen to. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of year again where traditions reign supreme: Yule tide greetings, holiday parties, fighting with family, caroling, trimming the tree, spiked egg nog and awesomely bad Christmas album covers. It’s nice to know some things never change, like there being no such thing as a good Christmas album cover. So, as you settle in for your long winter’s nap with a cup of hot cocoa, here is another round of groovy Christmas albums covers to give you a giggle. Read the rest of this entry »

It can be argued that The Rolling Stones are in fact the greatest rock and roll band in the world, one that is still touring and recording music nearly 50 years after their debut. In that period of time the band certainly has amassed one hell of an impressive archive of unreleased studio and live recordings, and to every fan’s delight, The Stones recently launched their ‘Stones Archive’ website, which gives fans the incredible opportunity to take a peek inside that treasure trove of material, bit by bit. Read the rest of this entry »

As time goes by the albums that have already obtained classic status continue to become greater classics, nay, timeless. Of course, there is also room for more recent albums of late to obtain such status, but some become classics the day of their release, such as The Black Keys’ debut LP “The Big Come Up.”

I thought I take a moment to recognize a really great record from the last ten years into a new segment for Classic Waxxx. It was also an opportune moment to word play on “Black Friday” as well as celebrate the band’s first release, as they ready their seventh and latest LP “El Camino,” which is sure to be a great addition to the rest of their catalog. Read the rest of this entry »