Amsterdam Russ

Well pleased to have spotted a stork when we were in the Amsterdam woods for a bit of a stroll and a bite to eat early evening. Just as Steve's plovers were too far away, so the stork was well out of effective range of my 200mm zoom - hence severe cropping needed.

I'm not long back from three weeks in Molyvos on the Greek island of Lesvos. Having been there a few times now everything is very familiar, so I find myself taking less and less pics. My Nikon hardly saw any action at all and I relied on my ever-present iPad Mini to capture the photographic record. These black & whites are post processed from colour snaps using the somewhat simple but still useful Photoshop app for iOS... Molyvos castle... One-time small fishing boat skippered by friend Stratis Kabanas who takes a max of four people out on snorkelling and pleasure trips locally under the name of "Escape". A local fishing boat heading out for the night from Molyvos' small harbour. The vista from Molyvos' pebbly beach. From this location I'd swim to the outside wall of the harbour (which you can see on the far right) and back again. Lots of great snorkelling to be had on the way in wonderfully clear waters. In spite of the twin financial and refugee crises faced by the island, I have to say that the local people are incredibly generous in their warmth and support of the migrants who are now overwhelming what little facilities exist for them.

Kalimera from Molyvos on the Greek island of Lesvos. Here's the early morning scene as the sun rises over the castle behind our apartment...

​What's written on a birth certificate doesn't always reflect the truth. Let us know how you get on...

In interviews she states that Carl introduced her to Jerry Ragovoy, which eventually led to her cutting her debut album "I got love" with him. That came out in 1980, meaning the relationship with Ragovoy began earlier and that she had known Carl for a longer period of time. In one article on her own website she refers to Carl as "dear late brother/friend". She might use both as terms of endearment, but not at the same time. At least I don't think so, although I wouldn't be prepared to stand on that point alone. As for conflict in timelines, who's to say that they were siblings in the same happy nuclear family? Marriages, divorce, extra-marrital affairs, one-night stands, etc, etc… It could be that they were half brother/sister. More digging definitely needed...

As a further addendum, how about this? It's a playbill of the short-lived theatre production "Truly Blessed - a musical celebration of Mahalia Jackson", which ran for just four weeks. There are two autographs on the cover. One is from the leading lady, Queen Esther Marrow, and the other is… <doh!>

As an addendum, Carl has a sister in the form of Peggi Blu who has some fame as the "American Idol Vocal Coach from Hell"! A quick search for her via your favourite search engine brings up a wealth of information...

I've read comments online from a son of Carl's confirming his father's demise.

Just found a bit more... The company was first formed in 1956 as the Calder Valley Sound Recording Group - a recording studio in Hebden. In 1962 it becomes the Calder Valley Sound Recording Company. In 1964 it changes to Calder Recordings Ltd and starts producing microphones. In 1971 it starts manufacturing professional mixing consoles for TV and radio.

Great minds…

Interesting. Calrec was and is a specialist producer of professional audio equipment, primarily for the broadcasting industry. They started life in 1964 as a manufacturer of microphones and are still based in Hebden Bridge. Naturally they would have had their own studios for testing, recording, etc, and this is a product of that. Company history here: https://calrec.com/history/

From the article: That's what matters most. After all, it is about the music, isn't it? Put another way, is it the stupidly priced and inaccessible bits of vinyl, owned by a select few, that's most important - or is it the musical legacy? I say it's about the music…

Before you upload, click on them so they open. They should open in a basic image editing app. If not, right click when you open and the option to open it in whatever photo editing software you've got installed should come up (something like that for Windows!) On a Mac, just double click and they'll open in Preview. Press Command and L to rotate left - or Command and R for right. Then save.

Well, in a nice little development that I thought worthy of reporting here, the YouTube clip of Art Posey's take of "Find my way" has just been shared on Google+ by… Arthur Posey!

Must admit I'd forgotten all about this thread and only came across it when searching for more info on the song and the 45. The unidentified recording of the song is now on YouTube. It's only taken me nigh on four years, but I got there in the end!

Found myself staying up all through Saturday night revisting Treme, the excellent post-Katrina New Orleans drama. Bleary eyed and ready for bed, the marathon watching session ending with this absolutely fantastic sunrise! If this is the view, I must try and be awake at this time of the morning more often!

Cecil Washington popped in for a while, as did producer/writer, etc, Paul Kyser, and didn't Lou Baretto stop by to have a natter about "Gone with the wind is my love"? That's all I can recall at the moment. Others will have far superior memories to mine...

Yes, the acetate's been identified as Art Posey. Based on the info received and the similarities in vocal style, I think there's little reason to doubt that unless someone comes along and knows better.

Two vids of the Casper Peters song on YouTube have comments from family/friends. Both make it clear that Peters lived and worked in South Florida. One comment states that Peters gigged at the Marco Polo Hotel. There are even email addresses from people connected to Peters if you wanted to get serious or stalker-like about finding out more! Here's one of the Casper Peter's clips with comments underneath it. Reading through this thread again, I see that the clip to the Art Posey track is no longer live. That's because I accidentally deleted my YouTube channel about a year ago. However, I did upload it again here...

Never had a problem in buying from Japan.

A fairly random selection of vinyl goodies put together to make a soulful lucky bag of styles and eras. Track list: SETTLE DOWN - ALAN BOWN SET DOWN IN EAST LA - THE ANGELENOS A THOUSAND WONDERS - ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS I'M THROUGH WITH YOU - BARRY 'BAREFOOT' BEEFUS (ACETATE) NUMBER ONE - BILL MOSS SOUL JERK PT 2 - BOBBY BENNETT & THE DYNAMICS HAPPY FEELING - THE BRETHREN THEY SAY - CAM CAMERON THE PROPHET - CHUCK JACKSON KEEP THE FAITH - THE CITATIONS TWO TIME LOSER - THE DARLINGS CARELESS WITH MY LOVE - DEE EDWARDS DON'T LET ME GO - EARL CONNELLY THE GALLOP - THE CHEVELLES NON SPORTS - DIAZPORA SOMETHING IN YOUR SMILE - FESTIVAL LITTLE GOLDEN BAND - DONNY MANN HANG LOOSE PT 2 - ACETATE HAVE YOU EVER - ENCHANTED FIVE YOU CAN'T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN - FOUR PROS MAKING TRACKS BABY - FOUR INVADERS Dip in. Press play. Enjoy! https://www.mixcloud.com/LomaRuss/northern-soul-lucky-bag-ii/

The Toy & Loma releases are the same recordings to these ears.

New cafe just opened up in sight of us in Aalsmeer's Historische Tuin (historical garden). Thought we'd give it a try this afternoon as the sun's out… A couple of glasses of rose to wash down a fresh salad and to provide refreshment in the afternoon sun. Being self-employed has its advantages.

French Loma? That's a new one on me. None of the US Loma label tracks released in France came out on a French Loma. They were on WB. And Cajun Hart? Got a scan?

He's not bootlegging - or did I miss something? The article states...