Lost Classic - Wild In The Country (1961)

I discovered this gem thanks to TCM a few months ago. Hooked instantly by the stunning title track which plays during the opening sequence panning across gorgeous hills and valleys, I sought out more info about this film, a rare dramatic role for Presley. Fans of Elvis are surely aware of the early promise he displayed in films such as Love Me Tender and Loving You, but Wild In The Country is one that had completely escaped my attention. I've never been a huge fan of the King's post-Army output, but there's no denying he had a unique ability to deliver a song. Between the title track and his pared-down acoustic rendition of the lovely "In My Way", his gifts are on full display. I've prepared a four track sampler from this film, all sparse, acoustic material, two of which appeared in the film (Wild In The Country, In My Way), one gorgeous number which was left out of the film and later issued on the Elvis For Everyone LP (Forget Me Never), and an acoustic demo of another outtake (Lonely Man). More people need to see this film and hear these wonderful treasures. Click on the poster.

Druids Of Stonehenge - Creation (Stereo) 1967

So, I came across this record a couple months back. I've seen mixed reviews about this band around the web, but this record slays me. The drums sound great (drummer is killer as well), David Budge (singer, center, below)'s got a great voice, these guys are just tight. Pretty straight ahead garage with some psych undertones, they cover a few of the prototypical bar band repertoire of the late 60's, however to great effect. I must've heard hundreds of covers of both "I Put A Spell On You" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", but these renditions are definitely my favorites of both. (Side note, Big Papi just yanked a donger off Jeff Niemann)

Anyways, I'm gonna get to the point here. I have this record in stereo on vinyl. The mix is killer. Love the panning. Buuuut, apparently the label that owns the digital rights refuses to put it out. All the copies I've found on the web have been in mono. I HATE listening to mono in headphones. My friends know this. So, today I bucked up and finally figured out how to rip vinyls onto the computer. Unfortunately, I did not figure out how to "trim" the tracks (you'll hear the needle drop on the first track of each side). But all in all I think this is a pretty quality stereo version of this record for the Ipod. For more info, there's a good bio here