Clearance Records
One of my favorite hobbies is going to any record store that has a very cheap clearance section and buying albums that I've never listened to before to see if they're any good. I've had quite a lot of luck, actually. So I thought it would be fun to review albums... but exclusively these ones. :) Keep in mind that everything here is subjective. I am not a professional reviewer. Expect to disagree.
David Meece - Everybody Needs A Little Help
Review written 7/26/24. Price was $1 at Goodwill... which is surprising cause I almost never find any records at Goodwill. But anyway, did you ever wish Andy Gibb sang more about God? Here's the album for you... sort of. He actually only does the famous Bee Gees-style vocals in the first three tracks and only a third of the album is religious. So there's something in here for everyone.
I quite liked this album. It's very late '70s with a mix of disco-soul and ballads. The instruments are very clean throughout and I really enjoyed the vocals- especially in All I Can Do, his voice is that perfect blend of smooth but powerful. That track is easily one of my favorites along with Never Gonna Serve Anybody Else which I mostly only love cause it sounds really funny lol. Dance party!
Other notable tracks include the oddly '60s-sounding, super catchy Sunshine Jesus and the moving He'll Take Care of You which works amazing as the closing song. The only ones I was kind of eh about were probably the title track and Oh So Wonderful, the emotions were same throughout and they just sort of slowed it down. No big deal. I thought it was a great album in the end. I was especially impressed finding out that he wrote all of the songs. It was packed with amazing lyrics. I'm glad I only bought it because I thought he was cute.
Harriet Schock - Hollywood Town
Review written 7/26/24. Price was $1 at an antique store booth. Ohhhhh my God I loved this one so much. Beautiful album. She is truly an amazing song-writer in both moving lyrics and wonderful melodies.
I would say this one is soft rock with some influences from both pop and country. Lots of everything but especially piano and orchestra accompaniment. My personal favorite track is probably Straight Man- great, very powerful lyrics (I'm sure we've all felt like a straight man in a crooked world). The strings in the chorus are super moving and that simple piano melody is a fantastic earworm. I also really loved Let 'Em Love, it's a beautiful message. Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady (made famous by Helen Reddy) and Could It Be are also very stand-out in any chart in my opinion. Her vocals are amazing throughout.
My only gripe with this album is that, as well-written as they are, the songs tend to follow a similar formula in the layout and melodies. I could imagine somebody who isn't as blown away by the first few songs becoming a little tired of it. I also felt the choruses of a few songs were repetitive- mostly You Took The Words Out Of My Mouth and Hold Me. Still wonderful songs, though. There's poetry flowing out of every single one. Heavily recommend. Here's a pretty good upload of the entire album on YouTube.