Ike Willis, Should’a Gone Before I Left (1987)
I’ve owned this for years – many years, maybe 15 years. And I’ve never listened to it. I bought it sealed and decided to keep it sealed; it was – I think – the first sealed record I bought. Now I knew Ike Willis – from his work with Frank Zappa, at the time I bought this, and probably still – in fact, my favourite Zappa album (and my favourite Willis performance) was Joe’s Garage. A super record filled with ideas and wonderful players (to help realise those ideas). And so I was interested to see an Ike Willis LP one day – it was cheap. It was sealed. So I bought it – at the time I didn’t even have a turntable – so that’s really the reason it stayed sealed (to begin with). Then I started to build up a collection of sealed LPs (to open, with time, like wine). And this Ike Willis record stayed in there – to bump up the numbers I suppose. Now it just seems kinda funny to never open it. But I’m curious – it could be good. Maybe I’ll tear it open from its wrap and give it a hoon. Have you heard it? Or heard of it? Do you own it? Or did you hear it at the time? Keen to know if anyone has heard it – or owns it – because I’ve never seen it in a store ever. Apart from the time when I bought it…

Sample Track: Bad Time

The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown