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Vinyl Hunter 16: Grail Acquired and a New Gem

Highlights from my vinyl collection have been few and far between recently on this blog. My last entry in this series came back in February last year. Well, I have an exciting addition to share today. 

You may recall I had a bit of an obsession a few years back with Ward Jarvis. I dubbed 2017 as The Year of Ward Jarvis. And in that initial declaration, I identified three records I was hoping to track down. I managed to acquire one of them, Visits, by the end of that year. That left two albums on my wish list. 

Well, now only one remains. This week I received the long sought after Rats Won't Stay Where There's Music, released in 1979 by the Ohio Arts Council and featuring recordings of Ward Jarvis and his sons, collected by the late David Brose. 

I was so happy to find a copy of this album. I was starting to lose hope after a series of near-misses and then seeing some copies being listed online for as high as $200. However, patience paid off. I had set an alert on eBay and other online vendors, then I waited. After months of silence, I finally got a hit. The price was right, and I pulled the trigger.

The record sleeve was a bit dinged up, but the vinyl itself is in pristine shape. I was excited to see that the album still included the booklet of liner notes. While I had a digital copy of the music, I have never seen the booklet.

I'm so happy to have this album in my collection. Now, the only one that remains is the Traditional Music From Central Ohio compilation. 

In other vinyl news, Nora Brown released a new album through Jalopy Records. My copy of Long Time to Be Gone arrived at the end of August. This is her second full-length album. You may remember that I reviewed her 2019 debut, Cinnamon Tree, for The Old-Time Herald. She also released a 10-inch EP, Sidetrack My Engine, in 2021. 

Long Time to Be Gone was recorded inside the historic St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights, which lends an interesting atmosphere to the album. The recording quality is gorgeous, and Brown's playing is excellent throughout. I highly recommend it.
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