Pizza or Pasta?

I have just returned from a week of relaxation with my lovely lady in Florence. Usually, me being me, I like to check the record stores (and replace the clothes in my suitcase with lps; which can cause problems), however, due to my money restrictions on this particular holiday & the fact Miss G. is a little more Kings of Leon than Mulatu Astatke, i had to restrict myself to the better / bigger stores.
The first one I tried was “Data Records”. http://www.superecords.com
Its actually the oldest record store in the Florence (and its an old city!) The 2 gentlemen in the store were extremely friendly and equally passionate, although some communication issues, we all managed to get our points across.
At first glance, i thought id do the store in about 15 minutes max as they had a mixture of cds and lps in the front section. (When i see CDs in larger music shops, it usually suggests that the shop might not be for me). It was a plesent suprise to find a 100% vinyl room out the back well stocked with psych, prog, kraut, kosmic etc..
Im not exactly sure why but the old presses of records in Italy are unbelievabley expensive no matter if its the first or second press / pressed in Uk or Italy.
Due to these really unfortunate restrictions i couldnt buy any originals (sad face), so i settled for the “Dacored” press of Ennio morricone “Gil Occhi Freddi Della Paura” (or “Cold Eyes of Fear” as named in the USA). Yes yes, a reissue i know but still nice with some previously unreleased material)
This is an improvised soundtack of the Italian thriller from 1971 preformed by “Gruppo Di Improvvisaione Nuova Consonanza”.
This is the title track and reminds me of a mid 70’s Robert Fripp / Miles Davis standoff

Here is another section of of semi improvisation from the same film. “Seguita”

The next Store i tried was “Rock Bottom Records” http://www.rockbottom.it
This was an interesting one for anyone looking for the “Black Sabbath” album on “Fontana” or “Punkys Whips” on “Zappa live in New York.” (The actual track, not just the name on the sleeve). They specialised in indie / new wave and punk by the looks of things but as im not that way inclined i didnt sive through those sections.
This shop had a serious amount of vinyl. Actually way too many for the shop. They were packed so tightly together i had real trouble flicking through them, It was just incredible just how many important presses i found there but unfortunaly as i wrote above, Italian shops are way way WAY too expensive. In 2010, ebay creates the benchmark prices not record collector price guide. I have no idea why 1, the prices are generally higher than the latter and 2. They can actually sell anything.
I , again, was forced to choose a cheap lp so my choice was “Captain Beefheart” “Dust Sucker”. The reason for this choice was that i have been a Beefheart fan since i was 15. Im 35 by the way (sad face again) and already have all the original presses of his official albums but Bat Chain Chain Puller had some issues getting released and the original recordings got lost. I wont ramble on about this story (but if you want to know more you are more than welcome to comment and ill answer while scratching my beard no probs)... anyway this lp contains some of these “lost” recordings and i was just interested.
On the off chance you havent heard is before , here is a clip of him playing the title tune from a live gig in 1980 (around the “Dock at the radar Station” period – another great lp)

Overall, to summerise, due to the prices, it was the first holiday i can remember buying almost no records. A very sad occasion for me but an insite all the same. Not a city for finding the properly obscure records unless you have a contact and a lot of money.
However, a really good city for walking, affordable Cuban cigars, incredibly cheap large measures of good quality single malt Whisky (of which i enjoyed in tandium on a number of occasions!) If you are one of those people that needs to eat, eat here. www.ilsantobevitore.com ... amazing.