Hello there people. A quick word here about Show and Tell:

This site functions first & foremost as an archive/orphange for "lost" (or "found"), neglected and endangered vintage recordings. From the early teens till around 1990, with the exception of early turn-of-the-last-century wax cylinder discs and non-LP cassette tapes, the vinyl LP represents the entirety of recorded music. Staggering numbers were produced during this 80 or so year period and many exceptional recordings remain unknown and undocumented. Many will never make the transition from analog to digital. Most for good reason. The archive found here, clearly slanted toward the esoteric, is dedicated to the ones I've run across (and, more commonly, one's that have been turned-on to me by other collectors) that I think are noteworthy. These represent the tiniest fraction of what must be out there.

90% of the music that is closest to my heart and that I listen to on a daily basis is probably a lot like yours, and won't be found here. It's "common", everday music, the kind you pick up for $7.99 at your local used CD outlet. This 90% has all been digitally archived, heavily documented and there would be no reason for me to write about it on this site.

Show and Tell is a catch & release program. I only hold onto records that I really, really like. The rest get traded off and recycled. All my favorites are here at home, under my stereo, and the online collection is virtual, preserved here for reference and/or amusement.

I've provided MP3 samples for select LPs and will be adding more as time permits. In the same breath I'll quickly admit that I'm not exactly thrilled with the concept. The thought of anyone hearing, say, Paul Ortega's "Three Worlds" for the first time through a computer speaker is about is unromantic as it gets in my book. I gotta do it though - can't rightly post 100s of LP reviews without some sound samples - this would be maddening!

I've finally found the time to add purchasable CD reissues of a small, select group of LPs found on this site as well as new, current indie act discoveries. I'm hoping this will help close the frustrating "reading vs. listening" gap inherent in this archive. You'll find releases from Show and Tell Music and Thrift Score Records, two labels I've formed and run by myself and Companion Records, where duties are shared with my good friend Troy. As we've operated for years now at a break-even (at best) or "non-profit" level (laughing), any and all purchases from visitors will be truly and greatly appreciated.

I'll add one last thing Re: the site counter found on my homepage: incredibly, it's actually... accurate. Or, more... accurately, it's as accurate as counters are able to be accurate. The true number of visitors to this site was completely unknown to me until the beginning or this year (2006) and only discovered after a visit to a local web designer who pointed me to my site stats page. To say I was astonished would be an understatement. I had absolutely no idea that the site was generating this amount of traffic. In fact, after four follow-up phone calls to my webhosting company, I'm still finding it near impossible to wrap my brain around. if the number were 1/1000th of this figure I'd still be completely blown-away, and thrilled that people out there are getting something out of Show and Tell. Anyway, have fun looking around and happy hunting to all you real-world explorers out there. -WILL (feb. '06)