I never thought I’d see the day when record stores would be an endangered species, but in the last couple decades, that’s been something that sadly has happened. It started happening back when I was living in New York City, first Tower Records shut down, then Virgin Records, then Bleecker Bob’s and it went on and on.
Luckily, here in Peoria, we have a record store who’s owner will never surrender to this foolish trend and that man is Craig Moore. He’s a musician who has owned and operated record stores here in Peoria as long as I can remember. Granted, I don’t really remember last night, but take my word for it, this guy has had record shops here in P-town for a long, long time.
Younger Than Yesterday records has been in operation for close to three decades on University Street and it’s one of my favorite shops in town. And there’s something very special for sale in there right now.
Let’s go and take a Shopping Locally trip to Younger Than Yesterday and I’ll explain this mystery item when we get there!
Here we are at Younger Than Yesterday records. I was here last summer, when this original art went up over the windows.
Okay, it’s open so let’s go in and start another local shopping adventure!
There’s a familiar face behind the counter…
It’s the aforementioned owner of this shop, Craig Moore, holding that mystery item I mentioned. We’ll get back to that in due time, first let’s take a little look around in here.
I love the Little Golden Records that dangle from the ceiling and look, Dorothy…it’s the Tin Man! If he only had a heart!
There’s records and lots of fun stuff on the walls in here!
When I moved to New York, back in 1993, Craig bought about four thousand of my record albums and up top is one of them, that’s the infamous Red Foxx album, “You Gotta Wash Your Ass.”
Below that are four fab fellows I’d certainly vote for and of course, Elvis needs no votes, he’s already The King (Creole)!
Wow, check out the ad for Byerly Music, Peoria’s Hi-Fi Center. Memories!
Look at this art from one of Craig’s past record stores, Peoria Record Co. which was located on Main Street. This pretty much nails it and it predicted that vinyl was here to stay and proof of that is…
Right here at Younger Than Yesterday, Peoria’s largest emporium of vinyl treasures!
I love this Peanuts Cruiser Turntable from Record Store Day back in 2014.
I’ve stopped here at the Cream section for a special reason. This is our gateway to the mystery item I told you about in the introduction.
And that mystery item is…
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“Disraeli Gears Tribute To Cream”
Here it is, the mystery item I came here for today. This is a live CD from a concert in 1993 in Keokuk, Iowa (mainly, there’s a little bit from The Cubby Bear Lounge in Chicago as well.)
Back then Craig Moore decided to put together a band to honor the memory of the power trio of Cream.
Craig enlisted veteran musicians, Mike Isenberg on guitar and vocals, Dennis Tieken on drums and vocals and Craig played the bass and vocals.
This CD captures a magical concert and a unique tribute to Cream.
This is the front and back cover of the CD and I love the original artwork.
As you can see, this is a great collection of Cream tunes.
Here’s the inside art complete with your All Access pass to the show!
You also get a two sided souvenir poster with liner notes complete with memories from the musicians and others connected with this show and tour.
Here’s what Craig had to say via a post from facecrack:
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Just picked up the "Disraeli Gears - Tribute To Cream" CD's from UPS. Gatefold sleeve, picture disc CD, with an 8-1/2 x 14 two-sided insert. Promo only, issued as a souvenir of the first gig for a short-lived band we had in 1993-94, with Mike Isenberg on guitar, Dennis Tieken on drums, and myself on bass.
We played our first gig in Keokuk, Iowa, as an opportunity to run through everything we had learned in front of people for the first time. We did crazy things like "Pressed Rat And Wart Hog", the Cream "Falstaff" commercial, and even as a joke (as they intended it, too), "Mother's Lament".
Sound engineer Ric 'Skippy' Major as an afterthought put in a tape and recorded that first gig on cassette off the board, where it sat idle for 20 years. I listened to it, thought it was pretty good, good enough for friends to hear.
Tim Brickner digitized it for me, and Rich Teegarden managed to take the right and left oddly-assigned board recording and do a sort-of mono mix which helped it considerably in places. Some things were missing. Skippy had forgotten to turn the tape over during the jam in "Spoonful" and a number of things we did were missing altogether. From some corner closet Jimmy Hindu Hendricks found a tape of us at the Cubby Bear in Chicago doing "Sunshine Of Your Love", which we added to the CD, and Rich put the two halves of "Spoonful" together which make up a fairly respectable if dramatically abbreviated version.
Naturally there are some rough spots, some technical issues, a mangled lyric here and there, but c'est la vie. It's the real deal played with energy, respect and sincerity. Anybody who ever saw Dennis play know he was born to do something like this, if only for the fun of it. Mike and I used Marshall stacks, Gibson guitars and my '63 EB-3 bass, and we were not concerned with how loud we were.
In the end we have a souvenir of our first time out that will be available to anyone who wants one at the cost of getting them made.
Back in the day we also played the Madison Theater in Peoria with Foghat, and on the Peoria Riverfront with Enuff Z'Nuff.
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Then, just like the original band, they said, “Goodbye.”
But now this musical memory lives on in this historical CD!
It’s a picture disc CD, all stops were pulled out in the making of this long-lost treasure!
When you think of classic live albums these naturally come to mind: The Who Live At Leeds, Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out By The Rolling Stones, Cheap Trick At Budokan, The Allman Brothers At Fillmore East, Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison and now there’s one more to add to the list of classic live albums: Disraeli Gears - Tribute To Cream.
This is a powerhouse of a live CD!
It’s a thunderous blues/rock symphony by three musicians shredding their hearts and souls via booming vocals, Marshall stacks and what sounds like an army of hyperactive drummers.
All the Cream classics are covered along with some rarities.
What I love about this is while it’s a tribute to Cream, it’s not a copy. This musical performance is an interpretation, not an imitation.
Craig Moore, Mike Isenberg and Dennis Tieken channeled their hearts and souls into the tunes and what the listener gets is a unique and wonderful version of the cream of the crop of the Cream catalog.
There’s also a powerful and historical introduction to the show, produced and voiced by veteran broadcaster, Rick Halberg.
If you’re a Cream fan, you need this CD, trust me.
And the kicker to all of this? Its only five bucks! That’s right, five freaking dollars!
Craig is generously giving these away at cost and it’s so inexpensive, it’s like you’re losing money if you don’t buy one!
There’s a limited amount available, so do the opposite of what The Ventures played and run, don’t walk to Younger Than Yesterday records and get your copy right now!
Thanks to Craig Moore for keeping vinyl and music alive in Peoria and helping to keep this city fun and interesting!
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2615 N. University Street
Peoria
309-682-1116
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Related Posts: Shopping Locally @: Olio & Vino, Just For Fun and Maurie’s Candy Store.