The Thrifty Ear

Oasis
Don't Believe the Truth
Source: eBay
Price: $3.75 + $1.50 S&H
Thriftin' ain't just about sticking it to the man; it's about giving second chances to artists you'd given up on because there's a considerable discount involved. Most Yanks wrote these unibrows off after the overstuffed Be Here Now. Getting badmouthed by the surviving Beatles and being bested on the chart by their repackages did just as much to erode the band's inflated confidence as drugs, Radiohead and the new logo did. The good news is that this is the album Oasis shoulda made right after Morning Glory, with "Lyla" as the perfect anthem for downing Guinness and trashing football stadiums. And, to thumb their noses at the Fab Two, Liam and Noel enlisted Zak Starkey (Ringo's kid) to play drums. But given the overabundance of eBay 1 cent CD sales for this title, U.S. sellers like cootdog must truly believe this band is nothing without Bonehead (who left the band in '99).

Michelle Shocked
Mercury Poise 1988-1993
Source: Humane Society Auxiliary Thrift Shop
Price: $3
My audio equivalent of a chick flick. (I'll just put it in the stack of CDs I get at my gal's urging, which all have one song she wants and a baker's dozen she couldn't care less for.) Curiosity about this Texan is on yellow alert, as she's just released three albums simultaneously, an idea that worked for, ummm, let's see . . . ah yes, NOBODY! This comp is like two albums catfighting in the same jewel case. I like the folky stuff just fine, but when Shocked turns into a cut-rate Bonnie Raitt, it makes me hope someone kept her electro-shock therapist's phone number.

The Spencer Davis Group
"Time Seller" 45
Source: Zia Record Exchange
Price: $1.07
Ever wonder what Spencer Davis did in the Spencer Davis Group since Steve Winwood sang all the songs and played the distinctive Hammond B3? If you guessed "played passable rhythm guitar," go to the cupboard and help yourself to a cookie. Ever wonder what Spencer Davis did when Winwood left to play in Traffic? Took out a second mortgage on his house? Naw, he got another singer and released a psychedelic album, With Their New Face On, with lotsa cellos, virtually no rhythm guitar, and weather reports like "when it rains, it rains lemonade." "Time Seller" didn't sell -- fans preferred getting burned by Traffic's "Paper Sun" than being drenched by citric acid rain.