Evelyn Novacek Music Specialty Store

It has become something of a custom for me to visit a local record store when I’m away from home whether there’s just 151 or 3.744 kilometre between the two. Just last Thursday, I managed to visit Evelyn Novacek Music Specialty Store in the most northern province of the Netherlands in a place called Hoogezand while on holiday with the family. A lovely record store that has been around since the 1930’s and is now proudly managed by the second generation Novacek. Evelyn Novacek owns a variety of both new and second-hand music across all major genres on CD and Vinyl. Perhaps a bit centred around Blues, Folk, Country, Rock and Metal. I made quick work of the more obvious bins with new releases knowing my want list of relatively new titles by heart. Nothing inbetween that took my fancy, so I decided that I would spent the majority of my time going through the second-hand bins hoping to strike gold. It didn’t take long before I pulled out a few prospects worthy of further inspection. More often than not, I was completely in the dark as to the type of music but somehow the album covers spoke to me in a way the others didn’t. That also had to do with the fact it was categorized alphabetically and not by genre. The Gun Club – Fire Of Love, Nantucket Sleighride – Mountain, Mahogany Rush – Child Of The Novelty, Little Feat – Little Feat and Gary Moore – Still Got The Blues (SHM-CD) didn’t make the cut.

However, I did manage to walk out with an album that still has me under its spell and was worth the trouble going out of my way for to make the trip. Still working my way through the second-hand bins, I managed to stumble on an original 1971 UK die-cut Link Wray copy in great condition. There was some luck involved as I was completely oblivious to its existence let alone the music journey that lay ahead. The first few rotations suffer from an audible scuff and the Vinyl has some cosmetic flaws, but in contrast to its appearance sounds absolutely fantastic. Not sure on what I could expect by just looking at the cover, I asked the owner Marjolein if she could play the record. I was immediately taken by the music coming from the vintage speakers. Having played Link Wray a couple of times by now it is the intimacy and honesty of the recording coupled with the style of music; a mix of swamp-Blues, Country and a flair of Psychedelica, that plays right into my wheelhouse. The fact that it was recorded in a homemade three-track recording shack, previously housing chickens, has a lot to do with the earthy and rural sound. I remember the hand written card the folks at Evelyn Novacek slipped into the plastic outer sleeve saying something along the lines of Frank Zappa, Dr. John and Jimi Hendrix. They are not far off. Others listeners hear a clear blueprint for “Exile On Main Street” a year before its release date. However you put it, Link Wray remains a hugely underappreciated record that will stand the test of time on its own merits without any superlatives in the form of Rock and Roll hall of famers.

They added a free copy of the local “De Blueskrant” which doesn’t happen to often anymore. It is a small token of appreciation since the paper is distributed free of charge but it shows the importance of Evelyn Novacek within the local music community. People supporting people, that’s what it is all about and I’m happy to have been part of it however briefly.