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Showing posts with label Records. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Records. Show all posts
Saturday, 31 January 2015
When You're Broke and Your Friends Dad Gives You a Big Stack of Records!
Due to tight financial circumstances etc etc, I have been unable to feed my addiction for a few weeks. Then like a gift from the gods my friends dad passed all his doublers on to me.
Monday, 19 January 2015
Bootleg Beauties - The Adventure Continues
A couple of treats from my recent flea market adventure.
I went to my first record fair, and after spending around thrice my original budget there, found a flea market around the corner with so many irresistible goodies. I decided to venture further down the bootleg rabbit hole and while stocking up on some nice rarities to sell to my lovely customers on Discogs, I naturally selected a couple for my own collection!
Pearl Jam - Eddie Sings The Blues, side-A sees Eddie perform 3 tracks with the Doors, the grit and gravel in his voice giving the songs a whole new aura. Side-B has a particularly cool rendition of The Who's My Generation performed right here in the UK.
Numero Dos, The White Stripes - BBC sessions. It would appear that the tracks are taken from two John Peel Sessions in 2001 and this makes the record very special to me, as I know that John Peel was very fond of The White Stripes, and that The White Stripes were very fond of John Peel. And well I'm very fond of them all. I notice there's not a great deal of information about which tracks come from which session out there on the world wide web so I've tried to unpick it for you below.
Full track listing Eddie Sings The Blues:
Full track listing BBC Sessions:
I went to my first record fair, and after spending around thrice my original budget there, found a flea market around the corner with so many irresistible goodies. I decided to venture further down the bootleg rabbit hole and while stocking up on some nice rarities to sell to my lovely customers on Discogs, I naturally selected a couple for my own collection!
Pearl Jam - Eddie Sings The Blues, side-A sees Eddie perform 3 tracks with the Doors, the grit and gravel in his voice giving the songs a whole new aura. Side-B has a particularly cool rendition of The Who's My Generation performed right here in the UK.
Numero Dos, The White Stripes - BBC sessions. It would appear that the tracks are taken from two John Peel Sessions in 2001 and this makes the record very special to me, as I know that John Peel was very fond of The White Stripes, and that The White Stripes were very fond of John Peel. And well I'm very fond of them all. I notice there's not a great deal of information about which tracks come from which session out there on the world wide web so I've tried to unpick it for you below.
Full track listing Eddie Sings The Blues:
| A1 | Roadhouse Blues (Eddie Vedder and the Doors, Century Plaza Hotel, LA, 1993) | |||||||||
| A2 | Break On Through (Eddie Vedder and the Doors, Century Plaza Hotel, LA, 1993) | |||||||||
| A3 | Light My Fire (Eddie Vedder and the Doors, Century Plaza Hotel, LA, 1993) | |||||||||
| A4 | Catholic Boy (Basketball Diaries OST) | |||||||||
| B1 | Hunger Strike (Riverside Club: UK Tour 1992) | |||||||||
| B2 | My Generation (Riverside Club: UK Tour 1992) | |||||||||
| B3 | I've Got A Feeling (Riverside Club: UK Tour 1992) | |||||||||
| B4 | Keep On Rocking' In The Free World (MTV Music Awards, with Neil Young, 1993) |
Full track listing BBC Sessions:
| A1 | Lord Send Me An Angel (Peel Acres, November 2001) | |
| A2 | Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground (Peel Acres, November 2001) | |
| A3 | Little Room And The Union For Ever (Peel Acres, November 2001) | |
| A4 | The Same Boy You've Always Known (Peel Acres, November 2001) | |
| A5 | I'm Finding It Harder To Be A Gentleman (Maida Vale, July 2001) | |
| B1 | Screwdriver (Maida Vale, July 2001) | |
| B2 | St James Infirmary Blues (Peel Acres, November 2001) | |
| B3 | Boll Weevil (Maida Vale, July 2001) | |
| B4 | Rated X (Peel Acres, November 2001) | |
| B5 | Build A Home Memphis (Peel Acres, November 2001) |
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
Blondie's Parallel Lines: Teenage Kicks Retro Style
Charity shops can be hit or miss for records, amongst the endless boxes of Val Doonican and Vera Lynn I come accross the odd album that could find a home in my record collection.
It's not all fun and games, I once unearthed a cover for a rare Hawkwind album with nothing inside. I checked every other record cover there in case it was in the wrong sleeve. I turned the shop damn near inside out looking for it, I then returned a few weeks later and went through the whole process again. I never did find that record.
I did get a copy of Blondie's Parallel Lines, which is a great album by the way, for just 99p in the local Barnados though. There is a cool documentary called Blondie's New York... and the Making of Parallel Lines, explaining how this LP captured a little bit of Zeitgeist of New York, carving new territory in the punk and disco worlds which had little respect for each other.
My copy came with it's own little bit of history. Inside the sleeve I found several sheets of lined A4 - some darling from a bygone decade had written the lyrics for each track out carefully and placed them inside. With the album released in 1978, the creater of my home made lyric sheet was not doing anything that I had not done myself 20 years later in the 90s.
I got a sudden flood of memories, from stopping Eternal's Just a Step from Heaven at the end of every line to write down the lyrics, to listening to the Top 40 on Atlantic 252 with my left and right index fingers carefully poised over the 'record' and 'play' buttons on the tape deck to try and get the songs whilst editing out the DJs voice.
I guess listening to music in your bedroom, feeling like the lyrics could have been written exclusively to suit your particular adolescent gripe at that time, is a quintessential teenage experience.
After breaking up with a childhood sweetheart, a friend of mine bought me Cher's Believe from Woolworths, because quite naturally my world had ended. I played it over and over and over, then a week later with my world miraculously reformed, I got a new boyfriend and played Bon Jovi's Bed of Roses incessantly, much to the annoyance of everyone else in the house.
Check out the below inner sleeve from my copy of Deep Purple's 24 Carat Purple, where another youngster has graffitti'd the names of his favourite bands. I particularly like that Led Zeppelin has fallen out of favour at some point and been crossed out with the word 'pants' scrawled underneath - ah the fickleness of youth!
It's not all fun and games, I once unearthed a cover for a rare Hawkwind album with nothing inside. I checked every other record cover there in case it was in the wrong sleeve. I turned the shop damn near inside out looking for it, I then returned a few weeks later and went through the whole process again. I never did find that record.
I did get a copy of Blondie's Parallel Lines, which is a great album by the way, for just 99p in the local Barnados though. There is a cool documentary called Blondie's New York... and the Making of Parallel Lines, explaining how this LP captured a little bit of Zeitgeist of New York, carving new territory in the punk and disco worlds which had little respect for each other.
My copy came with it's own little bit of history. Inside the sleeve I found several sheets of lined A4 - some darling from a bygone decade had written the lyrics for each track out carefully and placed them inside. With the album released in 1978, the creater of my home made lyric sheet was not doing anything that I had not done myself 20 years later in the 90s.
I got a sudden flood of memories, from stopping Eternal's Just a Step from Heaven at the end of every line to write down the lyrics, to listening to the Top 40 on Atlantic 252 with my left and right index fingers carefully poised over the 'record' and 'play' buttons on the tape deck to try and get the songs whilst editing out the DJs voice.
I guess listening to music in your bedroom, feeling like the lyrics could have been written exclusively to suit your particular adolescent gripe at that time, is a quintessential teenage experience.
After breaking up with a childhood sweetheart, a friend of mine bought me Cher's Believe from Woolworths, because quite naturally my world had ended. I played it over and over and over, then a week later with my world miraculously reformed, I got a new boyfriend and played Bon Jovi's Bed of Roses incessantly, much to the annoyance of everyone else in the house.
Check out the below inner sleeve from my copy of Deep Purple's 24 Carat Purple, where another youngster has graffitti'd the names of his favourite bands. I particularly like that Led Zeppelin has fallen out of favour at some point and been crossed out with the word 'pants' scrawled underneath - ah the fickleness of youth!
Sunday, 14 December 2014
Evangelical About Vinyl - Viva la Revolution(s per minute)
I'm an early bird, weekdays I can often be found in the office by 7:30am. The sooner you get there, the sooner you can leave right?
At that time of day the place has a Marie Celeste air about it but I do have one colleague who is usually up with the lark. Being the only one in, he is often bombarded with my tales of record collecting adventures, which I presumed he always tolerated as one of my eccentric (but hopefully endearing!) activities.
He has one of the most logical, methodical minds I've ever encountered. Digital music is perfectly aligned to be his format of choice, all those zeros and ones. I always fancied that analog would be too unpredictable for him by far.
However, I must have piqued his interested because he dug out his Dad's old record player and gave it a whirl. He agreed that it had a richer, warmer sound to playing music through his computer.
One lunchtime he accompanied me to Terry's Music in Pontypridd to pick up some records I'd ordered and I was a little surprised to see him inspecting the record players and asking lots of questions.
Then when I told him that most new records come with download codes, I could see the tide turning.
A little while later, he came in and announced that he was getting a record player for Christmas. I was most chuffed to have influenced that particular letter to Santa.
So when I pulled his name from the Secret Santa hat the other day I didn't have to think twice about what to get.
I picked up these little lovelies from my all time favourite music shop, Red House Music, Aberdare. I really hope he likes them, but to be honest if you don't like the music of Ella Fitzgerald and Sam Cooke then your ears are broke.
My younger cousin recently helped me with some decorating. We couldn't agree on a radio station, he's more Radio 1, I'm more Radio 6, so we settled on playing some records instead.
I couldn't help but smile to see him scrubbing paint off his hands in a rush to turn over the record. Soon he was devouring them, with several queued up ready to be played. He started asking lots of questions like how to tell a 1st press from a reissue, and pawed through the lovely book in my copy of The Who's Tommy when we had finished.
Then on the last day of decorating, after I'd worked the poor boy ragged, we flopped down on the sofa and with a grin he says to me:
"Guess what, I was talking to Uncle M about records when I left here the other other night and he's digging his old record player out for me to have."
So that's my second convert... who's next?
At that time of day the place has a Marie Celeste air about it but I do have one colleague who is usually up with the lark. Being the only one in, he is often bombarded with my tales of record collecting adventures, which I presumed he always tolerated as one of my eccentric (but hopefully endearing!) activities.
He has one of the most logical, methodical minds I've ever encountered. Digital music is perfectly aligned to be his format of choice, all those zeros and ones. I always fancied that analog would be too unpredictable for him by far.
However, I must have piqued his interested because he dug out his Dad's old record player and gave it a whirl. He agreed that it had a richer, warmer sound to playing music through his computer.
One lunchtime he accompanied me to Terry's Music in Pontypridd to pick up some records I'd ordered and I was a little surprised to see him inspecting the record players and asking lots of questions.
Then when I told him that most new records come with download codes, I could see the tide turning.
A little while later, he came in and announced that he was getting a record player for Christmas. I was most chuffed to have influenced that particular letter to Santa.
So when I pulled his name from the Secret Santa hat the other day I didn't have to think twice about what to get.
I picked up these little lovelies from my all time favourite music shop, Red House Music, Aberdare. I really hope he likes them, but to be honest if you don't like the music of Ella Fitzgerald and Sam Cooke then your ears are broke.
 |
| Dear Santa I would also like a present which is 12" x 12" please |
My younger cousin recently helped me with some decorating. We couldn't agree on a radio station, he's more Radio 1, I'm more Radio 6, so we settled on playing some records instead.
I couldn't help but smile to see him scrubbing paint off his hands in a rush to turn over the record. Soon he was devouring them, with several queued up ready to be played. He started asking lots of questions like how to tell a 1st press from a reissue, and pawed through the lovely book in my copy of The Who's Tommy when we had finished.
Then on the last day of decorating, after I'd worked the poor boy ragged, we flopped down on the sofa and with a grin he says to me:
"Guess what, I was talking to Uncle M about records when I left here the other other night and he's digging his old record player out for me to have."
So that's my second convert... who's next?
Bootleg Vinyl - Them Crooked Vultures - The Verdict
Firstly, I would like to start by apologising to Them Crooked Vultures guitarist Alain Johannes, for failing to give him a mention in my initial excitement over the employment history of the other band members. His own CV includes no less than working with a Josh Homme on some of his brainchildren, Brody Dalle's new set up, being a bit of a legend with a cigar box guitar, as well as writing and producing a bunch of influential music. And more to the point he smashes it on my first bootleg vinyl - Live at Rockpalast. Please accept this belated doffing of my cap.
Now I'm not keen on the term 'Supergroup' but it is a deserved accolade, there is no doubt that these gentlemen ooze skill and a certain confidence with both their instruments and their ability to work a crowd, which is laid bare here in bootleg format. This record has a fluidity of performance but is brutally live - a fair distance away from overdubbed live albums ala Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous.
I'd be lying if I said the sound quality was as good as you'd expect from a label release, there's a few clicks and strange pauses, but hell - it sounds pretty epic when you turn it up loud.
The quality of the physical record is not at all substandard. It's a good, heavy 180g pressing and the black cat logo on a home printed label gives the whole thing a deliciously underground vibe. Like with all live albums on vinyl, it's a bit weird when you suddenly go from the sound of live action and a roaring crowd to the muffling of dead wax.
The first track No-one Loves Me and Neither Do I has got an oh so dirty bass, which is relentless and kind of beats you up just like bass does at a gig. This is a no surprise considering this was recorded at the Palladium in Cologne, which has a capacity for 4000 standing.
Maybe it's because the Germans have penchant for taking their rock in BIG, loud doses. Maybe it's because you can clearly hear the crowd having a ball.
All in all I love it and my only regret is that I wasn't there!
P.S. If you Google the acronym 'TCV', you will also come across the The Conservation Volunteers, for the record I dig what you guys do too.
Now I'm not keen on the term 'Supergroup' but it is a deserved accolade, there is no doubt that these gentlemen ooze skill and a certain confidence with both their instruments and their ability to work a crowd, which is laid bare here in bootleg format. This record has a fluidity of performance but is brutally live - a fair distance away from overdubbed live albums ala Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous.
I'd be lying if I said the sound quality was as good as you'd expect from a label release, there's a few clicks and strange pauses, but hell - it sounds pretty epic when you turn it up loud.
The quality of the physical record is not at all substandard. It's a good, heavy 180g pressing and the black cat logo on a home printed label gives the whole thing a deliciously underground vibe. Like with all live albums on vinyl, it's a bit weird when you suddenly go from the sound of live action and a roaring crowd to the muffling of dead wax.
The first track No-one Loves Me and Neither Do I has got an oh so dirty bass, which is relentless and kind of beats you up just like bass does at a gig. This is a no surprise considering this was recorded at the Palladium in Cologne, which has a capacity for 4000 standing.
Maybe it's because the Germans have penchant for taking their rock in BIG, loud doses. Maybe it's because you can clearly hear the crowd having a ball.
All in all I love it and my only regret is that I wasn't there!
P.S. If you Google the acronym 'TCV', you will also come across the The Conservation Volunteers, for the record I dig what you guys do too.
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Passion, Creativity and Capitalism: Refelections on the words of Peter Blake
As I sat this Wednesday morning, reading the Observer magazine (that's right I sometimes start my Sunday paper on a Wednesday - I'm not ashamed), I was struck by the very last line of an interview with Sir Peter Blake:
"Wherever I go there are men waiting for me with square plastic bags full of records for me to sign. They'll ask you to sign something then whip out four albums - Sgt Pepper, Paul Weller. I know they'll go straight on eBay."
At first, and despite Sir Peter's apparent acceptance of this, I felt deflated and very sad. What kind of world is this whereby we will stalk an artist for the sterling value of his signature?
What has happened to the impossible but irresistible notion of art and creativity being somehow above the drudgerous capitalist machine?
But I can be a bit dramatic like that.
Then I began to look at this in the context of my own activities over the last 12 months and indeed my aspirations.
Just over a year ago, I started collecting records. I am what I have coined 'a talentless creative'. I have the passion, the love, the energy and the will to create. It's just that my creative output has typically been rather shit.
Listening to records, finding them, admiring the sleeves, researching them, handling them and talking about them to my friends (who, no doubt are too polite to let their utter boredom slip), is an outlet for my passion for music.
Then a few months back I saw a joblot of records on Gumtree. Most of the collection wasn't my cup of tea but there were a few real gems in there. After some quick mental maths I figured the price of the joblot was only a few quid more than I would have paid for the gems at a record shop anyway and so I bought it.
Peter Blake's cover for Paul Weller's Stanley Road
I loved my handful of new records, purred over them even, while I tried to ignore the 140 others in the corner that I really didn't want.
I tried eBay, it was horrendously expensive for a seller.
I tired listing them back on Gumtree and the magic started happening. People were calling me and chatting about the music and the LPs. How they'd discovered this or that, amusing anecdotes about when they'd first found something on record. I was in my element.
Then eventually the timewasters and non-turner-uppers got to me so I turned to Discogs. Those who know me know that I love learning a new skill and learning how to grade records was an utter joy to me.
In short, I have learnt I love selling records as well as collecting them.
It appeals to some of my other sensibilities too. I like the idea of keeping these things in use. Treating them half as artefacts of a time where you physically held your music and it didn't only exist in a non-real space called 'the cloud' or some nonsense like that. And in equal measure, treating them as a toy, to be used and listened to. I mean who cares if you are dancing around in your nightie with a cigarette and a splash of your large gin and tonic lands onto side A? Some records are rare and precious, some just need to be diverted from landfill and enjoyed.
But for the ones I sell, I enjoy improving them - I tenderly clean them with my special cloth, I carefully glue gatefolds and replace shoddy innersleeves with nice new ones. My business model is to take something worth 'X' and make it better so it is now worth 'Y'. Trust me the margins are very small.
At the moment I use the cash to further indulge my hobby, but I aspire to one day have a music shop. Finally a way for this talentless music aficionado to make a living from music.
So would I ask an artist to sign a record intended for resale? Yes.
Would I also relish every second of that experience? Talking to the artist about their work? Enjoying the interaction with with one of those successful creative types I admire? Regaling the story to the eventual customer? Yes. I would revel in every second. Because that's exactly the kind of escapade that would let me know I was doing something I love with my life.
So maybe I shouldn't be sad. Whether the records end up on eBay or not, they will mean a lot to the people who end up buying them.
And rest assured Sir Peter, if I had my copy of Sgt Pepper signed by you it would be strictly 'not for sale'.
And I would kiss you on both cheeks.
Saturday, 29 November 2014
Lazaretto, Jack White
The little angel hologram in the wax is beyond cool, I have had friends, record lovers and non record lovers alike, standing around my turntable with torches watching the little ladies dance as the record spins. I wont give away all the surprise features of this quirky LP, but I would definitely recommend watching the YouTube video when yours arrives to make sure you don't miss anything. It is indeed an 'Ultra LP'!
You could view all of these eccentricities as gimmicks I suppose, but for me they tap into the reason why I like records - I want more than just hitting 'download', I want to touch it, and read the lyric sheet, and look for silly little pictures in the wax, I want to concentrate on dropping the needle on the first track just right and hearing the song start while I am still stood right in front of the speakers - I like records because they are an experience. And Jack White's team at Third Man Records has really made this one something to look at and play with as well as listen to - thank you guys, I love it!
Now I've got so swept up in the hype that I haven't even mentioned the music. I've heard a range of complaints from fellow Jack White fans... too country... not bluesy enough... not heavy enough. I disagree, there are two things I expect from this gentleman, distinctive and interesting, and this album is both. There are some great tracks to tap your toe to, a female vocalist with a really pretty voice and plenty of that super awesome guitar. It's a big thumbs up from me.
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
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