Confessions Of A Vinyl Collector

I’ve had the opportunity to visit both of my local second hand record shops this last week and along with an eBay purchase to report have found some pretty good stuff. Again I went for a mix of familiar, unfamiliar and hunches and was actually quite surprised at the book price quoted for mint copies of some of these items.

Firstly, following a thread about One Album Wonders on the Classic Rock Newswire Forum (see Forum link to the right to read more) I heard some samples of a 1976 EMI released self-titled album by MARCUS and subsequently found a copy for about a fiver all in on eBay. An interesting mix of funk and hard rock that bears some similarity to Tommy Bolin era Deep Purple in places although opening track “Black Magic” chooses instead to borrow the opening riff from Space Trucking. The Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide values this vinyl at £15 mint so £5 for my excellent copy is good value I think.

Regular readers will have noticed a growing appreciation of the work of Swansea based acid-rockers MAN and won’t be surprised that after seeing them live twice in the last couple of weeks I’m starting to seek out their back catalogue. With a recording career dating back to the late 60’s there is plenty to choose from but few Welsh rock fans seemingly wanting to part with them. Quite nice then to pop into Ammanford and get the double album “Back Into The Future“. One disc of studio progressive trippery and one recorded live at the Roundhouse in London. Interestingly, with this being a 1973 issue and the band having a revolving membership none of the members I’ve seen live recently appear on this although the link is of course guitarist Micky Jones whose son George has now replaced him in the line up. Set me back a hefty £12 to get this though but it is in Excellent condition although mint gets a Rare Record Price Guide value of £15 so I guess its a fair price from the seller.

The real gems though for this Confession came from a visit to the superb “Discovery Book & Record Store” down the valley in Glanamman. Here are the purchases, from that trip in alphabetical order with the amount paid and where relevant the Price Guide mint value.

Anvil - Hard ‘N’ Heavy… one of those bands that I’ve heard a bit by but never before checked out at album length. For the princely sum of £2.50 though I thought it was about time something by the Canadian rockers went in the vinyl archive and this 1981 release was the only one they had.

The Cult - Electric… now this is an interesting one as I recall this being released whilst I was at college and suddenly they went from being a Goth band adored by the Art Block winkle picker wearers to being a heavy rock band those of us in the Engineering School could appreciate! “Lil’ Devil” appears on this one, as does “Peace Dog” which lends its name to a well known website, whilst you can never have enough versions of “Born To Be Wild” can you? Not for £1.75 in all its gatefold glory anyway.

Deep Purple - Deepest Purple… one of those compilations that no self-respecting vinyl collection should be without. I remember borrowing this alongside “Let There Be Rock” and “Tokyo Tapes” from an older cousin and playing all three again and again. In fact having to give them back is the reason why I’ve recently re-bought two with “LTBR” to follow soon I hope. A predictable set in many ways but at least both “Burn” and “Stormbringer” are included on this 1980 release which I doubt would have happened if this had waited until around or after Perfect Strangers. Excellent condition and just £2.50.

Eddie and The Hot Rods - Life On The Line… now this was a nice surprise at just £3.50 and in excellent gatefold sleeve. I guess this is the Hot Rods album to own with “Do Anything You Wanna Do” the lead off track, whilst I recognise the likes of “Telephone Girl” and “Quit This Town” from the recent live set.

Eddie and The Hot Rods - Teenage Depression… the only other album by this band in the shop and this time their cover of “The Kids Are Alright” is the notable inclusion. A book price of £15 mint including poster however mine is only vg+ and sans poster so I guess £3 is about right.

Raven - Rock Until You Drop… in the never ending search for nwobhm treasure I stumble across a corker in the shape of this 1981 Neat Records classic. Featuring the compilation stalwart “Don’t Need Your Money” as well as their versions of “Hellraiser” and “Action” by SWEET its one of those “got to have” early 80s metal releases. Just £1.50 again although a scuff on the cover makes this a fair price - vinyl is excellent condition though.

Tank - Power Of The Hunter… now this is one of those bought on name, appearance of the band on the cover and the fact it was a small independant release from 1982 in the metal section. Featuring ex-Damned member Algy Ward perhaps is the main reason for a book price of £12 as the 1983 live write up by Mark Putterford of Sounds featured on the bands www.nwobhm.com page isn’t the most encouraging. However he won’t be the first Sounds hack to rubbish a good band. At £2.50 again though it’s not a great loss if I don’t like it.

Wild Horses - Wild Horses… the first album by a band I’d criminally forgotten about when reviewing Brian Robertson’s post-Lizzy project The Clan. Featuring also Jimmy Bain of Dio/Rainbow fame along with Neil Carter and Clive Edwards and possessing the superb song “Criminal Tendencies”, I think this is actually supposed to be a decent album and all members are pretty well known. I hope so as it set me back a hefty £4 against a mint price of £12.

Finally, and breaking the alphabetical hold on this section, following the surprise performance of “Market Square Heroes” by Fish alongside the other members of the classic MARILLION line-up at the recent Aylesbury Festival bash, I felt compelled to get the said 12″ single. Also featuring “Three Boats Down From The Candy” on the A-side my real recollection of this single is the epic 17 minute b-side “Grendel” being included on a compilation tape “someone” made for me. I remember it struck me that sticking a 17 minute track on a C90 smacked of lack of effort initially but once again I had to admit it was a fine track. £3 in the shop to get this although the picture cover and vinyl are in excellent condition.

Once again though a very decent haul I think.

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BL