Confessions Of A Vinyl Collector

Ah.. the Christmas Confession is always a favourite. Admittedly because I add a few more platters to my collection without shelling out a penny but also because I usually ask for, and sometimes receive a nice rarity or collectors piece or two.

On the vinyl front then the following items get added to the shelves in the near future….

Status Quo – Ma Kelly’s Greasy Spoon… one of my favourite Quo albums it was their third for Pye but first to move down the blues route as opposed to the psychedelic pop of Matchstickable Messages and Spare Parts. A rumbling giant in Junior’s Wailing, one of the best undiscovered Quo tracks in (April) Spring, Summer & Wednesdays and the first long form Quo album closer in Is It Really Me? / Gotta Go Home provide highlight on a fine album that here gets liner notes and pictures that do it justice. As with most Earmark reissues its superb value for money and heavy 180g vinyl to boot.

The Beatles – Help!… recently stated as The Beatles album to avoid in a Classic Rock magazine Buyers Guide. What a load of rubbish – I’d have put this above Yellow Submarine for a start. Featuring “Help!” itself, “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”, “It’s Only Love”, “I’ve Just Seen A Face” and “Yesterday” to name but five, quite how CR think this should be avoided is beyond me, but that’s opinions for you.

The Beatles – Let It Be…Naked… I’ve been listening to this 2003 issued reconstruction of the Beatles Let It Be album without the Phil Spector input on CD a few times recently so it’s good to get the vinyl issue finally. McCartney is correct in his long-standing assertion that the string-less “The Long And Winding Road” is superior whilst everything else sounds better in this lesser produced format, more in line with the back to roots direction they were attempting initially with this project. “Across The Universe” is Lennon at his haunting best and the only disappointment of the whole release is that the bonus disc/bonus 7″ single is just 15 minutes in duration. I’ve at least 30 discs upstairs of Let It Be outtakes – surely more than 15 minutes are of wider interest.

Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell (picture disc)… I’ve read a few opinions now on the merits or otherwise of the recent Heaven And Hell tour commenting on the apparent shortening of the set for the UK and stating indifference by Iommi and Butler to the UK crowds. From where I was sitting I caught none of that indifference, thoroughly enjoyed the set as it was delivered and came away delighted to have finally seen the Dio fronted Sabbath. To get this superb looking Earmark Records issue of the album in picture disc format is a nice accompaniment to those memories. I’ll probably never play this record as I have the original vinyl but this looks lovely!

Man – Man… the Abraxas distributed Turning Point records reissued vinyl of the third Man album. Reproduced in full gatefold glory although somewhat disappointingly devoid of sleeve notes I feel a reissue demands, its 5 tracks of the early incarnation of Man finding their feet. “Romain” has become a staple of the career whilst “Daughter Of The Fire Place” too retains its appeal. Elsewhere “Would The Christians Wait Five Minutes? The Lions Are Having A Draw” displays a penchant for the catchy title few would challenge outside Wales… within Wales, Budgie of course would push them close.

Man – Maximus Darkness… again in gatefold sleeve although this time not a reproduction but an original single album release in excellent condition. A superb 1975 live performance recorded at the Roundhouse it captures the Jones/Leonard/Ace/Williams line-up of the band accompanied for the occasion by Quicksilver Messenger Service stalwart and sometime Man collaborator John Cipolina. I would probably have to make Man my band of 2007 given the impact they’ve had on me this year – pity they’ve release nothing new that allows me to do so! I haven’t even bought any of this years reissues choosing instead to collect the vinyl.

On the CD front however I did get this rather excellent disc:-

Hackensack – Up The Hardway… a superb early 70s UK rock album that, judging by the sparse cover is desperately in need of a reissue. No liner notes, no credits, just the song titles and the cover art doesn’t do this album justice in any way, shape or form. A shame as musically it’s superb.

And a rare DVD addition to the collection:-

AC/DC – Plug Me In… three discs and about seven hours of the rock ‘n’ roll stalwarts. The collectors edition of course with that all important third ‘bonus’ disc and a nice touch with an envelope of reproduction passes and tickets. The onset of family members and the demands of TV for all have precluded the full seven hour marathon to date but I’ll work my way through it eventually.

And that’s it for this Christmas… now back to trying to master Smoke On The Water on my new ‘reproduction’ Stylophone.

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BL