Confessions Of A Vinyl Collector

A quiet month for vinyl purchases in February with only one venture out. The need to purchase a new stylus at a cool £25 limited spends so I went armed with just £20, to “Discovery” in nearby Garnant. Despite numerous visits to this shop in the past there is always stuff there worth purchasing and the continuation of the “everything half price” offer means there is good value to be had as well….

Asia – Asia… this one was actually my target purchase after winning tickets to see the reformed original line-up in Ebbw Vale. A great cover that CD size booklets can’t do justice to and still a fine example of prog, pop and pomp-rock combined. “Time Again” proved to be a fine song that I’d completely forgotten about, such is the time since I last heard this album and overall one listen to this offers justification for the decision to reform this era of the band as nothing released under the “Asia” banner since has scaled these heights in my opinion.

Asia – Astra… the third Asia album and by the time this was released Steve Howe had departed to be replaced by Mandy Meyer. Not as good as the first two is probably a label that will forever be applied to this album but John Wetton’s tribute to Brian Wilson, “Voice Of America” is impressive and proved to be so in his live solo spot too… but more on that tomorrow! The cover art, by Roger Dean of course, is better in 12″ format with the hint of the alien landscape and skyline in the background is particularly intriguing leading me to wish that this was a gatefold sleeve that offered more of that vista.

Starz – Violation… two reasons for purchasing this. Firstly a Classic Rock feature a few months ago peaked some interest then probably more pointedly did a recommendation of how good they were from my very good friend Simon. He’d sought out some of their albums following that feature and thought I would like them too. As usual he’s not wrong, although some of it is a little dated now. I wonder if I picked up the best Starz album?

Marillion – Script For A Jester’s Tear… my recent look back to the 80s on Rock Of Ages and the GTFM Interview with Fish himself stirred up memories of this superb album. The second album from the major prog-rock breakthrough act of the 1980s featuring such excellent pieces as “He Knows You Know” and “Garden Party”. It would be remiss of me not to mention the superb gatefold sleeve art that Marillion were producing at the time. Once again this is one of those sleeves that can be investigated for ages!

Magnum – Kingdom Of Madness… the début album and very much formative stuff as they sought a direction. Very clearly influenced by Queen in places and some way off the superb melodic rock they were to produce in the mid-80s, there are a couple of duff tracks (particularly “Baby Rock Me”) of a standard that you wouldn’t expect to find on a Magnum release these days. The title track itself though, in its original form, offers a nice chance for comparison against the superb live version on the new CD set.

Saxon – Strong Arm Of The Law… along with “Denim And Leather” and “Wheels Of Steel”, this is the other essential Saxon album from the nwobhm days, the era when Saxon were quite clearly one of the leading emerging bands in a re-energised British Rock Music scene and capable of producing albums that stand the test of time well. What’s more is that this one also boasts one of my all time favourite Saxon songs in the JFK remembering “Dallas 1pm”. Great British metal!

Rose Tattoo – Assault & Battery… with the current focus being given to new Aussie rockers Airbourne (an interview with Airbourne on last weeks GTFM Rock Show will appear here on Monday by the way) I thought it’d be good to go back and listen to some of their influences one of which quite obviously is Angry Anderson’s Rose Tattoo. Possibly not the best basis for a comparison article on how Aussie Rock has developed since this albums 1981 release and Airbourne’s recent album – not much would suffice! – but hugely enjoyable no-nonsense hard rock.

Budgie – If Swallowed Do Not Induce Swallowing… one of the great 12″ EP’s of early 80s hard rock as the classic Welsh band Budgie deliver four superb cuts including the awesome “Panzer Division Destroyed” and the amusing “Lies Of Jim (The E-Type Lover). “Wild Fire” and the superbly un-PC track “High School Girls” make up the balance of this record that has actually sat in the racks every visit since I found the shop but became an essential purchase after catching Budgie live in Swansea recently.

The only other piece of vinyl to add to the collection last month was a 7″ single I’ve been seeking for years. Way back in the mists of time (nearly 20 years ago now probably!), the Rock Night as Lloyds Pub in Rugby had a quiz where Simon played a single and asked for the band, the song and the writer. It ran for about four weeks as I recall until someone answered that it was Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup Of Coffee” performed by Nutz. Since then I’ve been after a copy of this fine version which in my mind eclipse’s both the original and Robert Plant’s more recent cover. The price for such a rarity?… 45p !

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BL

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