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Recent Used vinyl purchases
I wanted to do something different this week before we get into the year-end lists. I am an avid record collector and love finding gems in used bins in stores, garage/stoop/tag sales and anywhere else I see them. Here are ten recent acquisitions that I fully endorse.
Colin Blunstone – Ennismore (Epic)
This is Zombies vocalist Blunstone’s 2nd solo Lp. On this one, he was assisted by fellow Zombies Chris White and Rod Argent (in Argent at the time). The result is a beautiful, mellow, early ’70s singer-songwriter-esque take on the later Zombies’ orchestral pop direction that was also explored on his first solo Lp One Year. This is a stunning record and it still holds up 40 years later.
Ruth Ruth – “Jerome” EP (Epitaph)
One of the greatest bands of the mid to late ’90s, Ruth Ruth were a classic case of a band who should have been much more well-known but weren’t for whatever reason. Too power-pop ish to fit in with other mid ’90s punk and too punk-ish to cross over into the mainstream, this is the closest anyone in the mid ’90s got to the unimpeachable greatness of early Elvis Costello or The Jam. This EP is a two song promo with what sounds like a slightly different version of “Jerome” and “Julia, You Have No Heartbeat” (both from their excellent 1996 EP The Little Death).
The Ventures – The Ventures’ Christmas Album (Dolton)
A long-time holiday favorite of mine and one of my favorite Christmas Lps ever (though that is admittedly a short list as there is so much not so great Christmas music as well), this one’s title pretty much speaks for itself. It’s a mid ’60s Ventures-ized take on all of your holiday favorites and it is awesome!
Secret Affair – Glory Boys (Sire)
Though I’m a big fan of The Jam and The Vapors‘ 1st Lp and am also familiar with The Chords, the other mod-revival bands from the late ’70s and early ’80s were (at least for the most part) off my radar until I found this Lp. One can easily hear a link between groups like this and more modern UK British stuff like The Rifles‘ great 1st 2 Lps.
Kitchens of Distinction – Strange Free World (One Little Indian)
I think this band and record need no introduction to most Big Takeover readers. This is their best work. I also found the “Drive That Fast” 12” with several B-sides in the same store on the same day!
Wool – “S.O.S.” EP (Bong Load)
Wool was the band formed by Pete Stahl and his brother Franz Stahl of Scream after Scream’s dissolution in 1990. This is one of their many singles on a label more famous for releasing some of Beck‘s early material. From 1992.
Screaming Females – Castle Talk (Don Giovanni)
Sometimes the used bins can be a good place for finding more recently released records, not just records from the 1960s to the 1990s like everything else I’ve listed so far. A good case in point is this wonderful 2010 release, which was the only full-length release of theirs I was missing up to that point. Boy does it sound great on vinyl, too!
Ignition – Machination (Dischord)
Though Dischord reissued Ignition’s also essential 12” EP The Orafying Mysticle Of… a few years back, their incredible 1988 Lp has been out of print on vinyl for many years. I was lucky to find a copy of this for 8 bucks or so!
Dum Dum Girls – Dum Dum Girls EP (Captured Tracks)
Though far from their best material, this is the EP that introduced my favorite current band (then a solo recording project of leader Dee Dee) to the world. Plus, it’s also the first recording of the incredible “Yours Alone,” the first indication that they would transcend their ultra, lo-fi, noisy roots and produce pure noise-pop bliss on their subsequent records.
Echo and the Bunnymen – Porcupine (Sire)
Though Porcupine is my least favorite of the first four (all incredible) Bunnymen Lps, it contains some of their absolute best songs. “The Cutter” and “The Back of Love” are the acknowledged classics, but “Clay” has always been a favorite of mine as well. Much of the rest of this record (though generally great in its own right) can be viewed as a transition between the post-punk colossus they were circa Crocodiles and especially Heaven Up Here and the orchestral pop masterwork Ocean Rain.
