The Abused - Loud and Clear 7"

The last of my record sell off money has been spent, but it was well worth it. I was able to upgrade my Vertigo swirl Black Sabbath Paranoid album and with the rest, score this little number right here.
When it comes to early NYHC, The Abused's Loud and Clear 7" is right there with Agnostic Front's United Blood ep, Bad Brains' Pay to Cum 7" (yeah - D.C. first, I know) and Antidote's Thou Shalt Not Kill for sheer history and collect-ability.

This record has been near the top of my want list for years, but was hard to commit to due to the escalating price and difficulty in finding one in top condition.
Luckily, this one popped up on ebay with the always advantageous "US Bidders Only" condition. Nothing better than sellers who eliminate half the market right off the start. Plus we all know how Euros throw the money around. This was easy pickings.
I just dropped my main man in all things metal and generic youth crew hardcore Mike an email and set up for him to be the shipping address. I have to say, things worked out great. I won the auction, had the record shipped to Maine in two days, and then had Mike mail it on to me. Three weeks later, touchdown.

This copy is super clean. I don't know if it had ever been played before. There isn't even one spindle mark on the label.

This copy comes complete with the two sided insert. Once again, this is in great shape, if not folded a bit funny.

It never fails that once I buy a super rare expensive record, a repress or reissue is released right around the same time. I see a 12" was just released on Radio Raheem Records recently that includes this 7", their demo and some live tracks. Do I regret spending a ton of dough on an original pressing when a comprehensive compilation is now available? Come on man, what do you think?

K-Tel Superstar Game

"The Original Rock and Roll Music Game"
Before my first Kiss 8-Track, before my first Black Sabbath lp, and before my first Rush cassette tape  - there was the K-Tel Superstar game.
This board game was my earliest exposure to music and as a part of it, was hands down the first record I ever owned.

Released back in 1973, this board game explored the fascinating world of rock music where you progress from buying your first instrument and forming your first band to eventually releasing gold albums and running record labels.
The spots you would land on were hilarious stereotypes of rock star behaviour including "Swindled by Phoney Guru", "Manager runs off with money. Lose $50,000" and "Collect $50,000 for Las Vegas tour...Pay $60,000 for gambling." It was 1973, I'm sure Led Zeppelin did all this and more.

Yeah, those are gold albums bitch!

The best, and I mean best, part of the game was the 45 record that was integral to the game. On certain spots on the board, you would record and release an album.  You had to fire up your record player and drop the needle anywhere on the record to see if your record was a hit, a flop or if you broke even.

The record was really awesome as it was kind of locked or parallel grooved. Where you dropped it would repeat your fate and run out to the end. It didn't repeat over and over forever like a locked groove though. I don't know how it works, but it is freaking awesome.

Check the original commercial out. Family fun!

Do yourself a favor, spend $10 less on your 15th variant of some random band you won't listen to in 5 years and check this sucker out on ebay. 40 years later and I'm still digging it.

Black Sabbath - The Original Six

To commemorate scoring Black Sabbath concert tickets for the April 20, 2014 show in Calgary, I decided to make my largest and longest post yet. Most of you wouldn't give a crap about this stuff, but please indulge an old man and his neurotic hangups.
Thanks to my ongoing sell off of duplicates and other unwanted hardcore and punk records, I was able to concentrate on acquiring something I thought completely unachievable in the past. Original, first press, UK copies of the first six Black Sabbath albums.
Getting into Sabbath, or any early hard rock collecting, is just on a different level from punk and hardcore collecting. You start venturing into the realm of the creepy, 60 year old, know-it-all types that you find at record swap meets. They operate on a completely different level when it comes to record prices, variants and most of all, condition. Since we are talking about 40+ year old records, it is a major issue.
After doing lots of online research, I was able to get a handle on what the first press/first issue records were, what the distinguishing signs or marks were, and what I should be looking for in the credits and matrices. After one furious month, I had it done.
My only condition for buying was that I needed a first press (or close) and that the vinyl had to be EX or NM. A tall order for old records with high demand. Funny thing though, apparently all you need is lots of money and you can get anything you want!
One of the first things I heard from the hard rock community online is that when it comes to Black Sabbath records, the best are the original UK pressings. They are apparently far superior in sound quality to the European or North American ones. Audiophiles are a funny breed. They can detect and hear shit the rest of us can't. With their descriptions of music as airy, warm, dry, and coarse, I'll take their word for it.

We might as well get started with the self titled first album. This was pressed in 1970 on Vertigo Records. The Vertigo swirl found on the cover, labels and inner sleeve are considered classics in collecting. The inner sleeve alone can sell for $50.

This copy I have is a second version of the first press as the B side label is missing the "A Phillips Record Product". The matrix, catalog number and sleeve are all unchanged.

The original Vertigo album comes as a gatefold which is way cooler that the simple standard sleeve we got here in North America on Warner Brothers. The layout starts the band down that slippery Satanic slope they tried in vain to dig themselves out of. An inverted cross will tend to do that.

I dig the inside of the gatefold big time.

Second we have Paranoid. This one is also on Vertigo with the swirl labels, inner sleeve and cover.

The layout is close to the same as the WB one we got here with the exception of the color and some of the written text. I don't know what it is in the design of these gatefolds, but they are so much much better than the ones we have now. They don't crack or fold any of the cardboard if that makes sense.

Unfortunately, there is some sticker removal damage on the front. Not the worst thing ever, but compared to the rest, I may have to upgrade some day.

Next up is the collector's wet dream. First press Master of Reality on Vertigo Records. This was unique as the first press came in a laminated and embossed box style cover. The album opened from the top with a flap which contained the record and a six panel poster of the band.
Due to the age of this record, finding a copy with no box damage, the laminate still intact, and complete with an original poster is rare. Rare means expensive. Really, really expensive. I'm glad someone bought all my Poison The Well and Thursday records! Later European Vertigo issues had a standard sleeve and smaller poster. Fuck that though. Go big or go home. Accept no substitutes!

This one was unique for Vertigo as the labels and inner sleeve were inversed with white on black as opposed to the standard black on white. The inner sleeve with this one is in near mint condition as well.

This was also the first time the band went with lyrics and credits on the back cover as there was nowhere else to go with the box style.

This one is easily my crown jewel of the collection. The laminate is 95% intact and that is way better shape than most. This is becoming super hard to find in top condition. So happy to have this.

Next up is Volume 4. This one is also on Vertigo Records and comes complete with the swirl on the gatefold sleeve, labels and inner sleeve.

Another big feature is the gatefold comes with a booklet insert attached at the fold. I was so happy to score one that was not only attached, but in such great condition.

This is a legit first press with "Porky" and "Pecko" etched matrices, "VO Price Code" on the back cover and no song lengths on the inner cover. I bought this online through a private deal outside Discogs or ebay. I was kind of scared to say the least. When this arrived as described and in perfect shape, it was one of my happiest days of the year.

Things take a turn with the next album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The band was fully coked out of their heads at this point and getting robbed blind by their label and management. As a measure to remedy the situation, and give the band more creative and financial freedom, they moved to the short lived WWA label.

WWA would end up repressing their entire back catalog, but Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was the only first press release the label would have. This version is so awesome just for the fact it came in a gatefold sleeve with this awesome trippy picture of the band. The Warner Brothers version here had none of this.

It also comes with this awesome double sided inner sleeve with lyrics and credits. Mine has some creasing on it but you can't have everything.

I might have to try and run down some more WWA presses. Word is they are pretty rare and just as collectible as the Vertigo stuff. I might need a second job though.

Finally, we have the Sabotage album. The UK first press was released on NEMS Records. I only knew NEMS as the label that released Live At Last. Back in 1980 we all thought it was a bootleg as it wasn't on Warner Brothers and it came out after Dio was already around for Heaven and Hell. Oh, the days before the internet!
Sabotage was pretty light on bells and whistles. Standard sleeve but with a weird paper texture that is different than the normal glossy one usually used. Other than that, it isn't too different from the Warner Brothers version.

That's it. I still own all my Canadian pressings of these albums as well as everything from Technical Ecstasy all the way up to Headless Cross. Oh and 13. Can't forget the album of the year - 13. I'm not sure how much love they will get now that I have these around though.
This manic exercise put a lot of things in perspective for me. For one thing, you don't even bat an eye when someone tells you postage will be 25 pounds. In fact you ask if you can pay more as long as it is tracked, insured, triple boxed, use alternate inner sleeves for shipping, etc. Risking corner damage or split seams to save on postage seems insane. I guess that comes from spending two mortgage payments on six records. In our normal collecting world, punks freak if postage is higher than $8. It will be interesting adjusting again.

Black Sabbath are the greatest band of all time. That is all. I sold my soul for rock and roll!

Skeletonwitch - Serpents Unleashed

I first heard of Skeletonwitch from the bonus features on the "Get Thrashed" documentary dvd. Scott and Chance would give their opinions of a wide range of great 80's thrash bands from across the world. These guys knew their stuff.
A while later I heard their second album Beyond the Permafrost and was intrigued by how they incorporated old school thrash with black and death metal vocals. They were one of the newer bands that didn't get lumped in with the whole "Thrash Revival" movement at the time as they weren't as blatant in their Overkill and Exodus worship.
Fast forward to 2013 and we have their new album Serpents Unleashed released on Prosthetic Records. There are some hardcore ties as they recorded at God City Studios with Kurt Ballou from Converge producing the album.
The band were in town last week opening for The Black Dahlia Murder. I don't like them much. But Skeletonwitch were amazing. They were selling loads of vinyl including this one I picked up. The merch guy said this was a tour exclusive color and once it sold out it wouldn't be repressed. Whatever. I just wanted the new album as it was only released a couple weeks ago.

I have no idea how many were pressed and I haven't heard or read anything about it online. Red with black splatter vinyl isn't the greatest combo to go with the artwork, but at least it is heavyweight wax.

They had John Dyer Baizley from Baroness do the unmistakable artwork for the album. This came with a poster of the cover art as well. Nice bonus for sure. Too bad that it will never see the light of day in my house. I'm pretty sure the wife and kids wouldn't dig it.

I think the new album is streaming online somewhere. You should check it out. These guys are the real deal.

Glenn Danzig - Who Killed Marilyn?

Well I wasn't quite able to make it in time for Halloween, but better late than never. I was able to take some of my record sale money and pick up this sweet first press of the Glenn Danzig - Who Killed Marilyn? 7".

For half of my punk rock life, I thought that Who Killed Marilyn was a Misfits song. It has definitely been appropriated by the band and was included on the Legacy of Brutality album and also that Misfits box set (which also included the b side Spook City USA). Can you believe that that coffin cd box set came out around 17 years ago? Holy crap, that's a long time ago. Feels like yesterday.
Anyway, there's nothing like owning the real thing and I grabbed this fairly cheap off ebay after Mike put up a post on Vinyl Noize for the Halloween 7".  Despite Mike's tacky and all too obvious efforts of posting a Misfits - Halloween 7" right before October 31, I was fortunate the seller was getting rid of this at the same time. Thanks bro, I never would have saw this if not for your hack writing. I kid! I kid!

I was particularly happy to grab a first press on black vinyl as most collectors scramble for the purple vinyl second press. I will take a first press for 1/3 of the cost of a 2nd press color any day.
All in all, not a bad deal. That brings the number of original Misfits 7" I own up to seven. One to go, and of course it is the toughest, most bootlegged one possible. Fucking Cough/Cool. Oh well.

Have Heart - 10.17.09

I have come the conclusion that I don't know what I am doing.

I thought I was finally getting a handle on the insane collecting pace I had sustained from 2004-2012 when I bought every variant of every release by every band on every label. I had people who saw my collection ask me if I was a distro. 4000+ records, around 1/3 of it unique, and most of it from five labels. I needed to change my habits as it was unsustainable, especially with the increased number of represses and reissues rolling out daily.
I decided to make a threefold decision that would help shape and guide me into the future.

1. Only collect first pressings. If there are multiple color variants in that first pressing, cool. But no more endless represses. I was make Bridge 9 and RevHq orders for $100 plus $100 postage to put items untouched on the shelves. No more.
2. Sell all my 2nd press and higher variants. Well, not all of them. I have some pretty awesome collections going, but second tier stuff or records I bought on auto pilot because of the label had to stop.
3. Keep only one copy of marginal stuff or wholesale pitch records of bands I will never listen to again. Be ruthless and honest.

In the end it only amounted to 300 records. Oh well, it's a start.

I sold some at a record fair, I sold some on ebay and I sold some on Discogs (I still have some left. http://www.discogs.com/seller/DougW )
The rest I sold to a local record store for store credit. I felt good. Money in my pocket. A new outlook on collecting and a focus and direction to look for new music with a line of store credit to make it happen. All good.

Then I went and bought my 6th copy of Have Heart's live lp 10.17.09.

At least I can somewhat justify it, as it is the limited friend's press on solid green vinyl. This was limited to only 100 and were very hard to come by. I pre-ordered the dvd/cd/poster/vinyl set the second it was announced and I only scored a clear/300. White and blue copies were easy to come by and I scored a red on ebay fairly cheap.

The tough one was the damn solid green. I wasn't alone in my frustration to score one. Prices for this sucker have been as high as $160 just a couple years ago. Even a month ago one sold for close to $70.

I was fortunate to score this one for $25. I still don't know how I did it, but I'm glad it happened.

Oh and don't think for a second that this means I'm out of record collecting. I put that money to good use. Think greatest band of all time. Godfathers of heavy metal. Vertigo swirl.
I'm so giddy I could burst.