28/12/2011 - The Stone Roses 45 RPM Limited Edition

You do suffer from hangovers. You can't just *not* get them. You are not one of those people who "just don't suffer woopedy doo". Pretty obvious, I know, but I feel it is something that must be discussed. It plants a false sense of security in the mind of the night before, that ultimately leads to an "under normal circumstances" capable human brain taking the executive decision to drink a pint with a picture of a goat on it because of the goat.

As you can probably tell, I'm mildly hungover. Post Christmas is hangover like, yet a pleasant hangover. And in my opinion these exist (goat beer fueled hangovers are explicitly in the unpleasant category). Quiet days of sleep, double albums, nice food - a comfortable drowsiness (not a splitting headache). And barring the unfortunate 4 hour shift at *a high profile budget clothing chain* it was quite pleasant.

As with any hangover, there are golden rules:

1) No whinging. The silent sufferer garners the most sympathy.
2) Don't wimp out on paracetamol. It's wimpy.
3) Contrary to popular "medical advice" black coffee is a necessity (just have a glass of water as well).

But most importantly:

4) Don't go shopping. Just don't do it.

Post-Christmas sales. Oh.

As with any rule, there are exceptions, trawling through the tranquility of the record store is the exception, especially when you consider everyone else is hanging also. There's a level of mutual respect not found in *a high profile budget clothing chain*. Taking the canal route to avoid the general unpleasantness of town is recommended. It was here I purchased my first album: "The Stone Roses", for the reason being that it was my all time favorite album at the time, of which listening to brought previously unparalleled levels of ecstasy (funny that) and wonder to my relatively inexperienced ears. I have a mental top five that continually evolves that normally features somewhere between 5 and 10 albums that I could classify as in my current "Top Five". For a long time this was undisputed in it's position, unsinkable by anything. How could anything be better than "I am the Resurrection"? It was quite uncomprehending to even consider.

The the past is history and things change, and yet it is still testimony to the album that it could inspire in such away, even if in the future I was to learn more about the magicians behind the speakers, discover Ian "fuckin'" Brown and watch them drag their arses onto stage to karaoke to their greatest hits. I like to think of the album as a separate entity - it couldn't have been created by mere mortals. In that sense it's still one of the greatest albums ever made.

It's here also I learned by first big vinyl lesson. Coloured vinyl in plastic cover and white paper sleeve? It's probably fake. I picked it up on marble red vinyl, and it looked actually pretty cool. It was only later I would find it to be an unofficial release (via Discogs), recorded presumably from the original or the CD. How could I build a collection on such dubious foundations. I sat up late at night thinking, tossing and turning, stewing, until I established my position. With a heavy heart, it would have to be replaced.
(Got decent money on eBay for it though, some people have the sense not to care).

Trawling through eBay at some point in the future, I happened to stumble upon The Stone Roses as a gatefold double album just about to end. About £15.00 made it mine. This was almost the next mistake I made, having failed to completely understand the importance of condition. The sleeve is a conservative VG, the records themselves VG to VG+ so I was not badly stung, yet it could have been worse. The general rule is VG+ (maybe VG) or higher vinyl condition if you want to appreciate it (as ever, there are exceptions). And it turned out to be probably the most interesting album in my collection so far (I was yet to discover my grandad's first press Beatles albums, stolen by my dad and in turn stolen by me).

The catalogue number ORE ZLP 502 makes this a 1991 limited edition 45 RPM double album edition of the album - sure enough mine is number 00316 (of at least 20,000 as far as I can tell, maybe more) making it in some sense, kind of collectible. To my inexperienced record collection, it was essentially royalty. I spent a lot of time carefully looking at it, considering it and of course listening to it.

The sound quality itself is very bright. Like bright like a big bright blinding light slapping you in the face to an uptempo bass drum. It's down to preference and setup whether this makes it the best sounding album ever or just a little too much. With the right mood, time and outlook, it's downright hypnotic. Just closing your eyes and feeling the sounds swoop around the room and your head is quite unparalleled, and it was obviously a world away from the red copy I owned. For me then, and even now - it's fantastic. I don't think you could go wrong if you got it for a decent price.

With enough scouring you could pick this up in decent nick for £15.00 to £20.00, otherwise it's £30.00 plus. The first press of the album ORE LP 502 is similarly pricey, currently £30.00 plus for a worthwhile condition. As ever, stay away from coloured vinyl copies if you want a legitimate one. And steer clear of remasters and picture disks (unless they are your thing). It's not a rare album, yet you might be hard pushed to play less than £20.00. If you are up for spending money, go with a first press in as decent a condition as you can (EX is recommended) even if this takes you well above £30.00. Looked after and carefully played they hold value, and this album has a definite first press edition separate from the standard with raised gold lettering on the cover. It's a great way to give your collection some life. Aside from that, I recommend trawling eBay. Look for used, and the older the better (keep vinyl condition above VG+, the sleeve can be whatever really) - see if you can get lucky.

And there you have it. The Stone Roses. Album of the late 1980's. Start of the early 1990's. On vinyl.

How's that for a slice of fried blog.

In the words of John Squire's guitar: "dur dur dur dur durh durh duhrrr duh duh duh duh der"

5 points for the correct source of the above quote.

Christmas 2011 - Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

The date is the 25th of December, 2011. The thundering of tiny feet can be heard down the stairs. Sqeals of delight.

Now, at this point I was far too old the thunder down the stairs on Christmas morning (I did have tiny feet mind) but I didn't care. Luckily the sherry and mince pie had gone, been taken presumably by a mystical and unseen entity (probably my gran) and in return lay presents piled to the sky (ahem). As a shooting star flew past, and a reindeer could faintly be heard against the silent glory of a snowy Christmas morning, I received my first ever turntable.

If I'm honest, it was far less magical than that. After being woken at the unchrismassy hour of about 5 by a younger brother, and having my coffee spiked with cold water by my gran, not to mention feeling un-refreshed due to my previous days shift at a *high profile budget clothing chain* and unappealed by the thought of a Boxing Day shift, I lumbered down the stairs. But the prospect of a new Rega RP1 put all that out of my mind (even the coldwater coffee taste in my mouth).

As a budget turntable, the Rega RP1 is ultimately unparalleled. At £230 it isn't cheap mind, yet you might as well properly appreciate your records, even if you are just getting started. It is musical, reliable and straightforward and a LOT of fun. I couldn't recommend it higher. Within 10 minutes of beginning the set up it is singing, and sounding pretty awesome, despite the need for a fairly lengthy run in required. If you are a beginner, it's perfect. You'll need an amp and speakers (any HiFi dealer will help you match them) and you need to make sure you have a pre-amp (or phono stage) either built in or as a separate to your amplifier (a CD player doesn't need one of these, but a turntable does. They're built in most modern quality amplifiers).

As it turns out, within 10 minutes my RP1 was singing the opening static of "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" the debut album by a little known psychedelic rock outfit Pink Floyd. It's quite frankly a masterpiece in funny noises, garden gnomes and is the only album I know of that concludes with a bunch of quacking ducks. I knew of the album prior to discovering it in the garage, and whilst my dad had mentioned he did have it, the buzz of excitement gained when finding something desirable in amongst a load of shit was still there. This is quite a magical feeling, yet as elusive as it is beautiful.

My copy was purchased (I think) in the mid-eighties by my dad and quite frankly I don't give him enough credit for it, the problem being that he has a pretty awesome taste anyway so I can't let anything out that might give him the upper hand. It's on the Fame label and is a UK stereo reissue from 1983. It sounds pretty awesome and is available at about £15.00 to £20.00 in great condition (this is recommended). I wouldn't pay too much for condition, VG+ is acceptable for a 1983 reissue of a 1967 album. Most desirable will be the 1967 UK press with the flip back cover in either mono or stereo fetching well into excess of £200. The stereo is presumably rarer yet I tend to find the mono might be more desirable due the the wide panning in the album (my copy open features hard panned left/right vocals and drums etc. in some places. Comparable to the 1966-67 stereo Beatles albums in this respect). They are the copies I would consider - suited to your preference. Steer clear of coloured copies, they are most likely (if not even definitely) unofficial "fakes". Also stay away from the 2011 (or 2010, I forget) remaster. This is not an exception to the general rule "remasters are kind of shite".

And there you have it. A great oak grows from a tiny acorn. An average oak also grows from a tiny acorn. A rather expensive, time consuming, infuriating yet beautiful and under appreciated oak also grows from a tiny acorn (presumably some kind of genetically modified acorn).

In the words of Pink Floyd:
"DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DUH DE DUH DE DUH DUHHHHHHHHHHH *wewewewe wooo shhhhhmtp"

Questions or queries? Leave a comment! 5 points also for obtaining the correct source of the above quote.

Have a great day