The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

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Unavailable albums (not a RSD post)

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It is easy on t’internet to find out about total UK, US or World sales of ‘product’ released on vinyl and CD. However, what I would like to know is how many albums have never been released on CD and, indeed, how many albums have never been released/re-released on vinyl? Examples of albums that have never been released in one format or another would be most welcome. I can’t e.g. locate an official CD release of Soft Machine’s “Land of Cockayne” or Kevin Coyne’s “Beautiful Extremes etc”, originally on Cherry Red.

Music in North Norfolk (analogue)

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Off to West Runton again for the weekend. While I walked through Sheringham forest to give my stepdad’s memorial bench a scrub and a fresh coat of teak oil, Mrs F meandered into Cromer. Then my phone started to buzz.

“There’s a new record shop in Cromer. I’ve been in for a chat and told them you’ll be in later. You’re going to love it.”

She was right. Another Planet is a pop-up shop in a side street, run by Racheal, who would fit right in on here.

Six crates of bargains (LPs 2 quid, 12″ singles a quid), 6 crates of sensibly-priced S/H LPs (most £4 or £5, not much over a tenner), a couple of crates of new vinyl at £20+, some CDs & DVDs, badges, etc.

I spent an hour there and blew 40 quid in a blink. I could have easily made it a ton if Mrs H hadn’t been watching over me (“but you’ve already got that”, etc).

Whilst nothing like the range of the Holt Vinyl Vault, prices are to tempt you. That Headboys LP I paid a tenner for in HVV last summer? That’s be two quid, please.

And » Continue Reading.

Ian McNabb klaxon. Head Like A Rock on vinly!

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Whoop whoop! Only last week I suggested to Pete Paphides he should release this on Needle Mythology.

“Head Like A Rock will have it’s debut on double gatefold 180g vinyl early in 2022. Amazingly both Truth And Beauty (1993) and Merseybeast (1996) have been available in LP format since their release, but not so my Mercury-nominated, best selling sophomore solo offering. Mind-boggling. Pre-orders coming soon. 500 copies. Signed by me. I x”

wired’s not at all patronising guide to the fine art of vinyl collecting

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Without necessarily putting down this well-intended piece for millenials who are getting into collecting those vinlys, oh go on… here are some top tips for record collecting from Wired:

It’s better to start off with a small collection of albums you play over and over again than to have a large collection of vinyl you listen to once a year

Are you mad? Once a year is practically heavy rotation round here. Of course those Bob Dylan bootleg series volumes 1 – 256 are all ESSENTIAL.

Posting your vinyl on TikTok can be the start of online friendships with other collectors, DJs, and music lovers.

No it won’t. Anything more than a youtube upload with an image of the label is just showing off and no-one likes that.

So I feel duty bound to ask the Massive to extend and enchance this article with your Top Tips for those new to vinyl…

https://www.wired.com/story/new-to-vinyl-records-shopping-what-you-need-to-know/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-global-en-GB

Dusted Off: My STD 305D Turntable.

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A couple of months ago I dusted off my old late ’70s turntable, which I got s/h sometime in the later ’80s. I gave it a bit of an overhaul (cartridge alignment, tracking weight, anti-skid, levelling etc) and played a couple of albums. It was reluctant to start up at first (unresponsive control touch pads – see photo) but then it decided that it was going to work after all. I’d not used it at all since then but yesterday, having moved it and the rest of my audio stuff to a new position in the room I thought I’d play an album or two. Once again it would not start up unless the relevant touch pad was repeatedly tapped until it responded. Unresponsive touch pads seem to be a common fault on these decks as they get old. After it had been playing for a bit however, the touchpad response was fine. It sounds pretty good, within the limitations of the rest of my fairly inferior setup. These decks seem to be pretty well-regarded by turntable enthusiasts. It doesn’t have the original tonearm, as the previous owner fitted a Stax UA-7 with what looks like a carbon fibre pipe » Continue Reading.

Which does vinly – but which are its best buys and which its ones to avoid?

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Dull-as-ditchwater but usually on the money consumer periodical Which has branched out from fridge-freezers and broadband providers to consider the vinly revival. It, perhaps unsurprisingly sits on the fence when it comes to vinyl vs CD vis mp3, as rather sagely it offers this view:

Music has never been just about the sound itself. Music is about a sense of occasion. It involves rituals such as moseying around record shops or pulling a vinyl record out of its sleeve and setting it to play. Careful handling and respect is required – which appeals to purists – and that;s one reason many choose manual turntables. The very inconvenience of adjusting turntables means you tend to listen to and absorb an entire album…and when it comes to digital formats you can lose the enjoyment of admiring a cover or looking fondly at your carefully curated collection.

Amen, brother, amen.

Best buys and ones to avoid in the comments.

Invest in Vinyl folks, they’re not making any more of it

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Daughter moles has risen to the top of volunteering at her local Oxfam shop, and is now responsible for pricing up all vinyl. She came home today with the staggering fact that Rod Stewarts’ Greatest Hits (the pink satin jacket one, you know the photo of Rodders) was now averagely priced on ebay at £12.00. A little cross-googling largely corroborated her story, that you could pick up a copy for £4.00, but others thought that a good copy might be worth north of a tenner. So, what gives? In my mind this is near the top of the chazza shop least wanted. (Yes she’s seen more than one copy of No Parlez). Is the vinly lifestyle madness now inflating even the last likely artists. And, pity her, any copy which might be above £8.00 they have to listen all the way through to check for pops and scratches.