Vinyl Resurgence

Thanks for posting Arnold! Now let's get some peeps in here and start up the convo!

http://www.popsike.com/

Very good resource.

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It's not every day you find Sun 209 up for grabs, let alone a mint, unplayed copy of it! But that's just what one lucky buyer snagged —albeit for one darn pretty penny — in this edition's roundup of online auction action.

$10,987 —Elvis Presley, "That's All Right" b/w "Blue Moon of Kentucky" 45. So just how does one score a mint, unplayed copy of this 1954 record? According to the seller, it's all who you know. This copy of Sun 209 came from the personal collection of Sun Records Promotion Manager Cecil Scaife, who had received a box of 25 copies directly from Sam Phillips back in the 1950s.
The 45 is housed in its original brown stock paper sleeve and is guaranteed original and unplayed, according to the seller. The labels, which have the push marks caused by the equipment at Plastic Products (the pressing plant that manufactured Sun records at the time), are also listed in mint condition, with raw flecks still flaking off the spindle hole.

The seller did disclose that this 45 had been offered for auction previously, but that winning bidder opted against completing the purchase due to high tax rates for international shipments.

$7,000 —Fresh Blueberry Pancake, "Heavy" LP. This privately pressed demo copy is one of only 54 copies of this 1970 psych demo LP that were pressed. The professionally cleaned and play-graded record comes in at Very Good ++, while the jacket comes in at VG+. According to a listing at Allmusic.com, this work by the Pittsburgh power trio comprised of singer/bassist Tony Impavido, guitarist John Behrens and drummer Geoff Rydell "is now much sought-after among collectors of plodding, monolithic acid rock."

$5,500 — "Georges Enesco plays Bach," 3 LPs. Classical music collecting is alive and well, if the Market Watch activity in recent weeks is any indicator. According to the seller, this item is "the holy grail of classical LPs," as it is an original Continental pressing from 1950, numbers CLP 104/105/106. A insert was included, and red-felt-and-gold-print box itself is in "perfect" condition.

The featured discs and contents are: Disc 1 : TA 33 016 (1) and TA 33 021(6) : SONATA No. 1 in G Minor + PARTITA No. 3 in E Major; Disc 2 : TA 33 020 (3) and TA 33 017 (4) : SONATA No. 3 in C Major + PARTITA No. 1 in B Minor; Disc 3: TA 33 018 (2) and TA 33 019 (5) : SONATA NO. 2 in A Minor + PARTITA No. 2 in D Minor.

$5,101 — Hank Mobley, "Hank Mobley" LP. This isn't the first time our buddy Hank has showed up in Market Watch, and we suspect it won't be the last. According to the seller, this is the original RVG-stamped deep-groove "P"-pressing of Hank Mobley's rare, self-titled Blue Note 1568 and one of several original Blue Notes for which the labels do not match: Side 1 has the West 63rd NYC label while Side 2 has the West 63rd New York 23 label with the centering mark over the "i" (in "Microgroove").

While many versions of this record have been seen with West 63rd NYC labels on both sides, no copies have been found to have the New York 23 address on both sides or Side 1 alone, the seller said. The vinyl is in near-new condition (but the seller doesn't give a formal grade), and the cover has three sharp corners and perfect seams, but slight foxing on the edges of the back slick, according to the description.

$5,100.69 —The Lonseome Drifter, "Eager Boy" b/w "Tear Drop Valley" 45.
Record buyers love their rockabilly, and this goodie on K records (K 5812) drew plenty of attention; there were 15 bids before the winner was determined.
This record was advertised by the seller as yet another "holy grail that never gets offered," especially given its Mint-Minus condition.

$4,500 — Furry Lewis, "Judge Harsh Blues" b/w "I Will Turn Your Money Green" 78. Apparently Blues Images' John Tefteller isn't the only collector who appreciates a good Furry Lewis record (see page 62 for an in-depth look at Furry's song "Good Looking Girl Blues).

The seller didn't have much to say about this record — "In our opinion, the greatest of all Fury (sic) Lewis records" was pretty much it. Apparently, the artist's body of work speaks for itself. This copy of Victor 38506 grades at Excellent Plus condition, the seller says.

$4,010.73, Tinkerbell's Fairydust, "Tinkerbell's Fairydust" LP. This 1969 Decca first pressing of "Tinkerbell's Fairydust" popped up twice in this edition's roundup, with identical descriptions, seller information and photos but different selling dates and amounts (26 bids on June 6 for $4,010.73 and June 7 for $2,911.) Not sure if the first winning bidder bailed or if someone tried to "flip" this LP, but either way, it's here twice.

The seller's description (well, both of them) stops just short of calling this record a unicorn, but says this is "one of the rarest LPs you will ever see" and it is "seriously rare," "simply impossible to find" and "virtually never turns up for sale." The record was just described to be in "brilliant condition," which the seller interpreted to be VG+, and "clearly hasn't been played much at all." Both descriptions also indicate that the record bears the "Factory Sample — Test Press" label. The Cat. No. is SKL 5028 and the record is a U.K. Stereo first pressing.

$3,173.45 — Johanna Martzy, J.S. Bach unaccompanied violin sonatas, Vol. 1 and 2, LP. These "absolutely pristine condition" copies of Volumes I and II feature Johanna Martzy performing. Both are marked as promo copies, and the records appear to be in unplayed, Near-Mint condition, according to the seller's description.

$2,800 — The Beatles, "The Beatles and Frank Ifield - On Stage" LP. Rounding out our countdown are The Beatles (c'mon ... you knew they'd show up at some point). Featured is the rare portrait cover copy of "The Beatles and Frank Ifield - On Stage" on Vee Jay LP 1085 from 1964. The cover grades at a strong VG+, while the labels and vinyl grade at VG++.  

Source: http://www.musicstack.com/articles/early-elvis-45-on-sun-lights-uponline-auction-circuit

Strange tech from the world of music medium

http://gizmodo.com/5565943/a-vinyl+cd-hybrid-to-keep-the-hipster+yuppies-satisfied

gizmodo.com

If you're into Facebook, join the official VR group on it... or don't.  ;D

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=129687740386279

Doc written for the Collection Importer script so you can easily import your record collection to this site using your excel, etc spreadsheet.

Collection Importer: http://www.vinylresurgence.com/collection_importer.php
(must be logged in)

Collection Impoter Help Doc: http://www.vinylresurgence.com/docs/Collection_Import.pdf
(PDF document)

I've done some serious work on the site collection program.

See it in action here: www.vinylresurgence.com/collections.php

Please report all errors you encounter.

Thought this was a good review...I didn't write it so I am putting it here.

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This is John Denver's best and most balanced album in a long time, and it takes its strength from the expanded emotional range that he has been side-stepping all this time. He has, in the process, expanded his subjective spectrum, which previously ranged all the way from sunny yellow to tangerine, enough to include a few more neutral shades -- taupe, tan, khaki and, yes, even a tiny smattering of gray.

Most of Denver's new material still clings to the pop-folk tradition of oversimplification, but some of the subjects he takes on are surprising. Two tunes from his old friends Fat City, "We Don't Live Here No More" and "Please, Daddy," are suprisingly glum in sentiment (though each one is relatively painlessly arranged), with the latter one sounding especially traumatose ("Please, daddy, don't get drunk this Christmas/I don't wanna see my mamma cry"). John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery" is even tougher, the album's most abrasive cut -- and, as such, it's a little ways out of Denver's vocal range, although he gives it an admirable try.


Original album advertising art.
Click image for larger view.
"Sweet Misery" is a gem, another fine Hoyt Axton song (there are more fine Hoyt Axton songs than some people imagine) and it's perfect for John who gives it just the right degree of flipness and not a trace of self-pity. Of Denver's own songs, "Rocky Mountain Suite" reiterates one of his all-time most reiterated themes, yet it sounds heartfelt and that's enough to carry it. Likewise the title cut, which is the album's fade-out and cheeriest moment. But it's "I'd Rather Be a Cowboy" that seems most straightforward, and also the most intimate, of all the Denver originals here; it also sounds like prime single material. It's about a breakup, and the fierce independence and purposefulness of that one number is worth ten tunes about the ecstasies of self-awareness, and 20 solitary strolls through those peaceful, Earth-Maternal Rockies he holds so dear.

The real curiosity here is something called "Berkeley Woman," by Bryan Bowers. In it, the narrator is entranced by a woman in a rocking chair, wearing a feather and strumming a dulcimer, with a nice no make-up complexion. But the woman who lives with him sees all this, and has a conniption ("she scratched me and she clawed me, she screamed and she cried"). So he figuratively shrugs his shoulders ("I guess she's probably right, I guess I'm probably wrong"), and they part ways. In the end, he concludes that, "A woman is the sweetest fruit that God ever put on the vine/And I'd no more love just one kinda woman than drink only one kinda wine."

For all its lyrical peculiarities, it has a lovely melody (though this, like several other cuts here, suffers from disappointing underproduction), and it's a gripping, fascinating song for both its vocal and spiritual naivete. The writer's conception of his own woman's hysterical overreaction is almost as oddly simplistic as his idea of just what it takes to be "natural" (feathers? dulcimer?).

Denver's performance here, as on the rest of the album, is enough to render almost anything credible, no matter how strange it all may seem upon closer examination. That's what Farewell Andromeda has over so much of his previous work -- the tension is increased, the material less of a shoe-in for the style and to achieve that credibility, he's forced to push himself more that he might usually want to. Good; it's a push in the right direction.

- Janet Maslin, Rolling Stone, 8/16/73.

Bonus Review!

Singing gently but with simple conviction has been Denver's key to audience acceptance. The formula of songs about the earth and its inhabitants is used by Denver in developing a theme with mass appeal in both the pop and country fields. Denver bridges across the two vital cauldrons of creativity -- pop and country -- with a tinge of folk just to make things very American. Five of the 11 tunes are by Denver, and there ihttp://www.superseventies.com/spdenverjohn2.htmls a great concentration of effort to create an outdoors type of feeling. Denver's own guitar picking is nice, but the augmented sound of other instruments is a welcome expansion of the production sound for which Milt Okun gets a fine credit. Best cuts: "River Of Love," "Sweet Misery," "We Don't Live Here No More."

- Billboard, 1973.

Source: http://www.superseventies.com/spdenverjohn2.html

http://tomdavenport.tumblr.com/post/122495531/radiohead-responsible-for-surge-in-vinyl-sales

discuss..

personally... I think not quite...but them releasing everything on vinyl doesn't hurt.

As mentioned in another thread, I am working on a way for users to keep track of their record collections, on site, as a way of organizing and sharing with each other. It's far from complete and please let me know how you would like this played out... any features or other requests.

This is my current collection:
http://www.vinylresurgence.com/collections.php?uid=1

I am working on a way for users to keep up with their collections on this site. It's called the collections page and its a long way off from being completed.

Bear with me as I get this functionality up. For a sneak peak, see: http://www.vinylresurgence.com/collections.php?uid=1

Here's the article:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99837

Huge discussion over at those forums about it...I think the consensus is that it really works.. I might try this on some old vinyls first.

Thought it would be a nice place to talk about your local record shops... Let others know where the "goods" are located

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Up on Engadget.com
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/06/novation-outs-dicer-controller-for-the-digital-dj/

Looks pretty cool, only $100

More DJ related, however...