No next time

I need to make a confession. Up until a few years ago, I thought that compilations were the worst idea on this planet, and were only acceptable in the capacity of label samplers. The first comp to really change my mind was the Mixed Signals compilation 12'' that Run For Cover released some time back. But i'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to talk about this: 

This is the Better Luck Next Time compilation, released sometime in the late 1990's by Witching Hour records. Being completely honest I bought it as it popped up kind of cheap and had an Orchid track on it. But the release is super intricate and by all accounts looks like it took ridiculous amounts of time and effort. 

A quick photo of the A/B side labels and back cover. The hand-stamped back label is pretty neat, and something that not many labels do nowadays. If you have a look on both photos, you'll see that the cover is ring bound, so we'll get on to that. 

It's a booklet, showcasing art and lyrics etc. from the contributing artists. The first two bands to appear on this comp are Orchid and Combat Wounded Veteran. The Orchid illustrations look similar to those on the self titled 7''. At the time of buying this comp, these were the only contributing bands I was aware of; so it was cool to see that everyone involved got some insert space. 

Just another page from the booklet. 

Here's something kind of interesting. Christopher over at Witching Hour wrote this little piece inside the booklet about the realities of putting something like this together. I mean, all previous Witching Hour comps had a few contributing artists. This had 12, which seems like it would be way more effort, and as far as I can tell, they kept their word and this was their last compilation release. It's little background information like this that gave me an idea about how great compilations can be. If I see any compilations from older screamo labels like Witching Hour or Ebullition I'm more likely to pick them up nowadays. Also, collecting and sticking 1666 losing lottery tickets to 7'' covers? No way, just wouldn't happen anymore. 

Finally, this is where the record sits, in a glued dust cover in the back of the booklet. I really appreciate the design of this, and i'm glad I picked it up. There is a compilation by Ape Records that features Orchid that I'm after owning too. Watch this space...