I'm sure that a lot of readers experience this. Once you get to a point of buying records where no one really knows where you're at anymore, they kind of give up trying to guess what you're into. This is a weird dilemma for me; as on my birthday I love a good surprise, but my family also know well that I will never tell anyone if I think a gift isn't for me. Fuck, I still have a Deep Purple 7'' from my Nan from a few years back, as I never had the heart to tell her that it wasn't really my bag. So nowadays, more often than not I'll end up with an Amazon voucher or something similar. The premise being that this is money going on records, but it saves me having to lie through my teeth to my family, and gets me records I want. This post isn't about a particularly rare or cool Amazon dig, but more a common ground for a few readers here I'm sure. What did you buy with your last Amazon voucher? This was from my niece and her family. Her having recently discovered a love for Morrissey, we have a bit to talk about. I got two records, neither are Moz though.
Slowdive - Souvlaki - Music On Vinyl - 1st Press - Black (180 Gram) - /?
A few months back, I wrote about the 'Blue Day' RSD re-issue here:
http://23rotations.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/rsd-15-pt-4.html
and the same premise stands as before. I wanted a copy of this; didn't want to pay the crazy money for a Creation press and didn't really want a bootleg. This is a reasonably priced and great looking/sounding answer to all my problems.
Back Cover // B-Side
Although I love the cover art here, I do like the similarity between this and Blue Day with the nice and simple back cover design. In a way I'm glad that I went for this press, as now I'll grab the MoV repress of Just For A Day and call it (I mean, I might grab Pygmalion too but what I've heard doesn't grab me). I nearly bought a Creation press of Just For A Day in a shop in Sheffield around a month ago, but after taking it to the till and discovering they wanted £32.99 for a battered and scratched copy with sticker and water damage on the sleeve (I honestly expected an asking price of no more than £5 for the condition it was in) I passed. FYI, that same copy is currently on Discogs and is marked as VG+/VG. I've seen it with my own eyes and both gradings are a total load of bollocks.
Insert
I like that you get an insert with this one. I'm not sure if it replicates the original (if it had one) or whether this is new. But I'm into the cover art a lot, and photography from around that time is great by me. Steve Double took the cover photo (presumably this one too); and this sits alongside a portfolio of dudes like The Stone Roses, Oasis, Nirvana etc. And I have the crushiest of crushes on Rachel Goswell too...
Other side of the insert.
Considering this was pressed in 2011, I assume they pressed a lot as you can still find it new for not much over £10 posted. Recording credits, track-listing and release notes take up the bulk here; a lyrics sheet would've been cool, but overall I think this is a great and super neat package. Definitely worth grabbing if you're not up for parting with big-ish money on a Creation press.
Lastly here, you get a stickered sleeve, advertising it as a MoV press on 180 gram. It definitely sounds great to my ears too! Classic album is up for debate though, it gets a lot of love nowadays, but according to the recent Pitchfork documentary (well worth a watch by the way!) no one gave much of a damn the first time round. Either way, I think it's fantastic and I'm bummed it's taken this long to get around to grabbing it.
On to record number two!
Creeper - The Callous Heart - Roadrunner Records - 1st Press - Black /500
Another band I have previously written about (their first EP, here: http://23rotations.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/creepercult.html).
I've had a lot of love for Creeper, and I have a lot of love for Will and Ian's old band Our Time Down Here too. I pre-ordered the EP due to the variant game, and the press was more limited to /300 too. Since this was a larger, one colour press I waited it out til release day and grabbed it with this voucher.
Back Cover // B-Side
Although a similar deal of a 12'' with 5 tracks, a lot has changed. Moving from a small Indie label to a major has allowed the band some real cool opportunities, and whilst this bunch of songs took a little more time to love; they are just as great as anything on the self titled EP. Their sound has developed, the production is a little poppier in places, but the songs are brilliant and it's definitely up there as one of the best EP's 2015 has seen.
Stickered shrink
As a slight downside, there is no insert// lyrics sheet or download code here. By comparison, it seems that the Palm Reader put a little more love into the physical of the last EP; and it's not like Roadrunner don't know how to. Iowa by Slipknot as a vinyl release was incredible, especially taken into consideration the time when it was put out. However, downsides or none I'm really happy to have this release and I feel this band are truly humbled by any and all support they get.
There we go. Sorry it's been a little on the long side, but sometimes these kinds of releases come with a little more to say. I like to think I can attach some kind of memory or story to most records I own, or at least a decent amount of them.
Cheers!
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