Crimson on Crimson

Anyone who keeps up with this blog should know that I'm a big Alkaline Trio fan, and although I would never dive in for variant collecting, I would like to own one copy of every release. For the most part, this isn't an impossible task but a couple of their records are pretty hard to come by. This is one that I would stick somewhere in the between of that scale. Not quite Halloween 7'' rare, but still not a quick eBay search away either. 

The rarity of it doesn't concern me in the least though, I'm just really happy to own a copy of this absolute masterpiece on wax. Some people had mixed feelings on this record when it came out, but I have nothing but love for it. Also, From Here To Infirmary turns 15 today, so no better way to celebrate right? 

There are a few coloured options for this record, but Crimson on Crimson should really be the only way to go right? 

Much like my copy of Good Mourning, this is the UK single LP version, and double LP copies were pressed a few years later to accommodate the length of the record a little better. I have no double LP press to compare to, and for the most part this sounds great, but some tracks towards the end of the B-Side seem to lack a little punch. Maybe it's my ears though?

This was the first and only coloured copy of the record at the time, and no pressing information has been released about it. There were 4 double LP coloured copies pressed in 2009 of 1000 units a piece, making the total pressing /4000. No repress has happened since then and hence this record is quite a pain in the arse to find. 

The insert is a double sided 12''x12'' full colour type deal. Fun fact, my Alkaline Trio tattoo was traced direct from the CD inlay card of Crimson way back in 2007. It still has tattoo ink on it.

This side contains the lyrics to the A-Side. 

The other side has the B-Side lyrics, thanks and credits. The font and slightly off colour scheme made this one a little tough to photograph. 

Finally we have the hype sticker. Limited Edition is something to be desired when you don't release pressing info though! All I know is that although vinyl sales were down in the mid 00's, this record was everywhere. Anyone's guess I suppose? 

Cheers!

Picture Disc Pending

I'd love to say that I got a copy of the Patent Pending LP today. However, today is not that day. 

For those that don't know, Heavens was the short lived side project from Matt of Alkaline Trio and Josiah from F-Minus (I think). Only one LP and a couple of singles came out from it, and they were all great. Sadly the LP was limited to a single press of 1000 copies and rarely surfaces for under £50; but when this single came up for a couple of quid posted I dived in. 

The B-Side of this picture disc contains a remix, and it sounds about how you would expect a remix to sound. It's pleasant enough but I can't really see it getting played that often. 

Hype sticker on the sleeve. 

There was another version of this 7'' that came on black vinyl with an alternate mix (kind of similar to the Alkaline Trio 'Burn' 7''). Both copies were for Epitaph UK and no pressing info has been released. I haven't picked up the other version, but if I get the urge I can't see it being hard to find. 

What I'm really hoping for is this record getting a 10 year anniversary repress; although I guess the way things ended here doesn't get me feeling too hopeful. 

Cheers! 

Put Walk Among Us On And Turn It Up!

There are fewer feelings out there that rival scoring a record that's been on your want list for some time. Funnily enough, I've had two offers at grabbing this record before and stupidly declined; and as a result I paid the price a little with this copy. 

Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning - Vagrant Records - 1st Press - Black /? (UK Press) 

By paying the price I don't mean that I paid much for this record. In fact I paid about 1/5 of the lowest selling Discogs price. The downside is the condition of the sleeve, it's definitely seen better days. However, no focusing on the negatives; I've been after this record for years and I'm ecstatic to finally own it. This is my favourite record from one of my all time favourite bands, and this definitely brings my collection together a little more. 

Back Cover // B-Side

The state of the cover really shows up here, but the artwork is so beautiful I don't really mind. Weirdly enough, the record itself is pretty mint. There are a bunch of songs squished on this single LP and this makes way for a little thin sound at times. This was rectified with the 2008 pressing that was a 2XLP affair, but I was really pushing for this copy. I have another post lined up that follows the same kind of lines!

Close up of the back cover. 

The cover and insert has a spot UV finish, much the same as the CD and inlay card. It shows up a little on the coffins below. You can tell the UK and US 1st press apart, as the UK edition includes two bonus tracks as listed at the end of the LP. 

I've known this record for around a decade or more, and I still fall in love more and more with every listen. 

Insert 

This design was used for one of the picture disc single 7''s released from this record, possibly This Could Be Love? Either way, it's a great design and this lineup has been going solid since this record came out. 

There's a barely legible 'Thank You' in the background too. 

Insert 

This insert has no lyrics printed, but instead collects all of the separate illustrations from the CD inlay card. The black on black shows the UV finish up quite nicely here. Art/ Production/ Mastering/ Legal Credits all reside here. 

This record is the essential one from this band in my opinion. There is a darker edge to the songs that goes deeper than anything before or since. Good Mourning got me through a bad time or two or twelve, and the connection I have to it makes me feel foolish for not jumping on it earlier. 

Cheers!

Hell Yes!

A trio of Trio posts? Why not! Thankfully, this one is a short one, and probably the last Trio post in a little while. This is probably the penultimate post for this side of Christmas too, the next one is a long one though. Without much more rambling though, on we go: 

Alkaline Trio - Hell Yes - Lookout! Records - 1st Press - Black /? 

I can safely assume at least a few thousand of these were pressed. I chose to write about this, as this is probably my favourite Alkaline Trio cover art. Another reason is this is probably the last 'indie' single that came out before From Here to Infirmary exploded; it's a neat little snapshot into a band that were about to transition. Not in terms of sound, but a wider audience. 

The centre label art with the Heartskull on the coffin is super neat, and the general art and layout is really nice here. The colours are super vivid, and almost clash. In my mind, this art and layout sticks out as a classic single, and I think my collection would feel a lot less complete without it. It's the essential Alk3 7'' (I'm most likely only saying that as I don't yet own Sundials or For Your Lungs Only). 

Back Cover // B-Side

Classic Lookout! logo in the bottom left, Heartskull in the bottom right. Two Heartskull coffins on the centre label. One song sang by Matt, one song by Dan. Both absolutely incredible songs, and both a little different from one another. There's not a lot you can say about this record that you can't already see here for yourself and that's probably a large reason for being so into it. No barcode and a label address. Just the way it should be. 

Finally, one last look at this artwork. 

My copy has some ring wear and a few scuffs, but I love it all the same. I think the art was used as a backdrop for the Goddamnit Redux tour. The whole cemetery theme going on here, and the lyrical content is what encapsulates my love for this band. I wish I could extract the feeling I get from this cover art, and let someone have that feeling for just a minute; this post might make a little more sense that way.

On the upside too I assume that you can still pick this up reasonably cheap?

My Shame Is Pink and Blue

I said something about doing more Alkaline Trio posts. Some people seemed keen. Here's another Alkaline Trio post. Sometimes it's that easy!

Do you still get that feeling when one of your favourite bands slips in a pre-order without much warning? That last minute rush to get to a computer and refresh to death in the vague hopes of scoring something on the more limited end of things? Just that satisfaction of getting in and out, then watching the chaos ensue. Although not the worst checkout experience I've had, this definitely got a little tense! 

Alkaline Trio - My Shame Is True - Epitaph Records // Heart & Skull - 1st Press - Pink /1000 (Pre-order exclusive) 

From what I remember this went fairly quick, and on the physical release date there was a bunch of people putting the feelers out for trading or buying a copy. I mean, this wasn't even the most limited colour. That privilege went to a Dark Green /500 that was part of a pre-order only box set that looked super cool (it came with exclusive colourways, a flag, a t-shirt, a Ouija Board, the usual...) but was a killer with shipping. 

Back Cover // B-Side 

I like the matching text to the variant. Also, the artwork on this one is a little more removed from the norm of Alkaline Trio stuff, but it definitely suits the theme of the album. For anyone who doesn't know, Matt Skiba's ex-girlfriend graces the cover on this one and most of his contributions to this one are about their breakup. It's actually a fairly upbeat offering all things considered! 

Printed Inner Sleeve

Again with the colour matching on the heartskull, I'm a fan. 

Since 'This Addiction' came out I have noticed Skiba getting on more of a thing with Motorbikes. Here is no exception, singing about bikes, bikes on the cover, bikes on the inner sleeve. I guess it comes with a girl in leather too so that's something maybe? On a less weird note, the photography on this LP is great and lends itself to this classic black and white look. 

Other Side

The other side of this printed inner is all lyrics and thanks. Sadly there is a bunch of 'em and the font isn't particularly forgiving on a camera lens, but I'm sure you get the idea. 

As I nabbed this at pre-order, I also got this pretty neat poster of the cover art slipped inside the mailer. Three guesses where this poster is right now? 

The bonus of grabbing this album at when I did was the option to add the PO exclusive EP to your cart. 

Alkaline Trio - Broken Wing - Epitaph Records // Heart & Skull - 1st Press - Light Blue /1500

This is a vinyl exclusive EP that coincided with the release of My Shame Is True to showcase some songs that didn't make the album, but still needed to be heard. This is a bit of an unusual turn for Alkaline Trio nowadays, as the norm is a bonus // special edition CD to accommodate these tracks. I guess the whole vinyl resurgence thing is paying off well for Epitaph. Here's why: 

• Crimson had a deluxe CD edition with a whole album of demos and the like. 
• Agony and Irony had a deluxe CD edition with bonus tracks and acoustic bits and bobs. 
• This Addiction had a deluxe CD edition with bonus tracks and a live DVD. 

Now, most of these bonus tracks are 'Dan' songs, and on This Addiction I was super happy to have these songs on CD, as they were great (definitely better than some album cuts!) and I could have them on my iPod. Now, this is a cool vinyl only thing. But I have no download of it, and these songs fall into the same deal as This Addiction. Some of these songs are better than the LP tracks. But I'm getting carried away...

Back Cover

As these two came as a package, I do like that the layouts and general feel of the records is fairly similar; and since when did Blue and Pink not match well? Again, there was a /500 (Tan) variant for the box set. But this still limits this release to 2000. For most bands, that's probably enough nowadays. However, I'm sure there are Trio fans still trying to hunt this one down... 

Printed Inner Sleeve

More bikes, more Heartskulls. I do like the slight colour scheme change though; kind of different but kind of the same. 

Finally, the other side of the printed inner. Sticking to the same kind of layout as MSIT, and it's again not particularly easy on the eyes. Not to worry though, if anyone really wants a read of what is going on, I'm more than happy to send photos over. 

As I was writing this, I had the S/T LP on in the background. Although both releases are worlds away from one another, I could hang with any section of this band's discography any day. 

Cheers!

Put 'Walk Among Us On' And Turn It Up!

Okay so one thing everyone needs to get straight is that Alkaline Trio are one of the best bands out there. It's not even an opinion by this point, just one of those simple facts of life. Another thing that may be up for debate (although I'm fairly sure I'm right here) is that Good Mourning is their best LP. I mean, I can hang with all the entire discography, but Good Mourning just stepped it up. The most consistent lineup's first record, Matt's voice sounds like it's going to give out on every breath and Dan's songwriting really shines through on this one. Complete classic. That I still don't bloody own on vinyl. So instead of talking about that one I'm going to talk about the singles from this incredible LP. 

First up is This Could Be Love. As all of these 7''s were promo only I have no clue how many were pressed. Considering a limited run for Alkaline Trio is at least 1000, I'm assuming that numbers aren't exactly small. 

B-Side 

All of these 7''s come in heavy duty poly-sleeves, and I think all of them are double bagged as the heavy duty sleeves split super easy. No surprise though as this 7'' is ridiculously heavy and I don't really know why. All of the art on these 7''s is also used in the inlay card for the CD version of Good Mourning. 

As this was licensed to the UK, and manufactured in the EU I am assuming that this was a UK exclusive. If there is a US counterpart (like there is with the This Addiction 7'') I would like to know. Although I grabbed all these from separate sellers, they were all UK based. 

For Promotional Use Only. Not For Resale. Good one. 

Here is the sticker from the poly-sleeve. Although the sleeves themselves are nothing too fun to look at, the stickers vary from release to release. 'This Could Be Love' plays on both sides of this 7'', very much a promo item. 

Next up is 'We've Had Enough'. Going through this from a track-listing perspective, although I think this may have been the 1st single. I'm not too sure, I was 10 or 11 when this album dropped. I remember the video to this one freaking me out, and I relentlessly bugged my Uncle to take me to get my nose pierced just like Skiba, ring and all. 

B-Side 

Instead of a double A-Side, here we get a full band demo of 'Blue In The Face'. Although it doesn't quite have the feel that the album version does, it really sounds cool this way too. I think a download version of this was floating around on the Blood Pact forum. 

Again an EU manufactured record. Not sure whether this was UK only or not, and this may make the pressing numbers higher for this one? 

Stickered sleeve. 

Although the record itself does not state that it is a promo only item like TCBL, there is a promo sticker plastered over the bar-code. I know it's silly, but I would like the single edit of this song on a physical format. The song structure is messed with a little with an added chorus on the single version. I was really puzzled on my first LP listen with all the change around! 

To complete this Trio (ha, get it) of Good Mourning singles, we have 'All On Black'. I'm sure I read somewhere that a video was due to be made of this featuring Marilyn Manson, but for some reason or another it never came to be. There were a few radio performances of this, and they played it live on Letterman back in the day. 

B-Side

An acoustic rendition of 'This Could Be Love' takes up the B-Side (wouldn't have this been far better as a B-Side for the TCBL 7'' though?). 

 I'm assuming that with these all being EU 7''s they were possibly UK exclusives? I think the CD had UK bonus tracks too (Old School Reasons and Dead End Road I think) so maybe it was just part of a promo package that was happening over here at the time? Either way I'm cool with it. 

Another stickered sleeve. Another promo sticker over the bar-code. The layout changes over these stickers a fair bit and that's cool I guess? 

Finally there is a group shot going on. 

The whole black and red theme that this album had was super neat, and although no one seems to like Picture Discs I really don't have a problem with them. Now if I could track down a copy of the LP, I'd be a bit more enthusiastic about my fairly mediocre Alkaline Trio collection. 

Cheers!