Records for Sale!
I brought home a few choice selections from the Buena Park Record Convention this past weekend, and can you believe it, I had no place to put them. Not really, but after inspecting the minions, it became clear to me that I had to thumb through the Doubles, Doubtfuls and Discards section and get rid of some overstock. Don't you hate it when that happens!
I managed to pull a quick fifty from the pile, but I instantly reclaimed ten disparate souls. The following forty, however, had to be let go. I rationalized this treasonous behavior because many of these long players are in fact doubles; a select few are triples. Some of the others just never seemed to gain a foothold in my record-spinning repertoire.
All of these are double. And great cover art, don't you agree? The one record of note here is Daryl Hall's first solo album, Sacred Songs. If you've never heard it, do yourself a favor and check it out. Produced by Robert Fripp, it has a wonderful atmosphere all its own. I found it in a thrift store someplace, but I managed to find another better one someplace else. The Carly Simon record is a classic. I still listen to it, and Chicago, The Motels, Culture Club, Paul McCartney, and Steely Dan. The Saga record not so much.
A nice wide shot here: looks like a giant poster, dunnit? Great records from Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Bruce Springsteen, Gentle Giant, and . . . Toto; good God, how'd that get in there! Killer is a triple. It's missing the calendar because I separated it from the cover and pinned it up shortly after purchase. I wasn't a collector then, just a fan. That Alan Parsons cover has a nice stained-glass-window quality to it, and the music is similarly ornate. Pete Townshend and Ronnie Laine look relaxed on their duo release; this is the reissue of Rough Mix without the gatefold cover. I found a rarer first issue some years back. This one may have to rejoin the mob--saves wear on the original, ya see.
A nice view of Linda Ronstadt from 1977; the inside cover and picture sleeve are nice, too. I've always liked the simplicity of McCartney's Venus and Mars cover: original photo taken by his wife, Linda. And here's a better shot of that afore mentioned Alan Parsons album, Turn Of A Friendly Card. The Chicago VII cover has a tooled-leather-like detail that must have cost an extra penny or two.
That Pink Floyd cover is very distinctive, even iconic to my generation. But this one is a late pressing on Capitol; it's also a triple. The album just below that is Sunburst Finish from Be-Bop Deluxe, a great record and cover. This is a cut-out I've long since replaced. To the left of Dark Side of the Moon is Avalon, by Roxy Music--a brilliant record from 1982; and that's Earth Wind & Fire on the right--a record that still sparks after 33 years. Man, I'm gettin' old ;-)
What stuck here? Let's see . . . definitely the Jackson Browne, Supertramp and The Cars. And yes, James Taylor and Elton John, too. MCA always put a lot of money into the EJ sleevs--lots of gatefold covers, lyric sheets, posters and picture sleeves to accompany his popular songs.
Hopefully the staff at Bionic Records will appreciate this band of brothers and sisters. Their small used-vinyl section could use some re-enforcements to refresh the anemic legions of heavy metal, disco, and country records they've managed to accumulate. Wish me luck.