Any personal collection of music in a physical format is a quirky microcosm, both of the collector’s tastes and of the music world as a whole. Choices about what to add aren’t made solely on what you like, when you like it. Your budget and what’s actually available when you shop play a big part. My LP collection is a roughly 90/10 split between records I happened across while flipping through bins, not looking for anything in particular, and ones I sought out, sometimes by mail (which is a whole other kettle of fish these days). The thrill of the hunt is what’s always sucked me in. Finding these titles all involved fortunate timing and pure luck. The day I found each of them was a great day in the bins.
This isn’t a list of my favorite records to play (a few definitely are), it’s the ones I’m most surprised to have stumbled across out in the wild for a variety of reasons. Some are really scarce, some are pure nostalgia, and some are just cool. I should apologize in advance, I intentionally chose titles that won’t be sitting on the shelf at your local record store, Walmart, or Target. If you see something on the list you’d like to have, you’ll have to do a little hunting on your own. I wish you good luck, and remember, that’s the fun part.
• The Beatles, Beatles for Sale (mono) – A while back, Apple Records released The Beatles in Mono box set. The CDs came in 2009, vinyl had to wait until 2014 because the big resurgence wasn’t really happening yet in ’09. When Apple released the box on vinyl, they did a limited, one-time release of each of the individual albums at the same time. Both formats of the box, and the single titles all sold reasonably well, eventually selling out their first (and turns out, only) print run.
The fans that bought and heard them were blown away. This was the way these classics were supposed to be heard, the guys didn’t record in stereo until Let It Be. The remastering of the original mono mixes was done at Abbey Road, and they knocked it out of the park. When the vinyl resurgence kicked into high gear, these became priority #1 for a lot of folks with a new turntable. You could buy a Mono box set on the secondary market today if you have a few thousand dollars to throw at it, but the individual albums are rarely ever up for sale. I came across a perfect mono copy of Beatles for Sale in an Ann Arbor used bin a few years ago, priced the same as the other used Beatles albums.
• Keith Jarrett Trio, Berwaldhallen, Stockholm 10/03/89 – A concert broadcast on the radio in Europe, released as a CD there for a short time after. When the vinyl boom really took off here, the Alternative Fox label decided to make a limited run of LPs and send some to the U.S. as imports. A beautiful, mesmerizing performance by Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette, one of the greatest ever jazz piano trios. I stumbled across a copy during its brief moment of availability, and never expect to see one again. Even Google doesn’t seem to know it exists anymore.
• Dawes, We’re All Gonna Live – My daughter and I saw the tour this double live album was taken from, so I was happy to hear it was getting a vinyl release for RSD Black Friday in 2017. I went to my favorite record store early, and was bummed to hear they hadn’t received the one copy they had ordered. A little computer-snooping by my pal behind the counter turned up a copy at their sister store a few towns away. He offered to have it sent it over, I greedily said yes, and everybody lived happily ever after. We’re All Gonna Live became highly sought-after immediately after it's limited release. Collectors and fans all over the internet want one, I’ve been contacted by people I don’t know offering to buy mine, and copies are never up for sale on the secondary markets. The hardcore fans got ‘em, and are keeping ‘em, apparently. As it should be.
• Grateful Dead, One from the Vault – The Dead really play the collectible vinyl game. They do extremely high-quality vinyl reissues, with stunning packaging, in frustratingly limited quantities. They’re here, they’re pricey, and then they’re gone. This one happens to be one of my favorite Dead live albums, the boys were cranking that night. After an extended break from the road, they came back in 1975 refreshed, fired up, and playing songs from their brand new Blues for Allah album. I didn’t pre-order a copy, which is usually required with these releases, so I wasn’t expecting to add it to the shelf. But, lo and behold, Jerry’s hand reached down from above and put one in the bin in front of me in a store I rarely visit. I bought the only copy I've ever seen.
• Nanci Griffith, Last of the True Believers – One of my all-time, top-ten favorite artists. A magnificent songwriter and utterly compelling singer. There are ten of her albums I consider essential, the rest I’ll listen to anytime. Of those ten, I have two on my shelves. Vinyl copies of her albums are scarce as hen’s teeth in the wild, she was always a little too far under the public’s radar for big pressings. Nanci’s the first artist I look for when I hit a record store or antique mall - when I come up empty, I move on to other stuff. Thankfully, one of the rare occasions I didn’t strike out got me a super-clean original Philo copy of my hands-down favorite. The search goes on…
• Rolling Stones, Rolled Gold (Japan) – The cover of this box set made me laugh out loud when I came across it in the used bins. It's a 2LP greatest hits collection from Japan, with a cover illustration of the band members in the nude from the waist up. What really cracked up my inner graphic designer is the way the artist used strategically placed nipples as a design feature, lined up with the text. The label changed the cover art to something tamer before they released it to the general public, the copy I found is one the original promotional giveaways. What it was doing in the used bins in Michigan, I have no idea. The songs are all from the classic years and the sound quality is superb, I think of it as a kinkier Hot Rocks.
• Patti Smith, Horses Live at Electric Lady Studios - Another Record Store Day exclusive, one that made me get out of bed early to be at the store when they opened. Turned out, I was too late. The few copies they had gotten were already gone. There’s no CD version, and she hasn’t put the concert on streaming services, so I was feeling out of luck. I went back to the store about a week later and they had just taken one in as used. I ended up with a lovely copy for (a little) less than retail. So what’s the record? In 2015, Patti invited a small crowd of fans, friends, and press to Electric Lady Studio in NYC to watch while she played Horses from start to finish with the surviving members of the original Patti Smith Group. It’s an amazing performance of one of my most favorite records.
• John Trudell, AKA Graffiti Man - Also a RSD exclusive, one that was pressed in such a small quantity that I never expected to hold one in my hands. Especially since I’m not one of the RSD diehards who line up outside the record store for hours to be first when it opens. But, of course, it wouldn’t be on this list if the store downtown hadn’t gotten in one copy. Every time this album comes up, I have to evangelize about it a bit, so bear with me.
I’ve recommended AKA Graffiti Man to music friends countless times, but I don’t think anybody I’ve ever mentioned it to gave it a listen. When I tell them it’s a Native American poet, reading (not singing) his work in front of a rock band I can kinda see eyes glazing over. Trust me, the words are always brilliant and Trudell’s speaking voice is warm, witty, and every bit as carefully timed as a singer. The band features Jesse Ed Davis, the greatest, and most famous, Native American electric guitarist this country has ever produced. He was friend and collaborator with Harrison, Dylan, Taj Mahal, Robbie Robertson, and other heavyweights. The music is powerful and remarkably supple rock, Trudell gliding over the top with compelling ideas about Native American culture, history, and place in modern society. Never preachy, always wise and inviting. So there’s my pitch again. Let me know if you give it a chance, I’d love to find another fan of this fantastic record.
• Various Artists, Geef Voor New Wave - I bought this record back in the late 70s because it was one of the very few to ever show up in my small town with a sticker that said “Import.” Owning a record from overseas seemed like a cool idea. This one came from the Netherlands, and was a small-label compilation of bands that the Dutch apparently thought qualified as this “New Wave” stuff they were hearing about. The bands are all over the place, from hard rock to punk to power pop to actual New Wave. What I quickly realized was the record is a terrific collection of 1977’s outside-the-mainstream singles. The first-ever singles from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Motorhead, Generation X (with Billy Idol), X-Ray Spex, Jonathan Richman, Eddie and the Hotrods, and other bands who only left behind one amazing single before they imploded. A cool historical snapshot of a very specific and exciting time, and a really great listen.
Anyway, long story short, I parted ways with that first record collection many years ago. When I started my second I was remembering Geef Voor New Wave, not expecting to ever stumble across a second copy. So glad I was wrong.
• Tim Armstrong, A Poet’s Life - Just like AKA Graffiti Man, I knew this one was coming on RSD, again in very small quantities. I was already in love with the record thanks to a pirated file and CD burner, but my hopes weren’t high of scoring a vinyl copy. I hesitated for just a second as I pulled the only copy the store had gotten in off the display. My pal behind the counter saw me and said he was hoping nobody was gonna want it so he could take it home. For just a second.
Armstrong is the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for a California ska-punk band called Rancid. A Poet’s Life is the first of his occasional solo albums (some are under the name Tim Timebomb), released in 2007. It’s rough, ska and reggae influenced punk-ish rock. Armstrong’s singing is likely an acquired taste for a lot of folks, but his inability to carry a tune is a significant part of the album’s charm for me. He and the band just power on through with a batch of really excellent, big fun songs. I like it more than any Rancid album, it's more personal, and the title fits in a weird way.
• Silly Wizard, Wild & Beautiful – You think finding new music to listen to is easy these days with streaming? It could be even easier back in the day. I had a music nerd friend who heard a cassette of this album at a friend’s house in the early 80s. He had him dub another copy and tossed it to me the next time he saw me. Music literally falling in my lap. I fell in love with the modern Scottish folk music on the tape, a combination of tragic lost-at-sea ballads and celebratory jigs and reels, and played it until it wouldn’t work in my player anymore. I could never find another copy on any format, Silly Wizard was not a commercial anything in the U.S. I missed it over the years until I came across a pristine vinyl copy of the album deep in the "Misc. S" used bin. It was like getting an old friend back.
• Elvis Presley, Good Rockin’ Tonight EP - Elvis’ pre-Colonel Parker recordings for Sam Phillips at Sun Records are pretty easy to find, they’ve been compiled a handful of times with a few different titles and covers over the years. This 10” EP version was released in France in 1983, and I didn’t know it existed until I stumbled across a copy. It’s not as complete as other Sun collections, it has the A-sides of the singles, but not the flips, and no alternate takes. What Good Rockin’ Tonight does have is the sound. Unlike the other Sun collections I’ve heard, the remastering job done here is spectacular. Every song sounds punchy, dynamic, and free of the late 50s tape hiss. It sounds like a modern record, not grainy singles nearly 70 years old.
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