The exclusive vinyl thread

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That first one has a bunch of great songs on it. But his next album Creatures Of The Street is much better, funkier, less ‘galactic’ and bringing it back to earth or the streets in this case, and one of my favorite albums.

As I heard it, Jobriath was dropped from the label during his second U.S tour, which was unfortunate because, he was finally building an audience by this time. Electra should have done at least one more album to see
if they could have at least made back what they lost in promotion,etc. But what could have been, was not to be.

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I was listening to the Jobriath album this morning. This is an original 1973 German release on the Elektra Butterfly label that I have found in a second-hand record store. As everyone can see, it is a gatefold album. The gatefold inside has on both sides all the lyrics in readable size and fonts, for a change. A great plus of the gatefold album in general, I would say. Unfortunately, not much else information is given, besides some names without any further description.

This was Jobriath's first album, and not many more should follow. I don't want to speculate on the reasons why he did not succeed in the music business, but after listening to the album, I am inclined to say that it was probably not just the artificial hype created by his record label and the subsequent unaccomplishable expectations that brought his equally artificial downfall.

To say the least, it is a fine glam-rock album which was released one year after David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. Lots of lyrical and musical references make that very clear with images taken from the word field of space, i.e. galaxies and the universe, to name but a few, as it was undoubtably fashionable back then. On the A-Side the song "Space Clown" rises above the other songs, and probably this space clown was supposed to be David Bowie? I can't say. Just like Morrissey's Sam, I was born too late to understand the hype surrounding David Bowie and the other glam rockers.

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Throughout, Jobriath's voice is energetic and has an urgent quality to it, which I like. What I do not like about most glam rock music is its bouffant orchestrated theatricality. In its core, it is simply generic and thus conservative rock'n'roll delivered in glittery clothes and with an opera attitude. Probably for the 70s this must have felt like a revolution, and David Bowie was the messiah, who had landed on earth to rescue you from the boring mundanity of your everyday life (which, of course and as usual, is always just a reflection of your own inner state of mind, not the other way round). But I respect that. And probably, this was more exciting than the 80s, when the Rocky Horror Picture Show had already turned into a cult for the bored bourgeoisie. I remember a time when all the gays in my family and all the most boring tedious hetero folks at school alike, would spend their Saturday nights dressed up as transvestites in cinemas or theaters together, frolicking around with rice in their hand that had to be thrown into each others faces during the wedding scene, but only then!, oh what gayety, what joy, then all the toilet paper and slices of bread, and to top it all, the fun to be had with the WATER PISTOLS!!!

Already back then, I knew that this was all just utter shit, and later these memories would epitomize the 80s for me, which were my most formative and sensitive years. Yes, pity me later, please.
When I listen to glam rock (only exception is Roxy Music) nowadays, it all comes back in its ugly and mercilessly tedious but nevertheless over-egged hideousness.

To cut it short, Jobriath the album, for me, is ensnared too much in its times, which are the glam rock times of the 60s, 70s and 80s, which are over, and I hope for ever and for good.

Alright, now that I got this off my chest, let me say that "Earthlings" is a fine song, as well as of course "Mourning Starship", which is by far the best song of the album. Maybe "Rock of Ages" is supposed to be a swan song for the vanishing glam rock times, but what do I care.
The way Jobriath sings the line "an elegant man" in the song I'maman is memorable too. And lyrically, I must say that the song "Inside" was able to touch a chord in me. They should've just let him sing and play the piano and forget about all the Bowie glam stuff.
 
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I made a horribly shocking discovery yesterday while listening to these two Tim Buckley albums on vinyl. I have listened to all his studio albums somehow and some of his live records too, but never before did I notice this very odd thing...

These are the two 180g-audiophile Music on Vinyl reissues in GOLD... 🥇📀🪙, with the hype stickers being the most golden part of the package. 📜📦🛖🧋🧅🐫 ..... I enjoy looking at the beige, sandy fur of camels. No prob. Just don't call it GOLD, please.

The self-titled album (left) was his debut from 1966. He was 19 back then, but already equipped with a surprisingly strong and versatile voice that could change within seconds and in one breath of air from a quiet, plaintive and sensitive whisper to energetic and skewed high-pitched wailing sounds that never quivered. That's probably what he is best known for.

It is a fine debut album that is rooted in the singer- songwriter folk-rock melodies and arrangements of this time in the mid-60s, which makes it in many parts not particularly interesting music-wise, I think, but sometimes there is a piano arrangement or bass tune that sticks out, or the harpsichord or celeste played by Van Dyke Parks, which adds an unusual sparkle to the song. But they were right not to overdo it musically, as Tim Buckley's voice steals the show from them all and demands all your attention.

The first song "I can't see you" starts off in a promising way with some short psychedelic tunes, so, in the following I was looking for more of this in a longer stretch, but was a bit disappointed. The clichéd nature imagery he employs throughout, is due to his youth and the folksy hippie influences of the time. I will have to listen to the lyrics again, to see if he was able to find a new and original approach to an olden concept.

The string arrangements, like in "Wings", I found pretty cheesy and sometimes even unbearable to listen to.... :weary: ... but these were due to the mainstream taste of their times, and there was no way around them, it seems, especially not on a debut album.

First real highlight for me was "Valentine Melody", which is sort of a X-Mas song, if I got that right; his voice reaches sublime heights when singing in one long breath of air, without interruption, and putting all sorts of different feelings into it, sometimes in only one line. Vocal-wise this is the most artistic song.

Lyric- and instrumental-wise I was surprised by "Song Slowly Song" on the B-side which starts off in a pretty tacky way ..."your beautiful hair and your 16 years"... and I cringed and expected a sort of embarrassing "And she was 16"- defloration song. But no, very surprisingly, it suddenly turns into a minimalistic evocative instrumental arrangement with some very sparse notes coming from the celeste (?) that evoke the atmosphere of a deep sea and someone actually drowning into it (Which reminded me of Jeff's death, of course...), the brief lyrics add up to the minimalistic impression, but there was also something Oliver Stone/Coppola "Apocalypse Now" in it, maybe the soft cymbals whooshing in like a wave in the background, which made me think that this song is actually about a dying soldier in Vietnam, kissed good-bye by another soldier, before leaving this world behind. Great song, and far too short.

Then of course there is "It happens every time", the shortest song on the record, it is actually not even 2 minutes long, and it is the most melodic and catchy tune as well. I think Morrissey was right to stress the line "that I was gentle and kind" in his interpretation, because that's where its wisdom can be found.

All in all, I have to say that our times desperately need some debut album like this one here, and young singers with character and a remarkable voice, full with expression and longing. But as our times lack all beauty and honesty, this young talent would end up as a Schlager star, the perfect son-in-law, dreaming of the big money while singing songs about pallid affection within the narrow borders of expectations. So, we are all glad, that he was singing in the 60s and 70s.

Before I forget it, the shocking moment was, when he suddenly sounded exactly like ALEXANDRA in some songs, especially the parts that he is singing in his Alto voice, and sometimes I actually thought, I was listening to Alexandra instead, that they must have been twins without knowing, especially when the music turned into the more rustic Eastern European traditional balalaika folksy tunes.
 
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That first one has a bunch of great songs on it. But his next album Creatures Of The Street is much better, funkier, less ‘galactic’ and bringing it back to earth or the streets in this case, and one of my favorite albums.

As I heard it, Jobriath was dropped from the label during his second U.S tour, which was unfortunate because, he was finally building an audience by this time. Electra should have done at least one more album to see
if they could have at least made back what they lost in promotion,etc. But what could have been, was not to be.
At least with Tim Buckley's debut, Elektra did everything right, I think, but this was 7 years before Jobriath, and a lot had happened musically inbetween.
 
Plan is to find and then listen to all Elektra debut albums of the 60s and 70s on vinyl.

I'm gonna make a list here, and start with the year 1966:

  1. Love - Love
  2. Pat Kilroy - Light of Day
  3. Oliver Smith - Oliver Smith
  4. The Incredible String Band - The Incredible String Band
  5. Stefan Grossman - How To Play Blues Guitar
  6. David Blue - David Blue
  7. Tim Buckley - Tim Buckley
Okay, that's it already. Interestingly enough, 1967 comes along with the Elektra debut album from the Doors, Strange Days. Having this big fish on the rod, that would sky-rocket soon, Elektra probably couldn't or didn't put too much effort into the other acts like Tim Buckley any longer. In 1973, the Doors disbanded, and maybe Elektra was looking for a new top seller and crowd puller, but Jobriath couldn't come up to these specific expectations, and then was dropped like a hot potato.
So, maybe someone has more specific information on that?
 
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One of the minor highlights on this very drab Sunday...
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This is The Lost Album by Christian Bland & The Revelators (side-project of the Black Angels' frontman) which I had bought mainly for religious reasons. It was recorded in 2007, and released three years later in 2010.

It's not a strong album but surely has its sparkles. Too often it sounds like something recorded in the rehearsal room or in a rough Dawson saloon during the Gold Rush. Lotsa grinding reverb and fuzz, which is what it is, but sometimes I wished there would have been a bit more interaction between the instruments, not just each single one pushing forward on their own and the vocals somehow squeezed inbetween.

Highlight on Side A is "Katy" with its killer perspective and as a contrast the not very original sunshine-pop melody. "Flashing Sign" is reminiscent of the Black Angels' first album "Passover", which was released in 2006, and is a killer.

On Side B "Wishing Well" is a strong track with a deep drive and a focus. Unfortunately though, many tracks on this album lack a clear focus which is substituted by too much drowning noise, which then feels like listening to a construction site and several jackhammers outside your closed window.

But, all in all, something you can listen to on a numbing Sunday.
 
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I also listened to some more records by Christian Bland & The Revelators...
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That's their 3rd album from 2014, released on the Reverberation Appreciation Society, and is a tribute to their heroes, among others: Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, The Velvet Underground, The Zombies, The Kinks, etc.

Musically it's better than the Lost Album, but the sunshine psych pop drone is not really a thriller that can capture your attention for a longer period of time.

This here is a 10-inch split record from 2015 in collaboration with Chris Catalena & The Native Americans in nice translucent blue vinyl which is a nice one. Cover reminds us of the Songs for Drella photographic art
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Enjoyed this one quite a lot.

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Hadn't listened to the UFO Club for awhile... It is another side-project of C.B. together with Lee Blackwell of Night Beats from 2012. Pretty good with some very strong highlights such as "Bo Diddley was the 7th son", as it adds another nuance to the So-Cal sunshine pop psych tribute.

 
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There is a new series called "The Montreux Years" (for better or for worse on Bmg) that presents partly unknown material from the festival on double 180g LPs. Not the full concerts (as far as I know they are released on CD) but selected songs, sort of the Best of Montreux, by individual artists that frequented the Montreux Festival regularly. The material belongs to the private archive of one of the founders Claude Nobs.

It starts off with Nina Simone in superb MQA-sound quality. The material is taken from five concerts. The sound quality is really overwhelming, it feels like a musical embrace, clear and three-dimensional, transporting Nina Simone's piano straight into your living room, and I do not have an audiophile equipment here. The applause from the audience is a warm summer rain. Sometimes the transition to a new song was a bit abrupt.

I was quite appalled by the cover art, especially as the hype sticker announces "new photography", and it seems that this cover photo is this new photography, because there is nothing else inside. So why did they have to add these horrible drawings? I would have loved to see the original photo instead. The inside of the gatefold cover looks accordingly:

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Hm, not sure what to do with that? Am I missing some insider knowledge? To be honest, this looks awful and tasteless. Is this the new "diverse" Bmg look? Straight from the kindergarten drawing club. I could do without it.

Thankfully, the sound quality makes up for all that visual lapse. The vinyl itself is nice and heavy, and I don't expect a shiny high-gloss immaculate outward appearance for 25 €, but unfortunately the first thing I saw when releasing the vinyl into the open were three ghostly fingerprints and also some vertical scratches from the production, I assume. There were some more fingerprints on Side C. The whole thing looked a bit damp and dusty. But as I said, the sound was not affected by it.

The second release features Etta James, who I cannot really relate to, I have to say. And Marianne is still in the shrink wrap.

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I like Backlash Blues a lot, and I wondered whether Nina Simone had performed some other, more political, tunes like this one in Montreux, as it really sticks out in this collection.
 
Does anybody have any further information on the 1993 WEA 10" vinyl limited and numbered releases of The Smiths albums?
It seems there were 7 of them.
Number 6, or Smiths 6, as it is called, is the Strangeways album.

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Smiths 1 - debut album
Smiths 2 - ?
Smiths 3 - Meat is Murder
Smiths 4 - The Queen is Dead
Smiths 5 - ?
Smiths 6 - Strangeways
Smiths 7 - Rank

I couldn't find any info on a Smiths 2 and Smiths 5.

How many copies were pressed of each of these releases?
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Does anybody have any further information on the 1993 WEA 10" vinyl limited and numbered releases of The Smiths albums?
It seems there were 7 of them.
Number 6, or Smiths 6, as it is called, is the Strangeways album.

View attachment 76010 View attachment 76011

Smiths 1 - debut album
Smiths 2 - ?
Smiths 3 - Meat is Murder
Smiths 4 - The Queen is Dead
Smiths 5 - ?
Smiths 6 - Strangeways
Smiths 7 - Rank

I couldn't find any info on a Smiths 2 and Smiths 5.

How many copies were pressed of each of these releases?
***********************************************************************


All apart from Bombs were released
TQID was also released as a 10” for RSD in 2011. Also a nice little addition
 
Does anybody have any further information on the 1993 WEA 10" vinyl limited and numbered releases of The Smiths albums?
It seems there were 7 of them.
Number 6, or Smiths 6, as it is called, is the Strangeways album.

View attachment 76010 View attachment 76011

Smiths 1 - debut album
Smiths 2 - ?
Smiths 3 - Meat is Murder
Smiths 4 - The Queen is Dead
Smiths 5 - ?
Smiths 6 - Strangeways
Smiths 7 - Rank

I couldn't find any info on a Smiths 2 and Smiths 5.

How many copies were pressed of each of these releases?
***********************************************************************


Smiths 5 - The World Won’t Listen
Mine are numbered from 07** up to 36**
 

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Smiths 5 - The World Won’t Listen
Mine are numbered from 07** up to 36**
All apart from Bombs were released
TQID was also released as a 10” for RSD in 2011. Also a nice little addition

@Alexi , looks great. You are not a completist then?
@Janice , do you have them all?

Smiths 2 is, according to discogs, "Hatful of Hallows" and was "limited" to 5000 copies. I assume, that is also the number for the other releases in this bunch.
 
Were they all released on one day?
From memory yes. I didn’t buy them all in one swoop. I bought the albums first, then the compilations, then finally Rank. I bought the Rank release after the Christmas of 93. Not sure why. Maybe Our Price didn’t have it or I was low on funds.
From memory, they were £7.99-£8.99 gbp
 
From memory yes. I didn’t buy them all in one swoop. I bought the albums first, then the compilations, then finally Rank. I bought the Rank release after the Christmas of 93. Not sure why. Maybe Our Price didn’t have it or I was low on funds.
From memory, they were £7.99-£8.99 gbp
I guess that this package was a 10 years anniversary release back then?
 
I got this 2014 Music on Vinyl Soundtrack of "Blow-Up" today, from the high-end music retailer here in town.
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It's mostly Herbie Hancock compositions, one by the Yardbirds. Very good pressing on 180g black vinyl.

I don't want to go into boring details about when I first saw the movie on TV and how much it influenced me during my most sensitive and formative years, but after having purchased the album, I felt like I wanted to see it again.

So, I'm gonna do that later on. In the meantime, I have some rice and mushrooms in tomato sauce...

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Hope you like it.

Really enjoy listening to this new album. Looking forward to the movie.

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I got this 2014 Music on Vinyl Soundtrack of "Blow-Up" today, from the high-end music retailer here in town.
View attachment 76198

It's mostly Herbie Hancock compositions, one by the Yardbirds. Very good pressing on 180g black vinyl.

I don't want to go into boring details about when I first saw the movie on TV and how much it influenced me during my most sensitive and formative years, but after having purchased the album, I felt like I wanted to see it again.

So, I'm gonna do that later on. In the meantime, I have some rice and mushrooms in tomato sauce...

View attachment 76199View attachment 76200

Hope you like it.

Really enjoy listening to this new album. Looking forward to the movie.

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Blow Up is one of them pictures that I like seein' every couple years.
Come to think of it, it has been a couple years since I seen it last. 🤔
 
Blow Up is one of them pictures that I like seein' every couple years.
Come to think of it, it has been a couple years since I seen it last. 🤔
Yeah, defo a must-see every coppola years.

Strangely enough, I couldn't remember the ending of the film. Probably coz it has always been one of those late-night movies on TV, and somehow I find the scenes with the pantomiming group of frolicking youngsters the most inuninteresting, especially at the end on the tennis court, so most likely I just fell asleep shortly before that.

So, what scenes do you remember most vividly?

The daylight scenes in the park stuck with me most, and the propeller that he got in the antique shop.

The sinister turn in the end when he suddenly realizes that he cannot for always be the one who makes time stop for others, but that he will be hunted down by time as well, and that she already has him in gunsight, hovering above him.

Stark contrast between the dull industrial parts and redbrick buildings of London and the bubbly colorful Swinging hippie accessories inside for the kids around there.
 
Yeah, defo a must-see every coppola years.

Strangely enough, I couldn't remember the ending of the film. Probably coz it has always been one of those late-night movies on TV, and somehow I find the scenes with the pantomiming group of frolicking youngsters the most inuninteresting, especially at the end on the tennis court, so most likely I just fell asleep shortly before that.

So, what scenes do you remember most vividly?

The daylight scenes in the park stuck with me most, and the propeller that he got in the antique shop.

The sinister turn in the end when he suddenly realizes that he cannot for always be the one who makes time stop for others, but that he will be hunted down by time as well, and that she already has him in gunsight, hovering above him.

Stark contrast between the dull industrial parts and redbrick buildings of London and the bubbly colorful Swinging hippie accessories inside for the kids around there.
Sorry, but I need to point this out to you: The coppola is a traditional kind of flat cap typically worn in Sicily.
I know your first language isn't English, but I think you mean to say 'coupla', as in a 'couple of'...
 
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