It's happening today

Now that all the pick up fails are dealt with, on the last day of 7 weeks on the road I'll feature of the Zürich haul the purchase that is 2nd only to the sealed Devo LP.

Slapshot - back on the map - Taang! 12 - 1986

Yellow labels denote the third press. According to discogs it came without any inserts. Unfortunately the Taang! discography does not give any useful info on this album at all like with most of the other releases. Someone needs to tackle that project. Give the nerds what they want.

Despite what it says on discogs my copy has a Taang! A4 Catalogue. From the records advertised on here I would say this was probably repressed in 1990.

This version was the last one missing for this 12". So here is the whole family. Not really a hard job to accomplish yet I'm happy to cross that one off the list.

This is the lyricsheet that came with my blue label first pressing. The second press white label version should have that too according to discogs but my copy doesn't have any inserts at all.

And here we have the one-sided A4 Taang! Catalogue that was included with the first pressing. Too bad I couldn't find any pictures of the one that came with the second press. Maybe that's because discogs is right and there really were no inserts. Would be interesting though to see where the label was at when that one dropped.

Both inserts from the 1st press. Notice the 'slight' yellowing of the mailorder sheet.

1st & 3rd press mailorder sheets side by side

Ba Ba Back on the map.

Ageing process. L 2 R should be 3rd 2nd 1st press but is indeed 2nd 3rd 1st press

I know. I really need to do something about the quality of the pictures I take. This was a rush job though done in what little time I had at home while the tour resided nearby over Christmas.

 

Tomorrow I'm finally going back home where I'll have to take care of a few things so it will most likely get a little more quiet on here again. After that next up on .LIC. will be the rest of this haul plus everything I got in the mail while being away. And more updates to my Unbroken discography.

 

Deutsche Lieder

With all the different kinds of music I like and the resulting shitload of records on my wantlist it's pretty hard to remeber everything about each of those records. What's a good price? Did it come with any inserts? What's the first press? ... Unfortunately the records I do know the answers to hardly ever pop up at record stores which is why I always end up buying records I love but have no idea about pressings, inserts, price and so on. This results way too often in buying releases that miss the lyricsheet or overpaying.
Everytime that happens I say to myself that next time I'll pay more attention instead of getting carried away by the joy of having found a great album. While that works better and better it still happens and it drives me crazy. Like with the Killing Time LP featured in my last post and the one this is going to be about.

Being introduced to hardcore as an adolescent was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. When I got to check out some US classics I was hooked which lead to me discovering what was currently happening overseas and locally. But no one ever pointed me towards the classics from where I live and the last few years saw a pity growing inside of me concerning that hole in my musical education. Especially in regard of german punk. Taking babysteps into this realm I discovered one of the first german punk bands (according to the info provided on discogs) Below you can see what I believe to be the first press of their 2nd LP

 

Rotzkotz - lebensfroh + farbenfroh - No Fun Records NF08/15 - 1981

This is another record I picked up in Zürich, Switzerland. I am from Germany and therefore wasn't able to go online while browsing the offerings of the local vinyl dealers. There were a lot of really great records just sitting there. Most of those I wasn't sure about pressing info etc. so I took a quick foto to remember what to check on when being back at the hotel later. This one though I was dead sure had a good price and was the right pressing. So I bought it. What I didn't remember though is that it's supposed to have a booklet coming with it. Motherf$?#!%. Now I know why the price seemed good. Fooled again. I REALLY need to do something about that

One step forward two steps back

Many moons ago Killing Time's Happy Hour was one of the first hardcore albums I owned. It never was a favorite of mine but it's definitely a solid record well worth to be in anyone's NYHC collection. Due to this I just owned it on a measly little silver disc in a plastic case all the time up until mid december last year.

I was on a workrelated trip to Zuerich and had some time to go record shopping. When I saw the LP version without the lyricsheet I wasn't sure if it was ever released with one. I thought I had seen it with a lyricsheet in bad condition a while ago but couldn't really remember so I asked someone who collects everything on Blackout! Records. He said it doesn't come with one which is why I picked it up. A day or so later he wrote to let me know that he inquired with the guy who runs Blackout! and of course it was issued with a lyricsheet. Damn! Bad luck sticks to me. At least it was very cheap and in great condition.

 

Killing Time - happy hour - Blackout! Records BLK14LP - 1992

 

Wazmo Nariz

Chicago born performer Wazmo Nariz did have his eyes on the city's early punk days. In 1978 he released his first 7" on the local independent label 'Fiction'.

Check out the two neckties. Apparently this was his trademark.

I picked up this record a few years back for two reasons.
This flex review:

"Fast synth/wave punk on the A side, no guitars but “real” drums. Quite entertaining, reminds me of early Devo or the manic Geza X sound. B side is more in the pop punk vein, with guitars and good melodies. Good single."

And because it was dirt cheap.

The A-side really is a little hit if only for the weirdness but as you might already know I like that.

This 7" was rereleased in the UK by Stiff Records with a different B-side track: 'Wacker Drive"
I might have to check out that song to see if it's worth picking up but then again I'll probably just add it to an order I'm placing anyway or pick up a copy at a store if I come across one as it's not going to demand deep pockets either.

In 1979 Wazmo and the Wazband released the following LP which I recently picked up

 

Wazmo Nariz - things aren't right - I.R.S. Records - 1979

I like the layout of the sleeve and the way it is in sync with the titel but unfortunately that's about it for this record. Definitely the most boring release I picked up since I bought the latest Blondie LP last summer. Well, the Blondie record is really bad. I cannot listen to it. This slab of vinyl here is just boring. It has lost most of the weirdness and borders on uninspired 80s pop even though it was not released in the 80s. Even 'Checking Out The Checkout Girl' which was released as a 7" with another track off of the LP, 'Who Does It Hurt?', on the flipside cannot hold a candle to 'Tele-tele-telephone'.

One side of the innersleeve. The other's blank.

Beautiful rainbow labels round out a visually pretty good release. Too bad the sonic part doesn't match.

Before they were picked up by I.R.S. they released a 2nd 7" on Fiction maybe that one holds another hit.

To be continued...

 

Last in 2013 First in 2014

There have been at least two great reissues released lately that somehow were not sold at any store I visited. Being pretty anxious to get those I decided to order from one of my favorite shops, Per Koro. While browsing the latest news I came across the new Pelican double 12" 'Forever Becoming'. Of course I had to throw it in with what I came for in the first place (which I'll cover sometime later).

Pelican are another one of my favorites. Whenever they put out a new record I buy it immediately. Well, except for 7" releases. Usually I love Singles but they are just not a 7" band. I don't put them on too often but when I do I want to get lost in their soundscapes as long as possible.

There's not a single bad Pelican song although there are some that are just a little bit better than others. Either 'The Fire In Our Throats...' or 'City Of Echoes' was my introduction to the band and to this day those are the ones receiving the most love. It's hard to decide which one is better because they both have their own qualities. Most of the time though the scale tips a little bit towards the latter.

'Forever Becoming' was the last 2013 release I got to know about and the first I listened to in 2014. Last year the first LP I listened to was the awesome Tom Waits - On The Scene '73 KPFK Folk Scene Broadcast 2LP. Not an easy one to be compared to. Yet the new Pelican did a very good job. While the previous two 12" releases 'Ataraxia / Taraxis' and 'What We All Come To Need' didn't dethrone either one of my two favorites this new one is a strong contender for Best Pelican release. Right now 'City...' and 'The Fire...' have the advantage of being well established but let's see what happens when 'Forever Becoming' gets more plays.

 

Pelican - Forever Becoming - double 12" - Southern Lord Records (LORD 182) - 2013

The only 'dope island' I like

A few days ago I already shared my thoughts on the Cramps with you in the post about the 'Bad Music For Bad People' LP (which i just updated btw.). No need to do that again. This time I want to share a bit about how I approach(ed) collecting Cramps releases.

I bought my first Cramps records at a chainstore called 'Zweitausendeins' which is actually a publishing company that sells books, cds, dvds and a bit of vinyl. At the time they had all the Cramps reissues on the bands own label Vengeance Records available at the bargain price of 5€ each. After I had listened to my first Cramps LP and realized how good that band is I went back and bought a copy of each of the other full lengths available. 6 in total. Not a bad start for a collection. But sure enough I wanted a copy of each of the other official releases as well. I just couldn't be bothered with certain pressings as there are A LOT of releases with too many different pressings for about each of them. Thus I picked up a copy here and there not minding the pressing but with every record added to the collection my love for The Cramps grew until I wanted to make a serious attempt at collecting their output. But what to do? Collecting each and every pressing would certainly be the most serious thing to do. Somehow I'd like that but my pockets aren't deep enough so I settled for the next best thing. First pressings! Still quite a long road to travel, yet I consider it doable. This is another step on that journey.

 

The Cramps - fiends of dope island - Vengeance Records 675 - released 2003

One time pressing on clear red vinyl and therefore the most easy to collect release.
No matter what your approach is.

Beautiful Vengeance innersleeve. Same design on both sides.

Is this my beach?

"Cool and strange blend of punk, Beach Boys and Residents. Witty surf punk with a synthesizer and great melodies. It's a novelty, but it's not that bad really. Quite unique."

I never cared for the Beach Boys and I've never knowingly listened to the Residents. Nevertheless the above review from the flex discography got me interested. Being a sucker for late 70s early 80s US west coast punk the attributes 'great melodies', 'novelty' and 'unique' were not needed to be thrown into the mix for me to make a mental note about this record. Always looking for that little something extra that makes a record stand out from the rest I knew I had to check it out even though 'not that bad' would put a negative spin on it in most peoples books. Not in mine. It only means that someone else is not into it. Just like a lot of people around me are not into quite a few bands I love. I'm known to have weird taste so the Surf Punks' 'My Beach' LP could really be for me.

The record was originally released as a self titled 15 track LP in 1979 on Day Glo Records and re-issued as 'My Beach' by Epic Records in 1980 including two extra tracks. Figuring that the original would probably be a lot more expensive and being lured by those two extra tracks I decided right away to keep my eyes peeled for the rerelease even though it comes without a lyric sheet as opposed to the 1st press.

To my big surprise I found a copy that might just be Mint sitting in a cheapo bin...

...next to 2(!) Mint looking copies of their last LP 'Oh No Not Them Again' released by Enigma Records in 1988. Without a listening station available I opted for buying all of them because they were so cheap thinking how bad can it be and that I'd give one of them to a couple I'm friends with, who do surf and are into punk. Perfect gift right there.

The printed innersleeves for both copies of this LP do have those Shirts crossed out in exactly the same way. Seems they ran out of them before the innersleeves were printed.

Right now the tour I'm working on has left Zuerich, Switzerland (where I bought the records) and is now residing in Essen, Germany which is a lot closer to where I live. Due to that I was able to go home and spend a bit of time with my wife. Of course I was eager to listen to all those new records. When it was the Surf Punks turn I naturally started with the first LP and was pretty disappointed. It has all the elements mentioned in the review but somehow it's not leaning quite enough towards punk. At least not in the traditional sense of the associated musical style. So a day or two later I put on the 'Oh No Not Them Again' LP hoping that they'd be one of the few bands in punk that do get better with time. Are they? You might already get the feeling that they are not and boy are you right.Meanwhile though I gave 'My Beach' another try and I have to say it's not as bad as the first time. I hear some Devo in there. Maybe it's one of those records that grow on you each time you give it another try.

Unless the later LP gains a better reputation with me I'm a little hesitant to turn that spare copy into the initially intended gift. What would you do? Present a gift you don't like? Sounds a tad off to me. But then again they might like it. What do I know?