UNDERTONES

Undertones - s/t LP - 1979 Sire SRK 6071

Another UK killer. I've had another copy of this album for years already when I saw a beautiful first press at a good friends place. I knew right there and then I had to get one too. Good thing it didn't take me long to find my own copy. This might be my all time favorite 77 Punk album. It slays front to back.

Sealed Session Ruts

The Ruts - The Peel Sessions 12" - 1986 Strange Fruit SFPS 011

At first I only liked their Hit Babylon's Burning but after I listened to their eponymous The Crack LP a couple of times it grew on me. No I love it front to back so I didn't have to think for a second when I found this still sealed canadian pressing of their Peel Session. It's a cut out but you can hardly see the tiny hole in the front bottom right corner. I thought to myself what are the chances to find this one unopened but only a day or two later I saw another one in a different shop. Maybe I should have picked that one up too so I could open and listen to one. Then again I'd rob someone else of the chance to add a sealed copy to her / his collection. Not sure if many people are as crazy as I am and keep records sealed even though they don't have a copy to play. But who knows. Maybe someone will be as excited about old sealed records as I am. Currently I have 4 sealed records in my collection that I will never open. Including this one. Two of those are the only copies I have.

Ninteen inches of Clash

The Clash - s/t LP - 1979 Epic 36060, Epic JE 36060, Epic AE7 1178

Ok, there are a lot of bands that I think need no introduction but if that is right for only one band I think it's The Clash. So glad I scored this great copy of the crucial first LP. I've always held out buying this album until I found a special pressing. And I believe this to be one. Of course it's available online but for some reason I prefer tracking down UK bands' vinyl in brick and mortar stores.

I can't recall if I ever physically saw this pressing before but definitely not including the 7". Lucky me the first time I see one it's in great shape at a reasonable price. Now I only still need a true first press.

Fanx 69

Today is dedicated to some British classics

Sham 69 - that's life LP - 1978 Polydor POLD 5010, Polydor 2442 158

These lads released some of the best Oi songs ever. I cannot imagine anyone being into Punk or Hardcore not knowing at least one or two of their songs.
That's life is their 2nd full length.

A copy of this album is not hard to find. It seems there were millions pressed. If you're looking for a genuine UK first press though it gets a little more difficult.
Coming across a copy with the hype sticker on the cover and looking as fine as the one on my copy cuts down your chances again.

Finding a copy that actually does still come with the advertised poster is taking the cake. At least if you try to find one in this condition in the wild aka a real recordstore and not on discogs. I lost track of the number of copies I checked for the poster. Glad I finally got lucky. Sooner or later this will be going on my wall. In a frame of course. I'm not 14 anymore.

Can't close my 12" eyes

I saved todays best for last

Youth Of Today - can't close my eyes 12" - 1988 Schism, Caroline Records CAROL 1353

I have to admit not being the biggest YOT fan. I like everything they did but I never understood the kind of love some people feel for them.
Having said this it might not be hard for you to believe that I heard these songs for the first time when I put the needle to this record. Now I can understand a little better why people are into Youth Of Today the way they are. Before this I most appreciated them for the fact that they are the originators of the Youth Crew style and were very important for Hardcore in general.

As most of you will know Can't Close My Eyes was originally issued as a 7" on Positive Force Records with I don't know how many variations and different pressings. Ultimately Schism decided to also do a 12" repress and what you see here is the 2nd pressing on that format.
Still looking for a first press of this for my Schism collection. Maybe that one actually has the track We Just Might from the Another Shot For Bracken compilation on it. This one doesn't although it's listed on the backcover.

More verbal assault(s)

I'm going to put two different records in this post because I bought them for one and the same reason. They feature a Verbal Assault song.

V/A - another shot for bracken LP - 1986 Positive Force Records No. 9

A one and only pressing compilation on the legendary Positive Force Records run by Kevin Seconds out of Reno Nevada is what we have here. Too bad none of the songs really stand out. Quite a few big names chipped in. Still I listened to it once and then filed it. If it wasn't for the Verbal Assault track and the feeling that the collection will not be complete with out this LP I would probably never have picked up a copy.

V/A - It's your choice...
      unreleased live material from the Your Choice Live series 2x10" - Your Choice Records YC-LS 013

This record should never have been released. No wonder these songs were left off the original releases of the series. Probably the record least likely to ever be played again. Yet I needed it for my Verbal Assault collection.

More blood days

Unity - blood days LP - 2014 Kidnap Music 048

When I first got wind of this Re-Issue it was already for sale online so I panicked a bit. This is one of my all time favorite hardcore records. Naturally I had get a 2nd copy It was originally only pressed once on black.
I really like the poster but I have to say the patch is a little too much. The liner notes are not as weird as those of the Brotherhood repress but not that interesting either. As an insert they should have used a regular 12" sized lyricsheet though. Everything that's on the inside would fit on one side and the flyers and pictures on the back, which are a nice touch, would come out a lot better being printed on the other side of a bigger sheet.

I can not at all understand why this is such an underrated record but in this case it was good it is. Otherwise I might not have been able to pick up the limited version out of 150 with the patch. The label thinks the vinyl looks turquoise to me though it looks more blue with only a slight hint of green or is this some kind of transition / shade? Would be nice to compare my copy to those of others. Unfortunately no one I know also bought this.
There are another 150 on this color that come with the poster but not the patch and 700 on black vinyl   that come with neither as far as I know.

Slowed down Punch

Today's posts should be more up most peoples alley again.

Punch - they don't have to believe LP - 2014 Deathwish Inc. DW165

Fastcore, Thrashcore, Powerviolence and the such were never really my kind of thing. Follow up question to that statement: Why did I buy a Punch record then? Well, a friend of mine is in that band and he played me their new recordings way before the album was released. Of course that wasn't the reason for buying it. But if it wouldn't have been for him I would have never given this slab of vinyl a chance since I didn't like any of their previous material. It just isn't my kinda stuff. This one though is really good. Too bad they're caught in a jam right now with their singer having left. Rumor has it they broke up but that is not quite the case just yet.

As with the Cold World LP this is also the least collectible version out of the 4 pressings that were made. However it is not the one working best with the rest of the layout. Good thing though, the others colors out there, coke bottle clear, clear gold with opaque light blue, gold/blue mix, probably don't fit any better. Does anyone else feel these choices are odd? Why didn't they use black and white vinyl? Or maybe a green, blue, black tri-color pressing? Well, whatever. It is what it is.

Country Nancy

Last one for tonight.
The next posts will get Back To The Known.

Nancy Sinatra - country my way LP - 1967 Reprise Records RS-6251

Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood recorded some mighty fine songs together. Prior to picking up this full length all I was able to score are three 7"es of hers. One an awesome duet with her father and on the other two she's accompanied by Lee.
I was totally stoked to finally come across one of her albums in the wild and the title suggested good things. Unfortunately my expectations were a little too high. I expected to hear dark and moody Country influenced tunes instead of pure Country Music. I have yet to go back and really listen to pass judgement but I'm pretty positive that I will love it once I get over it being something else than I thought it would be.

I'm totally stoked that this one turned out to be an original US first press from 1967.
47 years old and still in better shape than your Daddy.
That's a whopping 10 years older than I am btw.
Stoked!!

Next stop Vauxhall

Morrissey - Vauxhall and I LP - Parlophone PCSDR 148, Parlophone 825646299485

When Mozz got on the Re-Issue train I really didn't like it. Largely because of the altered covers which didn't look too good and because I was already getting fed up with all the RSD hype but also because it was easy as I already had copies of those albums.
And then Your Arsenal was announced to be made publicly available again. That record as well as this one is a 90s classic of his that is a little harder to come by and demands pockets that are a bit deeper. I never felt like spending enough to get those so these pressings make sense to me. And they are even really good looking.
Viva Hate and Kill Uncle regularly pop up in stores and on flea markets everywhere so I couldn't see the point in those new treatments. Now I do though because it looks like he decided to do that for all his studio recordings of which quite a few, just like Your Arsenal and Vauxhall And I, are rather expensive.
Can't wait for Southpaw Grammar to drop.