What $110 Buys

Monday January 20, 2014

Happy Martin Luther King day or whatever. 

With this bonus day to the weekend I decided today is the day I'm going to the record store with the gift certificates I got for Christmas. Today though unlike the previous times there would be no wife and baby waiting in the car for me and I would also have the oldest with me but pacified due to a trip to the comic book store beforehand. Although doing this visit by myself would be optimal and far more efficient, it's worth it to have my oldest with so as to expose him to the days when we had to search for our music and records in bins and not simply look them up on iTunes. 

Today's visit worked out pretty well though and I was able to pick up 8 new records for my collection including, or as you may have guessed some pretty choice selections. 

As you can probably guess here are my two most expensive records. The Beatles Yellow Submarine, ($25) and Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band ($50). The gatefolds could be in better shape but the records themselves are in very good shape and cleaned by the record store. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band is the album that has impressed me the most and I can see why it was such and influential album, it's music is fun and peppy and had a sound that was ahead of its time. As for Yellow Submarine the music is also great and whimsical, but I didn't expect the movie orchestrations on the B-side. 

Jouneys Evolution ($4.50) and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon ($8). Evolution as is usually the case for Journey, has a great beat from beginning to end. Dark Side of the Moon on the other hand is Pink Floyd at their best, but the album is more chill than the rocking sound of Evolution, but is rightfully a classic. Pink Floyd helped push music to its limits with this album. The Journey album is still in great shape shrink wrap and all, Dark Side of the Moon on the other hand is in good shape on vinyl  but the gatefold is in pretty bad shape.

Yep, Fleetwood Macs Rumors ($3), and more Beatles with Introducing The Beatles ($15). Those first few Beatles albums really help you see why they caught on so fast in the US, with that clear, crisp, optimistic, and upbeat sound the US needed to help us get past the painful loss of President Kennedy only a few months before. Rumors on the other hand is a classic in its own right and really made Fleetwood Mac a legendary band. Filled from end to end with classics, this album would influence other artist for years after it's release. Both albums vinyl is in excellent shape and gatefolds are in pretty good shape too. 

Lastly are the local Buckinghams with Time & Changes ($3), and The Platters The Golden Hits of the Platters ($3.50). The latter is a nice collection of The Platters hits, but for the most part theysound rerecords rather then the original versions, but they have a nice gentle music that helps calm things down around the house. Time & Changes is a great album and has a lot of The Buckinghams classics on it, including Mercy, Mercy, Mercy which is a favorite around my house. Both vinyls and gatefolds are in great shape.

Overall, 8 great albums isn't too bad. Of course if your counting you realize I actually went over $110 but not by much. To say the least I'm pretty happy with my selections and I will get deeper into some in these albums later since the article is more about the purchase then the albums. 

The Record Rec Room Dilemma

You've probably seen one in the movies, or TV, or perhaps you or someone you know has one. It is the record rec room, and in most cases it isn't much more then a small area with a record player, some records and maybe something that can be called seating. 

In high school the father of a friend had converted the small loft space above his garage into an area like this. This of course was to the disapproval of my friend, who with his 9 siblings had made this place a kind of treehouse over the years. 

Dad on the other hand, had finally saved enough money to buy a 5 CD carousel, which back then was big money and on the cusp of technological advancement. He and Mom then decided the old Hi-Fi system had to go to make room for the new technology. But the portable record player and the records where saved by Mom, since the record player was a wedding gift, and many of the records had sentimental associations as well. 

So the narrow loft space above the garage became their home, initially meant as an area of solitude for Mom, Dad, and old memories, old habits die hard and the kids many of them teenagers took over. For my friend his parents albums, many of which where from the late 60's and 70's, always captivated him. As a big fan of The Doors in particular he would often take the ladder made of 2x4's up to the loft after school as much as possible to listen to them, as well as the Eagles, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and Lead Zeppilin to name a few. 

The room consisted of nothing more the a rug on the floor, the portable record player, and the record rack. There was no setting except for a uncomfortable metal folding chair, which no one ever used. I remember visiting the spot once and sharing a few cold Cokes, and cookies with him as a few of his younger siblings while listening to a Queen album, and played Go Fish (I meant literal younger siblings). I can just remember the sound that old Zenith portable record player got. 

When I decided to finally begin collecting vinyl I thought it would be cool to have a space like that. Then I began to get a headache over buying a portable record player, I was certain I would have to get an old one off E-bay, and then came the thoughts about whether it would work or not, or need a new needle, and how much a good one mint or near mint would cost me. Then one night while looking at vinyl record collecting online I came across the Amazon Vinyl Store, yes it's there google it if you want to get right to it. The store not only has a great listing of albums, but there where new portable record players right there. Many of them go for less then $100, but one compliant from feedback that seems to be common for all of them is that the speakers aren't very powerful. Not exactly what I remember from my friends Zenith or whatever brand of portable I had as a kid. But some of the reviews do seem to disagree leading me to believe sound is in the ear of the beholder. 

Until then and until I expand my record collection a bit more, I guess I will continue to dream of an old school record rec room. But I will keep you posted. 

Do you have a record rec room? Let me know respond to this post, and/or e-mail me photos I know I, and probably my readers would love to see your chill space.