All that's been on my mind for months has been Kiss' Destroyer album. Yeah, I've been listening to the CD over the years, but once I got into the vinyl thing, I thought this is an essential one for my collection. And it's been hard to find a decent (better than crap) copy of the album at a reasonable-ish price around here. Even as I walked through the doors of the venue, I had my little "Destroyer" mantra going through my head... just in case the gods heard me and made it finally happen.
Well... through the door I went, turned left toward the first record vendor in sight... and there was Destroyer, displayed front cover facing right toward me. "Come here, you!" it beckoned. Wasting no time, I made a bee-line for the record, grabbed it, fumbled for my reading glasses, then gave it the all-over examination. The outer jacket had seen better days, but it wasn't so bad. The record, on the other hand, bore a couple of light hairline scratches. At a lower price I might have taken a chance on it, but for the asking price of fifteen bucks, I wasn't willing. The sticker even stated it was only "Good condition, with wear". Do I really have to settle for sub-par sound in order to finally get this damned record?
I put it back. But not without a tasty consolation prize... Paradise Theater by Styx. I knew the few really big songs off this concept album, but had never heard the rest of it. So it was time. In Very Good Plus condition and only fifteen smackerels, the deal was done. Paradise was Styx's best-selling album thanks to major hits Too Much Time on My Hands and Best of Times. Oh, and Side Two of the record had the Styx logo and images somehow embedded into the black vinyl... obviously a more modern re-issue, but very, very cool!
Nothing else at that vendor really grabbed my attention, so I moved on to the bigger spread by another vendor. I spent most of an hour flipping through his many bins of albums. Several cool ones caught my eye... like a U.S. version of the first Max Webster album, with different cover art and a funny backstage band photo on the back; I was sorely tempted by a re-issue of Dave Brubeck's Time Out with the original cover art (I have a pressing on a different label with different cover art, and slightly crispy sound); and almost went for Sinatra's In the Wee Small Hours. Though I hung onto those last two until I made my final decision, I finally put them back, for the real question was "How often would I even listen to the albums?" That question is always countered with "But maybe I'd get back into the album if I had it on vinyl" (I already own both on CD, but rarely play them). Anyway, the other records in my little pile were much more important to me...
One of the LPs I picked without hesitation was El Loco, by ZZ Top. This was high on my Wish List, and the record looked nice and clean. In fact, it was priced at $15, but because the jacket was a bit tattered and taped up on one edge, the vendor dropped it to ten bucks when I pointed it out. No haggling required. Big radio hits on this one, including Party on the Patio, Pearl Necklace, and Tube Snake Boogie. Great fun.
When I saw Dark Side of the Moon (do I need to tell you the artist?) - that grail I mentioned - in the "ten dollar" bin, I didn't get my hopes up. The jacket was rather scuffed, mainly around the edges, but not beyond recognition. With expectations still low, I slid out the record for inspection. This thing looked super clean, with only the most minor blemish in one spot. I succeeded in containing my excitement as I put together my final selections for purchase. After all, the litmus test would truly be on the turntable - with headphones.
So, two ten-dollar records... and if I bought one more, I'd get all three for just twenty buckaroos. It was a bit of a chore finding that third one, but settled on Avalon, by Roxy Music. I have recently been digging into Roxy's catalogue on vinyl, and figured this might as well join my couple of other LPs. I know Avalon well, having played it hundreds of times on tape and CD back in the day. But it's been a long time since I've given it a thorough listening. So why not? I made the deal, and walked away. I'd stayed very close to my spending limit, so I left the building, not wanting to get myself into trouble. Happy happy, joy joy.
At home, I gave all four albums a thorough swabbing with record-cleaning solution, did the anti-static treatment, then played Side One of three of them (Roxy will come later). I'm happy to report that all three sides sounded really nice, and the Pink Floyd was surprisingly clean. In fact, when the guitar solo on Time came on, I experienced a serious chill down my spine... yes, the sound is beautiful. The Great Gig in the Sky is a mind-blower, too. This well-cared-for LP (though not the sleeve, but no biggie - the price was right) is gonna become my most-cherished album.
I'm sure glad I acted on my impulse to pop out to the flea market this morning. Oh happy day.
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