"New" Vintage Vinyl for the Record Shelf

Within the past week or so, I've received some musical goodies in the mail. After a long hiatus from record shopping thanks to the coronavirus situation, I finally caved and ordered a handful of albums online. 

Last week, I got my first package, which contained three Styx albums, two early-ish ones, and one that landed during their cycle of classic multi-platinum-selling recordings. The pair of pre-superstardom LPs are Equinox, from 1975, and Crystal Ball, from 1976. Crazy how so many artists back then pumped out at least an album a year (if not more), and good stuff, too. Nowadays, we've got to wait years between studio releases... and no guarantees it's all killer... there's always at least some filler.

All great music, very little of it familiar to me besides the obvious radio singles and greatest hits, so I will have some fun discovering new favourites among all of these deeper tracks from Styx's earlier days. Equinox, of course, spawned their first major tune, Lorelei... and Suite Madame Blue is a serious contender for best on the album. The Crystal Ball album was almost entirely new to me; I only knew the title track from a CD greatest hits. Rock with hints of heaviness, progressive and pop, a cocktail that Styx mixed well and perfected on subsequent recordings. 

The third Styx disc is Pieces of Eight, from 1978, nestled between their '77 breakthrough LP, The Grand Illusion, and '79's Cornerstone. Pieces is mostly brand new to me besides Blue Collar Man and Renegade. Back in the day, I wasn't very receptive to their brand of music, so I was just barely aware of their big songs from the radio. Nowadays, I can appreciate all of it much more. And for me... today... I feel that Queen of Spades is the strongest track on the album. Check it out below!

Then late this week I found a couple more very special records waiting for me in my mailbox. One was Boston's second album, Don't Look Back, from 1978. This LP is very nostalgic for me since I owned this same disc way back when I was a teenager in the late seventies. I loved the colourful album art... and even though this recording didn't pack the same front-to-back Top 40 punch as Boston's first album, the songs are catchy and well-crafted, and that guitar sound... wow! Technicality and musicality collide in a beautiful set of songs that still mean a lot to me.

The other record I received deserves the final spot here: ever since I got my turntable back in the fall of 2017, I've been searching for a nice copy of Destroyer, by Kiss. On my favourite online store Discogs.com, the records in better condition commanded prices I wasn't prepared to pay... yet. Though I was aware of a 2014 reissue of Destroyer, I learned that significant changes were made to the music. Apparently, the source tapes used in remastering were NOT the same ones used for the early pressings that I was familiar with. I gave this reissue a listen on Youtube and was NOT impressed. The feel and overall mixing of the song were too far gone for me to accept it. Vocals and instruments were bounced from front to back in the mix, and back to front, with strange additions, substitutions, alterations, all manner of chaotic tampering. Not impressed.

So I decided to avoid later reissues altogether and aim for an early pressing of Destroyer. At local record shows, sellers were asking far too much for LPs in very poor condition. Prices being so prohibitive even for beat-up copies, I accepted the challenge and practised patience, keeping my eye on Discogs prices and regularly checking other sources like Ebay and Music Stack. Finally, last weekend, I spotted a very reasonably-priced copy of Destroyer on Discogs. Both the media (the record) and its outer sleeve were graded in Very Good Plus condition, generally my minimum requirement for used vinyl. This was a '76 release, not a first pressing but not far off, and wow, what a find! The record looks immaculate and plays almost like brand new, while the jacket (outer sleeve) looks very nice if not mint condition. I'm super happy to finally have this in my collection.

Destroyer is, if not a perfect album, still one of my favourite hard rock recordings of all time. Sure, that song Great Expectations really slows down and weighs down the album with its strange and bloated arrangement. And radio hit Beth, while a good song, has... well, I've just heard it enough. On an album absolutely packed with rockers, Beth really jams on the brakes, temporarily killing the vibrant, hedonistic vibe that Kiss established with the previous half dozen bangers. Those quibbles aside, I love - and I mean love - the rest of the Destroyer. I mean, look at the track list: anthems and barn-burners like Detroit Rock City, King of the Night Time World, God of Thunder, Flaming Youth, Sweet Pain, and Shout it Out Loud all precede the Beth ballad. Rock and roll lifestyle headbanger Do You Love Me follows, at least saving the disc from a sour ending. 

The Destroyer album has been my elusive Holy Grail for the past few years, and now that I've found it, a tremendous weight has lifted off my shoulders. I thought about the album constantly all this time. And even though I also own an early CD release of it, I doubt I'll play that much, if at all, any more. Naturally, the vinyl has a sound quality that appeals much more to my ear.

Hooray for records!