Rock For Gold

After completing the I Against I challenge I’d set for myself sometime earlier this year, I was looking for a new fun Bad Brains related collection. Rock For Light is the classic first full length by Bad Brains. Compared to I Against I, it probably has the better individual songs, but viewed as an album, it doesn’t flow as well in my opinion. Gun to my head, I’d pick I Against I 9/10 as the record I want to listen to. That’s not a knock at all to Rock For Light, it just speaks to the incredible level the Bad Brains reached as a hardcore band. 

This album was rereleased by Caroline Records in the early 90s. The color they chose was sort of obvious, but sometimes the easy solution is the best one. The thing that annoys me about the copy I picked up is that it doesn’t have neither of the stickers shown in the pictures of this variant on Discogs because it came without the shrink wrap and the stickers weren’t cut out and kept with the record. One is in Rastafari colors and says this record was remixed and remastered by Rick Ocasek and comes with three bonus songs compared to the original one. The other one is a hype sticker saying ‘Limited Edition Colored Vinyl’. I might need to upgrade this version at one point if I ever find a copy with one or even both stickers. 

1991 Repress on Caroline on Gold / Clear Yellow /???

Bargains Are A Collector‘s Best Friend

A few weeks ago I went to see Be Well at one of my favorite venues. Truth be told, I‘m not a big fan of Be Well. I tried to get into them a bunch of times, because with the personnel behind the band I feel like I should like the band, but nothing‘s clicked with me yet. I decided to go anyway because my wife is really into them and I also knew that a bunch of friends would be there. So basically I went to the show to be able to go on a roadtrip with my wife to see friends. There are definitely worse premises to attend a show. I didn‘t have a lot of expectations for the show itself, but I must say that Be Well were absolutely fantastic live and I‘m glad I did go to see them play. 

While we were driving to the venue a friend sent me pictures of records a friend was selling at the show. Actually he was selling the records for a friend who didn‘t want to bother with local listings or Discogs. I browsed through the records and found a few things that I liked.

A few days ago I posted about the Underdog Demos LP I‘d gotten not too long before I went to the show mentioned above and how much I liked the songs. As chance would have it, I saw the band‘s first and only LP The Vanishing Point in one of the bins and I didn‘t hesitate to grab it. I like this LP a lot as well and I regret even more having slept on the band for so long. 

1st Press on Black on Caroline

I‘ve been collecting Sick Of It All records for many years, but one record that has always eluded me so far was their first live LP Live In A World Full Of Hate. Maybe ‘eluded‘ isn‘t the correct word because the record is not that hard to get. But a) pictures discs sit pretty low on my want list in general and b) paying shipping for a ugly records doesn‘t make getting them more attractive. But when I saw it just sitting right in front of me and hearing the price, I just had to get it. It‘s not as good as Live In A Dive, but it‘s still a good live record. 

1st / Only Press as a Picture Disc on Lost And Found

My friend had sent me only pictures of the records his friends was selling, so seeing a bunch of demo tapes sitting in a separate box was a pleasant surprise. I‘m not a tape nerd per se, but some demo tapes I definitely want to own (I can hear Marcus sigh in disgust at this statement, haha). The Stop And Think Demo had been on my want list for years and finally I had the opportunity to grab one for a very, very decent price. This is the European version which was released on Bloody Sunday Records

European Version w/ Light Blue Cover on Bloody Sunday 

All in all it was a great evening. Friends, great live band and a few items crossed of my want list at bargain prices. Not much more you can ask for in one night. 

Sweet Caroline II

I got another record from the same seller I bought the CCME on Caroline Records. This copy is part of the 2nd press on Caroline Records, although it comes without the "Remix" sticker. But the matrix reads "Mix #2". Apparently the sound on the first mix wasn't that great. Maybe that should have been a hint for Porcell not to record at Chung King studios again with Judge later on, but then again record collectors worldwide would have one white whale less to chase, so it was probably a good move nonetheless. 

Since I don't have a first press copy on Caroline, I can't really speak to the poor quality of that press and can't compare it with this one either. At least for now. 

I'm really glad Revelation decided to return to this cover artwork after using different artwork for many years. However, the blue version on We Bite is still the best looking one. 

2nd Press on Black on Caroline Records (Matrix says "Mix #2")

Sweet Caroline I

Here’s adding to my officially non-existent, yet steadily growing Youth Of Today collection. This time I managed to find a first press of Can’t Close My Eyes on Caroline Records as you can see by the white labels used for this record. The pressing history of Youth Of Today releases is so interesting from a nerd’s perspective. So many different record labels, colors, designs of covers and labels as well as remixes of the songs. It’s this dream / nightmare scenario for collectors all at once. 

1st Press on Black (White Labels) on Caroline Records

Misfits II

Not much too see here. Standard repress of the Misfits Collection II. More classic Misfits songs.