Record Collector Blues

A few weeks ago I missed out on a Bane test press. 6131 Records / Wanna Hear It Records sold a bunch of second hand records and Marcus was kind enough to notify me of what was up for sale. But by the time I got to the web store, it had already sold. For some reason I hadn‘t checked my e-mails for a couple of hours, which would have told me about the test press being for sale right away. But that‘s how life goes.

So, what does any record collector do whenever they miss out on a rare record? Well, actually, I can‘t speak for all the collectors out there obviously, but what I do is go to Discogs, local listings and eBay to scour the Internet for rare records. Usually that means even more disappointment (I was thinking of a sports metaphor, but couldn‘t think of any), because 99/100 times I don‘t find anything. However, in this case I did get lucky and came across a Good Clean Fun test press for a really, really good price. Probably because only two people still care about collecting Good Clean Fun records in 2024 and I happened to stumble across this one at the right time. 

This is a test press for Phyte Records #16, the Let‘s Go Crazy 7“, which has Mr Issa dressed as Prince sitting on a motorcycle on the cover/artwork for the picture disc 7“. This is definitely not on the level of a Bane test press, but since I do collect Good Clean Fun records and I‘d never heard of a test press for this release, I‘m more than happy to add this to the collection. 

Test Press out of ??? on Phyte Records

Good Clean Fun - Live In... 3D

I can't really remember when I picked up the last Good Clean Fun record before this one. This is mainly due to the fact that there aren't that many left I don't have. There are some absurdly rare ones like out of 4 and out of 1 and a few test pressings, but apart from that I have a pretty complete collection. That is, if no variants pop up that I wasn't aware of. Like this one. For many years I was under the impression that this LP came only on purple vinyl. Then I found out about a black version with blank labels. I got it from a fellow Good Clean Fun collector, which was very kind of him, seeing that these don't pop up all too often. He told me it wasn't a test pressing, but I'm still not sure on the issue. Black vinyl, blank labels, different insert than the other two ones. Maybe, maybe not. A few weeks back I stumbled over this variant, which also comes on black vinyl, but with the regular labels. The insert is the same one as for the purple vinyl one.

Now, about the release itself… I know there are many people who don't like live recordings. I on the other hand really like them. The best bands are the ones who play out their heart on stage, so why not try capturing that live energy? In the days of youtube, vimeo, younameit, live records may have become obsolete, but I truly believe they had their place in music recording history. Good Clean Fun lived off of their over the top positive approach on stage, and I think they did a great job of capturing a live Good Clean Fun show. This LP was recorded when they were at their peak imho, i.e. when they had only released their first two 7"s and their debut LP On The Streets…, which is by far their best material. In 2000, when this show in Springfield was recorded, they were touring extensively, an account of which you can find in the inlay that comes with this LP. It's a fun read for sure. 

Good Clean Fun not only appealed to me musically and lyrically, but as a collector, too. They always put in great effort to make the covers somehow special. Just think of the On The Streets… LP. This live LP comes in a 3D jacket including 3D glasses. If I have some time on my hands, I might make a separate entry just for my GCF collection.

Here are the three variants I have (so far). It's really hard to see, but the one in the middle is actually on purple vinyl. If you look very closely, you can see that this record is slightly lighter than the two black ones to the left and right. You can even make out some streaks/veins of the purple vinyl if you look very, very closely. Unfortunately, the colour doesn't photograph well, unless the record is being held up against the light.