Category Echo and The Bunnymen

Post RSD 2021 Drop 1 Thrills and Spills

Janet Canning Leave a comment

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Are you gearing up for this Saturday’s Record Store Day, Drop 2? While drop number 2 may not have as many records, there are a few that may make you get up in the wee hours on July 17th, 2021. Take a cue from last months epic experience, and plan ahead.

RSD 2021 Drop 1

It’s amazing, Portland record shops survived another socially distanced RSD Saturday June 12, 2021, just a week before stores were allowed to get back to business as usual here in Portland. If there will be a usual again that is. Many shops have started lifting their restrictions and the regular, and irrelevant bin flipping of vinyl can begin. 

However, not wishing to deal with the lottery for RSD in person that some shops resorted to, I decided to go online shopping for battle-of-the record-shops regulars versus speculators. Let me tell you, there is a special place where Sisyphus rolls that rock, and all speculative RSD buyers who jack up record prices by 300-400% will go there. Karma is coming for ya, baby. 

My day started, poised at the 10am bell with Jackpot Records here in Portland, online shopping basket with Echo and the Bunnymen Live at Liverpool and The Cure’s Faith, 40th Anniversary Picture Disc. While punching in my card info, the Bunnymen sold out, however I got Faith. (Ha, Ha) I tried to have some after that, and was determined to hunt down all my other choices. I would find out later, as with every RSD, The Cure put out a lot of copies compared to other bands, and there were still some in the bins on Sunday.418464862101_360

My crafty and realistic vinyl enthusiast fiend friend helped me acquire that one really elusive record that kept slipping through my fingers, Echo and The Bunnymen Live at Liverpool, that I woke up to Saturday morning already hitting eBay stores at bids starting at $80.00. Let me tell you it was well worth the battle. Absolute winner of a live album and a great way to keep that live venue spirit going until we get solid with performances in Portland again. Please Bunnymen, come back to PDX!

I noted that the UK had a drop of one record I had on cassette many years ago, Ultravox’s Vienna 40th Anniversary edition. Since I stretched that tape out years ago, it was time to get it on vinyl. This two record extended play vinyl edition had totally cleaned up original tracks and a second record that featured instrumental versions of the songs. If you are a fan of Brit Synth and The New Romantics, this record has it all.

418464861857_360I found a few more titles that were showing up slowly as the day progressed. One of them was Richard Hell and the Voidoids: Destiny Street Demos. Raw, very raw indeed. Great liner notes on their touring mishaps opening for The Clash on their first UK Tour and the fact that their record label never got their records in the UK market before the tour. Talk about a real tragedy. The mad, bad days of the big record labels. You may want to pick up Richard Hell’s memoirs (I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp), for some other juicy bits on touring.

Thanks to the people at these fine establishments, I was able to get my vinyl in good form, and shipped well overseas.

 

Thanks Red Yeti Records in San Diego

Assai Records in Scotland 33 Union Street, Dundee. DD1 4BS

Resident Records UK

Next up, RSD 2021 DROP 2 Shopping List

In case you were wondering how strange I am……

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Echo and The Bunnymen: The John Peel Sessions 1979-1983

Janet Canning Leave a comment

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If it weren’t for John Peel, the champion of musicians on airwaves through his Radio 1 BBC show, Echo and the Bunnymen would never have made it past gigging in the UK in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Like many of their contemporaries, getting airplay was difficult and meant making tapes, recording a single or two, and sending it into John Peel, and any other radio station that you hoped would play it. If he really liked what he heard, thousands of UK and European teens would hear your music. Then you would come in and play live on the show and get recorded. Many bands over the years have recorded for John Peel Sessions, some of the best quality live performances and recordings to be had. If he didn’t like it, it would get pushed aside. Better luck next time.

Echo (Ian McCulloch, Will Sergeant, Les Pattinson, and Pete De Freitas) was lucky in that they were invited back on several occasions. This last September, the band released the collection of recordings from these sessions through Warner Bros/Rhino Records on a limited run (500) hot red 2 x LP, black vinyl, and CD. The records include all of the John Peel Sessions recordings from their early years with commentary by Will Sergeant.

I fought hard and after originally being denied access to buying a red copy, due to some online SNAFU at Rhino Records. I was given a second chance and secured a copy in pre-sale. After waiting 4 weeks and since it was my birthday, it showed up, I was thrilled. Sadly, every corner of the cover was mashed up, Rhino does not ship in really sturdy record boxes like other online vendors do. Luckily the records themselves were alright and I could play them. Unfortunately because there had been a limited run of 500, I could not exchange the records and hopefully have them ship a nice, clean copy with less cover damage. I will be writing to Rhino shortly.

For more John Peel sessions, which came out usually after they aired on the Radio 1 show and can often be found at second hand shops, you can search online for reissues by other bands like The Cure. If you’s like to hear a good sampling of them, check out my friend Scots Post-Punk radio show.

UNAMERICAN Radio Ep 35 John Peel Sessions