Ultravox | Lapsed Vinyl Goddess

418464861506_360

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_360 I 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.