Record Store Day: Hero or Villain?

It’s like Christmas in April. You can’t sleep the night before, you wake up really, really early to get your present, and you more often than not end up disappointed with a pair of socks. Well, possibly not the last bit about the socks, but Record Store Day is nearly upon us.

 

The official list of releases for RSD15 (hashtag) has been announced and it’s a mixed bag of pant wettingly exciting 7”s (ohhh matron) and David Bowie releasing some of his greatest hits from the 1970’s.

 

It seems everyone gets involved these days. Last year there was a One Direction picture disc. This is unacceptable. However, it is quite exciting when the biggest and best decide to put something brand new out. Johnny Marr with his Depeche Mode cover and Temples are doing another split single like last year with Jagwar Ma, this time with Fever the Ghost where they are covering each other’s songs.

 

There are also the pointless. The aforementioned Bowies re-issues, albeit on a picture disc. A-ha are putting out “Take on me” on one too, but why?? Great tunes, but I bet there are original copies in a cardboard box at a Record Fair in your local church hall.

 

To your average vinyl obsessive (Hello!) the thought of some of these releases does give you a thrill. In thinking about this article, I’ve perused the list of special releases and where my rational mind would say “so what??”, the mere words ‘12” coloured vinyl’ is enough to give you a warm fuzzy feeling and a tingle down below.

 

But, is a special double LP of the latest U2 album that got dumped on anyone with an iTunes account really necessary?

 

There are some genuinely different things coming out too. Some split singles of the same song on both sides by different artists with one from Gram Parsons/Lemonheads and another from The Black Keys/Junior Kimbrough.

 

The one release I’m really desperate to get my mitts on is the Various Artists Compilation LP instigated by Alcopop Records with a track by bands on 10 different Independent labels, including them, with the likes of Memphis Industries and Bella Union involved. It’ll be pressed on a lovely crushed yellow vinyl, with a download of additional material. Marvellous.

 

So there are pros and cons, but ultimately is this benefiting those who need the help. The small independent stores, the small independent labels, the small bands with the DIY ethic.

 

I’ve said it, and countless other periodicals and sites have too, but it bears repeating in this context, there is a new boom in vinyl collection, helped in no small part by Record Store Day. Back at its conception in 2007, RSD was the brain-child of people who loved vinyl and the independent record shop and wanted to help stem it’s slide into extinction as the megastores undercut and engulfed and the digital download wiped them out in a sea of 0 and 1’s.

 

Today, whilst it lags behind the mp3, vinyl is the tangible music storage of choice. For the discerning music collector, the LP is king and the CD is dying the kind of death that vinyl was inflicted with in the 90’s. HMV survives but the recession wiped out the rest of the huge conglomerate music sellers, and ironically, despite the closure of many HMV stores or downsizing of others, the vinyl section has grown tenfold.

 

The demand for vinyl has resulted in a pressure on the pressing plants. The proportionate rise in sales to the number and size of the companies and establishments that create them is overbearing, overburdening and overloading these places and delays are inevitable.

 

On top of this the cost of creating vinyl has not gone down. Yet. It may not either, as the difference between the 1960’s and 70’s production to the amounts ordered now are vast. This is shown in the price as most new releases are around the £20 mark, at least £16/£17. Those that are less than that are generally of a much, much poorer quality. It’s no coincidence that descriptions of new vinyl releases state specifically that they are 180g heavyweight and the price generally demonstrates the superior quality.

 

In this new digital age, sound quality is of the essence and despite our love for the pop’s and crackle’s of vinyl it still has to sound good. Due to this, a great number of albums are being pressed onto two separate records with just 3 tracks on each side to ensure greater sound. This obviously bumps up the price, so record companies and/or bands try and lower these costs somehow.

 

Uber fans will normally buy something anyway, but trying to entice the new generation of record buyers with just their pocket money, to part with their cash on a double LP when it’s £30, is going to be tricky. Saving up isn’t something ingrained into today’s society when you can get a short term loan as long as you can sign your name.

 

Therefore corners are going to be cut and with the demand for vinyl higher than for a long time, and getting ahead in the queue that is getting longer and longer is hard, the quality is suffering. It isn’t even where you may expect it. Mass produced, big name releases that could be liable to a substandard product due to the volume of pressings, generally are fine, but this could be down to who these are for. If it’s Sony or Universal or Capitol then the quality will have to be good to ensure further orders. If an independent comes asking for 25,000 units then there’s a fair chance they won’t be the best. Smaller, limited edition runs are normally very good as the emphasis is on a quality product not a general release.  

 

Independent labels Sonic Cathedral and Howling Owl are boycotting RSD by releasing one copy of a split single by Spectres and Lorelle Meets the Obsolete every day for 365 days. The premise is that everyday should be Record Store Day and the original idea behind the day has been lost in favour of the product rather than the actual shop. As a result of their proposed distribution strategy, they have encountered production issues due to the amount of vinyl being pressed in time for RSD. This goes back to the quality issue. Such huge demand and time pressure can only result in inferior products.

 

There has been the argument that the mastering of music destined for vinyl isn’t up to the standard of the LP’s produced back in their heyday. Where it once was the only place the music was to be replicated, now it is made digitally (normally) and is just a computer file or a CD is created. The sound is not engineered for vinyl and the quality is not what it once was or should be. Unless you happen to be Third Man Records (a reason on its own to choose ‘Get Behind Me Satan” or the re-press of the first ever Elvis 45 on the 18^th April). I cannot say I have, in the majority of cases, noticed a poor sound quality. There have been a couple that do seem to have been poorly re-mastered and in some instances the pressing has resulted in damage or it is poor and the amplification is distorted.

 

I suppose it does depend on your perspective of what RSD means. If it is the support of the independent record industry that appeals then it might look to you that this regular date in the music diary has been hijacked by the huge labels that need no help with their multi-million selling artists and even those successful smaller bands that have the power to shift a few hundred limited edition 7”. They are clogging up the pressing plants with an array of picture discs and one off special releases when labels with new music to release and try and sell are suffering.

 

On the other hand, you may be the young, teenage collector who will be outside your local participating record shop at 5.30am on the Saturday morning with your money from a part-time job burning a hole in your pocket, desperate for the CHVRCHES or Honeyblood  7”. In which case, this must be the longest month since you got your last Advent Calendar.

Not really a Noel Gallagher record review

If the music critics are to believed, the Nineteen Nineties were a long time ago. Britpop, Oasis, Blur, Nirvana, Jarvis at the Brits and everything that the decade had to offer is the dark ages. The Eighties on the other hand, oh no, you can sample that till your hearts content and be call mavericks and trail blazers. If you dare to sound anything like a band from the end of the 20^th Century you are castigated and flogged in the public of the music press for being nostalgically stuck in a time that was of its time.

 

For some people, me included, it was a golden age. Our Sixties, and if anyone wants to sound like that time that’s fine with me, but dare to be a lo-fi early part of the decade fuzz, grunge, garage band, you are looked down the reviewer’s nose at. If you have an Oasis influence then you are a Dad Rock band and dismissed. No-one is allowed to wear their influence of that musical period on their sleeve.

 

This week saw the release of the second solo album by a Mr Noel Gallagher. Since the announcement of the record back in October last year, we’ve been given tit bits and vox pops from him regarding the songs and the styles and words and phrases such as “Space Jazz” and “Saxophone solos” were floated. Over the past couple of weeks there have been magazine playbacks and streams on iTunes so that by the time it was released on Monday every music mag and website and national papers  had an opinion. They seemed to think they were going to be listening to the creation of a new genre. Well they were obviously disappointed as the average reviews that came tumbling out seemed to suggest it was a let-down.

 

Interestingly, there were comments and statuses and tweets to the contrary. These may well have been uber-Oasis/Noel fans (although a large number of Oasis fans seem to think ALL of Noel’s solo stuff could benefit from Liam’s sneer) who would have given 5 stars to the sound of Noel farting into a crisp packet, but at least there was a Yang to the music press Ying.

 

I’ve listened to it. I’ve listened to it a lot now, and I think it’s a brilliant record. BUT, I didn’t after the first listen. It did seem a bit mid tempo, a bit MOR and not as immediate as his debut. I was probably influenced by the critics. Where was the space jazz?? But seriously, SPACE JAZZ. Who honestly believed it would be some bizarre, brass covered Miles Davis tribute dragged into 2015.

 

What did they expect? That Noel would abandon everything about his legacy and become a dub-jazz-trad-prog pioneer? Whatever that is!

 

Maybe some of these people are too young, too old, were more of a dance music fan, or have such expectations that Noel was going to produce a Sgt Pepper/Dark Side of the Moon magnus opus.

 

This record is a step forward for Noel. Even he admits himself that this isn’t the sort of music he would have made 10-15 years ago. The fact there is a saxophone on there at all is testament to that. The Right Stuff is a huge departure from anything he has done in the past. He might not appreciate me saying this but there is an element of trip-hop and acid jazz, that the likes of Zero 7 were doing in the early 00's. The prominent female vocals at the forefront of the mix attests to this, with an ambient feel much like early Doves on their debut. Two thirds of Doves make up the core of touring support for Noel in Black Rivers which could indicate Noel's taste at the moment.

 

The thing is though, I'm an unapologetic Noel fan. I'm a big fan. I'm a fanboy. The man is the greatest songwriter of the past 20 years, with only Paul Draper and Alex Turner coming close. In Definitely Maybe and What's the Story Morning Glory he wrote two of the greatest albums of the past 25 years. Then you take the singles off Be Here Now, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, Don't Believe the Truth, Heathen Chemistry and Dig out your Soul and you have a monumental discography. There are other great tracks hidden amongst otherwise hit and miss albums but take a look at that list of singles across the Oasis tenure and then the singles from his two solo records so far. It stands up with the very best. Supersonic, Shakermaker, Cigarettes and Alcohol, Live Forever, Some Might Say, Roll with it, Wonderwall, Don't Look Back in Anger, D'ya know what I mean, Stand by Me, All around the World, Go Let it Out, Sunday Morning Call, Hindu Times, Stop crying your heart out, Little by Little, Lyla, The Importance of being Idle, Let there be Love, Lord don't slow me down, Shock of the Lightning, Falling Down, The Death of you and me, If I had a Gun, What a Life, Dream on, Everybody's on the run, In the Heat of the Moment and Ballad of the Might I. Don't get me started on B-sides as some of them will trump the A-sides.

 

Across generations people have had their heroes. Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Ray Davies, Dave Davies, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Johnny Marr, Morrissey, John Squire, Ian Brown, David Bowie etc etc. Noel Gallagher is MY music hero*. Oasis were my band in the mid nineties and he was the gov'ner. He was the star, the icon, the God like genius.

 

 

 

*Paul Draper is also my hero, but I couldn't really say that in an article Noel Gallagher now could I?

 

 

Music Paranoia

I’m feeling a bit panicky, a little bit anxious.

 

I’m getting married in 14 weeks. I’m not, as you would have thought, worried about my impending wedding. No, no. That’s all very much in hand. I mean, there are a few creases to iron out, a couple of invites to send out (all of them. Bar two) the food, the drink, the rings, the transport to arrange. No, it’s none of these things. It’s not even my job. I’m fairly unhappy in my job, but who isn’t? Hands up who loves their job? Sorry, I don’t believe you.

 

No, I’m getting worried about music. I’m nervous about all the new albums and songs being released this year. I’m concerned I’m missing out on something. That something is slipping under the radar. I’m also uneasy about how much of it is really, really, really good. It’s still only February for crying out loud. I was relieved that I listened to something last week and didn’t like it. It was quite a nice feeling. Basically everything I have paid special attention to in the past two months has been ace. I have got three albums this year so far and they are all brilliant. Menace Beach’s debut, Desperate Journalist first release and the return of Idlewild. Noel Gallagher’s second LP will land next week and I’ve pre-ordered the Eaves record. Laura Marling has her 5^th album coming out next month and Stornoway release their 3^rd full length. I also have tickets to see them in April and May respectively.

 

There are new bands and artists prodding me constantly in the lugholes, GoldFlakePaint website seem to have an ear for great stuff and I’ve been gravitating to their writing which is quite different and very engaging. I’m now panicking that I’m forgetting something really great that I’ve heard recently. Ben Ottewell, the one from Gomez with the 40-a-day, 60 year olds voice has recently released his second record and it’s flippin’ excellent. He’s playing in two local towns soon. See what I mean!?!?

 

The other thing is, is that I become obsessed with a record. If you read my twitter feed you will know I tend to bang on about a band or artist if I have them on repeat. Currently it is the new Idlewild record and it’s so damn fine, not least because there was an accompanying acoustic album with it recorded on their Highlands tour last year. Before it was those Desperate Journalist and Menace Beach L.P’s. I basically submerge myself in an album until the next one comes along.

 

What isn’t helping my almost OCD like vinyl fixation is that the Idlewild double discs were damaged and faulty. A replacement was so close but also kept sticking, and I am awaiting a resolution to this issue with Pledge Music, but the lack of satisfactory vinyl is making me anxious and fidgety. It’s such a dense, lush, atmospheric, beautiful piece of work that I feel that listening to it on my Ipod isn’t doing it justice. I need the record, on my player, headphones on.

 

One symptom of the obsession is having various parts of different songs going through my head pretty much constantly. Right now, it’s the harmonies in the verses of ‘Every little means trust’. Now it’s the chorus, basically because I just wrote the name of the song down. If I write ‘Utopia’, bang, there you go. The “U-U-U-Utopia” refrain is running through my brain. I’ve just started to listen to the great new Tree Machines track ‘F*cking off Today’ because the title that runs through the chorus came into my head. I’m almost concerned that if I find I like any more of their stuff then that’s another band to add to the list.

 

Another symptom is discovering a new band/artist/record and then desperately wanting to buy vinyl. Sometimes it may just be that I like the look of the artwork or coloured vinyl, an example is the limited edition version of the new Father John Misty record. Multi-coloured vinyl that looks like it has been painted on with pastels and smudged. Really nice. The music hasn’t exactly grabbed me by the balls but I felt the compulsion to buy the L.P on the coloured vinyl alone. I resisted. I was strong. How ridiculous.

 

When I think about buying the vinyl or when I listen to a song, I picture myself listening to it on vinyl. I daydream about what it would or will be like to have the record delivered, opening the cardboard packaging, taking off the cellophane, pulling the sleeve out, placing it on the turntable and putting the headphones on and settling down to listen to it. It’s all a bit “High Fidelity” and overly romanticised as the atmosphere of my flat never lives up to the imagined perfect setting, but the same feeling and belief enters my head every time.

 

I tried to convince myself, last year, that there would only be certain albums that I would need to buy on vinyl, some I would still get on CD. With the issues with the Idlewild vinyl, I started to tell myself that I could just have the CD because, actually, three tracks on each side of vinyl is quite annoying to have to keep getting up to turn over or change. Then on my other shoulder, I tell myself that that is, in fact, the whole point of buying the vinyl instead of the CD or download. The experience. This side also convinces me that there isn’t any point in buying the CD as all new releases, in the majority of cases, provide a download code, so I can have my cake, eat it, and then have more cake whenever I want it.

 

I am also now worried that the Noel Gallagher and Eaves vinyls won’t play without skipping or sticking. This is isn’t exactly a 21^st century concern. When all you could listen to your music on was vinyl, this would have been a constant headache for music lovers. At least I have the consolation of the download on my MP3 player, you say. You are right of course, but it isn’t the same. Although obviously very convenient for the train journey to work.

 

I feel this has been a cathartic experience for me. I was concerned that I was being irrational, but getting my concerns off of my chest has made me confront my anxiety about something that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. After all, I’m getting married in 3 months. I wonder if I could take my record player to the venue? What if they get dropped, someone scratches them? Oh for goodness sake!!