I turned forty this year and Sherry wanted to throw a big party for me that included family and friends. My family wanted to know what to get me so I advised Sherry to tell them “vinyl.” What I meant was “go to a record store that has used vinyl and pick something out– even if I might already have it.” What I got for vinyl was all new vinyl, but some very cool stuff nonetheless!
Black Mountain – In The Future (2 LP, Jagjaguwar JAG90, 2008) (gift) This one was a complete surprise! While I was familiar with Jagjaguwar (home of blog-friendly bands like Okkervil River, Oakley Hall, Bon Iver, and Sunset Rubdown) but not Black Mountain. I’m floored by this album! Psych/Folk/Metal– would be a good companion to Thrill Jockey bands Arbouretum or Pontiak. 180g in a sweet gatefold. Also comes with 192Kbps mp3 download. I’ve listened to this album 5 or 6 times already on the iPhone, but I need to spend some time with the vinyl, for sure. The song “Wucan” was included in the Spiderman III soundtrack.
Beck – Modern Guilt (LP, DGC Records B0011630-01, 2008) (gift) Right now this is my favorite Beck album EVER. Produced by Dangermouse of Gnarls Barkley fame. Just brilliant, whatever. Comes with nifty 320Kbps mp3 download that they claim was ripped from the vinyl master, but I have my doubts. They could have added the needle drop and pickup noises afterwords. Still, way cool. 180g
The Traveling Wilburys – The Traveling Wilburys Collection (3 LP, Rhino R2 167868, 2007) (gift) Sheesh, this is the motherlode! This is the 180g vinyl boxset version of the much-awaited re-release of the Traveling Wilburys catalog. Most folks know the story: Petty and Jeff Lynne were working together around the same time George Harrison was working on Cloud 9 and ended up working together with Dylan on “Handle With Care.” This spawnned the most unlikely supergroup ever when they included Roy Orbison. The first album took off with two huge singles. Orbison passes away but the group decides to carry on and record the sarcastically-named Traveling Wilburys III. Time passes, the catalog goes out-of-print, Harrison passes and Petty feels like he shouldn’t perform any of the material until Harrison’s widow requests it. This starts the ball rolling to get the albums back in print. Thankfully, too, as the eBay prices for the album were approaching $50, not to mention all of the bootlegging that was happening. This box includes both of the albums plus an LP of bonus material from the singles and b-sides. The box includes a booklet of history and non-history of the band. The LP’s are in their original sleeves, and the box includes a set of postcards that must have been used to promote the records when they first came out.
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals – Cardinology (LP, Lost Highway B0012195-01, 2008) ($17.95) I’ve written about this on the blog before. This is the very limited pressing of Cardinology that comes with special artwork done by Leah Hayes. It is pressed in Red, clear vinyl and came with a special 7″ and a comic that illustrates the lyrics of the album. Amazing version of this album and completely blows-away the likely “robot cardinal” black-and-blue cover of the future pressings. Comes with the same 320Kbps “vinyl rip” mp3 download. According to posts Ryan has made to his blog, he is considering making his next release a vinyl-only release, which would be interesting.
