Category a) Sixties and earlier [0 – 1969]
HOT ROCKS
After the lively conversation about Goats Head Soup, I thought I’d better redeem myself with a truly timeless collection of early Rolling Stones hits. * There have been too many Stones compilations to count, but Hot Rocks 1964—1971, one of the early ones, is amongst the best and has rarely been out of print. Originally […]
BOXING DAY [PART 2]
More CD boxed sets that somehow found their way into Vinyl Connection headquarters during 2022. * This beautifully curated set has facsimile album covers, including the gatefolds. Several albums have bonus tracks, mostly live, and the booklet is high quality too. All in all, a set I was delighted to have as I’ve never owned […]
BOXING DAY
Let’s get the bleeding obvious out of the way from the start. I love vinyl and have acquired more than a couple of discs this past year. But it sure is an expensive obsession. One of the features of my 2022 purchasing has been the discovery of how many excellent CD boxed sets are out […]
SAUCERFUL OF SYD
The debut album by Pink Floyd was a teacup full to the brim with whimsy and swirling acid drenched psychedelia, courtesy of founding member Syd Barrett. The sad tale of Syd’s decline is well known yet remains poignant; how he simply stopped playing during concerts, becoming unreliable in both engagements and relationships. The pressure to […]
SHOOTOUT AT THE ZEPPELIN CORRAL
Recently I read an entertaining article from the Washington Post about comparing different pressings of LPs and a chap whose life mission it is to establish the ‘best’ version.* The audiophile in question is a person of very strong opinions, and very confident in expressing them. It reminded me of the time I was asked […]
MILES’ BLUE FIRE
Revered as one of the most influential jazz albums of all time, Kind of Blue is kinda slippery to get a handle on. Not a frustrating kind of slippery like soap in the bath, nor the dodgy kind of slippery of a pub deal too good to be true; what Kind of Blue offers is […]
SEVEN YEARS OF TEN YEARS AFTER
Guitar slinger Alvin Lee had been playing for several years before the group Ten Years After coalesced just in time to get a residency at London’s famed Marquee Club in late 1966. Having fleshed out their sound by adding piano player ‘Chick’ Churchill, the band signed with Decca’s progressive Deram label on the back of […]
ALBUM COVERS | ARTIST PORTRAITS PART 3
Welcome to the final part of this meandering series of album covers featuring what we will loosely call portraits of the band. Once again we’ll begin in the 1960s, with an all-time favourite. I love the way artist/designer Bernard Yeszin utilised the television image of The Monkees (Davey’s shirt, Mike’s beanie) to create an engaging […]
ALBUM COVERS | 10 MORE ARTIST PORTRAITS
More album cover art with an emphasis on art. Here are ten record covers with portraits of the artist. Some are from the Vinyl Connection collection, a couple were sourced from the internet. Several were suggested in the comments section of the initial post and are gratefully included. Let’s continue the pattern of starting with […]
8 ALBUM COVERS WITH GROUP PORTRAITS
From the time TheBeatles opted to use Klaus Voorman’s charming portraits of the fab four on their seminal 1966 album, bands have commissioned visual artists to represent themselves on their musical offerings. Here is a selection. * With graphics by Linda Guymon and Art Direction by Richard Roth, this 1975 compilation of Rolling Stones ‘Rarities’ […]
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