I’ve reached the stage where I own just above every piece of vinyl that I truly want. Yes, there’s still loads out there that would be nice to have, but there are no more ‘Holy Grails’ on which to waste spend countless hours wading through on-line sellers on the likes of Discogs.
I’ve done OK over the years when it comes to buying through Discogs. I’d reckon maybe as many as 95% of the transactions have been, at the minimum, satisfactory. with quite a few exceeding my expectations in terms of how the condition of the vinyl and/or sleeve were in on arrival. Of the few that have left me down, one was a 7″ single from the Happy Mondays, that I was keen to get a hold of as the edits were seemingly otherwise unavailable.
Within seconds of it going on the turntable, I knew it had been misleadingly sold, as there was no way it could be described as ‘Very Good +’, given how much surface noise, static and popping was coming through the speakers. Fearing damage to my stylus, it was very quickly removed. I did turn it over to the b-side, but it was almost as bad, and again the needle was quickly removed from the groove.
I have managed to get my hands on both edits, so while these aren’t from my own vinyl, given that a copy, albeit an unplayable one, is sitting here in Villain Towers, I have no qualms above featuring the songs in this series:-
mp3 : Happy Mondays – Loose Fit (edit)
mp3 : Happy Mondays – Bob’s Yer Uncle (edit)
The original versions are both on the album Pills ‘N’ Thrills And Bellyaches. This was the third single to be lifted from the album, and it reached #17 in March 1991.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Enjoyed that!!
Winter InMaypark
I have been unlucky with vinyl purchases many times… and that includes brand new releases and reissues in the last decade or so. One of the worst Discogs mishaps of the used variety occurred when a 12” EP from the Mighty Lemon Drops with the ultra-thin paper sleeve arrived from across the Atlantic in a plain old unpadded envelope like it was an inquiry from an insurance agent. It had more bends than a 90-year-old’s back. This was at least 10 years ago, but the wound still feels fresh.
(Replying to Brian): Wow, amazing the vinyl itself survived. I’m downright paranoid when I send records through the post, I know there’s plenty sent safely in amazingly thin mailers but with me it’s always at least a double thickness of corrugated cardboard, with the corrugations at right angles. And DO NOT BEND in big letters even though it’s unlikely it’ll be read by any human being until it’s in the postie’s hands just outside the delivery address.
I’ve had a few that sound pretty awful, having been described as VG or NM, but cleaning them really made a difference. A couple I had recently smelt a little musty, so I kind of had a good idea how they’d sound – and I was right. A quick run through my Knosti record cleaner and they sound almost brand new.
I’d always recommend a clean of anything you buy used, though even brand new stuff tends to be rather grubby. In fact, some of the dirtiest things I’ve had were brand new and shrink-wrapped.
Superb pop song,
SC