Vinyl Vednesday 10/14

[Vinyl Vednesday is a new weekly feature about three favorite vinyl finds. It’s not meant to be a dick-measuring contest, but it kinda is. E-mail pelonej1@gmail.com with your own big finds!]

Records: Adam Ants’ Friend or Foe (1982) on black, The Mountain Goats’ The Life of the World to Come (2009) on translucent purple, and a re-release of Sunny Day Real Estate’s LP2/“Pink Album” (2009) on pink marble.

Place of Purchase: All three came from Siren Records in Doylestown, Pa. I recently stripped down my CD collection, as I A) am running out of room, B) needed cash to fuel my music obsession, and C) don’t listen to System of a Down or Coheed and Cambria that much anymore. In today’s economy, Siren only does store credit, though. Given that the owner gave me $150 in store credit, though, I was OK with this.

Quality: Adam Ant's tribal drumming post-punk boasted some pretty great hits (“Stand and Deliver,” “Physical (You’re So)”). Friend or Foe is arguably the last completely essential Ant record, and also his first solo outing since the dissolution of Adam and The Ants. The record dips a little in spots, but it’s bolstered by hit singles “Friend or Foe” and “Goody Two Shoes.” He does a good job with the Doors’ “Hello, I Love You,” although I prefer the Missing Persons’ version.

The Life of the World to Come is far and away my favorite album of 2009. I like it so much I wrote 1,300+ words on it. My girlfriend noticed one copy of the album on vinyl that was different from the others: A limited edition purple pressing, individually numbered (Mine is 074 of 777). A devout TMG fan but also a loving girlfriend, she tossed it my way. It’s a beautiful gatefold, and the recording sounds pretty full. Granted, it was probably recorded digitally, thereby reducing the difference between vinyl and CD, but the effort is still appreciated. Not a fan of having to flip the record every three songs or so, but I’ll deal.

“The Pink Album” is the only SDRE album I don’t have an original pressing of on vinyl. It’s always been my least favorite album of theirs, so I never put much effort into obtaining it. Prior to hearing this remaster, it sounded like an unfinished album to me, which, given that the band broke up before LP2’s completion, it kind of is. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have bothered with this re-release (with two bonus tracks) if I didn’t have store credit. But I’m glad I hopped on it – the remaster sounds amazing, bringing LP2 much closer to sounding like a finished album. Plus, it’s on colored vinyl. Plus plus, it came with a sticker and a button. More bands should do this. Now I’m seriously considering checking out the remaster for Diary as well.