On Record With Imagine Echoes




With vinyl making a big resurgence in recent years, there are plenty of new vinyl fans out there.  While MP3s are quickly becoming the mass consumer format, vinyl records are taking over as the format of choice among collectors of all ages.  In light of that, I took the opportunity to speak with a recent vinyl convert about why he made the jump and how his collection is coming.  Jeff is a music fan with wide-ranging tastes who, until a year or so ago, had never owned a record.  Now, he has over 150!  In addition to building his collection, he’s also the auther of the well-respected blog, Imagine Echoes where you can find his reviews, thoughts and ideas along with a regular feature he calls "Another Week, Another Vinyl" which chronicles his growing addiction to the only format that really lasts.

How old are you? Vinyl’s heyday was really before your time. What interested you in the format?


I’m 23 years old. Growing up I was a big fan of classic rock and it was almost inevitable for me to have an interest in vinyl. I would sift through my parents milk crates of records and would marvel at the enlarged artwork and inserts. I suppose the most interesting characteristics of vinyl which drew me in are their strong connection to classic rock, the collecting aspect, the sound quality and enlarged artwork.

What year did you buy your first album? What format was it? When did you start buying vinyl?


I bought my first album in 1994. I have a tough time remembering whether it was Green Day’s Dookie or Aerosmith’s Big Ones. Either way, I bought each of them within a very short time period and both had a pretty substantial impact on me. My parents had always been slow to adapting new technology so I owned both albums on cassette. I would play both albums non-stop on my cheap and ugly yellow walkman which led to my walkman biting the dust just a week after its purchase. Luckily a few months later I had finally received my first CD player.

When did you start buying vinyl?

I started buying vinyl around a year ago when I was offered to review vinyl versions of Boston’s self title album and Blue Oyster Cult’s Agents of Fortune. It was the offer of free remastered vinyls which pushed me to make the commitment to the format. The day I bought my turntable I headed straight over to my local record store and limited myself to one used record which was Remember the Future by Nektar.

Now that you’ve gotten into it, what makes vinyl special?


It’s difficult to specifically say what makes the vinyl format so special. One of my favorite facets of vinyl is the collecting aspect. Since I’m relatively new to the format it’s a load of fun going into a record store and browsing through rows of records and never knowing what I might find. Some days I will come home with an album I’m disappointed in and on other occasions I will be tempted to purchase the entire store. The knowledge of realizing that many of these records I purchase were pressed back in the 60s and 70s instead of being newly remastered albums adds to the personal appeal.

Do you look for new releases on vinyl or do you mostly buy older used records?


I mostly buy older used records, but whenever there is a new release there’s no question that I would prefer it on vinyl in comparison to digital or CD. I try to get out to the record store once a week to pick up one or two used records.

Do you still buy CDs when an album is available on vinyl?

The only time I would do that is if it was also released on SACD (Super Audio CD) or DVD-A (DVD Audio.) I’m a really big fan of those two formats mainly for their ability to deliver true surround sound mixes. Sadly these formats receive very little attention from labels and music listeners, but on the bright side, Genesis recently came out with some wonderful 5.1 surround sound mixes and King Crimson is set to release a number of their albums on DVD-A in the near future.

What are your favorite stores to buy vinyl? What makes them special?

I predominately go to two record stores. My main focus is Atomic CD’s in Pt. Pleasant, NJ which is the closest store to me. The owner has a bias towards the punk genre which worked well for me when I was in High School looking to pick up CDs from bands like Minor Threat, The Adverts, Bad Brains and The Dead Kennedy’s. I feel like I have a stronger personal connection to the store since I’ve been shopping there for a good chunk of my life.  The second store I go to is called The Record Store in Howell, NJ – clearly a very original name. It’s a bit further in distance from my house but their selection is always strong and they also appear to be pretty strict when it comes to policing the quality of vinyl they allow in. I’ve never purchased an album that was less than VG.

What are some of the gems in your collection?

The album I’m most proud of in my collection is The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. It may sound rather unimpressive to major record collectors, but I don’t know of anyone personally who owns the album. What’s also great about that record is it plays flawlessly without a hiss or crack.


My second favorite gem is a bootleg from The Who called Tales from the Who. It was the last album produced by the incredibly important bootleggers, Trademark of Quality. According to cover artist William Stout, TMQ had destroyed all of their Tales from the Who albums after receiving heat from federal authorities, and only 120 copies of Tales from The Who made it to store shelves.

What are some titles you’d really like to add?

Ever since I bought a turntable I’ve had an insatiable desire to own every King Crimson album from In the Court of the Crimson King to Red. For some reason I’ve never seen a Crimson album present in any of my local record stores. It wasn’t until I had to go out to South Carolina for work where I would eventually find an amazing record store called Papa Jazz Record Shoppe, lucky for me they had a copy of Red. I realize I could easily purchase these albums online, but I try to stay away from Ebay and stick to record stores. However, if I go another year without finding any Crimson albums, I might have to revert to the online auctioneer.

If you could pick a real rarity to stumble upon at a yard sale or flea market, what would it be?

The first rarity that comes to mind is an original 7" of Nirvana’s first single "Love Buzz". While highly unlikely, I can see this as a record which could slip through the cracks and be sold at a yard sale for a small price and unbeknownst to the owner, an original "Love Buzz" could easily fetch over $1,000.

Is there anything coming out soon on vinyl that you’re really looking forward to?

I’m really excited for Muse’s newest album The Resistance set to be released in September. I’m not sure about the details regarding a vinyl version, but I will certainly be looking forward to listening to Muse in analog.

On your blog, Imagine Echoes, you periodically write about collecting vinyl. What specifically do you touch on there?

I run a weekly column detailing my used record purchase of the week. I typically try to go into the condition of the record I purchase as well as the artwork and what’s included in the package. I also briefly touch on the music without going into a full fledged review; it’s a good way to bring back memories for people who had purchased these records many years ago.

How do you see things playing out commercially with vinyl, CD and digital releases over the next few years?

I think the death of the CD is nearly as inevitable as the death of the cassette. I think it’s demise will be slow and painful and may hold on for a little while due to practically all major forms of media being on disc (i.e. Movies and Video Games.) Currently the compact disc is a part of the fabric of our society, but in terms of music, we’re quickly forgetting.


I see MP3s continuing on strong, and quite honestly, I can’t imagine anything which could knock it off its pedestal. While I am a huge advocate of physical formats, the ease and convenience of an MP3 is unquestionable.


I believe vinyl will continue to slowly make a resurgence as we’ve seen, but never come close to the popularity of the digital format. While I want to hesitate from calling it a niche market, in reality, this is probably the case.  Vinyl won’t die because those who listen to it have an incredibly strong connection to the format. CDs were never able to obtain that kind of relationship among music listeners that vinyl has been able to maintain over the years. Vinyl records have a devoted fan base, and it’s very easy to get caught up in the mystique. While formats like the cassette, 8-track and even the CD fall by the wayside, vinyl will continue to please new generations of music fans.


You can read Jeff’s blog at http://www.imagineechoes.com



&am

Related Content

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter