In this second edition of Vinyl Frontiers , I'm listening to King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King (An Observation By King Crimson) . Originally released in 1969, this is a 1970 ILPS 9111 edition in mint condition that was printed in England. This was very definitely my mum's LP, hippie flower child that she was, but she can't remember when she bought it. While she remembers buying a copy with my uncle in her late teens, that was stolen along with the rest of my uncle's record collection. This copy was either bought in England in the late 70s (given the edition, I think this is most likely) or South Africa again in the early 80s. Strangely enough, I didn't really like this album as a child, being somewhat terrified by the man on the cover and it wasn't until my early 20s that I realised how much I loved the music. Turns out my mum had managed to play it enough, scary cover withstanding, for it to become one of my favourites. I can't h...
This is the first in a series which I'll call Vinyl Frontiers, whereby I'll listen to my record collection from left to right. I expect I'll listen to a fair number of rubbish albums but for the most part I'm looking forward to reliving my dad's progressive rock and my collection of 80s synth pop. The first selection is a weird one because I don't think I bought many compilations or best of LPs. It is The Best of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark , OMD's greatest hits album that was released in South Africa in March 1988. I mention the location because one thing that is obvious between South African and international releases is the quality of the vinyl. I suspect when I get on to my father's early records, I'll notice the superior quality but this imprint definitely didn't blow me away. I bought this album with my birthday money on my 15th birthday. OMD had their greatest success in the first half of the 80s and "Enola Gay" was o...