A vinyl LP3
Writing about the new records I bought sounds more fun than a political post right now.
I went to Recycled Records with a bias for famous cover art and packing. I got Blind Faith, which has some of the best songs Steven Winwood or Eric Clapton ever did, and Led Zeppelin's double album Physical Graffiti, with the funky windows on the outer cover that can show different scenes when you re-insert the inner album covers.
I almost skipped the Led Zeppelin album because classic rock radio ruined 1/3 of their songs by overplaying them endlessly. But, the album has a few songs I didn't recognize from my older brother's box set I always listened to and I'm glad I got it. I also picked up a lesser known Byrds album I haven't seen on CD, The Notorious Byrd Brothers.
I'm most excited about a new vinyl LP of a new album by a new band. The Shepherd's Dog by Iron and Wine is a recently released album that comes with a coupon for a free MP3 download of the entire album. This is perfect!
If I want to listen to the entire album at home I have the vinyl LP. If I want a song on my MP3 player for the road, I've got the download. If every album were released this way I wouldn't buy another CD. I'm calling it a LP3. I saw that Beck did the same thing with his last album. I wish I had known before I got it on CD. If the sound quality on a new vinyl record is any worse than a CD, I can't hear the difference.
I saw Iron & Wine give an excellent show at Lollapalooza this year. They play with a mix of modern and traditional instruments to create the kind of blend of traditional, modern alternative and instrumental jams that rarely finds its way onto formatted corporate radio. The album is worth checking out if you've never heard of them.
Comments
I love the LP3 concept! Now that my turntable is fixed and I'm spinning tunes again happily, I would love to buy all my new music this way. The sound of a vinyl LP may not be as perfect as the digital version, but I'm not a music snob and I like the way vinyl sounds. I like holding that big vinyl LP in my hands and looking at the artwork. It's just not the same with a CD at all!
Posted by: Kathy at Stingfield.com | October 30, 2008 9:10 AM
Kathy, all the years that I bought CD's I was jealous of the big album covers with cool artwork that you can't fit on a little CD case.
The industry got a little better about reproducing album covers with some special re-issues. I have a "limited" edition CD of the Rolling Stones album, Some Girls, with the cover that will show different pictures when you re-insert the inner album cover, similar to Physical Graffiti. I remember thinking how cool it was that they reproduced the original album art with two sleeves for the CD because usually they don't bother. It's still not the same as the full size album though. I'm on the look out for their Sticky Fingers album with the working zipper. Some of my favorite Stones songs are on that one.
Posted by: Will | October 30, 2008 12:06 PM