Kid Waxing Vinyl

I’ve never been one of those too-cool-for-school vinyl-collecting cred-hounds. I have three pairs of Chuck Taylor shoes but – gasp – don’t wear think-framed specs and would almost always buy an album on CD if available. Yes, I have an LP collection of choice albums (all either inherited or bought cheap) but, again, would still much rather be practical when possible, Rob Gordon be damned. All that said, I get it. Hold a vinyl copy of Let it Bleed in your hands and you’ll get it, too. Scratch that, Exile on Main St. If the thick, heavy dustiness alone doesn’t do it for you, put Side Two on the turntable and turn it up. Sound different than your CD? Certain albums just sound better on vinyl. Warmer. Sweet, crackling hums. Yummy. If you’re like me you’ve gone through a number of old thrift shop and garage sale turntables in your day, never quite able to find a player that’s both reasonably priced and reliable – something to play that Streetlamps for Spotlights 7″ on. This all comes to mind after a quick but exciting chat with Wooden Nickel manager Zach Smith, who informed me that his store might begin to carry new, reasonably priced turntables. Yes, there are already places around town where you can acquire a decent table, but, given that they’ve become niche items, in most cases you’ll either overpay or buy a way too souped up (and therefore expensive) table meant for DJ or hip-hop production use. I, for one, have needed a new table for a good while now. Here are is the standard batch of LPs – chosen because they fit into the above mentioned “sounds better on vinyl” category – I hope to have crackling through my apartment soon:

The Stooges’ Fun House: This record, not The Velvet Underground’s debut, is the drop-dead album everyone should hear on LP at least once. The Stooges have two other great albums that I’m sure sound great on LP, too, but this is one, complete with beautiful gatefold packaging, is a monster. I don’t know much about vinyl-to-CD transfers, but the “raw power” of this record can only truly be heard when played loud on a turntable. Find it on eBay or as a reissue.

Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska: Springsteen’s famous back-pocket masterpiece sounds even more dark, desolate and beautiful on LP than it does on CD, almost as if the man himself is sitting on the couch across the room, belting away with black eyes and a hangover. Usually easy to find used and made perfect for beating the emo out of your Hot Topic-loving cousin.

Neil Young’s Tonight’s the Night: There has always been something very “punk” and rebellious about Neil Young, and this, his by-far darkest record, could make even the most posh Manhattan high rise crumble. Part country, part rock, part punk, the honesty and late-night soul of this startling – and often overlooked – classic resonates with even more heart when played on dusty vinyl. Relatively easy to find either online or, if you’re lucky, at Wooden Nickel.

Joni Mitchell’s Blue: You might not know it from the CD version of this album, but Blue is one of the most beautiful singer/songwriter albums ever made. Similar to the way a keyboard will never quite sound as rich as a real piano, the vocals and mostly piano-based compositions on Blue were made to be heard on thick, poppy wax. Easy to find, sometimes pricey.

The Rolling Stones’ Let it Bleed, Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St.: If you’re a regular Ease reader you probably don’t need this stretch of albums explained to you. They sound good on CD, but even gooder on LP. Sticky and Exile are usually very easy to find copies of – can’t say the same for Bleed or Beggars. I’m givin ‘em Goats Head Soup, too.

Paul & Linda McCartney’s Ram: I’m stumped. I’m not exactly sure what it is about this 12-song masterpiece that makes it sound so much better than – All Things Must Pass aside – the rest of the post-Beatles albums on LP. Maybe it’s just that the material included, every last drop of it, is amazing. Or maybe it’s the bedroom production? Listen to this one on LP or CD; it has such a warm, fuzzy and friendly vibe to it. Relatively easy to find.

The Beatles’ White Album: I’ll never forgive myself for selling my A+ copy of this LP in a pinch a couple of years ago. This double album’s lengthy playlist – which is just about as good as any album ever made – is much less overwhelming when split up into four sides. Is the nine-song Side Two the best single side ever released in pop music? Hell yes. This one’s not too hard to find, but you’d better bring some extra bread if you want a decent copy.

Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline: If there’s one Dylan album that still sounds exponentially better on LP, it’s this acquired-taste country album. Bob Johnston’s production translates fine on CD, but put this sucker on a turntable in a room with high ceiling, turn it up loud and try not to get goosebumps. Not so easy to find a good original copy of, though it, like many of Dylan’s classics, is now available as a 180-gram reissue.

The Kinks’ Muswell Hillbillys, The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo and The Band’s Music From Big Pink: Play these three purposefully dusty pre-Americana LPs in a row if you haven’t yet figured out the difference between vinyl and CD listening dynamics. Actually, you might not find Sweetheart or Muswell, so just play Big Pink twice and, say, The Clash’s The Clash. (Be sure to turn that one up!) Or, if you can find it, a copy of Tom Waits’ Rain Dogs.

Other must-hear LPs: R.E.M.’s Chronic Town (thus far only ever properly release on LP); The Beatles’ Abbey Road (Side Two, duh); Guided by Voices’ Alien Lanes; Elvis Costello’s My Aim is True; Todd Rundgren’s Somethings/Anything?; Sebadoh’s Bakesale; The Who’s Tommy and Who’s Next; John Prine’s John Prine; and, of course, just about any Led Zeppelin, especially Physical Graffiti. Or any Toots & the Maytals, which I’ve never been able to find on LP but imagine would sound amazing. Looking for a new/current artist who record albums made to be heard on LP? Look no further than Times New Viking’s latest album, Rip It Off.

Written by G. William Locke