Exceptions to the rule...

3-17-09 Artists with exceptions to the rule: their output stinks – except for this amazing single! Or vice versa.

Fairly similar to yesterday’s topic, eh?

I am big on singles at the moment, so I’ve been looking at my 45’s recently, and nothing really comes to mind in this particular avenue. There are certainly a number of artists that I have 1 x 45rpm of, and no LP or CD. Lots of late 60’s singles, for instance.

The ordinary method would be something like, hear an interesting song, try the album. Only a handful of times I heard a good song, tried the LP and didn’t keep the LP. I’ve never been a flavor of the month kind of record collector – I never bought anything new because it was ‘what I was supposed to do’ – I always followed my nose.

One big surprise for the new century – I actually like 20+ track “Time-Life” compilation CD’s! They usually have the ‘right’ version of a song (single vers.?), and with 20+ tracks to a disc, they’re ‘packed’. In some cases, having these compilations means I will likely not ever go for a whole LP by an artist I am otherwise disinclined towards. But I am always a sucker for an inexpensive original 45 of a late 60’s / early 70’s song that I like (having recently purchased an ‘old gold’ 45 of Pipkins “Gimme Dat Ding” on Capitol). OK, I’d buy a Pipkins LP / CD, if it crossed my path – but I would never mail-order one from amazon.co.uk! And I have no idea if their LP is any good, never had a copy.

I am less-enchanted with Rhino’s ‘by year’ Billboard compilations – a measly 10 tracks per disc! (I’ve been finding them used, very inexpensively, which is why I own any of ‘em). Sure, licensing fees are up there, but – 10 tracks!? And they pretty much always use the right version. Rhino’s compilations tend to be pretty good – I can only think of one major mastering flaw (a really rough-sounding “Twine Time” by Alvin Cash & The Crawlers is in the “Big Ol’ Box of Soul” 6CD set).

Can’t always come up with the exact nature of the request, Jim-san. Perhaps it’s a classification issue. If I think an artist’s output stinks, I am not very likely to have even a passing interest in their work. I don’t want to name names. Email me and I’ll tell you who I can’t abide. Let’s keep things civil, here in the blog-o-sphere…is that like a bathosphere?