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You are here: Home / Features / One Year of TheVinylPress

One Year of TheVinylPress

February 2, 2016 by Bill Hart

 

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One Year of TheVinylPress.com

Self-congratulatory pieces are usually distasteful to me. But, I wanted to mark the first anniversary of TheVinylPress.com for several reasons. This all started rather innocuously- and for entirely selfish reasons. I got serious about hunting for the best sounding vinyl LPs-    “ordinary” records, not necessarily “audiophile” releases — of hard rock, folk, psychedelia and offbeat stuff that didn’t always make “best of” lists, wasn’t necessarily reissued or remastered and in many cases, might prove to sound great on older pressings.  That eventually led to this site, which is mainly about records, but also about the people who made the music.

The writing, research, listening, the comparisons, interviews, and technical details–from the mind-numbing minutiae of deadwax to those glorious moments of musical transcendence — have been enormously gratifying. As I work on articles, I quickly learn the limits of my own knowledge. The writing process is a real education for me—it focuses my research and thinking in a way that idle reading or casual contemplation cannot.

The volume of material published here in one year has been achieved almost entirely through the generosity of others- artists, producers, engineers and scholars who have willingly answered my questions and contributed their time, knowledge and experience.

The real pay-off for me in publishing TheVinylPress is the chance to document pieces of our musical legacy that deserve further exploration or recognition. I’ve made an effort to include practical articles as well, to appeal to the neophyte LP enthusiast as well as the more seasoned record collector/audiophile. In the process, I seem to have found some kindred spirits among readers. For that, I am grateful because your support encourages me to continue.

I thus want to thank all of you– contributors and readers alike, for the opportunity to explore the rich terrain of these creative arts.

 

Bill Hart

February, 2016

 

What follows is a select bibliography of pieces that have been published in TheVinylPress during this first year, beginning in February 2015.

 

Articles, Essays, Features and Interviews:

 

Entering the World of the Vertigo Swirl

 

A Visit to the Library of Congress Audiovisual Preservation Facility

 

A Conversation with Olav Wyper- Creator of the Vertigo Swirl Records

 

From the Vault-A Chat with EIL, a Top Rare Record Dealer in the UK

 

The True Adventures of Stanley Booth: Dancing with the Devil

 

Buying Used Records- A Primer

 

Island Records- The “Pink Label” Era

 

Warner Records- The “Green Label” Era (and Beyond)

 

Listening to Recorded Music: A Rumination

 

Jethro Tull-Aqualung- Vinyl Shoot-Out

 

Essay- Are You Experienced– first published in the National Recording Registry

 

Essay- Hoodoo Man Blues- first published in the National Recording Registry

 

Interview with Bob Koester- Founder of Delmark Records

 

On The Trail Of: Elmore James & Sunnyland

 

Esssential Canned Heat: Four Albums; Conversation with Skip Taylor; Sidebar: Rediscovering the Blues

 

Collectability, Sonics and “Essential” Records- Comparing Notes with Jeff Gold, Owner of Recordmecca

 

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Revisited

 

The Art of Recording: A Conversation with Brooks Arthur

 

LP Sleeves, Jackets and Care

 

Cleaning Vinyl Recordings- My Personal Odyssey

 

Cleaning and Archival Standards of Care- Interview with the Library of Congress Recorded Sound Preservation Specialist

 

Fairport Convention- A Culmination in Three Albums (with Joe Boyd)

 

Nick Drake- Then and Now (with Joe Boyd and Callie Callomon)

 

Chris Whitley – A Brief Retrospective

 

Some Notable Records (Capsules/Reviews):

 

Free- Tons of Sobs

 

Taste- On the Boards

 

Spirit- Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus

 

Cressida- self titled Vertigo Swirl

 

May Blitz- self titled Vertigo Swirl

 

Patto- self titled Vertigo Swirl

 

Affinity- self titled Vertigo Swirl

 

Gracious!- self titled Vertigo Swirl

 

Patto- “Hold Your Fire” Vertigo Swirl

 

Alice Cooper, Love it to Death (Straight Records)

 

Van Morrison- The Early Albums

 

Little Feat- The Lowell George Era

 

Early Eagles- First Album and Desperado

 

Early Neil Young Albums

 

Roy Harper- Stormcock

 

Warren Zevon- Excitable Boy

 

Truth- Jeff Beck (Group)

 

John Martyn- Solid Air

 

Steely Dan- the First Two Albums (with a note on Aja)

 

Terry Reid- Seed of Memory

 

Captain Beyond- self titled

 

Brian Davison’s every which way

 

∞

Filed Under: Features

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