I have hundreds of old LPs. They have been in the loft in boxes since I moved into this house over 23 years ago. I do still have an analogue turntable for playing them but have never bothered. The quality of CDs is so much higher (some people would argue against that but even they would have to admit that CDs are at least free of dust crackle). So they are going to Oxfam who not only have dedicated music shops but also sell vinyl on line. Today I got them out of the loft:
Of course I couldn't do all that without looking through them. That led to some awakening of a lot of memories: LPs I'd forgotten I ever had; music I remembered with considerable fondness; music I haven't listened to for years; and a realisation that although I have more 'classical' than anything else my tastes have always been catholic or eclectic.
Was the first record I ever bought still there and still playable? Yes it was there. There was only one way to find out whether it was playable. So a search of the loft and the turntable emerged and I plugged it into the amplifier.
Yes. It is and as I write this it is playing and, apart from the start which is showing signs of being well over half a century old, it is in remarkably good condition.
What was the record?
One of the reasons I chose that record was that Sir Malcolm Sargent had been my mother's hero when she was a member of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society and I had seen him conduct. I bought it in Rushworth and Dreaper, piano makers, in Liverpool's Whitechapel just along from NEMS which was one of Brian Epstein's shops. But that's another story.
Great memories
ReplyDeleteWhen I looked over at my tiny group of (in comparison) vinyls, I kept them. It took me years to donate them.
Yes, Maywyn,there are some great memories in those boxes but you donated yours before I have done.
DeleteI never had all that many vinyls, and I haven't had a turntable record player for decades. When the one I had broke down, my brother transfer most of my LPs to cassette tapes for me. Some of those tapes were later also transferred to CDs. Most of my "favourite favourites" from the 1970s/80s I have bought again on remastered CDs though. (I never had many classical LPs, most of my classical music was bought in the CD era.) I still have a dozen or so of my most favourite old LPs tucked away in a bookcase in the living room though, because of the covers. The music may sound better on the remastered CDs, but the miniature CD covers will never be quite the same thing as the originals! ;) - Well done you for sorting yours out though and giving them to Oxfam. I hope they will inspire a new generation of music lovers!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, Monica. Oxfam tell me that LPs are very sellable at the moment. I certainly have some that are not readily available in any other format. I hope that they will continue to be enjoyed and make some money for charity at the same time.
DeleteI agree with Monica that the CD covers can never match those of LPs.
DeleteI notice, CJ, that quite a lot of CD covers are replicas of the LP sleeves but they just don't have the 'presence' do they?
DeleteVinyl is becoming very trendy again. Things always do just as we get rid of them!
ReplyDelete4.5 C in the kitchen this morning, clear, bright and frosty outside. I suppose you are nearly 24 hours sunshine?
Oh Kate 4.5℃. That's cold for you. Our nights are almost non-existent at the moment but today is certainly not sunny.
DeleteWhat a fantastic first album!
ReplyDeleteI adore Tchaikovsky.
When I saw the Disney film "Sleeping Beauty" at the age of 13, I fell in love with the music, not knowing that it was by Tchaikovsky!
And reading the comment above by Kate...you might want to check on the value before you give anything away, albums are becoming much more in demand now!
Kay some of the LPs are now quite sought after but although the discs are generally in excellent condition the sleeves are showing their use and age so I doubt any are really valuable. I've been going through and playing some and there are one or two which do not seem to appear on CD or even on Spotify. I might keep one or two of those. However selling the rest on eBay (with all that involves including packing etc) far more trouble than it's worth for me. I'd rather Oxfam, who are geared up for this, made some money for a good cause.
DeleteFor those of us of a certain age vinyl brings back great memories of good music. I haven't played LP's for years as I don't have a working turntable. We are fortunate here that our library lends CD's
ReplyDeleteRed I have collected CDs for years and if I tried playing them in sequence I would likely be dead before I got to the end. However now although I do still buy CDs of music that may not be available on Spotify or iTunes or Google Prime or where I want very high quality, most of my exploring is done on those streaming services and most of the old music is available there too.
DeleteWhy don't you put them up for sale yourself on eBay or somewhere? You might get several dollars per album. Or check someplace like alibris for current values? You might be surprised what some of them might be worth. Just giving them away seems like such a loss of opportunity for you. If vinyls are so sellable right now, you ought to be the seller.
ReplyDeleteBob, Kay made a similar suggestion and I gave her my reasons for not doing so in my comment above. What it boils down to in good Scots is that I cannae be ersed.
DeleteBe careful, some of those albums are worth a lot of money; but only if they're in PERFECT condition.
ReplyDeleteCro most of the discs are in excellent condition but the sleeves are showing signs of use and age.
DeleteWhen my sister and I were in our teens (1980s), almost all our pocket money (and whatever else we could scrape together with various mini jobs) was turned into vinyl. Music was the all important thing in our lives!
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved out from home, I never bought my own turntable, and these days, all I have is a BluRay player which allows me to play CDs via the telly.
Our old vinyls (many of them 12" versions of well-known 1980s hits) are stored in my sister's cellar. Unfortunately, conditions there are not ideal, and I'm afraid most of those old vinyl records won't be playable any longer.
The return of vinyl during the past 10 years or so has not passed me by, but neither my sister nor I are inclined to sort through our collection with selling in mind.
PS: I find it very, very good of you NOT selling the LPs yourself, in spite of knowing they are worth quite a lot of money. Instead, you give Oxfam the chance to make that money, and use it wisely.
DeleteMeike you might be surprised at your vinyl. The sleeves may have deteriorated but I would have though that the records themselves would have survived any damp. Oxfam are geared up to selling these and I am not. I could cherry pick a few of the more sought-after ones but if Oxfam are going to take them they should get the good and the not-so-good and I'd rather they had the money to be honest.
DeleteI think the return of vinyl is a young thing. Two of my grandsons (aged 15 and 16) now collect vinyl records. It makes Christmas and Birthdays easy, but the records are very expensive.
ReplyDeleteYou are probably correct Frances. I do, though, have a friend who is my age who collects LPs. Mind you he trawls the salerooms of batches of cheap ones.
Deleteoh yes I grew up on records, first one I ever bought I think was in 1982 and it was the nolan sisters. I still have 2 from the 80s of a nz singer Sharon O'Neill, not sure if you've heard of her.
ReplyDeleteAmy I certainly remember the Nolan Sisters but I've not heard of Sharon O'Neill. NZ certainly punches about its weight in so many things though.
DeleteI, too, still have a couple of cartons full of LPs. I can't bring myself to part with them; and I do still have a turntable. The first record I bought was on my first pay day, a Friday in late July, 1960...it was an Gene Krupa EP. I've a million CDs and cassettes, too! It's like Musical City here!
ReplyDeleteVinyl is making a comeback...so I guess I won't be parting with mine any time soon. :)
Lee, almost everything I had on LP I now have on CD but I'm finding that I explore composers who are new to me on Spotify as well. There's an immense musical world out there.
DeleteWhat a blast from the past for you. WE gave away our records last time we moved except for a very few favourites but they went this last move. I believe they are selling for higher prices now that they are becoming historic items. Maybe you should keep a few that could become quite valuable.
ReplyDeleteI think, Diane, I'm at that stage of my life when I just want to stop hoarding things and if Oxfam can get a bit of benefit from that then that's a bonus.
DeleteThat is very nice of you to give them away knowing that they might be quite valuable. Shows your real character. You are a good guy :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lynda, I try to be but there is also an element of 'the easy way out' in what I'm doing.
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