Colored vinyl continues to blow my mind, decades after I first saw one.
Showing my age here, but I came of age during the peak CD years (1989-2001), so vinyl was not my go-to format. Dubbed cassettes for my car, CDs for my home stereo. I don’t think I heard about colored vinyl until the late 1990s because of various small pressings of Less Than Jake and Hot Water Music 7-inch singles on No Idea Records. Whether it was on red vinyl or a 9-inch single, I slowly started to learn about life beyond the standard black 7-inches and 12-inches.
I’ve collected vinyl since college, back when it was a fun little promo certain bands kicked out to fans. Whether it was the “Given to Fly” single from Pearl Jam or a friend gifting me a copy of Rival Schools’ United By Fate on vinyl, I had them around. I also collected non-LP tracks from compilations and various vinyl sizes to complete my collection of certain punk and hardcore bands I loved at the time. (Namely, Face to Face, Horace Pinker, and H2O.)
So when it comes to cataloging records from the David Swartz Collection, it’s been a joy to see all these white label promos (with and without timing strips for DJs), but the colored vinyl continues to blow my mind.
I’ve never seen Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything? pressed on red and blue/black vinyl before! (I’m not sure I will again!)
Then there is a super rare Italian compilation featuring tracks by Janis Joplin, Chicago, Santana, and other CBS artists, all on this insanely-colored piece of wax.
Working with Garry Shrum and Gary Mayes on this collection, it’s a really exciting adventure in digging, finding pearls from all over the world.
Have fun bidding on this collection on March 12-13!
-Eric Grubbs
Music & Entertainment Cataloger
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