To Justin - Tank Fer Buyin' The Record

You may or may not be aware, but Sub Pop recently repressed the three Tad 12"s that they released. I'm trying to avoid represses as far as possible these days, so didn't bother, but it made me realise a couple of things - firstly, that I hadn't ever heard the Tad LPs that came out after they left Sub Pop, and secondly, that I didn't own a copy of the 'Salt Lick' 12". So I set about changing the situation. To start I downloaded the major label LPs that I'd never heard, and right off the bat, they clicked. I then couldn't stop listening to them. Then I started looking for a reasonably priced copy of the 'Salt Lick' EP, which wasn't too much of a challenge.

Surprisingly, for an early Sub Pop release, there was no limited pressing for this record. Just black vinyl. Well, until last month when it finally got pressed on colour wax for the first time.

Well, because I also wanted the major label LPs, which aren't actually that easy to find, I set up a saved search on eBay for 'Tad'. And a couple of weeks ago, that came up with a couple of very interesting finds. I was just about to go to bed when I checked eBay and found a couple of Tad test pressings listed (along with the Dinosaur Jr test that I posted about a few days ago). So that was that. Buy it now mania kicked in.

The first test press was for the 'Loser / Cooking With Gas' 7". This one comes on clear vinyl with a hand written label on one side.

After buying the test I decided I needed a regular copy of this 7". So I looked around eBay and discogs. I used to own a copy of this 7" back in 1992 or so, but sold it probably 20 years ago. It was on pale blue vinyl. Just my luck, that now turns out to be the rare colour of this record, and I couldn't find another one for sale at a good price. But I did manage to grab a green vinyl copy.

When this arrived I was showing my other half, and she noticed something that I had missed - the sleeve is signed on the back. I'm not really fussed about this kind of thing, but I guess it's kinda cool as the seller didn't mention it. Maybe he didn't even know it was there himself?

The second test press I scored from the eBay seller was for the 'Jinx' 7". This one comes on clear red vinyl.

And in a weird twist of fate, at the same time I bought the test press, someone else in the UK was selling a spare sleeve for this record. It was only £0.99, so I figured I'd pick it up as a place to store the record.

So a pretty cool coincidence that worked out well.

And again, after picking up the test, I figured I'd buy the other versions of the record. I mean, if you have a test, you have to have a full set, right? I was able to find all three colours of this one on discogs pretty easily. Two of them came from the seller who had the green 'Loser' 7" above. So I managed to negotiate an even better price.

The first copy is the most common colour, which is a solid yellow vinyl. I used to own this one back in the early 90s. So, it would seem, did someone called Justin who saw fit to get it signed right across the front cover. I can't even read what the writing says. It either says 'Thnx' or possibly 'Tank'. I'm not sure which is the stupider thing to write.

Interestingly, the photo of the band on the back cover of this 7" became the front cover for the band's second album '8 Way Santa' after the original cover was banned. Anyway, next up is a light blue vinyl copy of the same record. This one is tougher to find that the yellow.

And finally, a purple vinyl copy. I also used to own one of these years ago, but I sent it to a friend for his birthday. What I remember is that my friends and I always used to write dumb shit on the envelopes of stuff we'd send each other, and when I sent him this record I wrote 'Do not fucking bend!' on there. Well, the postman didn't take too kindly to that. Apparently he knocked on my friend's door and informed him that if anything similar was written on stuff in future, it would be binned! Haha!

It doesn't end there though. After I bought those tests, I emailed the seller to see if he had anything else that he hadn't got around to listing yet. And wouldn't you know it, there was another Tad test. So I made a deal. This one is for the infamous 'Jack Pepsi' 7":

And again, getting the test meant that I wanted a regular copy of this record. And again, discogs delivered, for only £2 (plus postage). As it turns out, this record was a promotional record issued in a plain white paper sleeve on black vinyl, so it's not overly sought after.

And still there's more. Because when looking on discogs, I also picked up another, later 7". And again, I used to own this one way back in a different lifetime. This is the 'Salem' 7", which came on both blue and black vinyl. There were quite a lot made, so it was also pretty cheap.

So that's that. Kinda funny to think that two weeks ago I only owned two Tad records, being their two LPs on Sub Pop. And in a few days I've added nine 7"s and a 12". It's been a cool journey though as I've been listening to these songs for the first time in years, and watching some old live footage on youtube. Next up I need those major label LPs, and the first two 7"s. You know how it is - always gotta have something to aim for...