The Crews

One thing that I have found time and time again over the years is that sometimes collections just happen. I don't set out to collect a certain band or record, but I just pick them up as and when the opportunity arises, and then eventually I end up building a collection. Or at least, what others would refer to as a collection. This is exactly what has happened with the Warzone 'Lower East Side Crew e.p.' 7". My history with this record goes back a long way. In the early 90s when I started collecting, it was long sold out and not easy to find. I didn't get hold of a single copy until 1996, when I was given a clear vinyl copy. Pretty funny that I was in at the deep end there, although I didn't realise how hard to find the clear vinyl copies were, and I stupidly traded it away a year or so later for an orange copy and some other records. I was happy at the time. Then a couple of years later a friend who was letting his records go gave me a black vinyl copy with a photocopied cover. Then at some stage around 2012 I bought a blaack vinyl copy because it was cheap. And then the hunt really started...

I recently picked up some bits from someone who was selling their Rev collection. I took the opportunity to pick up 3 more Warzone 7"s that I didn't already have. I really badly wanted one of them, but the other two seemed so cheap in comparison that I figured I should give them a good home.

The one that I badly wanted was a first press copy (blue labels, no Rev logo) with a numbered label. Nobody knows how many copies were numbered, although it is speculated that there are 100. This one is number 23.

Next I picked up a second press copy on black vinyl. The second press is recognisable because it has different labels, athough there is still no 'R in a star' logo. Also, the insert is yellow.

And finally, I picked up this third rpess copy, also on black vinyl. The third press copies come in a more glossy cover and have the band name coloured in blue. The blue sleeve copies are the easiest to find, and I already had one, although the record inside my other copy had different labels. This one seems to be a second press record in a third press sleeve, although according to the Rev discography the 2nd and 3rd pressings were in fact one pressing. Whatever. But a variety of different labels, inserts and cover variations makes this insanely collectible.

I think that every time I pick up a Warzone 7" I think that it will be my last copy. But really, I don't see that I could add to this collection even if I wanted to. Somehow I have not managed to acquire 10 different copies of this record now, and even though I don't think there are any versions that I don't have, I'm sure that there must be. So on that basis I took the time to get them all out to take a photo: