The Holy Green Trinity

One last post for the year, and this is a big one. I was keen to sneak this in before 2021 came to an end. Seems I've just about made it.

This record was, until this month, my most wanted record. It's been my most wanted record for about two and a half years. Before that it was my joint most wanted record. But I have wanted to own one of these for a very long time. Probably around 23 years or so at a guess.

Bold 'Speak Out' LP Test press on green vinyl. There were 10 copies made somewhere around 1992, I think.

These test presses had plain white labels, but someone at Rev wrote on the A side label. The flip side label has been left blank.

There are 3 different green vinyl test pressings that were made at the same time. They are as follows:
Rev07 - 'New York City Hardcore The Way It Is' compilation LP
Rev08 - Youth Of Today 'Break Down The Walls' LP
Rev09 - Bold 'Speak Out' LP

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I think they were pressed by Erika Records, and that the label didn't actually request colour vinyl. The new test pressings of these 3 albums came back from the plant and just happened to be green vinyl. So they are kind of an accident.

I first became aware of these things in the late 90s when the Revelation discography was published. Back then I didn't really have any interest in test presseings, but they definitely caught my eye. But at some point I definitely started dreaming of owning them. I used to only collect colour vinyl pressings, and despite the fact that these are test pressings, they were the rarest pieces of Rev colour vinyl in existence... so I wanted them. But any dreams I had were dashed when, in 2002, someone offered me one of them for $400. At the time this was an insane amount of money and I immediately said no. I didn't even consider paying it for one second. But it made me realise that these things were next level items for serious collectors only... and I was definitely an amateur playing in the little league. So I figured I would never own them.

Well anyway, acquiring this Bold record has now completed the set for me, and proven yet again that everything comes in time. Patience is very important in this game. As is focus. Sometimes you wait and things come along, and sometimes you go out there and chase things. And sometimes it's a mix of the two. But after many years of dreaming, the green test trilogy has become a reality.

There are only 3 other people out there who own all 3 of these 3 records, so I feel super lucky and honoured to have these things in my house. I remember that I once said that if I ever got these three then I would retire from collecting. I may well have meant it at the time, but now I'm there it feels like I'm getting into the swing of it, so I may actually carry on. We shall see...