Like A Big Fuckin' Train

Another journey back into the early years of the Sub Pop catalogue, and I picked up a couple of 7"s by The Supersuckers. This is another band that I used to listen to in the early 90s and then abandoned when I got into straight edge hardcore and turned my back on a lot of other stuff too. I reaquired their debut LP in 2016 and loved it, but that was as far as I went back then. Picking up these two 7"s has brought them right back into my world with a bang.

The first 7" is titled 'Like a Big Fuckin' Train Ep'. It was released in December 1991 as Sub Pop SP125. There are 5 songs on here, and they are over in around 6 minutes. This is loud, fast punk and it's great fun, especially the song 'I Say Fuck'.

This also comes on blue vinyl, which is the one I Used to own back in the early 90s, and which appears to be slightly harder to find than the purple.

I also picked up a second 7", 'Hell City, Hell b/w Dead Homiez'. This one came out in 1992 and is 45 releases further into the catalogue, being Sub Pop SP170. I guess they were pretty busy back then, knocking out a release a week or so.

This one is slightly less fast and the songs are slightly longer. The first song is still great though. The second song, 'Dead Homiez' is a little weird I guess. It's one of those songs that's so bad that it starts to become good, because you can't help but sing along, if that makes sense.

Even though I like these early Supersuckers records, I feel no real desire to venture further into their discography because after this they seemed to change image and they started wearing cowboy hats. Enough said.

There Is A Difference

I imagine that most people wouldn't care about this post because it touches on later Revelation represses, which a lot of Rev collectors gave up on years ago. But I love stuff like this.

'The One Thing That Still Holds True' came out in 1996 and, at the time, there were circa 3,000 copies on black vinyl and roughly 300 copies on limited green vinyl. It stayed this way until the 2001 'final' press on grey vinyl. Then nothing for a long time. But in 2012 it was pressed on white vinyl and then clear vinyl, and then in 2013 it was pressed on blue vinyl and then green marble vinyl. It definitely felt like there were too many colours, although i have to say that I did love the green marble. Then in 2016 it was pressed again on green marble vinyl, so I ignored it. But due to the way that these colours are made, the 2016 version came out a slightly different colour. So I kinda wished I had bought one. And finally I have managed to obtain one.

To me, this looks like a very 'military' shade of green. It's verging on camo. Thankfully it's not actual camo else you would not be able to see it.

One of the reasons that this took so long to track down after I initially ignored it is that not many people out there would know or undrstand the difference between the different green marble pressings. After this 2016 pressing, there was another one in 2019 which also looked different, as it was a much lighter shade of green. I did pick up one of those at the time, so finally I have all three pressings.

SHown above (from left to right) are the 2013 version, the 2016 pressing and the 2019 pressing.

You're Only Young 5 Times

Another classic Rev record, and this time it's the Side By Side 'You're Only Young Once' 7" repressed as a 12" with three extra songs bolted on the end. I guess this very much qualifies as a reissue rather than a repress, as this particular version of these songs has never previously been put out. This came out last year and I'm sure everyone has seen pictures of every possible version of this, so I won't go into too much detail.

As is often the case these days, there were a few different colours of this and no black vinyl pressing, which for once I actually think is a shame as black would have matched the original 7" much better, as it was only released on black vinyl. I'm not as happy with this record as I was with the Bold repress as the vinyl for this one is pressed at an inferior plant, and the colours are pretty ugly. My favourite is this opaque purple pressing, which was exclusive to Coretex, Generation and Project M (whatever the fuck that is).

The record is a fairly good reproduction of the 7" in larger format. They've even blown up the insert to a giant, colour poster.

As ever, I picked up all colours of this one. There were 4 in total. This is what the other 3 look like:

The colours shown above are clear purple (1500), pink (600) and 'fuchsia and white' (450) which looks utterly awful in my opinion.

Well anyway, I picked up those and then Rev also stuck up a copy with a limited cover for sale, so obviously I had to grab one of those too. It contains one of the clear purple records and the cover is a photo of Alex Brown mid air at a Side By Side show in Albany in 1987.

This version is hand numbered and limited to 250 copies. Compared to most Rev releases in limited covers, 250 copies is actually relatively high number. The weird thing about this is that Rev restricted the sale of these to 3 per person, when other limited records they have released have been strictly one per person. Maybe they weren't as confident that these would sell? But of course, they sold out in no time at all.

Speak Out Repress

So it seems that Revelation are now repressing some of their classic releases that have been out of print for a number of years. Bold's 'Speak Out' LP was last pressed on vinyl way back in 2001 and at the time advertised as the 'final press'. A few short years later and Bold's entire output was put back onto vinyl in the form of a 2xLP discography. And then pretty much without warning, last year, 'Speak Out' was repressed as a single LP in a gatefold sleeve just like when it first came out in 1988. The main difference is that this time around it has been put onto colour vinyl. So of course, I was in.

When I heard this was coming, I was initially concerned that it was going to be pressed on crappy vinyl. However, this has been pressed at a decent plant, and the records look great. Opaque Orange is the most common colour, being out of a whopping 1,500 copies, but it looks nice.

And of course, with how things are with records in this day and age, there are other colours and I was obliged to pick them all up.

Pictured above are clear (300), 'orange & white marble' (which, let's be honest, is yellow and orange) (450) and blue (600). In theory the blue should be the best match to the artwork, but its a kind of dull blue colour and in my view doesn't really look good at all. As is often the case, the clear looks by far the best.

Out of curiosity I checked my spreadsheet and I now seem to own 14 copies of this record, with many of those being added in the last couple of years. I think I am probably only about one record away from a complete collectin of this one, so hopefully I can get across the line and grab one of those. Because, you know how it is when 14 copies of the same record aren't quite enough.

There are a couple more 'classic' Rev represses that I also finally caught up on, so I'm gonna try to put them up here in the next few days. Then I can move on to some more interesting stuff.

Money

There are some records that I seem compelled to buy again and again. Most of these are Revelation releases, but there are a couple of Dischord releases that will drive me to hit that 'order now' button every single time. The Embrace LP is definitely one of these records. The latest pressing is on gold vinyl. This is the 'old skool' version of 'gold' vinyl, which is basically clear orange, as opposed to the more modern 'gold' vinyl which actually does look gold (and also shit).

I bought my original first press copy back in probably 1994, and this copy was all I needed until 2009 when Dischord starting toying with colour vinyl and repressed it on red. I then felt that I needed the green copy that followed 13 years later in 2022. And now, only two years on, we have gold.

Without a doubt I would expect to see more colours of this one pressed, in time, and I will be there buying them like an absolute sucker. Do not consider yourself free.

Never Enough

The 6th and final part in my series of posts of stuff I picked up from a friend who was selling his collection last year, and I've saved the most important one until last. This is a limited cover version of the Mouthpiece 'Can't Kill What's Inside (The Complete Discography)' LP that has eluded me since it came out in 2015. The cover was made for 'Nate fest', a two day benefit show for Nate Gluck (Ensign bassist) to help raise funds for his cancer treatment. I remember thinking that I would be able to get one of these from soneone flipping one after the show, but somehow it took me 9 years to end up with a copy.

The cover of this one features artwork that was previously used by Mouthpiece for a limited 7" cover. I have the 7" and if I'd have thought about it earlier I would have pulled it out for a photo. Oh well.

This is numbered out of 50 copies on the back. Interestingly, there were two other limited cover versions for this record, one of which is numbered out of 50, and the other 60. I'm very happy to now have all three. I figured I would summon the energy to lay all of my copies of this record out for a photo in celebration of an (almost) complete set.

As ever, I don't have the regular black vinyl version of this one, and I'm not overly fussed about picking it up, unless I find one for $10 or so. But regardless, this is one collection I am very happy with.

Hang Up Your Boots

Part 5 in my series of posts of stuff I picked up from a friend who was selling his collection last year, and I was pretty keen to finally get the remaining copies of the Right Brigade / A Poor Excuse split 7" that I was missing. This is one of those records that I never really set out to collect, but over the years I ended up picking up copies as they fell in front of me, to the point where I had 6 copies. So I figured I may as well buy three more...

First up is the test press. This is numbered out of 25 copies. According to the B9 discography there were 3 test presses that came without a cover too, but even though those are technically rarer, I'm happy to have one of the copies with cover.

Next is the Oron Cross cover, numbered out of 69 copies. It was originally made so that the band had copies to sell when they played with a reformed version of the Cro Mags back in the year 2000. My god, the year 2000 seems so long ago now.

And finally, the clear yellow vinyl, which is the common colour from the 2nd press being out of a whopping 750 copies.

This now means that I have a (nearly) complete collection of this record. So of course I had to get them all out and lay them down for a quick snap before they get banished to a box forever.

Technically I am one record short of a complete collection here because there is a black vinyl copy in a regular sleeve, but I never collect those. Yet after just checking the pressing info, I am half tempted to go after one, as it is actually rarer than pretty much all of the colour copies, due to the number of limited covers that the black vinyl copies got sold with.

Seven Inch Single

Part 4 in my series of posts of stuff I picked up from a friend who was selling his collection last year, and this is a great example of buying a record purely for it's aesthetic beauty. I've always been a fan of records as art, and this one shows why these things are more than just soundwaves etched into plastic.

Go It Alone was a band that I always liked but never loved. But this is a great record to own purely from a collecting point of view. This is a test press of a one-sided 7″ that was given away free to anyone who pre-ordered the re-release of the “Vancouver Gold” CD on Rivalry Records.

This 7" was a kind of promo record for the band's first LP, containing 2 songs off the LP and a song from some comp. There were 400 black vinyl copies of this record and 100 clear copies with the cobra graphic screen printed on the b-side. Here's a pic of my clear copy with the test sleeve.

I remember that I bought the clear copy from eBay in the Uk and the seller didn't send the record. I managed to get a phone number for him off of eBay, and I called up and spoke to his mum. I vaguely remember her telling me that the eBay account belonged to her son and I told her that he took my money and never sent the record. I described what the record looked like and, whilst I was on the phone, she located it and promised to send it to me. I think the seller was someone from a UK band circa 2007 but I can't remember which one.

Self Delusion

Part 3 in my series of posts of stuff I picked up from a friend who was selling his collection last year, and this one is a bit later than most of the records I picked up, being from 2007. The Soul Control / I Rise split 7" came out on a small label called Eightfold Path Records. Back when it came out the colour vinyl copies sold out lightning fast, as both acts were pretty big, up and coming bands of the time. I picked up the clear vinyl and blue vinyl copies a few years ago, and finally all these years later also added the red copy to the collection.

Even though there are three different colours of this one, they are each quite rare, with there being only 100 copies of each.

There are some other versions of this with limited sleeves and whatnot, but for some reason I'm not overly interested. I'm happy with this collection as it is. That said, I would happily buy several more of the blue vinyl copies as they are all unique, and I am convinced that there are much more interesting ones that the three I already own. Get at me if you have one you would sell.

Overload Overload

Part 2 in my series of posts of stuff I picked up from a friend who was selling his collection last year, and another early 00s record I was pretty keen to get hold of was this test press for the Lights Out 'Overload' LP. Apparently this record came out back in 2005, which is somehow now 19 years ago. It's a few days over ten years since I first this record on Mike's blog, and I thought it looked rad, so I'm pretty stoked to now have one of my own.

Back in 2005 Youngblood Records was absolutely on fire. They had some great bands and some really collectible records. On average there were probably 6 versions of every record. This LP was no exception, although I 'only' have five copies as I don't believe in black vinyl unless it's a test press or comes in a limited sleeve.

Listening to this record in 2024, I can confirm that still rips after all of these years. Around the time it came out I saw Lights Out play in the UK on their Euro tour. They were really good live, but I don't think we ever heard from them again. Like a lot of good hardcore bands, after one 7", one LP and one euro tour, they called it quits.

My Ninja Plan

Last year someone I know decided to sell his collection. Pretty much everything was up for grabs, so I quickly ran through his collection and instagram photos and shot some offers. There were a lot of things that I wanted, and I certainly didn't want to spend the money to bag everything as there were 3 or 4 really big hitters in there. But I still managed to grab a few things that I was excited by. I figured I would spread them over a few posts this week.

There are a lot of records that I love that the world seems to have forgotten.But I'll still happily collect extra copies when the opportuinty presents itself. This is a copy of a split LP by The FInal Plan & My Luck, and this copy comes in a rare (and crappy) sleeve sold at Ninja Fest in London, in either 2002 or 2004 I think.

These are numbered on the back cover. Mine is number 24 out of nobody knows how many.

This is now my third copy of this record. I don't believe there are any other copies to collect, other than a test press.

I'm not really sure that too many people know or care about these bands in 2024. But I always liked both, and I love this record. I'm not sure which side I prefer, but I really like the early 00s hardcore sound, so it's still fun to listen to this and try to decide which side is best.

Choose Two Lose

Today High Vis posted a new song online ('Mob DLA') and I don't doubt for a second that about a million people would have given it a listen. It therefore seemed appropriate that I posted this record today.

It was almost exactly four years ago, in the midst of the first wave covid lockdown, that I picked up the High Vis 'No Sense No Feeling' 12". I was (and still am) very happy to have a first press copy on yellow vinyl, and whilst I wasn't interested in trying to collect all subsequent pressings, I was interested when Six Feet Under Records put out a US pressing last year.

I liked that the US pressing had a different colour cover, so I decided to buy one. I got in early and got the most limited colour, which seems to be referred to as 'Ghostly Clear/Orange Vinyl' and for which only 109 copies exist.

This is definitely an interesting colour, and I am pretty stoked to have got one. But I do think that the opaque orange looks better. But I simply cannot get into collecting multiple copies of this one. Not at this stage of the game.

As a nice surprise, this record also came with a High Vis 7" flexi, which is a pretty well packaged record when compared to most flexi discs. For starters, it is round, which most flexi discs of the last 20 years or so have not been. And secondly, it comes in a proper sleeve. Although sadly it loses points for being a live recording.

The new song released today sounds to me very much like a 90s grunge band (well, except the vocals), which fits nicely with what I've spent a lot of my time listening to this year. I have no idea when a new record may eventually surface, but no doubt if one comes it's going to be special.

Boxed In

Another of my favourite releases from last year (2023) was the 'Boxed In' LP by Planet On A Chain, which was put out by Revelation. At the point that this came out I had no idea who the band was. As has been the case many times in the past, I bought this because it was on Rev. And after listening to this one a fair bit last year, I finally got around to picking up the vinyl.

One thing I do like about this record is that it looks like a typical hardcore record. A black and white cover with a live shot. If I came across this flipping through a rack of records in a record shop, this would definitely grab my attention.

Blue vinyl (aka 'cobalt') was the Rev exclusive colour, out of 200 copies.

There were also two other first pressing colours - orange (600) and 'coke bottle clear' (300).

Next up was a limited sleeve version sold in the Dropdead online store, the 'Fucking Assholes Don't Get It Hardcore Edition'. This one comes with a folder cover on top of a regular sleeve, and contains one of the clear vinyl copies.

This version was limited to 50 copies. I think I may have ordered it whilst using the toilet in Paris Charles De Gaulle airport. Once I had safely secured myself a copy, I passed the information on to a rival.

Then a little later came a second pressing on red vinyl. What I like is that the changed the lettering on the sleeve to red. I love stuff like this. Changing the cover art to match the record and differentiating it from the first pressing is a nice move.

And then, bizarrely, there was a 'second edition' of the 'Fucking Assholes' sleeve with the second pressing red vinyl inside it.

This one has some extra text on the back, which reads 'second press limited to 50'.

Annoyingly there are also some tour press copies with a different sleeve. I have no idea how many there are, but it is probably a pretty low number. I imagine it will take a long time to find one.

Babes In Toyland

As I mentioned previously, the old Sub Pop Singles Club used to be put out 7"s by bigger, more established bands from other labels, and I have always been more interested in many of those. Today's post is another that I have kinda wanted for a long time, and finally got around to paying for.

The Babes In Toyland 7" was released in June 1990 as Sub Pop 66. There were 3,500 copies made, with 2,000 being on gold vinyl and the rest on black. Sure, the black is rarer, but who cares?

I never realy knew much about Babes In Toyland, although in my mind they sit alongside early 90s bands like L7 and Hole. They formed in 1987 in Minneapolis and after a couple of independent releases they ended up on a major label in the early 90s. I always had them pegged as an 'alternative' band, and I used to see their records in the bigger chain stores of the 90s, hence assuming they were pretty popular. Looking back now, I'm not overly convinced they were ever really that popular. But these two songs are great. I am definitely interested in hearing more all these years later.