Vinyls – good or bad?
Since moving back to sunny Cornwall I have started listening to my dad’s new record player (it’s only new because I broke the old one when I was little). He has quite a collection of records from Free, Cream, ELO, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Fleetwood Mac, Mamas & the Papas, the list goes on.
I love the music from the 60s, guys like The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, etc. I have heard their songs remastered on CDs, however up until now I’ve never heard them on vinyl.
Listening to these songs like they were first listened to is an awesome experience. Some may find the crackling annoying and nowadays unnecessary however I think it makes it all the more original, unique and definately authentic. Putting on a record really transfers you back to the era the music was from.
Back in the 60s records were really expensive, teenagers could only afford a few each and they would have to share them with each other. I guess we just share files over the Internet now, or we could just download the songs for ourselves, which is pretty impersonal. Most of my dad’s records have his initials on them and a few even have notes, written by his friends, on the sleeves, which are now nice memories. They used to take them to house parties and by the end of the night they often would find most of their records nicked. I guess the fact that people just hook up their ipods now makes things a lot safer, however I think we’d be pretty gutted if someone nicked it!
Going through my dad’s record collection I found that each record is pretty special. Each sleeve is so unique and pretty, so much thought has been put into them. My favourites include The Beatles Sgt Pepper’s album and Cream’s Wheel of Fire, there are loads of others though. Many of the records have the track lyrics on the sleeves, which is cool.
When I move into my next flat I’m definitely going to have to invest in one and start up my own vinyl library. For me grabbing a book and popping on a crackling Beatles record is perfection.
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