Aussie Deeds Not Dirt Cheap

I've had a lot of irons in the fire this year. I've wanted to grow my NWOBHM collection...I was obsessed with records celebrating their 30th anniversary from 1989...I've had a blast chasing some 80's hair metal records that I ignored when I was a kid...and because of all these different targets, I've spent very little time focusing on my list of Top 10 Wants that I put together at the beginning of the year. I knocked two of them from the list early, and was feeling pretty good, but since then, I've made no progress.

For the past few years, I've included original Australian pressings for the early AC/DC records. While they tend to carry a hefty price tag, they have been a priority for me. So before we lose too many more months this year, I needed to get off my ass, and get the job done.

The heavy hitters are the first four AC/DC albums. I've already picked up Australian first pressings for T.N.T. and Let There Be Rock, so I was already 50% there. In the game of trying to figure out which one I was going to pick up next, it all came down to availability and cost. In the end, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap happened to be the winner for this year.

One of the big draws for me with the Australian pressings for the early AC/DC records is the artwork for the cover. It is so different from what we saw in the States.

Dirty Deeds also has a couple changes with the track listing. The US pressing had songs like Rocker and Love At First Feel, while the Australia pressing had Jailbreak and R.I.P. (Rock In Peace). So obviously, you have to have both.

Blue Roo or bust.

As if collecting these original Aussie pressings for AC/DC wasn't difficult enough, when I was buying Dirty Deeds, I also had to make sure that it came with the original "song book" insert. Another cool piece of history.

At The End Of My Daze

I've been struggling to pay any attention to my Top Wants list this year. I crossed off that Scorpions album early, and then I started to obsess over albums from 1989 and New Wave Of British Heavy Metal records, and that 2019 Top Wants list got pushed aside quick. That's okay though. It is there to be a reminder, and since I'm here posting for the self titled Trouble record, I guess it is going it's job.

I've been wanting to pick up the self titled Trouble album for years...in fact, it was one of the records that prompted me to start putting together a list of the top 10 records that I was hopeful to pick up each year. Year after year, I'd keep my eyes open for a copy, but it never worked out. Either the seller was asking too much, or the condition wasn't too beat up, or I just had other records that were more important to me at the time...so after four years of that bullshit, it feel really fucking good to finally cross this bitch off the list.

Trouble were at the top of their game when this record was released in 1990. This doom masterpiece is flawless.

Two of the guys from Trouble, singer Eric Wagner and bassist Ron Holzner, are now in the band The Skull. It was a perfect coincidence when I picked up the copy of the Trouble record just a few days before The Skull came through town, and I got to see them live. Before the show, the band was hanging out in the lobby of the club, and my friend Jeff and I were lucky enough to grab them both for a quick picture and to talk with them a bit.

The show was great. The Skull were opening up the show, so they only played for an hour or so, but as it was Eric's birthday, the headliner, Weedeater, let the band play a couple Trouble songs for the encore. The Skull songs were so good, but to be able to hear The Tempter and At The End Of My Daze again, made the show that much better. Good times.

In A 1975 Trance

Time to wrap up my shopping spree for records released in 1975 with one last entry. For most of these, I picked them up last summer, and I've been sitting on them for months...but as I was getting ready to start posting them to the blog, I decided to make a run at one more. I'd recently compiled my Top Wants for 2019, and with In Trance from the Scorpions sitting there on the list, I decided to make a run at it, and make it the first one to cross off for the year.

I've been wanting to pick up a copy of In Trance for a long ass time now. Scorpions were just starting to settle into their 70's sound with this record...no 80's arena rock anthems here, just a killer 70's hard rock trip. Not to take anything away from the later-era Scorpions with classic albums like Lovedrive and Blackout, but their mid-70's output was a different beast.

Now, when I started looking to grab In Trance on vinyl, I had my target set on the original German pressing. Man, that uncensored "boob cover" is fine.

This album is going to be 45 years old next year, so I couldn't have been happier with the condition of this thing. Amazing.