Take A Stand

My friend Jeff recently came into possession of someone's record collection. It is a long story with a tragic ending that I won't get into here, but at the end of the day, Tim isn't with us any longer... and well, someone had to get his records. I didn't really know Tim that well, but our paths crossed a few times in the early 90's because of Jeff as our mutual friend, and I knew that he was a big lover of music... in fact he made me a couple of mixtapes back then, full of early punk bands that I'd never heard of before. Man, I wish that I'd kept those just as a reference point as to what he was trying to turn me on to at the time (the only band that I remember was on there was Christ On Parade)... but Tim was a few years older than I was and therefore had first hand experience with some of that early 80's punk stuff. Either way, when Jeff told me that he was getting Tim's record collection, I immediately called for first refusal on anything that he wasn't interested... and knowing that Jeff isn't a fan of punk, I was hoping for some good shit. Jeff wasn't going to be giving this stuff away, but a sizable discount made some of this much more affordable compared to trying to scoop it from Discogs.

One of the records that surprised me when Jeff started showing me some what he'd received from Tim's collection was the Break Down The Walls album from Youth Of Today. I knew that Tim was into early punk, but I had no idea that he would have some hardcore stuff like this. Seeing how I owned four REV reissues for this record, I was kind of excited to finally get my hands on the original REV pressing. I know that we aren't talking Wishingwell here, but the blue and yellow labels just look so good to me.

I don't really collect REV or Youth Of Today records, and I never really set out to own this one (although I imagine that it wouldn't have been too hard to acquire over the years), but it feels good to finally have this on my shelf. Knowing that Tim kept his records in top shape made this an easy purchase.

One Night Stand

I don't pay much attention to Record Store Day releases any more. I'll scan the list to see if anything jumps out at me, but for the most part there is rarely anything that I'll sweat if I don't happen to pick it up. This year there were two items on the list that I wanted to pick up if I happened to come across them...but as it would turn out, I only ended up with one of them, as the Dio single appears to have only been released in Europe. I'm still coming for you Dio...it just may take some time.

Initially, I thought that the Youth Of Today 7 inch released for Record Store Day was goofy as hell, but that's only because I'd forgotten how much fun this One Night Stand cover is. Originally done by The Partridge Family, Youth Of Today completely make this song their own. Considering that I think it was only available on the REV100 CD, it is cool to finally see the song on vinyl.

As much as people grumble about how much they hate Record Store Day, it's funny to see the collector nerds scramble when Revelation poops out 6 different pressings of this single. I don't play that game anymore, and since this 7 inch carried a bullshit price tag of $11.00, I'm happy with just this one pressing. Kincaid labels on magenta colored vinyl is limited to 1,000 pressed.

REV Reissues: Black And White Cover Edition

There was a time when REV reissue posts were fun and exciting. These days, who gives a shit? Really. Does anyone get a charge out of these anymore?

I don't even pay much attention to the reissues anymore. I'll pick something up if the mood strikes me, but I'm not going out of my way for this shit anymore. It just so happens that the latest order of reissues all had black and white covers...

There are a handful of reissues that I can't walk away from. Youth of Today are one of them. I'm missing so many of the YOT original pressings, yet, I step up every time and order the reissues.

550 pressed on white vinyl.

This marks my fifth copy of Can't Close My Eyes since REV started pumping these out in 2011...and yet, these reissues are the only copies in my collection. Sigh.

549 pressed on blue vinyl.

Well, this was a nice surprise. Good to see the No For An Answer finally get a vinyl repress. Judging from the REV pressing info, it looks like it hasn't seen a vinyl pressing since the youth crew revival of '97. I don't own a single copy of this on vinyl, so buying this was a no brainer.

548 pressed on yellow vinyl.

REV Catch Up

The REV repress machine can be overwhelming. I refuse to get sucked into buying every record they press, but there are still a bunch that I feel the need to keep up with. I didn't immediately jump when some recent ones were posted, and then lost track of which ones I still needed. I hope I caught most of them with this latest order.

It's Youth Of Today, and although I didn't start buying YOT vinyl until REV started mass producing these reissues, I've vowed to not miss any of them. Someday, I'll work on a few pressings that I missed the first time around.

I wouldn't have guessed it, but this blue vinyl looks great. Nice match to the blue lettering from the cover.

Chain Of Strength falls into the same category as Youth Of Today. I've ignored vinyl for this band for too long...never again. One of the best bands ever.

In My Eyes is one of the few bands that I have a complete collection for, so it's not like I'm going to let any new pressings slip me by. I'm still not a fan of the new labels for this album, but hey, if you want the original labels, buy the original pressing.

While picking up these new pressings, I figured that it was time to finally grab the green vinyl for the new Down To Nothing album. I was nervous that I was going to open this and find it was on blue vinyl.

There, I'm now caught up...oh fuck...what do you mean REV just repressed more of their classic catalog? Damn.

REV Repress: Part 4342512566

Revelation keeps on churning out the vinyl repressings. While this was a lot of fun when they started doing this a few years ago for Record Store Day, at this point, I can say that the thrill is gone. There are some that I'll probably keep stepping up to the plate for, but no matter how much I love Judge, I can't see myself buying that double LP discography every time REV presses it on a new color.

Yet, for some reason, I'm okay with the third recent pressing of Break Down The Walls.

The vinyl on these things look beautiful, and even though the green doesn't really match the red and blue colors from the record cover, it still somehow looks great.

I'll complain at every chance I can to say that repressing of the the Inside Out record was a missed opportunity for REV. This should be a 12 inch and include the CD bonus songs Sacrifice and Redemption. Still, I'll step up and buy this every damn time.

REV25: Chicago Style

The first two Revelation 25th anniversary shows, first in CA and then in NYC, they gave us a shitty live compilation record for each as a souvenir. A nice keepsake, but pretty pointless and not something to really get excited about. I had friend hook me up with the Cali record, and then I went to the NYC and grabbed a copy of that one while I was there. When REV25 takes place in Chicago, they create a 7 inch package with unique pressings of the Gorilla Biscuits, Youth Of Today, Into Another, and Texas Is The Reason records. Figures that the one release I was excited about was also the one that was the most difficult for me to acquire.

I didn't know anyone going to the REV25 Chicago show, so this meant that I was going to have to hope the label sold the extras in their webstore if I wanted to score a set. Doug was good enough to send me an alert when REV added them to the store, but I was unplugged at the time. By the time I got the message an hour or so later, they were all sold out. When REV put the second round of records in the webstore, they again sold out before I was able to grab one. Third times a charm though, and when REV bundled the 7 inch set along with other REV25 odds and ends, and stuck a $60 price tag on it...that was when I was finally able to get my hands on a set.

I love the look of these records, as each on gets a start black cover with each band's logo on the front, and is pressed on clear vinyl.

The Chicago skyline b-side labels, along with the REV25 logo on the back cover, is a nice touch.

As I was going through my set of vinyl for this blog post, and was taking pictures, I noticed that my copy of the Texas Is The Reason 7 inch had Youth Of Today labels, with the YOT name crossed out and TITR's name hand written. What the hell? I checked Doug's post...nope, his had the right labels. How many were made like this?

Overall it was a pretty good package deal. I already have the NYC LP, and I'm not too bothered with the posters, but the REV mug and the shirts are nice...especially the NYC once, since I was there.

Reissues Of Today

When Revelation started repressing the Youth Of Today vinyl a year ago, I did not expect them to crank them out like they have. Just a couple months after repressing We're Not In This Alone and Break Down The Walls, they give us another one. I've still got a back log of new vinyl to post up here on the blog, so I'm probably the last to write about these, but here they are.

We're Not In This Alone on clear red.

In my last post about the new Break Down The Walls press on red, I joked that blue vinyl was probably next on the repress list. Well, here it is.

When REV started with these YOT reissues, I tried to resist the call. It didn't take long, however, before I was wrapped up in the excitement, and picking up each color they had available. One of the pressings for Can't Close My Eyes, from last year, was this odd looking purple and grey marble mix. I grabbed a copy, and didn't think much of it...until I saw Dobek's write up of all the different pressings of this record. Holy shit, his photo of five different shades from this grey/purple pressing looked amazing.

I was on ebay recently looking around for some new YOT vinyl, and I stumbled upon a shade that looked very different from the grey one that I had initially received. This one was more of a pink/purple blend, so I pulled the trigger on the Buy It Now option.

I don't typically get caught up in slight color variations, but this one was strong enough to get me interested. Finding the blue shade of this pressing would be pretty sweet.

REV Reissues: Youth Of Today

A year ago, Revelation Record reissued Youth of Today's Can't Close My Eyes record. The label has been reissuing out a bunch of vinyl lately, but I was surprised to see them do another pressing of this record so soon.

When REV posted that the new pressing on clear vinyl was available, I didn't place my order immediately. A couple of days later, I went to REVHQ to place my order and I was surprised to see it listed as Sold Out. Weird. That sold out pretty fast. Fuck it. I cancelled the rest of my order.

Thankfully, the clear vinyl was back up for sale a few days later. Phew. Crisis averted.

In addition to Can't Close My Eyes, REV also did represses for the other Youth of Today records...thankfully going back to the original cover designs.

We're Not In This Alone was pressed on white vinyl and the layout mirrors the original Caroline pressing.

Even the record labels follow the design of the original pressing. Nice touch.

For Break Down The Walls, Revelation move on from that hideous cover they used with the 1997 repress, but surprisingly they don't use the cover design from their 1988 vinyl pressing either. Instead they go for the original design that was used on the initial pressing from Wishing Well.

To make this one slightly controversial, they went with a dead match of the infamous red vinyl pressing. Of course with the Revelation name all over the cover and record label, no one is going to be fooled into thinking that this is a Wishing Well original.

Yawn Of Today

Nothing too exciting to see here. The vinyl re-issue of Were Not In This Alone...on black vinyl...yawn. The fact is, I only owned this re-issue on CD, and I wanted a vinyl copy because one can never have too many Youth Of Today records. I already own the superior Caroline pressing, but this copy has been hanging out a my local record store for too long. It was time to give it a good home.

I never had a problem with the layout of this Revelation remastered pressing. Ray looks like a maniac tearing into the mic, and really captures the live intensity of the band. Sure the original cover is better, but honestly, this cover is nowhere as bad as Can't Close My Eyes and Break Down The Walls. I'll spin this once, and then put it on the shelf. What is the point, you ask? It is Youth Of Today, and that is the only reason I need to buy this.

Flame Still Burns

When I started this blog almost four years ago, I would have never imagined that it would have lasted this long. At the time, I was starting to get completely obsessed with record collecting, and so I started this up to help occupy my time with my new found love. Much to my surprise this little record collecting blog has attracted a fair bit of attention (over 25,000 hits on my stat counter to date). Years have passed and I have seen some other bloggers come and go, new friends have been made, and lots of money has been spent on new vinyl. At times, I've updated this blog once a week, and other times I've had enough new records coming in that I've had to update it every other day just to keep up. 2009 has been a huge year for me in regards to new vinyl, as my post count has already stomped previous years into the ground. So here we are with my 300th post. So for those of you that stop by and join me in this obsession, thanks. This flame will keep on burning strong, and I will continue to sing this song.

For my landmark 300th post, I knew that it had to be for a classic record. I recently acquired Youth of Today's We're Not In This Alone, and I figured that it was perfect for this post. I've been looking to pick up this record for years, but have continually passed it by for something more limited. When a poster on the Livewire messageboard listed some items with a set price, I finally took the leap and bought a copy. One of the best hardcore albums EVER. I originally owned this on cassette, that I bought in Boston around 1990, and then finally picked it up on CD when Revelation remastered the Youth of Today stuff back in 1997. I've never really looked to be a Youth of Today completist, but it always feels good to add one of their records to my collection.