V/A – Songs That Saved My Life

Charity Compilations are nothing new. There are becoming more common though, which is a nice trend to see rather than price gouging, deluxe edition reissues and soundtracks/scores. This comp, entitled Songs That Saved My Life, benefits multiple mental health and suicide prevention charities and foundations. The concept behind it is far more interesting than that, as it’s a cover comp as well, with the featured bands selecting a song that has profound meaning to them. Crisis Text Line, Hope For The Day, The Trevor Project, and To Write Love On Her Arms are the benefactors, with a portion of the proceeds being donated.

Hopeless Records (with Sub City Records also having a hand) released the comp, which was done as double LP released in a single pocket jacket. There are three variants; magenta limited to 1,000 copies, black limited to 1500 copies and blue limited to an unknown amount. Magenta is an Urban Outfitters exclusive, sky blue is an HMV (UK entertainment retailer) and black is the mass retail variant. The magenta is translucent and the blue is an opaque light/sky/baby blue. The magenta variant comes with a hype sticker denoting the color, which is also color coded. The blue variant does not come with a hype sticker denoting color, but it does come with one that says it’s an HMV exclusive.

As of posting this this comp is OOP. Retail price on the two U.S. variants was around $25 before shipping. The UK import cost far more, before even factoring in international shipping. All copies come with a double sided insert and a download card/code for high quality 320 kbps MP3s. I held off on buying this comp, and I’m glad I did, because I bought it during a ridiculous sale Urban Outfitters was running where an additional 50% off was taken on all sale items, so I wound up buying this for $10 and change shipped.

The track listing is pretty good for this comp. Typically when covers are involved the song choices are subpar, but not with Songs That Saved My Life. While I’m not a fan of most of the bands featured (I bought this for the Taking Back Sunday, Against Me! and Ace Enders songs for those respective collections), the song choices make up for it. Here is the track listing:

Neck Deep – “Torn” (Natalie Imbruglia)

Movements – “Losing My Religion” (R.E.M.)

Stand Atlantic – “Your Graduation” (Modern Baseball)

Dance Gavin Dance – “Semi Charmed Life” (Third Eye Blind)

Against Me! – “People Who Died” (The Jim Carroll Band)

Taking Back Sunday – “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” (Smashing Pumpkins)

Dream State – “Crawling” (Linkin Park)

As It Is – “Such Great Heights” (The Postal Service)

Oceans Ate Alaska – “Shape of my Heart” (Sting)

Too Close To Touch – “Let It Be” (The Beatles)

Dan Campbell & Ace Enders – “Broom People” (The Mountain Goats)

The Maine – “Transatlanticism” (Death Cab For Cutie)

 

V/A – Batman Forever Soundtrack

In the soundtrack/score craze, lots of random soundtracks and scores are getting pressed for the first time. One of those includes the Batman Forever Soundtrack, which features a mish mash of genres and artists ranging from The Offspring to Method Man, to Brandy to U2. This soundtrack is famous for the Seal song “Kiss From A Rose,” but that is not why I bought it. I bought it for my Offspring collection.

Original retail price on this unnecessary soundtrack was $35. Despite it being a double LP in a gatefold jacket with a full color insert, it’s not worth anywhere close to that price. There are two variants for the Batman Forever Soundtrack; translucent green/opaque purple limited to 3,000 copies and black limited to an unknown amount. There are separate European and U.S pressings within the black variant as well. The green/purple is an Urban Outfitters exclusive, with the first LP being on translucent green and the second LP being on opaque purple. The green is a traditional green, while the purple is more of a lavender. Obviously they were going for The Joker colors. All copies come with a hype sticker, but the green/purple is the only one that says “limited colored 2LP.”

Because of the price and my well documented spending cap, I was planning on holding out for a very long time buying this soundtrack. But Urban Outfitters ran a ridiculous sale; 50% off all sale items. And seeing as this soundtrack was already marked down 50%, I got this for 75% off original retail price. I wound up paying $10 and change shipped for this record.

V/A – Kerrang! Legends

While Discogs has its many faults, it also has plenty of advantages. Without Discogs I likely would have never found out about this compilation; Kerrang! Legends. That name may be unfamiliar in the states, but across the pond in England it’s a somewhat popular rock music oriented magazine that has been around since the early 80s, eventually branching out into digital radio and tv a few decades later.

This comp features many popular acts spanning numerous genres; from Motorhead to Paramore, from Nickelback to Slipknot. But I bought it for the Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco songs in order to keep said collections complete. None of the songs on this double LP are unreleased, in fact they’re all popular singles/songs from various years, even decades.

Pressing info has not been officially released for Kerrang! Legends, but it was released in a joint venture with Rhino Records, so there were likely thousands of these pressed. As far as I know all copies were pressed on black vinyl and come housed in a gatefold jacket. A download card/code is not included, which is not unusual for a compilation. Retail price for this comp is around $25. But you can find this for cheaper if you shop around and/or wait to take advantage of coupons or sales.

 

V/A – Romance In The Digital Age Soundtrack

Sometimes waiting to buy something pays off, in more ways than one. Take this soundtrack for example. Not only did I get to use a 25% off code when I placed the order, but by waiting around two years to buy it, I was able to get the previously excusive to a bundle variant limited to 100 copies, outside of the bundle.

The soundtrack for the film Romance In The Digital Age was pressed as a single LP spread across two variants, both with a Christmas theme. Given the premise of the movie circulates around a Christmas wedding, that choice begins to make a bit more sense. The variants are “X-MAS tri-color stripe” and “snowflake splatter”. The “X-MAS tri-color stripe” is comprised of red, clear and green and limited to 200 copies, with the “snowflake splatter” being clear with white splatter limited to 100 copies. Before being broken down and sold outside a bundle, the “snowflake splatter” variant was only available in a bundle including a DVD copy of the film that cost $30 before shipping.

All copies come hand numbered on the back of the jacket, with the jacket featuring a die-cut. One side of the insert doubles as part of the cover art, which once slid into the jacket shows through the die-cut portion. A download card/code is also included, which nets you all the tracks in WAV form.

The soundtrack features original songs by the likes of Vinnie Caruana, John Nolan and James Dewees just to name a few. As of posting this both variants are still available from Enjoy The Ride Records, and the label is the only place to buy the soundtrack on vinyl. Price on it is $20 before shipping.

Minus The Bear – Fair Enough

Minus The Bear’s swan song, the Fair Enough EP, was pressed on three variants; 180 gram black limited to 1,000 copies, coke bottle green limited to 2,000 copies and baby pink limited to 1,000 copies. Suicide Squeeze released this 12” EP, and while they claim it went through a second pressing (baby pink), personally I don’t consider the baby pink to be a second/different/new pressing. The baby pink was announced and put on sale before the release date. And personally I don’t consider things like that to be a re-press or a second pressing. The EP was not even sold out via pre-orders when the baby pink was announced and put up for sale. Not that it really matters for me because I have a copy from the “first pressing” anyhow.

This is a no frills release; just a record stuffed into a single pocket jacket. An insert is not included, but a download card/code is. Which is nice seeing as many labels are doing away with download cards despite charging higher and higher prices for records. All copies come with a hype sticker on the cover indicating color of the record. The record is cut at 45 rpm and the cover art was done by bassist Cory Murchy.

I enjoy this EP, and it stays in line musically with the band’s most recent efforts in Infinity Overhead and VOIDS. I know most people prefer the band’s earlier works to the later, but I feel they peaked with Infinity Overhead. Not that I don’t enjoy their earlier albums, I just love Infinity Overhead. Four songs are found on Fair Enough, with one of them being previously released (not physically) and another being a remix of a song off VOIDS. So in reality there are only two brand new songs.

Retail price for this record is around $20. But you can find this for cheaper if you shop around. Given the addition of a new variant in the middle of pre-orders, I was fearful it may sell out before I could do my usual wait for price drops and/or sales, but I was in luck. And you should be too as oddly only the baby pink from the “second pressing” is sold out directly from Suicide Squeeze as of posting this. The remaining two variants from them are available for $18 plus shipping.

Dave Grohl – Play

When Dave Grohl announced he composed a 22 plus minute instrumental track I was intrigued to say the least. For someone I feel can do no wrong (at least for the most part) when it comes to music, I felt he might be setting himself up for disaster. A composition that long could gone one of two ways; brilliant or horribly wrong. Fortunately it was not the later, as Grohl knocked it out of the park.

For someone who is not thrilled when it comes to instrumentalist rock music, whether it be entire bands/ensembles or just one track on an album, Grohl’s “Play” is broken down into several movements, which helps break up the monotony of a song running 22 plus minutes in length. What makes the track even more impressive is that Grohl plays all the instruments himself, and did everything in one take. There is no splicing together or other fancy editing to take the best parts of certain takes. If he made a mistake or felt he could do better, he started over from the beginning on that instrument. And “Play” comprises seven instruments. Many of which are far outside his wheelhouse.

One of the reasons why I respect Dave Grohl so much is that he can play multiple instruments; he’s not a one trick pony. He’s not afraid to try something new, or different. Or something outside of his comfort zone. He’s unabashed. The fact he took on such an ambitious endeavor, and did it the way he did, is insanely impressive. The drummer who needed a click track in the studio to playing something completely unfamiliar like shakers and vibes is rather impressive. The fact that “Play” was given the creed “Celebrating the rewards and challenges of dedicating one’s life to playing and mastering a musical instrumental” is only icing on the cake.

The only physical release for “Play” is vinyl. And what a unique package it comes in. Instead of a traditional jacket with a pocket that opens on the right sided, or even the top side (which is unusual in and of itself), the jacket for play opens from the front. Yes, you read correctly, the front of the jacket opens up in order to gain access to the record itself. The front is cut diagonally from top right to bottom left, and folds open accordingly to reveal a middle panel the record is housed in. Much like a triple panel gatefold jacket.

All copies were pressed on black vinyl with an etching on the b-side. An insert is also included, which is a input layout from the studio session. No download card/code is included with the vinyl version of “Play,” which sadly is something this is becoming more common these days. This record is being advertised as “limited” but no pressing info has been officially released. Which is not surprising for a major label release. Retail price on this record is around $20. If you shop around and/or are patient, you can buy this for under $15, which is what I did.

Manchester Orchestra – The Black Mile Demos

Black Friday Record Store Day (RSD) is usually hit or miss. Typically there are far less things I want, and they are far easier to find long after the fact. This year there were two things I wanted; one of which I felt was a must buy and the other I could live without for multiple reasons. Manchester Orchestra’s Black Mile Demos was the must buy. It wasn’t terribly expensive, and it wasn’t super limited, so it was easy to find at my local store after I got off work at night on Black Friday.

The Black Mile Demos were released earlier in the year on digital platforms, but the only physical release was on vinyl (at least so far). There were 2,000 copies pressed, all of which are on colored vinyl. The color was not made public prior to release, at least not by the RSD folks. The band however, posted a picture of the finished product on social media, showing that the single LP would be on pink marble. An insert is included with the release, which comes in a standard single pocket jacket. But no download card/code is included.

Retail price on this record was between $15-20 depending on the store. My local store charged $17 for it, but I know other stores charged more, and some a bit less. As of posting this prices on the secondary market hover around retail price.