This coveted 12" single by Everything But The Girl is the title track to one of my favorite albums of all time. The artwork by Form was economical yet beautiful (love the Japanese referencing). Jeurgen Teller captured Ben and Tracey at a moment of complete power in their creative rejuvenation. This was phase two of an already brilliant career.
On my November 2013 London trip, I did a wee bit of vinyl shopping. These came from Music & Video Exchange in Notting Hill. I already had the Nick Heyward and Prefab Sprout in their US versions, but the former is a gatefold in the UK and the latter has a different album name, Steve McQueen. Which is, you should know dear reader, my favorite album of all time.
A pretty and high-quality pressing of Deee-Lite's second album, 1992's Infinity Within. The record sounds better now than it did on release and the artwork was stunning. This hip NYC band understood visuals. I should add that I recently went to a record store and found two of the 12" singles from this LP. Score!
Need I say more? Look at this! I actually have Karma Chameleon in both the 7 and 12 inch versions and they're almost identical. Like the Human League above, I just needed it in a larger size to appreciate it.
#nofilter, as the say on Instagram. New Order's records are somewhat elusive in vinyl stores (true of Depeche and The Smiths too) because they are so gorgeous. Technique is perhaps the greatest cover they did. Peter Saville did the design and he explains it in this funny piece from The Guardian.
Okay, I did not actually buy this, but I loved the image - taken in a record store - that I had to post it. I've been going to this place, by the way, since the 90's glory days of two-part CD singles. I duked it out to get my Tori and Bjork singles, etc. This is a classic record store and it's had the same core staff for over twenty years. Love them.
diana - little d - is one of the most perfect, concise records of the 80s. The cover shot represented a big change in image for Diana at the time. No big hair, minimal makeup. The music is like a manifesto and still moves me to this day. Have fun again...
I think it's appropriate to follow Diana Ross with Janet Jackson. A vinyl was manufactured for the 2001 album this title track came from, but I've always felt that this single image far exceeded the bland Maybelline-like LP cover shot. It's far more iconic.
You've seen enough of my grubby thumb in these shots. Again, if you'd like to occasionally see what I am buying, I tend to post the prettiest stuff on Instagram. Be sure, also, to read this funny Washington Post piece on what the actual plural of vinyl is. You can guess where I stand on this matter. xo