Comments on: More Confessions of A Vinyl Addict, Part 2

By: Erich Schultz

Erich Schultz — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:00:35 +0000

Al, I have been away for a week and I am just catching up to your comments on this. Since I still have a son in private college, I satisfy my vinyl collecting by buying a few select records on ebay and at records stores, but I get the majority of my records for $1 each at thrift stores. Surprisingly, the condition can sometimes be M- or VG++. I don’t have a lot of blue notes, but I do have a lot of Prestiges’. I enjoy the thrill of the hunt, and the music at the end. For folks like us with kids in college and elderly relatives to support, the first pressing blue notes are an impossible dream. However the USA, Liberty and Japanese pressing help us still connect. Right now I am listening to Mose Allison’s “Down Home Piano” while I write this. A great 1965 Prestige recording. Thanks for sharing your experiences on this with us! You have the best jazz collecting site, and your hard work to maintain is highly appreciated!

By: Al

Al — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:35:09 +0000

Rudolf, thank you for your sympathies, however tongue-in-cheek they may be. 🙂
Yes, I need help. That is why I am offering this series of confessions. To cleanse my soul and move onto become a better and wiser Jazz Collector.

By: don-lucky

don-lucky — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:34:04 +0000

Perhaps this is actually a blessing in disguise Al. Just think of how tragic it would be to have a complete original collection of Blue Notes in hand… The satisfaction would only be short lived. Like most of us, you would probably move onto obsessing over your other jazz label collections until they were complete as well. Then what ??? …Stamps !?!?! (Sorry, that was crossing the line I know…)
I say, let the good times roll, you have a renewed sense of purpose now. The quest is the best part of collecting, but once the quest is over, what then ? Perhaps it’s time to filter the non-essential labels in your collection, including all the Blue Notes that are not original pressings and focus on a single label. (ie. Blue Note)
I believe Oscar Wilde once said, and I quote… “There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.”

By: Rudolf

Rudolf — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:30:09 +0000

that is a sad story. I hope at least your Prestige collection is complete.

By: DaveS

DaveS — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:42:36 +0000

Do we ever really “own” an object? Perhaps you should instead reflect back on the time that you and Curtis Fuller BLP 1567 shared together.

I suggest that after your period of reflection, you consider penning a treatise “Zen and the Art of Jazz Record Collecting”. May be very therapeutic for all of us. Alternatively, I hear Tiger Woods can recommend a good recovery center.