Vinyl

[GubGub (Al)]

I couldn't think where else to put this so as we already have a thread dedicated to cassettes I thought I would start a new one for this.

I am slowly being seduced into buying vinyl again. Setting aside used items that I have picked up, I have also bought new LPs by Savoy, Bob Dylan, ELO, OMD, Abba, Tamikrest, Neil Young and The Claypool Lennon Delirium over the last year and find myself increasingly looking at the vinyl release for new albums rather than the CD. The prices are of course ludicrous and prohibitive for really embracing vinyl as fully as i might like and I do have one other complaint.

What is the deal with splitting relatively short albums over two slabs of vinyl? Yes I get that there is an (ridiculous) audiophile fetish for splitting an album over multiple 45rpm discs. Those are not albums. They are 12 inch singles! But my bigger concern is that something like the new Claypool Lennon Delrium album (which I love) is 48 minutes long and is split over two 33rpm platters. It isn't necessary. Bob Dylan's Blood On The Tracks is slightly longer than that and exists on a single slab of plastic. It sounds perfectly fine but when the More Blood More Tracks album came out, essentially the same tracks were split over two discs. That is 11 songs, making it 3 or less per side with playing times under 15 minutes. We, or perhaps those younger than me who have fully bought in to the vinyl renaissance, are being taken for a ride.

[Brendan]

Am I mistaken or did they release all the smiths albums on 10 inch vinyl at some point in the nineties?

[davidmjs]

The general consensus is indeed that prices are prohibitive, but if you use an inflation calculator, you'll find that the prices we used to pay and remember as cheap are actually similar or more expensive than most new vinyl costs today.

As for your specific question, sound quality is the (supposed) answer.  I'm unconvinced, but I've never been an audiophile (hence the cassettes thread)  

[bassline (Mike)]

The general consensus is indeed that prices are prohibitive, but if you use an inflation calculator, you'll find that the prices we used to pay and remember as cheap are actually similar or more expensive than most new vinyl costs today.

As for your specific question, sound quality is the (supposed) answer.  I'm unconvinced, but I've never been an audiophile (hence the cassettes thread)  

Interesting point. If I remember correctly, the VAT increase imposed by Geoffrey Howe in 1979 - 8% to 15% - meant L.P's were £8.00 for a single, and £12.00 for a double album, which equates to £39.76 and £59.64 today. So......when I looked at Dark Side Of The Moon in Asda today, for £18.00, it would have been £3.62 back then.
This brings the question of the average wage into things, but that is most definitely off topic.

[davidmjs]

The general consensus is indeed that prices are prohibitive, but if you use an inflation calculator, you'll find that the prices we used to pay and remember as cheap are actually similar or more expensive than most new vinyl costs today.

As for your specific question, sound quality is the (supposed) answer.  I'm unconvinced, but I've never been an audiophile (hence the cassettes thread)  

Interesting point. If I remember correctly, the VAT increase imposed by Geoffrey Howe in 1979 - 8% to 15% - meant L.P's were £8.00 for a single, and £12.00 for a double album, which equates to £39.76 and £59.64 today. So......when I looked at Dark Side Of The Moon in Asda today, for £18.00, it would have been £3.62 back then.
This brings the question of the average wage into things, but that is most definitely off topic.

Yep, so minutes of the average wage spent working for something is one way of comparing prices.  What it doesn't do is take account of the vast inequality in wages which has been built into the economy in the last 4 decades and which didn't exist before....ie the average is massively distorted by the vast riches of the few.  All of this proves only one thing...it's very hard to compare prices in a then and now way.  But the fact that our perception is so distorted (Beer/Bread/Records were so much cheaper then) is certainly of interest....

[Chris]

Fewer vinyl copies are pressed too, so cost per item would be higher anyway

[Jules Gray]

I only ever buy vinyl when certain songs I want aren't available on CD.  And I quite enjoy buying it in those instances.  But in general, I find vinyl stressful.  I worry about scratching it, I worry whether my stylus is set up right.  And I loathe surface noise, scratches, pops, and jumps.  Any warm nostalgic glow is heavily negated by all that.  But still, it does have an undeniable aesthetic appeal.

Jules

[Albie]

The general consensus is indeed that prices are prohibitive, but if you use an inflation calculator, you'll find that the prices we used to pay and remember as cheap are actually similar or more expensive than most new vinyl costs today.

As for your specific question, sound quality is the (supposed) answer.  I'm unconvinced, but I've never been an audiophile (hence the cassettes thread)  

Interesting point. If I remember correctly, the VAT increase imposed by Geoffrey Howe in 1979 - 8% to 15% - meant L.P's were £8.00 for a single, and £12.00 for a double album, which equates to £39.76 and £59.64 today. So......when I looked at Dark Side Of The Moon in Asda today, for £18.00, it would have been £3.62 back then.
This brings the question of the average wage into things, but that is most definitely off topic.

That doesn't sound right for 1979. I'd have thought £3.50 to £4.50 was the range for an LP, but then again it was a long time ago and memory fades, but I can't believe I would have paid £12 for London Calling or £8 for Unknown Pleasures, to name a couple I bought back in the dark, dark, days of Thatcher. But perhaps I had more money than I thought.  

Anyhow, I don't understand the love for vinyl, I like CDs much better, although of course they are terribly old fashioned themselves now.

[bassline (Mike)]

The general consensus is indeed that prices are prohibitive, but if you use an inflation calculator, you'll find that the prices we used to pay and remember as cheap are actually similar or more expensive than most new vinyl costs today.

As for your specific question, sound quality is the (supposed) answer.  I'm unconvinced, but I've never been an audiophile (hence the cassettes thread)  

Interesting point. If I remember correctly, the VAT increase imposed by Geoffrey Howe in 1979 - 8% to 15% - meant L.P's were £8.00 for a single, and £12.00 for a double album, which equates to £39.76 and £59.64 today. So......when I looked at Dark Side Of The Moon in Asda today, for £18.00, it would have been £3.62 back then.
This brings the question of the average wage into things, but that is most definitely off topic.

That doesn't sound right for 1979. I'd have thought £3.50 to £4.50 was the range for an LP, but then again it was a long time ago and memory fades, but I can't believe I would have paid £12 for London Calling or £8 for Unknown Pleasures, to name a couple I bought back in the dark, dark, days of Thatcher. But perhaps I had more money than I thought.  

Anyhow, I don't understand the love for vinyl, I like CDs much better, although of course they are terribly old fashioned themselves now.

Actually - you're right. It was £6 for a single album, and £8 for a double.
(The £12 was from checking the prices of CD's when they came out - bit of a cut and paste cock up there, due to Jim Beam and coke !  )

[Col D]

I buy very little new vinyl, really only things where there isn't CD equivalent, if there's a CD issue I'll always go for that. Price is one factor but mainly because quality control is so poor - that was the main reason why I moved to CD in the 80s and recent experience would indicate that the problem is even worse now than it was back then. Why is it so difficult to produce a flat piece of vinyl? We used to be able to do that but pretty much every album I've bought in recent years has been either warped or dished to some degree. When it comes to the question of sound quality I keep hearing all about the superior warm analogue sound, but the fact is that the vast majority of new vinyl releases are mastered from digital files anyway and sound exactly the same as the CD, but at two or three times the price.

[Albie]

The general consensus is indeed that prices are prohibitive, but if you use an inflation calculator, you'll find that the prices we used to pay and remember as cheap are actually similar or more expensive than most new vinyl costs today.

As for your specific question, sound quality is the (supposed) answer.  I'm unconvinced, but I've never been an audiophile (hence the cassettes thread)  

Interesting point. If I remember correctly, the VAT increase imposed by Geoffrey Howe in 1979 - 8% to 15% - meant L.P's were £8.00 for a single, and £12.00 for a double album, which equates to £39.76 and £59.64 today. So......when I looked at Dark Side Of The Moon in Asda today, for £18.00, it would have been £3.62 back then.
This brings the question of the average wage into things, but that is most definitely off topic.

That doesn't sound right for 1979. I'd have thought £3.50 to £4.50 was the range for an LP, but then again it was a long time ago and memory fades, but I can't believe I would have paid £12 for London Calling or £8 for Unknown Pleasures, to name a couple I bought back in the dark, dark, days of Thatcher. But perhaps I had more money than I thought.  

Anyhow, I don't understand the love for vinyl, I like CDs much better, although of course they are terribly old fashioned themselves now.

Actually - you're right. It was £6 for a single album, and £8 for a double.
(The £12 was from checking the prices of CD's when they came out - bit of a cut and paste cock up there, due to Jim Beam and coke !  )

Well, I was right up to a point. £6 still sounds a bit much to my faulty memory, but there was a lot of that there inflation back then. I wonder how much a Jim Beam and coke would have been? I would have been mainly drinking Banks's Mild (nice) or Greenall Whitley bitter (unpleasant) in those days.

[JohnP69]

Am I mistaken or did they release all the smiths albums on 10 inch vinyl at some point in the nineties?

They did indeed Brendan 1993 to be precise.

I believe 2 of them were doubles.

Probably going for a tidy sum on Discogs now!

[bassline (Mike)]

It was a BIG jump in VAT - almost double. I went into HMV with my mate Derek and was shocked.
Bank's Mild...them was the days.
I remember a jump from about 30p a pint to 50p.
'50p ?? FIFTY PENCE !!!??? Forra point of Bonkses ? Gerrowtovitt !'

[GubGub (Al)]

The general consensus is indeed that prices are prohibitive, but if you use an inflation calculator, you'll find that the prices we used to pay and remember as cheap are actually similar or more expensive than most new vinyl costs today.

As for your specific question, sound quality is the (supposed) answer.  I'm unconvinced, but I've never been an audiophile (hence the cassettes thread)  

Interesting point. If I remember correctly, the VAT increase imposed by Geoffrey Howe in 1979 - 8% to 15% - meant L.P's were £8.00 for a single, and £12.00 for a double album, which equates to £39.76 and £59.64 today. So......when I looked at Dark Side Of The Moon in Asda today, for £18.00, it would have been £3.62 back then.
This brings the question of the average wage into things, but that is most definitely off topic.

That doesn't sound right for 1979. I'd have thought £3.50 to £4.50 was the range for an LP, but then again it was a long time ago and memory fades, but I can't believe I would have paid £12 for London Calling or £8 for Unknown Pleasures, to name a couple I bought back in the dark, dark, days of Thatcher. But perhaps I had more money than I thought.  

Anyhow, I don't understand the love for vinyl, I like CDs much better, although of course they are terribly old fashioned themselves now.

Actually - you're right. It was £6 for a single album, and £8 for a double.
(The £12 was from checking the prices of CD's when they came out - bit of a cut and paste cock up there, due to Jim Beam and coke !  )

Well, I was right up to a point. £6 still sounds a bit much to my faulty memory, but there was a lot of that there inflation back then. I wonder how much a Jim Beam and coke would have been? I would have been mainly drinking Banks's Mild (nice) or Greenall Whitley bitter (unpleasant) in those days.

I agree. I was buying huge amounts of vinyl when I was at college between '83 & '86 and I definitely would not have been paying more than about a fiver for a new LP. I couldn't have afforded to on a student grant. I have just looked at one of the few albums I have that still has a price ticket on it, Loaded by The Velvet Underground. Admittedly that was a back catalogue item but I bought it mid eighties and the price ticket is £2.99.

[MarkV]

It was a BIG jump in VAT - almost double. I went into HMV with my mate Derek and was shocked.
Bank's Mild...them was the days.
I remember a jump from about 30p a pint to 50p.
'50p ?? FIFTY PENCE !!!??? Forra point of Bonkses ? Gerrowtovitt !'

Probably off topic, but while I will never go back to vinyl, if I could get some Banks Mild I would be happy..(though I suspect my gout would flare up).  

[GubGub (Al)]

The general consensus is indeed that prices are prohibitive, but if you use an inflation calculator, you'll find that the prices we used to pay and remember as cheap are actually similar or more expensive than most new vinyl costs today.

As for your specific question, sound quality is the (supposed) answer.  I'm unconvinced, but I've never been an audiophile (hence the cassettes thread)  

Interesting point. If I remember correctly, the VAT increase imposed by Geoffrey Howe in 1979 - 8% to 15% - meant L.P's were £8.00 for a single, and £12.00 for a double album, which equates to £39.76 and £59.64 today. So......when I looked at Dark Side Of The Moon in Asda today, for £18.00, it would have been £3.62 back then.
This brings the question of the average wage into things, but that is most definitely off topic.

That doesn't sound right for 1979. I'd have thought £3.50 to £4.50 was the range for an LP, but then again it was a long time ago and memory fades, but I can't believe I would have paid £12 for London Calling or £8 for Unknown Pleasures, to name a couple I bought back in the dark, dark, days of Thatcher. But perhaps I had more money than I thought.  

Anyhow, I don't understand the love for vinyl, I like CDs much better, although of course they are terribly old fashioned themselves now.

Actually - you're right. It was £6 for a single album, and £8 for a double.
(The £12 was from checking the prices of CD's when they came out - bit of a cut and paste cock up there, due to Jim Beam and coke !  )

Well, I was right up to a point. £6 still sounds a bit much to my faulty memory, but there was a lot of that there inflation back then. I wonder how much a Jim Beam and coke would have been? I would have been mainly drinking Banks's Mild (nice) or Greenall Whitley bitter (unpleasant) in those days.

I agree. I was buying huge amounts of vinyl when I was at college between '83 & '86 and I definitely would not have been paying more than about a fiver for a new LP. I couldn't have afforded to on a student grant. I have just looked at one of the few albums I have that still has a price ticket on it, Loaded by The Velvet Underground. Admittedly that was a back catalogue item but I bought it mid eighties and the price ticket is £2.99.

I've done a bit of detective work and found this picture of a window display in Our Price showing albums by Kajagoogoo (I know!) and Springsteen that date it to 1984. The prices shown are £4.49. That is in line with my memory. Anyone want to take a shot at what the equivalent price is 35 years on?

[ColinB]

I've done a bit of detective work and found this picture of a window display in Our Price showing albums by Kajagoogoo (I know!) and Springsteen that date it to 1984. The prices shown are £4.49. That is in line with my memory. Anyone want to take a shot at what the equivalent price is 35 years on?

Kajagoogoo 49p in Oxfam.  

[Albie]

The general consensus is indeed that prices are prohibitive, but if you use an inflation calculator, you'll find that the prices we used to pay and remember as cheap are actually similar or more expensive than most new vinyl costs today.

As for your specific question, sound quality is the (supposed) answer.  I'm unconvinced, but I've never been an audiophile (hence the cassettes thread)  

Interesting point. If I remember correctly, the VAT increase imposed by Geoffrey Howe in 1979 - 8% to 15% - meant L.P's were £8.00 for a single, and £12.00 for a double album, which equates to £39.76 and £59.64 today. So......when I looked at Dark Side Of The Moon in Asda today, for £18.00, it would have been £3.62 back then.
This brings the question of the average wage into things, but that is most definitely off topic.

That doesn't sound right for 1979. I'd have thought £3.50 to £4.50 was the range for an LP, but then again it was a long time ago and memory fades, but I can't believe I would have paid £12 for London Calling or £8 for Unknown Pleasures, to name a couple I bought back in the dark, dark, days of Thatcher. But perhaps I had more money than I thought.  

Anyhow, I don't understand the love for vinyl, I like CDs much better, although of course they are terribly old fashioned themselves now.

Actually - you're right. It was £6 for a single album, and £8 for a double.
(The £12 was from checking the prices of CD's when they came out - bit of a cut and paste cock up there, due to Jim Beam and coke !  )

Well, I was right up to a point. £6 still sounds a bit much to my faulty memory, but there was a lot of that there inflation back then. I wonder how much a Jim Beam and coke would have been? I would have been mainly drinking Banks's Mild (nice) or Greenall Whitley bitter (unpleasant) in those days.

I agree. I was buying huge amounts of vinyl when I was at college between '83 & '86 and I definitely would not have been paying more than about a fiver for a new LP. I couldn't have afforded to on a student grant. I have just looked at one of the few albums I have that still has a price ticket on it, Loaded by The Velvet Underground. Admittedly that was a back catalogue item but I bought it mid eighties and the price ticket is £2.99.

I've done a bit of detective work and found this picture of a window display in Our Price showing albums by Kajagoogoo (I know!) and Springsteen that date it to 1984. The prices shown are £4.49. That is in line with my memory. Anyone want to take a shot at what the equivalent price is 35 years on?

Those prices are more in line with what my memory is trying to tell me. That's a great picture btw.

[davidmjs]

Those prices are more in line with what my memory is trying to tell me. That's a great picture btw.

£14-15 quid ? (approx the same with inflation)...It's almost bang on what a new slightly discounted chart vinyl album costs today.

[GubGub (Al)]

Those prices are more in line with what my memory is trying to tell me. That's a great picture btw.

£14-15 quid ? (approx the same with inflation)...It's almost bang on what a new slightly discounted chart vinyl album costs today.

I'm not finding too much new vinyl at that sort of price. £17 - £25 seems nearer the norm for a single album. I am not buying much chart music admittedly.