Hooray for Vinyl

Today is Vinyl Record Day, on what may or may not be the 130th anniversary of the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison. But whether or not the day is completely accurate — as some say it happened in November or even December 1877 — hooray for records.

When you’re a collector of the Music of Jim Steinman and/or Meat Loaf and Related Stuff of the type that has to have it all, you can’t get around the LP. Mr. Loaf’s very first recordings have never been released on CD. Anything he did before the Ted Nugent album “Free-for-All” still is only available on vinyl. Well, there is a compilation set that includes both the A- and B-side of the “More Than You Deserve” single, but both have some third party additions, so that hardly counts. And then you have a decent amount of alternative versions, single edits, extended remixes and live tracks that are LP-only.

In the Steinman-department, nearly everything has been released in the digital realm. Apart from two tracks, the “Delta House Theme” and “Shadows on the Freeway” there are only a few single edits out there. Unless you want to count some of the Bonnie Tyler B-sides he had nothing to do with.

I’ve dug up some vinyl-only stuff:

Bring Me the Head of Jerry Garcia (single version) by Iron Prostate
A couple of years ago, George Tabb of Iron Prostate made the demo version of this song available through his website. That demo was produced by Jim Steinman, and supposedly features the cast of Cats as backup vocalist for the chorus. Iron Prostate broke up during the recording of their second album, possibly produced by Jim. Who had nothing to with the single version, released in 1992 on Vital Records. That version was produced by George Tabb and Jim Fourniadis.

I’m Gonna Love Her for Both of Us (vinyl rip) by Meat Loaf
Some people aren’t quite impressed with the CD-release of “Dead Ringer”, saying that the mastering blows compared to the LP. Here’s one track to figure out if that’s true. You’ll need to provide your own CD though.

Once Upon a Time b/w Hello by Popcorn Blizzard
In 1968 Meat Loaf was in the band Popcorn Blizzard, and they cut a single, of which approx. 7,000 copies were released in and around Michigan. Luckily for me, I was able to pick up a copy of the “Michigan Mixture Volume I” bootleg LP in Utrecht some years ago.

Downloads can be found on the downloads page. Pops and crackle are on the house this time.