TheVinylPress.com

[Whart]

A new website, TheVinylPress.com, devoted to older vinyl pressings and history quietly launched last month with a tour of the U.S. Library of Congress audio-visual archival facilities, a Q&A on record cleaning with the restoration specialists at the Library of Congress and a series of reviews, ranging from Spirit’s classic “Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus” to a 45 rpm Belgian EP from Trixie Whitley, daughter of the late Texas bluesman, Chris Whitley. The site’s focus is on great records that have been forgotten or don’t get the recognition they deserve, musically and sonically. It not only pays attention to collector records but also to bargains that can be found in the used bins.

The latest “issue” includes an interview with Olav Wyper, who created the legendary UK Vertigo “Swirl” label at Philips, along with a series of reviews of old Vertigo pressings; and a further installment on record cleaning as part of a series. The site is intended to appeal to newer generations of vinyl listeners as well as long time collectors. Readers are invited to subscribe for free to receive alerts when new content is posted. I am having a great time doing the research, writing and interviews. I hope you find it worthwhile.
The url is: http://thevinylpress.com



Bill Hart

[John49]

Originally Posted by Whart

A new website, TheVinylPress.com, devoted to older vinyl pressings and history quietly launched last month with a tour of the U.S. Library of Congress audio-visual archival facilities, a Q&A on record cleaning with the restoration specialists at the Library of Congress and a series of reviews, ranging from Spirit’s classic “Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus” to a 45 rpm Belgian EP from Trixie Whitley, daughter of the late Texas bluesman, Chris Whitley. The site’s focus is on great records that have been forgotten or don’t get the recognition they deserve, musically and sonically. It not only pays attention to collector records but also to bargains that can be found in the used bins. The latest “issue” includes an interview with Olav Wyper, who created the legendary UK Vertigo “Swirl” label at Philips, along with a series of reviews of old Vertigo pressings; and a further installment on record cleaning as part of a series. The site is intended to appeal to newer generations of vinyl listeners as well as long time collectors. Readers are invited to subscribe for free to receive alerts when new content is posted. I am having a great time doing the research, writing and interviews. I hope you find it worthwhile. The url is: http://thevinylpress.com Bill Hart

Thank you Bill. Very informative and I have subscribed.

[Antonmb]

Excellent, thanks for the tip.

[Maks]

Wow, that Library of Congress piece was amazing! As a 78 collector, I'm sure their collection is the stuff dreams are made of. Also nice to see a shout out to the Chicago blues labels (Delmark is still around!).

[Sillver79]

Very nice lots of information thank you.

[Whart]

I recently got to talk at length with Stanley Booth- he hung out with the Stones back in the early days, and chronicled the infamous tour that led to the tragedy at Altamont; he is a trove of information about the blues, Gram Parsons, the redemptive power of music and is a great story-teller. He was kind enough to go "on the record" for some questions I had.
Also just added- an interview with one of the founders of EIL- these guys are based in the UK and are a source, not only for the uber collectible, but just good solid UK copies of records that deserve to be heard as older British pressings.
I also have piece I've been working on- Buying Used Records- a Primer, which I hope to publish in a few days. It probably won't tell you anything new if you are already a collector of old vinyl, but for those who are just venturing in (or returning) to these waters, which can run deep, it gives some basic information on assessing pressings, decoding deadwax, and more generally, on the processes of hunting down good pressings. More soon.

[cmalak]

Bill...congrats on the new site and well done. I will be eagerly looking forward to your "Buying Used Records - a Primer" feature. Congrats once again on a great looking and informative site

[Whart]

Used Record Buying - A Primer has been posted, along with more Vertigo Swirl reviews.
(and yes, I'll get off the Vertigo thing soon, it just seemed appropriate to cover some of the great albums while the interview with the label's creator was still front and center on the home page).
Enjoy.

[jbaudio68]

Ooooohhh that sounds like a winner. Keep us (me) posted!

AMR DP-777, VPI Classic 3, McIntosh C2500, 2301 (2), PMC IB2S (2), JL Audio f112 (2)

[Whart]

I've just begun a series of related articles, interviews and album reviews on the Island "pink label" era. Once complete, the series will provide a fairly in-depth look at a label whose artists, producers and releases gave us music that was not just influential, but changed the shape of much of what we listen to today. Island Records- The "Pink Label" Era - The Vinyl Press