Oxfam Music (64 Raeburn l’laee. t)l3l 332 7593) and Avalanche (63 ('oekburn Street. ()131 225 3939). 'l'llel'e‘s little to be added: ()xt'am has the same sanitised t‘eel without (ilasgow's glowing. youthl'til stall. and .»\valanehe is much the same in both eities. with an excellent new and used (I) selection.
Once a plastic paradise. (‘oekburn Street now l‘eels a little empty alter the closure of lidinburgh's own 23rd l’reeinet and the recent demise of l‘opp. However. it is still home to longstanding. DJ-t’riendly independent Underground Solu’shn t‘) (‘oekburn Street. ()I3I 226 22-12). The slow—moving. secondhand elub tare here is pretty well organised. the owners saluting the limited pressings of today's t'resh vinyl as guarantor that all reeords are now almost instantly eolleetable. One or two of the eustomers might take themselves a little seriously. but the stall are genial. there are a staggering number ot' listening posts. and even a niee window seat should the hunt leave you leeling weary.
Vinyl Villains (5 [film Row. ()l3l 558 l l7(ll represents the old sehool roek and metal genus. dark little box ot‘ delights that it is. though a little light and a toueh more variety makes Record Shak (6‘) (‘lerk Street. ()lSl 677 7l-t-1) somewhat more inviting. l tound Backbeat Records (3] liast (‘i'osseausewayL ()l3l 668 2666) oddly eonvivial. \Vith boxes ot reeords staeked
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several deep and up to the eeiling you need to know what you're alter in this warren ol w as. where the priees are geared to the serious eolleetor market. I have no trouble believing that there are Sl).()()() i'eeords jammed into the three rooms. or that they‘re eatalogued only in the ow ner‘s noggin.
Being baek in this part ol lidinburgh reminds me ol l’rot‘essor l’lastie‘s Vinyl Frontier. It's been closed for nearly live years now btit for me this shop. more than any other. eombined the best that both the traditional reeord shop and daneetloor-iirientated stores had to ot't'ei'. There still exist. to my mind. two such please-all stores in lidinburgh today. which eater for collectors and I)Js as well as the common punter with an eye for big and beautiful artwork and an ear tor a maxi-disc‘s snap. eraekle and pop.
Unknown Pleasures (llt)
('anoiigate. (H31 652 353"i has staeks ot sensibly prieed stoek from a eommendable array ot~ genres. and surely t'ew emotions mateh the bii// ot leating through tidy tiles ot 45s only to be ushered over to eyamine some under-tlie-counter northern soul. Similarly. the liooksltehes ol~ Elvis Shakespeare i347 l.eith \Valk. lll3l 561 l363i appear at first to be supplemented by only the slightest seleetion ot wayy thrills. but when you slide its drawers open you liiid it is jammed with plastie sleeyes. The attable etii'atoi' here has plenty tor all tastes.
These days. the priee seale ol your ayerage reeoi'd shop is openly based on how mtieli the same i'eeoi'ds are making on ebay. So while you can be seeure in the knowledge you‘re not being taken tor a ride. that elanimy-palnied t‘eeling you get with a real bargain appears to be a thing of the past. The pricing is a chilling reminder ot' the internet grim reaper looming oy er the loeal emporium. Long may the magie ot' vinyl live on: long may i'eeords like elll‘ios beekon passers-by to the window ot~ the side street l‘eeord shop.
Waxmq lyncal Here's what Mark Edmundson
found and where he found them
I Various l'i’artsrax The Living l‘i'oro Orig/na/ Siiuiiittrat‘k iStaxi What proved tOr me my most exciting find was met with bemuseinent by the proprietor. but a live recording oi 19/33; Watts district Stax music testival isource of many of the vocal samples on Public Enemy's It Takes a Ni’ition not to mention Primal Scream}; 'Conie Together'i excited me so Vismly that when their sister store in Manchester unearthed a sequel they shipped it up. A request for Prince's ‘Alphabet Street" on li')llt came up trumps too. [Unknown Pleasures. €7.99]
I Various Etienne De Crecv presents Super Discount (Different) Not the most exciting purchase or finest bargain of my endeavours but a good enough price tor what has become a JOyOUS rediscovery that is orin ever briefly off the player. [ElVis Shakespeare. E8]
_ I Grace Jones Nightclubtwng (ls/and) I'm no great tan of Grace Jones in all honesty. A View to a Ki// can leave a terrifying irnpressmn on an innocent young mind. but 'Pull Up To The Biirnper' is an undisputed champion and the album was a steal at $21.50. [Record Fayre. €1.50]
‘ I Sidewinder Flight EP (Fenetik) £2 for this nice little soul bubbler.
an early release from local producer, bandleader and DJ on the Glasgow label. No complaints. [23rd PreCinct. £2]
I Miriam Makeba We/ela (Phil/psi A cautionary tale care of South African
. , export Makeba: the fever had gripped me by this Juncture and wrthout the benefit of an in-store listening post I paid a lady for what turned out to be a lame 80$ re-recording of Flora- advertising favourite ‘Pata Pata'. Boo. [Backbeat. £9.99]
‘8 ’i'.. ' THE LIST 97