My Rare Record Collection
Rare Vinyl
I have been a record collector for a while now, and over the years I have managed to get my hands on some rare and unique vinyl. This is an article about the rare records in my record collection with plenty of pictures.If you would like to know the best places to go to find rare vinyl to build your own collection, then hop on over to Where to Find Rare Records.
Shocking Blue
Most people know the song “Venus” from Bananarama and those
razor commercials, but it was originally performed by the Dutch
band Shocking Blue. On the right side of the picture is the Japanese
release of the Venus 7″ record. The tracks are “Venus” and “Never
Marry a Railroad Man.” On the left is the Israeli release of the Never
Marry a Railroad Man 7″ EP. The tracks are “Never Marry a
Railroad Man,” “Roll Engine Roll,” “Love Buzz,” and “I’m a Woman.”
Bon Jovi Picture Discs
Above is the picture disc for Bon Jovi's fourth album, New Jersey. It is a full-length, 12 inch record featuring the entire band looking very 80s on the front.
This is Bon Jovi Live, released for Record Store Day 2013. It's 10 inches. The tracks are "Living on a Prayer," "Blood on Blood," "Keep the Faith," and "We Weren't Born to Follow," all live. That's Jon Bon Jovi jumping on the back.
Bon Jovi 45s
You Give Love a Bad Name from the album Slippery When
Wet was released on 7″ vinyl in 1986. The tracks are “You
Give Love a Bad Name” and “Raise Your Hands.” Born to
Be My Baby from the album New Jersey was released on
7″ vinyl in 1988. The tracks are “Born to Be My Baby” and
“Love For Sale.” Living in Sin (also off New Jersey) was
released in 1989 on 7″ vinyl. The tracks are “Living in Sin”
and “Love is War ” (which does not appear on the album).
Green Day 45s
These are Holiday on 7″ vinyl and Know Your Enemy on
7″ vinyl. Holiday, from the American Idiot album, was
released in 2005 and contains the tracks “Holiday,” “Wake
Me Up When September Ends,” “Letterbomb,” and
“Governator” (a non-LP track). Know Your Enemy, from
21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009 and contains
the tracks “Know Your Enemy” and “Hearts Collide” (which
does not appear on the album).
Holiday Picture Disc
The Holiday picture disc was released in 2005. The tracks are “Holiday” and “Minority” (live).
Honey, This Mirror...
Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough For the Two of Us is
My Chemical Romance’s first single and their first vinyl release.
It’s really hard to find now, but when they first started they would
sometimes hand it out for free. It’s 7″ vinyl and contains the songs
“Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough For the Two of Us” and
“This Is the Best Day Ever.”
Headfirst For Halos
Headfirst for Halos is My Chemical Romance’s second
single and their second vinyl release. It’s 7″ vinyl and
contains the tracks “Headfirst for Halos” and “Our Lady
of Sorrows” (live).
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge Picture Discs
The Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge picture discs were released in 2005. Helena contains the tracks “Helena” and “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” (live). Ghost of You contains the tracks “Ghost of You” and “Helena” (live).
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge 45s
Thank You for the Venom was released on red vinyl in
2004. It contains the tracks “Thank You for the Venom”
and “Jack the Ripper” (live) (a non-LP track). I’m Not
Okay (I Promise) was released on red vinyl in 2005 and
contains the tracks “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” and
“Bury Me in Black” (which does not appear on the album).
I Brought You My Bullets... White Vinyl
My Chemical Romance’s I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love was released on vinyl in 2009. Nine hundred copies were released on red vinyl and 100 copies were released on white vinyl.
I Brought You My Bullets... Clear Vinyl
This record doesn’t officially exist. There is no official word on I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love being released on clear vinyl. Only the red vinyl and white vinyl were up for sale, and apparently some people received clear vinyl. It is unknown how many copies exist.
There is a discussion about it in the comments of an entry on Cassie the Venomous’s blog (she’s a music blogger).
My theory (and this is just a theory – there is no way to verify if this is true) is that it was going to be released on clear vinyl but, after a few copies were made, it was decided to be printed on white vinyl instead because someone didn’t like the look of the clear vinyl and the copies of the clear vinyl made it into the shipments when the online orders were being filled. That’s just my best guess for what happened. Because of its mysterious origins, this is the prize of my record collection.
There have recently been two new releases of I Brought You My Bullets… on colored vinyl. There is very little information on these (they just sort of appeared on eBay and in other places). You can see them and read more about them on my article about I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love on vinyl.
Danger Days on Colored Vinyl
My Chemical Romance’s Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys was released on vinyl in 2011. Twenty-five hundred copies were released on black vinyl and 500 copies were released on red, white, and blue swirled vinyl.
Me and a Gun
Tori Amos’s Me and a Gun was released on 12″ vinyl in 1991.
The tracks are “Silent All These Years,” “Upside Down,”
“Me and a Gun,” and “Thoughts.” “Upside Down” and
“Thoughts” do not appear on Little Earthquakes.
Boys For Pele on Greenish-Clear Vinyl
Tori Amos’s Boys for Pele was released on vinyl twice in 1996. This is the US release on a greenish clear vinyl.
Boys for Pele on Clear Vinyl
Tori Amos’s Boys for Pele on colorless clear vinyl. This is the UK release and is very hard to find in the US. I found it on eBay Germany through eBay Global.
From the Choirgirl Hotel
Tori Amos released From the Choirgirl Hotel on vinyl
in 1998. There is a single LP version and a double LP
version. I have the single LP.
Ghostbusters Glow in the Dark Vinyl
For Record Store Day 2014, in celebration of the film's 30th anniversary, a 10" glow-in-the-dark EP was released. Only 2,000 were made, but it's still so new that there are many copies available on eBay and it's still being sold through the Ghostbusters Store. It contains the Ghostbusters theme song, and remixed versions of the theme song. But it glows in the dark!
Head Over Heels Shamrock EP
This is a Tears for Fears single released in 1985 in the UK. It's the size of a 10" record but the playable part is 7". It's in the shape of a shamrock (basically they created a 10" record, put the grooves in a 7" circumference, and cut away the outer edges to make a shamrock shape). It has a picture of the band on the other side. Side A is Head Over Heels and Side B is When In Love With A Blind Man. I don't even listen to Tears for Fears but I saw this on eBay and I had to buy it.
My Fortune
