Vinyl Review

• Album Title: The Innocents
• Date Purchased: 28th March 2006
• Purchase Location: Boiler Room Records, Poole, Dorset
• Price Paid: £15
• Matrix Tags: STOMM-55A1 & STOMM-55B1
• Cover Condition: VG
• Sleeve Condition: VG +
• Record Condition: VG +

When I purchased this record I knew I was out to purchase one. I had already picked up two records at Rocket Records in Poole just an hour earlier but that was a surprise top on the days list of things to do. I knew I would be passing boiler room records before we even let the house that morning and I also knew I would be buying something, even if I did not know what.

I rarely visit Poole on a Saturday so was surprised to see how busy the shop was compared to my usual Sunday morning trips. Undeterred I headed to the used section of the store. I had started to think I might buy a Daft Punk record if I could find one, having recently discovered them late on in life, loving everything they have produced. Unfortunately there was another shopper blocking access to the “D” section of the records, perusing each and every record in massive details. Whilst I waiting a managed to get as close as “E’ and almost instantly found this record.

Now I have never been a a huge Erasure fan but they were quite prevalent in nightclubs during my misspent youth and some of the tracks themselves hold memories for me and have ended up being part of the soundtrack that would accompany my life, should it ever be worthy enough to be made into a film.

With the shopper next to me still very focused on what he was doing and my wife waiting outside with the dogs I decided to take a chance on this. I say chance but almost all the vinyl I have purchased at this store have been excellent. This one however was a little cheaper than the normal used pricing for a record of this age so I was sure there might be some concessions on my part with regards the quality.

Back at home the record went straight for my customary wet wash before playing. I did notice that there were still fingerprint grease marks present, even after a first clean but had other records to wash so popped in the rack and waiting about an hour to play it back (I was listening to another purchase first)

Side one went straight in and, other than the usual lead in noises, I was met with a. record farebeater than I could have ever expected. Well for track one at least. By the time I had got to Phantom Bride, there was a drop off in sound accuracy, with a sound in parts almost like the vocals were being sung underwater or gargled. After about a minute, this annoying sound cleared. n closer inspection this was right over a series of particular greasy finger marks that were still present despite a single wet clean. Another clean will be added to my list of things to do and at some point iu the future I will revisit this review and update you all if more cleaning solved this issue.

Side two was pristine throughout and as crisp as the day it was first sold. No issues whosoever and strangely no finger prints left on this side at all. There is not a lot more to say about it than that.

Album opinion: this is a good album and I would say that fans of Erasure would really enjoy it. The songs are catchy and will evoke emotion and memories to anyone who grew up in the time where Erasure were at their most prevalent. I will certainly be playing this again rather than a listen once and file it away for posterity attitude which rate the album better than a lot of records I own.

Overall this was a good purchase even though there is an annoyance with one track. I am not going to let that get me down too much through, as I was able to identify the cause and am sure I can resolve it. Maybe this will be one of those records that finally gives me an excuse to by an ultrasonic cleaner someday. On a normal shopping trip for used vinyl. I would have been less annoyed but I played this right after a £5 purchase (Boston) that had been a lot more consistent throughout the entire playback process.

Conclusion – a good addition to the library.

Amended Notes – I first wrote this review whilst listening to the record. Despite my initial inspection of the record and concluding the fingerprints to be the cause of the dodgy track, a second play session later on saw my stylus come back with so much debris from the grooves. I was amazed so much junk could be left behind in such small grooves. This alone made me change my review process to only reviewing a record on the second play though, so as be be certain that the vinyl is as clean as I can make it. Even if part of the cleaning process is now dragging the stylus though the entirety to the record first.