Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Put your arms around me, both day and night....


Derek See posted this 45 about six months ago and even though the record is apparently well known amongst the "northern soul" crowd, I'd never heard it before. Which isn't all that surprising.

Anyway, Derek's link is gone [in fact, the whole player is gone] and the tune is just too good to pass up. Basically, I started trying to find a copy from the moment I heard it.

And what a strange episode in record hunting that turned out to be. Ya see, it's not very often I go looking for a record which I know absolutely nothing about. Frankly, I can't ever remember being all that interested in any MGM release before. In short, I'm clueless.

So I hunt around and in the end I buy a copy which I'm pretty sure isn't a bootleg [there are a lot of them about], but on the other hand I don't really know what it is I have bought. I remember thinking that maybe it was a later 70s reissue because it was so very cheap [originals can be quite expensive].

Anyway, I get the 45 in the mail and it looks like it's NOS, even comes in a MGM sleeve....and I'm happy, never thinking twice about the purchase.

Months go by and the record sticks close to the turntable.

Then one day recently, I'm checking an online set sale when I spot a perfect twin of my 45, priced at 120 euros. What a shock. Ya see, I'd never seen a scan of a stock copy until then.....or so I thought.

Amazing. Seems I bought a beautiful original stock copy for $16 including postage....without knowing what I was doing. Even if the record more realistically sells for $80, it's still a very nice surprise.....and a tiny bit un-nerving. If there's such a thing as a Fairy Godmother of Vinyl Collectors, I think I may have one.

I'm hoping you followed the link to Derek's post, but in case you didn't I should point out that The Jewels are actually Lady Bo & The Family Jewels.

Here ya go, a record which virtually defines the term "stomper".

Hope ya'll enjoy..........

3 comments:

  1. Great score, and definitely a real one! First stock copy I've ever seen and there's no way a bootlegger would fake a BB hole. I would imagine that the seller you got yours from doesn't ship internationally, right? PS- thanks for the compliment on my transfer skills :-)

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    Replies
    1. Actually, it came from the U.K. [!!!]

      I'm pretty certain that a zero was left off the listed price and that whoever shipped it didn't catch the mistake.

      It's possible that I was the first to see the listing.....but even more likely, I think I may have been the only one dumb enough to imagine that they'd actually ship it for that price.

      I checked the invoice and it turns out I misremembered the shipping cost....it was $6.50, for a grand total of $18.50

      Since I posted the 45 I've seen two more M- standard issues with BB holes. Both priced in the $100+ range.

      Dude, you make some of the best rips in the business. It's rare that I think I come close....even when using the same cartridge you do.

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