You can walk into any record store in Columbus and find used Rush records. They are practically more common that Streisand titles! Columbus Record Store Crawl
I have trouble finding used Rush titles in Houston, also. I will sometimes see them in the "new items" bin. But, you pretty much have to pick them up immediately because they'll be gone before they make it out of new items. I did find Signals, P/G and Power Windows at some of the antique shops on 20th street once.
Score! Newest shipment from Amazon arrived today: RUSH - A Farewell to Kings SRM-1-1184 Chicago Skyline Label Side 1: SRM-1-1184 CT A-1 JAMF Side 2: SRM-1-1184 CT B-2 JAMF The upper right corner of the jacket is clipped off, and the jacket is worn, but the vinyl is in excellent shape. I don't mind a shabby jacket, as long as the music is intact. This is the second JAMF pressing in my collection (2112 is the other) and I concur with everyone who says they are outstanding...great acoustic space, depth in the bass and guitar tones, no sibilance, quiet surface.
DAMN! You B@stard! I've been collecting records for over 35 bloody years, and I STILL don't have a JAMF pressing of either album...!!!
I know...it was a total shot in the dark and I came up aces on that one. Now, the copy of Hemispheres that came along with it?...pretty sure that one's a mediocre pressing. Will post about it after I listen to it. At least it came with the poster though.
GRRRRrrrrrr.... And, you got these at Amazon...? Our Beloved Amazon..., really? Wow! How the hell did you not only find JAMF pressings of BOTH albums, but CLEAN JAMF albums at Amazon...??? Guess I'd better keep my snivelling eyes on Amazon a bit more now...
I suppose I should not speak of the JAMF I found at my local last week of AFTK. Just ignore this post!
That's because I will myself to be lucky!!!! . . . . OK, that's just BS....but it felt good to say it!
I should have mentioned in my earlier post...my 2112 JAMF was purchased back in 1984 or 1985, so I was unknowingly lucky back then. Got it at a head shop...most of the records I bought there smelled like cloves and incense for months
Maybe I can be welcomed back into the "land of the living" for this Amazon arrival: RUSH - Hemispheres SRM 1-3743, Gatefold and original poster Brain split on the label Side 1: SRM-1-7343-A-2-|||-|| PRC Side 2: SRM-1-7343-B-1-|||-|||| PRC No mastering marks anywhere Advertised as VG, and after a couple of cleanings it's still on the low end of VG. Oh well. I will keep cleaning...and wait on the last two to show up, "Hold Your Fire" and "All The World's A Stage". My Amazon hunt was kind of an impulsive splurge to fill out LPs that I am missing in my collection, and maybe get lucky and find a "diamond in the waste" (thanks Neil). Since the descriptions are so sparse, I decided to concentrate on the cheaper offerings (which ruled out later LPs like RTB and Presto) and those that said "old" or "may be original pressing," and I resolved to not be too hung up on vinyl rating, though anything less than VG was not an option. And, I resolved to be accepting of whatever I got, since it was such a shot in the dark...and it was all from gift cards so I wasn't really "out" any cash (like I'm going to buy curtains or toilet paper or something with that dough) I got turned on to Rush in high school and college in the 1980's, which of course meant I had next to no money to spend on recordings. What I bought back then was a Howie Weinberg mastered "Permanent Waves," that JAMF "2112," the HW/RL "Moving Pictures" that left that first half-second of Tom Sawyer off, a "Signals" that had no mastering marks, a cut-out of GUP and a "Power Windows" that was a RCA Record Club pressing...all but that GUP cut-out from the used bins. So, some lucky finds, some not so lucky...I didn't know any different, but they were mine and I loved them. Then as CDs started taking over (and I began actually making an income), and listening to Rush via CD (and everything else for that matter) seemed much better than LP at the time, I started sinking money into CDs of Rush releases, so I eventually ended up with all of the original CD releases. And then I heard a Rush Remaster of "Exit...Stage Left," and was blown away with how much better it was. It became "Dammit, now I need to replace mine with the remasters," so I did that (and gave all of my original CDs to one of my students to fuel his interest in Rush...seemed like a very "Rush-ian" thing to do). I began a revival of my vinyl collection a few years ago, and returned to a fuller appreciation for the depth of sound, the warmth, the "truth" of the analog approach that digital cannot offer. I amassed quite a lot of used Classical LPs (I'm a musician by trade), and about nine months ago I decided to start working on my Rush LP problem...which is when I found this forum and dug into the posts about preferred pressings and masterings. Running across so few used Rush LPs around became frustrating, so I figured "What the hell" and did this Amazon thing. Sorry for the long post, but people often feel a need to tell their life story when they are on their "deathbed"
Ah, 1985... well then, I GUESS we can let that one slide... Interesting back story though... That was indeed nice that you found those older albums back then. BTW, I'm definitely NO expert here compared to everyone else, but you MIGHT want to consider boosting your 'clean' level to at least a VG+, and even then they can get rather noisy sometimes. Just a thought... Unless of course you are actually AT a store somewhere and you can look at the vinyl and see whether it is actually damaged or if maybe a good cleaning (or 2 or 3) might really help. Don't forget to check Discogs periodically too; you can find some decent stuff there at times. Or, Musicstack too, although they don't have the versions or releases as clearly organized there (at least, I couldn't tell what was what there, although I've found some very good deals there)
That's been my experience. It's been years since I saw any Rush vinyl that wasn't a 2015 reissue. But I generally hold onto mine though I did sell one of my 2112s, Hemipsheres and Permanent Waves to a store last year.
I have a few Kings where the corner has been cut there. And of course you have the Grace Under Pressures with a notch cover.
These Amazon buys are the first LPs I've bought online...have always been leery about potential shipping damage, and having to return something that wasn't what was advertised. I've kept an eye on Discogs when I do research on my pressings, but have never checked out Musicstack. Thanks for the heads up!
Sho-nuf mate! I was just this minute checking back in my account with Musicstack, and I (for bloody ONCE!) actually snagged a nice, actual first UK pressing of Pink Floyd's Animals about 7 years ago for about $20 shipped. The same album in the same condition now is about twice that. And, when I got it, I do clearly remember comparing it to my early U.S. pressing (likely a reissue or Club pressing) and it really DID sound much better, the very reason I ordered it since I had read that so MANY U.S. pressings really just didn't sound that good. It's nice to get something bloody RIGHT for a change!
I was going to ban my cruddy copy of Signals to the basement because I have a decent BK, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it
Never give up hope...there is a small thrift store in my town, one that if it actually has LPs, contains mostly country, Mantovsni, and religious sermons and revivals, with Streisand and Christmas records thrown in for good measure. And one day I go in there looking for golf balls and there's a pristine copy of a Philips original issue mono of Sviatoslav Richter playing the two Liszt piano concertos...as mint as it could be...and it cost me ten cents.
Part of the Amazon order showed up today... Rush - All The World's A Stage Mercury Skyline label SRM-2-7508 Record 1 Side A: SRM-2-7508-A PRC R-2 |-|| MASTERDISK HW Record 2 Side B: SRM-2-7508 B-PRC-1 ||-||||||| MASTERDISK GK Record 2 Side C: SRM-2-7508-C PRC |-|-|||| MASTERDISK GK Record 1 Side D: SRM-2-7508 D PRC-1 ||-||||| MASTERDISK GK Vinyl was graded as VG+ by the seller, we'll see for sure when it gets played...which may not be for a couple of days. But, I have high hopes for this pressing...three sides of Gilbert Kong!
Spun the ATWAS mentioned above this afternoon, and loved it...very pleased with that buy. Was definitely VG+ or even VG++ just a little scratchy at the beginning of the first songs of each LP. The GK side with 2112 on it is killer. Finally, the last of the Amazon Gift Card spree arrived today: Rush - Hold Your Fire Mercury 832-464-1Q-1 Three Red Balls Label Side 1: MASTERDISK 422-832-464-1-AS DMM SP 1-1 Side 2: MASTERDISK 422-832-464-1-BS DMM SP 2-1 So when I saw the DMM I'm thinking "Awesome...Direct Metal Mastering, this is going to be great!" And I put it on today, and it sounds just okay...not very much in the midrange, it lacks body and depth to my ear. Great clarity, just not enough meat in the sandwich so to speak...so was kind of a bummer. I remember reading somewhere in this forum somebody asked "Is there actually a good pressing of HYF out there?" and I figured this one had a shot at that, but nope. Combined, the ATWAS and HYF LPs added up to almost $40 including shipping, so I splurged a bit on those...got a real winner on the first, and an average sounding LP on the second. Overall, this experience was great and I added some real quality Rush LPs to my collection.
