Oh the Holidays! The end of the year. Christmas time. The time John is not supposed to buy any albums since it is the holidays and it is my birthday time period so no record purchases as people need to have something to give me as a gift. Well, that didn’t quite work this year.
I did set aside a list of albums people could buy for me for Christmas and/or my Birthday and I made sure that anything I picked up was not from that list. December turned out to be a treasure trove of purchases, gifts and free stuff. I definitely hit the jackpot with a crap load of albums to listen to and some day write about.
It all started mid-November when the Coke reward program was giving away $5 Amazon gift cards for every 10 bottle caps redeemed. Well, I had been collecting them at work as I do drink one Coke product everyday and on really stressful, busy days, maybe two. The $5 Amazon Gift cards were actually $10 because they allowed you to redeem it twice. After setting up a several more accounts with different email addresses, I was able to redeem $40 worth of caps (I would have done more, but I ran out of caps). What did I get with the $40 from Amazon? Music of course. I picked up the following:
Queen Innuendo
Matt Nathanson – Show Me Your Fangs
Greta Van Fleet – From the Fires (on CD not Vinyl)
A week later, Coke was offering $5 Target gift cards for 5 redeemed caps, but they only limited it to one. I had enough caps to do $15 with all my accounts. What did I get with this order?
Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?
I was good for the remainder of the time prior to Christmas and was awarded nicely at Christmas time. Christmas came and I received 5 albums as gifts. They are as follows:
Matt Nathanson – The Last of the Great Pretenders
Needtobreathe – Live From the Woods at Fontanel (I now have all of their albums on Vinyl…yeah me!!)
Queen – A Kind of Magic
The Bon Jovi were the last 2 albums they did that I liked so I had to have those to complete my vinyl collection of their albums I considered good. They are the following two albums…
Bon Jovi – Crush
Bon Jovi – Bounce
And then the week after Christmas came and I was off from work and all hell broke loose again. My oldest daughter had some money from Christmas and she wanted to get a couple albums. Off we went to Lunchbox records. She wasn’t able to find one of the ones she wanted, but she did find The Killers album Hot Fuzz. I was taking my sweet time going through the stacks and so she went exploring around the store. Now, my daughter is a huge Ed Sheeran fan and lo and behold, the store had at least 4 different albums of Ed she did not know were available on LP. She was freaking out. She ended up with buying two of his E.P.s he released prior to Plus and due to her wiseness with her money, she put back the Killers album. She was thrilled and couldn’t wait to get home. I could have been nice and bought the others for her, but she wouldn’t learn how to manage her money or understand that instant gratification should not rule her decisions. Of course, I don’t practice what I preach.
Ed Sheeran – Songs I Wrote with Amy
Ed Sheeran – Loose Change
Now, I didn’t leave empty handed either as I said I have a problem with instant gratification. If I see it and I want it, I have to have it. I found a few while I was going through the stacks.
Shinedown – A Threat to Survival (This was used for only $10, sealed and still had the CD that came with the vinyl release)
Davie Lee Roth – Eat ‘Em and Smile (it was cheap at $6)
Ozzy Osbourne – Speak of the Devil
We paid for our purchases and off we went. However, I wanted to make one more pit stop at another store called Jam Pac records. I had seen a picture they posted on Facebook and in the background was a Skid Row album I wanted. When we finally arrived at the store, the Skid Row album was gone. Since we were there, I looked around. I ended up finding a great copy of the Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers that actually had a Zipper. The album was in great shape, so I snagged it. I had been wanting that one, but never bit the bullet. Now I have. I also saw a brand new copy of a Christian band from the 90’s called DC Talk. The album was Jesus Freak and is my favorite DC Talk album. The price was steep, but I had never seen one before and I really wanted it. Well, Merry Christmas to myself, I bought it.
Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
dc Talk – Jesus Freak
Lastly, I had a little gift card from Best Buy burning a whole in my pocket so I went by there the next day. I looked around and found they had a very small Vinyl section. What did I do? I stopped and went through it. The only thing that interested me and was within the price of the gift card so I didn’t actually spend anymore cash was a copy of Metallica’s Black Album. Since I didn’t have that on vinyl, I thought what the hell. I got it.
Metallica – The Black Album
That is all for my purchases in December. January is shaping up nicely as well. Coke did another $5 Amazon reward, but this time no caps needed. So with that money, I finally found a copy of Billy Idol’s Charmed Life on vinyl, ordered it and I should get it sometime this month, if not by the time this post. Also, the Re-Spin Record shop I go to had a couple pictures of stuff the owner found when he was in Michigan for Christmas. I sent him a message and said I wanted those and he said he would contact me when he gets back. It is Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction and Poison’s Open Up and Say Ahh. I had never seen those out in a store (that weren’t new) so I wanted those two. Ok, that actually isn’t true. When I was in Atlanta at Criminal Records over Thanksgiving, I found the Poison one for $50 as it was an original, sealed copy. I can’t spend that much. I hope I end up getting those.
I have to say, I think I did really good as I only spent money on 5 of these. 5 were gifts and 4 were bought with Coke reward points or gift cards. 2 my daughter bought for herself. I think I did okay. But I do have a problem!!
2 Loud 2 Old Music 
Wow, what a haul?
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That ? Was meant to be a !
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Makes more sense now!! 🙂
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Good times! Those were the last two Jovi records that I got anything out of too. These Days was the last one I properly liked but Crush and Bounce definitely had their moments and got plenty of plays.
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You all outlasted me with Jovi…Found These Days as if Jon tripped over and face planted into a stack of Mellencamp records lyrically …..it was ok ….bring back Bad Medicine! haha
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To be honest, I stuck with Jovi waayy longer than I needed to. Bring back Alec… all the rawk left with him.
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I hope we see Alec at the RNR HOF ceremony!!
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Alec IS the RRHOF. Just chuck everyone else out.
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Man the last time I saw JON and Richie Rich was almost 29 years ago….! I always dug the fact that they survived the whole Grunge deal while everyone else didn’t…
I will give them that…
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They deserve props for making themselves somewhat relevant again in the early 2000’s. It was a nice little comeback even though it was somewhat short lived in my book.
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The magic is gone for sure. There is no substance in anything any more as if he is trying too hard or maybe he isn’t trying at all.
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Needs a new songwriting sidekick….
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They need a kick in the ass and try and reinvent themselves or something.
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Jon said call up Aldo Nova…they both are due …
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I heard Aldo’s wife died in December. Very sad. There are rumblings he is going to release and updated version of his first album…don’t know if that is true.
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Have A Nice Day had a couple good songs, but not many. They really started the repeating formula bit with this album and just got worse.
It has been downhill ever since.
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Apart from the title track I can’t remember any of that album. And I wasn’t all that fussed about the title track either! Just average. Like you say, repeating themselves… going through the motions at that point.
One of the things that kept me following them was enjoying their live show but that was the point that started to slip too. Saw them on that tour and it was like Sambora couldn’t be arsed. Not seen them since!
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Last time I saw them was probably 10 years ago or so. Not really interested unless Richie and Alex comes back.
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Nice Score Sir!
We both got Innuendo which is pretty cool!
Great comment on parenting in the practice what you preach department …haha..we all do it!
Excellent stuff….now go and listen to all this stuff…..
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I actually have listened to almost all of them by now. I was off for a week so that helped. Now the listening is going a little slower.
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Fantastic haul. I still have my Ozzy vinyl and the Eat em and smile album. I passed on a Sticky Fingers album some years back because the vinyl was badly scratched even though the cover was in good nick – wished I’d nabbed it now just for the cover.
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Next time grab it. Mine sounds great.
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I am impressed! What a haul!
But that Stones is a gem, the real winner here. 🙂 Congrats!
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Thanks. I do love that one. The album cover is what i love about buying vinyl.
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Plus, that album is a Stone (natch) classic.
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Almost unrelated — I just realized I really need to get the 2 CD version of A Kind of Magic soon. It’s one of the very few I’m still missing. GREAT ALBUMS.
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I don’t have that either. I need to look for that as well. I really like this album so other versions would be a plus.
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I’m gonna order it from Amazon. Why not. I deserve a treat. 🙂 I’m also missing Hot Space which it seems is the one Queen album I never had in any form.
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Done — just placed the order. I think my Queen remaster collection will now be complete.
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Awesome. I would go buy it, but I am picking up 6 albums on vinyl tomorrow that are on my list of must haves. A couple Zep, GNR and a Whitesnake to name a few.
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Nice! I couldn’t begin to guess which Zep, but I’ll assume the others are Appetite and 1987? I have Appetite on a nice reissue.
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Zep is III and Coda. I think I am still missing Presence and Physical Graffitti. Yes on the GNR and Whitesnake is Slide it In. I have 1987. Also, QRIII by Quiet Riot (I loved that album) and Poison’s Open Up and Say Ah!! which is so hard to find one from that time on vinyl. I am so excited.
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I don’t have QRIII on vinyl. That would be nice to have. The Poison too. Lots of good memories with those records! I’m sure the QR sounds better than the old CD version.
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I am hoping the Poison one sounds better than my CD. The sound on that one was so much softer than the other ones I have by them.
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I have the Poison CD on remaster so mine sounds OK. I’m sure the vinyl would still sound better though!
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Ok, I had the original and not the remaster. That would make a difference.
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It makes a difference but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do another remaster/reissue just to take another kick at the can. 2 CD Poison remasters next? LOL
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Some great stuff here, John! Particularly Sticky Fingers and Eat ‘Em And Smile. I honestly couldn’t tell you how much I love the latter of those two.
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Those two are fantastic. I love the album cover of sticky fingers. The DLR one is him at his best.
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Oh, completely. The album art is incredible, too… really outrageous cover. Easily one of my top LPs.
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Nice work finding sticky fingers with a zipper!
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