Second Hand News / August 2015

It’s that time of the month! SDE has been shopping for used records, largely in charity or thrift stores. Here’s what we’ve found…

Tina Turner / Tina Live (CD) – £2.49

This was a timely find, given the recent reissue of Tina Turner‘s Private Dancer. This was one of a series of EMI ‘Sound&Vision’ double-packs which gave you the concert on VHS and the ‘soundtrack’ to the concert on CD. The CD was exclusive, that was the real draw. Kate Bush’s Live at Hammersmith Odeon got a similar release. Anyway, the VHS for this had gone AWOL (not exactly a disaster) and as can be seen from the photos the CD itself has seen better days. Nevertheless this plays fine and most of the content isn’t on the new reissue!

Phil Collins / If Leaving Me Is Easy (UK 7″) – 50p

The third single from Phil Collins‘ Face Value was If Leaving Me Is Easy. This seven-inch is quirky because it has a 45RPM A-side and a 33RPM B-side called ‘Drawing Board’ which actually contains demos of In The Air Tonight, I Missed Again and If Leaving Me Is Easy. That’s over 14 minutes of music on the flipside! They are mastered at such a low volume level though that the music is hard to enjoy on this crackly seven-inch. Hopefully these will be included on the forthcoming reissue.

Oasis / The Shock of the Lightning (promo CD) – £1

This is the first single from Oasis‘ last album, in promotional CD guise. It’s a two-track actually, with the commercially unreleased 4.15 radio edit followed by the standard B-side, which was The Chemical Brothers remix of future single Falling Down.

Vanessa Paradis / Just As Long As You Are There CD Single – £1.99

You could make an argument that Vanessa Paradis‘ 1992 self-titled album was the best thing boyfriend-at-the-time Lenny Kravitz ever produced. Largely written by the American rock star, the album had a very authentic sixties sound and is well worth seeking out. There were a number of singles including Just As Long As You Are There.

Various Artists / Island Anthology 1967-72 – £1

Never has a pound been better spend. This three-CD ‘various artists’ Island Anthology is in perfect condition and in covering the 1967-1972 era guarantees superb music from the likes of Free, John Martyn, Spooky Tooth and Nick Drake. Comes is a nice box,

Sting / My Funny Friend and Me CD single – £1

I have most of Sting‘s CD singles by now, but not My Funny Friend and Me, which was written for the 2000 Disney film The Emperor’s New Groove. This is probably because it doesn’t appear to have been released in the UK. This CD has an English and Spanish versions of the track and the rare-ish Italian version too.

Roy Orbison / You Got It seven-inch  – 99p

This looks a bit like a promotional seven-inch of Roy Orbison‘s 1989 hit You Got It, but it’s actually a limited edition six-panel commercial release. He only performed this song once (at the Diamond Awards Festival in Antwerp) just two days before his death. The B-side is album track The Only One. The Mystery Girl album had a great reissue in 2014.

Sade / When Am I Going To Make A Living (12″) – £1

The Sade single that time forgot. For some reason, CBS followed up 1984 top ten hit Your Love is King not with Smooth Operator, or Hang On To Your Love but with When Am I Going To Make A Living. Great song and all that but not really a single. The public agreed and it only just scraped into the UK top 40. This 12-inch includes Why Can’t We Live Together and non-album track Should I Love You. The latter hasn’t been issued on CD.

Elvis Presley / Various CD singles £1 each

I didn’t pick up any of these Elvis CD singles when they were issued, so couldn’t resist these three lurking at the back of a shelf in the Mind charity shop. Great packaging with inner sleeves and those black CDs designed to look like a record! Now I ‘have’ to finish my collection…

Annie Lennox / Songs of Mass Destruction – £3

This is a special two-CD edition of Annie Lennox‘s 2007 studio album. The bonus disc gives you a track-by-track commentary and an ‘enhanced’ music video for Dark Road. The mark under the price tag is where something thought that taping this shut would be a great idea.