991.com Sleevenotes : A Blog about Collecting Rare Vinyl 7", 12" & LP Records, CDs, Memorabilia & Music

DEF JAM Tells You Who I Am...

 
DEF JAM 'Def Jam 25th Anniversary Collection' [Release Date 22/03/2010]

5CD: In celebration of Def Jam's 25th Anniversary, we are proud to release a 5 Discs, 60 tracks Box-set plus a limited edition Def Jam-Shirt by Adidas honouring the biggest and most iconic Hip-Hop label of all time. This incredible once in a life time box-set also includes a 60 page commemorative Def Jam book.

In Billboard magazine in November of 1984, a little story three-paragraphs long announced the creation of a new record label called Def Jam. "The purpose of this company," said a young artist manager named Russell Simmons, "is to educate people to the real value of real street music by putting out records nobody in the business would distribute but us."

Twenty-five years later, 'the real value of real street music' can be measured not just in billions of dollars, but in the changed complexion of all of the following expressions of creative endeavor: music, movies, television, language, dance, fine art, graphic art, fashion, advertising, automobiles, jewelry, video games, and politics… and not just in America, but globally. If any one entity can be said to have sparked these changes – and to have continued to stand for street music and the culture that birthed it, namely, hip-hop -- it is Def Jam Recordings.

The Def Jam 25th Anniversary set is a collection of hits from the labels chart topping stars and cultural icons. Includes Jay-Z,Kanye West, Ludacris, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J,Public Enemy, DMX, Young Jeezy, Method Man, Redman and more!

Pink Floyd Take EMI To Court

Pink Floyd have succeeded in obtaining a court ruling to prevent EMI 'unbundling' tracks from their albums. The Telegraph report...

Heavy Metal Britannia

Eavy Metal. A term first used in pop culture by William Burroughs in his 1962 novel The Soft Machine. Brought to lyric in song by Steppenwolf. Sometimes known to cause dogs to blow up on stage when wandering in front of amps [Blue Cheer legend]. Then came Black Sabbath, Motorhead and NWOBHM. There were some ugly sods in British metal (graceful with age!), which was largely born in the industrial Midlands as a reaction to the naive pipe dream of the sixties.
 
You've four days left then to grow your hair down to your knees, find your torn leathers, bin your bells and beads, and take a long stroll through the graveyard before settling down for a nice bit of BBC4 culture on your iPlayer. Heavy Metal Britannia

Ray Of Light

Not only does it represent a cultural icon of trendy decor to make you feel like you just got home, but the Astro Baby lava lamp symbolizes the catalyst in Madonna's career. This objet d'art in liquid motion is a signifier of pop's famous sex symbol turned spiritual Earth Mother.

Produced by Mathos in conjunction with Warner to promote the album Ray Of Light, light up your pad in style and bring out your own inner celestial goddess with this exclusive rarity.

Issued just to the industry's privileged few and rumoured to be one of only ten in existence, this is one elusive and desirable piece of promotional Madonna memorabilia.

A definite show stopper and conversation piece, with all the cool of the glam 70's when they first appeared as the ultimate living room accessory.

Audiophile Alert

Heads up audiophiles. A nice batch of Nimbus Supercut vinyl pressings of big name albums such as Wish You Were Here, Kind Of Blue, Breakfast In America, classical works by Elgar, Britten & Hindemith, and jazz stylings from the likes of Dave Grusin and John Scofield, were added late yesterday evening, with lots more to follow. These sell like hotcakes, but keep an eye on our audiophile page and you may strike lucky with the next lot currently being sorted.
Nimbus was a UK mail-order only company in association with Hi-Fi magazine and are now among the rarest and most sought after audiophile pressings around. This is an especially nice collection, including Mobile Fidelity and Sheffield Lab LPs to come, as all the vinyl is (taps teeth)... minty fresh.

Earliest Metallica Recording Surfaces

"Recorded in Ron’s garage in March of ‘82 (two months after the band was formed) by suspending a $49.00 ghetto blaster in the air", get the lowdown with Planet Rock on the earliest Metallica recording newly discovered.

Huge Beatles Collection....

I am currently in the process of sorting through one of the most comprehensive Beatles collections I have seen in a long while. There are many UK and Worldwide rarities within the collection and much of it is in excellent condition.

The Highlights include

EVERY issue of Beatles Monthly, from the first original run of 77 which began in 1963, the reprints of the originals and then the first new issue from 1982 until the magazine ceased publication in 2003!

A Complete set of 7 UK Fan Club Flexi Discs.

A Complete set of 22 UK 3" CD Singles

A Complete set of 33 numbered Japanese 7" singles

A Complete collection of HMV Boxes

plus lots of other interesting collections such as coloured jukebox singles from the US, sealed US vinyl reissues, 22 UK 7" Picture Discs.

One of the rarest albums in the collection was the Beatles Hottest Hits Eskimo Sleeve from Denmark but that sold within minutes of hitting the website!

I will post a follow up once the collection has been sorted and all on the web, however you may wish to check out our latest arrivals page or you may miss out on the missing piece in your collection!

From Genesis To Revelation

 

From its bold biblical themes at odds with the group's young age to its gothic print on the cover belying a lack of musical finesse, all marked an ambitious first shot at gold for the teenage Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Anthony Phillips, still wet behind the ears when Jonathan King signed them in 1968 to cut this album.

With just a minimal title sleeve and no band name, no wonder the LP got lost in the religious section of record shops and sales were so pitiful! Little was it known how quickly Genesis would become a household name and mutate into one of the highest-selling recording artists of all time.

Once again, your trusted 991 sleuths have sleuthed out the impossible, so much so that even Columbo himself would have his work cut out.

The original LP first issue in mono of From Genesis To Revelation is the holy grail for Genesis collectors, near mythical for its scarcity value, and one that stands out from its stereo counterpart with a slightly altered mix. Ye Gods deliver!

Date For The Diary - The Duke's In Town

George Duke, Support: The Ronnie Scotts All Stars

Thursday 13th May - Friday 14th May

Master of the funky-jazz keyboard, extensively sampled over the years in numerous dance tracks, and often found lending an almighty groove on albums by Frank Zappa, Billy Cobham and Stanley Clarke, George Duke is one of those guys I need to see before it's too late! And what better venue than Ronnie Scott's? Up close & personal and acoustic, this is a Friday night in May sorted for me.